daybreak || minsung

Chapter 22

It was just beginning to spit rain when I pulled into Charlie's driveway. Jisung and I ran across the lawn, up the stairs, and into the house.

I hung up my jacket and kicked off my shoes. My dad would be back in an hour or so; he and Billy Black liked to scale their fish and watch the sun go down.

I looked at Jisung — sitting on the floor and bodily yanking his boots off — and imagined living with him. In a house that was only ours, where we could stay in bed all day and avoid responsibilities. A smile spread across my face.

He looked up at me, and his eyebrows raised at my expression. "What's that smile?"

I crouched down behind him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "I'm thinking about living with you. You know, in a house. Someday."

He froze, and quickly came back to life. I could hear a smile in his voice. "Do you want that?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Of course I do."

"It's a deal."

He petted the side of my head. "What do you want to do in the meantime?"

"Wanna play a board game?"

"Sure."

I hooked my arms under his and lifted him to his feet. He laughed, held my hands securely against his ribs and didn't let me release him.

We eventually made it to the shelf behind the stairs, and picked out the checker board. Charlie had games for company — a lot of his buddies had kids. We headed to the living room, sat down on the floor, and put the board together on the coffee table.

Jisung stared at the red and black squares, his pupils ticking, buzzing, and then moved a black piece.

"Do you play often?" he asked.

"Not since last year. I absolutely dominated, so be warned."

"Who did you play?"

I pressed my lips together. "My six-year-old cousin."

"So you're on a kindergarten level," he laughed. "Got it."

"What about you? When did you play last?"

"Long time. I'm banned from these kinds of games. Mindreader problems."

I touched his hand across the table, frowned when his eyes found mine.

"It's okay, my love." He smiled a little. "I'm used to it."

"Is Felix allowed to play, with his power?"

"Nope. But we make do. Our favourite game is 'throwing random stuff at each other until someone gets hit.' It's more fun than it sounds."

"No, that sounds awesome." I moved a piece. He moved his next instantly, like he had a plan and I'd played into it. "What games are you allowed to play?"

"Twister — it doesn't require strategy. Jacks is good, too." He laughed. "Sometimes we braid each other's hair. To see who's fastest. Felix wins every time, his hands are tiny and agile. I'm a close fifth." He reached over and tugged on a lock of my hair. "I put that in this morning."

I palmed my head and felt a small, tight weave. "I had a braid in my hair all day? Oh, my god."

"It's cute." He slid a piece into place with one finger.

"Wait, if you're banned from games that involve strategy, why are we playing baseball tonight?"

"They know I like baseball, so they let me have the advantage. Felix, too. It honestly doesn't help much, the mind reading. Oh, he's gonna throw low — oh, he's gonna throw a curve ball. They've actually gotten pretty good at hiding their thoughts from me. We're all just a bit over-competitive."