— whisper.

His smile increased a little as he nodded his head. “You could.” He had faith in her, just as he had faith in himself to improve at it. “Then you could help me pick up on a few things, too. Before you know it, we won’t even need to go out to places like this, because we’ll be serving dishes just as good.” Quietly chuckling, he dipped his head down in yet another nod. “If you’d like them, yes.”

“you’re welcome,” she replied softly, a faint smile remaining on her features. it’s amazing how much she felt like she missed this, considering the fact that she had never had this. having an actual family was definitely something that juyeon could get used to, and she had no plans of letting anything take that from her. “good, because i won’t remind you!” she replied, slightly nudging him once more. “unless i do remind you. you’re rather lovable, clifford.”

The answer to her question would likely be ‘yes’, but he wasn’t in the mood to be a stick in the mud. Instead, he just hummed in acknowledgment, a smile on his face from the amount of satisfaction that she seemed to be getting from the meal. He was thankful that he was able to treat all of them to this. “I guess they’re just good chefs. I’m sure you could learn to make things this good yourself if you invested the time. I have the money.”

“you have my forgiveness,” she replied playfully, more laughter spilling from her lips. “but i give you that forgiveness reluctantly, remember that.” she paused, slightly chewing on her lower lip as she pondered what to say next. “and it’s only because i love you.” she offered him an endearing smile, light laughter spilling from her lips as she slightly nudged him with her elbow. “remember that, too. i might not be so eager to admit it next time!”

Hyunjung knew it wasn’t polite to think about the amount of money that families had when walking into their home, but she couldn’t help it. Everything looked so nice so she found herself even more thankful than before that Juyeon had found her family. At least now, she was definitely provided for. “If I had a kitchen this wonderful, I don’t think I’d visit any other room. I’d just set my bed up in here.” Her smile increased, and she was pleasantly surprised with Juyeon’s answer. “Oh, really? That’s nice of him… so, he does a lot for you guys?”

“you’re not a lunatic,” she replied, amusement clear in her tone. “you just have good taste! minho may be like, i don’t know, an uncle to me, but he’s the handsome uncle that everyone thinks is super cool.” she paused for a moment, placing a finger on her cheek as she attempted to remember if she’d ever heard of minho being in a relationship. “you know, i think he is single. i could be wrong, but i’ve never heard anything about it come up in conversation.”

“Oh, yeah… good thinking. I can get something for your grandfather, and Minho, too. He’s pretty cute, after all… And I mean, Minho isn’t bad, either.” She giggled at her own joke before tapping her finger to her chin to pretend she was thinking. “Yes… Yes, I think I would be included.” Hyunjung didn’t truly believe it, but now was not the time for anything other than cheerfulness. Who would she be to not play along with Juyeon? For starters… a bad person… and a stick in the mud, that as well. 

She wiggled off the bed and stood to her feet, quickly following the lead of the younger girl. It takes her a few seconds longer since it’s nearly impossible to keep up, but once in the kitchen, she begins to look around. “Wow, this is a really nice kitchen.” She walked to a cupboard and opened it to take a peek inside. “It looks stocked… has Minho been to the grocery store recently? This is great.”

hyunjung’s giggling proves to be rather contagious, and juyeon is grateful for the laugh. "he’s a cute old man.” more laughter spills out of her, putting her thoughts into words proving to be quite the experience. “then again, most old people are cute. they’re like... little babies, only a lot older.” that probably didn’t make any sense, but it did to juyeon. “but they’re both cute.”

“I’ll just give you lots of presents instead of wasting them on others, because they aren’t as cool.” It was easier than saying she had no one else to give to. “Nah. There’s no such thing as ‘too good’. I don’t think anyone could ever be good enough, especially not for and to you.” A short bout of laughter escaped her before she nodded. “Good, you shouldn’t. It’s a power of mine, I’m telling you.” It was a joke, obviously, but still fun to be lighthearted and playful. “I’d love to cook for you, honestly. A proper meal is much better than a tin of cookies. We could go take a look and see what kind of ingredients are in there, if you want.”

