Against all reason and rationalization, I started falling for a certain uncle who came to school every day. My mind told me to stay away, but my heart had other ideas. A week after I first met him, he came to see me personally, a smile on his face. I didn’t know what stupid thoughts were running through my head, but I was powerless to stop them. I wasn’t supposed to fall for a parent, uncle or not.

“Hi, Ms. Cha,” Minseok said, coming into my classroom. He handed me a cup. “I wanted to buy you coffee for stopping over the other time.”

I felt my heart instantly beat faster—he’s so considerate. “Thank you. Take a seat, and call me Juhyun.” I knew I wasn’t supposed to be on a first-name basis with my student’s guardian, but I couldn’t help myself. I sipped my coffee in attempt to calm myself down. Wrong idea. I was drinking caffeine—who was I kidding?

His cheeks reddened, though I wasn’t sure whether it was from the heat of his own coffee or something else. He cleared his throat. “Okay, Juhyun. I actually came to school to talk to you in more detail about Jiseok’s schedule.”

“Oh. Alright.” I felt guilty for feeling disappointed. Of course he wasn’t visiting for the sake of visiting.

“I hope you can make an exception for him to eat during class? I know that’s something you’ll have to discuss with your kids, but it’s a special circumstance.”

I nodded, knowing it's necessary. "I could make it work."

He continued. "He also needs to take blood glucose tests before and after lunch, just so we know how to monitor his eating." He proceeded to discuss what certain numbers meant and how that reflects Jiseok's needs.

I had to force myself to listen carefully at the information when all I wanted to do was admire him for caring so much for this little boy, for sounding so knowledgeable and in control.

"Alright," I looked up after writing all the information down. "I'll make sure to keep these things close to me so I know." Again, wrong decision. I should have just not looked at him at all.

He smiled as he talked, and all I wanted to do was squish his cheeks. "And, one last thing. I wanted to inquire about Jiseok playing sports. I know he's a bit young for anything major, but the doctor recommends we keep him active."

“No, actually, I know a lot of organizations that encourage children as young as Jiseok to start playing a sport.” I felt relieved when he switched gears. This was something I could take control of. I started rattling off possible junior league opportunities, including basketball, baseball, and soccer.

All the time I was talking, his eyes were on me, the most utterly adorably focused expression on his face. I felt myself drifting off, losing focus, loosing myself in his beautifully deep eyes.

"Um... yeah. That's about all there is," I finished lamely.

"Alright, then. Thank you for all the help! You probably need to get going, huh? Classes are starting soon."

Huh? What classes? My mind sluggishly tried finding their way back to reality. "Oh, yeah. Um, yeah." I felt myself grow sad as a thought wormed its way into my consciousness: I'm having a one-sided crush on him. I erased the thought. It's for the best. I was suddenly sobered back into the now.

"Wait! Juhyun!" He suddenly said.

I turned back to look at him. He rubbed his neck, smiling sheepishly. "One more thing—Nuna wants me to ask if you could come over for dinner. She wants to meet you personally."

I stood there for a few seconds, processing what I've just heard. He took it as a no.

"I mean, you don't have to. You must be busy." There was hesitation in his voice.

"No. That's not..." I smiled at him. "I'd love to."

“Okay, so it’s settled? Dinner’s at six thirty. You know where it is.” He smiled at me and waved before heading out the door.

Dinner. I found myself nodding long after he left.

-

Was this what women felt when first meeting their in-laws? I wiped my hands against my jeans for the millionth time that night, wondering why I even agreed to do this. It’s just a dinner, nothing special, I knew, but I kept psyching myself out, blowing things out of proportion. I took in a big breath and exhaled, then knocked on their door.

I heard a few rustling movements before a petite woman answered the door. “You must be Ms. Cha,” she bowed and smiled, her eyes crinkling into genuine crescents. They have the same eyes. “Come on in!”

“And you must be Jiseok-umma. May I know your name?” I bowed to her in return, stepping into their house.

“Oh, where are my manners? My name’s Minkyung.” I liked her immediately. She looked like the feminine version of Minseok—almost all their features were identical. What differentiated them was an aura of tiredness around her. Before I could stop myself, I found myself asking her a question. “Are you twins?”

She laughed. “Nah. But people often mistake us as fraternal twins. I guess we look a lot alike, except I’m actually three years older.”

I laughed along with her, walking over to their living room. “Well, you look a lot younger than what you say.”

“Hey, Minseok, I like this girl!” She called out to her brother, winking at me. “Please sit down.”

I blushed, doing as she said. What was she saying?

