xlv.

ringing the doorbell of her parent's house after a year or two made choi minjee feel a little nervous. it had been a long time since she last visited them that she was unsure of how to act in front of them.

the girl fiddled with her fingers and took a peek at the window on her right. through the gaps of the grey curtains, she saw christmas lights and stockings hanging on the wall. this only meant her parents were home as they decorated the place already. minjee bit her bottom lip after ringing the doorbell once more, waiting for it to open.

the sound of footsteps was heard from inside before the door finally opened, revealing an unfamiliar boy with black hair. minjee blinked as she stared at the person in confusion. she took a good look at the house again, making sure she was in the right one before looking back at him.

i am in the right house but who is this?

before she could even speak, another voice called out. "baby, who's at the door?" the voice was familiar.

"...wait, i think i saw you before..." the young boy trailed off as he motioned whoever called him to come closer. soon enough, a familiar young teenage girl appeared beside him and she let out a gasp upon seeing choi minjee.

"unnie!" the girl screamed, giving her older sister a big bear hug. "you didn't tell me you were coming over for christmas!"

"wait," minjee pulled away from the hug as she gave her younger sister a confused look. "you... him... baby?" she emphasized, looking back and forth between her sister and the boy who was staring curiously. "you have a boyfriend? since when??"

"unnie—"

"let's talk inside," without waiting for a response, the older girl pushed her sister inside after taking her boots off. she made her way towards the living room where the space was already fully decorated with a bunch of christmas themed decors. a mini christmas tree was stationed at the corner of the room with red ornaments hanging on it.

"minju, who's at the do—" a light thump was then heard making minjee look at the source only to find her mother standing frozen by the dining table, a small present laid on the floor next to her foot.

"mom."

"minjee... you came to visit?" her mother had an anxious expression on her face as she began biting her nail. "oh no... this is bad."

"mom?" minjee spoke, tilting her head in confusion. she felt uneasy with how her mother was reacting. does she not want me here?

the older woman took a deep inhale before letting it all out to remain calm and composed. she laid a hand on her chest, "minjee honey, you didn't tell me you were going to visit us so i don't know if dinner will be enough for all of us!" she huffed and ruffled her hair in frustration.

"it's fine—"

"no, it's not fine! you should've told me so i would have made more," her mother aggressively took a piece of tissue from the kitchen counter and dramatically wiped her nonexistent tear as she sniffed and blew her nose.

geez, i thought it was something worse, minjee chuckled quietly.

"uh mom, i think dinner will be enough for all of us. you made a whole feast," minju, her younger sister, pointed at the dining table. "besides, sanghoon can finish them all."

"i can finish what now?" the boy who claimed to be her boyfriend asked in surprise.

"that reminds me," minjee turned to look at her younger sister, crossing her arms as a frown made its way up her eyebrows, "why didn't you tell me you have a boyfriend? since when did you guys get together? and why wasn't i informed about this?"

minju gave her boyfriend a side-glance as he did the same. "..we have been together for a three months now? i was going to tell you but i kinda got distracted with school with the upcoming exams so," she sheepishly chuckled and rubbed her neck.

"boy, tell me your name and age, where you're from, and what school you go to," minjee interviewed.

the boy gulped nervously, kind of intimidated with his girlfriend's older sister. though, he couldn't seem to get his mind off of where he saw her from. "my name is kim sanghoon and i just turned seventeen. i'm from my mother's womb and i go to the same school as minju."

hearing the answers sanghoon responded with made minjee hum as she nodded her head ever so slowly with squinted eyes. "is your love for my sister genuine?"

"yes."

minjee stared at his eyes and kept quiet for a few seconds before she lets out a sigh, "okay, you have my word."

she averted her attention to her mother who was still wiping her cheek with a tissue even though there were no tears to begin with. "mom, where's dad?"

"your father left us and he won't be celebrating christmas," she sniffed, causing minjee to widen her eyes at the sudden information. dad left? why? there was nothing wrong with the family so why did he leave? "i miss him," her mother pouted.

"dad said he was going to the store to buy more groceries because you finished them, mom. stop being dramatic," minju sighed in disbelief of her mother's unnecessary demeanor. sanghoon lightly chuckled at his girlfriend's expression.

as if the world understood the situation, the door bursted open and a cliché sentence that was used during the old days made its way to the four walls of the house, "honey, i'm home!" the voice of a cheerful man sounded as he made his way to the living room, only to drop the plastic bags on the floor upon seeing his firstborn daughter by the table and his wife tearing up at the counter.

"minjee? when did you get here— honey, why are you crying?" he asked worriedly.

"she's just going through one of her random phases, dad," minju grinned and waved a hand off from the couch.

her father's expression went back to normal, "oh, okay. and when did you get here?" he questioned minjee while picking up the plastic bags and placing the groceries in their respective place in the kitchen. the living room and kitchen were connected so they were able to interact.

"ten minutes ago."

"you didn't inform us about this. was it a surprise?" he beamed and made his way to minjee to give her a short but loving hug as a welcome gift. "how long will you be staying?"

"until new years i guess."

"that's great! how's it going with your youtuber life? i watched some of your videos and teared up when you showed your face for the first time," her father ruffled her hair. suddenly, a scream was heard from the couch and the two turned their heads to see sanghoon pointing a finger at minjee.

"you're that famous streamer! that gamer! i remember now!" he exclaimed. "and your friends with jeon jungkook!"

"i am? oh wait, i am," the older girl nodded her head. "is there something wrong with that?"

"no of course not. i'm just... a big fan of jungkook and if you don't mind would you uhm... get me his autograph?" sanghoon shyly requested, cheeks turning red at the thought of getting his favorite gamer's autograph. jungkook had always made his day a lot better with his videos and live streams, bringing a smile up the younger's face. "if you don't want to it's okay. i understa—"

"sure," minjee cut him off. "i'll try and get it for you," she smiled at him and it made the younger boy grin in happiness as he started hugging the nearest person next to him to showcase his excitement.

"oh my god. love, i'm gonna get jungkook's autograph I'M GONNA GET HIS AUTOGRAPH!" he squealed and squeezed the living heaven out of minju's smaller figure.

"let go of me you idiot! squeeze the darn pillow instead!"

a/n; tell me a joke/pick up line to satisfy my boredom pls.