The Complications of Having a Korean Best Friend

02 - Singer in the Shotgun

I didn't miss the way my aunt's eyes narrowed at me the next morning, when I took a big gulp right from the milk carton.

"Tsk, brat," she mumbled loud enough for me to hear but I chose that I was too tired this morning to get into another argument with her. I put the carton back in the fridge and sat down on a seat, across from my aunt. I was tying my shoelaces when she spoke again.

"When you do manage to come home, can you please get it through your drunk head to not cause a riot every time you step past the threshold?"

I straightened up, breathing in. "Duly noted," I said simply, not even bothering to give her a proper retort. "And can you try not to make assumptions without any facts to support your claim?"

She raised a teacup to her lips and took a sip, while staring me down. She took her time with her response and I bit down on my tongue to keep me from saying something. That was what she wanted, to provoke me.

"So you have the nerve to deny that you were drinking?" She asked in a cool, challenging voice, a vicious smile curling her lips.

"I. Wasn't. Drunk." I said each word slowly in an emphasised tone, trying to keep my temper at bay.

She took another sip from her cup and sighed loudly when she was done. "Like father, like daughter."

Fury raged within me. "What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, speaking through clenched teeth.

"You watch your tone, girl!" Came a gruff voice from behind me and I didn't have to look back to know that my uncle had walked into the kitchen. Of course.

He sat down beside his wife who gave him a swift kiss on the cheek and stood up to get him a cup of tea.

My uncle was a big man and when he glared down at a person through his rectangular glasses, any person would feel small compared to him. He had a little grey notebook, that he carried around with himself everywhere and now opened it to a certain page to read something from it. Probably checking his schedules for today's meetings and what not.

It was hard to see him as a person who'd been directly related to my mother. She was nothing like him from what I could remember. Quite the opposite actually, with her tiny frame and soft eyes that sparkled with mischief and curiosity.

I had the same blue eyes as hers but that was where our similarities ended. I wasn't as short as she was, on the contrary I was the tallest girl in my class, even taller than some of the guys. My hair was darker too, like my dad's chestnut shade. I let my hair grow long, even though, it was hard to manage sometimes.

I pulled it up into a high ponytail as I watched my uncle munch on his toast. Of course, no breakfast had been prepared for me.

My aunt was playing the part of an attentive wife really well and I hated her for it, for the vixen that she really was but maybe my uncle knew about it too. And he still let her get away with a lot of things, when it came to harassing and taunting me.

Soon, I told myself everyday I saw them, soon I would get my own place and wouldn't ever have to turn back.

I stood up from the table and walked out of the kitchen without another word. It took me about fifteen minutes to drive to school and when I got to my car, I found Jungkook leaning against the hood, chewing on a sandwich.

That was a sight for sore eyes.

"You look horrible," he commented, taking in my profile with a sideways glance and I waved my middle finger in his face. "If you're still blissfully unaware, my mornings aren't exactly spectacular. Thanks to the folks I'm forced to live with."

"I'm sure that those folks return the sentiment," he mused, as I walked to the driver's seat and he made his way towards the passenger one.

"Oh, they most certainly do," I replied, getting inside the car. He got in too and buckled up right away, ignoring my arched eyebrow. He always insisted that I did the same, except I didn't because I couldn't be bothered with it and it was just too much fun teasing him.

My mornings were made slightly better because we both had this thing where I'd drop us off and picked us up from school too and we would leave and go to our apartments together. I had gotten my driving license a few months before Jungkook and even though, now he had his own license and car, we both still preferred this way.

I started the engine and pulled out of my parking spot. It was a few seconds later when I was on the road that he placed a plastic wrapped sandwich on the dashboard in front of me. A new unspoken tradition between us that we'd gotten used to. My eyes snapped to his and I smiled warmly.

"What're we having for breakfast today then?"

"A basic grilled cheese sandwich," he said, finally finishing the last of his own sandwich.

"Hey, you've fed me grilled cheese sandwiches for days now, what's up with that? Add some more variety to your cooking for God's sake."

"If you don't like it, make your own," he replied in a sing-song voice, turning on the radio.

For all the times that you rained on my parade, and all the clubs you get in using my name.

I slammed my head on the steering wheel and groaned out loud, causing Jungkook to only raise the volume up. He knew I couldn't stand Justin Bieber. As if that wasn't bad enough, the little prick decided to sing along just to add more fuel to the fire.

You think you broke my heart. Oh girl, for goodness sake. You think I'm crying on my own. Well, I ain't.

Even though I would probably never admit it to his face, Jungkook had an amazing voice. The kind of voice that deserved to be heard from a stage where the entire world could hear. And I knew that he kept wishing that too. Singing was a passion of his. He wasn't exactly secretive about it but he didn't like to open up to other people about it either.

I smiled at him as he closed his eyes and kept in tune with Justin's music. He was already a great singer in my eyes.

But just because I liked to tease, I pressed onto the brakes without warning and braced myself as he lurched forward against the seatbelt and his voice caught in his throat, as he looked wildly around, as if I'd hit someone.

When he found no damages, he seemed to understand that I was just messing with him and he turned around to glare at me. "That wasn't funny."