Rich Girl [Seventeen]

Brother

I followed Jeonghan's instructions and walked across the street to the café he spoke about. I didn't really understand why he gave me so much money just to buy something simple to eat, but maybe that was the smallest bill he had.

The inside of the café walls were a red brick, and the tables were black and metal. I made my way up to the counter, ordered a sandwich and lemonade, then sat down towards the back with my food. I had just sipped my drink and was about to take a bite of my sandwich when a guy to my left said "excuse me."

I raised my eyes to the two strangers and they smiled brightly. "Yes?" I asked, putting my uneaten sandwich down.

The taller of the two's cheeks turned a faint pink and he cleared his throat to keep his voice from cracking. "Uh, we just wanted to know—if we—uhm—"

The other boy stepped in, "There isn't anymore tables open, and we were wondering if we could sit with you. We won't bother you or anything. Promise."

I grinned up at them and nodded, and they sighed in relief before sitting down on the two chairs across from me. They both seemed young, maybe still in high school, and they put their binders and books down in front of them. I then went back to eating my food.

The two boys started to discuss a project or something, maybe a book report, and I couldn't help but notice how oddly familiar their topic was.

"If you don't mind me asking," I began, waiting for them to realize I was speaking to them, "are you two doing a report on Poe?"

Their faces lit up and they nodded feverishly. "How'd you know?" one of them asked.

I shrugged, picking out the sliced tomato from my sandwich. "You said something about a man in a dungeon with rats. 'The Pit and The Pendulum,' right? The rats chew his harnesses and he's saved from the blade of the pendulum."

"Yeah!" the taller boy exclaimed. "Exactly!"

"We have an end–of–the–year assignment for Language Arts," the other explained. He pointed to the hefty book on the table, "We have to summarize three of his stories and write essays on them. It's pretty easy, but it's taking us so long to do."

"I'm just glad we got Edgar Allan Poe instead of Shakespeare."

"My name's Chan," the shorter boy said, holding his hand out for me to shake.

"I'm Hansol," the other added. "And you?"

"Rosemarie. I'm guessing you two are both in high school?"

They nodded. "We'll both be seniors next year," Chan said proudly. "Are you...?"

I shook my head, "I graduated about two weeks ago."

"Must be nice," Hansol pouted. "Not having to do homework and all."

I laughed, "Yeah. I guess so. I kind of miss it, to be honest."

Hansol and Chan looked at me like I was crazy. "You're kidding me," Chan raised his eyebrows. He picked up the huge book, "You miss this."

I shrugged, "Life gets boring once you finish school."

"What about your college work? I heard it nearly kills you."

I looked down at my plate, "I'm not enrolled."

"Oh," Hansol replied dumbly, and Chan slapped his shoulder for asking the question.

"Are you two related?" I asked, successfully changing the awkward subject.

Chan nodded and wrapped his arm around Hansol, "Yup! This here is my big bro who doesn't act any older at all!"

"Hey!" Hansol whined, pushing the other away. "We're twins! It doesn't count if I'm older!"