Chapter Text
Sujin’s voice crackles, exasperated, over the speakerphone. “It’ll go fine,” she says. “You don’t need to worry so much.”
All morning, from one end of the house to another, her little brother has been pacing, playing it out in his head. There’s no cause to be nervous. At this point Minhyun has probably rehearsed everything in his head. But still.
“At two,” Minhyun says, this time the first time aloud. “I’m picking him up from the train station. And then we’ll come home. And then after dinner, we’re going to leave.”
“Did the new furniture arrive? I ordered you the cabinets.”
“Still in the boxes. Gosh, Sujin, this house is a mess.”
Sujin sighs. “Seriously? You left before the sun even rose. What the hell have you been doing?”
“I don’t know. I probably should have come back earlier...”
“No, it’s just that you’ve got high expectations. But you know Jonghyun’s not going to care at all about how messy the place is.”
“But I care.” Said petulantly. Sujin rolls her eyes, not that Minhyun can see her.
“Well, that’s your own burden to bear. You wanted to be a perfectionist about this and look where it’s gotten you. It’s too bad Dongho isn’t coming, otherwise he’d be able to help you set up all that stuff in a jiffy. Only thing his muscles are good for.”
This, at least, gets a chuckle out of a nervous Minhyun.
“Mom’s been cooking up a storm, waiting for you two. It’s your favorites, and Jonghyun’s favorites too. Sujebi and fish cake kimbap and all that good stuff.”
“Sounds nice.”
“’Course it’s nice. It’s mom. Look, I gotta run. Gotta help in the kitchen. Seriously, why aren't you here to prepare your own debut? Later, loser.”
“Okay,” Minhyun says absently, probably already distracted with something else in the house. Sujin hangs up.
His debut. That’s one way to think about it. Sujin wipes the hand that’s been holding the phone on her pants leg.
“Sujin-ah!” Her mother calls from downstairs.
“I’m coming!”
She runs downstairs. Freshly blanched spinach is draining in the sink, and she rolls up her sleeves. Her dad’s already mixed the seasonings. Wow, even dad is helping out with the cooking. Like always, Minhyun is visiting from Seoul and bringing Jonghyun with him. But this time it’s different, and even if they don’t know what’s up exactly—they can feel it.
She casts a sidelong eye at her dad. He’s focused on the task at hand—slicing pickles into ever-thinner pieces. His hands move slowly, carefully, the knife going through the stained radish like it’s nothing.
“I think that’s enough, dad.” Sujin says, before he can chop up the entire root. “It’s just Minhyun and Jonghyun, not the entire reserve forces.”
“Right,” her dad says, setting the knife down. He laughs a little at himself. “But in this kind of situation, it’s always better to have a little extra food on hand.”
Sujin tilts her head.
“In case nobody knows what to say,” her dad says. “Then at least you can eat.”