Perhaps she was dragging her heels on delivering her apology to Kai, seeing as the promise she made to the potential replacement partner was made almost 2 weeks ago. She reasoned that her workload was starting to pick-up as her professors began working toward midterms and her thesis prep class began to lay down the groundwork for a mock thesis assignment, leaving her little time to visit people to say hi. In addition, the dancer's schedule seemed to be the opposite of hers, as she never ran into him whenever she was at the apartment complex. 

It seemed like the library and study rooms were becoming a second home for her, as she spent time quizzing Jungkook on topics discussed in class and she looked through books to find information for her thesis prep assignment. She came back late to the complex at night to cook dinner and sleep before starting the pattern all over again. 

"I'm hoping you folks are getting enough sleep," the landlord remarked when she saw Rochelle in passing one evening. "Call it motherly instinct, but most of you seem to be cramming protein bars and ramen versus good, nourishing meals with bags under your eyes."

"I'm eating, don't worry," Rochelle reassured the woman. "I haven't seen anyone else though. Think most are going through midterms hell."

The landlord nodded and she excused herself to lock up the front office for the night. Rochelle decided to check her mailbox, remembering it had been a few days since she looked. 

"Hey Jimin," she greeted. 

The redhead looked up from viewing a bank statement and he flashed Rochelle a quick smile. He flipped the statement over and sighed. 

Rochelle paused from unlocking her mailbox door and stared at the statement he was holding. "Another mysterious deposit?"

He nodded and folded the letter back up, sliding it into the envelope it came in. He placed it on top of his mail stack and stared at it quietly. 

"I wish I knew who it was," he said. "It's kind of them to think of me, but I can't thank them with a call or a card because of how they do it."

Rochelle retrieved her mail and relocked her mailbox. She walked over to Jimin and asked if he tried reaching out to grandparents. He shook his head and explained that he didn't know their address or phone number. 

"It's unfortunate, but the only time I met them was when I was a child," he recalled. 

The young woman bit her lip as she tried to make the pile of mail in her hands more even. The mailperson had a terrible habit of shoving things in haphazardly in various directions and often you were pulling out an awkward lumpy stack of papers. (Chances of you dropping something were high.) She looked at Jimin and found herself asking what bank Jimin used. 

When the young man shot her a baffled look, she quickly explained that her sister's friend worked at a bank. "I'm not trying to pry into your business," Rochelle explained, "but I had this weird thought that, well, I don't know...maybe she could kind of help or something?"

Jimin removed the envelope that held his bank statement from the top of the stack and flashed it at Rochelle. 

She froze and pointed at the envelope as she confirmed that the was exact bank that Bri's friend worked for. "I'm not kidding you. Hey, do you think it's worth asking if she maybe heard anything? I'm not gonna ask her to break confidentiality or anything, but I know she's kind of the type to gossip without naming her patrons. She does it all the time when she meets up with my sister."

The young man shrugged and murmured he was open to the idea. "Only if she doesn't mind! Please let her know I can answer any questions she might have."

Her sister seemed surprised that she wanted to talk to Franchesca, but Rochelle repeated her request: she had a small bank-related favor/question she needed to ask Bri's friend. 

"Actually, how about I call her and conference her in? That cool?"

"Sure," Rochelle replied. She waited for her sister to put her on hold, dial Franchesca, then conference the other young woman in. After a few seconds, she heard another female voice ask if everyone could hear her. 

"Yeah I can," Bri confirmed. "Roca, you good?"

"I can hear both of you," Rochelle said. "Hi Cheska, are you still with the bank?"

"Course I am," Cheska replied. "I mean, I was contemplating making a living off Twitch gaming streams, but not sure yet if I wanna risk that now. But yeah, what do you need?"

Rochelle picked up a piece of paper with the name of the bank Jimin used and explained the situation to the older girl. She heard Cheska murmur a few "Mmhmms" in the background and she stared at her door. "I think he wants to make sure it's not a mistake or if this is someone in his family making surprise deposits. I'm not asking you to do something illegal, but have you heard any whispers from your co-workers about someone making cash deposits at different branches? Maybe around the same time each month?"

There was silence on both ends of the call and Rochelle shifted the phone to her other ear. She took a deep breath and wondered if Cheska lost connection or something. 

"Cheska, you can probably tell my sister another time if you're drawing a blank now," Bri spoke up. "I know you were telling me this was kind of a rough period with Tax Day coming up and stuff."

"It's kind of weird you say this now," Cheska mused, "because my friend Min said she got some older dude in her branch making a pretty good-sized deposit a few days ago. He said it wasn't his account, but it was for a family member. He also said it was a gift to this family member." She paused for a moment and added that she thought someone else said they had seen this guy too, but wasn't sure. "I'm going to check and see what else I can dig up, okay?"

Both sisters heard a faint beeping sound in the background and Cheska apologized. 

"That's my timer for lunch – I need to get back to work," Cheska said. "Hey, I'll call you if I hear anything else. I haven't seen this guy yet, but since Min saw him this month, maybe that means he might change branches and come by mine. I'll also ask Min if she remembers what he looked like."

"It's one question!" 

Jungkook pouted and shoved his midterm in Rochelle's face. He waved it around a little and moaned that he made a rookie mistake. 

"I had the answer before the exam and then poof! It was gone on test day!" he declared. 

