Twenty-One Night Stand ✓

12 / a little less conversation

"It'll be fine," Jung-min said as he pulled on his jacket and took his keys from the bowl by the door. For the past couple of hours, as their departure had loomed closer, Maddie had been fidgeting and unable to leave her hair alone. It had been tied up and released more times than she could count, obsessively twisting her ponytail into a bun and letting it fall out.

"I know," she said, pressing her lips together in the mirror. She didn't like to visit her aunt without at least a little make-up, else Hye-eun would surely give her a judgmental once over. Dressed in her smartest dress – one she had worn to at least three weddings, none of which her aunt had attended – she smoothed down a few stray licks of her hair and ran her hands over the pleats that grew from the cinched waist.

Jung-min watched her, a small smile gracing his lips. "You look lovely, ttal. Red really is your colour."

Maddie smiled. The dress was a favourite, her go-to smart outfit. She didn't care if anyone noticed that it was virtually the only pretty dress she ever wore. A fortunate girl, she could even pull off red lipstick without it washing her out or being too much, but she preferred not to. Her lips were painted just a couple of shades darker than her skin. "Thanks, appa."

"Now, let's go. I'd hate to be late."

Maddie let out a long breath. She could do it. It would be fine. Ryan couldn't be that bad, not in front of his parents anyway.

*

They pulled into the crescent driveway at six fifty-eight, just in time for the seven o'clock invitation, and Maddie was already counting down the minutes in her head. Usually, this type of engagement lasted approximately three hours. One hundred and eighty minutes. Fifty songs, or there abouts.

Before she or her father had a chance to knock, the door swung open to reveal Hye-eun, a soft smile setting her eyes sparkling to match the diamonds that hung from her ears. Real diamonds, no doubt. In a change from her usual dresses, she wore a pair of long, wide-legged linen trousers and a floaty top that skimmed her figure. It suited her.

"Joka, darling," she said, opening her arms to embrace Maddie. Her perfume hadn't changed, nor had the amount of it, and Maddie had to stifle a sneeze when she was engulfed by her aunt.

"Hi, imo," she said, setting into her default mode when it came to family gatherings. "Thank you so much for inviting us."

"It's my pleasure," Hye-eun said, stepping back to look Maddie in the eye for a moment. "You look wonderful, Maddie."

"So do you," she said, and she stepped inside the house to see her uncle and cousin standing side by side. While her uncle, Seong-hoon, wore a warm smile, Ryan bore nothing of the sort. His jaw was tightly clenched, eyes cold, and his folded arms showed no sign of invitation. He looked down on Maddie as though she was a trespasser, someone to be dealt with. But then, he smiled.

"Hi, sachon," he said, the gentle words not matching his steel gaze. "It's so good to see you."

Maddie was thrown off for a moment, and it took everything she had not to frown in confusion. "Hi," she said at last, and failed to come up with anything to add. Ryan threw her a smug grin and turned his attention to Jung-min.

Once greetings were done with, an overly complicated affair when Maddie and her father were the only guests, they moved to the living room. Maddie had hoped they'd be heading straight for the dining room but Hye-eun had other plans – wine and nibbles first.

She sat beside her father on the ornate sofa, far less comfortable than a sofa should be. Her uncle sat on the opposite sofa, a space left for his wife, and Ryan bypassed everybody to take an armchair for himself. He sat with his legs crossed, fingers tapping the chair's arms, and a disengaged smile on his face. It was clear that he had no desire to be there, but along with Maddie, he had to put up a façade. And somehow, he was convincing everyone but Maddie.