Chapter XXXVI – Max in Trouble

With the sun already high in the sky, light peered through the window brightening up the room. Yawning, Arthur opened his eyes and felt a familiar touch on his right side. Irene once again snuggled next to him in her sleep, resting her arm on his chest, and wrapping her leg around him.

What a way to start a day.

Arthur couldn’t help but smile. He’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t enjoy having her next to him all the time.

Pulling the covers over them to tuck her in better, he laid there for a few more minutes wide awake. It was too peaceful to bother doing anything else. Still, eventually, he had to get up. Her face was so blissful that it made him realize just how glad he is that the two had met and how things developed thus far.

The dreaded moment finally arrived, as Arthur sighed and wiggled out of bed. Initially, he believed that there was no way that Irene would fail to wake up. But to his surprise, Irene simply mumbled in her sleep and turned her back to him. Readjusting the sheets, Arthur took one last glance at her sleepy face before proceeding towards the kitchen. There was no reason to wake her up just yet.

Sophie’s door was closed, so Arthur thought it best not to disturb the girls if they were still asleep.

It was already past noon and like Sophie predicted, the streets were dry as if yesterday’s rain never happened.

On the kitchen table, Arthur noticed a small handwritten note. It was Sophie’s.

“Morning Oppa. Iseul and I went together to the mall to give Grandpa a change of clothes since he had to go straight to work. However, I’ll be coming home later so maybe you wanna hang out?”

Arthur held the note thinking about his plans for today but was interrupted by the doorbell.

Confused as to whom it might be, Arthur opened up to see Max standing in the doorway seemingly stressed.

“Great! You’re home. . .” Max sighed inviting himself in. “It’s already past noon, why are you still in your underwear?”

Arthur glanced down noticing that he still hasn’t dressed up. Closing the doors behind him, he glanced towards Max who was already making himself at home.

“Might as well open the doors yourself,” Arthur suggested sarcastically, but Max nodded thinking he was serious.

“You haven’t been answering your phone, so I decided to come down here myself,” Arthur watched him as he made his way to the living room.

It was true, Arthur hadn’t looked at his phone since he replied to his grandfather’s message.

“So. . . What’s up?” Arthur asked, curious as to what made Max come all the way here.

“I’m in big trouble. . . I need your help,” Arthur sat down on the couch and looked towards Max awaiting more details. “It’s about Iseul. I broke her favorite mug. . .”

For a second Arthur’s worry built up, but was immediately dispersed as Max revealed the cause of his problem.

“Fuck sake dude. . . I thought you were gonna tell me something awful,” Arthur sighed.

“You don’t get it! If she finds out, I’m fucking dead. . . She had that mug since we were little!” Max was actually panicking. “She’ll legit never forgive me. . .”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“How’d you feel if you broke something precious to Sophie?”

Arthur thought on it before letting out a sigh. “I’d feel like shit, but I don’t think Sophie wouldn't forgive me.”

“Maybe, but wouldn’t you try everything you could to fix the problem?”

“I guess. . .”

“So that’s what I need help with! We gotta find an identical mug so that Iseul never ends up finding out. . .”

“What does it even look like?”

“It’s a teal mug with white dots on it. . .” he sighed. “Shouldn’t be impossible to find.”

“I mean. . . Guess I can help you have a look, but how are you gonna stop her from finding out before we do?”

“I haven’t thought of that yet, but I’ll figure it out. I must!”

Hearing footsteps coming from the hallway, Max was expecting Sophie to enter the living room. Though his expectations were blown away when Irene entered instead. Irene still wore Arthur’s T-shirt that was just long enough to cover the shorts Sophie gave her, making it seem like she was in her underwear, as well as the thigh-high socks.

“Max?” Irene mumbled surprised.

She wasn’t expecting anyone else here, knowing well that Ryung was at work.

“Irene? What are-” Max stopped himself, gawking back at Arthur.

Irene shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

“What the fuck dude?” Max whispered to Arthur, trying not to be heard.

“Hmm? Rain collapsed on us, so Iseul and Irene slept over. Didn’t you know that?”

“I know Iseul stayed over since she told me, but I didn’t know Irene was at your place as well. Where is my sister anyway?”

“What are you two whispering about?” Irene returned to the living room, crashing in between the two on the couch.

“Umm. . .” Max mumbled.

“He’s asking where Iseul and Sophie are,” he answered Irene before glancing back at Max who was still awed. “They went to get Grandpa spare clothes.”

“I see. . .”

“So, Max. . . What’s up?” Irene asked, turning her back towards Arthur while slightly leaning into him.

She could tell by Max’s reaction that he was shocked, as he was being way too obvious about it. It was hard to resist teasing him about it.

“Nothing much. . .” Max averted his gaze, flustered.

He knew that Irene liked Arthur and that he most likely liked her back, but not in a million years did he imagine seeing this when coming over that morning.

“You could tell her. She might have a solution for us,” Arthur pointed out.

“Tell me what?”

Max sighed. “Well. . . I got myself into a bit of a mess.”

