Ren's worry came true when his mother allowed him to have a sleepover at Ivan's place. Although it compromises her son's security, she wanted him to enjoy his life as a teenager. At first, Ren wasn't convinced. He was sure that they'll all be asleep by the time he comes back from his part-time job. To his surprise, his part-time job is suspended for the time being due to the renovations."Weren't you listening the other day.... wait, you left right after your shift was over." said Mr. Kim, scratching his head. "Business has been good for a while now and a lot of customers have been coming lately. So I figured that I need to expand the shop a little bit to cater many customers at the same time. I know that it will be hard with only a few of us. Don't worry, I will look for other part-timers as well."Ren looked lost for a moment. He did not expect to miss such an important announcement. Ren just decided to come early to his part-time job to get away to get a breather for the time being
Ren steeled himself as he stood outside Ivan's front door. He had a familiar feeling that something similar to earlier was about to happen. So before that happens, Ren hit the doorbell, one he had not done earlier.Just a few seconds later, the door slightly opened, displaying Ivan's cousin's face sticking out between the space of the door and the wall. The moment she realized it was Ren, she opened the door completely, inviting him in. "So it was you. You should've come in without ringing the doorbell." She walked back. Ivan’s cousin was wearing an apron. So it was not far-fetched to think that she was at the very least working in the kitchen before she opened the door. With that in mind, Ren wondered where his friend could be at this hour."I'm sorry that you had to leave the kitchen to open the door for me. I'm just not fond of the idea of barging into someone else's house as if it were mine." Ren smiled awkwardly.She found Ren's excuse rather amusing, and she let out a chuckle.
Right after eating, Ivan and Silvia prepared the table in the living room. It was Ren’s first sleepover and since there’s no one to tell them what to do, Ivan prepared everything they needed to have an enjoyable night. The awkward air around Ren and Elishia has finally disappeared and they have become comfortable with each other’s company, good enough to wash the dishes together. “What do you think Ivan is trying to pull?” Elishia wiped the dishes with a dry cloth, “I know I’m his cousin so I should know how his brain operates and I do. But that is before he entered high school,” she turned to him, waiting for his response.“His plans, huh? Ivan can be difficult to figure out sometimes. His mind operates on a rather difficult wavelength, after all. Although I’ve seen some crazy things today, I don’t think he will pull something on the same level.” Ren smiled, surprising Elishia because of his certain level of trust for her cousin.“You trust him that much, huh?” said Elishia.Ren no
‘What the hell is going on?’ Is what I want to ask after suddenly falling into a kind of situation where I don’t even know how to deal with. This is the very first time that I’ve slept in the same room with someone of the opposite sex. And it just had to be Ivan’s cousin of all people.Not only that I don’t know how to act in this particular situation, it’s also thanks to the noises they’re making that makes the atmosphere between me and Elishia awkward. Just listening to the busy duo is putting me on the edge. And it’s not just me, I think Elishia feels the same.I turned to look over to her direction, to the bed. And to my surprise, I saw her staring back at me. I immediately turned around as if I saw nothing.Why was she looking at me? Is she perhaps uncomfortable sleeping in the same room with a man? Yes. That must be the reason why.“Elishia, are you asleep?” I asked, softly.There’s a chance that I was just seeing things. After all, we’re all drowsy earlier. She must have falle
I woke up and saw the exact same thing everyday for the last 17 years of my life. A piece of stale bread and a glass of milk that’s on the verge of expiring were the first things I saw the moment I walked out of my room. That’s usually the staple food in our household every morning. If you look at it, it's not enough for a growing kid like me who is trying to study and get at least a scholarship to go to a public college, but it’s more than enough for me.As someone who is not worth much, I can’t complain. I can’t. But with that kind of food greeting you everyday for almost your entire life, you’re bound to get sick of it someday. And that day arrived a long time ago. Sadly, I can’t do anything about it.“Meat” Oh! How I hope to wake up at least once in my life and see meat being served on the table. It can happen if I just focus on working and stop shooting for a scholarship. But even that’s hard if you are sitting at the bottom of the food chain. Unranked individuals like me can o
For the first time in a while, I wasn’t greeted by the usual stale bread and milk. There are still plenty left from the leftovers from last night. Fortunately, we have a small fridge to prolong them long enough to save them for another meal.“Morning, Mom.”It seems like my mother doesn't have any work today since she’s preparing breakfast. She usually leaves for work around this time and returns home at 12 AM to rest for the day. I’m glad she could get some rest before another unforgiving day of work.“You’re up early.”“This is usually the time I wake up. Where’s dad?”Mother handed me a plate of rice and a reheated bowl of soup yesterday. I only noticed it just now and it seems like it’s raining. What a perfect meal on a cold and rainy day! I hurriedly sat on the table not wanting to let the soup go cold and started eating immediately.“Your father is out today. It seems like there’s been a problem from the recent irregu
“Aiyo! Morning, Ren. What a great day, huh? Say, what are you planning to do on your birthday?” Asking me something like that out of nowhere, there’s no way I can think of something on the spot. “My birthday, huh? I don’t know. Since it’s the same day as the college entrance exam, I guess I’ll be studying?” Right after I said those words, Ivan looked at me with a disappointed look on his face. “Hey, Ren. I know I should be saying such things, but it's your birthday. Shouldn’t you at least enjoy yourself even for just a day?” What’s this guy saying? I just told him that it’s the same day as my entrance exam. I can’t just skip it. “Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since you got to celebrate your birthday. And for a few years now, I’m the only one who gets to receive a gift from you. That eats my conscience away every year, you know?” “If it troubles you that much, then just a gift is fine. There’s no need to celebrate, is there?” It’s true that I gave presents to Ivan
‘Boring’ That’s how my life has been for a while now. Everything is so easy to get as long as you have money. Luxury cars, branded clothes, latest model phones, and even people. I can confidently say that I have everything. Everyone I know is doing everything they can to get what they want even when they already have everything and they are happy. So I thought I’d do the same, and my father would immediately give me what I demanded. That’s how you can make yourself happy, by getting what you want. I was happy. The joy of getting what you want is satisfying and fulfilling, but that did not last long. And soon, I realized how boring and dull my life has been to have granted everything I wanted without doing anything nor working hard to get what I want. As soon as I heard that we needed to move because of the nature of my father's work, I felt relieved and hopeful that this would somehow make me realize true happiness. “Young miss, we are going to arrive soon.” I looked at the world