Chapter 34

"No plan"

The sound of water running and a brush violently washing off the dirt, overshadowed everything else in the small kitchen. Woo Jin was humming a happy sound to himself, trying to make this trivial job of doing the dishes, into something a little more enjoyable. 

As he started drying off the last pot and walked towards its designated cabinet, he suddenly heard the sound of his doorbell.

"Soo Ri-ya, can you get that?" Woo Jin called out but only the echo of his voice was the only thing that came back as a reply. She was probably upstairs, he thought to himself as he put down the pot and walked to the main door.

"Yes, who is i-" Woo Jin said until he opened the door entirely and took a good look at the person on the other side. He nearly had a heart attack when he looked into the dark brown eyes of his older sister, standing in front of him with a handbag in one hand and a transportation box in the other.

"Noona," Woo Jin said while he looked Na Ri up and down, making sure she was the real thing, "What are you doing here? And what's with the cat?" Na Ri took a step closer and Woo Jin quickly took a step back, acting on his instincts in this weird situation.

"Can I... stay here for a little bit?" Na Ri asked and looked deeply into Woo Jin's eyes.

"W... what?" Woo Jin stuttered and in the same second, he felt someone pull the door from behind him.

"What's going on out here?" he heard the voice of his girlfriend speak and Na Ri's eyes widened in fear when she saw the young woman in front of her.

"Who... who's this?" Na Ri asked, earning a rather offended look from Woo Jin, all the while a big smile remained on Soo Ri's face.

"I'm Woo Jin's girlfriend, my name is Im Soo Ri," Soo Ri said and took a step outside, making it Na Ri's turn to walk backwards in shock, "you must be Woo Jin's sister, come on inside." Neither Woo Jin nor Na Ri had time to react, before Soo Ri grabbed onto Na Ri's hand and dragged her inside, asking Woo Jin to close the door before he released all the heat of the house.

While Soo Ri walked around in the kitchen, pouring hot water into three mugs, Woo Jin and Na Ri sat across from each other at the dining table, no one uttering a single word to each other, and only the cat's meowing interrupted the silence once in a while.

"Is the cat okay in there?" Soo Ri asked when she walked over to hand Na Ri her cup of coffee. Na Ri politely accepted and nodded her head as an answer to Soo Ri's question.

"What's its name?" Soo Ri asked while she sat down on the chair next to Woo Jin.

"Cat," Na Ri replied.

"What?" Soo Ri said, unsure she heard it correctly.

"I think the name of the cat is... Cat?" Woo Jin said and looked at Na Ri for confirmation, and she immediately nodded her head. For a second no one said anything until Woo Jin let out a silent chuckle and looked at Na Ri.

"That's so you," he said, but Na Ri didn't give any reaction and simply took a sip of her coffee.

"So Unnie," Soo Ri said and Na Ri looked at her with a surprised expression.

"Can I call you Unnie?" Soo Ri asked when she noticed Na Ri's look, but as soon as she saw a hint of a nod, she continued, "what brings you to Daegu tonight?"

"I... I wanted to know if I could stay here for a little bit?" Na Ri said with her head lowered.

"What about school?" Woo Jin asked, from his knowledge she was still in the middle of her education.

"I'm on a break right now," Na Ri replied and Woo Jin lifted an eyebrow in suspicion.

"I know the holidays are coming up, but I also know you have winter sessions until your next semester begins, and knowing you, you would never miss those." Woo Jin looked at Na Ri, trying to read her expression, but she didn't make it easy for him. She looked around for a little bit, still not giving any reply to Woo Jin. Instead her eyes fell upon Soo Ri.

"Do you live with my brother?" Na Ri asked.

"No, I live with my parents!" Soo Ri quickly replied, "I just stopped by today since we decided to have dinner together." Na Ri nodded understandingly.

"Woo Jin-ya," Na Ri said and looked at her brother.

"Yes?" Woo Jin replied.