“Doesn’t surprise me one bit,” Irene teased.

“Hey!” he protested looking back at her. “I’m not Tjay.”

“You two are a lot more alike than you’d like to admit,” she chuckled. “But for real, what’s the problem?”

“I broke Iseul’s favorite childhood mug. . .”

“Oh-dear. . . That sucks,” she said sitting back up normally. “Well, it was nice knowing you. Want to discuss your funeral?”

“I thought you said she might have a solution for us!”

“I-”

“Relax. . .” Irene cut off Arthur before he pointlessly defended himself. “I’m sure you’re making a bigger deal out of it than it is. Why was the mug important to her in the first place?”

“I don’t remember,” he sighed in defeat. “It was a long ass time ago.”

“You never bothered asking her?”

“You have an older sister, do you ask her stuff like that?”

“No, but that’s because I already know that kind of stuff about her. . .” she looked at him shaking her head. “I swear you guys are clueless sometimes.”

Arthur averted his gaze thinking back about a potential mug Sophie found sentimental. Nothing came to mind right off the bat, so he began wondering if he was being insensitive by never asking her about stuff like that.

“Sure, whatever. . . You gonna help out or not?”

“Just go buy her a mug that you honestly find appealing, and that you believe she’d be interested in. Give it to her, and apologize for breaking the old one. Ask her about it and why it was important in the first place. I’m sure she’ll forgive you. You don’t give her enough credit.”

“That’s. . .” Max made a dramatic pause taking a deep breath. “The dumbest shit I’ve ever heard!”

“Huh?” Irene looked at him dumbfounded.

Arthur couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“You just want to see me get killed!”

“So what’s your plan then, smartass. . .” Irene would’ve been insulted had she cared enough in the first place.

“We got to find an identical mug! She must never learn the truth.”

Irene sighed. “Somehow I knew you were gonna say something dumb like that.”

“Dumb? My plan results in her happiness, while yours leaves me at her mercy.”

“Suit yourself. . .” Irene got up, stretching her back. “I’m going home, so have fun you two. I suggest looking up online.”

“I already did. . . I wouldn’t come here had it been that easy.”

Arthur stayed quiet, watching them go back and forth.

“Well then, good luck,” she said leaving towards the hallway.

“Wait!” Max yelled out, stopping Irene in place. “You could help me out as well.”

“No way. I ain’t got time to look for a mug all day just cuz you’re a wuss and can’t tell your sister about it,” her words were harsh, but Max swallowed his pride while still in need of her help.

“I don’t mean looking for the mug together, but you could. . . You know. . . Call Iseul and have her hang out with you today. Would give us extra time to look for a replacement.”

“I ain’t about to force someone to hang out with me just to buy you extra time. . .”

“Not even for Arthur?”

“What does he have to do with this?” she raised her eyebrow at him.

“Well. . .” Max had no arguments left but was just desperately trying to get her to bite onto anything.

“You could ask Sophie to hang out with the two of you as well,” Arthur finally spoke up.

“You gonna try and convince me as well?” she glanced at Arthur.

“I can’t tell you to do anything, but if he’s this desperate, I’d feel bad not helping him. If you have the time and nothing better to do, I know Sophie has no plans either.”

Irene tilted her head in disbelief before letting out an extended sigh. “Fine. . . I’ll do it. But I can’t force the two to hang out with me, so if she refuses, you’re on your own. . .”

“Thank you!” Max yelled out, encouraged by the sign of hope.

“It’s dark under the lamp,” Irene mumbled to herself. “Well, I’m off to find my phone I guess.”

Arthur and Max proceeded to the city, while Irene managed to get Iseul and Sophie to hang out with her. She said that they have at least a few hours.

The search was long and seemingly impossible. No matter what store they went to, finding a teal mug that was exactly the same was unlikely. Still, Max didn’t lose hope.

“How about this one?” Arthur asked, finding one that fit the description fairly well.

“No. . . Sadly even I can tell the difference,” he sighed as the two proceeded out of the store after searching for what felt like days.

“I’m sure we’ll find it,” Arthur said, but even he was doubtful.

“Come on, there’s one more store I think we can visit that might have what we’re looking for,” Max said still holding onto the last glimmer of hope.

On their way to the store, Arthur kept glancing towards Max. “I’m surprised.”

“Umm?” he looked back at him confused. “About what?”

“I was expecting more questions.”

“About this morning?”

“Yeah.”

“You two don’t make sense to me in the first place, so why bother asking. Not like anything happened. Am I right?”

“We slept together,” Arthur teased abusing the context.

“What!” Max turned to Arthur shocked. Taking a few steps back, he nearly tumbled to the ground. “You- You, slep-. . . Slept together?!”

“Don’t yell. . .” Arthur whispered glancing towards the people staring at them.

“What do you mean, don’t yell? How the fuck do you just drop a bomb like that?” Arthur kept his cool for a bit but eventually burst into laughter. “What’s so funny?”

“You should’ve seen your face!” Arthur kept on laughing.

