Seunghyun sighs as she watches her eldest son struggle to hang his guitar up. With how tall he stood, at least six feet up from the ground, it still surprises her that he cannot reach simple things.
"Son..." Seunghyun mutters, walking her way around the giant she gave birth to. "I got this."
"No!" Jae cries out. "I almost got it." He adds.
"You clearly haven't." Seunghyun sighs. "I'm going to make sure you don't drop it by accident."
Before Jae can refute his mother's logic, Seunghyun climbs the ladder she brought in to Jae and Sungjin's room. Seunghyun throws her hands down, silently asking Jae to hand her his guitar. Jae quickly places the bright red guitar in her hands. Seunghyun huffs with content, grabbing the strap of the guitar. She carefully lifts the guitar, placing the strap on the hook Jae had hung up moments ago. Once she confirms it is safe to let go, Seunghyun pulls her hands away from the strap.
"Ta da!" Seunghyun states. "I did it." She adds, jumping off the ladder.
"Thanks Mum." Jae states. "I couldn't have done it without you."
"It's no problem, Jae." Seunghyun responds. "Now, what else do you need help with?" She asks.
"I've got it from here." Jae states. "Sungjin's going to help in a few. Go help the others, since they're all weak."
"They're not weak, Jae." Seunghyun rolls her eyes. "You're the weakest of the bunch. Even Chaehyun is stronger than you." She giggles.
"Hey!" Jae squeaks. "At least I'm the tallest. I am always there to help my short brothers, sister, and mother when the top shelf arrives." He smiles, balling his fists and placing them on his hips.
Seunghyun giggles at her oldest son. For someone who is sixteen, he acts a lot like a child.
"Sure you are, Jae." Seunghyun states. "I'm going to help Younghyun now. You have fun hanging up your posters."
"I make no promises." Jae states.
Seunghyun takes a swift right, exiting the room her two eldest sons share. She walks down the hall, noticing a door cracked open. She waddles up to it, rasping her fists against the wooden barrier.
"Knock knock." Seunghyun states, pushing the door open. "What's up, Hyun?" She asks.
Seunghyun does not get an immediate answer, and her eyes start to wander the room. She finds Younghyun sitting on the windowsill of the bay window, staring absently out of it at the houses down the street, Seunghyun skips towards the windowsill, sitting down with Younghyun.
"Whatcha looking at?" She asks.
Younghyun points his finger lazily at a house down the street; Seunghyun's gaze follows his finger to find the house they used to live in. She squints a bit, seeing her ex-husband mowing the grass.
"Look at the window." Younghyun instructs.
Seunghyun's gaze moves up to the bay window, seeing the curtain that used to stay pulled away has been pulled back so no one can see inside the room. On the windowsill. A few plushies remain, and one lone dreamcatcher is present, hanging from the middle of the ceiling.
"I wonder what's going on in there." Younghyun ponders. "I wonder how Chaehyun's doing by herself. I hope she is okay all alone. Maybe she will get to hang out with Yerim more now that she's alone." He whispers.
"Hey, Hyun." Seunghyun states. "Don't think so negatively. Chaehyun is always down the street if you want to hang out with her. Besides, you will not be alone forever. Chaehyun is coming over tomorrow, and we are going to help her set up her side of the room. She's staying for the whole week, too."
"Really?" Younghyun turns his head to face his mother's, his eyes lighting up.
"Yes, really." Seunghyun laughs. "Don't be so somber all the time. Chaehyun is down the road, and she'll always be your twin." She adds.
Younghyun nods silently, fixing his gaze back on the window down the street. He sees the curtain move slightly, and his posture straightens immediately. The curtain is pulled away, and Younghyun sees that his sister is on the floor with her five friends; Yerim, Wendy, Sooyoung, Joohyun, and Seulgi. The six girls walk towards the window and sit down, staring across the street as Mark Tuan and his six friends goof around.
"Looks like you sister's stalking that Tuan boy again." Seunghyun shakes her head, a smile plastering its way on her face. "Does she like him?" She asks.
"She's probably in love with him." Younghyun rolls his eyes. "I don't see what she likes in him." He adds.
"That's what your aunts said when I met your father." Seunghyun says. "They couldn't believe I fell for him. He was such a jock in high school. Football captain, soccer goalie, all sorts of sports. And there I was, captain of the chess club, never seen without a book of some sorts." She adds. "Opposites attract."
"But those two are too opposite." Younghyun emphasises. "Mark's quiet, follows the rules, he hasn't even gotten in trouble at all in his thirteen years of existence. Chaehyun's loud, always breaking some sort of rule, and has been to the principal's office so much the two are on a first name basis." Younghyun rolls his eyes. "I wonder if the two would make a cute couple. The quiet guy from America and the loud rebel from Korea."
