I cover my head part with the umbrella, and close my eyes.

          “Oh, why, why?” Minseok runs to me, and picks up my bag.

          I reveal my face again. “I thought—you’re a creepy man or something…”

          He laughs cheerfully, and motions his hand to me to come. I reach out to take my bag, but he insists to carry it.

          “Sorry, you must be scared.”

          “I was.” I mumble as we walk to the gate. “Are you waiting for Minhyung?”

          “Yeah. I think Minhyung told me you wouldn’t be home at this hour?”

          “The weather is awful so I decide to close sooner. Wait, Minhyung isn’t home?”

          “He and Yukhei are still on their way from Gwangju, they had an event there.”

          “Oh…” I look at the locked gate. I search for keys on my pocket, and a thought crosses my head that there’ll be only the two of us inside. I close my eyes tightly for a second. It’s not like I can leave him outside in this condition… They better come quickly. “Let’s wait inside.”

          I unlock the gate, and Minseok follows me to the front entrance. I open the door, and turn on the lights and heater. “Come in.”

          “Excuse me.” Minseok comes in, his body wriggling from the cold. He follows me to the kitchen which is connected to the living room, and I instruct him to just put the bag on the table. We take off our coats, and I awkwardly head to the fridge.

          “Um… Make yourself at home. What do you want to drink?”

          “Anything is fine.” Minseok hangs his scarf, and stands near the wall. He’s wearing a light grey knit shirt with a white collar and dark dress pants. He really… looks like a professor. Somehow I want to laugh, and I fold my lips to avoid doing so.

          “What? Why?” Minseok notices my expression and direction of my eyes, and looks at his outfit to check.

          “Nothing… You just… You really look like an educator.”

          Minseok breaks into a laugh. “I wore something more casual the other day, and the department head hated it.”

          I laugh. “Is lemon tea okay?”

          Minseok nods. I tell him to sit on the sofa as I prepare the cups, and I organize the stuff I brought from the bakery as I wait for the water to boil.

          “Oh, is that mango syrup?” Minseok’s eyes zoom to a glass bottle I took out.

          “Yeah.” I touch the bottle, and examine the label. “I usually take things home from the bakery that’s not selling well or nearing its expiration date…” I laugh and shrug. “I just think I’m going to figure out what to do with them at home.”

          “Wow.”

          I look at the clock. “I think I’m going to call Minhyung.” I take out my phone and dial my brother's number. “Minhyung, where are you? Who are you with?”

          “Oh, noona.” his voice sounds tired. “I’m on the highway now. It’s Seoul exit soon. I’m with a few classmates, Yukhei too.”

          “Minseok has been waiting here at home.”

          “Wait—what? You’re home?”

          “Yeah, I closed sooner. How can you let your professor wait in the cold? It was fortunate that I found him outside.”

          “I predicted to arrive quickly but there are unexpected short traffics… I’ll be home soon.”

          “Okay then, be careful.”

          I hang up, and Minseok looks at me. “How is it?”

          “He said he’d be here soon.” I continue making the tea, and wish the kids would really be here shortly. I might run out of things to talk.

          I bring two steaming cups of tea, and Minseok eagerly takes his. “How long did you wait outside? You should’ve just come to the bakery.” I say.

          “It was not that long, I sat down to rest for awhile. You caught me in a compromising position, sorry to scare you.”

          “Ha.” I sip the tea, and feel Minseok seeing a part of me from the side. “Why?”

          “I’ve noticed it from last time… This.” he points to the bright turquoise watch on my wrist. “The color is… very vibrant.”

          “Oh, this… This is a birthday gift from Minhyung.” I look at the watch, and smile to myself. “If that kid has any major weakness, that’s his sense of color-picking… But of course, it’s the heart that counts.”

          Minseok grins, and touches the case lightly. I hold my breath when his hand goes closer. “You get along very well with him.”

          “Believe me, he has his worse days. We fought a lot when he was a kid. But this year he just became an adult, his responsible side is showing very nicely. He’s a very reliable young man.”

          “Your parents must be so happy to have you two.”