“So you didn’t sleep together?” Max asked with his eyebrow raised, unsure of what to believe.

“No, no. . . We did, but not like that,” Arthur finally dialed down his laughter. “We just shared a bed. Nothing strange.”

“Oh. . .” Max averted his gaze while thinking about what Arthur just told him. “Wait, slow the fuck down. Regardless of what you did, you still slept in the same bed? Dude. . .”

“What?” Arthur asked confused, still smiling though. “What’s so strange about that?”

“I-” Max stumbled on words before letting out a sigh. There was no universe where the two could agree on this. “Nothing I guess. . .”

“Man, it feels good not to be on the receiving end of things for once,” Arthur said smirking as they entered the store.

“What do you mean?”

They looked around for mugs, but Arthur was the first to spot them as he changed the direction they were walking in.

“Sophie has been on my ass all week, not to mention the girls last night joked about watching a horror movie in the middle of a thunderstorm.”

“I mean you are an easy target.”

“Maybe,” he said looking at the mugs. “But I don’t mind it. It’s nice seeing them all smiling. You know what I mean?”

Max smirked as he zoned out for a moment. “I do. . .”

He was clearly thinking about his sister as he held a purple mug that looked nothing alike to the one he was searching for. Instead of white dots, it had hearts all over it.

“This is the one,” he mumbled as he looked at the price.

Arthur smiled knowing what Max meant by that.

“What made you change your mind?” Arthur asked.

“The idea of her smiling at something she loved, but it being based on a lie I’ve created for her. . . I don’t like the thought of it.”

“Good man,” Arthur said tapping Max on the back as they proceeded to the counter. On their way out of the store, Arthur looked towards Max. “You gonna be alright?”

“I don’t know what’s worse, facing Iseul, or Irene once she finds out that I went along with her plan after calling it stupid.”

“It’ll be entertaining alright!” Arthur teased but wished him good luck regardless. “Before you go, how’d you even break it in the first place?”

“I was going around the house picking up things that needed to be washed but ended up taking more than I could carry. I got unlucky, and it slipped out of my grasp.”

“Well, a lesson learned I guess. . .”

“Indeed. . .”

The two said their goodbyes as Max went to face his sister at home.

With every step closer to home, Max was less and less confident in his choice. He kept wondering if there were mugs he missed, but then recalled his own words about it being a lie.

Maybe a lie wouldn’t be a bad thing? No. . . Max, you got this. Man up and don’t be a wuss.

He recalled Irene’s words, which apparently cut deeper than he believed at first.

He sighed as he entered the house. Max’s parents weren’t home, most likely busy with work. He was supposed to cover for Iseul, but mom took over instead.

“Noona, you home?” Max yelled out.

Hearing doors open, Max heard footsteps as someone approached him. Turning the corner, he saw Iseul with her glasses. She was either studying or working on her writing.

“What’s up?” she asked, clearly confused and somewhat worried. “You never call me Noona. . . Is everything alright?”

“No. . .” he mumbled hiding the mug behind his back.

“What happened?” she took her glasses off.

“You might wanna sit down for this one. . .”

Iseul’s worry was building up unnecessarily as Max exaggerated the seriousness of the situation.

“Okay?” she sat down looking at him worriedly.

“So you know how I can be clumsy from time to time?”

“Yes?”

“Well, this morning I was planning to do the dishes, and I ended up breaking your favorite teal mug. . .”

“Wh-“

Before she could say anything, he showed her the new mug he bought and squinted his eyes hoping she wouldn’t explode on him. “I know it might not be the same, but it felt right buying you a new one!”

“You idiot!” she sighed in relief.

“I’m sorry!”

“Not that. . . I was worried sick that something dangerous happened to either you or someone we know!” she chuckled in disbelief. “God. . . A mug. . .”

“So you’re not mad?” he looked at her relieved.

“Never said I wasn’t mad, but you made my heart skip a beat. . .” she sighed.

“Sorry. . .” he looked sincere.

She took the mug he was holding and had a good look at it.

“It’s pretty,” she said with a soft voice. “I think this might just be my new favorite. Thank you.”

She got up and kissed Max on the cheek before proceeding towards the kitchen to make some coffee.

“Noona, what was so special about that mug in the first place?”

“Oh, you don’t remember?” she said turning to him. “It was the first gift you ever bought me on your own when we were little.”

“Really? I’ve forgotten. . .” he smiled softly, touched by her words.

“I don’t remember that birthday either, but I couldn’t forget the gift since I’ve kept it close since. Well, until now I guess. . . Still, I’m glad you’re the one who decided to buy me a new one, so I guess that’s okay.”

“We cool then?”

“Nah, you gotta work for it a bit more than that. Until the end of the month, you’ll be taking all my shifts, and you’ll also do my chores.”

“Alright,” Max sighed knowing it was a bit much to ask for, but if it meant her forgiving him truly, he was OK with that.

For the next month, Max followed his promise, but that didn’t stop Iseul from helping him out after the first week.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.