Chapter 20: The Bucket List
Val watched the two of us with a long, weary sigh, clearly deciding she had to step in before we wandered around the massive palace until lunch. "Follow me, please."
She took the lead, guiding us down a grand spiral staircase and straight to the private gym wing of the estate. After a quick ten-minute warm-up, we split off into our respective workouts.
Surprisingly enough, Yerin was in great physical shape. She obviously couldn’t lift as much as Val or me, but her stamina, flexibility, and core strength were top-notch, likely built up from years of grueling dance rehearsals, stage performances, and intense concert routines.
"Look at you go," I teased, stepping up beside her as she finished a smooth set of core exercises on the mat. "Not bad for a spoiled celebrity."
Yerin gasped in theatrical offense, slapping a hand over her heart. "Spoiled celebrity?! The slander! I’ll show you what this spoiled celebrity can do."
Before I could even react or step away, she darted behind me as I dropped down to start a set of push-ups. She hopped onto my back, sitting astride my shoulders with a triumphant, mischievous grin. "Perform under pressure, cousin! Let’s see your real strength."
I chuckled, setting my hands firmly on the padded mat and lowering my chest to the floor before pushing straight back up without a hint of hesitation or struggle. "You’re light as a feather, Yerin. You seriously need to eat more of Mom’s cupcakes."
Yerin pouted, thoroughly annoyed that her sabotage attempt had completely failed to make me break form. "Oh yeah? You think you’re so tough? Let’s see how you handle this!"
She flattened herself against my back, wrapped her arms around my neck, and began ruthlessly tickling my ribs.
"Hey-stop-" I burst out laughing as my core gave out, and I lost my balance, collapsing onto the workout mat with Yerin tumbling right on top of me in a tangled mess.
It wasn’t actually the tickling that broke my balance and ruined my push-up set, though. It was the feeling of her soft, full chest pressing firmly against my spine as she moved, the gentle, uninhibited bounce of her body distracting my senses so completely that my physical strength just evaporated into thin air.
I lay flat on the mat, cursing quietly to myself as my heart hammered against my ribs.
[Pfft! Hahaha! Defeated by a pair of soft cushions!] Paige’s voice exploded in my mind, practically dying of laughter as she hovered invisibly beside me. [Host, your god-like reality-bending powers are completely useless against a curvy cousin wearing an oversized hoodie!]
’Shut up, Paige,’ I groaned mentally, staring blankly at the gym ceiling while trying to get my composure back under control.
Across the room, Val silently finished a heavy cable pull-down set, watching the two of us with a calm, watchful, and slightly exasperated expression. She didn’t say a single word, simply accepting her silent responsibility to babysit the two energetic idiots in her care.
Yerin sat up beside me, flashing me an extremely smug, victorious smile as she brushed a stray strand of black hair out of her face. But as she pulled my phone from the oversized hoodie pocket where she’d stashed it earlier, her cheerful expression shifted into something more curious and focused.
"By the way, Seth," Yerin said, tapping the screen as she looked down at a document app. "I didn’t know you kept a bucket list."
I froze on the mat, my laughter instantly dying down as I looked up at her in surprise. I’d completely forgotten about the old text file I’d saved on my phone years ago, buried in a forgotten folder.
I sat up and scratched my cheek awkwardly, a slight wave of embarrassment washing over me. "Oh... that old text file? I made it back in the orphanage when I was just a kid. It was just a silly list of random things I wanted to do once I grew up and had enough money."
I shrugged, trying to brush it off with a light laugh. "It’s just childish stuff. Eating at a super fancy restaurant, buying a ridiculous arcade machine for my room, going on a spontaneous road trip... stuff like that."
Yerin stared at the screen for a long moment, her eyes moving slowly over every item on the list. The mischievous smirk faded from her face, replaced by a quiet, fierce sincerity. She looked up at me and gave a firm shake of her head.
"It’s not useless," Yerin declared, her dark eyes shining with determination as she held the phone close to her chest like a prized treasure. "Every single thing on here matters, Seth. We’re going to complete every single item on this list together. Starting today."
I stared at her, caught off guard by the conviction in her voice. "Yerin, some of those things are really silly—"
"I don’t care if they’re silly!" she interrupted, jumping up from the mat and pointing a finger at me with a blinding grin. "You spent years working hard without getting to enjoy any of it. Now that I’m here, I’m making it my official mission as your cousin to help you check off every single wish!"
Looking at her beaming, determined face, I couldn’t help letting out a quiet, helpless laugh. Between my overly doting parents, my stoic bodyguard, and now a global pop star cousin who had made my childhood bucket list her personal mission, my quiet, stress-free life was turning out to be far more lively than I ever could have imagined.
"Alright, alright," I said with a smile as I pushed myself up from the floor. "Where do we start?"
"First," Yerin said with a smirk, wiggling her eyebrows as she tucked my phone back into the hoodie pocket, "we start by convincing Aunt Alice to let us go out today."