"Don't worry about it too much." Seunghyun ruffles Younghyun's hair. "If he hurts her, your brothers would be on his tail. So would you, even if he's your best friend."
"Of course." Younghyun states. "Of course."
Seunghyun watches the sun move across the bright blue sky, the fluffy grey clouds blocking bits of the sky. Younghyun watches the window, sighing as Chaehyun and her friends close the curtains. Seunghyun turns to see Younghyun getting up.
"Whatcha doin'?" Seunghyun asks.
"I'm feeling a bit depressed." Younghyun states. "I'm going to listen to some music and try to draw. Mind if I'm alone for a bit?" He asks.
"I don't mind." Seunghyun chirps, standing up from the windowsill. "Whatever makes you happy that isn't illegal or harmful is okay in my book! You have fun."
Younghyun nods his head, placing his headphones over his ears. Seunghyun wanders out of the room, entering the hallway. Seunghyun gets lost in the hallway, smacking her face against a wall. She rubs her face, turning to see a door wide open. She runs inside, watching as a can of Silly String Is sprayed at her. She turns to see Wonpil, can in hand, mouth wide open.
"I'm so sorry!" Wonpil gasps, dropping the can on the carpet. "Dowoon and I-"
"It's fine, Pencil." Seunghyun smiles. "As long as you clean it up when you're done."
Wonpil's eyes light up as he bends over to pick up the can of Silly String. Dowoon kicks the door to the closet open, two cans of Silly String in each of his hands.
"Reach for the sky, Dirtbag." Dowoon states, imitating a cowboy from a western film.
Dowoon throws both cans of Silly String in the air, catching them as they fall. He aims both nozzles at Wonpil, who had frozen dead in his tracks, and starts pushing down on the nozzles, Silly String covering Wonpil immediately.
"Dowoon!" Wonpil screeches. "I wasn't ready. Stop!"
"Dowoon stops for no one." Dowoon states.
Wonpil stops screaming, staring straight at Dowoon. Dowoon keeps spray Silly String at his older brother, initiating a staring contest between the two as the Silly String slowly stops emitting from the nozzles of the cans.
"Uh, should I leave?" Seunghyun asks when the Silly String stops coming out of the can.
"No." Dowoon states. "We're gonna need help cleaning this up."
Seunghyun sighs as Wonpil and Dowoon tumble their way in to their shared room, various cleaning supplies stacked in their arms.
"All we needed were plastic bags and a pocket knife." Seunghyun sighs.
"What if the walls get stained?" Wonpil asks.
"I doubt that," Seunghyun states, "but I like your thinking."
Wonpil and Dowoon sit down with Seunghyun, peeling Silly String off each other's clothes as Seunghyun cuts string off the walls.
"What in the name of Buenos Aires happened in here?" Jae asks, wandering his way in to the room.
"Dowoon and I had a war with the leftover cans of Silly String." Wonpil states, fixing Dowoon's hair as Seunghyun bundles Silly String in to a plastic bag.
"And you didn't invite me?" Jae asks.
Dowoon nods his head.
"I'm triggered." Jae humphs, crossing his arms over his chest.
Dowoon shrugs his shoulders, picking clumps of Silly String off Wonpil's pants. The two twins, however annoying they could get, could not make Jae mad for over twenty minutes. He shakes his head at the two, a large grin plastering itself on his normally straight face.
"What's up?" Seunghyun asks Jae. "You need anything?"
"Uh, kind of." Jae states. "Follow me."
"Can I finish cleaning this up first?" Seunghyun asks.
"Of course." Jae states. "I'll wait for you outside."
Seunghyun follows her eldest son outside to their backyard, which remained empty despite for the slab of concrete in the middle with a sad excuse for a fire pit in the middle.
"What's up?" Seunghyun asks.
"I just want to talk to the best mother in the world, duh." Jae answers.
"Something's bothering you." Seunghyun states. "My motherly instincts say so. Now, Mr. Jaehyung, spill the beans. Or the tea. Whichever one is popular slang between you kids."
"What happens to the family now that you and Dad are divorced?" Jae asks. "Will we still get to see Chae and Dad? Will Dad have to move because we live here now?"
"Nothing bad is going to happen." Seunghyun reassures Jae. "You'll still get to see Chae and Dad. Dad will not move away because we live down the street. If he moves, it'll be for business."
"But if he moves..." Jae whispers. "Chae'll leave, too." He whimpers.
"It'll be hard, I know." Seunghyun grumbles. "It won't be the end of the world, though." She pipes up. "Now, let's go inside. The mosquitos are out."
Jae nods his head, following his mother inside. He takes one last glance at the empty backyard, his smile falling.
Chaehyun laughs as Joohyun holds the bottle of bleach in her hands. Yerim runs around with the red dye, threatening to throw it at Wendy.
