Lets Not Fall in love.

I stared for a while, trying to get my composure together so I could speak to my brother. ‘’Hey Juniper.’’ I said as I stared at the honey blonde behind him. Hyungwon looked at me from behind my brother. He looked pretty neutral with everything. Like he wasn’t very surprised to see me.

‘’You have a twin, that’s freaking cool.’’

Said Juli beside me before she introduced herself to them. ‘’Hyungwon, this is my sister, I told you about her. She’s cute huh?’’ Hyungwon smiled in response and nodded. ‘’It’s nice to meet you.’’ He said holding out his hand to me.

I took his hand in mine and he squeezed it tightly while looking in my eyes and giving me a knowing look. His full lips still in a tense smile.

‘’We were in the area.. just hanging around. I forgot what the name of the place you worked was.’’ He explained as he walked us inside the store. He followed Juli for a while and when they were further away I turned to Hyungwon.

‘’Are you stalking me?’’

I whispered to him as I leaned over and pretended to fix a shit on a rack and fold some tank tops. ‘’No. I didn’t know you were his sister when I met him.. but obviously I thought you must be when he said he had a twin. ‘’ He explained to me.

I stared up at him and searched his face. ‘’it was an accident meeting your brother. But I have to tell you, you’re hanging around the wrong people.’’ He stared. He suddenly jerked back when he heard my brother get closer. He raised his eyebrows at my brother as Juniper announced that they should get going. And that he would see me at home. Hyungwon gave me one last glance back before they walked out of the store.

‘’he was mentally doing you.’’ Juli’s voice was in my ear after a few seconds. ‘’Who?’’ I asked her as I followed her back to the breakroom. ‘’Your brother’s friend.’’ She explained to me. I explained to her that we’d met before in a sense and went to clock out. I exchanged numbers with Juli and was on my way. Tired with my head still reeling.

I nearly died when Mom said Juniper had a friend over. ‘’Who?’’ I asked while taking my shoes off. She was home for her break. She wanted to check in with me face to face for a while. ‘’I don’t know. But at least he’s making friends so fast.’’ I frowned at my mother and sighed. ‘’He’s still not talking to you.’’ I concluded. My mother smiled a little. She was such a kind faced woman. So beautiful. I loved her so much. ‘’I know he’ll come around. I mean, I just don’t ever remember him being so hostile with me. You know?’’ she asked me. She stroked my hair back and exhaled deeply. ‘’He’ll come around Mom. He always does.’’ I was trying to mainly tell myself that. He’d never given me the silent treatment before. Not because we were twins. It was because I never let him. I didn’t like being ignored. I’d be damned if my own twin ignored me.

But I ignored that for a while. I told my mom about how he came to see me at work. About Miu and Juli. About how I already knew I would like it here. I would save my doubts upon settling in and adjusting to a new school when that time came. I would only stress myself out.
My mom played around with her food and stared at me with a smile on her lips. ‘’What?’’ I asked her. She shrugged dramatically. ‘’Just waiting for you to tell me about this guy of yours. The one you don’t really talk about. The mystery?’’ I rolled my eyes. That was because he was a mystery to me as well.

‘’There’s nothing to talk about. He’s cute and all. And we talk. But like… he’s so odd mom. I like him, but he frustrates me.’’ I explained. And she nodded, like she already knew that. Of course she already knew that. Of course. ‘’Well.. your brother’s friend was kind of cute.’’ She whispered packing up her stuff. ‘’Like. You should see his lips. Sooo thick.’’ I giggled with her.

‘’You can’t be shy. Get out there. It’ll make starting a new school much easier.’’ How would she know that? She had stayed in one place most of her life and people approached her. All the time. My mom gave me a kiss on my cheek and grabbed her keys as she head out again.
I waited until her car was no longer in sight to go upstairs to my brother’s room. I knocked on his door and didn’t wait for an answer to go in. But I didn’t see my brother. All I saw was Hyungwon sitting in his new computer chair that Hansol had gotten him. ‘’What are you up to?’’ I grilled. He looked up with those brown eyes and raised an eyebrow. ‘’Your brother found us. I’m just showing him to ropes. It was Shownu’s decision.’’ He said the name like I was supposed to know him. ‘’Do the other’s know that he has a sister?’’ I asked sitting down on the bed and looking him in the eyes. I was honestly so scared. What was he getting my brother into? What did he want? His thick lips opened and closed as he tried to find words.

‘’they didn’t ask. But…’’ he cut himself off. ‘’They won’t bother you if they find out that you were involved with me.’’ I stared at him in disbelief. ‘’But you’re not. I mean, I’m not.’’ I kept looking over my shoulder to see when Juniper would come back. I could hear him in the bathroom now. The water running as he washed his hands.
‘’It will take a while. But if your brother does a good job. He will become like family.’’ Hyungwon told me. ‘’If the other’s meet you. You will become like a sister.’’ I shook my head as I thought of Choi… which was exactly who texted me at that exact moment.

‘’You know why I can’t.’’ we were already talking like we’d known each other several months rather than we had only had an hour long conversation at a café one day. He smiled bitterly and I closed my eyes and flinched when he reached out to me. But he was only examining the yang symbol in-between his fingers carefully. ‘’ Alright.’’ He said to me. He said with a smile. ‘’I understand.’’ He told me. And turned his head to look at my brother. I understood in the silent gesture that he would keep information about me out of his mouth for the time being. And he wouldn’t tell my brother about my activities. Less it would cause tension. But just in case;
‘’Do you have a cell phone? ’I asked out of the blue. I was keeping up a small façade that I was flirting with him by putting my number in his phone. His eyes screamed suspicion; but he smiled at me anyways. Then our eyes did a very dangerous game with each other. And I didn’t really realize it until my brother cleaned his throat. ‘’The mental connection is our thing, Remember?’’ he said with an easy laugh. I backed away from Hyungwon and laughed nervously. ‘’right. I’m going out for a while. I’ll be back later.’’

‘’Where?’’ My brother asked. I told him I was going with Juli, but I made the mistake of looking at Hyungwon. Who I knew, knew I was lying.
As long as he didn’t tell my brother. I didn’t care.

Notes