The Choi Twins

✩ This story takes place in an AU setting. This is for recreational purposes and the story. So the Choi twins will have a less traumatic childhood.

✩ Thank you for understanding!

Saeyoung and Saeran Choi have always been my best friends since I have been young. I haven't seen them in 13 years. I'm sure they don't remember me, but I am visiting my hometown. I am pretty sure, or at least hoping, that they have not moved out of town. I would be disappointed on not being able to see them, but it's way too good to be true.

I stepped outside of my apartment, locking the door behind me. It has been a few months since I first arrived at my hometown. I managed to find a low-budget apartment, but I plan on moving to a better location soon. Why? Because at night, I hear these weird clicking noises. It's when it's incredibly quiet and the only time I'm actually home from my part-time job. I thought someone was trying to break in at first, but I noticed the noise was coming from past my walls. I'm pretty sure my neighbors are crazy or something, but I can't really say that.

When I first came to this apartment room, I wanted to say hello to all of my neighbors. I successfully introduced myself to most of the building, except for the room next to me - where the clicking was from. I knocked on their door a few times but nobody appeared to be home. Or they were simply ignoring me. Fine, be that way, I thought then.

I inhaled before exhaling, trying to start my day with a better mindset. It was a Saturday, and I had some grocery shopping to do. I turned to my left and saw someone step out of the apartment room next to mines. They were the cause of the clicking!

It was a tall young man, dressed in leisure clothes such as sweatpants and oversized hoodies. With his style, he'd look like he would have a beer belly but he didn't. In fact, he was very handsome, ignoring the fact that he had major eye bags underneath his glasses.

"Ah!" I tried to get his attention, "Hello! I am your new neighbor." He turned to walk to the stairs that led down. "I arrived here a few months ago and I've never got the chance to introduce myself."

I followed him downstairs that led to proper ground. It appeared that was ignoring me until he said, "Then you're not so new, are you?" He replied in a witty manner.

He surprised me, I nearly choked. We just met and he was already getting smart with me. I regretted my decision of speaking up, continuing to walk my way to the convenience store.

For some odd reason, I found myself following the man. Actually - no - perhaps he was following me but right in front of me! We happened to be thinking alike because he asked, "Hey, are you following me?"

"No, I'm not." I replied.

"Then why are you following me?"

"I'm not!"

We both rushed to our destinations in competitive manner, as if we were attempting to prove a point of whom was following whom. I blinked as we both walked inside the same convenience store.

"So you were following me!" I exclaimed, pointing a finger at him.

He frowned, his lenses reflecting the bright light of the white tiles in the store. "No, you were following me! You crazy stalker!" His hooded head wobbling in anger. "That's why you keep knocking at my damn door!"

I've never felt so frustrated in my life towards a random man I just met. I could feel my veins pumping blood as I felt my fists ball up. But the maturity inside me that this man lacked told me to calm down. I took a deep breath before calmly saying, "I'm sorry, sir. But it must have truly been a coincidence." I saw that his irritated face was taken off guard, slowly becoming more serene. I continued, "I assure you I am no stalker. From now on, despite being neighbors, I will not bother you." I walked past him as he stood there, perplexed.

I grabbed a basket and started grabbing items I would need to survive the week. Minutes passed and I have already put some food in my basket. My eyes shimmered in excitement as I spotted a familiar golden-yellow bag. I walked up to the chips section, only to find there was one left.

How lucky am I! I reached my hand out to grab the single Honey Buddha Chip bag remaining in the store. As I laid my hands upon its grace, I saw another hand that laid upon my own. I retrieved my hand and turned to see who was trying to steal my food. It was my neighbor.

My gears started to grind as I saw him pick it up without even asking. "Oi, I know I said I wouldn't bother you a few minutes ago... But you can't steal my food!" I said through my teeth.

He looked down at me, and that's when I realized how truly tall he was. I could have almost been intimidated if it weren't for his foggy glasses. I couldn't even see his eyes. Maybe he was a shut-in otaku.

"Weren't you the one who drew your hand away after touching it?" He shrugged and turned around in ignorance. Then he stopped in his tracks to turn around, "It's in my basket now~" He childishly waved his basket in front of my face as he walked to the register.

I'm not one to lose my temper; I've always been a serene child. But this man?

He's no exception.

My feelings got the best of me. I found myself reaching into his basket to steal back the chips that he had stolen from me.

"Hey!" He exclaimed.

