still good

i

"Please please please," Jisoo begs into her cell phone.

On the other end of the line, Chaeyoung continues painting, leaving her cell on speakerphone at the bottom of her easel. "Fine. But you don't get to complain when I bring them back all sugared up."

"I have long since given up on getting mad at you about that because my own children would never forgive me for stopping Cool Aunt Chaeyoung from feeding them cookies nonstop," Jisoo says, her tone indicating exactly the opposite of her words. "Please come get them at nine tomorrow okay love you bye."

She hangs up before Chaeyoung can get in another word edgewise.

"Shit," Chaeyoung says, realizing how early she'll have to get up on a Saturday. The weekends are for sleeping. She treats Jisoo's kids like they're her own but hauling herself over to the Jung house before nine on a Saturday is a true test of love. She drops her paintbrush in a cup.

"Shit."

*

Chaeyoung pulls up in front of Jisoo and Haein's still yawning, but functional thanks to her espresso machine.

She doesn't even have to get out of the car; the Jung twins are already barreling out the front door, yelling war cries while an exhausted-looking Jisoo waves goodbye. "Thanks Chaeyoung," she calls out, and Chaeyoung just manages to lift one hand from the steering wheel.

The twins open the back door and suddenly her car is filled with noise as two nine-year-olds jam themselves and their equipment bags into the seats. "Hi Aunt Chaeyoung!" they say in unison before their conversation devolves into two separate audio streams.

On the right, Hyunjin is saying something about video games, while on the left, Hyerin is rambling about how many goals she wants to score in the game. Chaeyoung has long since learned to just let their combined noise wash over her and to ask for clarification later on anything important.

"Seat belts," she reminds them, making sure they comply before pulling away. They don't stop chattering for a second.

She swallows another yawn just as they pull up to the large community fields, which are filled with swarms of kids and their parents. Hyunjin and Hyerin are already pulling off their seatbelts, getting their equipment bags tangled up in their excitement to go.

"Hold on guys," Chaeyoung says, getting out of the car first. She knows all too well how easy it is to lose track of one or both of the Jung twins. The Great Grocery Store Panic of two years ago is still fresh in her memory, as is the Great Grocery Store Mess on Aisle 17 that immediately followed it.

She goes around to the back to let out the twins, opening the door like a zookeeper releasing a pair of tigers. The kids burst free, already looking for their field while Chaeyoung pulls her supplies out of the trunk. Cooler in one hand, foldable chair in the other, she guides them into the complex to one of the smaller fields at the west end.

It's still early in the season so the air isn't quite crisp yet; summer lingers in the air and the still-green tree leaves. Chaeyoung is glad to be in khaki shorts and a loose navy scoop-neck top as she trudges along, looking for the twins' soccer coach, some middle-aged guy who volunteers for the youth soccer association.

But as they near the field Chaeyoung can't see anyone familiar. "Where's your coach?" she asks.

"We got a new one this season!" says Hyerin, pointing.

Chaeyoung follows her finger to a woman holding a dry erase clipboard at the edge of the field. Her wavy brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail and her eyes are hidden behind aviators but she looks about the same age as Chaeyoung. And fit. Very fit. In her plain black tank top and matching shorts with the YSA logo on them, it's obvious she's physically active and Chaeyoung clenches the cooler handle. "Oh," she says.