WITH GRACE.

1장

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"kim dongkyu, yang jungwon, it's time to wake up!" i tried my gentlest to call the boys who were snuggled comfortably in their blankets, both are not giving any hint of waking up soon.

the two only tossed on their beds and muttered a few incoherent words.

knowing the two would hardly wake up soon, i knew i should take action. i went to my cousin and sat on the foot-side of his bed.

"wonnie, it's time to wake up. your classes start early and you need to prepare things for your dance practice later today. come on," he squinted an eye open and rubbed his eyes adorably. 

"don't rub, your eyes might get damaged. now wake up, baby boy," he yawned and stretched his arms.

i took both of his stretched arms and pulled him into my embrace.

"don't wanna...school...day," he muttered incoherently while snuggling on my neck.

i rubbed his back and ran my fingers across his messy but soft hair.

"hmm... how unfortunate. noona made some oreo cake last night which i planned on serving alongside our breakfast. i guess i'd better give them to the japanese friends next door instead," that jolted him awake.

he looked at me with his rounded feline eyes and pleaded.

"noona, no...please,"

"of course. now go get yourself freshened up before i change my mind."

seeing as my baby of a cousin is finally awake and preparing for school, i transferred to my brother's bed.

"baby bro, you also have to wake up now. you'll be running late to class if you keep yourself snuggled in there, hmm? come on. noona still needs to prepare herself," i said while rubbing the tops of his ears, a habit i got used in doing to get this big baby up.

he cutely opened his eyes and stared at me. groggily speaking, he sat up and hugged me.

"noona, i love you."

"i love you too, baby bro. now, come get yourself ready so we can eat breakfast."

my weekday mornings usually start like this. i wake up early to get ready, prepare breakfast and wake the two boys up. out of my morning routine, waking dongkyu and jungwon take the longest time. this morning's wake-up call is one of the quickest ones. sometimes, it takes me nearly half an hour to get both up especially when they stay up late from training.

it's been almost a couple of years since the three of us lived in this setup. when my parents, my uncle and my aunt got into a fateful car accident as they went on a short vacation two years ago, i took the responsibility to care and  look after my younger brother and cousin. there wasn't any relative willing to take all three of us in. none, except my aging grandmother. she offered to take us under her wing, but i refused in behalf of us three due to her old age. she only lives off her pension nowadays and though we were left with financial assistance enough to get us by ㅡ at least until we can find ourselves a stable source of income ㅡ i felt reluctant to agree with the offer. it concerns me to think of halmeoni looking after growing teens and the possible stress she might have endure if she had us. fortunately, under special circumstances, we were permitted to live by ourselves in my family's apartment, granted that relatives would come check on us occasionally. from that point on, though i was still a minor, i became my brother and cousin's guardian and parent figure.

we sat around the small table with the usual toast and omelet for breakfast and some oreo cake i made last night while restlessly waiting for these two to return home from training. we ate and talked a little, but it was mostly the two talking about training.

"noona, are you going to work later this afternoon again?" dongkyu asked.

"well, yes. it's my schedule after all,"

"can we drop by your workplace along with our dance club members later?"

"why are you asking permission? i'm not the owner of the shop," i replied, chuckling.

"at least you're already informed, noona." jungwon responded.

in the background, the morning news on tv featured the coming winter sports festival, shifting my focus from the boys to the screen. a distant memory from years ago flashed into my mind.

it's been so long. i wonder how that boy is doing.