SUNGHOON | Cloudburst ✓

sixteen

strawberry sunscreen

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"Sunghoon! Please help me out for breakfast while those two brats get ready for school!" Mrs. Sim called from the kitchen.

With his bed hair sticking out in all sorts of places, Sunghoon quickly rushed to kitchen as he stumbled groggily. Everyone could clearly tell that the boy stayed up late the previous night just to complete the work Mrs. Sim assigned him to.

"Oh dear, you're an absolute mess. You're deadline was tomorrow young one, you didn't have to stay up!" Mrs. Sim chuckled as she handed Sunghoon a spatula. "Sauté the mushrooms for me while I set the table,"

"Yes ma'am!" Sunghoon tiredly exclaimed before doing as told. All Mrs. Sim could do was chortle in laughter, reminded of her high school best friend through his son.

"Good morning Mom and Sunshine!" Haneul gleefully greeted, neatly dressed in her school uniform. "Where's Jaeyun?" Mrs. Sim asked after placing a kiss on her daughter's forehead.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Jake screamed as he stumbled into the dining area, looking quite tidy (if it weren't for his tie).

"Atrocious Jake, very atrocious," Haneul cheekily commented before skipping to Sunghoon. "Good morning Haneul," Sunghoon greeted softly, diverting his attention to the shorter girl.

"Strawberry?" Haneul asked, holding out the red fruit between them. For some reason, the taller boy got flustered at the mere question which caused him to clumsily drop the spatula on the floor.

There was no scientific reason as to why Sunghoon dropped the spatula out of nowhere— besides the fact that he was completely enamoured by Haneul's morning charms.

"That stupid red fruit made her look even more adorable," Sunghoon thought to himself as he picked up the spatula.

"Earth to Sunshine Boy? Are you okay?" Haneul asked worriedly, looking into his brown orbs with hers.

"I'm fine. Mushrooms are breakfast!" Sunghoon announced nervously, stifling an awkward laugh to himself with his flushed cheeks.

"You mean breakfast is ready,"

"Right, right," Sunghoon chuckled nervously before setting down a pan of sautéed mushrooms. "We're eating out of the pan?" Jake asked in confusion as he scooped some mushrooms into his bowl.

"Beats me, at least there aren't too many dishes to wash now!" Mrs. Sim said, smiling gratefully at Sunghoon for his (slight) effort.

"Calm down you idiot," Sunghoon frantically thought to himself as Haneul took a seat beside him.

"Hannie, are you not eating?" Jake asked, his tone somewhat intimidating after noticing his sister much on strawberries alone. "Fruits will suffice until late lunch-"

"Eat," Jake cut her off sternly before pushing his bowl of food towards her. Noticing her mother and Sunghoon looking intently at her, Haneul clenched her fists tightly before pushing the bowl away.

"I'm gonna head to school first, I promised Jay I'd help him with Biology. See you later," Haneul monotonously said, taking her school bag before storming out of the house.

The atmosphere tensed as soon as Haneul left with Jake muttering under his breath while Mrs. Sim worriedly stared into space. Looking at the box of strawberries, Sunghoon felt his heart hurt for Haneul.

It was easy to catch onto the situation— that the girl he unknowingly had a soft spot for was trying to change herself in an unhealthy way. His strained heart soon reflected on the sky, lightning striking everywhere while the clouds allowed a greyish hue to overtake its plainness.