“that’s right. but i’m the coolest, so it’d be kind of hard for them to compete.” her lips form another wide grin as laughter falls from her lips yet again, amusement in no short supply. “i’ll probably just give presents to you and the rest of the family... minho included. and, considering that you’re technically an honorary member of the family, i guess you’d be included in that anyway, right?”

Her eyes slightly widened as she slowly nodded her head. “Yeah, that would be something for sure. But, you’re right. He definitely isn’t. I can smell crime from a mile away. I think I’d know if I was in the presence of a criminal.” She laughed which turned into a quiet snort which she quickly stopped by covering her face with her hand, her cheeks turning a shade of light pink. “Hopefully they have decent ones playing at this hour. I’ve never been able to tune in a find out at a time before 10 pm.”

“the 25th it is, then! i can’t wait.” there’s genuine enthusiasm in her tone, anticipation steadily building up within her. it was probably stupid to feel excited, but she didn’t care. it was always fun to joke around with hyunjung, though, this time in particular, she found herself hoping that it wasn’t a joke. “i’m going to give so many presents. everyone’s going to be so confused,” she continued, light giggles slipping past her lips. “both? woah, you really are too good to me.”

Minho laughed and nodded, going along with Juyeon’s statement which only further amused Sungsoo as he agreed with his granddaughter.

“Thanks.” Mingyu appreciated that he could rely on Juyeon, whether he truly needed to or not. It was nice just knowing that he had someone there that could, as well as was willing to, help him should it come down to it. He watches the younger begin to eat first, then once she’s telling him to try some, he obeys. He’s pleasantly surprised, more so than he thought he would be, and he was thankful that he made this choice. “It is really good.”

“that’s because you’re stubborn, mingyu,” she replied, doing her best to hide the amusement in her tone as she returned his straight face. “you don’t listen to reason, even when it’s right in front of you.” she hesitates a moment before light laughter finally manages to escape her. “really? well, then i am very disappointed. i’m teaching you all about him the moment we get home, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

More laughter fell from her lips as she leaned her hands behind her on the bed, then shifted her weight to rest on them. “I should certainly hope not! It would be a real shame if you went from living with a police officer to spending all of your time with like… a murderer. That would be horrible.” At the question, she enthusiastically nodded her head once again, eyes trailing to the TV. “Sure thing. We could watch some dramas, like you used to with me late at night.”

“christmas in august?” she questioned, amusement clear in her tone. it was definitely an interesting suggestion, far more interesting than christmas in july. with that being said, it was an interesting suggestion that juyeon could certainly get behind. “definitely. i’m already thinking of different presents i could get you! so... we just have to decide on the day.” she smiled in return. “ooh, chocolate!” she quickly replied, nodding her head. “or strawberry. both of them!”

She hummed lightly in response, wiggling around a bit to get comfortable on the soft mattress. She was so lost in her thoughts about how nice the bed felt that she hardly took in what Juyeon was talking about, but she quickly zoned back in. “Oh! Right! Yes, I don’t want to be kicked out. That’s very true, however, I swear I won’t arrest your sweet grandfather. But oh man, good point… I’ll have to keep that in mind!”

“that’s it, that’s the one!” she confirmed with an enthusiastic nodding of her head, her smile only proving to grow wider. “it was a funny movie. we should watch it together sometime! maybe even sometime soon. it doesn’t have to be christmas time to watch a christmas movie, does it?” she laughed at hyunjung’s next comment, and she’d be lying to say that she didn’t relate at least a little bit. “it’d be kind of weird, but it’d also be kind of fun! oh, and bake me cupcakes next time you get the chance... i’ve been craving them.”

