Dusk was beginning to settle outside. Along the stone path leading to the parking lot, streetlights were flickering on. Suho and Jia walked side by side—their shoulders brushing as they moved. An awkward silence hung in the air. Neither knew how to start the conversation.
"Sooyeon really liked you," Jia said after a while. "She usually avoids looking at strangers."
"Really? She refused when I offered to help her up…"
"That's very her," Jia said. She looked tired but kept smiling.
"She can't hear at all?" Suho asked cautiously, slowing his pace.
Jia nodded and looked up at the darkening sky.
"Sooyeon is at that age where she has the best chance of learning to speak without auditory perception. The hospital we used to go to recommended this center. You know why I applied to SNU? So that Sooyeon, as an immediate family member, could participate in the medical assistance program." A cool breeze picked up, and Jia shrugged her shoulders. Her thin blouse and vest weren't keeping her warm at all. "Because of that, we didn't have to wait in line for the rehab program. Over the summer, they fitted her with hearing aids, but after that incident at school, we had to order new ones." Jia took a slow breath. "Even with them, she can barely hear. The doctors say it'll help her learn faster, but Sooyeon hates wearing them."
Suho touched her elbow through the thin fabric of her blouse, wanting to shield her from the wind at least a little. Jia blinked, and a faint smile returned to her face.
"Luckily, I got in. Now things should get a little better," she said encouragingly, as if trying to reassure herself.
"You're a wonderful older sister."
They reached the parking lot. Suho fished his car keys out of his hoodie pocket and stopped to open the door for Jia. She paused for a moment, looking at the car in surprise, but didn't say anything.
"You can pick whatever music you like," Suho said once they were both in the car. He started the engine and, with one hand on the wheel and the other on the back of the passenger seat, pulled out of the parking lot.
Jia found a radio station playing summer songs and turned the volume down. Her gaze kept drifting to Suho's wrist, where his watch sat. Choi caught her surprised expression out of the corner of his eye.
"I think I did a campaign for these watches back in the spring," Jia said thoughtfully after a moment, tucking her hair behind her ear.
Suho nodded.
"Are these really them?" Jia asked, bewildered. Her hand reached toward Suho's wrist but stopped itself and dropped back down.
"They are," Suho confirmed. They'd stopped at a red light, and he took his hand off the wheel, casually offering it to her.
Jia let out a quiet breath, staring wide-eyed at the expensive watch she'd only worn once herself, to pose in front of a camera.
"An expensive car, an expensive watch," Jia began slowly, studying Suho's profile. "How much does your internship pay? Or no, wait. Choi… Choi…" She thoughtfully started going through the names of famous people with his last name. "Admit it. Are you from a chaebol family?"
"Well… I wouldn't say that," Suho hedged. "It's a fairly modest business."
"You're not lying to me right now?" Jia pressed. "Does your business have a name?"
"It does," Suho answered, feeling Jia touch his wrist where the watch sat. He didn't dare look at her. "J&S Company."
The next moment, something happened that Suho definitely hadn't expected: Jia pushed his hand away and exclaimed:
"J&S?! You mean the J&S that's currently negotiating with my agency to buy shares?!"
Suho ran his hand through his hair awkwardly and smiled.
"Ta-da…"
In all their phone conversations over the past week, they'd never talked about their families, and he hadn't thought it necessary to bring up the topic himself. Honestly, almost no one he knew was aware he was the son of the owner of an entertainment company. Only Minseok and a couple of other people he was close to. Choi never deliberately kept his family background a secret—it was just… He'd lived an ordinary life since childhood: he took the bus to school, played ball with the guys in the neighborhood, played basketball. He'd never been abroad, never been on a yacht. Too ordinary to claim any kind of wealth. But when Jia shared how hard it had been for her to secure a spot in the rehab program for her sister, he started thinking about how not everyone could get things as easily as he could. His father had called some doctors he knew, and Suho got his first appointment right away.
"So the internship you're doing…"
"Yes, I'm doing it at the company, but not in a high position."
"Assistant junior manager. I remember." Jia studied his eyes intently, searching for the answer to some question. "I can't believe it…" she sighed after a moment. "You just dress like this," she glanced pointedly at his old hoodie, "that I never would have guessed…"
Just then, the light turned green, and Suho had to focus on the road.
"Are you disappointed?" he decided to ask, not fully understanding Jia's reaction.
"…"
"…"
"What? Why would I be disappointed if the guy I'm interested in drives a BMW?"
Suho laughed out loud, mentally marking that key phrase. Jia tucked the loose strands of her hair behind her ears and turned her head toward him, continuing to study his profile intently.
"Am I even more interesting now?" Suho muttered with a sly smile, keeping his eyes on the road. He could feel a pleasant warmth spreading through his body. He couldn't wait to reach that damn bakery so he could park and stop being distracted.
Jia snorted.
"Idiot!"
"What?! Why?" Suho's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"You're talking nonsense. Just watch the road," Jia said, turning her head demonstratively toward the window, but in the mirror's reflection, Suho could see she was smiling.