Meori Apeuda

Chapter 43

I leaned down and closed the oven door. “Ok, done, now we’ll have to wait.” I murmured and wiped my hands on a kitchen towel.

Grabbing the knife and cutting board I had used to chop the vegetables I went over to the sink and placed it there, to wash it later. I collected the other tools I had used and put them away into the dishwasher or laid it on the board too, if they had to be cleaned by hand.

The Cheesecake waited in the fridge, the roast was in the oven, the potatoes were cooked and ready to be roasted in a pan together with some of the garlic confit I had prepared.

I started washing the dishes. What I usually liked about this chore, that it only occupied your hands and not your head, was now the downside. My mind wandered back to the convenient store and I tried to remember the person I had seen. Did I see the face when I entered the aisle, without realising it?

But it was no use. I just remembered the look at the backside as the person walked away and this uneasy feeling in my stomach. It could have been Brent. But it also could have been just my imagination. I grabbed the vegetable knife. 

‘But what if it WAS him? If he’s here. What will he do next? Did he really follow us here? Maybe he was outside at this exact moment…?’ Thoughts were racing through my head, my heart started racing and made me feel dizzy.

“Kaylee?” 

I squeaked and whirled around, losing grip of the knife because of the dish soap and tried to catch it out of reflex. But I missed the hilt and grabbed the blade instead, feeling how it cut into my skin as it slipped through my fingers.

I hissed and let it go, looking at my hand, which sported a nice deep cut across my palm now. Lee Know, who had entered the kitchen, obviously cursed in Korean, grabbed my wrist and turned me back to the sink, turning on the cold water.

He directed my hand to the water and carefully washed off the blood and the dish soap. Then he held up a finger to me and said: “Stay!” I smirked, because it sounded like he was commanding his little dog, but nodded.

He left for a few minutes to return with a first aid package. I turned off the water and he carefully dabbed my wound dry and tended it with disinfection fluid. He worked quietly and concentrated and only a few minutes later I sported a nice little bandage around my hand.

I held up a thumb to him. “감사합니다, Lee Know (Thank you Lee Know)”. He bowed his head grinning and put away the first aid kit. He pointed at his watch, then at the oven and lifted his shoulders questioningly.

“About two hours.” I said and held up two fingers. He nodded and checked his watch. Then he looked at me, pointed at himself, downstairs and shimmied his hips and shoulders. "You want dance?" he asked and I smiled when I heard him talk in English. The others told me that he knew a few phrases, but that he wasn't really fond of it. 

I thought about it for a few seconds, but: I hadn’t anything to do, everything was prepared and without distraction my mind would wander, I knew it. So I nodded enthusiastically and smiled at him. 

He grinned and boxed my upper arm lightly. I frowned in concentration and tried to remember the basic korean lesson from Felix’ book: “언제 …만나요? (eonje mannayo/ When do we meet?)” 

Lee Knows grin broadened and he answered, slowly and pronounced to make sure I would understand:  “10분 후에 만나자 (10bun hue mannaja/ We’ll meet in 10 minutes!)” I blinked for a second and then counted the korean numbers with the help of my fingers until I reached ten and smiled, nodded, holding up 10 fingers, just to be sure.

He nodded encouragingly and laid his hand on my head, like a big brother would with his little sister. We left the kitchen, headed upstairs and I entered Chan’s room.