And this is how Min Ah keep coming during her holidays, working in the restaurant behind the bar. Generally I asked her to do the drink and this is how after a few month she mastered all the drink on the menu. Alcohol, cocktail, juice etc.. She washed the dish, she cleaned, ranged, sometimes she would do desserts. She did a lot of thing but I never asked her to serve the customers. She stayed behind the bar and she never asked to serve maybe she thought that it was okay for her. Me being the waiter was enough for our little restaurant.

Min Ah worked the night and only the night, with me, Jae Hyo and our mother, Thursday was my day off so she worked or not depending if she wanted with the wife of Jae Hyo, Naeun. Jae Hyo switched the job of waiter for being cooker because my mother would soon retreat she was getting old, Naeun his wife worked as a waitress only on daytime, the night was only for Thursday and Saturday, Sunday we were closed. At the end of her holiday with us we would pay her the amount of hours she had done. But she was free to come work whenever she wanted.

 

•

 

She spent more time with us now, but the time she spend with us now is nothing compared to what she missed when she was far away from us.

 

And somehow she felt it too. She missed a lot of things. Jae Hyo had found a wife and got a kid with her, their child was four years old and already in kindergarten, even though she didn’t see Cho A very much she learned that she broke up from a relation who lasted nearly ten years and got a new companion with whom she got a baby who only had ten months. And at this moment I found my sisters a bit weird. Cho A broke up from a relation who lasted almost ten years instead of getting a child with this man she got one with another man in less than one year of relationship and Kyungri went missing. Dad, mom and Jae Hyo were probably the most normal between us.  And of course I was the most normal in my family.

 

Min Ah didn’t show any feeling when she learned everything. But maybe she felt left aside with all the thing going on in the family.

 

Because I noticed the gaze she threw me, she seemed almost hurt.

 

•

 

Min Ah didn’t have much strength, she would often ask me to open a bottle because she couldn’t and the proof of her lack of strength was how red her hands were from trying to open the bottle when she handed me the bottle. In fact she didn’t have stamina, she couldn’t support effort very much but she had enough of it to finish her service. She would often moisturize her lips by her pink lips, or she would often use lip balm but mostly she her bottom lip, when she didn’t do that she would bit her bottom lip, her lips would get redder instead of getting pinker. Her skin was as white as mine and maybe even more, her white and milky skin seemed to glow under the artificial light of the restaurant. The redder her lips were, the whiter her skin seemed to be.

Min Ah didn’t like wearing dress or skirt it was the reason why she often wore jeans, skinny jeans she loved them and I think I loved how they fit her. She liked oversized shirt or tee-shirt, she looked cute in them. When she was embarrassed she would scratch the back of her neck. My niece was indeed very pretty.

 

Strangely I felt proud of her.

 

I noticed a lot of thing about her, was it something common to notice or did I observed her that much ? Maybe it was natural for me to observe people I thought as I shrugged.

 

 

•

 

One day when Min Ho finally visited us I was surprised to see how much he grow up he was an inch taller than his sister, Min Ho was doing a lot of sport, ate a lot and was very different from her sister, he was more outgoing, more tanned and the list goes on. They were opposite who completed each other. Min Ah and Min Ho got along very well, they teased each other from time to time but when she needed help he would immediately come to help her and vice and versa. They interacted a lot. It was great.

The day Min Ho was here we were in the kitchen sitting around the table, Min Ah was playing with her phone, cheek reposing in the palm of her hand with a bored look on her face and Min Ho he told me some story about them, most of them made me laugh and then there was the story about the waiter in a restaurant. And strangely I felt curious. 

 

‘That day we wanted to eat Japanese so we did, I don’t remember the name of the restaurant but it was delicious and then there was that waiter ! Totally Min Ah’s type. She was head over heels for him, she couldn’t stop glancing at him whenever he went from the kitchen or served the other clients, and you know what ? The friend of my uncle have some guts you know.. Practically all of us knew that she eyed the little boy and then there was the boss who just passed near her and then she asked him out of the blue if the Min Ah could take a photo with the boy. Poor guy when he came to our table he was so embarrassed and so was Min Ah, she was so embarrassed that she wouldn’t stand up and we had to push her. So embarrassed that she stopped blushing instead of getting redder she was paling can you believe that ! We laughed so hard but she really has the photo in her phone she uses it as a wallpaper for her lock screen. Just push the button and you’ll see the pretty boy.’  Min Ho related nonchalantly as if his sister wasn’t here.

 

‘You know I’m here.’ Said Min Ah shamefaced, so red that I was sure that the blush wouldn’t go away anytime soon. Normally I would find her blushing cute but at the moment I felt weird. Then she showed her phone and pushed the button and I saw the famous waiter she had a little crush on. ‘See nothing big.’ She said her cheeks flushed. ‘I was so embarrassed.’ She muttered in her hand turning her gaze back to the screen of her phone. My throat went dry and I just forced a laugh. The famous waiter was actually okay.

 

‘You should have seen her fangirling over that guy.’ Continued her brother, annoying her sister even more.

 

‘Stop that Min Ho ! And the guy has a name, it’s ‘Ming Hao’ ‘ and my throat tightened. Ming Hao ? Weird.

 

‘Yeah Ming Hao, whatever was his name. Do you know he’s older than you ?’ stated Min Ho.

 

‘Yeah I know.’ She said with a poker face, daring to look at him in the eyes.

 

‘That’s ia !’ and I felt like a melon has just lodged in my throat. Really weird.

 

Min Ho was pretty protective toward Min Ah.

