CHAPTER 25...
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~ RAPHAEL'S APARTMENT ~
Josh stood frozen in the middle of the sitting room as he watched Raphael's sisters take over the apartment in minutes.
"Oppa really made Mabel his girlfriend... Why on earth would Mabel agree to that?" Rachel stated dramatically as she kicked off her heels and tossed her suitcase on the couch.
"Can you not put that there... You can keep it on the floor.." Josh panicked still unable to do anything cos no one was listening.
Rina was already standing before the fridge, she opened it wide open while scanning through what to eat.
"Is this yogurt expired or does it originally look this toxic? What with the label? How long has this been in here?"
"That's... Definitely expired!" Josh mumbled tiredly.
Rina tossed it into the trash can like she was tossing a basketball into the basketball net.
Rhea threw her pink wig to the side, while crossing her legs on the center table.
"Oppa... What's your name? Do you mind giving me a massage on my foot? It hurts..." Rhea flirted staring straight at Josh.
Rachel's the eldest and bossy one.
Rina's the middle and the tomboy rebel.
Rhea is the last and the flirty one.
The girls are in their early twenties and still in college.
Just then the front door opened, Raphael rushed into the apartment.
"Nooooo!" Raphael yelled with his hands on his head as he surveyed his apartment and saw a lot going on. The wigs, shoes and luggages tossed carelessly.
"Oppaaaaaa!!" The triplets screamed in unison as they ran to him and jumped on him.
Before Raphael could escape that dangerous hug, they tackled him to the ground already in a group hug. They nearly cracked his spine.
Mabel stood at the door, her widened in shock. Seeing this part of Raphael's life was all new to her.
"She's here!" Rachel gasped.
"She's so pretty!! Unni!" Rhea screamed excitedly.
"Way prettier in person... Why oppa? Suspicious!" Rina added giving Mabel some intense stare.
Mabel blinked nervously. This was a first for her, meeting the family of the guy she likes.
"Uhm...hi!" She stuttered nervously.
"Unni, do you cook? Or you've got a dozen maids at your house just like the internet says?" Rhea asked with a smile.
Mabel chuckled in disbelief. "What...No!"
"Do you snore loudly or quietly? I've never slept in the same room with a celeb before... I'm prepping myself on that..." Rachel uttered dramatically.
"What did you see in our oppa? I think you would've gone for better!" Rina added popping the gum in her mouth.
"Ahh... Enough of the questions... Can you get off me! And this isn't a variety show!" Raphael yelled beneath the triplets, they totally forgot they were laying on him.
He jerked them off him and stood up.
Josh sat on the armrest of a couch, sipping on a glass of juice and he chuckled.
"Honestly, it looks like a variety show!"
Raphael looked around and kicked the heels that were in front of him angrily.
"If you've got anything lying on the floor or on the couch... Pick up!! Fast!" He let out a high-pitched yell.
The girls flinched and quickly got to it.
Mabel smiled seeing Raphael raise his voice.
"That's new!" She murmured in surprise.
****
They've all settled in so Raphael sat in front of them.
"What are you girls doing here? Why didn't you call to tell me you were coming?" Raphael asked calmly.
"We obviously know why you ran away from home after getting discharged from the hospital... So there was no way, you were going to take our call or even allowed us to come" Rachel muttered.
Raphael turned to Mabel and held her hand.
"It's a good thing you girls know, I ran away from home cos of you! You almost took my life," He whined.
Rina chuckled. "Oppa, you were only duct-taped to a chair on my birthday as a prank but you passed out from that"
Raphael awkwardly cleared his throat and slowly took his hand off Mabel's.
Mabel chuckled silently seeing how awkward he felt.
"You taped my nose, I stopped breathing!" He added.
Rhea held his hand making puppy eyes.
"Oppa we're sorry! We're only here to spend some time with you! We finally got a break from school so please can you accept us with a smile. We promise to behave!" She uttered cutely.
Raphael smiled and ruffled her hair.
"I know you're not here cos of that. You're here cos of Mabel! You girls saw the news..." He said narrowing his eyes.
The girls laughed staring at each other. They knew they've been caught.
"We'll be nice to her!" Rachel cut in sharply to lessen anymore interrogations from Raphael.
"Unni... I'm a huge fan!" Rhea uttered with a calm smile.
Mabel gave them a calm but firm smile.
"She's pretty but can she handle us?" Rina asked as she stood next to Mabel with a teasing smile.