I don't know why, but I immediately felt guilty after stealing it. I could already see the consequences ahead of us if I didn't play my cards right. I shoved the chips inside my basket and went into the next aisle. I could hear his loud breathing behind me and it bothered me so much, I actually threw something at him.

"Gah!" I glanced at him and saw that he clutched his head. I grinned proudly at myself, for I had received two times the points for getting a headshot.

I stopped by the register, adrenaline still running through my body. "Please quickly scan these items!" I said desperately to the employee behind the counter. I glanced behind me again, only to find that my neighbor had caught up. I mean, I'm not surprised. The convenience store was quite small.

"Give back the chips!" He yelled.

"No way, these are mine!" I grabbed the chips in defense.

One of his eyebrows twitched and reached for the chip bag. From then on, it was a game of hot potato. We kept passing back and forth the last Honey Buddha Chips.

"You stole it from me!"

"Yeah right, I had it first!"

I believed we were too rough on the poor bag, because we ended up ripping it. Golden chips were scattered everywhere by the entrance. I felt my stomach drop as I looked up at the man and then the employee.

Outside, it felt warmer than usual. I balled my fists as I caged in my anger inside of me. I took deep breaths, trying to cool my mind down. We were kicked out by the employee and banned for a week.

"Thanks a lot. If only you had given me the damn chips." The man grumbled.

I let out a passive aggressive reponse, "Sorry, sweetie. What was that? I couldn't hear you because your logic seems to be worse than an ant's brain!"

"Well, ants happen to be smart. I'm sure they would've thought of a better way of insulting me than you could ever, sweetie." He retorted.

I hated this guy, absolutely hated him! If he were actually an ant, I would kill him on sight. I watched him walk away from the convenience store as if nothing happened. I grew more furious just from watching his back.

Walking around town, my mind felt blank. But it really wasn't. I was spacing out, something that often happened to me after getting angry.

I felt a pair of big hands reach for my waist, making me lean back. "Watch out, miss!" A male voice exclaimed. I blinked, realizing I nearly walked into a death trap of the busy streets. The city sounds started to come back to me: loud honks from cars, vehicles revving, and chatter from citizens.

I turned around and faced the man that saved me. "Thank you so much, I don't know what was going through my head during that time." I said, bowing in gratitude.

"It's okay, I'm just glad you're safe." He replied back.

I looked up and anaylased him. The man had white short hair with washed out pink streaks in some parts of his head. His blue mint eyes were incredibly beautiful, taking my breath away. He was also quite tall and thin. I was worried about his health, but it wasn't any of my business.

I felt my face grow warm at his concern. After my long fiery rage at my neighbor, it felt nice to have a nice human soothing me with their words.

Out of the blue, he asked a random question, "Say... Have we met before?"

I shook my head, "No, I believe not." I didn't recall knowing a handsome, young man with white hair.

He smiled, chuckling at his silly mistake. "Oh, my bad. Now that you're okay, I'll have to get back to work." Beneath his smile, I could tell he was disappointed. More than disappointed, he looked sad--

Grumble! My stomach had started to cry, demanding to be fed. I grew embarrassed and covered my stomach, hoping it would make less noise.

"S-sorry, I didn't get to eat today." I stammered, wishing I didn't have a stomach.

He laughed, slightly covering his mouth with his hand. "Then you must be hungry!" He held out his hand to me and opened his palm. "Come, I'll get you something to eat."

"Welcome back!" A voice greeted us cheerifully as we walked inside a café. "Hey, hey. Where is your uniform?" A young male walked out away from the counter to stand in front of the man who saved me. "Don't tell me... You went out to play with a girl?!--" His foot got stomped on, which surprised me. My first impression of the man who helped me appeared to he gentle. I didn't expect to see a violent side so soon.

"Ow! You're so mean, Ray!" He cried.

Ray? Is that his name? I thought, looking up at him.

Ray smiled at me with a sorry expression. "That's my co-worker. His name's Yoosung Kim."

Yoosung was energetic, bowing to me at a respectful angle. "Hello, noona! I am Yoosung Kim." He stood up properly and went back to bothering Ray. "When did you get a girlfriend?"

I laughed quietly to myself as Yoosung received another punishment from Ray. He got flicked on the forehead, left with a red, glowing mark. "She's not my girlfriend, Yoosung. She is a customer, so please watch your mouth." He calmly said.

Yoosung weeped from the pain that pounded on his head. He clutched onto it, complaining to Ray about being left alone with so many customers.

