THE JOCK JUST WANTS THE NERD [2]

52

||ETHAN||

The sound of chirping with the radiant warmth of sun rays woke me up. Eye lids twitched and slowly raised. Checking my phone, I got up rather early than expected. The screen blinked with 5:39 displayed. Giving a soft rub to my face, I slowly stood from bed and let out a mumble.

Stepping into the kitchen, I brought out a pan, some eggs, onions, bacon, and other ingredients. I set them out on the counter and laid it in an organized matter. Thinking for a moment, I hatched an idea to play some music while I prepare breakfast. My finger brushed on my phone's screen, scrolling across Youtube to look for something to listen to. Tapping on a playlist of jazzy sounds, my hands worked their magic to make a meal. Cracking the shell and whisking the egg whites and yolk on a bowl, sprinkled some seasoning and dropped a dollop of milk in. The water simmered on standby for the coffee.

Chopping some vegetables and laying them inside the omelet with the meat, I fried us up a nice dish.

-

Dad comes into the dining room with a yawn, greeted with the sight of our table set up. I waved a fork and pointed at the other plate. He smiles and places himself down, inching his food and chair closer to me, "thank you," he pats my back. Enjoying the company, our utensils clank on the surface. Recalling those papers last night, I wondered if it was a thing in particular that could be questioned about.

"Dad, can I ask you something?"

Stopping midway from eating, he freezes to listen to me. "I saw those reports last night after your went to sleep, what were those?"

With a sigh, he places his silverware aside, leaning back with arms crossed. Dad appears to be thinking deeply, brows creased and lips tightened to a line. Sighing, "remember how I said that there's this drug scandal going around?"

I shake my head with a nod. "Well... h-how do I say this," he rubs the back of his neck hesitantly.

"It got me puzzled, so I then went and got permission from the investigation department. I dug deeper into the detective files and decided to take some of the information with me. There's just this hunch that, it might have some sort of a connection to your mother's death..."

-

My father left for work an hour later. We both part with an embrace before departing. Now, I was left tending the apartment alone with a free day. The rushing water flowed in the sink as it poured on the dirty cutlery. It was warm, though my hands were shaking. I wasn't cold, no, more like shocked.

"I'm going to get to the bottom of this. I want to find out more of why things are happening...

why it happened to her."

His words echoed in my mind, the tone was laced with earnestness.

A shiver ran up my spine as I finally cleaned up everything. Now, silent as an unattended chapel, I could hear the beating heart in my chest. Blinking, my feet decided to move around by themselves and pace across the floor. My palm covered my mouth, trying to keep a nervous breath from escaping.

As a result, I just picked up my phone that was left by the side and dialed a number. Within a few seconds, Kyomi picks up, "hi Ethan, what's up?"

Clearing my throat, "nothing much, how are you doing?"

"Pretty well. Hey umm, it's kinda boring at my place right now, wanna come over and hang out?" She offered.

Considering it, I wanted to get these thoughts out of my head, "sure, I'll be there,"

And so, we ended the call then texted me her address right after. Going into my room to switch out my attire, I then did a quick run to the bathroom and took my meds. With a pill in hand, I made way to the kitchen, grabbed a glass of water then gulped it down.

-

Settling near a well-kept building, it was moderately sized. Kyomi lives in a decent area in town compared to mine. It has quite the space and has a wide accessible parking lot. Getting off, I stepped up the porch the led to her door. Looking at the condominium number, according to her, this should be the correct place. Astounded that she could live by herself and travel like this. Pressing the doorbell, it buzzes and I wait momentarily. The knob shuffles for a while. It opens up, showing Kyomi with a happy smile. She jumps out and gives me a squeezing hug. I've nearly lost my footing as a stumbled back. Laughing, I pulled off from her, "aren't you chipper."

"Of course I am, come in, come in," she motions with a hand.

Stepping aside, I got a view of her home: decorated neatly with the influence of her culture, it show's her character nicely. Looking down, my fingers untangle the laces of my shoes and slipped off from them. She giggles as she watches me, "you didn't have to."

"It's a bit of a habit from your parents, and I don't wanna ruin your clean carpet you know," I grin at her.

Venturing around, there was faint music playing in the background. Recognize that language, Korean, I moved around a bit to dance with it. Kyomi entered a different room, assuming that it was the kitchen since she returned with a tray of cupcakes and places it on the living room coffee table. She plops down to a nearby sofa and pats the spot next to it. I sat beside her, soon, we begin having a chat about whatever we could think of.