"I would say bring it on but I think you already did!" Mabel responded.
The girls burst into laughter but the kind that comes with a warning.
Raphael shook his head and pulled Mabel into his arms.
"You better don't do anything to my girlfriend. How fast can you get? You arrived right after I accepted to be her boyfriend... You ruined our first date... You girls better think of a way to make it up to us!"
Rachel stood up sharply and clapped her hands together.
"How about we make dinner for you?" She asked with an excitedly smile.
Raphael scoffed and raised his brows. The last time he checked, the only thing they can do properly in the kitchen is to do the dishes...
"I don't have a problem with that as long as you don't burn down my kitchen!" He forewarned.
Josh was standing at a corner when a call came in through his phone then he headed to the balcony. It was a call from Violet.
"Josh, are you free? Can we meet up?" She asked over the phone.
Josh looked behind him and watched the whole siblings banter going on and he smiled.
"I would've loved to watch this even more but being with you, I love it way more" Josh said warmly.
Violet smiled over the phone.
"What's that noise? Are you at Raphael's?" She asked.
"Yep... I'll tell you all about it when we see. Where are we meeting?" He asked.
He walked to his room and went in, shutting the door behind him.
~ VIOLET'S APARTMENT ~
Violet was packing up her clothes in a luggage when the doorbell rang.
She got the door, it was Josh.
Josh walked in, smiling towards her with so much content.
Violet smiled back not knowing how to start up the conversation.
Josh noticed the packed luggage standing next to her sofa and he read the room.
"You're leaving?" He asked slowly as his smiled faded away.
Violet sat down forcing a smile on.
"I'm probably being painted as a clown for passing out after Raphael's confession!" She uttered.
Josh swiftly sat next to her.
"You were present at Raphael's confession to Mabel?"
Violet nodded sadly and she wore a smile.
"Please don't give me that smile. I know you're hurting so much. I'm sorry I didn't hear of it. I was busy packing so I wasn't close to my phone, I would have ran to you. Violet are you okay?" Josh asked with so much concern.
Violet hugged him tightly, letting out the hurting tears that were holding itself back in her eyes.
"Raphael knew of my feelings for him. He told me, he has never loved me romantically, he only loved me as a friend" Violet cried.
Josh patted her back.
"I bet Raph didn't want to say it to you in that way but he had no choice seeing you passed out cos of it..." He added considerately.
Violet cried even loudly.
"But I didn't pass out of his confession though.... I was only stressed out. I acted brave before him and he gave me the closure I needed" She cried.
Josh stayed silent and patted her hair.
"And that's why you're leaving?"
Violet broke the hug and wiped off her tears.
"I'm probably a laughingstock in town. I need some time off from acting and I need some space to heal... I've loved Raphael all my life, moving on from him wouldn't be easy and that's why I'm leaving. I'll be back when I'm completely healed"
Josh smiled and touched her face.
"You'll be fine!"
Violet smiled back. "I'm sorry, I can't meet up to the date anymore!"
Josh shook his head in disagreement. He knew proceeding with his feelings wasn't possible anymore.
"It's fine! I'll be leaving tomorrow anyways... The exhibition is over so my business here in Seoul is over!"
Violet covered her mouth in surprise.
"You're leaving that soon?"
Josh smiled with a nod.
"We might not be able to go on a date but we can order something at least. You need energy if you want to keep packing!" He added taking out his phone to place an order online.
"Sure!" Violet responded excitedly.
LATER IN THE EVENING...
~ RAPHAEL'S APARTMENT ~
The triplets were gathered in the kitchen to keep to their words of making dinner. It was a good offer but a dangerous one.
Ten minutes in the kitchen, smoke surrounded the air.
Mabel was seated in the sitting room with an uneasy look on her face. She worriedly watched the girls from the couch but Raphael insisted she sit with him.
Seeing the smoke waft from the kitchen, she quickly ran to take a look.
"Why's the pasta black?" Mabel asked gently as she stood away from the cooker.
"Maybe we added way too much black sauce!" Rina said confidently.
Raphael walked over and began to cough.
"What are you girls doing to my kitchen?" He coughed waving the smoke away.
Mabel pulled up her sleeve and walked into the kitchen.
"How about you leave the cooking to me?" Mabel offered.
"Unni, we can't do that. We agreed to make up for your date. It would be improper to let you do the cooking" Rachel uttered reluctantly.
Mabel looked at the remorseful looks on their faces and she brushed it off with a smile.