I noticed that he wore an odd tuxedo for a café. It was like a butler's, except his wrists were covered in a broken hand cuff. I looked for more strange details and saw that he had some injuries around his neck, too.

Ray must have noticed my concern because he said, "We are a cosplay café. They happen to be really popular in Japan so our boss wanted to do the same to Korea."

"So, Yoosung isn't really...?"

Ray nodded, "Yeah, he isn't actually harmed. It's just makeup." He brought out a makeup wipe from the counter and wiped off the bruise on Yoosung's neck. "Huh?" He seemed confused as he kept trying to wipe the bruise away.

"Oh, uhh... I woke up with this bruise this morning. I don't know why but-" Yoosung was cut off with a customer shouting for service. "I'll be right there! Sorry, I gotta go."

I looked at Ray and saw that he was trembling. "Are you okay?" I tried to calm him. He raised his head and I saw his face. I thought he was crying but he seemed perfectly fine.

"Don't worry about me. Let's get you something to eat, shall we?"

After eating, I happened to stay a bit longer than I anticipated. I watched how Ray handled customers. He was very calm and nice towards his patrons. What a nice man, Then I suddenly grew angry. Unlike that stupid hooded otaku neighbor of mine! I imagined a false reality where Ray was my neighbor instead of him. I forgotten my anger I felt a few seconds ago as I fantasized Ray helping me with groceries and possibly helping me cook.

"Are you gonna pay up?" He asked with a loving smile.

"Huh?" I blinked back to reality, embarrassed to have been spacing out again.

Yoosung had his palm out, groping the air. "M-o-n-e-y." He said slowly.

I realized what he meant and quickly reached into my bag. As I dug out my wallet, Ray's big hands stopped me. "It's okay, you don't need to pay." He said with a kind voice.

"Hyung, we are a business. We need everything that counts." Yoosung said, slamming his hands onto the table. I was tempted to just whip out a few won to just tip them, but Ray's grip was strong.

Maybe it was because he was a man, but for a scrawny one, it was hard to believe. I winced, wiggling my wrist out of his grip. "R-Ray, it hurts." I said.

"O-oh!" He let go of my hand and apologized. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I swear!" Ray ran to the kitchen to fetch a bag of ice.

He put it onto my wrist. It wasn't so serious but if it could make Ray settle down more, I was willing to leave the ice pack on.

"Thanks," I murmured, overwhelmed with the kindness he had showed me the past hours.

He smiled, shaking his head. "Don't mention it." He helped me up off of my seat. "And you don't have to pay for today. Take it as a sorry for hurting your wrist."

I squinted my eyes along with a disapproving smile, but I accepted it anyway. "I'll be sure to pay next time." I said, heading out the door.

"Thanks, noona!" Yoosung said. "Do you need someone to walk you home?"

I shook my head and waved goodbye. "Nah, you guys are still working. I'll head back myself." I smiled and left.

What a fluffy bed I have. I sighed, inhaling the nice floral scent of my soft blanket. I grinned happily as I hugged the blanket tight. I should go again tomorrow.

As my apartment grew quiet, I could make out the noise of my neighbor's clicking. I frowned and sat up, walking up towards my wall to press my war against it.

I listened to it closely, trying to guess what he was doing. Is he watching something? Possibly porn? I gasped, snickering mischievously, He must be pleasuring himself! Then I gasped and pulled my head away from the wall.

I scolded myself for invading someone's privacy. He was free to wank off at adult videos online if he wanted. It is natural to do after all. He probably does it because he can't have an actual girlfriend.

I bursted out laughing on my knees. "Ppfft! That sounds about right!" I wheezed, "Nobody would want a hot-headed loser like him!" I muttered, getting up off the floor to go back on my bed.

My phone said it was around 9 pm, and I needed to sleep.

My dream that night was weird. I don't remember what it was, but Ray was in it. He was cooking something for me in a cute apron. But then someone was ringing my doorbell.

I felt my eyes flutter open, seeing sun rays of light shine through my curtains. I bolted up and ran up towards my door.

I opened the door sleepily, "What?" I asked.

"Good morning, sleeping beast." My neighbor greeted in a playful tone.

"You," I frowned.

"Yes, me."

"What do you want from me?"

"Oh, nothing. I just though I should give you this thing. It was accidentally delivered to mine, so I just wanted to personally give it to you myself." He gave me the box with two hands respectfully. "I'm so kind, aren't I?"

