INFERNO ༄ PARK JISUNG

six

Seorin scurried around her house, picking up random toys from the floor and straightening any out of place furniture.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Aera asked from her office, looking up at her daughter frantically cleaning through the window panels.

"Um, yeah just fine! By the way, I have a classmate coming over in- shit." she cursed under her breath, feeling a sharp pain shoot through her foot as she stepped on one of Aerin's dolls. "Seorin, watch your language." Aera scolded, looking up from her desk.

"Ha, my bad! They're coming in a bit, I'll get the door, so don't worry about getting it." she nervously laughed, not knowing how she'll hide the fact that Park Jisung, the fire leader's son, would be coming over.

She ran upstairs, quickly trying to disperse of all the trash in her room that built up over the past week. "Why can't I just finish one?!" she muttered to herself as she picked up multiple half drank water bottles, determined to have the house spotless for an unexpected visitor. She took the walk of shame to the kitchen with a plethora of plastic bottles in her arms, tossing them in the recycling bin.

A knock on the door was heard, but not to Seorin.

Aera had gotten up from her chair, approaching the front door. "Who is it, mommy?" Aerin questioned, following behind closely.

She turned the knob, opening the door to reveal a notoriously recognizable face. Her mouth fell agape slightly, but recomposed herself quickly. Both his hands were tucked into his pockets, his hood hiding his messy black hair.

He awkwardly bowed, attempting to keep basic manners. "Uh, good afternoon, Mrs. Baek." he mumbled almost incoherently.

"Hello..." she greeted him with a kind smile, despite her confusion. "Seorin, you have a visitor!" she called over her shoulder, leaving enough space in the doorway for Jisung to enter.

"Wha- oh my goodness." Seorin gulped, seeing the weird image of Park Jisung and her mother standing next to each other. She swiftly shifted off the beads of sweat forming on her forehead, forcing a tense smile out.

"Park Jisung, right?" Aera eyed the boy, making sure her smile didn't waver.

"Yeah, I live right down the street." he scratched the back of his head, looking down at the floor to avoid eye contact with either of the girls.

"Hello, mister!" a small toddler appeared in his vision, making him flinch in shock. He held himself in his arms, taking a step back from the little girl in front of him.

"I'm not mean, I promise!" she grinned, one of her front teeth missing. He chuckled at the sight, thinking her lack of teeth was amusing.

"Seorin, could you help me with something real quick?" Aera motioned her daughter into the office, shutting the door behind them to leave Jisung with the child.

She crossed her arms, looking at her with concern. "Baek Seorin, why is he in our house?"

She let out a frustrated sigh, pushing her glasses up her nose bridge. "Look, I know it's weird, but we have a project this month and he wanted to come to our house to do it."

"He wanted to come to our-"

"Okay, he didn't want to, he just said I couldn't go to his and... yeah. Now he's here?" Seorin cracked a smile, hoping to lighten up the situation. A squeal was heard from outside, making both of them rush back into the living room.

"Mommy! Seorin! He's fun to play with!" They were greeted with sight of Aerin climbed onto his back in attempt to have a piggy back ride.

"Aerin, you can't just climb on random people. He's not Mark." Seorin grumbled, carrying her off of his back. She let out a high pitched whine, making her place a hand over her mouth.

"I'm sorry about her." Seorin let out an annoyed laugh, placing Aerin down beside her. Jisung shrugged in response, brushing himself off.

"Let's just go up to my room." she suggested, feeling more tense than usual despite his lack of snarky remarks. He trailed behind her, eyes grazing over the walls of family photos and paintings.

"Ew, don't stare at those too long. I was an ugly fourteen year old." Seorin shuddered as they passed by an old family vacation picture framed.

"Some things never change." Jisung mumbled, gaining an irritated glare from her.

"I was wondering when the insults would start." she plopped onto her bed, Jisung taking a seat in the chair at her desk after closing the door behind them.

"I can't be an asshole around your family, that's just disrespectful. The little one's teeth are cute, though." he shrugged, igniting a small flame with his fingertip. Seorin's eyes widened slightly, automatically splashing water onto his hand to put it out.

"Talk about disrespectful, you can't just fire shift in my room." she spat, crossing her arms in anger. Taken aback, he grabbed a tissue to wipe his hand, disgusted by the fact that he got water on himself.

"Should I head out into the hallway then?" he smiled wryly, pushing even more of her buttons. Rage overflowed in her due to her lack of patience and sleep, resisting the urge to just shift him out of the house.

"Let's just work on the project, okay?" she shut her eyes for a moment, regaining her composure to act professional.

Jisung laid back in his chair, fumbling with the strings of his hoodie. He kept his gaze on her, chuckling at her tempered expression. "This is gonna be fun, Baek."

chapter six — meet the family

100 reads already oiiiii i didn't expect this book to get any LOL, means the world to me homies <3 also, pls don't be a silent audience! if you're reading along, id love to hear any feedback & such hehe
side note, 'baek' is pronounced like 'beck' LOL just to clear up any confusion