 

‘Stop it now ! I just say he was cute okay ? It’s not like I wanted to snog him or marry him, okay ? So stop.’  Min Ah was definitely sulking. ‘I’m sure you wouldn’t mind !’

 

‘Of course !’

 

‘See !?’

 

‘Se Hun –ah ! Tell him to stop he’s bothering me !’ she pleaded looking in my direction pointing at Min Ho.

 

‘Se Hun –ah I’m not doing anything !’ He did the same.

 

What.

 

They gave me a headache in less than one minute those ers. Why don’t they stop bickering for one second.

 

‘Wait, you should respect me.. ?’ Yeah that’s true ! They should ! Why aren’t they using honorific ?

 

‘You don’t mind anyway.’ Said Min Ho while he shrugged and Min Ah rolled her eyes, okay so they acknowledged me as an uncle but I’m talking to them so familiarly that they can’t talk to me like they do with their father ? What a great job I did. And I too rolled my eyes. Good job Se Hun.  ‘Kids nowadays..’ I whispered to myself and I didn’t even scolded them, Min Ah’s cheeks flushed even more. Yeah, they’re just kids.

 

•

 

Min Ho didn’t visited us after that, Min Ah was still here during holidays so I had the time to get closer to her, she was practically like the little sister I never had, you know the feeling. She was a listener, always listening what I had to say, doing what I say to her. She trusted me, I felt that, in her stare in her eyes the light in reflected a sort adoration ? I didn’t know why but I was getting fond of her. And without noticing I took her under my wing, teaching her some science fact because she listened me very attentively and that I knew a lot of thing, helping her with her homework mainly math because she at it mostly I ended doing her work but well I don’t mind and her too (obviously) thanks god I aced in scientific disciplines.

 I often went with her to the cinema I learned that she didn’t watched film that much as I liked to, I made her discover the best food of the town I knew also exploring and tasting with her knew things. Things like that.  I sort of spoiled her.

It was funny at how she would smile at me with shyness and blush when I bought her books because yes she was a bookworm or whatever I would buy her depending on my mood, no I wasn’t moody, I was always calm and a little happy to be with her. And I didn’t buy so much thing, mainly book, sometimes I treated her to the bubble tea, she loves it as much as I do. That’s cool. She kind of looked like me sometime maybe it was the reason why I love spoil her. 

 

•

Once a week (more than once actually) I make juice and I like to give her a cup of it when she was here, I loved how she would react when she tasted it, because it was not juice fruit but vegetable juice. Min Ah was a girl made of sugar, she hated the bitter taste of vegetable, she preferred fruit. Min Ah hated bitter and sour tastes because she was sensitive to them they would send her shivers each time she tasted those taste. And seriously it’s funny to look at the face she do when she taste one of my juice. And it’s also amusing to see her face decomposing as she wanted to throw up.  Actually the vegetable juice was made especially for her, fruits are mines.

 

‘What is it.’ She asked me suspiciously when I handed her a glass of one of my new mixture because they never tasted the same, always different.

 

‘Juice.’ Of course, what could I’ve answered.

 

‘What is it.’ She reiterated, she didn’t trust me, did she ?

 

‘Juice fruit. Taste.’ Lie.

 

‘I trust you.’ True.

 

‘Just drink.’ Speed up.

 

Eyeing the glass as if it was something dangerous she looked at me not very convinced of what I gave her. ‘Why is it green.’ She asked, eyes in my direction and I gave her my best poker face, she asked too many question. ‘It looks toxic.’ It wasn’t, it’s fruits and fruits are good for your body. The time she took for raising the glass and carry it to her lips took so long that I had the time to yawn, well it was soon the time for me to take a nape after all. Taking a sip of it the colours on her face soon faded and I could not stop my grin.

 

‘Good ?’ I asked with an innocent tone as she coughed. ‘What did you put in the juice it was supposed to be only fruits !’ she yelled with her soft voice, I didn’t know what to say it was funny she yelled but at my ears it was a sweet melody. ‘Fennel.’

 

‘Excuse me ? You put fennel in the juice fruit ? In my juice ?! I trusted you ! How could you do that !’ she howled outraged feigning hurt on her face.

 

‘Well you shouldn’t have.’ I simply answered, shrugging as I drank my glass of the same juice without any difficulty, she looked at me with those big eyes who say it all. How could I even drink that, good question, it taste good to me. What a shame she didn’t liked.

 

‘Se Hun you’re being a jerk to me, I nearly died.’

 

‘Impossible, Fennel is very good for your health, did you know it help with digestion, colic, diarrhea, constipation..’ Yeah, you must take care of your body lady.

 

‘I don’t suffer of any of those you cited Se Hun !’ She whined. Cute.

 

‘I know.’ I said with a grin.

 

‘Orthorexia nervosa.’ She added. (Orthorexia nervosa is an extreme preoccupation with avoiding foods perceived to be unhealthy)

 

‘Not to this extent.’ And I smiled while Min Ah pouted while she tried to finish her drink the faster she could.                  

 

 

She often said that when we talked about health and stuff, I like to take care of my health and for my health only fruits are good but it doesn’t mean I only eat fruits of course I’m not that mad, I just like fruits. Vegetable are another story, I don’t hate them but you see, I’m not an herbivore. Even if Min Ah complained she still listened to me though, whatever I would do or say she would follow if I ordered her. Because she knew I wouldn’t do anything without thinking. Who do you think I am ? I’m her very clever and cool uncle. Her super cool uncle. 

 

 

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