Chapter 34 Nightmares #3
His gaze started towards the corner where two men with professional cameras were attempting to look inconspicuous. The man with the shaggy hair and a dark outfit lifted his lens, aiming it directly at us. Shameless bastard.
“Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Beck cursed. Before I could say anything, she was already moving forward, her long confidence strides across the gallery. She waved her arms up at the photographers. “Hey!” she snapped. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Just doing our job,” one of them excused, his tone arrogant.
“Since when did harassing people become an occupation? Incredibly noble of you,” she spat.
“Ma’am, if you don’t step aside—”
“No, actually, I don’t think I will. You’re in a museum, for God’s sake, have some respect or better yet find a real job,” she retorted.
The other photographer attempted to sidestep her, his lens still focused on her brother, but I wasn’t about to let that happen. I stepped forward, blocking his line of sight entirely.
“Those jerkcicles…” Bae grumbled, stepping in front of her brother too. “Don’t worry, Wyn Wyn, I won’t let them get what they want.”
My heart filled with warmth seeing them defend him.
“Enough,” I dictated, “can’t you see that you’re upsetting him? This is incredibly immoral even for you.”
“Listen this is for our next issue—”
“This is his life, not your next headline, leave. Now. Or I’ll call security,” I warned.
With a shared look of irritation, the photographers muttered something under their breath, and wandered towards the exit. Beck made a point of glaring at them the whole way out, almost tossing a shoe at them.
“Unbelievable.” Beck muttered, stepping towards us. “Gwenchana, miane?” Are you okay, I’m sorry. she questioned in Korean.
But he didn’t answer. He was staring at the door, his hand shaking. I grabbed ahold of it, and held it in mine. “No, he’s not,” I said, quietly, stepping in beside her.
Beck glanced back at me, her expression shifting from confusion to frustration to something of concern. “What’s going on?”
“He’s had a rough morning,” I answered honestly, not bearing to keep it a secret any longer. “A nightmare about that last winter. Bad enough to make him sick. He’s been pushing himself all day for you and Bae.”
Her face hardened, and I could see her older sister instincts kicking in. She reached out, placing a firm, but gentle hand on her brother’s shoulder.
“You’re such an idiot. Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t having a good day?” She asked. “God, you’re so fucking stubborn, always have been.”
He shrugged, not meeting her eyes. “I—I guess I just wanted for you two to have a fun day; whatever the hell is going on with me is inconsequential.”
“Wynter,” she said, both exasperated and affectionate. “You don’t have to do that. We’re your family, you’re allowed to have bad days.”
Bae stepped closer, wrapping her arms around her brother. “Seriously you don’t have to play it cool with us. You’re kind of a mess most of the damn time, and we still like you. I still like you, maybe Beck tolerates you Monday through Friday at least.”
That earned a faint smile from him, though he didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Let’s take it easy for the rest of the day,” I suggested, brushing a hand slightly against his back, “maybe let’s head down to the café, get something to eat. Sound good?"?
Wynter nodded slightly, leaning into my touch a little.
“Good,” Beck said, slipping her arm around his other shoulder, “and if those creeps come back, I’ll hit them with Bae’s thermos.”
“Hey, leave my thermos out of this!” Bae smiled.
At that he let out a quiet laugh, and for a moment some of the attention eased.
Beck and Bay kept close to him as we made our way out of the exhibit, and down towards the cozy bistro filled with the soft glow of candles and chatter of conversation.
Beck and Bae had chosen the place, declaring it certified holiday season vibes, and for a while, it seemed like they were right.
It was something straight out of a Hallmark romcom.
“So, Baeby, do you have any cool new friends at school?” I asked her, and she immediately lightened up.
“Well, at first, it was hard stepping out of my shell. I was used to just being close with my siblings. But Dad said that wasn’t a good thing, and after everything my therapist took me off my medication, and I felt like myself again.
I figured it was worth letting people know me, the real unmediated version of myself I hadn’t seen in about a year.
So I joined a bunch of clubs,” she expressed, her eyes glimmering with a certain melancholy behind them.
“You were on…” I repeated.
And just as every war has its battles it also has its costs, and I was face to face with the exact price each of us had to pay for staying quiet about what happened.
A life for a life. I had originally been upset.
I thought that the Kwon siblings had turned their backs on us all and went on in ignorance as if nothing had happened.
I was often so consumed by my own grief that I never thought that it didn’t matter how far they travelled that the events would follow them all the days of their lives.
Even Bae who was only little when it happened.
“Ah yes, Lexapro and I got very well acquainted!” she reassured me.
“But back to the clubs. So I joined extra math first, then that was boring and I was surrounded by a bunch of geeks, and I figured that if I wanted to attend a nerd convention, I could just stop by Wynter’s room.
So then I joined tennis and I met my first real friend, Abby, she’s such a laugh and she taught me everything she knew.
Then we decided to join arts and crafts and there we met Calista and Thomas—they date on and off even though they cheat on each other relentlessly. ”
“No one should be a serial cheater at the age of seventeen,” Wynter commented, furrowing his eyebrows in deep concern.
“Ah, well, you live and you learn. And it was in arts and crafts that I was truly able to find my true passion—creating beautiful things out of nothing. It brought glorious technicolor to my previously dull Nottingham experience. I started making beaded bracelets and charms and sold them online—it helped me make my own money. And then in grade eleven, I joined fashion club and met Rosette, who’s such a lovely girl.
