This Friday she seemed a bit off, seemed, because I don’t know such thing. Min Ah wasn’t very expressive, little smile occasionally when there was clients but she never smiled too much. I don’t like smiling, if I do I feel like I’m doing it too much she once said to me and Jae Hyo. Jae Hyo often told her to smile more too bad she hated smiling. I don’t say I smile a lot but mines come to my lips easily, I love my job my life, wasn’t too hard to smile. Maybe a bit harder for her, her family wasn’t very steady her mother kept disappearing, father working his off. It was only her and Min Ho when there was no holidays. She’s still a teenager after all, adolescence is a hard period in life couldn’t blame her to not smile a lot.

Even if she wasn’t smiling a lot she still smiled when customers entered the restaurant and I don’t ask for more than a smile for the customer.

 

•

 

At the end of the service, after counting and checking the numbers I checked what Min Ah was doing, she wiped cutlery, no emotion in her face bus seriousness, totally absorbed in her work, when she finished she put the cutlery back in their place, then she began to lay tables, knife at the right, fork at the left, glass at the right in front of the knife. When she finished her task she went back to the bar and looked if she could do anything else but she had already done the work so she just sat on a stool behind me, waiting for me, waiting for me to finish so we could go back home.

My gaze just landed on her one more time and when she noticed that a pair of eyes was looking at her she raised her eyes, her gaze meeting mine’s, reddish lips parted she them and tilted her head to the left asking me without a word what I wanted or if I needed something. But I had nothing to say to her so my hand moved for me. The palm of my hand brushing against her cheek, thumb caressing her left cheek, she was so cold. In less than five seconds Min Ah leaned on my hand. She rubbed her left cheek against my hand like a cat purring, but she wasn’t a cat. Min Ah just starred at me with her brown like coffee eyes locked to mine’s with her lips slightly parted, her chest raising and falling in a perfect and silenced rhythm, breathing silently she just starred at me. And I just continued to caress her cheek. The palm of my hand fitted her left cheek perfectly and I had nothing to say. I just smiled.                 

 

Let’s go back home I muttered.

 

•

 

Some people says that we’re close, some people says that I look like her brother. But honestly I felt like a father. I had this very curious feeling, I don’t know how to describe it because it’s very particular but it’s make you care and worry for someone, you don’t want him or her to be hurt, you want them to be happy, this kind of feeling. Whenever she would smile I would be happy, hurt and I’ll be hurt. I felt like a father, I’m not very sure but kinda.

 

•

 

‘Do you have a girlfriend, Se Hun ?’ it was a question that people would often ask. No, I don’t. I didn’t get it, why they were curious about my love life, when I answered with my usual response they would bark ‘Se Hun you’re almost thirty !’ Well what can I say, I’m not very interested.

 

Basically my reaction wouldn’t be looking at someone in astonishment, maybe it was because of the suddenness of the question or maybe it was because Min Ah was asking me.

 

‘Err.. Well no ?’

 

‘No ? You don’t have ?’ she interrogated me with an eyebrow raised. What could I say now ? Ah. The usual answer of course.

 

‘I’m not interested in getting one.’  I said with my best expressionless face. And yes it’s totally true. ‘You’re thirty this year.’ She whispered with a little smile as if she was disappointed of my answer.

 

•

 

Saying goodbye, she waved her hand with a smile who seemed fake, her trunk in her hand she walked away from the house walking toward the car of her father who was waiting in front of the house.

Because today was the last day of her holiday, it felt weird now. The house seemed more empty. So silent..

 

•

 

‘I love you !’ she yelled in the silence of the corridor, no one was here, there was only I and her, just us. ‘Please go out with me.’ She begged with a determined voice, eyes locked with mine’s. ‘I-I.. ’ My mouth agape, completely taken aback. My brain had just frozen and it took me a few seconds to proceed. I didn’t know what to answer, I never expected her, my answer I needed to clarify thing with her. Because I can’t go out with her, she was too young for me. ‘I’m practically thirty..’ I couldn’t responded a better answer.

