𝐌𝐘 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄

CHAPTER 6

"Aunt, I'm back." Jin shouted, announcing his arrival as he placed the bags he was carrying on the sofa.

"How many times do I have to remind you to address me as ma'am?" 

A seemingly irritated lady with a face pack on her face emerged from her bedroom and began taking out the dresses from the bags and examining them. In the meanwhile, Jin took the other bags to the kitchen to put the grocery in their respective places.

"The new tailor is pretty good and fast." she nodded her head appreciatively.

"I told you he is." Jin pressed his lips into a smile.

"Whatever" she shrugged. "Prepare the dinner and make sure to check the chart for the nutrient content."

"Aunt, wouldn't it be so nice if I could study and become a nutritionist, then you wouldn't have to consult one." He suggested softly.

"Jin..... How many times do I have to remind you that studying is a waste of time and money. You only need to take care of your beauty and capture the heart of a handsome rich man. Then you won't need to worry about a single thing in your life. And if you don't believe, just look at me." She winked at him and made her way back to the bedroom where her skincare routine awaited her.

Jin pretended to work till he heard the bedroom door shut. Still, he craned his neck to double check if his aunt was gone before slowly pulling out the book that he had been hiding among the grocery.

He tiptoed to his room in the attic and slid the book under a loose floorboard where it joined numerous others.

He made his way back to the kitchen and busied himself with preparing dinner. Once done, he called for his aunt.

"As much as I beg to differ, your kimchi fried rice making skills are still the same as it was when I met you for the first time." His aunt spoke through a mouthful of the said fried rice.

Yet again, the comment he had heard hundreds of time didn't fail to bring the memories of the horrific day.

<8yrs ago>

Jin trudged behind Si-hyuk unwillingly as they walked through the lonely path. The elder was saying something about being careful of the sly people of the city, but the boy's brain was filtering all the words out, trying to memorize the familiar scenery for the last time.

So lost was he in his thoughts, he didn't hear footsteps catching up to them until a hooded figure lunged at him.

He only had the time to crane his neck back to see the sinister smile on the otherwise covered face before a cold metal was placed on his neck.

"Should have killed you the day you were born. But nevermind. It's never too late to correct one's mistakes." The attacker smirked.

Jin felt the droplets of blood on his skin as the metal that he recognised as a knife was slowly pressing more into his neck, rupturing the skin.

"Ah"

The knife fell down on the ground as a rock about the size of a ping pong ball hit his attacker's hand. The hiss of pain turned into a groan of struggle as he was tackled onto the ground by Si-hyuk.

As Jin scrambled to his feet and almost took a step forward to help, Si-hyuk's instructions stopped him.

"Run Jin. Run. I won't be able to keep him for long."

Scared for his life, Jin clutched his bag to his chest and ran as fast as his small feet would allow. He didn't stop or look back till he had boarded the bus.

When he was seated at the extreme last of the bus, he allowed himself to take a peek out of the window.

That's when he caught the sight of the same hooded figure among the trees that acted as the boundary of the small clearing which was used as their only bus stop. Hidden from the view of the public, there was a bloodied knife hidden under the long sleeve of the cloak.

Jin sank further into his seat and prayed not to be found and for the well being of Si-hyuk.

The Almighty seemed to have taken pity on him as the engine of the bus roared, indicating the start of the journey and soon he was going away, far away from his birthplace.

"Why aren't you eating? Are you sick or something?" His aunt enquired as she noticed him toying with his food.

Unable to form coherent words as his lips wobbled slightly, he nodded his head and put a spoonful of whatever was in his plate into his mouth.

His aunt didn't find it necessary to investigate further and busied herself with the meal, leaving him to drift into the memories again.

He couldn't have an ounce of sleep the entire night, fearing the hooded figure would somehow catch up to him.

The morning sun dawned a new chapter in his life.

After he had boarded down from the bus and an old lady had been kind enough to guide him to the address written on the torn and brown piece of paper, he found himself standing in front of a gate.

Contemplating if to ring the bell, he was greeted by the voice of an irritated woman with salt pepper hair grumbling something about how expensive househelps were and how all the hard work was making her age faster.

"Umm..... Excuse me ma'am....."

The lady paused her work to look at the timid boy peering at her nervously from across the gate.

"What do you want? I don't have time to waste."

"Is this the house of  Ms. Hayoon?"

"How do you know me?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You....you might not recognize me, but I'm the son of your brother Hwan." He fidgeted with his fingers, feeling uncomfortable under the piercing stare of the woman.

"Ah! My idiotic brother, who declined the luxury of the city for that meager village." She rolled her eyes. "Why did he send you to me?"

"He....he is dead and wanted me......" he tried to explain but was cut off in the middle.

"Cut the crap. You just want me to take you in, don't you?" She waited for Jin to agree and once he had bobbed his head up and down, she continued. "And how would it benefit me?"

He was quick witted enough to put use the complaints he had heard upon his arrival. "I can help you with the household work. I can even cook."

"Cook, did you say?" He seemed to have caught her interest.

"I often cooked at home with dad and he always praised me."

"Well, I shall be the judge of your skills. Come in."

She ushered him into the house and to the kitchen. "Get to work. You'll find all the necessary ingredients here and if you're able to impress me, you can stay or else I won't hesitate to throw your useless self out."

Jin set to work almost immediately. He decided to go with a safer option, kimchi fried rice. He could never go wrong with that recipe as it was the one he had learnt to cook for his father's birthday.

Half an hour later, he watched with bated breathe as his aunt scooped a spoonful of the rice and put it in her mouth. She turned to give him a glance before several other spoonfuls followed the first.

"Hmmm.......It's not too bad." She nodded her head appreciatively. "You may stay."

Jin smiled faintly as he remembered his aunt's expression. She never displayed her appreciation explicitly but he knew when she was pleased and also the fact that she cared for him, even if it was minimal.