Ren

I go to school the next day with Linh with a smile on my face. The school day goes normally except for the fact that JR has become colder but that doesn’t really bother me as long as I’m not his target.

School ends smoothly and I go home to change into regular clothes. I kiss my mother goodbye before leaving. Leaving her with Linh. I take the short bus ride to JR’s house. I get off the bus and walk towards the house. I let myself in through the back door since ‘servants’ aren’t allowed to take the front door.

I go in and notify Mr. Wu before going to change into my uniform. I’m assigned to clean a bedroom on the 2^nd floor. I take the cleaning supplies and walk up the stairs to the 2^nd floor. I look around and see only 5 doors. I open the first door, locked. The 2^nd door, locked. 3^rd door, a study room. I open the 4^th door and go inside, ready to start cleaning.

I hear a cry coming from Mrs. Kim’s room. I drop the rag in the bucket and rush to her room. I knock before entering the room. I find her holding her stomach, lying in a fetus position on the bed.

“Mrs. Kim, are you okay?” I ask h, approaching her. *That’s a stupid question, MinKi. She’s obviously not okay!!!* I scold myself. I run to the door and yell for help. I look back to see Mrs. Kim beckoning for me to come towards her. I run to her side and hold her hands in an attempt to comfort her. She squeezes my hands, restricting my blood circulation. I hear a thud and turn around to find JR standing in the doorway.  He stands there for a moment before entering the room. He runs to a door opposite the bed. He opens it and brings out a larger clear bottle filled with white capsule pills.

“Get me water!!!” He instructs. I run to her table where a glass and a container of water is sitting. I pour some water into the glass, my hands shaking. I turn around and walk towards Mrs. Kim. JR is giving her 2 capsule pills. She takes them while I’m giving JR the glass of water. He helps Mrs. Kim to drink by supporting her neck.

“Leave, I’ll call you when you’re needed” He says, cradling Mrs. Kim. I leave the room and return to cleaning the room across the hall. As I’m cleaning, I hear a knock on the door. I turn around to find JR leaning against the door.

“Come with me” He says, walking away. I hesitate for a second before following him. He walks down the hall and opens a door. he waits until I’m in before closing the door behind him. The room is a study room with only a table and 2 chairs.

“Sit” He points to one of the chairs. I slowly sit on the chair with my eyes on the floor. *What’s wrong with Mrs. Kim?* my train of thought is interrupted by JR clearing his throat. I keep my eyes on the floor, waiting for him to speak. A minute passes without him talking.

“Ummm… not to be rude but what’s wrong with your mother?” I ask, avoiding eye contact.

“It’s none of your business” He snaps.

“If anything like this ever happens, I want you to call for help. Don’t do anything” He says, getting up. I leave the room and I’m left sitting there alone. I get up after minutes of thinking. I go to the room I was cleaning and tidy it up before leaving with the cleaning equipments. I put them back where I found them and walk down stairs to the kitchen.

“Mr. Wu, do you need me to do anything else?” I ask, standing there. The 3 other maids in the kitchen shoot me death glares. I wonder why they don’t like me.

“You’ll be taking the food up to Madam as soon as it’s done” Mr.Wu says, pouring water into the tall glass. I stand there watching as they put the food on the tray.

“Be careful when you’re going up” Mr.Wu tells me as I’m picking up the tray. I walk slowly towards the stairs with my hands shaking. I begin the journey up the stairs, stopping a few times to catch my breath. I finally make it up. I walk towards Mrs. Kim’s bedroom. I set the tray on the floor before knocking.

“Come in” I hear her say. I open the door and pick up the tray. I walk towards the table and set the tray down. I turn and bow to Mrs. Kim. As I’m about to leave, she stops me.

“Can you please have dinner with me?” She asks. I turn around about to say no.

“Please” She pleads. I go over and help Mrs. Kim get up. We slowly walk towards the table and take a seat. I push my chair backwards and sit down. Instead of eating, she sits there silently and stares at me.

She finally moves after what seems like forever. I sit there watching her as she takes her chop sticks and grabs some Kimchi. She brings it to her opened mouth and slips it in. I watch as she chews it, letting out a smile after swallowing it.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

I grab the spare chopsticks and begin eating. I look at her bewildered by her sudden attitude. *Wasn’t she the one who was squirming and crying out in pain just moments ago?*

“Mrs. Kim, May I ask you a question?” I set my chopsticks down. She stops eating and stares at me while nodding her head.

“Ummm…. what’s wrong with you?” I ask, immediately covering my mouth.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude or nosy”

“No it’s okay you’re just curious. And since you’re working for me, I guess you deserve the right to know in case something happens to me”

“I have cancer and I’m dying” She says. I sit there silently, feeling pity towards her

“Hey, wipe that sad look off your face. I’m happy just leaving the days that I have left”

She brings out her hand and squeezes mine. She lets out a smile, causing me to smile also.

“Now let’s eat”

We continue eating in silence. I promise to come back upstairs. I send the empty dishes and quickly descend back upstairs to find Mrs. Kim sitting on her bed on her laptop.

“Hey let’s watch more of the music videos” She says, letting out a smile. I take off my shoes and jump in bed with her. I scroll through the videos on Naver and click on one. We sit there, bopping our heads to the music.

Mrs. Kim falls asleep through one of the dramas we’re watching. I turn the laptop off and place it on her nightstand. I tuck her in her bed and leave the room. I look at the time and I'm shocked. It's 8pm. That means I spent more that 4 hours with her but I don't regret it. I end up helping clean the kitchen and change into my regular clothes. I go home with a smle on my face but I'm worried because I didn't see JR. *who cares? Screw JR!*