Jaeho didn't go to work that night because there was no need to, he already earned what he could from there with his rebate system.
For the first time in over a year he texted the convenience store manager that he wasn't coming in. No long excuse, no sorry as he didn't need to provide one.
He had ₩685,000 sitting in his account, the old debts were gone, and this weird system thing could apparently keep multiplying money if he played it right. He didn't need to kill himself working every waking hour when he could stay in with his sisters.
He had seen first hand what only working could do to a person's health, his father was an example and he vowed never to leave his sisters alone. At least not until they could stand on their feet.
But sitting there in the dark quiet apartment, watching Jia and Serin breathe slowly and even in their sleep, they looked so peaceful but there was one question on his mind.
"Did this system only work on Yura?" Jaeho thought to himself.
He only tried it twice so far, both times with her. First it doubled what he spent, then it tripled. Something about the last one gave a bigger payout and he still hadn't figured out why.
Was it any older woman? Or was Yura special somehow?
What made this time different from the last? Jaeho had so many questions to ask.
He would have to test it more, however, not tonight though.
Tonight he could just sit back and enjoy everything he managed to accomplish ever since getting it. The constant weight, the debt, the fear of someone taking the girls away, all of it was finally starting to lift.
He always pictured giving Jia and Serin a real life. Proper birthdays with cake, clothes that fit right, new school stuff, not hand-me-downs. A place where rent wasn't a daily panic.
For the first time that picture didn't feel like a fantasy.
He closed his eyes, planning to rest just a minute but the sleep hit him like a truck.
His entire body had been running on fumes for so long that the second it felt safe it shut everything down. Ten hour turned to eleven then that turned to twelve.
He slept deep, breathing steady, muscles finally letting go of months of tension and stress.
When the alarm went off, it was a soft pretty chime, nothing like the angry buzz of his old cracked phone.
But Jaeho's body didn't respond to it, if anything, it needed that aggressive alarm to respond.
But he felt something on him, strange small hands shook his shoulder.
"Oppa. Oppa, wake up," Jia said.
He cracked an eye open. Jia and Serin were leaning over him, faces were a mix of curious and suspicious.
"What's that noise?" Jia piped up, pointing at the new iPhone on the floor next to him.
"Where'd you get that?" Serin asked quietly, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Jaeho blinked hard, sat up slow, and rubbed the sleep off his face.
"I stole it," Jaeho said bluntly. Both girls froze for just a second right before Jia cracked up.
"No you didn't!" she laughed.
"You're not a thief, oppa," Serin said seriously, shaking her head in disapproval.
Jaeho grinned, grabbed the phone, checked the time.
[[8:47 AM.]]
[[Saturday.]]
He stared at the screen, confused. The twins were up before him, that never happened on school days as he was always first to wake up and make breakfast before getting them ready for school.
But it was Saturday, how did he not know it was Saturday?
He must have set the alarm for every day without realizing, it was a new phone after all.
Jaeho let out a small laugh, dragged a hand through his messy hair. The last few days had past by so fast that he had lost track of what day it even was.
And for once he had nowhere to be. No shift, no rush, no bill collectors calling or harrassing him.
He looked at his sisters, still in pajamas with their messy hair.
"Who wants to go out today?" Jaeho asked. Jia and Serin looked at each other with confusion evident in their eyes.
Then together they said, "We're poor," Jia and Serin chorused.
Jaeho couldn't help it but laugh at this response, body jerking all over the place. That dry sense of humour they had developed over the past couple of months. He waved the iPhone like evidence.
"You sure about that?" Jaeho teased. Jia narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms, tilted her head.
"You weren't joking about stealing it, were you?" she challenged.
"Jia!" Serin scolded, swatting her arm as if to correct her.
But Serin turned to Jaeho, completely straight-faced. She shook her head slow.
"Oppa can't be a thief," Serin declared. Jaeho's chest went warm.
"See? Serin trusts me," Jaeho said.
"It's not that," Serin murmured. Jaeho blinked in disbelief upon hearing that.
"Then what?" Jaeho asked.
Serin reached up and patted his head like he was a sad puppy.
"You're not smart enough to be one," Serin explained.
Silence for half a second before all three of them lost it, laughing until their ribs hurt.
Jaeho grabbed Serin, pulled her into a hug, messed up her hair while she giggled. Jia dove in too, yelling with laughter as they all collapsed onto the floor. For a minute everything was perfect.
No stress, no fear. Just the three of them tangled up, laughing until their stomachs ached.
When they finally caught their breath Jaeho sat up, still grinning as his sisters were slower to get up.
"Okay, okay," he said.
"Get dressed. We're going out," Jaeho told them once agaiin but he had more convinction this time so they knew he wasn't messing around.
"Where?" Jia asked with excitement, bouncing on her knees.
"Anywhere you want," Jaeho answered.
"Really?" Serin whispered.
"Really," Jaeho confirmed because he knew they would take him into consideration when picking a place.
"Tteokbokki?" Jia begged right away not even bothering to bargain.
"And ice cream?" Serin added clearly hopeful that Jaeho had enough money for at least that.
"And new crayons?" Jia threw in once again with no remorse for his bank account..
"And books?" Serin said or rather, it sounded more like a hopeful question. Jaeho held up his hands, laughing again.
"Yes. All of it. Whatever you want," Jaeho promised. The twins stared at him like he had grown wings.
"Are you sick, oppa?" Jia asked, pressing her palm to his forehead.
"I'm fine," Jaeho said, gently moving her hand.
"I just want to spend the day with you two. That's it," Jaeho explained.
Serin's face softened as she scooted closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, face in his shoulder.
"I love you, oppa," Serin whispered. Jia piled on, squeezing them both.
"We love you so much," Jia said.