Rochelle rolled her eyes and gently pushed his exam out of her face. She held up her copy and replied she made a few more errors in contrast to his near perfect grade. 

"Honestly, you practically got an A+, shut up already," she replied, putting her test away in her bag. She checked her phone for the time and noticed she got a text from Cheska. 

Cheska

Text me STAT.
Sent 15:19 PM

Rochelle stopped short and allowed her eyes to drift up to Jungkook's. "Hey, I need to call someone real quick – um, can we talk later?"

Jungkook raised a brow and started to ask for details, only for the older girl to shut him down, saying it was her sister's friend. He closed his mouth and shrugged, pretending to look indifferent. He shoved his test into his binder and threw a hand up to say goodbye as he walked toward the student parking lot. 

Rochelle sighed as she watched her friend walk off. She looked at the timestamp on the message and decided to message Cheska once she was safely back in her apartment. She dodged some people rushing to class and a skateboarder who threw her a look as he cut her off while trying to walk to the crosswalk. She muttered some rude comments about him once he was out of earshot and pressed the crosswalk button a bit too firmly. In a of good luck, the light changed right away and Rochelle wasted no time, crossing the street quickly and making a beeline for her apartment door. 

Rochelle

I'm out of class now. You find something?
Sent 16:09 PM

Cheska

Yeah. Hang on, give me five minutes and I'll call...
Sent 16:10 PM

Fine with me, Rochelle thought as she threw the deadbolt on her door. She carried her bag to the kitchen and dropped it on the floor by her chair. She left her phone on the table, face up, while she walked to the fridge to retrieve her water pitcher. She pulled a glass out of the top cupboard to the right of the fridge and poured herself a glass of water, which disappeared in a couple of long gulps. 

Her phone rang as she poured a second glass for herself and she put the pitcher back, befre making a mad dash to the table to answer the phone. 

"Hey Rochelle, I found out someone else had remembered the same guy – this was at the Midtown branch," Cheska shared. She flipped through some Post-Its she had written with her findings and cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear. "Xavier handled the guy last month and his description matched Min's. About 50s or 60s, greying hair, Asian, and fairly slender – maybe a little and I mean a little extra weight in the waistline? Also deposited cash, small bills."

Rochelle slowly put her glass down and mulled over the description thoughtfully. This gentleman sounded younger than grandparent age, so she ruled out Jimin's grandfather as a possibility. That left the mysterious father or in the off chance, the uncle. (Albeit her gut said it seemed more like a father's action.)

"You probably can't share a name, right?"

"Actually I can," Cheska said. "Xavier and Min had to ask for identification and some way to prove he knew the recipient. This is to avoid any scams, you know? Xavier couldn't remember the surname, but Min noticed it wasn't Park like this Jimin kid. Hang on, you said he had an uncle right? Was this uncle –"

Rochelle snapped her head toward the door when she heard a sharp knocking sound at her door. She paused, holding her breath for a few minutes as she waited to see if the knocking persisted. 

"Rochelle, are you there?" Jimin called out. 

Rochelle focused on Cheska once more and apologized, saying she needed to answer the door. "Can I call you later please?"

"Uh yeah I guess," Cheska replied, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice. 

"Sorry Cheska, it's my neighbor – it must be serious," Rochelle added. "Bye!" She hung up and stuffed her phone into a back pocket as she scrambled to her feet and answered the door. 

Jimin slowly lowered his fist and greeted the young woman. In his other hand, he had a small card and envelope, his name written in tiny, scrawling script across the front of the envelope.

"You didn't happen to see him, did you?" Jimin asked, lowering his voice slightly.

Rochelle raised a brow in confusion and she stepped to the side to let Jimin in. He came in and thanked Rochelle, fiddling with the card and envelope in both hands. 

"My uncle," he explained in a soft voice. He held up the card and said that he found it slid under his door after her got home from work today. He held it out to Rochelle so she could read it for herself. 

Hello Jimin,

I cannot apologize enough for the silence all these years. As your uncle, I should have been more involved in your life, but instead, I took a backseat and allowed your aunt to treat you like a bad charity case. Please know I'm very sorry.

I was very proud of you when you were accepted to university and how resourceful you were with applying for scholarships and grants. I know if your mother had been alive, she would have been incredibly proud of the young man her son grew up to be. 

I'm afraid your aunt is ailing and will pass soon; this began to happen about your second year of school. Her family has a history of Alzheimer's and the doctors spotted warning signs during that time. She is being cared for in a nursing home and sadly, has forgotten me, you, and your mother. Perhaps it is for the better, as she has softened her outlook on life and seems to be more open than she had been many years ago. 

I know college is expensive compared to the time I attended decades ago and wanted to lend you some help with expenses. The school had shared with me that you were very sharp and resourceful with managing your tuition costs, but I know living and personal expenses can add up as well. That's why you've been seeing deposits in your account over the past few years. Before your aunt began to deteriorate from Alzheimer's, I had to make the deposits in cash, as she continued to harbor some resentment for your decisions. These deposits were my choice and she never knew anything about them – I always made them during my lunch break and never at the same branch. 

If you can find it in your heart to forgive me (and if you have time in your busy schedule), I would love to spend time with you face-to-face to see how you are doing. 

Love,

Uncle