"Can you believe the nerve of the blonde-haired broomstick?" I was hashing out the entire ordeal of the hallway and the Choi House incident to San.
We were sitting at our designated place on the hill and overlooking the city eating ice cream. I took a bite of the corn ice cream and looked at San, urging him to speak because my rant was over.
He just gave me a wry look. "Do you really want my honest opinion or do you want me to sit here and listen and nod to your rant?" he challenges and I roll my eyes.
I am pretty sure I will not like what San has to say but at the same time, I don't want him to sit there and agree with whatever I am saying.
"Go ahead. Say what you have to say" I wave my hand dismissively at him and he raises an eyebrow at me, as if silently asking me whether I am sure I want to hear what he has to say.
I keep silent.
"First, I will start off by saying that the idea of going to their house was a bad idea from the start" he shrugs when I just give him a dry look.
"I kind of expected Taehyun to behave that way. He is overly protective of Soobin. He is probably closer to him than his own family" he advocates.
"Are you seriously siding with Taehyun right now?" I challenge him and he furiously shakes his head.
"No. Absolutely not. He is an entitled shithead. What I am trying to say is that mixing with them, any of them will result in backlash from the group itself. Gossips of outsiders are secondary but handling the Royals itself is a big task" he shrugs.
"Even though you are getting close to Beomgyu, Yeonjun, and even Soobin, I still don't like the Royals and I definitely don't trust them" I scowl at his statement but he insists on finishing what he has to say.
"Even keeping my personal grudges and prejudices aside, they are a very volatile group. I am sure after mixing with them more, you have gotten some idea of how they operate. Before it wasn't as volatile as it is now. Ever since Yeonjun came into the picture, it has been a shitshow waiting to happen" he says and my instinct to defend Yeonjun crawls out of the pit of my stomach before I can stop it.
"Why does everyone blame Yeonjun? How is it his fault that his father is an asshole?" I get aggressive.
Everyone knew that Yeonjun was the illegitimate child of The Choi Chairman. No one said it to Yeonjun's face but it was a common topic of discussion behind his back.
It made me feel sick. I never paid attention but after what Yeonjun told me I realized how spread out these gossips were.
I just didn't understand why everyone blamed him! It was his father's fault. Not his. He didn't even know he was a Choi until a few years ago!
San sighs. "I am not blaming Yeonjun and I am not defending Soobin. I know Yeonjun didn't know he was part of the family until a few years ago but you have to understand, Soobin didn't know it either" he speaks in a soothing voice, as if his voice will calm me down.
"Why do you think there is so much gossip about these even though Beomgyu is also a Choi?" he asks and I come up with a Blank for answer so he continues.
"Beomgyu is their first cousin. His father handles the hospitality firm and Hotels of their company. Beomgyu is set to take over that side of the business. The rest - every single thing, is owned by Soobin's father. Soobin is - was set to take off the business but then Yeonjun showed up out of nowhere." he takes a breath and pauses for my reaction but I still keep quiet because I am not following him.
"Yeonjun is older than Soobin. He will be the firstborn. Technically, he should be the one to take over the business. This has led to a lot of turmoil" he finishes and I shake my head.
I am sure San doesn't actually mean what he is saying. I get from my place because I can't sit still anymore.
"You mean to say, this whole caveman thing started because who is going to take over the business? Are you serious right now? What is it - the 1960s?" what kind of backward thinking was this?
Are we still contemplating the importance of the firstborn in the 21st century?
"I know it might seem childish to you but the four of them grew up knowing one reality. Imagine yourself in their place. You have this universe you know. One day suddenly everything you know becomes upside down. You have this entire universe you didn't know existed and now because you're aware of this other universe, your own reality is at risk. How would you feel?"
San's words hit me like a piano thrown off the terrace of a 10-story building. I silently take my seat next to him again.
"You're watching a lot of Marvel movies. Your analogy is out of a superhero movie" I grumble but his words replay in my head again and again. It shifts my perspective of Soobin and it makes my stomach turn.
Why was everyone in the Royals group so complicated?
"Leave that. Don't go down the rabbit hole of analyzing Soobin, Yeonjun, or any other person from their group. You'll exhaust yourself. On an unrelated note, I would have called you here tonight anyway because I had something important to discuss with you" San's last sentence piques my interest and I stare expectantly at him.
"First, you have to promise, you'll not say no. You can't say no. It's non-refundable" he warns and I stare at him in confusion. What is he talking about?
"Saehi and I dug up some extra money and registered you for the weekend trip" he shrugs and I jump off my place again.
"San! I told you not to do that. You saved up for your trip. You should go there and enjoy. Why did you do this? Are you sure this is not refundable?" I ask, looking at the ticket in his hand.
He smiles sheepishly at me. "No. Non-refundable. Already checked. And in my defense, it was Saehi's idea. She did not like that you were not coming on this trip and neither did I. I knew you'd throw a fit if I did it for you so Saehi spearheaded the operation. Sorry not sorry" He shrugs.
He pulls me back to sit beside him and places the ticket in my hand.
"You know that this is not for free right? I expect you to call me King San for the rest of the year" he jokes and I scowl at him.
"San, you know I cannot accept this" I argue and he shakes his head.
