I woke up and it was already night time. I looked to my left and saw my mom, drowsed off at my bedside. I stretched slowly to turn the breathing machine off, feeling that I don’t need it anymore. My little move woke my mother up.

“Mom.”

She gently touched my hand,“Yes?”

“I’m sorry about what I said earlier,” I decided this was the right time to apologize, “About dad.”

“You were right Jaehee ya,” she smiled, “but still, he is your dad.”

I gave no response.

“Jaehee ya…” she stood to sit on my bed. She looked straight to my eyes and started trembling, “I nearly… lost you again Jaehee ya… what happened?”

I held her hand, I guess I have to tell her what happened, “I saw Suho earlier.”

She froze at the sound of his name, “Lee.. Lee Suho?” I gave a slight nod, “Wait… did he hurt you?”

“No, it’s not like that…” I assured her, “It was more of he acted like he never knew me.”

Right on cue, my phone began ringing. The call was from an unregistered number, still I decided to answer it.

“Hello?” I sounded so stiff. I doubt this is Suho calling.

“Jaehee unni,” it was Kim Hyejoo, and her voice was as stiff as mine. I didn’t bother asking how she got my number, maybe with the help of her dad’s connections.

“Oh, Hyejoo ya,” I looked at my mom, and I was grateful that she understood. She started leaving my room, giving me some privacy, “Why did you call?”

“It's about Suho oppa.”

Of  course. How stupid of me, “Look, I know it’s my fault, but you didn’t have to—”

“I called to talk about what happened five years ago,” she cut me off, “And I'd rather talk to you about in person.”

I looked at the time. It was still early, “Okay, where?”

"I heard you continued your diner business here in Seoul, how about I reserve the whole place for tonight?” she paused, waiting for my response. When she found none, she continued, “I'll pay. You know I can't go to public places anymore.”

“There’s no need to do that,” I didn’t like the sound of her paying me money. She might have ordered a few people to investigate about my family background in a short span of time, “We’ll close at 9pm.”

“Okay unni,” she seemed pleased about the outcome of or conversation, “See you later then,” she hung up.

I prepared myself for our meeting later. I don’t want her to see me looking sick. I talked to my mom about the arrangement I made with Hyejoo and she agreed to close the diner at 9pm instead an hour after.

As I helped her close, I asked her about the new employee issue.

“Nonsense, I didn’t need one back in the island.”

“But we’re here in Seoul mom,” I emphasized every word, “And you have more customers here. Seriously, can you manage being a mom, a waitress, a cook, and the cashier at the same time?”

That gave her a lot of things to consider, and this time, I think I will win this argument.

“Fine,” she answered, acknowledging her defeat, “Just one though! I don’t want to waste money by hiring more than one employee.”

At exactly 9pm, a black car arrived in front of our house. The driver got out to open the passenger door. Hyejoo walked out to the car and went straight to the door of our diner. I told my mom that I wanted to face her alone before Hyejoo came, but she insisted about wanting to know what happened to Suho as well so she decided to just stay at the kitchens, where she can be hidden while she listens to our conversation.

“Glad to know you continued your business here in Seoul unni,” she greeted me with a smile. She sounded so casual.

“Mom always loved cooking for other people,