"It has been six months since I last spoke to Mingi. During this time, I realized that I had developed feelings for him. However, he seemed happy with his girlfriend, Eun-byeol, who is one of his team members' sisters. Though it was difficult for me, I was content just watching him from afar and seeing him happy.
As for my brother Woo-young, we have grown closer over time, especially when he fell ill. I couldn't ignore him in such a situation because I'm not a bad sister.
"Noona, San has invited us to his brother's birthday party tomorrow night. Will you be coming? Taeri noona will also be there," he said, looking at his phone. I hummed in response to his question.
"Have you got a present for him yet? Should I get something for him too?" I asked, thinking about what I should get for the younger boy. I look up from my laptop and face Woo-young.
"What did he like?" I asked. He looks at me with some thoughts.
"From what I heard from San, he loves racing games. Also, he's still trying to persuade his parents to get the game, but they just ignore him. It's quite expensive though." He said. Expensive?
"So, it was a limited edition then. Should I get it?" I asked. He was surprised when I said that. Did I say something weird?
"Really? Then... Can I have it too?" He said, giving me puppy eyes. He did want something from me though. No wonder he has been nice to me lately.
"Is that why you have been clingy lately? What do you want this time?" I asked, staring deep into his eyes.
"It's not a game this time. I saw this bag last week, and it looks good. You know I have been using my bag for two years, and I want a new one. Can I have it?" He said, with a smile on his face, blinking his eyes like a lost little puppy trying to get attention.
"Just a bag? Are you sure it's 'just' a bag, not an 'ordinary' bag?" His grinning is enough to make me sigh. It must be an expensive one.
"A branded one?" I spoke, which made him smile wide.
"Please... Noona. This is the last one I'm asking you for." He said, but it always ends with another request.
"Hmm... Let's go shopping." I said, getting up from the couch.
"Let's go!" He shouted, and we ran to his room.
After a moment, both of us were already in the shopping centre. It had been a while since I went shopping. The last time I was here was two years ago when Woo-young started his freshman year. Most of my collections are from the bundle shops around the city. I prefer something comfortable with affordable prices to a branded one.
"Noona, there!" Woo-young suddenly said, pulling my arm to the game stores. Even though he was a growing boy, he still looks like a baby to me. Always excited for something, even if it's just a small thing. Who's going to ignore this cute guy next to me?
"Yeah, I see it. Don't pull me like that." I said, walking next to him, who was smiling to see the shop.
"I hope they have it.", I mumbled, hoping they would have it since I don't like walking too much. I just want to get what I need and go home because I'm not a fan of walking around the city just to kill time. I'm not Woo-young, though. He loves sightseeing and having fun to release stress.
"Woah! Jongho would love to see this." I heard Woo-young say as he was looking at the shelves full of game collections. I just shook my head at him as he wandered around the store.
I approached the cashier lady who was in charge of the store and asked, "Do you have the latest version of racing games" The cashier nodded and showed me the latest version on the shelves behind her.
"This is the latest one. It has been selling like hotcakes, as you can see from the charts next to the counter," she said.
I turned to Woo-young and asked, "Which one it is, Woo-young?" He was still looking at the game collections but slowly walked to me when I called him.
He took out his phone and said, "Wait a second. I think Jongho sent me a picture. Let me check." He scrolled down the message between him and Jongho and said, "This one," as he confirmed it.
"I'll take this." I said. After I paid the money, we both walked out of the store.
I was looking at my phone to see the list of things that I wanted to buy when I suddenly bumped into someone. I almost fell on the floor, but a hand quickly caught my waist.
"Sorry and thank you," I said, trying to stand up properly, but the person remained silent while still holding onto my waist. When I looked up, I was surprised to see him, but he quickly let me go.
"Sorry, it's my fault too. I was also looking at my phone," he said. I noticed that he was alone, and I wondered where his girlfriend was. And where is Woo-young? Where did he go?
"Where's Woo-young?" I asked when I didn't see him around. Mingi looked around the store and then spoke.
"He might be with the others. We promised to meet at the bowling bar. We texted him," he said as I sighed. I looked at him and then looked away. I didn't know where the bowling bar was since I'd never been there before.
"Urm... Could you lead me there?" I said with a lower tone. It was embarrassing how we had met and talked. When we got inside, Woo-young was jumping around with the others.
"Noona! I got a spare! I'm better than Seonghwa hyung," he shouted excitedly. I just stared at him and the others. I admit that he was quite the ace in every sport. It was his talent.
"You've never played before, have you? Do you want to try?" He suddenly asked.
"I...Don't think so," Mingi suddenly said. I looked at him, feeling daring.
"Why are you scared?" I said back.
"For someone who's never touched a bowling ball? Bet me you'll lose," he said. Suddenly, it became our battle.
"Wanna try me? Let's go," I said as I walked over to Woo-young. He took off his shoes and gave them to me since we had the same size feet. Mingi went to the other side as I got in line.
"Don't cry if you lose," he said smirking at me. The ball was rolling in the line and hit the pins. It was a spare. He glanced at me and knocked down the last pin.
"I might have never played, but I'm always lucky," I said as I threw the ball, and surprisingly, it was a strike. I looked back when I heard loud gasps. Woo-young looked so shocked to see me hit the pins. It wasn't that bad playing bowling.
"Not that hard," I said as I went through another round. I guess the luck was on my side.
"I didn't know you were talented." Yunho suddenly spoke as we walked out of the section to the nearest restaurant.
"Well, our late parents were athletes before doing business. Maybe we got it from them." I said feeling proud of it.
---tbc---
