Trouble

Coat

Our entire house was abuzz with energy as the news of my cousin and his family coming to visit us arrived on that Friday morning. 

"I am so happy," I hear my dad whisper to Tae's mother as they mixed kimchi and giggled about something only they knew. I looked at their backs and wondered what was cooking between them. 

"Aren't they weirdly close these days?" I hear Taehyung ask me. I nod and focus on chopping the onions in front of me. I feel tears slip out of my eyes as the stinging, putrid smell of the onions reached them. 

"Are you okay? You look like someone ate your favorite chocolate..." He says, laughing and covering his mouth with the back of his hand. I glare at him and say, "It is not a good idea to make fun of me when I have a knife in my hand," 

He gulps, and then abruptly changes the topic. 

"Who is coming anyway?" He shrugs and continues cutting up and peeling the cucumber. We had partaken in rock, paper, scissors to try and decide who would get the onions. 

"My favorite cousin," I clap excitedly, one of my hands holding the knife, and the other the onion. Taehyung looks at me skeptically. 

"What is your favorite cousin called?" He asks, taking a break by eating a few of the pieces of cucumber. 

"Jimin," I say, nodding my head as I recollect all the good memories I had shared with their family since a young age. He used to live in Seoul until a few years ago when their family was relocated to Busan because of my uncle's work. We had basically grown up together even though he was a few years older than me. He took care of me like a proper older brother and even taught me a few moves to defeat a guy if it came down to a fist-to-fist confrontation. 

"When do they get here?" I was about to answer his question when the bell rang. My face lit up and I raced to open the door, even before my father did. 

I opened the door to find Yoongi warming his hands by blowing air on it. My expression slumped and he looked at me with awe.

"How can you be this disappointed to see your boyfriend?" He asks, walking toward the door and making me move away so that he could enter. Jimin still wasn't here. 

"I was waiting for someone," I said, shrugging and guiding him to the kitchen where the 'party' was. 

"Good evening," He said to everyone in the room, and then moved towards my father to answer his confusing glance.

"Ji Ho has accepted the song I have written for him, and he has asked me to start producing it. Since his comeback is in 1 and a half weeks, I thought I should start working on it," He said as formally as he could manage. I noticed that his back was arched straight, and he was talking in the most respectable fashion. Even his clothes: no ripped jeans, clean, new socks, a new sweater. 

"You can start tomorrow, today we have some family coming over." My father said, after which he acknowledged Yoongi's determination by slapping his shoulder affectionately. 

"Take a break, son. You can stay here today," He points to Tae and me, and we instantly go back to chopping the vegetables, pretending that we hadn't been listening in on their conversation. 

"It's okay...it's okay," Yoongi said, very quickly backing out of the kitchen. 

I look at him, all blushing, and smile. 

"Excuse me," I say to my family as I run after Yoongi. He was tying his shoelaces when I arrive at the door. 

"Can't you stay?" I ask, looking at the back of his neck. He had gotten a haircut. 

"It's okay," He says, getting up and straightening his sweater. He picks up his black coat from the coat hanger and begins to put it on. 

"Please, stay. You'll get to meet my favorite cousin," I say with a pleading look in my eyes. 

"I should let you spend time with family also," He says, giving me a tight-lipped smile, and reaching for the scarf stuffed in one of the pockets. 

"Please," I say, taking the scarf away from his hand before he could put it on.

"Please, please," I say again, joining my hands together and smiling broadly. He looks at me, blinks once, twice, then begins to laugh. 

"Why are you being so cute?" He asks, taking away the scarf and wrapping it around his neck. He opens the door and begins to step out. 

"I haven't seen you for one week," I say, following him as he walks into the brisk air. I instantaneously regret it as the cold air hits me. I shiver and he stops and looks back. 

"You missed me?" He asks, shooting me his signature gummy smile and making me a little soft inside. I nod and take a step back when I realize he wasn't going to be persuaded. 

He reaches for my hand and pulls me in for a hug. 

"It's too cold," I mumble against his chest but wrap my hands around him nonetheless. 

"Here," he says, wrapping his black coat around me. It was significantly warmer, especially because of the vasodilation in my cheeks. 

"Why are you being so cute?" I repeated sarcastically. 

"I really want to meet your cousin," He says, as he perches his chin on top of my head. 

"Then stay," I say, moving away and looking up at him. He smiles, then nods. 

"Okay, I'll stay," He says, moving away, but still holding onto my hand. 

"Really?" I say excitedly, swinging our joined hands together as I look affectionately at him. 

"What is this cousin's name?" He asks, leaving my hand to take off his coat and scarf. 

"His name is Jimin and he's really cool. You're going to love him," I say, dragging him to the kitchen. 

"Yoongi?" My father asks surprised as he notices both of us standing in the kitchen doorway. I leave his wrist and move to my seat, opposite Taehyung.

"I convinced him to stay," I say proudly, and go back to cutting the onions. 

"Yeah?" My dad questions suggestively. I look at him, then realizing that we had never completely put the relationship matter to a rest. He clears his throat and looks at Tae's mother, who smiles small. 

"Good, good." My dad says finally and I lose a breath. 

"Yoongi can cut the onions. You go clean up the living room," He orders me.

"Living room?" I question, shocked.

"I am going to shift to the attic for a few days. The living room needs to look like a living room, doesn't it? Move the bed to a corner, put your desk in a corner, and arrange the sofas properly. We can sleep on the floor when Jimin sleeps on the bed. Hyung and Mi Na can stay in my room. Tae and his mother are already staying in your- I mean- the guest room." I clear my throat as I recollect the tiny bedroom that I used to live in until last year. 

I hadn't even stepped inside after my mother's death. There were too many memories in there.

"Also, bring down the mattresses from the attic. You can ask Yoongi for help," My dad commands again. 

I salute him and get to work, which I was happy to do because, at the end of it, I got to see Jimin.