The smell of jasmine tea filled my nose as the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans fought for dominance over the smell of hydrangeas. It had been years since I had my senses overpowered like this. I used to love working for my dad, however, after his passing I felt too much of this place to set another foot in it.

Although I promised my father I would never sell it, I never promised him that I would manage it either. My only role in taking care of the business was watching finances and the rest was just let up to someone I hired. Therefore, as I looked forward at my father who hummed the tune of some Elvis song that I was sure I would know the name of if I tried hard enough, I couldn't help but feel some type of guilt. However, as he looked up at me, his tune stopped. Instead, his laughter rang in my ears as he finished cleaning the cappuccino machine.

“Yes, Eunji?”

His deep and raspy voice making me wonder why my own so soft. I wish I had the same power in my voice. So smiling at him, I picked up a rag off of the counter and began to wipe down the granite top. The soft smell of lemon now making a faint appearance.

“Nothing.” The smug look on my face giving it away to my dad as he snatched the rag out of my hand with a laugh. The man, just barely taller than me, held the rag up over my head. “Oh really?” The teasing in his voice marking me feel warm.

I missed my dad and his silly antics. He was a big kid up until his last breath. I don’t think there was anything that my dad wouldn’t make a joke of. His complete being was that of a light and airy personality.

I held the basket of the chocolate muffins from the cafe. They were his favorite and of course all of his workers knew that. They knew a lot about my dad like how he loved soccer or how he occasionally had a smoke that made him feel guilty. 

Therefore, as I knocked on the white door and stuck my head in, I could see my dad struggling to read his newspaper. Laughing, I pushed it all the way open, letting the light from the hallway shine in. Walking in, I settled the basket of muffins on the table that laid over the bed.

“Why are you trying to read in that dark?” I watched as my dad squinted up at me. His bright eyes a bit dulled as his salt and peppered hair was most all gone. 

I tried my best to keep my bright smile as I gave him time to adjust to the light, however as he looked away and covered his eyes, I couldn’t help but frown. “My eyes are very sensitive to the light right now, Eunji.” He said softly as I could feel a soft panic hit me. Running over to the door, I closed it as now the very dim lights that barely came through the blinds lit the room. 

“I’m sorry.” The soft whisper of my voice giving away my guilt. However, as my dad adjusted back to the dark, his smile still shone bright. Hearing his soft laughter, he looked over to me and grinned, showing his somewhat gummy smile.

“Since I lost my fangs, I haven’t been able to withstand the light.” I laughed a bit at my dad’s attempt at trying to cheer me up. “That was corny, dad.”

“Yes, really.” The playful tone in my voice making my dad shook his head before walking around the counter. I watched as the older man flipped around our sign to ‘closed’. It was evident as he walked that something was up with him. Maybe it was because I was looking at everything with hindsight, but I couldn’t help but beat myself up about it.

Everything that was wrong started off small with him. Like right now, I could see his very minute struggles as he tried to help close the store. I had offered for him to go home first, but he refused. However, as he tried to put the chairs up on his own, I couldn’t help but feel like I had to take some of his independence away.

If I were to name a flaw about my father, it would be his overwhelming amount of self worth and pride. My dad believed so much of himself that he thought he didn’t need any help. I always knew my dad was sad after my mother’s passing, but he never once even cried about it, at least in front of me. As for his laundry list of illnesses, I only found out when it became too much for him to bear.

So as I slowly took the chair from him, I could see he wanted to protest, but his weary and tired body told him otherwise as he sighed and nodded. Taking a seat, my father watched me with guilty eyes as I finished cleaning up the rest of the cafe.

When we were done, the sun had already begun to set and the brisk spring air hit my face as I could feel it’s cold love bites already making my cheeks and nose red. So as the chimes of the door rang behind me, I could feel my dad running up besides me before looking down. “Eunji.” He called me as I looked up at him. He was wrapped in his puffer jacket that went down to his feet. If it was one thing my dad hated, it was the cold. “Do you need me to drive you home?” I could just barely hear him over the howling of the wind. For some reason, tonight was particularly cold. Therefore, as I shook my head, I watched him frown.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll catch a bus.”

My dad stood there and stared at me. He looked as if he was ready to protest my decision, however, as he looked to a figure behind me, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Turning around, I looked up to see none other than m