"Yes, you absolutely can. And you will. As I mentioned before, this is nonrefundable. Besides, if you're so hell-bent on this issue then you can consider this as a loan. You can pay us back later. Even though I strongly suggest you don't " he gets up and starts walking towards the scooter as if our conversation is done.
"No, I'll pay you back tomorrow. I have some money saved up. It was my rainy day fund. I'll cash out from the bank tomorrow" I say and follow him to the scooter.
We both get on it and he starts driving.
"As you just said, it is your rainy day fund. You don't have to pay me back for that. Keep it for emergencies. You are working anyway, pay me back in installments. I don't mind. And I am reinstating that you don't need to pay me at all" he argues.
"Yeah. This is as emergency. I can't let my best friend go on this trip empty-handed when he dished out all his money for my ticket"
"I still have some left. Don't worry" he reassures me.
"You know I will not agree to this" I say.
We continue arguing all the way to my home.
"Huh, did Aunty and Uncle close early today?" San asks and I too notice the dark blinds over the shop. But when I look up, the lights in our apartment are on.
"Maybe there was not much rush. It is late" I check my watch and San nods.
"I'll get you the money tomorrow" I promise and he shakes his head as he takes off.
I check the ticket in my hand when he is gone.
I would lie if I said, I wasn't excited. I did want to go.
These trips were legendary. I remember San telling me about it and wishing he could go as well. This time he was going and I was happy for him but I also wished that I could go.
And now I had the ticket.
But I couldn't just take a free ride on San and Saehi's money. Tomorrow I will leave a little early for school and go to the Bank or an ATM machine to check out the money.
I also had to tell my parents and get their permission. I don't think they would have a problem with that. I am sure they would be more than happy that I was mingling with more people from the school and not just cooped up in the library.
My parents wanted me to make connections. If only they knew whom I talked to the most in this school.
I fold the paper and put it in my back pack as I walk up the dark stairs and into our apartment.
Something feels off.
It is too quiet in here. And it was not that late. Even if they had closed early, they would have had dinner and watched some TV show but I could not hear it.
"Mom? Dad?" I call out as I enter the room. I see both my parents in the dining area, sitting on the floor. My dad has his head in his hands and my mother is sobbing quietly.
My mind goes to all the worst possibilities as I rush to them. "What happened? Why are you crying? Dad, what happened to you?" I ask.
My father had a bruised jaw and a cut on his forehead that was stitched up. My mother's eyes were swollen from what I can only assume was crying.
"What happened? Will any of you tell me? Did something happen to Jungwoo?" I frantically search the room for my brother. He was nowhere to be found.
"He is sleeping. Don't shout, you'll wake him up" my father speaks in a strained voice. As if moving his face even a little bit hurts him.
My eyes well up with tears. What was going on?
"We were late for the rent. The landlord threatened to evict us and close us down if we didn't pay him by tonight. We had the money. We had managed to save up two months' rent. We really did" my mother sobbed harder.
"But - But - When your father took the money from the bank - he was walking - and - and - these men - these thugs robbed him" My mother's sob increases.
"They took the entire amount. We don't have any more savings. If we take the money from our other account then how will we pay for Jungwoo's and your school fees? How will we run our household?" she continued sobbing and both my father and I remained quiet.
"And if we do not pay him, he will not let us open the shop. What are we going to do Yuri?" my mother held me and cried.
Our apartment was on lease but we could never save up enough to lease the Noodle shop. We were paying rent, month-to-month.
"We'll figure something out. Don't put all your worries on Yuri. Yuri, go freshen up and eat dinner. Your mother and I will figure it out" my father said in a solemn voice but my mother scoffed and continued to cry.
"Figure it out how? Do you understand that shop is the only source of income in this house?" my mother's voice was escalating.
My father argued back and my mother did the same.
I quietly got up and went to my room. It was dark but I knew every corner by heart. And besides, I hoped that I could drown out their voice the way I drowned the light in the darkness.
The argument continued. I slumped down the wall and sat with my head on my knees. I could not bear to see them like this.
I hated it when my parents fought. I hated how financially strained we were. I hated how helpless I felt at the moment.
I got up and went to the drawer I knew would have the solution. Even though I did not want to do it but I knew it was the right thing.
Family first.
If Family didn't look after family in need then who would?
I took it out and silently walked back to the dining room to see my parents arguing still.
I dropped the bankbook on the table and both of them looked at it first and then at me in confusion and silence.
"Take the money. There is enough for at least a 1-year lease" I don't wait for them to answer. I turn back and start walking to my room.
"Yuri, where did you get this much money?" my father called out.
I turned to them and sighed.
"I saved it from my part-time jobs. It is my rainy day fund. Use the money and get a lease so we don't have to worry about rent every month" I say before I enter the room.
No one follows me.
A/N: Another long chapter! 2300+ words. Wow. I am proud of myself.
This is a heavy chapter. Let me know what you think of it.
I had a long weekend and planned on penning at least 4-5 chapters but since I am shifting, I could not write a word. Sometimes things don't go as we plan.
This is the last of my draft. I have to plot the story further and map out the chapters so it may take slightly longer to update the next chapter but hopefully within next 4-5 days I'll have another chapter uploaded.