“Nuna,” Minseok warned (of what, I didn’t know), his voice an empty threat. His sister only laughed. I noticed that Minseok was in charge of the kitchen. He knows how to cook too? What can this guy not do?

“Seok-ah, teacher’s here. Come say hi,” Minkyung said, snapping me from my thoughts. She waved Jiseok over. He immediately went to her, sitting on her lap as he played with his stuffed wolf. I realized that working three jobs didn’t take away her affection for Jiseok, nor his affection for her. I unconsciously smiled at the thought.

“Hi, Ms. Cha!” he waved. I’m glad Jiseok’s warming up to me.

“Hello, buddy!” I waved back. And just like that, just like any five-year-old, Jiseok’s attention wasn’t on me any longer.

Minkyung her son’s head lovingly before looking at me. “I wanted to thank you for taking quick action with our Jiseok. I don’t know what could’ve happened if you hadn’t noticed right away.”

“Not at all. I’m just doing my job,” I smiled at her.

“I wish I was there for him all the time, but it’s…” a pained expression crossed her face, making her look her age.

“It’s not your fault,” I continued for her, immediately took hold of her hand. “I really admire what you do for Jiseok—you’re a very strong woman.”

Minkyung smiled at me gratefully. “I couldn’t do it without my brother. He’s sacrificed so much for us.”

As if he somehow knew he was the topic of conversation, Minseok suddenly appeared. “Dinner’s almost ready. Jiseok-ah, come help me set the table.” The little boy immediately stood up and followed his uncle into the kitchen. I heard laughter ringing as they chattered away, uncle and nephew working together.

Minkyung and I shared a smile. “Minseok fills the parts I can’t complete in Jiseok’s life and so much more. Sometimes I wonder who the real mom is.” She laughed, but her eyes were full of apology and sadness.

“He’s a great uncle,” I simply said. “But no one could ever replace a mom’s heart. Jiseok, as little as he is, understands a lot more than we give him credit for. You may not be at home as often, but a child can see through your heart—Jiseok understands you.”

She nodded, her eyes glistening. “Thank you.”

-

Dinner started out innocently enough, Minkyung easily carrying conversations while Minseok added a few words here and there. It was a pleasant evening—I’ve forgotten the last time I ate dinner with anyone. Then, suddenly, the conversation started turning a different direction.

“I hope you come eat dinner with us more often,” Minkyung said.

I smiled at her. “If it isn’t too much of a bother, I’d love to.”

“Of course it’s not a bother!” she returned my smile. “The more the merrier, the saying goes. Besides, I’m sure Minseok here will appreciate your presence, right bro?” She wiggled her eyebrow at him.

He looked like he almost choked on his rice. What’s going on? I felt my face heating up.

Minkyung continued on as if she was talking about the weather. “You’re the first girl he kept talking non-stop about, you know? He said you were really nice to Jiseok and all that jazz—that’s a huge compliment coming from him. I knew something was up.”

I grabbed my water and almost downed the whole glass just to do something with myself.

“Nuna, what are you saying?” Minseok recovered his ability to speak. His cheeks were turning pink.

“I’m saying that it’s nice to have Ms. Cha come over from time to time,” Minkyung feigned innocence, taking a bite of her fish.

“There’s nothing up,” I said belatedly, just to add to the conversation. I wanted to fan my face so I’d stop blushing.

“Minseok!” she suddenly turned to her brother. “Why is there nothing up?” She glared at him.

“Nuna,” Minseok looked embarrassed. It felt like they were suddenly having a conversation I couldn’t understand. I just wanted someone to tell me what was going on.

Was she setting us up?

--

OMG What am I doing? Please someone tell me what I'm doing. Am I making a freaking series? I said 2 chapters. It became 3. Now I'm turning it into 4. WHAT AM I DOING?! *pulling at hair in frustration* 

The more I try to finish this thing, the more conversations pop into my head, and I just have to write them down. I've been trying to make it so that the conclusion is realistic and believable, but I'm having such a difficult time writing it in merely three chapters. OMG what is this. T.T I'm sorry, guys. I'm incapable of doing this. 

But! I hope that while you're reading, you can appreciate Xiumin and see him through the lens that Juhyun sees him.

I wanted to put another Mulan quote in there so badly, but I held myself back. Since this is the Author's Note, though, I can do whatever I want. So here goes:

To all the wonderful people who subscribed to this ff, I love you all <3 I don't even know how you put up with me. Like seriously, I have nothing but love for all of you <3 <3 <3 Comment, please, so I know you're alive. Go ahead, be mad at me for being lame. I can take it. haha To new readers, WELCOME to my crazy world. hahahaha please say you want to stay forever. *puppy eyes*