BELOVED BY THE TWINS

CHAPTER 15

"BELOVED BY THE TWINS"
by: Dark Flame Master

When the lesson finally ended and the bell rang, Shin packed his things getting ready to leave. Just as he was about to walk out he turned to Juri and asked, "Aren’t you going to invite me to walk home with you?"

Juri gave him a regretful look and shook her head. "Not today. I have somewhere I need to go."

Shin’s face fell a little, though he tried to hide it. "Oh... okay. Maybe next time, then."

Juri smiled and waved at him as she headed toward the door. "Bye-bye, Cutie!" she called, her voice teasing but friendly.

Shin's face went red again and he mumbled to himself, "Wh— isn’t she embarrassed?" He shook his head trying to understand how Juri was so carefree.

After standing there for a moment, Shin decided to head home as well. As he walked through the hallways he could still feel the lingering stares from his classmates. They weren’t used to seeing him interact with anyone especially not someone like Juri.

Once he was outside the school, He decided to see his mom in and with the twins. He also thought about messaging the twins to let them know. Taking out his phone, he quickly typed, "I'm heading to the hospital. Won't be home until later."

As Shin walked toward the hospital, he noticed the sky was overcast and the air felt heavy. There was a slight haze in the distance and at first he thought it was just fog but the smell of smoke in the air made him second-guess that.

When he arrived at the hospital he went straight to his mom’s room. Pushing the door open quietly, he stepped inside and smiled at her.

"Mom, I’m here," he said softly.

His mother looked up from her bed and smiled back. "Aren’t you tired, Shin? You just visited yesterday."

Shin shook his head as he sat down beside her. "No. It’s boring staying at the twins' house when I’m alone," he said with a small shrug.

His mother gave him a knowing look. "But you’re staying alone tonight, aren’t you?" she asked.

"Huh?" Shin blinked in confusion.

"They didn’t tell you? The twins said they have to go to their parents and spend the night there," his mom explained.

Suddenly, it clicked. Shin remembered what the twins had said that morning about visiting their parents after work but they said they would go home late at night so Shin was confused.

"Oh... I guess I’ll be alone tonight, then," Shin mumbled, not particularly looking forward to it.

"Wait, I thought the twins would visit you around this time?" Shin asked, looking around the room.

"They came earlier than usual today," his mom said, adjusting her blanket. "They said they’d be busy later."

"Busy with what?" Shin asked.

"One of the nurses mentioned there was a fire nearby. A lot of patients might be coming in because of it that's why the twins are sleeping in their parents house" his mom explained.

Shin’s eyes widened in realization. "Oh, so that’s why it was smoky outside," he muttered. "I thought it was just fog."

His mother gave him a thoughtful look. "Maybe that’s it."

Shin stayed with his mother for a while longer, pulling out his homework and deciding to get some of it done there. The hospital room was quiet with only the faint sounds of footsteps from the hallway breaking the silence. Just as he was finishing a math problem, his mom spoke up.

"Shin, your phone is ringing," she said, nodding toward the buzzing device on the table.

Shin picked up his phone without checking the screen and answered it. "Yeah, who is this?"

A familiar voice on the other end laughed. "I’m hurt. Don’t you remember me?"

Shin blinked then realized who it was. "Oh, Juri... why are you calling?"

"I just wanted to tell you I saw the fire!" Juri exclaimed as if she had witnessed something exciting.

Shin was quiet for a moment, not sure how to respond. "Hmm..." was all he said.

"What? You’re not going to say anything? It’s a freaking fire!" Juri complained.

"Is that all? I’m doing my homework. Bye," Shin said flatly and hung up the phone.

He shook his head slightly amused at how energetic Juri always seemed to be but he needed to focus on his homework. Just as he settled back into his work his phone buzzed again. This time he felt more annoyed. He grabbed the phone and answered it quickly expecting it to be Juri again.

"Juri, if this is about the fire again, I don’t want to hear it. I’m doing my homework," Shin said sharply.

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

".....Juri?" a familiar voice asked.

Shin froze for a second and quickly checked his phone screen. It wasn’t Juri. It was Ruka.

"Oh... Ruka," Shin said awkwardly.

"Who’s Juri?" Ruka asked curiously.

Shin rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh... she’s the girl I was talking about. I decided to be friends with her."

"The cute girl?" Ruka said, his tone is a bit cold.

"Umm... yeah, I guess," Shin replied, feeling a little uneasy now.

There was a brief silence from the twins’ side of the call. Shin couldn’t tell what they were thinking.

"Why did you call me?" Shin asked, changing the subject.

"We just wanted to let you know we won’t be coming home tonight," Ruka said calmly.

"Yeah, I already know. Mom told me," Shin replied.

"Is that so?" Luca’s voice came from the background. "Well, don’t be lonely without us, okay?"

Shin smiled softly. "I’ll be fine."

Before the call ended, Shin could hear some commotion in the background. Someone was shouting instructions, probably a nurse.

"Hey, you... twins. Um.. who are you again? Ahh that doesn't matter. Help assist these patients!" a voice yelled.

"Um, we need to go now. Bye, Shin," Luca said quickly.

"Bye," Shin replied, and the call ended.

Shin placed his phone back on the table and sighed. He leaned back in his chair and looked out the window at the dimming sky. The air still smelled faintly of smoke from the fire and he couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy about being alone in the house tonight. But for now he had homework to finish.

A/N: I think no matter what Juri saw or witness she would be excited😂🤣 Kindly comment your thoughts on this chapter 😚. Also vote for this story 🙂‍↕️