Koon Chai Cafe

Chapter Seven - Breaking Walls

Kopter

When I woke up, Park was still fast asleep.

He was a restless sleeper and had shifted considerably in the night, it's a good thing it'd take roughly three volcanoes and a level eight earthquake to wake me from my slumber. His normally straight black hair was ruffled and messy, covering the top half of both of his eyes. His legs were sprawled at right angles and one of his arms rested on my side, palm face down on my ribcage. I took a good look at his face. He was so peaceful when he was asleep, there was no trace of a frown or sarcastic glare on his face. Not wanting to disturb him, I silently leaned over and grabbed my phone. Half past six, definitely too early to risk waking him up.

I carefully lifted his hand from my chest and gently placed it down on the bed sheet beside me. I slowly detangled myself from the cocoon of blankets I'd become nestled in and silently crept out of the room.

Sunny was already up and eating breakfast when I got to the kitchen. She looked up in surprise as I entered.

"Oh, you're an early riser too?" She questioned, lowering her spoon.

"Yeah, I guess so." I pulled out the chair opposite her and poured myself a glass of water from the jug beside me.

"You want some?" She pointed to a white plastic bag on her right and then back to the bowl in front of her.

"Is that Congee?" I asked in disbelief.

She smiled, nodded and pulled out another paper bowl from inside the bag, placing it in front of me.

"There's a Thai breakfast store just down the road. I gotta get there super early though. If Mom knew I was skipping out on her Korean breakfast to eat someone else's food, she'd probably disown me." She explained, handing me a plastic spoon from the bag.

I didn't realise how much I'd missed Thai food until I tasted it again. This warm savoury porridge was my go-to breakfast back home. Until I tasted it, I didn't realise quite how much I missed home too.

Sunny pointed her spoon at the stairs. "Is Park still asleep?"

I nodded, taking another spoonful.

"Typical, I always get him an extra bowl in case but he's about as likely to get up early as he is to smile spontaneously."

I laughed, accidentally snorting some of the Congee and subsequently having a coughing fit. Sunny handed me a box of tissues.

Once I recovered and regained what little dignity I had left, I asked, "Has he always been like that then?"

Sunny paused for a second, deep in thought. "Not always. He's always been on the shy, quiet side but when he got into Trinity Academy, that's when he really started being a grouch." She paused again and then added, "He's actually a lot better during the holidays. I think if he gets enough of a detox away from that place he goes back to his usual, slightly jollier self."

"So why does he go there, if it's that hellish for him?" It didn't make any sense to me.

She looked down at her bowl and sighed, "If he goes there, then he's got the best chance of getting a full academic scholarship into college. There's no way Mom and Dad could afford to send him otherwise. I guess he feels like he needs to provide for us, allow them to retire, and care for them. With me pursuing arts, there's no way I can do it and the twins are too young." She picked up her spoon and absently twirled it in her fingers a few times, lost in thought.