"I have four siblings. As five siblings together, we are united and we love each other. But at the same time, there was also an invisible division between us."
Ai tilted her head questioningly.
"Among the five of us, Bro Jian, Bro Nian and Sis Nuo seemed to have formed their own group. They were quite mischievous, and it became more pronounced when all three of them wanted to have a career in cooking. They spent most of their time together in the kitchen, experimenting stuff and making new dishes. I loved cooking too but not as much as them. I felt I couldn't really fit in over there.
Also, Bro Jian and Bro Nian are the eldest. So, I couldn't come over that gap between us quite often."
Ai remembered what Jun said the night before.
'Jin is the youngest so the age gap hits him the hardest.'
Jin faintly smiled. "Bro Jun was different and opposite. He would be cooped up in his room the whole day, either reading books or playing video games or playing with Shui if he went out. He talked very little, and I really couldn't figure out if he even liked me or not. At times, I felt really lonely because I couldn't connect to anybody until the day the twins got furious at me and locked me up.
I still remember that day clearly.
I had cried and cried, but they didn't let me out. I begged them, but they didn't listen to me. I thought…I would be locked there forever, or that a ghost would eat me up. Silly, right?"
"It's not silly," Ai explained. "I am still afraid of monsters under the bed attacking me from underneath."
"But then I suddenly saw Bro Jun in front of me. He brought a small toy that lit up the darkness, and I wasn't so afraid anymore. But what shocked me the most was that it was him out of all the people. He was there when I was begging the twins. But he just remained standing there, reading his book and didn't even bother to look at me. He ignored all my cries, and I lost all hope of any help from him.
That's why it was so puzzling to see him helping me. But it wasn't just that he kept me company."
Little Jin's stomach grumbled loudly. Jun glanced at him. "Hungry?"
Jun stayed silent and then said, "I will bring something for you."
He caught his hand in panic, tears brimming in his eyes. "Don't leave me alone, Bro. D-don't go!"
"I am not leaving. I will bring some food for you and return," he patted his head. "The toy light is here. It won't go out, so you don't have to be afraid."
"O-okay…" he hesitated but agreed.
Jin waited in silence. Time ticked by, but Jun didn't return. He was on the verge of tears, thinking that Jun left him alone.
But soon, he smelled something delicious. He saw Jun, and his eyes brightened. "Bro!"
"Sshh. Don't talk loudly," Jun seriously warned. "Or you will alert the twins."
Jun put the plate in front of him. "Eat."
Jin's moist eyes blinked as he saw steam wafting from the spaghetti and barbecue sauce that he wanted to eat the most this whole time.
"Mom made it for me?"
Jin slowly took a bite, and his eyes sparkled immediately. "This is just like Mom's! It's the same!"
"En!" He nodded hard.
"Good," Jun smiled. "Eat up."
Jin's happiness knew no bounds. It was so delicious that he gobbled everything up in a few minutes, and his hungry stomach was satisfied.
Jun went out to keep the plate back and opened the window of the room to let out the spaghetti smell so that the twins wouldn't catch onto it.
"Thank you, Bro!" Jin giggled and jumped to hug him.
They spent the rest of the time together with Jun reading him a story from the book. Jin listened to him with full attention and the seemingly scary time passed by without a hitch. When the twins finally let him out, the first thing Jin did was to apologize to Nana just like Jun said.
Then he went to the maid next to thank her for making spaghetti for him. "Thank you!" Check latest chapters at novel fire.net
"Aiya. It wasn't me, young master Jin."
The maid chuckled. "Young master Jun told me to keep it a secret from the twins, but I can tell you. It was actually him who had cooked the spaghetti for you."
Jin widened his eyes.
"He tried really hard. He even got his fingers hurt while making the barbecue sauce. I told him many times that I will make the dish, but the young master insisted he would do it. He wanted to make it exactly like how Madam Nana makes it. He failed eight times before he finally perfected it during his ninth time," she sobbed, "Young master Jun is so adorable. He loves you so much."
The moment he heard this, Jin ran towards Jun's room and noticed the bandages on his fingers. In the dark room, he was hiding his hands inside his pockets. But now he could clearly see them.
"Bro…" he burst into tears and hugged him hard. Y-you…got hurt because of me…"
Jun pursed his lips and mumbled, "The maid said something unnecessary." He wiped his eyes. "You cry too much."
"Why did you…" he gasped, "make spaghetti for me? I was bad…"
He smiled and ruffled his hair. "Because you were hungry and you wanted to eat spaghetti. You felt sorry for acting like that to Mom, so you are good. It's good to realize your mistake. There was no reason not to make spaghetti for you."
Jin couldn't understand why, but the tears fell even harder. He saw the band-aids wrapped on his fingers, and he felt warmth gush in his little heart.
"Bro, I like your spaghetti the most! It was the best! Bestest than Mom's. I will only eat your spaghetti from now on!" He gleamed.
Jun chuckled. "Is that so?"
"En! Will you promise me, Bro? That you will cook spaghetti only for me? Only for Jin! Not anybody else. Please?
It will be our own special dish!"
Jun pinched his cheek and smiled. "Sure. I will make spaghetti only for my little brother from now on. That's a promise."