seaside

XVIII

Tazannah
nearly chokes on her
spaghetti- savouring the last
bit of
onions, tomatoes,
beef cubes and noodles
in hopes of
delaying the amount
of time she has
to answer
when she hears her
sister's question.
"i- uh, um .."

"-he isn't, but
they seem like a
couple, don't they?" Seungwoo
speaks up with a
brotherly (or
in this case, cousin-ly)
smile directed
towards Tazannah and
Hangyul, who he had gotten
along with
during the
few minutes
of their conversation-
his tone endearing enough
for his
younger cousin to grin widely,
rosy cheeks and bright
eyes as she nods.

Dongpyo pipes up,
"Tazannah keeps going on
about Hangyul
and Hangyul and-"
he notices the strict glare
from Tazannah and cheekily
corrects his
words, "-and Hangyul hyung-
it's getting
slightly annoying."
and Tazannah flushes-
not daring
to look at Hangyul
or her mother.

but Mrs Kim's smile
is warm- much to both
Tazannah and Hangyul's relief.
"i'm sure
that Hangyul is a
great young boy in
that case,"
she says- eyes
twinkling with bemusement
like the diamonds on her neck,
and Hangyul
can't help but send
her a grin of his own.

the end of dinner
sets a good tone to the
endless night- a much lighter
atmosphere
surrounding the families.
Dongpyo's seen
playing cards with Dohyon
and the
parents- along
with the adorable lively
Hyeongjun
who's staying over with
Dongpyo and his family
at the
Kim Manor
for the night.

she can't
help but feel exhausted from
the day's events as she
clears the
living room and
stores Dongpyo's unfinished
birthday cake in the kitchen;
yet a whisper
from Hangyul
'courting' her to the
beach sends
her star filled eyes wide
awake and
she agrees- giddy
in love.