Upon arriving home, I’m lying in my bed and staring at the ceiling vacantly. Who was that girl? What’s the natural way of asking who the girl was without sounding too curious or pressed?

          And if the answer is what I’m actually afraid of, how will I react?

          My phone vibrates, and I look at the screen. It’s a call from Hyein.

          “Dana, I saw the photo you posted! How can you two not tell me that you went volunteering together?!”

          “No, unni, we coincidentally met there.” I laugh, and bite my tongue after.

          “Are you two still in Gangneung? Actually I called Jongin first but he didn’t answer.”

          I sit up. He didn’t? Just how occupied is he with that girl that he didn’t answer his sister’s call? “Actually, we arrived in Seoul some time ago and I’m already home now. A girl was waiting for Jongin and he left first.”

          “Really? That must be Stephanie.”

          Hyein even knows her? “Sorry, who?”

          “Oh, Stephanie is our niece.”

          I’m pretty sure I’ve misheard. “Niece?” 

          “Yeah, we have a pretty big with our cousin that relates to the between our parents - anyway, Stephanie is only four years younger than Jongin and she’s been really close to him since she was a baby. She’s been living in the US since elementary school and goes to Korea for holidays or school breaks.”

          I’m trying to process the information. So Jongin is her uncle?

          “Today’s her last day here, we promised to take her to the airport tomorrow… I had a reunion so I couldn’t play with her today. She’s mostly hanging out with Jongin anyway, he even brought her to school. Who could’ve guessed she was his niece?” Hyein laughs.

          “Ah…” I blink repeatedly, staring into the thin air.

          “Didn’t he introduce her to you?”

          “No… He left as soon as he saw her.”

          “Wow, that kid -” Hyein screeches. “How could he leave you like that… I should call him.”

          “Wait wait wait unni, don’t.” I speedily cut her. “It’s okay, it’s her last day. No time to spare, haha.” I laugh, trying to sound relaxed.

          “Alright then - I just called because I saw the photo, though. Then rest well! Take care!”

          Hyein ends the call in high spirits as usual, and I fall back to the bed again. So they’re uncle and niece?

          I cover my face with my arm and start laughing to myself, half relieved and half embarrassed. How can I feel jealous towards an uncle and niece pair?

          I get up again and think. But that was really Stephanie, right? Judging from the info I gathered, it must be her. She’s dressed in a bit of an American-ish way, and she went to our school that time.

          Yep, that must be her. Jongin’s niece. I roll around in my bed happily, giggling to myself like a freak.

          At night, a call comes and it’s from Jongin. I close my bedroom door before picking it up and take a deep breath. “Hello?”

          “Hey, Dana. Did you come home safely?”

          “Uh, yes, I did. Like five hours ago.”

          Jongin awkwardly laughs. “I’m sorry for leaving quickly from the train station. My niece was coming.”

          Ah, so he’s just calling me because Hyein scolded him. “Niece?” I attempt to sound surprised.

          “I’ll explain to you later. So anyway, were you going to tell me something?”

          “No, nothing, just - earlier I was going to ask if you wanted to eat first before going home.”

          “Oh.” he sounds disheartened. “How about we have lunch outside tomorrow? I’m taking my niece to the airport in the morning, we can meet afterwards.”

          Tomorrow after airport… Hyein is probably going to come along too. But who cares, I’m going to meet Jongin again soon. “Cool. Where are we going?”

          “I’ll send you some recs. Choose one.”

          “Can’t I choose two?”

          “...wow, you.”

          I chuckle. “Kidding. Okay then, see you tomorrow.”

*

          The next day, Jongin arrived just two minutes after I got to our chosen place, a cafe, alone. He’s wearing a navy buttoned up shirt with sleeves pulled to his elbows and khaki pants. Oh no, he looks so handsome.

          “Where’s Hyein unni? I thought she’d be coming too.” I ask.

          “I didn’t even tell her.”

          I raise my eyebrows. “Why?”

          “Because she’ll surely tail after. Can’t it be just us two?”

          My heart leaps, and I try to stay still. Oh my God, is it a date?

          “She’s going somewhere with her husband anyway.” Jongin says, and looks down to our table. “Did you get a table for three because you thought she’d be here?”

          I slowly nod, and Jongin just smiles. He moves the chair away, and sits in front of me.

          “So… The girl from yesterday was your niece?”

          “Yeah.”

          The confirmation makes my heart so much lighter. “Okay, are you secretly in your forties or the girl was wearing an adult suit?”

          Jongin scoffs as he drags the menu book closer to him. “Our family’s ages are a little complicated. Let’s order first.” 

          He’s telling me the age history as we wait for our food, and continues until mealtime.

          “...she’s always been sticking to me like a gum, even now when she’s that big. Well to me, she always looks like a little kid though.”

          “Wow, you don’t look like one but you sure talk like an uncle.”

          Jongin suddenly cracks up. “You know, when she found out about the arranged marriage, she cried non stop on the phone while screaming ‘Uncle is mine!!!’. That was the only funny thing amidst the dark atmosphere that time.”

          I smile. “I can imagine.”

          “That brat just graduated high school. She'll be an adult soon.” Jongin looks sentimental, and I shake my head.

          “You are such an old man.”

          Jongin laughs, and sips his drink. “You must be surprised to hear that she’s my niece.”

          “Of course.” I say. “I thought… She’s your new girlfriend.”

          Jongin is looking at me with his forehead wrinkled, and his skeptical face is making me nervous.

          “I mean - from the outside, you two looked like a couple. I saw her at school, too.”

          Jongin tilts his head. “You saw her?”

          “Well - I only remembered her bag, actually. It’s a good one, a limited edition. I had an eye for it. The cream colored one. That’s - yeah, I should stop talking.”

          Jongin has this cryptic smile on his face, and I send him a glare. “What?”

          “Are you probably…”

          He stops, and I clench my jaw. Should’ve kept my mouth shut. I keep looking at him to press for the continuation of his sentence, but my eyes slide to his lips and randomly remember that I literally kissed him that time.

          “Anyway, should we go to the next place?” I look away, and switch to another topic.

          “When you asked if you could choose two places, I didn’t know you’d actually do it.”

          I grin, and finish my beverage. Of course it’s just an excuse to spend more time with him.