"Hey, where's your mum?" Sooyoung asks. "I had something I wanted to show her."
Seulgi and Wendy look at Sooyoung, embarrassment in their eyes.
"Did you not get the memo?" Seulgi asks.
"What memo?" Sooyoung asks, tilting her head to the left like a puppy.
"Her parents got divorced." Wendy states. "Her mum lives down the street."
Sooyoung's eyes widen, her face flushing bright red with embarrassment.
"My God." Sooyoung whispers. "I'm so sorry I brought it up!" She waves her hands around.
"It's fine." Chaehyun states.
Joohyun opens the bottle of bleach, asking Chaehyun yet again if she wants to dye her hair.
"New life, new me." Chaehyun states. "You all are doing it, so why don't I? We can also get haircuts tomorrow before we go to my mum's. My treat." Chaehyun shrugs her shoulders.
Joohyun nods her head, applying bleach to Chaehyun's roots. Chaehyun holds the damp cloth to her forehead, trying to avoid getting any bleach on it. As Joohyun works her way down the younger girl's hair, Seulgi and Wendy start to bleach Sooyoung and Yerim's hair. As the six girls sit on the carpet of Chaehyun's room, laughing at the cheesy movie they put on in the background, the room starts to feel empty. Almost as if a seventh person were missing.
"Too bad Younghyun isn't here." Wendy pouts. "It feels... different... without him, as stupid as that sounds." She states.
"Yeah, I can agree on that one." Sooyoung states.
"It's so lonely now without him." Chaehyun sighs. "It is just my dad and I in this huge, empty house. We have no clue what to do with the two empty rooms."
"Well, why don't we turn one in to a hangout room?" Yerim asks. "Since your brothers are gone, we can move all the stuff from the garage in to Sungjin and Jae's old room."
"I don't know how my dad will feel about that." Chaehyun states. "The boys need somewhere to sleep when they stay over, and my dad needs an office that isn't the kitchen table. And besides, the only reason we got to use the garage was because my mum convinced him to let us hang out there."
"Your dad's such a party pooper." Seulgi states.
Chaehyun nods her head slowly, and Joohyun reaches over to grab the bottle of red hair dye. Joohyun applies the dye in random spots on Chaehyun's head. As Joohyun massages the dye in to certain areas of Chaehyun's bleaches hair, the group falls silent. The group hears a faint crash from downstairs.
"Finished." Joohyun smiles.
Chaehyun shoots up, grabbing her baseball from her dresser.
"Stay here." She instructs the group. "I'll check to make sure none of us are going to die."
The group nods silently, and Chaehyun wanders out of the room. She reaches the staircase, and descends. Each step down the stairs she takes, the farther the bottom looks, and the more anxious she gets. Her grip on the baseball in her hands strengthens. She reaches the last step, peeking her head around the corner. She determines that the coast is clear, and steps on to the tile floor. Once she steps on the tile, she walks straight towards the kitchen.
She only has to take one-step through the arch to see that it is a mess.
Broken plates, glasses, and bowls litter the floor by the sink. The trash, which was empty in the morning, is full of whoever knows what. The table, normally spotless, is loaded with paperwork and a huge briefcase. She spots her father behind the stacks of papers.
"Dad?" Chaehyun asks.
"Go away." Hansol growls. "I'm not in the mood to talk to you."
Chaehyun sends him a somber smile, and turns around. She grabs a broom and dustpan that stands next to the sink, and begins to sweep the glass in to one pile. Hansol giggles from behind her.
"What's so funny?" Chaehyun asks, not stopping her work.
"You remind me so much of your mother." He states. "I miss her. I miss her a lot." He trails off.
"I'm sure you do." Chaehyun rolls her eyes, sweeping glass in to the dustpan. "You sure didn't miss her when she left that one time. What did you say? Oh yeah. 'Don't come back.'" Chaehyun states bitterly.
"I regret that." Hansol states. "I regret ever letting the woman I love go."
"You love her?" Chaehyun arches her left eyebrow, dumping glass in to the rubbish bin. "'Cause last I checked, yelling at the woman you love until she cries isn't how a husband treats the wife he cherishes with all his heart."
Chaehyun turns her head back to face her father, whose gaze fell down to whatever paperwork he was doing. She looks back at the ground, finding no glass left.
"Look like my work's done here." Chaehyun states.
Hansol shoots his head up to face the back of Chaehyun's head. He squints.
"Hey." Hansol states. "I like your hair. Who did it?" He asks.
"Joohyun." Chaehyun answers. "Not like you knew she was over, anyways."
Before Hansol can answer, Chaehyun returns the broom and dustpan to its original position. She calmly walks out of the kitchen, climbs her way up the stairs, and returns to her group of friends.
Oh, how she missed her mother's presence. It made a room that was as dark as night brighter than the sun.