So without the pleasant distractions of digital idols and the thumb-tapping rhythm games they called home, he was left bored. He hated boredom more than just about anything there was to hate. 

So he let his eyes drift to the other passengers in the car, watching one wrinkly old ahjusshi peel and eat an orange with surprising tenacity, seemingly with little to no regard for how disgusting he was to watch. There was a young couple: an uncannily symmetrical Gangnam Girl who was enthusiastically showing her too-cool boyfriend pictures of what Sicheng could only guess (from the quiet coo she made each time she swiped her screen) were either kittens or babies, maybe bunnies. 

Then there was the girl beside him, who was scribbling away in a small journal she’d pulled from her bag. 

He didn’t mean to read what she was writing, in fact, he hadn’t really noticed that he had been, that’s how bored out of his pretty little mind he was, but unfortunately for him, she had noticed.

He didn’t realize this until several seconds after the pen had stopped moving, at which point he let his eyes flutter upwards to meet hers, and was shocked to see that she was looking at him with an something of an awkward smile turning up her lips. 

“Oh…my God,” he sputtered, “I’m sorry?”

there was something relaxing about the train. it gave juyeon a sense of peace—of comfort. while it was in no way the most effective means of transportation, somehow it had always proved to be her favorite. truthfully, she mostly finds herself riding them for fun. she’s able to lose herself in her thoughts, free from the burdens of her everyday life, free from her struggle within black lotus.

and it certainly helps her to tap into her creativity. with each passing second, it feels as though she’s developing hundreds of new ideas, and she promises herself that she’ll remember each and every single one of them. it’s especially helpful when she decides that it’s time to write new poems, songs, or stories; anything to enjoyably pass the time.

this time around, she’s working on a story; stories always tended to be her favorite, anyway. the only thing that separates this time from all of the other times, however, is that this time she seems to have an audience.

The girl nodded, more quiet laughter escaping her. “Yes, it would be a crime. It’s a good thing I’m a police officer, I could just go ahead and lock him up!” She paused. “Don’t tell him I said that, I don’t know how well it would sit with your grandfather if he knew I was threatening to throw him in jail. But, I’d say so, yeah! And I’d say that’s pretty reasonable. I’m not sure how keen they’d be on me visiting at night, really, that seems kind of shady.”

“it’s like... that one movie about santa clause. do you know the one i’m talking about? was it... elf? or something like that?” she giggled, as she’s completely unsure of what she’s talking about. alright, believing the heck out of it sounds like a good plan to me. i’d know, i’m kind of the one who suggested it, right?” she laughed. “they’d be fine with it, believe me. i don’t see how they could complain. you bake them cookies for crying out loud.”

“Okay, but who do you think is a better detective… Batman or Sherlock Holmes?” Minho asked, softly laughing as he did so while also turning all of his attention to the younger girl. “Who would solve a case faster? Batman versus Sherlock versus Juyeon…”

Mingyu chewed on his lower lip as he quietly watched the lighthearted conversation, a small smile threatening to form, but he kept his mouth closed since he didn’t have much input.

Once the food was in front of them, he let out a relieved sigh and nodded, agreeing with Juyeon’s statement. “I can tell it’s definitely going to be worth the time and money. Also, I doubt I’ll forget, but just in case, remind me to order something to take home for Wonwoo before we leave, alright?”

“and how do you know you’re not wrong, hmm?” she questioned, another amused chuckle passing her lips. “there’s no way for you to be sure, not really. the only ones who truly know are those around you. so maybe you should listen to what we have to say! or at least consider it.” she laughed as her cousin raised an eyebrow, and she’s quick to speak up. “yeah, clifford. the big red dog. you’ve heard of him, right? please don’t tell me you’ve never heard of him.”

she raised an eyebrow at minho’s question, amused laughter bubbling out of her as she’s unable to know for sure. “i’m gonna say juyeon comes in first, though batman and sherlock are probably tied for second. that sounds about right, doesn’t it?”