Precious, Fleeting Times

Yeo Ri fell asleep after crying her eyes out. Before she realised it, it was already afternoon.

She wiped away the excess tears from her eyes.

She looked at the knife in her hands. 'If it comes down to it...' her eyes darkened. She moved to hide the knife under her bed. Knowing she had a weapon relieved her somewhat. She patted the place above the spot where she hid her knife, feeling more or less safer.

Yeo Ri got up and got changed. She didn't feel secure wearing a skirt. She changed into a pair of pants.

It had been a while since she last wore one, and the only three pairs of pants that she owned was the sweatpants from the gym uniform, a loose grandma pants, and a pair of ill-fitting jeans.

Similarly, since most of her clothing consisted of dresses, she did not have many shirts, and the ones she had felt too short. She moved to Gun's neatly folded pile of clothes and stole one. It was a cheerful yellow turtleneck sweater. While Gun did not particularly like it, out of all his clothes, this one had been Yeo Ri's favourite.

Now dressed in fresh clothes, she remembered about the clothes in her drawer. Yeo Ri took it out, intending to throw it away.

She exited the room, looking around cautiously. Thankfully, that man was still at work and would not be home until later in the evening.

She stuffed the dirty clothes into the trash bin. There was already a sufficient amount of trash, so it was the perfect time for her to throw away the trash. She deftly tied up the trash bag and carried it outside, not bothering to check for recycling. She made her way to the garbage dumping spot.

"Yeo Ri?"

Yeo Ri flinched, then looked around for the voice. Seeing Gun's familiar face, she relaxed. "Oppa? Why are you back so early?"

"I had a half-day, so we were allowed to go home earlier. I was worried about you so I didn't attend the after-school lessons." Gun offered her a smile. Seeing that she was struggling with the trash bag, he went forward to help her.

Closing in behind them was Hyuk on his bike.

Yeo Ri widened her eyes in surprise. "Huh?" How strange, both of her brothers were home so early.

Hyuk halted to a stop, then slowly trailed behind them as they made their way back home.

Arriving home, Yeo Ri immediately asked if they wanted to have a late lunch or an early dinner.

"Hey." Hyuk called out.

"What is it, Oppa?"

"Here." Hyuk took out the black plastic bag that had been hanging on the handlebar. "Eat it."

Yeo Ri was puzzled but still accepted it. Hyuk watched her, scratching his neck awkwardly.

She opened the plastic bag, revealing a bunch of apples. "Oppa..." Yeo Ri looked up, feeling touched. Apples were her favourite fruit.

Gun snatched the plastic bag from Yeo Ri. "I'll peel them for you. Go and sit. Today, I'll cook and you rest. Okay?"

Yeo Ri wanted to refuse, but seeing his earnest look, she couldn't help but nod. "But if you're having troubles then just ask me, okay, Oppa?"

"Yes, yes~" Gun led her to sit on a chair then moved to the counter. He took out the cutting board and washed the apples. His hand reached out for the knives, but then paused.

He didn't pay a lot of attention to the kitchen, but even he knew that all the spaces on the knife-holder should be fully occupied. They couldn't afford many things, so each and every item and property, no matter how small, had to be accounted for.

—One knife was missing.

He turned his head to look at Yeo Ri, "Wasn't there five knives here? Where's the last one?"

Yeo Ri flinched, but quickly hid her reaction. She smiled, "Ah, that one? The handle was getting loose so I threw it away," she evenly said.

Though Gun did not notice her reaction, Hyuk who was sitting across her saw it perfectly clear. He narrowed his eyes, feeling that something was wrong. From the way she had reacted, she was definitely lying about the knife. But why?

"Is that so?" Gun picked up a smaller knife, ready to peel the apples. "Should I get you a new knife?"

"No, it's fine. There's still four more left, after all."

"If you say so."

Finished with the conversation, Gun focused on the task at hand. Though it was not his first time peeling an apple, he was rather clumsy at it. However, he gradually got better as he went through all the apples. A while later, he finally finished cutting up the last fruit and served them on a plate for Yeo Ri. He handed her a fork, so that her hands wouldn't get dirty.

"What do you want to eat, Yeo Ri?" Gun asked. He was feeling rather confident after sharpening his knife skills with the apples.

"Hm... what can you cook best, Oppa?"

"Can you even cook, sh*thead?"

Gun glared at Hyuk, "I've seen Yeo Ri cook hundreds of times. It can't be that hard." He turned towards Yeo Ri with a gentle expression. "What about kimchi stew, and some egg rolls? You like them, right?"

"Mm!" Yeo Ri nodded.

With Yeo Ri's help, he easily gathered the ingredients and started cooking.

First, he started on the stew. Then, he made the eggs. Finally, after being prompted by Yeo Ri, he remembered to cook the rice. However, as time passed, Yeo Ri began to realise that she had just unleashed a disaster in her kitchen.

"Oppa! Oppa, not like that!"

"I-it's not? Then should I do it the other way?"

"Oppa! That's too much salt! That's too much!"

"Oh, sh*—"

"O-oh no! Oppa, the stew is bubbling! Quickly turn it off—"

"W-what should I do?!"

"The eggs are getting burnt! Hurry and flip them!"

"Yeo Ri!"

"Oppa, what are you doing?!"

In the end, he failed.

The trio looked at the sorry-looking set of dishes with complicated eyes.

"If you don't know how, then you should've just kept your f*ckin' mouth shut, sh*thead." Hyuk complained.

Gun glowered at him, but silently accepted the criticism.

Yeo Ri looked over to the two of them, sighing. "...Should we just make some instant noodles?"

"...Good idea."