Behind Watanabe

Watanabe.

Hill by hill was passed by in order to reach the residence, Junkyu was immediately thrilled by the state of the Watanabe family's house. The big house was at the end of the road and stood on the widest plot of land. Natural brick was the main material of the walls which were not painted or covered with cement, so the house looked charming and intimidating in red. Then there was a high black fence that surrounds the whole house. For the size of a village that not many people knew about, the Watanabe family's house could be said to be quite luxurious and grand.

Apart from its slightly mysterious aura, at least there was a view of the beach and shady trees that make everything looked more beautiful.

"We're here. Let me help you carry your luggage, Junkyu-ssi." Mr. Watanabe insisted on helping Junkyu, even though the young man could do everything by himself. Moreover, Junkyu was an employee in the family, not a regular guest who always had to be served.

As he entered the house, Junkyu's jaw dropped and almost slipped from his cheek. As Japanese people living in South Korea, the Watanabe family had a unique taste for interiors, where they chose Scandinavian style for their home designs. No wonder, everything looked mysterious and elegant, it didn't matter where or from which angle to look. Still, for unsettling reasons, Junkyu thought that the house was too huge for a family of four.

Junkyu then followed the footsteps of Mrs. Watanabe, where she led the new sitter to his bedroom on the ground floor, right facing the back door. "This is your room, Junkyu-ssi. Hanami has prepared everything for you."

"Woah... really? That's really kind of you, Hanami. Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome. I hope you like your room!"

"I wouldn't want it any other way, this is beautiful." Junkyu kept on praising as he wanted to gain trust and share his optimistic side to Hanami.

"You will sleep here for as long as you are Hanami's sitter. Make yourself comfortable and let us know if you need anything." Mrs. Watanabe continued.

"You are very kind. Thank you, Mrs. Watanabe."

"Then, I'll prepare dinner. You can rest for a while or look around the house if you want. After that, we'll talk about Hanami's sitting schedule."

They exchanged smiles and finally parted ways. Unexpected, but it turned out that Junkyu's first impression was much better than what he had expected. Since Mrs. Watanabe allowed Junkyu to look around the house, he decided to do "sightseeing" in the living room, because he didn't dare to walk too far in the house without the permission of the host. Hanami and Mr. Watanabe were seen sitting on a bench at the backyard garden, while Mrs. Watanabe was on the other side of the house, in the kitchen to be exact.

"Nice to meet you."

"Oh my God!" Junkyu almost screamed when he heard a male voice from an unknown direction. When Junkyu looked up, he found a tall young man standing, holding on to the railing of the second floor foyer. His hair was dark and his forehead was covered, he was also wearing a T-shirt with the rock band Pink Floyd logo and black baggy jeans. "S-sorry... you startled me."

"Oh, sorry." The young man smirked. "You must be Hanami's new nanny."

"Mmm, yes, that's right." Junkyu then bowed his body politely. "Hello, I'm Kim Junkyu. Please take good care of me."

"I'm Haruto, Hanami's brother."

So he is Haruto.

"H-hello..."

As Haruto has an attractive appearance and handsome face, Junkyu slightly regretted the fact that they had to live in a village. If they lived in Seoul, surely everyone would want Haruto to become an idol, many big entertainment companies would be definitely fighting for him to become a member of a future famous, in-the-making boy band.

"Have you seen your room?"

"Yes, my room is very pretty. Hanami said she prepared everything."

"Right, Hanami is indeed a sweet girl, she was working really hard to get your attention." There was a sarcastic chuckle at the end of Haruto's sentence. Then, Haruto went down the stairs and faced Junkyu from a closer distance. It turned out that the oldest child of the family was taller than Junkyu thought. "You look tired."

"Mmm, probably because I just arrived here, and the trip was long too."

"Then..." Haruto took a step closer to Junkyu and he certainly could feel how hot Junkyu's blood was boiled. "Make sure to have a good rest and join us for dinner later. My mom is a great cook."

"I will."

Their conversation stopped there, after which Haruto left Junkyu and returned to the second floor, where he disappeared while walking behind the wall. Junkyu didn't anticipate his meeting with Haruto to be that intense. Seeing how cheerful and open the parents and Hanami were, of course Haruto left a big question mark in Junkyu's mind, what an interesting teenager he was. However, again, Junkyu thought it was just a teenage certain phase that he probably didn't really understand, which perhaps he had experienced it as well before he was turning eighteen. Edgy, emo boys, or some sort of it.

Junkyu's first dinner with the Watanabe family went well and tranquil. What Haruto said was true, that his mother was a great cook, and Junkyu really enjoyed his food. There was a different sensation when Junkyu observed mothers in other people's families took action in the kitchen and conjured all the raw ingredients into perfect meals for their family members, quite the opposite of the situation at his own house, where the cooks had been assigned to prepare sumptuous dishes for the family every day. However, it wasn't the time for comparation.

"Junkyu-ssi, did you enjoy the food?" asked Mrs. Watanabe.

"The food was amazing. It's my first time trying Yakisoba too." Junkyu answered while wiping around his mouth with a napkin.

"Glad you liked it. Since dinner's over, how about we talk casually about Hanami's schedule?" Mrs. Watanabe suggested and Junkyu immediately agreed. "Haruto and Hanami are homeschooled, so you don't have to get up too early to take them to school. However, make sure to help Hanami with all her homeschooling needs and if you can, accompany her to play while we go to work. Your shift ends when we are home and it should be around five in the afternoon."

Surprised, it turned out that his first experience as a babysitter started out more extreme than expected, at least "extreme" for Junkyu because Haruto and Hanami were not like the other children that Junkyu had in mind. Let alone homeschooling, sometimes large amount of fees were also needed to send children to schools in general, but Junkyu didn't bother since the Watanabe family seemed well established to afford such high cost. Once again, Junkyu took a pity, as Hanami gave Junkyu a cheerful, friendyly and outgoing impression. She would do really well at school.

"Haruto's and Hanami's lesson begins at nine AM, but when you are playing with Hanami, be sure to keep your voice low because Haruto's lesson might take longer. If you want to, you can join us for breakfast every day and then help Hanami preparing for her lesson." 

Junkyu didn't have a second thought when Mrs Watanabe described the daily task for him, so it was easy to understand and Junkyu hoped, it would be easy to be executed as well.

"I understand. So after school and all homework is done, Hanami and I can play together?" Junkyu glanced at Hanami with a mischievous smile on his face, the little girl seemed to love the idea.

"Of course, but never pass on meals and curfew is at seven, so don't be outside the house after seven!"

At first, Junkyu wanted to complain about the curfew given by Mrs. Watanabe, but considering that Hanami was still very young, it was appropriate for the child, and as they should, not to roam outside the house when the sun was setting. However, summer was supposed to be the time they played until the sky turned orange and it was definitely later than seven o'clock in the evening.

Without more question and chatter, Junkyu obeyed Mrs. Watanabe's words. "Then, let me help you cleaning up, then I'll go to my room."

To be continued.