Black Soda Drink [exo]

IV

Yixing was buried back home, near the gravesite of my grandparents on my father’s side. Everything had gone by quickly and I stayed with my parents for a while before telling them that I had to leave. I reassured them that their daughter was safe and that I had a plan in my head.

I was going to pursue my dream and make a career for myself. College was a place where I made a bunch of connections and I hoped that they would help me. But first, I needed to say hello to Kris again.

The spare keys he had given me on my first night jingled in my purse. When I opened the door, the living room was lit but empty. Was Kris home right now?

I tossed some of the crushed soda cans into the recycling, reminding myself that I should tell Kris to cut back on drinking so much.

I sat on the couch and pursed my lips. It would be improper to go straight to the bedroom without him at home. I wondered how he had fared in the past two weeks. As for me, I was a blubbering mess for most of my trip home but I wasn’t going to admit that.

A door opened behind me and I turned around.

Oh. My. God.

“Kris!”

I covered my eyes, but not before getting an eyeful of his naked chest, still shining from his shower. His hair was pointing in all directions and there was only a towel around his waist to cover himself.

He didn’t even bother covering himself.

“Oh, you’re back,” he said as if I hadn’t just seen him half-clothed.

His footsteps went towards the kitchen and I peered through my fingers. Good, he’s out of sight. “Y-yeah, I’m back. I thought I sent you a text.”

“Sorry, I didn’t check my phone,” he replied like it was no big deal. Then, “What do you want to eat? We can order Chinese food.”

“O-okay.”

His voice came closer and I looked down at my hands on my lap. “This place is closer but the dumplings here are really good. Or if you’re not too tired, we could go out for BBQ at the restaurant across the road but…” he trailed off. “You okay?”

“Uh, yeah. We can go anywhere you want.” My face was getting hot. Yixing used to walk around the apartment without a shirt on all the time. Why couldn’t I just suck it up and talk to Kris properly?

There was a chuckle behind me and I heard his footsteps receding. “Okay, just give me a minute.”

The minute turned out to be ten minutes, but it was worth it. Kris looked really good in just a plain t-shirt and faded jeans. I looked down at myself and realized I was wearing almost the same things but didn’t look nearly as good. I had dressed for comfort on the airplane today, not a dinner date.

Wait, was this a date?

I shook my head as I trailed behind him out to the street. We crossed the road in silence and the uncle working at the restaurant seemed to know Kris as they greeted each other cheerfully.

I asked Kris about the soups as we took a seat. He gave a shrug and said, “I’ve never tried them.”

I ordered a tofu soup for myself while Kris ordered the grilled meat for the two of us. When the food arrived, I wondered how we were going to eat so much and instantly regretted ordering the soup.

We barely spoke as the meat sizzled on the grill. It was a few minutes of really awkward water sipping. I doubted either of us wanted to bring up the topic of my brother, but there was no other connection between us.