"You never answered my question," Na Ri asked and Woo Jin looked at her in confusion. He was sure it was the other way around.

"What question?" Woo Jin asked and Na Ri sighed.

"Do you really want me to beg?" Na Ri said, while Woo Jin was still trying to understand what was going on.

"Fine," Na Ri then said and got up from her chair, "Woo Jin, brother... please... let me stay here for a while." Na Ri politely bowed her head all the while Woo Jin and Soo Ri looked at her in shock.

"Yes, yes of course!" Woo Jin quickly exclaimed and got up, feeling very uncomfortable having his older sister bow in front of him, "I mean do you even have to ask? You're my sister. You can stay for as long as you want. Just lift your head please." Na Ri did as he said and looked at Woo Jin in relief.

"Thank goodness," Na Ri said and nearly collapsed on the chair below her. 

"Seriously, Noona, what's going on?" Woo Jin asked, seeing his sister's face grow completely pale as she sat down.

"I'm really tired," Na Ri replied and Woo Jin didn't doubt those words for a second, "I just want to go to bed."

"Sure let me show you to your room," Woo Jin said and got up to help carry her stuff, "we can talk tomorrow." Na Ri nodded, but somehow Woo Jin didn't believe it.

"Goodnight Unnie," Soo Ri said and Na Ri turned around and sent her a faint smile. 

Na Ri followed her brother up the stairs to the first floor and then down a small hall, until he opened a door to a small bedroom. It was evident to tell no one lived here. The only furniture were a bed, a nightstand, a closet and a lamp hanging from the ceiling.

"I know it's not much, but I don't usually have people staying over," Woo Jin said and sat down Na Ri's bag next to the bed.

"It's fine," Na Ri said and looked at Woo Jin, "thank you."

"Call me if you need anything," Woo Jin said, "goodnight then."

"Goodnight," Na Ri said and watched Woo Jin disappear outside the small bedroom and close the door behind him.

Na Ri sat down on the bed and opened the door to the transportation box, which made the cat run out in a hurry. 

"I'm sorry you had to stay in there for so long," Na Ri said as she watched the cat sniff everything in the room curiously, "I guess we'll stay here for a while."

Na Ri let her body fell backwards on the bed and took in a deep breath. It felt like the first time in forever she was able to breathe so freely. The madras didn't even feel that great and the room was small and dusty, but somehow her entire body felt at peace. 

That was until her phone started vibrating. She took her phone out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID without answering. She waiting patiently until her mom finally gave up and made room for the hundredths of messages and notifications left on Na Ri's phone. There were several missed calls from Min Ji and Hye Jin. She even had calls from numbers that weren't in her contacts. 

For a while, Na Ri scrolled down over the messages, but as her body started feeling tense, she suddenly held down the power button until her phone shut off. In the flash of a second she opened the drawer in the nightstand and threw her phone in, whereafter she closed it immediately. She looked down and saw the cat sitting below the bed, staring at her with big eyes.

"Don't look at me like that!" Na Ri said, "I need some time off... from everything."

***

"You're still here?" Woo Jin said when he got downstairs again and saw Soo Ri in the middle of cleaning up the coffee mugs.

"Well of course," Soo Ri answered, "I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye." Woo Jin's lips curled up in a big smile and he walked over and placed a quick and gentle peck on Soo Ri's lips.

"Thank you," Woo Jin said, "it's been a weird evening."

"Do you have any idea what would've made your sister seek you out all of a sudden?" Soo Ri asked.

"I have no idea, it's more than 2 years since we last saw each other. I have no idea what's happening in her life," Woo Jin said, "but one thing is for sure, if she's skipping school and coming to me for help, something is seriously wrong."

Hello everyone!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Were you surprised at this turn of events? Please leave a comment and let me know if you were surprised and what you think!

Remember to stay warm and eat healthy and take care of yourself. Stay safe.

Love, Annalise~