Kiss and Run | 박종성

04

MINSEO WAS struggling to find a specific box of ornaments that were buried under the hundreds of brown boxes around her. While she unboxed many little figurines and snow globes, her mother and father were decorating the tree with the ornaments they had found earlier.

The girl sighed heavily and gave up, flopping onto the couch and watching how her parents interacted with each other. Making jokes, being affectionate, everything Minseo knew they were good at. Despite how they raised her, her parents were her model relationship. However, she could never hold a relationship long enough to be able to live up to their expectations for her love life.

Soon after her parents finally saw her lazing around they let the girl rest, knowing her decorating energy would have worn out in under 30 minutes like it did when she was younger.

"Where's Sunghoon? Can't he help us?" Minseo complained, pulling her hood over her head before getting up and trying to find the box of ornaments once again.

"He's getting ready to go out. He's always out with friends. We basically see him as much as we see you." Her mother exaggerated and watched as Minseo tore open multiple boxes. The girl hummed at the comment and ripped open the last box, smiling at the sight of the familiar ornaments. "Oh good, you found them!"

Minseo gave her mother the box when she heard the doorbell ring. Before she was able to get to the door Sunghoon raced down the stairs, yelling as he went. "Jay's here!"

The girl watched as her brother ran to the door and chuckled before turning back and setting up the shelf above the fireplace.

"Thought Jake was who he spent most of his time with," she commented and turned to her father who was still decorating the tree.

"They still hang out but Jay's been around since you left. Practically lives here but he's a nice kid," her father said, picking out ornaments from the box and hanging them on the upper part of the tree.

Minseo stayed quiet and ignored the clattering of the front door behind her as Sunghoon let his friend in. She was still dressed in her pajamas and was too embarrassed to greet her brother's friends looking like a lazy wreck.

When she finished decorating the fireplace she smiled to herself at the outcome. It wasn't half as bad as she thought it'd turn out to be.

Suddenly her mother appeared behind her with her old apron and held it in front of her. "Well dear, ready to cook us up a delicious dinner?"

Minseo stared at the apron and looked at her father who shrugged before her gaze landed on her mother again.

"You just invited me here to cook food for you all, didn't you?"

"It's a bonus for us for having you back, a punishment for you for leaving and not coming back until 3 years later." Her mother smiled and Minseo hastily took the apron from her mother's hands, not wanting to aggravate her any further than she already seemed to be with her refusal.

"Fine, do you still have my same pots?" Minseo stood up, tying the apron around her waist and folding the sleeves of her pajama up.

"In the same cupboard you used to use!" Her mother called out as she walked towards the kitchen. Minseo hummed in response before entering the kitchen and sighing as she walked towards the cupboards in the corner.

When opening them she saw all her old pots and pans, the scratches on the bottom from how much she used to cook with them. She felt nostalgic about using her equipment from her teenage years but ultimately pushed that feeling aside and began cooking dinner for the family, telling the maids to take a break as she handled the meal.

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JAY
Before finally finding his house keys, Jay rushed out of the house, tripping over his own feet as he shut the door. As he hopped on one foot to get his shoe on properly he almost slipped on the ice that had invaded his driveway.

He muttered in annoyance before getting into his car and starting it, backing out of the driveway, and driving to his best friend's house.

While he drove his eyes kept flickering to the small bandages he wrapped around multiple of his fingers. He kept thinking back on the day he was almost run over whenever he saw his fingers or the reflection of his face in any object. The bandages on his face were a reminder for him to not walk across the street without looking both ways, especially in the middle of a snowstorm.

Stupidly enough he kept thinking about the girl who rushed him to the hospital after helping him up from the ground. Despite his constant claim of being fine she ignored him and went to get him checked out anyway.

Jay kept driving on the snowy roads, trying to see past 10 meters yet he struggled. As he approached the familiar house he waited for the gate to open, driving into the driveway once he was permitted access and parking at the entrance.

He got out and locked his car, quickly going to the door and ringing the doorbell while freezing due to the winter cold. When it opened he smiled at seeing Sunghoon open the door, quickly walking in and silently thanking the family for having expensive heating.

"Is it just me or does your face look worse than yesterday," Sunghoon commented, pointing at the bandages on Jay's face. "Can't believe your cat did that— when did you even get one?"

Jay chuckled lightly, remembering the lie he had told Sunghoon because he was too embarrassed to tell him about how he actually got injured. He knew the lie would work because Sunghoon never went over to his house.

"A few weeks ago," he lied once again and shut the door behind him. Jay looked around the entrance, not surprised to see all the Christmas decorations up.

The pair walked through the house, passing the living room. Jay glanced at it, seeing the back of a girl dressed in pajamas placing figurines around the fireplace. He furrowed his brows at the sight before Sunghoon pulled him out of his trance and dragged him upstairs.

"Who was the girl in the pajamas?" Jay questioned, following Sunghoon into his room and shutting the door behind him.

Sunghoon hummed while he searched for his belongings. "My sister. She's finally visiting."

Jay let out an 'oh' before pulling out his phone and checking the time. While Sunghoon continued to look around his room Jay thought back to his sister, wanting to meet her before shaking his head and sitting down.

"Hurry up, Jake's waiting for us." Jay urged the boy to be faster and Sunghoon shoved him off before grabbing his winter jacket and shoving his items into the pockets.

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AUTHORS LETTER,
Dear readers,
Feeling icky bc of the Jay POV
bc I didn't plan on adding it
but I didn't want to publish
a really short chapter :')
didn't turn out as bad as I
thought it would though.
Love,
Nuera.

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© nuerra 2024