‘I am actually aware of that.’

‘You don’t love me, you just like me.’

‘Don’t take my feeling lightly Se Hun..’ her voice was dropping to low tones. Was she hurts ?

‘It’s passion it’s not reason. It wasn’t wise of you to tell me your love, I could play with you.’

‘Who do you take me for ? I’m not that dumb, maybe it’s a little bit because of passion but mostly reason because I know why I love you, even if you reject me I still will continue to love you, this feeling is something so much stronger than you may think. I know what I feel, don’t expect me to stop loving you if you reject me, and if you still think that my love is passion then I can give you a lot of reasons.’

The heavy and awkward silence was suffocating, as the seconds ran, she still looked at me with her piercing eyes, so determined and it was just so destabilising. My heart beat seemed to have increased. It seemed undoubtedly that she was serious, the way her eyes looked at me it was just mesmerizing, gulping one more time I blinked my eyes I felt like my brain was going to explode, this was not a situation I was expecting. I wasn’t dreaming, it was so real and something inside me was contradicting my thought. And then I remembered. I would be thirty, and I was still single, not that I never had a girlfriend but the answer remained the same when the question was said. I’m not interested. Yeah I’m not.

 

‘Thank you so much Se Hun..’

 

•

 

‘So what’s up in your life Se Hun –ah.’ The day before the summer holiday began I hanged out with Jongin one of my closest friend.

‘Nothing very interesting.’ I answered while I sipped my bubble tea. The weather was pretty hot almost thirty one degree Celsius.

‘During holiday what will you do ?’

‘Working and working oh and my niece will come as usual.’ And I finished my drink.

‘Man you’re serious ? It’s summer ! Are you really human ?’

‘I have to earn my living.’

‘You’re boring.’ And I shrugged as we continued to walk under the shadow of the trees.

‘I won’t be bored though, there will be Min Ah .. Yeah. I want ice cream.’ I said as I threw my empty cup in a trash can.

‘Here, they sell ice cream.’ Answered Jongin, pointing with his index in front of him. ‘You seems to like her a lot.’

‘Of course she’s my niece.’ I continued as we entered the shop.

‘You must spend a lot of time with her don’t you ?’

‘Of course she’s family, A vanilla ice cream cone please.’ I ordered taking my wallet in my pocket, ‘You want something, it’s for me.’ I proposed.

‘Do you have a crush on her or what ? Oh thanks but next time.’

‘Of course- What ?' 'A crush, on her.' he repeated 'Of course no ! What kind of nonsense are you saying she’s my niece and there wont be a next time.’ And paid my ice cream.

‘It’s what you say, but don’t forget, she’s also a lady.’ Jongin said rolling his eyes as he walked toward a sit.

‘Jongin, I don’t see her in this way, and I’ll never do. Are you aware that we’re talking about my niece ?’ 

‘I was joking you know, but she’s still a lady.’  And he sipped his coffee, where did he get a coffee ? ‘Free drink offered by the lovely waitress.’ He said as he winked in her direction and I just stared at him, unblinking. ‘You’re disgusting’ I muttered, he just laughed. And Jongin is just so weird.

 

•

 

When Min Ah arrived, a week before Cho A was back too, she started again working in the restaurant as a waitress. The moment she came back, it was the moment for me to go in the background, switching my job of waiter for being the kitchen assistant of my brother. Cho A was a good worker, and there was nothing to say about her work it was irreaprochable. Regular customers recognised her and she would smile at them saying that her too still remembered of them.  Cho A was a beautiful mother, shining in everyway, her smile reflected her happiness. People would say that to me when I was serving. I guess I was happy for her.

Because.. Cho A had the same smile that Kyungri had a while ago, when she had Min Ah and Min Ho.

