Cheon was still holding the rabbit when Goo Baek appeared. She stood in the hallway with both hands on her hips, hair only half brushed, pink dinosaur slippers squeaking against the polished oak floor.
"My rabbit."
Cheon looked down.
"Oh."
Then back at her.
"I was borrowing it."
"You were sleeping."
"I was borrowing it while sleeping."
Goo Baek narrowed her eyes.
"That's still taking."
Cami hid a smile as she rinsed another bowl.
"Cheon."
He immediately held the rabbit out.
"...Here."
Goo Baek accepted it with all the dignity a five-year-old could gather.
"Thank you."
A beat passed.
She hugged the rabbit.
Then quietly reached over and fixed Cheon's pajama collar.
"It was crooked."
"I know."
"You didn't."
"I was testing you."
She sniffed.
"I passed."
"You did."
The argument was over before breakfast had even reached the table. Cami wondered if all twins worked like that. She had no one to compare them to.
"Both of you."
The twins looked at her.
"Go wash up."
"We already did," Cheon announced proudly.
Goo Baek looked at him.
"...You forgot your face."
Cheon blinked. His fingers touched one cheek. There was a streak of toothpaste.
"...Oh."
Without another word, he turned and sprinted back toward the bathroom. Goo Baek watched him go.
"I told him."
"You did."
She smiled to herself before climbing onto one of the dining chairs.
Their dining room stretched toward a wall of glass overlooking the Han River. The city beyond was only beginning to wake, the skyline washed in pale gold beneath the summer morning.
Goo Baek didn't look outside. She was busy arranging her chopsticks until they sat perfectly parallel to the edge of her bowl.
A habit she'd picked up from watching Cami.
"You moved them."
Goo Baek looked up.
"What?"
"They were straight already."
"They're straighter now."
"...I see."
"They look richer."
Cami blinked.
"...Richer?"
Goo Baek nodded very seriously.
"Pretty things are expensive."
"Is that so?"
"Mom says presentation matters."
Cami smiled.
"Aunt Yeon Hwa would."
"It makes food taste better."
Cheon came racing back.
"My face is clean!"
Water still clung to his bangs.
Cami handed him a towel before he could shake his head like a puppy.
"Dry first."
"...Okay."
He obediently rubbed his hair for about three seconds then he abandoned the towel on the nearest chair.
Cami picked it up before it slid onto the floor... again. She hung it neatly over the backrest instead. She didn't even think about doing it.
"Can we eat now?" Cheon asked.
"You may."
Both twins pressed their palms together.
"Thank you for the food."
The words came automatically, soft and familiar.
Cami waited until they had taken their first bites before serving herself. Not because anyone had told her to. Simply because she always had.
Cheon took one bite,, then another.. then looked suspiciously at the vegetables.
"Noona."
"Hm?"
"...Did these get bigger?"
"The vegetables?"
He nodded.
"They weren't this big yesterday."
"They were."
"I think they grew."
"They're already picked."
"...Oh."
He considered this.
"That's disappointing."
Across the table, Goo Baek sighed.
"You believe everything."
"I do not."
"You thought clouds followed our car."
"They do."
"They don't."
"They're just shy when you look."
Goo Baek opened her mouth to argue, then paused.
"...Maybe."
Cheon grinned victoriously.
Cami watched them over the rim of her cup.
For a little while, breakfast sounded less like eating and more like two small worlds trying to explain themselves to each other.
It was nice. Moments like these never lasted long. Still... She always hoped they'd last just one minute more.