"It's fine... I'm pretty sure, you're all hungry. I'm hungry also. How about I assist you a bit as long as you stay away from the cooker..." She suggested and they reluctantly agreed.
"You can chop the veggies... You can do that right?" She asked.
"Yes, Unni!" They responded in unison.
Their asses just got saved.
"You better learn from her so you don't burn down my kitchen next time" Raphael teased and left the kitchen.
In thirty minutes with Mabel taking charge and the triplets on chopping duty, dinner was served.
At the dinner table... They ate silently.
"So Unni..." Rhea started resting her chin on her palm.
"What are your future plans with our brother? Do you see yourself breaking up with him?"
Mabel almost choked on her rice. "Uhm... Future plans? Break up?"
"Yeah... Like wedding or kids... Do you wish to have kids first or get married first? What would be the color of the day?" Rina added casually.
"Huh!" Mabel gasped.
"You guys are moving way too fast. We only started dating today and you're talking about marriage..." Raphael cut in.
The girls totally ignored him.
"Tell us if oppa snores. He does, right?" Rina asked with a smirk.
Mabel chuckled looking at Raphael.
Raphael held his head.
Suddenly an argument broke out between Rina and Rhea over who was closer to Raphael.
"You always stole his attention, Rhea but oppa liked my drawings more!"
"You think stick figures are art? Oh please... He loved my piano recitals!"
"You mean the ones where you cried halfway through and blamed the stage lights?" Rina snorted.
"Girls!" Raphael shouted.
"Stop reliving your childhood wars! This is not a family court."
"He always sides with her," Rina muttered.
"That's because I don't yell like a dog!" Rhea snapped.
"I will throw this rice at your face!" Rina threatened as she stood up with the rice bowl like a weapon.
"NOT THE RICE!" Raphael shouted diving under the table already.
Rachel shook her head as she protected her food with her arms without getting involved in the fight.
Mabel laughed watching the girls display their triplets drama.
LATER AT NIGHT...
The apartment was finally quiet. The girls settled in one of the rooms. Mabel was walking down the hallway then she paused when she heard voices.
Raphael and Rachel were seated at the balcony, each holding a glass of juice.
"I was afraid to take any of your calls after the passing of Rein. I didn't want you guys to worry..." Raphael admitted after gulping down a sip of his juice.
Rachel looked at him and smiled.
"We understood that. Simone oppa told us, you needed some time alone and you left the country. Why didn't you tell me you've fallen for some other girl? I've got great tips on how to get a girl, I would've helped win her over faster..." Rachel uttered dancing with her brows.
Raphael laughed. "That would've been pointless. I fell for Mabel at my own pace and she did the same"
"Unni, is a pretty and successful lady. You better don't play with her. We like her already!" Rachel uttered with a smile.
A wide smile appeared on Mabel's lips on hearing that then she walked away.
She walked up to the girls room and she saw Rhea painting her nails on the couch and Rina was fast asleep on the rug with a bag of chips on her bare stomach, she was putting on a crop top.
Mabel shook her head and chuckled silently. This was chaos... but it was the kind of chaos that made her heart feel full.
It felt so much like a family, she would want for herself. There was never a dull moment with the girls around. She saw Raphael in a different light and this made her fall for him even more.
NEXT MORNING...
Raphael was fast asleep when he woke up at the delicious aroma coming from the kitchen.
"That smells like mum's cooking!" He uttered from his dream.
He widened his eyes in shock when the word sank in.
"What! Mum's here!!" He gasped and rushed out of his room.
Getting to the sitting room. He saw his dad watching TV and the mum at the kitchen cooking happily.
Mabel was woken up by the aroma also. She stood in front of the door scratching her hair. She was looking so unkept, she eyes were still puffy cos of last night's rice she had.
"Mum! Dad!" Raphael gasped in shock.
"Hey son!" His dad uttered with a smile and kept on watching the TV.
Mabel's eyes widened in shock.
"Your parents!" She gasped and covered her mouth in shock.
Mrs Kris ran over to Mabel and hugged her tight.
"I heard a lot from the girls last night. You're such an amazing girl.. but I've got just one question. Are you a seer?" She asked and Mabel's heart skipped a beat.
Ever since the incident at the rooftop when she almost lost her life, she stopped foreseeing the future.
"Why would you ask that mum?"
"That's cos, you're only allowed to be with a seer just like you!" She added.
Raphael's jaw dropped.
"Mum, you know I can foresee the future?" He asked in shock.