She skates too, and she’s a huge fan of Wyn—she has posters plastered all over her room of him and everything,” Bae narrated, and the entire table tried their best to keep up with her.
“Rosette is psychotic,” Beck deadpanned, “That girl once stole one of Wynter’s shirts from the dryer.”
“Did not need to know that,” Wynter grumbled.
“Oh come on, she’s just enthusiastic,” I excused, clearing my throat.
“That’s because you would’ve done the same thing, Soh.” Beck took a slow sip from her steaming mug.
“No I would not!” I defended, feeling slightly self conscious.
“Okay, damn, breathe.” Bae chuckled. “And you, Beck, tell Yesoh all about all the lovely friends you’ve made in law school—”
“I am surrounded by men and they find me insufferable,” she declared. “I take great pride in that.”
“You should, if caring about the opinions of insufferable men made the world go ground it’d never move again,” Wynter said.
Wynter was doing his best to keep up. He laughed at Bae’s animated story about nearly losing her scarf to the wind outside, nodded along as Beck shared updates from work, and even chimed in here and there with little jokes that made both his sisters laugh. But I could tell something was off.
While we all stuffed our faces with various sweet treats and pastries, he was more so pushing food around his plate more than eating it, and his face had taken on a pale, almost waxy hue under the warm lighting.
I caught him sneaking sips of water every few minutes, his hand trembling slightly as he brought the glass to his lips.
“You okay?” Beck asked, pressing the back of her hand to his forehead like he was a little kid and it brought warmth to my chest watching them fuss over him like I did.
“You’re so quiet,” Bae said suddenly, leaning across the table to nudge him playfully. “What’s going on in that overly complicated head of yours?”
“Just listening,” Wynter said, his voice soft but steady.
“Liar, liar, pants on fire,” Beck teased, narrowing her eyes. “You’ve always been a terrible liar, Winnie the Pooh.”
“That’s one of our banned nicknames,” Wynter replied with a faint smile, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Not fair! You guys call me Baeby all the time still.” She shrugged, folding her arms. “But oh heavens forbid I try and sneak a giggle!”
The conversation drifted on, but Wynter grew quieter, his responses becoming shorter, his gaze flickering toward the restroom more than once. My hand brushed against his under the table, and he finally turned to look at me.
“Wyn, you’re barely on earth with us,” I whispered, leaning closer so only he could hear.
He hesitated, his lips pressing together before he nodded. “My head hurts,” he said, but his voice was shaky.
Before I could press, he pushed back his chair abruptly, his movements stiff and hurried.
“I’ll be right back,” he mumbled, already halfway to the restroom before anyone could respond.
Beck frowned, watching him go. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Wish I could say,” I said quickly, though my own worry was starting to knot in my stomach.
Wynter didn’t come back for several minutes. When he finally returned, his face was pale, and his steps were slow and deliberate, like he was concentrating just to keep moving. He slid back into the booth beside me, leaning in so close that I could feel the slight tremor in his frame.
“I’m sorry,” he breathed, biting the inside of his cheek. “Can we maybe go home early?”
I turned to him fully, brushing a hand over his knee under the table. “Of course. Are you okay?”
He hesitated before shaking his head slightly. “Well, considering I just threw up everything I ate, I think I have to concede,” he admitted quietly,
My heart ached for him. “Hey,” I said softly, leaning closer. “It’s okay. Let’s go.”
I turned to Beck and Bae, trying to keep my voice calm. “Wyn’s not feeling great. We’re going to head out.”
“Wait, what’s wrong?” Beck asked immediately, her eyes narrowing as she studied him.
“Well, I can’t swallow anything and keep it down so I figured I need to rest,” Wynter said, his voice faint. “Stay and enjoy your day.”
Bae frowned, already grabbing her coat. “No, we’re coming with you.”
“You don’t have to—” Wynter started, but Beck cut him off.
“Don’t argue, Jesus,” she said firmly, sliding out of the booth. “We’re not leaving you like this.”
Wynter sighed, clearly too exhausted to fight them.
On the way out, Beck kept a steadying hand on his back, and Bae wrapped her scarf around his neck even though he protested weakly. By the time we got into the car, Wynter was leaning heavily against me, his head resting on my shoulder as the city lights blurred past the window.
The rest of the ride was quiet, and I kept a protective arm around him, letting him rest. Beck and Bae exchanged worried glances in the backseat, their earlier liveliness replaced by a quiet determination.
When we got home, Wynter went straight to the couch, sinking into it with a sigh. I sat beside him, pulling a blanket over his lap as Beck disappeared into the kitchen to get him a painkiller, and Bae busied herself fussing over him like a mother hen.
“Let us take care of you for once,” Beck said as she handed him a mug, her tone leaving no room for argument.
And for once, in turn Wynter didn’t argue, letting himself lean into their care as the evening carried on, quieter but full of love.
“Do you think we could ever go back?” Wynter asked, looking up at me with hopeful eyes.
“Go back where?” I wondered,
“To Waverly,” he said, his eyes pleading.
“I know we all sold our houses there and they’re kind of run down now but…
sometimes I feel like I need to go back someday.
To make peace with it all, to accept it.
The memory it’s…making me sick, I think that if I could go back just once I could find closure. ”
“Maybe someday.” I nodded, kissing his forehead. “We had good memories.”
“We did.” He smiled weakly with his eyes closed. “Remember when we helped Jax ask Syd to be his girlfriend?”
“Do I?” I chuckled. “Of course.”