Alexei Dragunov | Sunday, June 7
He woke up at 4 like the usual, getting into the weekend routine that involved the usual, washing, cleaning and cooking. He also went to the early market to get the good stuff cheap first in the morning. He had made good relations with quite a few of the grocers there. He could get good fish and veggies much cheaper than others.
Today was the day where he'd be taking out his prized kimchi out and making a new batch to replace it. So it was a hard day at the kitchen. Chopping the ingredients and getting stuff ready. Though, it was a Korean dish Alexei couldn't describe its versatility and pairing options, it was like god sent for the families tight on a budget.
He let his beef marinate and began work on it as the time silently passed by. He was almost done with prep by the time Elena got up and from there it took half the time it would have. Elena enjoyed assisting her brother in the kitchen. To her it was one of those bonding times she read it in newspaper articles and heard from friends. Watching Alexei was like watching a calm lake, there were seldom any signs that gave away what he was feeling at any moment. He was always this picture of calm, firm reassurance that moved her. To look at him, one could be at ease instantly, his sincerity was without a doubt one of the most moving qualities about him. But it was that muted aggression in his wine red eyes that sometimes was unsettling.
She knew that there was nothing her brother loved more in this world. Something that he has murmured in his sleep a few times and in those group family hugs that he gives to her mother and herself but she couldn't help shake that lingering feeling that there was a sort of sorrow hidden inside him. As a brother he was too perfect and as a human being too model, she could talk about anything with him but still was terrified probing inside his mind. Often times, she felt that he was pushing himself too hard, that he was too tired but he would always soldier on with a smile. She never had seen her mother take such pains, for she had been stuck to a bed for as long as she could remember, their father's death had devastated her so thoroughly that she was just a shell of her former self, one that she was unlucky to have missed.
Alexei had seen that and judging by how hard he pushed himself, it was something he would trade everything in his life for. She had a mix of pity and envy for him but it was all shadowed by the massive pride she had for him to be her darling brother. She was confident that most mothers don't take such good care of their families that his brother did. He was a mother, a father, a brother, a mentor and a friend all rolled into one and she felt that even with all that she barely knew him. He was an expert at making it everything about the other person, so much that it made the other completely forget that he himself has some passions and interests.
A part of her enjoyed this princess treatment but a part felt guilty, she could only wait for the time she could grow up quickly and get married,so that she can leave him to care for himself and be happy. She often felt like this in the long silences they shared but oftentimes, it all left a bittersweet taste in her.
"Elena!" came a low grumble, breaking her out of her reverie.
"Y..Ye...Yess!" she replied with a start.
"The kidnappings are on the rise again. Have you been taking those Judo classes seriously." he stated calmly, mixing the kimchi in a large bowl to spread the seasoning evenly.
"Ye..Yes." she said with a slight blush, she can't tell him that she had skipped the last few days. Going out with her friends instead on their incessant pushing.
"Good. I want you to know that it is all okay. But should you ever find yourself in a situation. Call me first and then engage if you have to. Okay?"
"Yes..Ni-san!" she replied timidly. Alexei meanwhile finished what he was doing and washed his hand. Wiping it from his apron before heading over to Elena, patting her head lovingly.
"No matter where you are, I promise I'll be there as fast as I can, okay." he said before kissing her forehead. Here it was again, though she couldn't blame him for being protective of her since his schoolmates had been the most targeted in the last few months but she could see that even without these turn off events, he would have been the same.
"Well let's finish the soup and head out for lunch in the evening. You'd like to go to that Cosplay cafe again?" he asked her politely.
"Ye..Yeah, I'd love to."
----
Star Drop Cafe
As soon as they opened the door, a string of people dressed as some kind of manga royals greeted them in a flourishing bow.
"Wah!" Elena exclaimed as she went all starry eyed at the handsome men and women in the room. Alexei was a bit surprised as well, about the depth of synchronization of the make-up and the costumes, he certainly felt like Guts walking in on the iconic ballroom scene in Vritanis in the Berserk manga with his tight long sleeved black crew-neck and pair of relaxed cargos. He felt a bit out of place but he was here to have a good time and so it shall be.
They both found a seat and sat down waiting for a server to come over.