.
Ever since we heard the poison resistance testing, Yeo Ryung and I couldn’t put the foods in our mouth. Yi Jenny was a person who could really attempt to do something like that.
When I finished having lunch and was trying to leave the table, Yeo Dan oppa suddenly uttered, “This family has a unique sense of humor such as unlocking our house earlier…”
Yeo Ryung and I turned stiff at the same time. ‘No, Yeo Dan oppa, what Yi Jenny said wasn’t a joke. She’s someone who can actually do something more than that!’ With that thought in my head, I tore my hair out while wondering whether or not I should tell him about their extraordinary family history.
Our hardship went on even after the family lunch. That was because Lucas and Ruda had declared immediately that they would come over to our place after the meal. Since they invited us to their lunch, we said yes. As soon as we responded that way, Ruda and Lucas packed their stuff and left their house.
Taking seats in our living room, Ruda said, “Haha, if we were still at that house, we would be found with a fork stuck in our bodies.”
Lucas replied with a grin, “I would have two in mine.”
Listening to their conversations, I turned my head again. Squatting beside me, Yeo Dan oppa was staring at the two curiously as if he was observing some rare animals.
‘Geez…’ I shoved my face onto my palms while crying in my thoughts, ‘Folks, you guys are way beyond common sense. Please don’t cross the line when speaking!’ Then I found a remote control and turned on the TV with it.
‘If we watch some comedy show and just laugh without much thought, the conversation subject will return to this side.’ That was when I desperately wished it in my mind.
––The night in the jungle is merciless.
Watching the TV screen, I murmured to myself, ‘Why does it have to be the “Animal Kingdom” right now?’ As soon as I thought that way, Lucas, who was sitting beside me, blurted out, “Eh? That’s where I’ve been.”
A leopard then appeared on the screen right away.
––Leopards are the fastest and fiercest hunter.
Lucas pointed at the TV screen with a fork, which I had no idea why he was holding it, and said, “Exactly, that frightened me so much that I thought I was dying.”
I heard Yeo Ryung flinging a question in bewilderment.
“Hold on, you fought against a leopard?”
“I told you. Especially, it’s too dark at night to see something around you…”
Yeo Dan oppa was looking at Lucas as if he felt Lucas was a hundred times more interesting than the TV show.
‘No, I should quickly switch the subject!’ As the only civilian and commonsensical person left in here, I began to change the channel desperately while having a sense of duty.
‘Okay, let’s go!’ Shouting triumphantly at the nation’s number one TV show “Infinite Challenge,” I soon screamed at their New Year’s special episode. ‘Why, on all occasions, does it have to be a spy special?!’ On the screen, the comedians were running with black suitcases full of money and in-ear monitors in their ears.
Then I heard Lucas and Ruda murmuring one after another.
“Jesus, that’s not how money laundering works. They know nothing, man.”
“If they want to do it right, they should’ve met someone from Hong Kong.”
Yeo Dan oppa spoke in a low voice from beside me, “Are they talking about Monopoly?”
“Uh, yes, Yeo Dan oppa,” I replied and grabbed Yeo Dan oppa’s hand tightly.
‘Oh, Lord, now I’m promising myself that I’ll keep and protect someone’s common sense… who’s not even the female main character but her brother! I never thought that the day would come, at last.’
I kept on murmuring, ‘Ah, I really hate this New Year’s Day…’
The ceiling looked unfamiliar.
As soon as I woke up in the morning, that was the first thought that entered my mind. Looking at the strange wallpaper through the dawn light with a frozen look on my face, I carefully rolled my eyes.
Yeo Ryung was sleeping curled up beside me while pulling the comforter in her arms. After a pause, I lifted myself and pulled the blanket over her shoulders. Ban Yeo Ryung had a habit of sleeping too lightly even for the cold weather, so I was concerned about her getting sick.
As if she sensed my presence, Ban Yeo Ryung groaned and slightly furrowed her brows. Lifting my hand, I pressed her forehead to even out her wrinkles, then I glanced around. The huge built-in wardrobe that was surrounding the entire room was looking down at us. That was when I heaved a sigh and loosened up my strained shoulders.
