"Pepoy's back!"
"Popoy's back!"
Two crazy-loud shouts totally exploded from the hallway, followed by a ton of chaotic noise. The voices belonged to two chubby, identical five-year-old boys. Yuri's aunt and uncle instantly whipped their heads toward the door, and Yuri leaned forward, finally ready to meet these legendary twins.
"What did you even do this time, Lee Jiho! Lee Juwon!" Aunt Theresa practically jumped up, tossing the phone at Uncle Juhyun.
"The monkeys did it again," Uncle Juhyun muttered, looking kind of amused. He quickly flipped the phone camera so Yuri could see the action.
And there they were: the mischievous twins, both chubby and grinning. Their faces looked exactly like Yuri's, genes don't lie. Even at five, you could tell they were going to be handsome troublemakers who could charm anyone.
But right now, these cute twins were completely messed up. Their uniforms were crumpled and covered in mud, like, totally gross. One of the twins even had his shoes tied together and dangling from his neck. Both boys stood there grinning, looking guilty but also secretly proud.
"Hyung did it! He said we had to exercise to build some muscle," Popoy, the younger twin, blurted out super fast, his eyes wide as he tried to pin the blame on his older brother. He was definitely trying to save himself from Aunt Theresa's looming storm.
"You only call me 'hyung' at times like this," Pepoy, the older twin, shot back with a nasty glare before immediately switching to a sweet, fake smile for their aunt.
Aunt Theresa grabbed her slipper the legendary weapon and rushed toward them, ready to deliver a well-deserved punishment.
"Exercise, my foot! You skinny little things think you can grow muscles already? Didn't I tell you to come straight home after school?" she scolded, and the room exploded into a chase scene.
The twins scattered. Pepoy dove behind the sofa like a ninja, but Popoy was too slow and unlucky. Aunt Theresa snatched him up right as he tried to squeeze under the dining table.
"How are you supposed to grow muscles? By swimming through mud?" Aunt Theresa asked, but the slipper came down with a gentle smack on Popoy's bottom.
"Child abuse!" Popoy yelled dramatically, his voice all shaky. He immediately started fake-crying, making big, watery eyes.
"That's right! I'm going to abuse you both to death today!" Aunt Theresa declared just as dramatically, raising her slipper higher to show she meant business.
Just before she could strike again, Popoy quickly surrendered. "No, Auntie! We were just about to go home when we saw some older kids bullying Juhyeon at the park, so we helped him," Popoy explained while desperately trying to shield his butt from the slipper.
Aunt Theresa's face went stiff. "What? You fought again?" she asked, her voice sharp with real anger.
Pepoy quickly raised his hands. "No, Auntie. Uncle said men shouldn't start fights," he said firmly, like he was giving an important, serious speech.
"But we can end them," Popoy added boldly, wiping away his fake tears to look serious.
"Idiot," the older twin muttered under his breath, facepalming.
Aunt Theresa shot a death glare at Uncle Juhyun, who scratched the back of his neck and tried to look invisible. He definitely didn't expect to be dragged into this mess.
"How many times has this happened this week? Did I not clearly say no fighting?" she asked, her voice calm but ice-cold as she stared at the twins, who were now huddled together for safety.
"We really didn't fight, Auntie," the twins said quickly, almost at the same time.
"We fought them through games instead! And we totally won!" the younger one declared proudly, puffing out his chest.
Seeing that Aunt Theresa was not convinced and was about to raise her weapon of choice again, the twins quickly threw their hands up and apologized.
"We're sorry, Auntie. We promise no more fighting," they added, sounding as serious as two five-year-olds could be.
"Hmph! That's the third time I've heard that this week," Aunt Theresa huffed, hands firmly on her hips.
"Since you both think you're men now, you can face the consequences of your actions. You both have to wash those dirty clothes yourselves," Aunt Theresa said firmly.
"That's right," Uncle Juhyun agreed, taking Aunt Theresa's side like his life depended on it.
"But we don't know how to wash clothes," Popoy complained immediately.
"Your uncle will help you with that," Aunt Theresa said calmly.
"What? But I..." Uncle Juhyun started to protest, not expecting to get stuck with chores, too. Aunt Theresa gave him a quick, sharp glare, and he immediately stopped, swallowing his protest.
"Wash it by hand," she commanded nonchalantly.
Right after she said that, a bunch of dramatic protests and groaning erupted from both the adult and the twins, but they were quickly silenced by Aunt Theresa's ever-intimidating glare.
"Come again?" she asked calmly.
"I mean, we should start now while it's still early," Uncle Juhyun answered quickly, handing the phone back to Aunt Theresa. Then, he led the two dirty boys into another room.
Yuri had just watched the most chaotic but heartwarming family moment ever. As she watched, she realized exactly what kind of family the original Yuri had. Her worries about meeting them unexpectedly started to disappear. She smiled quietly, feeling a little more at home.
"Those two are seriously a handful," Aunt Theresa said suddenly, like the whole messy scene hadn't even happened.
"By the way, when are you coming home?"
Now it was Yuri's turn to calm her aunt, or she wouldn't be able to hang up.
"I'm sorry, Auntie. I won't be coming home soon. I have a new program that I need to join, but I'll make sure to visit as soon as I can," Yuri replied, trying to sound really reassuring.
"Oh, you already have a new show? When will it air, and what show is it?" Aunt Theresa's voice immediately shifted to excitement. Yuri smiled softly, happy that her aunt cared so much.
She paused before answering. "It's not totally set in stone yet since it's a brand-new show. I'll let you know as soon as it airs." She felt super grateful she had already talked to her sister Dan about it, which made explaining things way easier.
After a long talk filled with reassurance and promises to stay in touch, they finally ended the call. Her aunt wanted to call the twins and her uncle to say goodbye too, but Yuri asked her not to. No need to disturb them from completing their Non-Negotiable Fabric Rehabilitation Program.
Even though Yuri was sad she couldn't talk with the twins right now, she knew there would be plenty of time later. She promised herself she'd visit them once her work settled and this stressful time was over.