Chapter 137: Horror Movies Are The Best

Yerin, Yoona, and Val joined us, sitting on the surrounding couches.

"We were thinking of watching some TV and enjoying our time together," I said, leaning back against the soft cushions.

"That sounds wonderful," Mom agreed warmly.

Alice looked around at all of us, a gentle idea occurring to her. "You know, we should also invite Dylan and Sarah over to join us. It would be lovely to have them here before you kids leave."

I raised an eyebrow at Mom, a dry smirk touching my lips. "Sarah might be busy managing the post-concert details, Mom."

Before Mom could even answer, Yerin’s dark eyes lit up with a wide, chaotic grin.

"Say no more, Aunt Alice!" Yerin cheered enthusiastically.

Instead of calling Sarah to ask for permission, Yerin pulled out her phone, bypassed Sarah’s contact entirely, and dialed Dylan’s number directly.

"Hey, Dylan!" Yerin yelled into the speaker the second the line connected. "Get over here to our lounge right now! We’re watching TV and eating snacks!"

On the other end of the line, Dylan’s excited cheers echoed through the speaker, making everyone in the room burst into genuine laughter.

...

While we waited for Sarah and Dylan to finish up and head over, the rest of us gathered in the main lounge to pass the time. I grabbed the remote and turned on a random, low-budget horror movie.

Within five minutes, it became glaringly obvious that we were watching an absolute disaster of a film. The plot made no sense, the special effects looked like they were made on a free phone app, and the actors delivered their lines with all the enthusiasm of cardboard cutouts.

"Wait, why is she running up the stairs?" Yerin pointed at the screen, holding a bowl of popcorn. "The front door is wide open behind her! She literally turned around just to run deeper into the killer’s basement!"

"It’s a classic trope," Yoona chuckled, leaning back gracefully on the plush sofa. "Basic survival instincts are always the first thing sacrificed in B-grade cinema."

"That isn’t just a lack of survival instincts," Val chimed in from the armchair beside me, her voice unexpectedly sharp and deadpan. "That is active suicidal behavior. Her center of gravity is completely off, her foot placement is sloppy, and she is holding that flashlight like a carrot. If the killer doesn’t catch her, that poorly lit staircase will."

I looked over at Val, suppressing a grin. I remembered a minor detail from when we first started hanging out , despite her intense, high-society bodyguard training, Val actually loved picking apart terrible horror movies. Watching fake professionals act like incompetent victims in cheap slasher flicks was her absolute guilty pleasure.

"Look at the killer’s stance," Val continued, her eyes fixed on the screen as she gestured with her hand. "He is swinging a rusty axe with zero hip rotation. A simple side-step and a low sweep to his forward knee would neutralize him instantly. Why are three adult victims screaming in a corner when they possess both numerical advantage and structural elevation?"

"Because then the movie would end in ten minutes, Val," I laughed, tossing a piece of popcorn into my mouth.

"Then it should end in ten minutes!" Val insisted, her lips curving into a rare, bright smile. "Tactical efficiency matters."

Yerin burst out laughing, sliding off the sofa to sit on the rug near Val’s feet. "Yes! Tell them, Val! Look at the monster! Is that papier-mâché on its face!?"

"It appears to be wet, spray-painted foam," Val analyzed, completely abandoning her rigid bodyguard posture. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, her violet eyes sparkling with genuine amusement. "And the shadow placement when the monster enters does not match the room’s single light source. The lighting crew gave up entirely."

Seeing Val completely drop her professional guard and laugh out loud with us made my chest warm. For the first time since I met her, she wasn’t standing in a corner scanning for threats or holding herself like a drawn sword. She was just a normal young woman, sitting with her family, laughing at a terrible movie on a quiet afternoon.

Her smile never left her face. Yoona noticed it too, catching my eye over Yerin’s head and giving me a soft, knowing nod. Nobody pointed out Val’s sudden shift in attitude, we didn’t want to make her self-conscious and push her back into her shell. We just let her talk, joining in on the roasting as the terrible horror movie unraveled on screen.

About twenty minutes into our movie roast, the lounge doors opened.

"Big Brother Seth!" Dylan’s voice echoed through the room before I even saw him.

The little guy sprinted across the carpet, launching himself straight into my lap. I caught him with a laugh, ruffling his hair. He immediately gave me a tight hug before turning around to wave at Yerin, Yoona, and Val.

"Hey, buddy," I smiled. "Did you take a good nap?"

"Yep! And Mom said we get to hang out before you leave!" Dylan cheered.

Mom, who had just come out from the kitchen carrying a plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies, caught Dylan’s eye immediately. "Look what I just baked, Dylan. Come sit with me."

Dylan’s eyes lit up. He scrambled off my lap and practically bolted over to Mom, hopping onto her sofa and happily accepting a cookie.

Sarah walked into the lounge behind him, wearing a comfortable beige sweater and dark trousers. She shook her head in mild amusement at her son’s complete lack of discipline when it came to baked treats.

As she stepped further into the room, her eyes met mine. I gave her a calm, reassuring nod. Sarah offered a soft, quiet smile in return, nodding back.

"Hi, everyone,’ Sarah greeted us warmly, taking a seat on the armchair opposite Mom. "Thank you for having us over again, Lady Alice."

"Oh, please, Sarah, call me Alice," Mom said with a smile, wiping a tiny crumb off Dylan’s cheek. "You two are always welcome here."

[Oh, she’ll be coming more often in future, Mother Dearest.]

’Since when did she becomes your mother, brat?’

[Your mother, my mother. Same thing, Boss.]