I raised an eyebrow at him in suspicion, reading who it was from. It was from my parents' address. I looked up at my neighbor and smiled. "Thank you so much!" I said happily.

He blushed, surprised at the expression I made. "H-huh?-- No problem." He made an awkward frown and quickly walked back to his room.

I closed the door and put the box on the dining room table. I glanced at the microwave clock and saw that it was 5 pm in the evening. "AH! Why didn't my dang neighbor tell me?!" I shrieked.

There was no time for me to open up my box. I had to visit Ray's café.

"Sorry, we're closed!" Yoosung greeted me with a smile. "Huh? It's you again, noona."

I smiled at him and stared at his outfit. He had white bandages patching up his right eye and he wore a male maid outfit. It kind of followed the same concept as yesterday but less kinky and more concerning.

"Hello, Yoosung. Is your bruise okay?" I asked, following him to my table.

He pursed his lips, turning it into a cute frown. "I think I must have shocked Ray." He handed me a glass of cold water. "It's not a hickey! At least, I think not?"

There was confusion in his voice and I found it funny as I grabbed the cup. "Thank you." I said with a smile.

Yoosung nodded, "Are you here for Ray, Master? I'll go get him if you want." He soon left me before I could even give a proper reaction to what he had just called me.

"Master?" I questioned, feeling my body tense at such a weird name to call a customer.

"It's our concept." A voice whispered in my ear.

I nearly screamed my lungs out as Ray revealed himself. He had small nicks and bandages on his face.

"What an odd concept," I rubbed my ear, still feeling his warm breath on it.

He sighed, "S and M (sadist and masochist.) It's what our boss decided to do. It is our week's concept." Ray then paused for a few minutes, ending at an odd sentence. "Anyway, how is it so far?" He asked.

"The café? It's pretty nice." I replied. "It must have costed a lot if you guys have to cosplay a lot."

Ray smiled handsomely. I could feel myself having a hard time breathing. "Oh no. We make the clothes," He said. "It takes a few weeks to make sure everyone have a costume."

My eyes glittered in admiration. "Oh wow! You guys made your costumes? They look so well done!" I began taking a closer look at them, noticing every detail that was taken place.

"Thank you! I designed them myself." He laughed at how I was staring intensely at his outfit. I realized what I was doing and quickly retrieved my head back.

"Sorry, I'm just really surprised. It looks amazing."

Yoosung came over and saw Ray, "Ah! Here you are!" He said.

I cringed, thinking back at what he called me before taking a few sips of my water.

"Also, someone is here to see you." He whispered in Ray's ear.

Someone else was looking for Ray other than me. I looked up in curiosity, following their bodies walk over to the entrance where the register was. The two men greeted the hooded figure casually, as if they knew each other.

I squinted my eyes, trying to get a better look at the figure. They oddly seemed familiar.

"Saey-" He tried to say something but his mouth was shut from Ray's hand.

"Shut it," Ray muttered.

I quickly looked away, not wanting them to see me eavesdropping. But I tried to follow their conversation. "Sorry, Ray. But I need to talk to you." The visitor replied. His tone made it seem urgent.

"I'm working, maybe later?"

"It can't wait!"

"Seven, please leave-"

He grabbed the shoulders of Ray, trying to catch his attention. "I know where she is."

My ears perked in interest, silence hovering in the atmosphere of the café. I shouldn't be nosy, but I was incredibly curious of who this she was.

Ray's expression looked relieved, but at the same time doubtful. He sighed and turned away from him. "Stop saying nonsense. She's gone." He walked over to me and said, "Sorry to make things short, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

I shook my head and smiled. "Oh no, I understand. Sorry to have been a bother." As I walked out to the exit, I saw the face of the man who spoke of she.

"Ah-" He pointed a finger at me.

"You!" I pointed a finger at him back.

Yoosung walked in between us, confused. "Do you guys know each other?" He asked.

"Ray," My neighbor said, "it's her."

I made a confused expression, looking at Ray. He seemed bewildered. There was grief and hope in his eyes. "You?" He walked up towards me, cupping my face. "Now that I look at you, you kind of look like her."

"Who?!" Yoosung chimed.

He smiled, tears slowly pouring out of his beautiful minty eyes. "MC,"

✩ Hello! This chapter didn't contain any mature scenes. But there will be some soon, please be patient. >w<;; This is my first ever story and I worked a while for this first chapter. Thank you!