Right, we were at Yeo Ryung’s grandparents’ house in Gapyeong for New Year’s Day. Brushing down my chest, I spoke to myself, “Phew, I thought I’ve teleported to another universe or something.”
‘The ceiling looks unfamiliar…’ This was a clichéd line often used by those who moved into another universe. However, I soon realized something.
‘Wait, why am I talking like it’s irrelevant to me?’
I also teleported to a new world. It wasn’t a place that had dragons or people using magics, but a strange and real world where families went on a trip to Taiwan while leaving only the kids in the house.
“…”
Sitting vacantly with both hands on the comforter, I soon groped for something at the bedside then took out a dry towel that I found yesterday.
“Let’s just wash my face…”
It had been a while since I slept and woke up in an unfamiliar place, so I felt a little uneasy from the morning. Tracing the structure of the house, which I wasn’t used to it yet, in my head, I wandered around the second floor and was able to find the bathroom at the end of the hallway, at last. On my way to the bathroom, I passed the study, where Yeo Dan oppa would be sleeping at. The door was closed.
Turning the bathroom doorknob, I snooped around that side for a moment. Now I had come to think of it, I wasn’t sure if Yeo Dan oppa got up from the bed. He was also an early bird just like his sister, Yeo Ryung. It was just me, who wasn’t that type of person, but today I rarely woke up early since I couldn’t fall deeply asleep in a new place.
Rambling those thoughts in my head, I soon noticed that the doorknob was spinning with no traction. That was when I looked back at the bathroom and tried to turn the knob forcibly. With a clicking sound, the door opened and a wave of steamy air came out from the opened door… Hold on, did I just stay steamy air?
The moment I tried to wide open the door thoughtlessly, I realized what was happening inside all of a sudden. ‘Oh my god!’ Leaving the words unspoken, I closed the door again which had been opened less than a finger.
I dashed in the hallway straight and descended the stairs while knuckling myself on the head dozens of times. ‘Am I a goldfish or what? How can I forget what we discussed yesterday already?!’
“Yeo Dan oppa was supposed to use the bathroom upstairs…”
Just as I said, this house had two bathrooms; one on the first floor, and the other one on the second floor. Yeo Ryung and I decided to use the first-floor one since it was a little wider, whereas Yeo Dan oppa would be using the second floor one.
However, he could have, at least, lock the door! Knocking my throbbing chest, I looked up at the staircase that I just descended. The bathroom on the second floor seemed like it was buried in the darkness. Watching that sight, I murmured, “He wouldn’t know that the door was open, would he?”
Please, he shouldn’t know what just happened. I prayed in my heart.
But what if he saw the door opening? He would be concerned about whether it was me or Yeo Ryung who opened the door. ‘Once he comes out of the bathroom, should I just go tell him the truth and say, ‘I saw nothing?’ something like that?’
My head was about to explode with those thoughts. Suddenly, there was another clicking sound followed by footsteps. The wooden hallway began to squeak, then I heard wet feet getting on and off the sleek hardwood floor.
After a second, I had eye contact with Yeo Dan oppa, who appeared through the dark.
As if he had in mind that I was also in this house, thankfully, he was wearing dark gray fleece sweatpants and a light gray t-shirt on top. A gray towel was around his neck; his black hair was slightly wet. Facing the pair of his black eyes, I froze like a quarry confronting a predator.
Staring at me for a while, Yeo Dan oppa soon tilted his head in wonder. What slipped from his mouth afterward made me heave a sigh of relief. Phew…
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh, nothing… Good morning, Yeo Dan oppa.”
Replying that way, I smiled awkwardly. Well, if he had noticed that the bathroom door slightly opened, he would have not look that nonchalant at all.
Even though I showed him a grin, he seemed to grasp the veil of clumsiness covering my face. With a slight frown, Yeo Dan oppa was trying to come over to my side.
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