Jaehwan: Now that you’ve done this stupid thing, you might as well do it right
Jaehwan: And by the way, you owe me $$$, Zu
Jaehwan: You know what else we said?
Jaehwan: That this would happen on YOUR watch
Kazu: … … …
13
ThefirstthingEunjaesaw when he woke up was Jiyeon's phone on its charger, the lock screen showing a chain of notification icons and a time that made no sense at all. How could it be past noon? He did the math in his head, calculating the number of hours he'd been asleep. The last time he slept anywhere near that long was right after Apollo returned from their second world tour. He’d been too sick to get out of bed.
Eunjae sat up. He’d passed out on top of the covers, bowled over by a combination of stress and lingering jet lag. He retained no memory of how he got from the desk to Jiyeon’s old twin bed, but someone had draped a blanket over him, fluffy and emblazoned with what had to be an Austen quote. Eunjae wondered which book it came from. And then he remembered that he’d sent a text to Jaehwan, who might have replied by now. He snatched the phone off the nightstand.
His brother had indeed replied. Not just Jaehwan, but Kazu as well. This meant both of Eunjae’s oldest brothers were now apprised of the situation. He found himself curled up on the mattress, eyes burning with unshed tears. Reading his brothers’ words was almost enough to make Eunjae feel as if they were sitting on either side of him. There was Kazu’s hand on his shoulder, his big laugh that could fill a room with sunlight. And here was Jaehwan scolding him in person. In all his days, Eunjae never guessed that he’d miss those scoldings so terribly.
Be happy, Ari. He read that line again, and then all the other lines twice over. In some ways, they’d responded just as he’d thought they might. In others, they’d surprised him.
Jaehwan was right about making himself hard to find. Eunjae hadn’t thought of that at all. He also hadn’t made any decisions about how long to stay, but returning to Seoul still felt as inevitable as sunrise.
He should go back, but he didn’t want to.
Just then, there was a brisk knock at the bedroom door. “Mystery Ryan. You up?”
“I said check if he’s sleeping still, not shout at him!”
“Who’s shouting now? You’re louder than I am!”
Eunjae hurried to inform them he was awake. Denny fixed him with an appraising stare. It was like submitting to an x-ray that revealed character flaws rather than broken bones. Squirming a little, Eunjae came to the realization that he had yet to shower or change. He'd been more exhausted than he thought.
“Finally,” boomed Denny. “I was getting tired of Dad texting me that you might have been murdered in your bed by assassins. Like they could breach the perimeter! Ridiculous.”
“Han Woosung! I never said he was a dead person! He justsleepslike a dead person.” Mr. Han presented Eunjae with a towel. “Ryan Kim, you're so tired, huh? What's your job? Graveyard nurse? Late night comedian?”
“Graveyard nurse?” muttered Denny.
“You know what I'm saying!”
“Ah,” said Eunjae, trying to decide if he should remove the bucket hat or leave it on and avoid displaying the abominable state of his hair. “Something like that.”
Denny hooked a finger in his shirt collar and hustled him into the hallway. “Yeah, okay. Liar. Come on, you need to get cleaned up. You look like bad news. I can't put you to work like this, we're a family-friendly brunch spot. Where's all the stuff Yeonnie stole from my closet? You’re lucky I kept all my clothes from high school. I was scrawnier then.”
Shortly thereafter, Eunjae was in a bathroom two doors down, clutching the towel and some plastic bottles containing shampoo and conditioner. Jiyeon’s, possibly left here in case she ever stayed the night at her parents’ place. Eunjae could tell because the scent was the same as the pillow he’d fallen asleep on the previous night. He was trying to get a better grip on these items when Denny began pelting him with articles of clothing: a royal blue t-shirt stamped with the Wanna Waffle logo, jeans, underwear and socks and a belt. Last came an orange apron that sailed through the air and landed on Eunjae’s head.
Denny shooed him into the shower. “Go, go. You’ve got ten minutes. The worst of the lunch rush is over, but Mom will need us back for that retirement party coming in at 2:00.”
Eunjae lifted the apron away from his face. “This is for me? Really?”
“Who else would it be for? We’ve all got one already. Kindly note that there’s no name on it because you continue to withhold vital information. Such as who you actually are and how many felonies are on your record.”
They were giving him a job. Eunjae could hardly believe it. Mr. Han’s explanation of how to work the fussy shower knob went in one ear and right back out the other.
“Geez, why are you smiling like that? This family attracts nothing but weirdos. Get going!” Denny stomped away, scratching his head. About halfway down the hall, he whipped around to point at Eunjae. “And you’d better come out of there looking wholesome.Wholesome, you hear me?”
14
“Youdon'tlookverywholesome,” pronounced Mrs. Han. She pushed another plate of waffles at Eunjae. “Too handsome. Who do you look like, Secret Ryan? Mommy? Daddy? Which one?”
