SCENERY / Taejin

28. Good Job,Tae

The wait seems to last forever. Neither of us move from our spots and time seems to be ticking by slower than normal. I have a thousands things to scream at him but none of it manages to escape my lips.

After a good few seconds have passed, he finally shifts a little and looks down. My eyes are locked on him as I follow his every movement in detail. Hyung's nose twitches like it always does whenever he's nervous. And his ears turns multiple shades redder. The corner of my lips tugs a little into a smile seeing how this habit of his haven't changed after all these years.

The anticipation is killing me and I take another step closer to break the silence.

But what he does next startles me to halt.

Hyung looks up with a bright smile; all hints of surprise and nervousness that were so prominent just seconds ago..
are all gone.

"Taehyung-ah.."
He calls out and my chest feels like it lost all the weight it had been carrying.

"What are you doing here??" He blurts out with a stupefied face, still grinning.

Before I could react, he has one arm thrown around my neck and he pulls me in closer to him.

"Don't scare me like that, man. You!"
He's loud enough for a few of the vendors nearby to turn their heads at us.

Something feels off.

What is this?
Hyung, right now.. doesn't feel genuine.
He's talking to me like I'm some distant cousin he hasn't seen over winter break.
The smile he has on, doesn't feel right. His nose and ears are redder than ever in this breezy, summer climate.
I've been living with him since I was 16...and I've looked at him long enough to know how his body language always betrays his happy facade.
So,why...why is he like this now?

Why, hyung? Why are you acting?

"Who is this handsome gentleman?" The lady he was arguing with earlier asks with a toothy smile.

Hyung...please don't...

"My younger brother," He replies grinning even wider.

"Ahh..he looks familiar.." Another lady from the left comes closer.
I lower my head to shield my face from her.

"Of course, he'll be! I came with him to the market place a few times before, ahjumma..

...Ahh! we're running late. We'll get going then!"

And with that hyung grabs my hand, pulling me away hurriedly through the crowd.
The people we left behind stares after us but they're called back to their busy jobs a second later.

We stop infront of the footpaths along the beach. Hyung drops his paper bag in the carrier of a scooter, which I presume belongs to him. We're both huffing and catching our breath when he turns around to face me.

"Y-you...almost got recognized there." He say in between ragged breathing.

I take a moment to compose myself before answering but hyung beats me to it.

"How are you even here?" His voice is soft and in almost a whisper. He doesn't wait for me to answer as he takes a seat down a nearby bench on the sidewalks.

That little act he pulled back at the marketplace left me all kinds of confused now. I don't know how I'm supposed to speak back at him.

"This is..." I look away, avoiding his gaze.

"..the opposite side of the world from home."
I press my lips tighter.

Why do I feel so annoyed?