unpretty

13

February 18, 2011

"Noona," Hoseok laughed nervously as he referred to his older sister, "I think they better help themselves with dinner first, they must be starving."

"Oops, sorry Hoseok. I almost forgot," the lady teased before he winked at the boy.

She obliged and led us to their backyard where the main party occured, with eight tables beautifully distributed around the area. The decorated place was almost packed because of the few familiar people coming from the neighborhood and some that might be Hoseok's relatives. Meanwhile, my parents were drinking and chatting with the other adults.

At some point, I also lost sight of Ailee during the party. I figured that she was somewhere socializing with our neighbors.

Hoseok's sister was sitting comfortably beside me, filling herself with dessert. We chatted for awhile now and she happened to also inform me that she was coming from Seoul. She was currently under the care of her grandpa as she persued her studies as an academy scholar.

Ironically, despite of knowing Hoseok and being his neighbor for years, I never even knew that he had a sister. I thought that it might be because she apparently left before our family transferred here in Gwangju, or I just haven't thought of asking him.

"Why don't you try this too, Boksung? It's very savory," she said, referring to the chocolate mousse she was munching.

I nodded, "Okay, I will."

"There were strawberry-flavored ones in the counter, too. It's a wonder why Hoseok requested for them when he was fully aware that I hated the sour taste of strawberries. But yeah, you can go try them if you want. I'm not stopping you."

Diffidently, I shook my head, "No, thanks. I'm also... not a fan."

She instantly turned to me with eyes lit up with excitement, "You hate strawberries, too?"

I genuinely nodded as agreement.

"I finally found someone who understands me," she said, playfully exhaling a sigh of contentment.

"But my sister loves them," I added.

"Hoseok recently insisted that he loves them, too. It's actually funny because from what I remember before I left to Seoul, we both hated strawberries."

Her expression showed that she was in fact bewildered, while I was the opposite because I immediately understood.

I understood why Hoseok changed his preferences so suddenly.

It's because he's in love with my sister.

Of course he would have to like what she likes.

But the thing I didn't understand is,

Why do I feel so blue all of a sudden? The thought of Hoseok's affection for Ailee lingered in my mind, yet it made me feel uncomfortable.

I felt like hating it.

"Boksung," Hoseok's sister called so I lifted my head up to face her. She puckered her lips in wonder before she continued, "To be honest, I like your name."

Her very statement caught me off-guard.

"Um, thank you. No one has ever told me that before," I replied sheepishly.

"Really? I wonder why, though? I mean yes, it's underrated, but indeed very unique. 'Boksung' means 'peaches,' right?"

I smiled at her gladly, "Yes, that's right. How did you know? No one really cared enough to appreciate the meaning behind my name."

"Trust me, someone else does."