If You Love Me

Chapter 22: A torn page from the past

"Y/N!" Aunt Chaerin huffs, pushing her hair back by snuggling her favourite headband around her scalp. While glaring at you, she fluffs the pillows you just adjusted, rips the sheets off the bed and tosses them at you. "You think you get paid to stand around and do nothing? You might as well apply to become a cardboard cutout!" She pats your shoulder cheekily. "Don't worry, I'll give you a good reference."

"Auntie!" You whine, "Can't we just take a small rest? Even if it's 5 minutes! Please?"

The woman fixates her gaze on your arm clutching her like a beggar. Irritated, she sighs and nibbles on her bottom lip. "Rest? Fine. You'll have millions of minutes to rest... when you're in your grave."

"But Bora isn't helping out!" You hiss throwing your pillow on the ground in a mini tantrum.

"Exactly!" Aunt Chaerin mutters sarcastically and claps, brushing the dust off her newly bought jeans. She directs her gaze at your dazed sister sitting on the floor in the corner of the room." I thought your dad said he was sending help, not a new piece of furniture." Chaerin shakes her head, resuming her cleaning. 

You remain in place for another moment, your longing gaze trying to reach your seemingly ghosted sister. She continues staring blankly at the window, every limb in her body basically lifeless while perched up against the wall.

You frown.

She's been like this for the last week - absentmindedly cleaning rooms, constantly drowning in her own thoughts. There's the occasional time when she will approach you, but when the conversation falls onto her, she scurries off insisting that it's nothing even though her trapped gaze suggests otherwise.

A sudden hand coating your shoulder forces you to yelp. Your nonplussed aunt rolls her eyes, unfazed by your elementary attitude. She sighs, "Jeez when will you ever grow up?" Your eyes narrow, following her as she dances her way in front of you. "So tell me... How's the relationship with Mr. man going?"

Instantly your cheeks swell with heat. "A-auntie!"

She howls with hyena laughter. "What? I'm just joking." She winks, taking a seat on the foot of the newly made bed. "Just because I'm your aunt doesn't mean I wasn't caught up in promiscuous and steamy love affairs."

You roll your eyes. "Yeah... If anything you're like that because you're my aunt."

Your aunt gasps melodramatically, slapping you on the shoulder. "Well missy, with an attitude like that I might as well save your Mr.right all the heartbreak of starting a relationship with you."

"Being difficult is just a family gene." You provide a toothy smirk. Your aunt combs her freshly done manicured hand through her coiled  chestnut locks, and laughs. "One more word and I'm sending you back to your dad's." She growls, voice lowered as her hands pounce into a karate chop position.

You giggle, collapsing onto the bed beside her. "Fine. Jeez..."

A soothing moment of silence follows in which the both of you just stare up at the fairly blank ceiling together. You're the first to break the stillness. "Hey Auntie?"

Your aunt responds with an acknowledging hum. 

You flop over onto your belly, eyes meeting Chaerin's smooth hazel ones. "Did you ever have someone like that?"

Your aunt cracks a smile. "Like what? A lover?" She stifles a chuckle to herself, continuing, "There was one man."

"Really? Tell me about him. What was he like?"

Your aunt exhales calmly, expression glossed over in a mixture of awe and insanely cute infatuation as if she were a high school student all over again. "Well, he was..."