          I smile. Minseok tastes the tea, and lets out a satisfied ‘hmmm’. “So how about the bakery? I never heard that you were the daughter of a bakery owner.” he recalls.

          “Oh… During high school, the bakery hadn’t existed, but my mother had always been a baker albeit not a professional one. She had been baking since a long time ago, but her products were only made to order, just to fill her spare time. I, too, developed a liking of baking as I used to help her making the pastries, bread and cake.

          “When I was in my last year of university, my father retired and he used his savings to open the bakery. We were trusted by our regular customers, but we still quite struggled that time… We need more customers to survive.

          “After university, I had a desk job, but didn’t enjoy it. I worked at the bakery in the weekends, and realized I felt happier to be there. I was contemplating a lot… A lot of considerations, a lot of worries… I finally decided to take the risk.” I pause, taking time to arrange my words.

          “…then you quit your job to focus on the bakery, did a remodeling to the place, added the café, and came up with countless pastries and bread ideas. The sales went up, and you made a name of yourself in the area.”

          I turn my head to Minseok’s direction with astonishment and I can feel my face reddened. “That… I…” I stiffly laugh. “How much has Minhyung told you about me?”

          “Maybe the real question is what hasn’t Minhyung told me.”

          My eyes widen. “That little—”

          Minseok chuckles. “It’s good to hear it from yourself.”

          I look at the carpet below me, and laugh. I finish my tea, and get reminded of something. “I heard you don’t even get paid to tutor the kids. Is that really okay? I feel uncomfortable.”

          “It’s nothing.” Minseok shakes his head. “I still don’t have much classes to teach. I just want Yukhei to be more prepared for the next school year in spring. Minhyung don’t really need tutoring, he’s so nice to provide us the space."

          “You didn’t change, ever so kind and selfless.” I comment.

          Minseok’s lips curl. “Oh, and I’m really happy that I unexpectedly met an old friend.” he smiles at me, and it took me a second to smile back naturally. “I’m so impressed. You’re doing a great job with the bakery and café.” he adds.

          “Ah, stop.” I lift my legs to the sofa, and attempt to hide behind my knees. “It wasn’t that smooth though. It took time to convince my parents about the change I wanted, and my menu experiments often failed in the past… Even until now. I still have a lot to improve.”

          “Learning from failure will eventually bring more success, won’t it?”

          I nod at Minseok’s words. “Thank you. Come to the bakery again, I’ll give you a bread for free.”

          Minseok laughs loudly. “Oh, right, I thought of this when I came to the bakery.” he lights up and turns his body to face me. “I had two friends—they’re a couple—and they run a pretty famous food page in social media. I think your biweekly specials concept is interesting, why don’t you promote your bakery there?”

          “Whoa…” that’s all I can respond with. “Wow. Really? That’s superb. I would love to, our social media promotion needs a boost.”

          “I’ll connect you to them.” Minseok takes his bag for his phone. “What’s your number? I’ll give your contact to them.”

          Minseok saved my number, and I’m already thinking about the best-selling pastries I have for photography purposes. Plans float in my head, and among the thoughts I catch Minseok looking at me. I immediately look down, and Minseok laughs. “You look happy.”

          “I really appreciate this. Thank you, Minseok.”

          Minseok nods. “I’ll go to the bathroom.” he gets up, and walks to the corridor. I open my mouth, intending to tell him where it is, but then realizing he must have known from his previous visit.

          I yawn, and look at Minseok’s bag on the edge of the sofa. It feels weird to have him here. Back then in high school, I wouldn’t have predicted that ten years later I’d meet him again as my brother’s tutor.

          My eyelids get heavy. I’m so sleepy… I almost had no break time today because of the customers. I lean on one side of my body, and put down my head. When are the kids coming…

*

          I open my eyes, and my mind goes blank for a full five seconds. I’m staring at my hand on the seat cushion, and try to put together my thoughts. I fell asleep. Where am I? I’m home. What was I doing? Oh right—I’m with—

          I lift my head, and look to the front. I feel absolutely awake right away to see the view. Minseok is sleeping on the other end of the sofa, with his position mirroring mine, facing me. My heart quickens, and unintentionally stare at his peaceful sleeping face longer than I intend to be.