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Steam rose from the murky liquid of Yoobin's coffee mug. The wisps of air waltzed through the surroundings before disappearing. "Jeon Jungkook infuriates me!" She cried with a frustrated groan. "I mean can you believe the way he treated Yuhyeon? Fair enough, he's not obligated to date her. Though he could've rejected her a bit more considerately." Yoobin raked her long fingers through her dark locks, deep in thought.
"He definitely sounds like a bit of an asshole," acknowledged her brother. Donghun, who sat opposite cradling his chin upon two flat palms. His plump lips were half pouting. "Please tell me you aren't interested in him too."
Yoobin nearly choked on a gulp of the bitter liquid. "Me? Interested in Jeon Jungkook! As if that would ever happen," she spluttered. Her eyebrows knitted together as she shook away the thought in disbelief.
Her brother grinned at her in return, knowingly, his eyes crinkling at the corners as if he didn't fully believe her. His fingers fidgeted uneasily before he wrapped them around the warm porcelain mug.
"Please tell me you don't treat girls anything like he does." Yoobin urged.
"Well, I might be a bit tsundere, but you don't have to worry about that." He announced. "That's because I'm not attracted to girls."
Two pairs of umber eyes met in silent understanding. Yoobin tried to rack her memory for any instances her brother had shown interest in girls, though there were none she could recall. It had been so obvious. "So, are there any boys you're interested in oppa?" She said with a carefree smile.
"Well actually, yes!" Donghun exclaimed, his voice was intoned with excitement. "Do you remember those trainees I met a few weeks ago? It's one of them. Junhee was dressed in a white suit when I met him! He looked so handsome, as if he was an idol already. He looks like royalty, and he's so kind!" Donghun rambled happily while Yoobin listened to him attentively.
"Maybe you should ask him out, if talking about him makes you this happy imagine actually dating him!"
"Maybe I will." The elder retorted. A sheen of peach was visibly painted across the apples of his cheeks. So caught up in their conversation, neither of them noticed a figure approaching.
"Lee Yoobin?" A husky voice called out. Demanding the attention of both siblings.
Yoobin's eyes scanned over the tall figure leaning over her. "Oh hello, Mr Choi." She greeted, bowing her head slightly to acknowledge her teacher politely.
"Is everything okay? Why are you at the hospital?" He asked, voice tinged with concern.
"Yes everything is fine, just waiting for my mother to return from a scan." Yoobin replied cheerily.
"Oh that's good. I was just on my way to visit my sister before I spotted you. I just wanted to see how you were, rumour has it there was an altercation between you and Jeon Jungkook in the cafeteria." The teacher announced curiously, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
"Jeon Jungkook humiliated Kim Yuhyeon. I was just standing up for her." Yoobin explained with an exasperated sigh.
"That makes a lot of sense. I know it's not like you to go around picking fights for fun." Mr Choi added softly.
Yoobin flashed him a genuine smile, grateful that he had taken the time to listen to her rather than speculate based on rumours. She noticed his short glances towards Donghun. "This is my older brother by the way," she introduced. "Donghun oppa, Mr Choi is my homeroom teacher as you know."
The men were aquatinted with each other quietly, before Mr Choi resumed his original route. "I'll see you in class Yoobin," he bid them farewell. The heels of his polished work shoes clacked over the parquet flooring as he left.
Once he was far away enough in the distance, out of earshot Donghun turned to Yoobin. "That was your teacher?" He exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise. "He seems so young and so good looking!" Whispering his thoughts unable to quite comprehend them.
"Why does everyone feel the need to point that out? Yes he's a teacher but he's human too." She said, amused at her brother's reaction.
"Well he seemed pretty friendly with you," he teased.
"He knows me well, he's my homeroom teacher after all and he runs chess club so it's nothing unusual." She drawled, yet she avoided eye contact. Instead, choosing to admire the gaudy hospital surroundings under the harsh white lights. "Oh hey look! I think eomma's finished."
They rose to their feet, and swiftly exited from the barren hospital café. Hurriedly walking through the tiled corridors to meet their mother at the glass entrance.
"How did it go?" Donghun asked, eyeing the pale faced woman.
"I had the MRI scan, but obviously they'll need time to convey the results. It's just preemptive tests right now so don't worry kids. Many of my close family members suffered from haemorrhages, so they just wanted to check my risk factor." She smiled confidently, "Don't worry about me, I'm sure everything will be fine. It's just my blood pressure is slightly high, which is nothing medication can't fix."
The trio made their way out of the building and into the dull evening atmosphere. Everything was grey, a sullen foreboding grey. The clouds had no shape, and neither the sun nor moon seemed existent.
A frown etched itself onto Yoobin's expression at her mother's words. She was the strongest woman she had ever met, always remaining hopeful in even the worst situations. Unfortunately for herself, Yoobin had inherited her father's cynicism. For the past ten years they had struggled, yet her mother worked tirelessly to support them. Thus, her deteriorating health was unsurprising. Yoobin's frown deepened as she watched her mother's next action.
She rummaged through the faux leather handbag frantically, before pulling out a box of cigarettes and a lighter. Taking one from the packet, she placed the poison to her lips. Igniting the cylinder as her lipstick smudged at the edges. She took a long drawn drag before pursing her lips. The wisps of smoke disappeared amongst the grey sky as the ash fell from the end, mingling with the tarmac below them.
"You know, if your health is going to improve, you're going to need to try to quit." Donghun tutted, scrunching his nose in disapproval.
"The doctors advised that." She said in between a drag. "Yet, some habits are so hard to overcome."
"We'll help you." Yoobin suggested in a hushed tone. Placing her palm on her mother's shoulder comfortingly, while linking her arm with Donghun's. "We'll always help each other. Through anything."
an update woo, two months late but here it is! i've finally finalised the plot for this so i can continue writing now that i know where the story is going. just a few heads up i'm using the word "eomma" not to sound koreaboo-y but using "mum" or "mom" doesn't sound right to me so sorry if it gets annoying. also this story will be quite slow to set up at the start and it will be much more realistic than soilmates was, maybe a bit angsty at times. but please stay with me! ♡
also, would you guys prefer slower but longer (1000-2500 word) updates or faster but shorter updates?