 

While she worked she would let her daughter with Jong Hyun or with her grandparents. Jong Hyun, the man with whom she had her baby was a possessive man, when Cho A restarted to work he kept coming at the restaurant, checking on her as if he wanted to be reassured she was still here, that she was working or as if we would stole her from him. It was a bit irritating. For who exactly was he taking us for ? It’s not like I hated him but being honest, I found him quite annoying.

 

 Min Ah still worked at the bar but now with Cho A. Without noticing anything she slowly started to serve the customers, she never served. Well with me obviously no, but she served with Naeun and Cho A. It was kind of irritating me, how come I wasn’t even informed of her capacity of serving ? But still it wasn’t perfect she was still clumsy as ever.

 

•

 

‘I’ll take Min Ah for a week.’ Announced Cho A with a bright smile.

 

‘Excuse me ?’ I thought I didn’t hear right.

 

‘Going to see the sea, the beach and the sand as well.’ She continued. Then I looked up to see Min Ah’s expression, and it wasn’t what I expected.  Distress all over her face, Cho A couldn’t see she was back facing Min Ah, showing her smile at me instead. Min Ah shook her head hastily. With her best puppy eye she was begging me to help her, but I didn’t know what to do so I just stood here without knowing what to do.

 

‘I-I think she should.. Stay.. Err.. Here.. A little bit longer ?’ I said trying to be the most convincing I could, hesitating in every single words in the damn sentence. I looked up to see if Min Ah approved what I said but I guess she was in state where any help were welcomed : desperate.

 

‘She won’t stay here all the summer !? It’s only one week.’

‘I-I had plan for the week actually and-‘ Well she really had, she wanted to hang out with a friend of her.

‘You will work at the restaurant during all the summer !?’  Well yes she would but she wouldn’t do only that.

‘Err.. Yes ?’ tried Min Ah with some hope in her eyes.

‘No way ! You’re coming with me.’ And it was final, Cho A wouldn’t take ‘no’ as an answer, poor Min Ah, she seemed a bit down. When Cho A had her back turned I took advantage of the opportunity to cheer up my niece. I can’t win against my big sister so.. I pitied her.

 

‘Hey don’t be sad, it’s just a week, there’ll be the sea and the beach, it’ll be fun..’ And Min Ah sighed. ‘But I don’t want to go !’ she protested. ‘Why ?’ She looked like a kid right now, a brat.

‘Because Jong Hyun’s kids will be here !’ Ah.. Yeah, Cho A’s little family is actually reconstructed. Jong Hyun already had two children, a boy and a girl, with his previous spouse. The little baby of Cho A and Jong Hyun wasn’t originally programmed, Cho A was just a woman he was seeing, just the time of a romance not a whole life time. Cho A too, didn’t scheduled being mother, in fact she believed that she would finish her life without a kid, she wasn’t really interested. But the feeling of being mother changed her, her baby was the most precious in the earth for her, even Jong Hyun couldn’t compete with the baby, it was her treasure, it was a part of her. And well.. Yeah, it was a reconstructed family basically.

 

‘They’re just kid, show them who’s the boss !’ And she looked at me with a poker face.

‘You don’t know them Sehun –ah, they are annoying, so noisy you want me to spend more than two hours in their company !? They will go in a car, I’ll be squeezed ! Compressed ! Didn’t you see how tall they are ? Next to them I’m a shrimp !’ she complained, completely in distress. Well she wasn’t wrong they were kinda tall, and were they that terrible ?

 

‘Err..’ Helping people is not really my speciality.

‘Do something uncle !’ She pleaded. Well I have to do something.

 

‘Good luck to you.’ I finally said, ending the conversation cowardly with no envy to go further in the discussion, Min Ah moaned, not hiding her disappointment, displaying clearly her discontent. Was she trying to make me feel guilty ? Sorry I’m an useless uncle at this kind of situation.

 

 

 

 

 

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