* * *
It was before the store opened.
The owner approached me slowly as I was cleaning the floor and asked in a low voice.
“Are you still staying at Chanyi’s place?”
“Yes, somehow.”
“That’s good. Your lease on the place you used to live is almost up, right?”
“It ends next month.”
“Then are you planning to continue living with Chanyi?”
I was at a loss for words at the owner’s question.
“…I’m not sure.”
“You still don’t know? If you’re going to move, you should start preparing.”
“Yeah, I know.”
I was frustrated with myself for having no plan.
I had become someone who avoided things for some time now.
I just wished time would stop like this so that I wouldn’t have to make any choices.
As time goes by, I’m scared that either my heart or Chanyi’s will change.
“If Chanyi’s okay with it, I hope you continue living together.”
“Why?”
“You two look good together.”
I couldn’t respond to the owner’s words.
He wasn’t saying it because he knew about our relationship.
The owner shrugged and went back to the kitchen.
I tried to stay calm as I continued wiping the floor.
Just then, the door suddenly opened.
“Sorry, we’re not open yet.”
“Kim Hyunoh.”
A familiar voice responded.
I felt like my organs dropped to my feet.
A man who looked thinner and older than I remembered entered the store.
“…Uncle.”
My uncle looked around the store.
“So you’re working here.”
“How did you find out?”
I backed away as if I’d seen a ghost.
“I heard.”
“From whom?”
“From your friend.”
“Friend? Who…?”
The only person I could call a friend right now was Kim Chanyi.
But it didn’t seem like Chanyi would know my uncle’s contact information.
Even if he did, Chanyi wouldn’t have planned something behind my back.
I was certain of that.
“Let’s talk. Your aunt is waiting outside.”
“Aunt?”
As soon as I heard the word “aunt,” all the blood drained from my body.
I remembered my aunt’s sad face that resembled my father’s.
Suddenly, I felt a chill. I hunched my shoulders and said,
“I can’t go. I won’t go.”
“Kim Hyunoh, don’t do this. Your aunt has been wanting to see you so badly. What are you doing here all by yourself?”
“Please go back. I have to work.”
“Kim Kim Hyunoh!”
The owner came out of the kitchen when he heard the commotion.
“What’s going on?”
“Are you the owner?”
“Yes, but who are you?”
“I’m Kim Hyunoh’s uncle.”
The owner looked a bit surprised.
Although I had been working here for a year since I moved, I had never talked about my family.
When the owner first asked, I gave a vague answer, and he never brought it up again.
My uncle tried to approach the owner.
I panicked and grabbed him, but he pushed me aside immediately.
The two adults talked for a while. I lowered my head and closed my eyes tightly.
The bits of conversation I could hear were dreadful.
Our Kim Hyunoh, at nineteen, an accident… Yes, so we’re taking him for a while, yes…. I wanted to cover my ears completely.
After finishing the conversation, my uncle came back to me.
“Let’s go. The owner has given permission.”
“Permission for what?”
“He said you won’t be able to work for a while.”
“Why didn’t you ask for my opinion?”
My uncle interrupted me with a big sigh.
“Kim Hyunoh, how long are you going to keep this up? You’re not nineteen anymore.”
“Yes, that’s why I can take care of myself.”
“Do you really feel at ease living like this? What about your aunt? She cried the whole way here, knowing how you’re living. At least talk to her.”
I glanced at the door.
A car was parked outside. It was a black Benz.
My head throbbed.
My uncle gently but firmly grabbed my shoulder and led me.
I had no choice but to follow him.
The owner looked at me with a concerned expression.
In front of the Benz, my uncle motioned for me to get in.
I hesitated, fiddling with my phone in my pocket.
For some reason, I thought of Kim Chanyi.
Although Chanyi and I have no official relationship, and he knows nothing about my family’s troubles.
I glanced toward Chanyi’s school, then hunched over and got into the back seat.
As soon as I opened the door, a loud sobbing sound enveloped me.
“Kim Hyunoh…!”
My aunt, who had aged a lot, hugged me tightly.
Her body was painfully thin.
I felt suffocated. It felt like I was sinking deeper into the water.
My aunt kept stroking my back.
The car suddenly started moving.
I looked at the driver’s seat in surprise.
“Uncle, where are we going?”
“To our house. Let’s talk more there.”
I wanted to ask him to let me out, but my aunt’s sobbing kept my lips sealed.
I sat there, unable to hug or push her away.
My aunt cried until my shirt’s shoulder was soaked.
She murmured as if casting a spell on me.
“Kim Hyunoh, it’s not your fault. Okay? It’s not your fault….”
I said nothing. I just answered her in my mind.
Yes, aunt.
But in this world, there are pains that I have to bear even if it’s not my fault.
You wouldn’t understand.
You weren’t there that day, at that place.
* * *
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