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Sunghoon leaned against the arm of the couch, trying his utter best to stay awake. Currently, he was watching what was probably his third animated film for the day, and it was only about an hour past noon. Beside him was Sunhee, his sister, who was looking particularly engrossed with whatever scene was playing out on their television.
He tried to stifle a yawn but to no avail. Forget that he got scolded by his sister twice already for not being focused enough on the movie—he wanted to sleep.
The truth is, he was expecting to only sleep in the dorm for the whole day today after finally finishing all his schoolwork. The moment he emailed his final assignment for the week last night, his mind had already been set on being in bed for the entire 24 hours of Saturday. But surprise, surprise, his mother called, reminding him to take care of his sister for the day. Only then did he remember that he was supposed to spend time with her today, even promising to come home when his parents brought up him not being home recently.
So here he was.
He gave no effort to stay awake anymore and gave in to his drowsiness. Not even the high-pitched voices of the cartoon characters speaking couldn’t keep him up, them being mere background noises as his eyes eventually fell shut.
As he slept peacefully, he didn’t even notice when someone came knocking on the door, then followed by an exchange between a shrill voice and a lower one. Only when Sunhee bounded over to him and shook his shoulders did he wake up, although sluggishly. In his sleepy state, he could barely register what his sister had been telling him.
“Come on, handsome brother is waiting!” she continued to shake him awake. Sunghoon could only rub his face tiredly when she pulled him all the way to the front door.
As he stood and looked at the other side of the door, he could swear he imagined the person now standing before them. He rubbed at his eyes and glanced at the indeed handsome brother, as his sister put it, and slammed the door quickly.
“Wow, that’s kinda rude.” Sunghoon turned to Sunhee, who now had her arms crossed in front of her chest. He ran a hand to his hair in exasperation before he held her on the shoulders.
“Have you been talking to strangers while I was asleep?”
“But he said he was our new neighbor! And he looked kind, too.”
“No one looks that kind enough to be real–”
Sunhee opened the door again, cutting him off mid-sentence. The unfamiliar guy turned back around; he seemed to be preparing to leave upon having a door slammed to his face.
“Sorry, handsome brother,” Sunhee said with an apologetic smile on her face. “Sunghoon here is kinda cranky because of puberty.”
“Hey!” Sunghoon shushed her with a finger to his lips. Uncertainly, he took a glimpse at their new neighbor, who was now quietly staring at him in curiosity. He cleared his throat to get the other’s attention, which seemed effective as he got over the trance he was in.
“It’s fine,” the boy nervously chuckled. “By the way, I’m Jake. We just moved two houses away from yours.”
At his response, this time, Sunghoon was the one who went awestruck. He also couldn’t help but notice the difference in their heights when Jake approached him for a handshake.
“Sunghoon.” Sunhee tapped his arm, calling his attention.
“What?”
“He asked if he can borrow eggs.”
“Eggs? What–” Sunghoon interrupted himself as he looked back and forth towards Jake and his sister, trying to figure out what was going on. At her brother’s actions, Sunhee could only roll her eyes.
“He will use them to bake a cake for his mom!”
At that, Sunghoon rushed for the refrigerator and got a couple of eggs for each hand. While he went for it, he didn’t hear that the two continued to talk with each other. When he returned, Sunhee looked more enthusiastic than ever.
“Hoon,” she started, excited about what she was about to say. “Brother Jake invited me to come bake with him. Can I?”
Upon hearing the news, Sunghoon almost dropped the eggs he was holding, if not for Jake already taking hold of them.
“No. You can’t.”
“But please!”
“I said…”
Sunghoon trailed off when he saw both his sister and Jake displaying the same pleading expressions on their faces.
“You sure seemed to have bonded with each other in the ten seconds I was gone.”
“But come on, Sunghoon!” Jake, albeit shyly, also tried to convince him. “Sunhee said she was bored with you.”
“What–” Sunghoon looked at Sunhee with furrowed brows, only to receive a shrug in return. He sighed and rubbed at his face.
Thinking about it, he could just leave Sunhee with Jake for the meantime, and he could catch up on sleeping while she was away. Just as she said, Jake looked kind enough to even hurt a fly, not to mention how close their houses were anyway.
Yet although everything already seemed to be in place, something didn’t sit well with him. After a few more moments, he decided.
