Kiss and Run | 박종성

02

WHEN MINSEO finally arrived home it was past 6:30 PM and she was staring at the house from the driveway. She clutched her bag, trying to find the words to say when she first walked into the house.

After much thought, she eventually got out of her car and grabbed her suitcase from the trunk. She hesitantly walked to the front door, opening the door and instantly getting a waft of gingerbread. She looked around the entrance and let out a deep sigh at seeing her parents decorating the stairs with wreaths and red ribbons.

She shut the door loudly, letting her parents know she arrived home and the couple instantly looked up to see their daughter standing in the entryway.

"I'm home," she sang, putting her bags down and accepting the sudden engulfing of a hug that her mother was giving her.

"It is so great to have you back for the holidays! Sweetie, you look so good." Her mother gasped and made Minseo turn around before her dad hugged her as well.

"Great to see you, sweetheart," her dad whispered as he hugged her, pulling the girl in tighter before reluctantly pulling away.

Minseo decided not to tell her parents about her earlier accident, too tired to have to explain everything to them at the moment.

"You must be exhausted! We're out of dinner but I can get the maids to make you a fruit bowl or something." Minseo's mother grabbed her suitcase and started to haul it upstairs, pulling the girl along with her. Minseo denied the food and smiled at the familiar maids.

Although she was tired, seeing her mother's cheerful energy was exactly what she needed after her long day. Her dad however stayed downstairs and continued to tie red ribbons to the banister.

"We decorated your room yesterday to welcome you home." Her mother cheered, pushing open Minseo's bedroom door and showing the girl her Christmas-decorated room.

She tried to act happy but in reality, she hated when her room looked like an elf had barfed all over it. This time, they went so far as to add fake snow on the inside of the windows.

"Adorable isn't it? Your brother did the bedsheets. I'm not fond of it but your favorite Christmas movie is The Grinch, right?" Her mother hummed, opening her suitcase and beginning to unpack for the girl.

Minseo furrowed her brows before turning towards the bed and huffing at the tacky green bedsheets. "That's horrific."

"Only for a few days dear, chin up! Settle in and if you're not too tired come down after you've changed, okay?" Her mother patted her shoulders and walked out, closing the door behind her and leaving Minseo alone in her room.

The girl sighed loudly, flopping onto her bed and covering her eyes with her hands before sitting up and gazing around her childhood room.

Her mother never wanted her to grow up. She wanted Minseo to stay her little girl forever, hence the pink walls, the princess stickers stuck to every surface Minseo was able to reach when she was 8 years old, and the princess ballet tutus that still hung in her closet.

Minseo knew her mother had an attachment to the past from when the girl wasn't as distant as she was now. She felt terrible for being so closed off when it came to her mother. Her father however just let her do whatever she wanted. She didn't have the closest daughter-parent relationship she would've liked to have but at the end of the day, they were still there for her whenever she needed them and now she made a promise to be there whenever they needed her. It was the least she could do despite the overbearing feelings that she grew up with.

The girl finally got up from the bed and began to unpack the suitcase her mother had set on the floor for her before turning to her door when it slammed open.

"Look who finally came back." Her brother tsked before sitting down next to the girl and helping her unpack.

"I guess it's good to be back," she muttered and her brother chuckled, throwing all her things onto the bed and closing her suitcase before shoving it in the corner.

Despite her somewhat complicated relationship with her parents, her brother, Park Sunghoon, had always been a member of the family who was her rock and he visited her whenever he had the time. What she loved most about him was he was her younger, twin brother. She always held that against him.

"Sorry, I couldn't pick you up. I didn't have the energy to drive five hours there and then five hours back. Plus, I had plans with friends, even though they fell through." Sunghoon stretched and leaned his back against the girl's bed frame.

Minseo shrugged it off before taking off her jacket. "My eventful day made up for your absence."

"Care to explain?" He hummed and watched as his sister walked around her room.

"Maybe tomorrow. I'm exhausted and my muscles are aching." She complained and the boy stood up, shoving the girl lightly as he walked towards the door.

"Yeah I can see you're about to pass out, get some rest, I'm sure Mom will do something to welcome you home tomorrow, the real way." Sunghoon laughed before shutting the door and leaving the girl alone in her dark room.

Minseo sat in silence for a while before getting ready for bed, going under the covers and staring at the ceiling. How good it is to be back, she thought. Although even her inner thoughts could sound sarcastic.

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AUTHORS LETTER,
Dear readers,
I already know my next few SETS
of book ideas idk how I'm not
jumping from story to story.
Love,
Nuera.

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© nuerra 2024