NUISANCE

Chapter 1

"Hye-yeon!" shouted a young woman as she was running to her older sister. Hye-yeon stopped with a sigh. She took a deep breath and slowly turned to her younger sister.

"What now, Ju-yeon?" she asked with a bored tone.
"You didn't answer my question", the little sister said with a sly smirk on her face.

Hye-yeon turned on her heels and started walking towards the cafe on the other side of the street. It was a hot and sunny day in Seoul and many people were outside enjoying their time. A cool breeze brought a smile to Hye-yeon's face while she tucked her long light brown hair behind her ear. She was wearing a white t-shirt with jeans and Converse tops. She wasn't the type to wear cute summer outfits even if it were deadly hot, like now. Hye-yeon was really pale compared to her sister, who took every chance to get more tanned. Hye-yeon applied a thick coat of sunscreen every time she stepped out of the house. Usually she preferred to linger in her room and daydream, while her sister was out with a big group of friends.

From a young age, the girls had been living in America, where their dad had his own business. Recently, the girls had moved back to South-Korea, because their grandmother asked them to live with her. The parents stayed back in the States while the girls now had their own life in Seoul.

Hye-yeon spent a lot of time with her grandmother, whether it was talking or cooking together. Ju-yeon, on the other hand, wasn't as close with her grandmother. She stayed late on the streets with her friends, which worried her grandmother, even though both of the girls were already adults. Having just turned twenty-two, Hye-yeon was only two years older than her younger sister.

"Ju-yeon, please stop asking me those questions, you know I hate that topic", Hye-yeon said as she walked toward the cafe. She didn't bother even to turn her head when Ju-yeon continued:
"You have to tell me! I was the one who arranged the blind date for you. You should at least tell me that you went...wait, don't tell me you didn't go", Ju-yeon asked with her eyes wide as plates as she took a few running steps to catch her sister.

Hye-yeon didn't look Ju-yeon in the eyes when she murmured something incomprehensible.

As they reached the cafe door, Hye-yeon said briefly: "I'll pay this time, pick what you want."

The cafe was a colorful cute little building. There was a lot of laughing and talking, while some people also worked on their laptops. When Hye-eon stepped in, the first person she noticed was a guy with black hair with a few shades of blue. He had earphones on and he was concentrated on something. He was all dressed in black from head to toe: black t-shirt, thigh-length shorts, and a beanie and black sneakers.

"How can he wear a beanie in this hot weather?" Hye-yeon thought to herself and gave a small laugh. "It would be the same if I wore sheep wool on my head in the sun", she murmured rolling her eyes.

"What did you say?" Ju-yeon asked lifting her head from the vitrine.
"Nothing", Hye-yeon flinched at her sister. "Have you picked anything yet?"

"Yes, I want this", Ju-yeon pointed on a lime-green cake.

Hye-yeon frowned and raised her eyebrows but told the cashier: "One lime-green cake and one chocolate cake, please."

When they got their cakes, they looked for a free table and found one near the big windows. There were cute drawings and text on the windows. Hye-yeon sat down on a white chair and got absorbed in her own world. She looked outside the window dreamingly leaning her head on her hand. The sunlight was shining on her face through the window and made her feel drowsy. Outside the window, Hye-yeon saw a fountain where people were talking and laughing together. Parents held up their children to help them throw a coin in the fountain. Hye-yeon felt comfortable in the spot she was sitting in, like a cat that was lying near the fireplace. Hye-yeon was close to falling asleep but then she heard Ju-yeon calling her name. She flinched at her sister and shook her head to get rid of the sleepiness.

"Did you say something?" she asked looking confused.

"You didn't listen to me, did you?" Ju-yeon noted as she crossed her hands. "Could you for once stop daydreaming and maybe even listen to me?"

"Of course, I'm all ears, talk to me", Hye-yeon said and avoided looking at her sister.

"Since you're...oh, who is it now?" Ju-yeon grunted as the phone was ringing. "Hi mom, how are you?" Ju-yeon said with a smile on her face. Hye-yeon looked at her sister's smiling face and sighed. Ju-yeon and mom were really close and they called each other every day. Hye-eon, on the other hand, was closer to her dad, but he was too busy to answer her calls. She didn't resent him because of that. Every time her phone rang, she felt nervous but was relieved if it wasn't her dad. Not that she had any negative feelings but simply because she didn't have anything to say to her dad. Their relation was pretty awkward at the moment.

Hye-yeon's dad had always made sure to take care of his family and she looked up to him because of that. Yet, he never understood how much his little girl adored him. While Ju-yeon always had mother to talk to, Hye-yeon had felt lonely. She found that writing made her the happiest. She could tell all her feelings to the paper, and no matter how weird they were, the paper never judged her.

"Bye mom, love you" Ju-yeon said and hung up. A few people sent a curious look toward them as they heard Ju-yeon speaking in English. The sisters only spoke Korean when they had to. Their grandmother didn't speak English, so naturally they had to speak Korean to her.
While Hye-yeon was pale, pretty short, and looked fragile, her younger sister had a long shiny black hair and did not look as fragile. Ju-yeon was really tall for an Asian girl, and she got admiring looks while Hye-yeon didn't draw a lot of attention. As well as their appearance, also their personalities differed. In contrast to her appearance, Hye-yeon was surprisingly strong, energetic, and bright. She did daydream a lot but when she found something she truly loved, her bright personality showed through. Ju-yeon was more social than her sister and liked gossiping.

"Mom told me that they're doing fine. Dad is busy as always and mom had found a new hobby. I'm happy she has finally found something she loves", Ju-yeon said smiling happily. Hye-eon stared at her sister's smile. A warm, genuine smile like this was rarely seen on her sister's face. It reminded her of their childhood.

"What are you staring at?" Ju-yeon asked. "Is there a cute boy behind me or what?" she asked and turned her head to look back.

Hye-yeon rolled her eyes and said: "No, dummy. It was nice to see you smile for the first time in a long while."

"You could've said so immediately", Ju-yeon said giggling. But Hye-yeon didn't listen to her anymore as something else had caught her attention. The guy with the black and blue hair. He hadn't moved, but he still caught Hye-yeon's attention. There was something about him. Something more than the mere fact that he looked good.

Hye-yeon's eyes were locked on the guy as she stood up from her chair and started walking toward him. Ju-yeon almost fell from her chair.
"Hye-yeon! What are you doing?" she asked in surprise.