“Fine.” Sunghoon stared at Jake. “But only if I come as well.”
.
On their short journey to the nearby house, Sunghoon felt Sunhee repeatedly bump him with her elbow. When he looked back at her, he was met with her teasing grin.
“You only came because you wanted to be with handsome brother, didn’t you?”
Sunghoon scoffed. “Stop making things up. I came with you just in case you made a mess,” he said, earning him a pursing of lips.
“You’re more likely to cause a mess when you’re with someone as handsome as him.”
Before he could even berate her about it, she sprinted over to Jake’s side. It only took him a blink until he realized how they were now even swinging their hands together as they sauntered joyfully.
Their walk went quicker than expected, and now Sunghoon found himself gaping at the tasteful interior of the house. It looked quite different from theirs—maybe because its residents had just moved in from another place.
Jake probably noticed his silent observation as he walked towards Sunghoon. “We came from Australia, if you’re wondering about the decor.”
“It’s nice,” Sunghoon replied, then laughed awkwardly. Fortunately, Sunhee took Jake’s hand and pulled him to the kitchen, saving them from a longer awkward interaction.
“What are you making, by the way?” Sunhee asked when they reached the kitchen counter.
“Banana cake!” Jake held up a few bananas he retrieved from the refrigerator. “While you’re here, would you like to help me?” His question was directed to Sunhee, but his eyes were on Sunghoon, who nodded. He seemed surprised enough at his response that he looked taken aback, before remembering to respond with a nod as well.
They set on preparing the batter. While Jake creamed the butter, he asked for Sunghoon to sift the flour and for Sunhee to mash the bananas.
In the midst of his determined sifting, he almost missed Jake calling for his name. He looked up at him and saw the other gesturing to his own nose.
‘What?’ he mouthed, and received some more gestures, along with some more words he couldn't quite recognize. Frustrated, Jake went over towards him and gently dusted the flour off his nose and cheek.
“You had flour on your face,” Jake explained.
As if he didn't just do what he just did, he calmly walked back to his workstation and put sugar on the bowl with butter. Sunghoon, meanwhile, turned to his sister to see if she had seen them. Fortunately, she was preoccupied enough with cracking the eggs onto her bowl, just as Jake instructed him to.
After finishing their assigned tasks and putting the batter in the oven, the two siblings sat on the dining table together. Jake was busy making them hot chocolate, and this time, he insisted on making them by himself, leaving the two alone together.
“You totally should get his number,” Sunhee commented.
“What are you talking about,” Sunghoon snapped at her accusingly, making her jokingly raise her hands in surrender.
“I'm saying, you look like you don't want this to be the last time you'll be talking to him.”
He was only about to ask her what she meant by that when Jake entered, interrupting their conversation. On his hands was a tray with three mugs of piping hot cocoa. Sunghoon immediately stood up and offered to carry the tray to the table.
“Whoa, that looks good!” Sunhee exclaimed, eyes sparkling. Jake giggled at her reaction, causing Sunghoon to almost drop what he was holding. He quickly set it down on the table and sat opposite the two, who were sitting beside each other.
“You're gonna love it even more when you taste the cake you made,” Jake replied, raising his brows convincingly. Sunghoon gave him more than enough eggs for the recipe, so they decided to make two of them.
Without knowing how to contribute to the ongoing conversation in front of him, Sunghoon settled on silently watching them talk with each other. Interestingly, he did not feel sleepy at all watching them, compared with the cartoonish characters he saw earlier. What's even more fascinating was how Sunghee looked genuinely gleeful in Jake’s company, even with the considerably short amount of time they had known each other.
His gaze followed the two of them when they stood up upon hearing the ‘ding’ of the oven. He also went and helped them bring the hot pan carefully to the kitchen counter. Then, they put it over the wire racks to cool.
Seeing the results of their work, Sunghoon couldn’t help but remark how good it came out. He raised his stare at Jake and saw him giving a high five to Sunhee, the both of them wearing proud expressions on their faces.
“You were amazing!” Sunhee said. In her excitement, she threw herself on Jake and gave him a hug, which he gladly reciprocated.
“You did well, too! I couldn’t have done this without you,” Jake replied as he swayed Sunhee side to side, still engulfing her in a hug. Behind her back, he shot a glance towards Sunghoon and whispered, “You too.”
As much as he’d like to admit, Sunghoon felt pride swell in his heart as well. He quickly sent a smile back before his sister could even turn back around and see him.
In just a few more moments after the two separated from each other, the cakes had already cooled enough. Jake went to put one in the fridge to decorate it for later, while Sunghoon proceeded to remove the other one from the pan and cut it. Sunhee, meanwhile, observed how he carefully cut it as she sipped the now-cooled hot chocolate from earlier. When Jake returned, he now had with him a few utensils and some plates.
Sunghoon served a slice for each of them, making Sunhee squeal. She was about to dig in, but was stopped when Jake yelled out a “wait!”
“Won’t you want to put some of this first?” He held up a canister of whipped cream. Sunhee smiled and nodded, and Jake took it as his cue to put it on as a topping. He also asked if she wanted to add crushed walnuts, and she gladly accepted.
Yet again, Sunghoon settled on watching Jake and Sunhee be in harmony with each other. Too engrossed with the cute interaction happening in front of him, he didn’t even notice that his sister had been calling for him, asking him about something. He only broke out of his trance when he felt a finger smear cold whipped cream on his cheek.
“What was that fo–” he stopped himself when he realized it was Jake, who was now laughing hysterically along with his sister. Not finding it in himself to be angry at the other, Sunghoon let out an exhale instead and smiled tiredly.
But he wasn’t about to back down from a fight, now was he?
While the two were too busy laughing, he sneakily grabbed the whipped cream on the other side of the counter. He put a small amount on his fingers, then pretended to get something from the other side of the room, where the two were at. When they were already within his reach, he quickly plastered the cream on their faces, instantly cackling as betrayal flashed on their faces.
“Oh, you’re on.”
Cake and hot chocolate already long forgotten, the three of them played around, with Sunghoon escaping from Jake’s hold while his sister tried to put whipped cream on his face. But they didn’t go very far as Sunghoon warned them not to waste food—they knew he was right, so they reluctantly agreed.
Jake went ahead and washed his face, while the two went back to the dining table. Sitting back down, Sunhee complained. “It was your fault you got that in the first place,” she told Sunghoon, who was now wiping his face clean with a paper towel. “We asked if you wanted whipped cream on your slice too, but you didn’t hear ‘cause you were busy drooling over brother Jake.”
“Sunhee!” Sunghoon widened his eyes. He almost got whiplash at the speed he turned his head to see if Jake heard them from his place in the sink. Either he didn’t, or he was pretending not to hear out of embarrassment; Sunghoon didn’t know which was worse. He shook his head and put a finger on his lips.
When Jake sat back down with them, they surprisingly spent a peaceful time after, just talking about almost anything. Just as Jake told him earlier, he retold how his family came from Australia, and that they just moved here because of his father’s job.
“But does that mean you’ll be moving again in the future?” Sunhee asked sadly. But Jake shook his head.
“I think not.” He smiled. “From what I’ve heard, we will be staying here for good.”
Sunhee clapped his hands, while Sunghoon let out an audible sigh in relief. Jake continued.
“But I guess I might need someone to help me settle here.”
“I volunteer! I will help you!” Sunhee raised her hand. She took a glance at her brother and grumbled at his lack of response. Taking a hint, Sunghoon imitated her.
“I will help you as well...” he trailed off unwillingly, worn out at her sister’s energy. But Jake didn’t seem to mind as he nodded, smiling.
“I know you would.”
.
Later that night, as Sunghoon arranged his things for when he goes back to his dorm the next day, Sunhee barged into his room unannounced. As soon as she entered, she laid on the bed beside him.
“I liked hanging out with brother Jake today,” she affirmed, her limbs stretched out on the bed. She nodded more to herself as she spoke, “I like him and I will hang out with him again.”
Sunghoon gave a nonchalant shrug in response. “I guess he’s alright,” he mused, earning him narrowed eyes from his sister.
“That’s not true. You definitely like him,” she countered, then sighed to herself. “What a shame that you still don’t have his number. But don’t worry, I’ll ask him for you!”
Sunghoon chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t bother, you don’t have to.”
From where it was situated on his bedside table, Sunghoon heard his phone chime with the ping of a notification. He opened it to see the new message, consisting of an image of a guy holding a cake and an accompanying text.
mom loved it! :D