Tears and Truths
“Sorry, Uncle. They must’ve been a handful.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Once her friends got out, Yerin grumbled under her breath. She felt guilty for bothering her already exhausted uncle. She should’ve just made them walk, she muttered.
“Actually, I didn’t mind. It’s nice to see this side of my niece.”
“Huh? What side?”
“The side that swears and gets annoyed. You’re always so well-behaved around me.”
“That’s only because they were bothering you. Of course I’d get irritated.”
It warmed him that his niece was so fiercely protective. Knowing someone was on his side brought a quiet sense of relief.
“From now on, if anything about me bothers you or makes you uncomfortable, say it. Don’t just bottle it up.”
“About you, Uncle? There’s nothing that bothers me about you.”
“Even if there isn’t now, things might come up as we keep living together. I could make mistakes without realizing it.”
Of course, Min-a charging at him like that was… troublesome, to say the least. Sometimes her constant nitpicking and attempts to “fix” him left him unable to breathe.
“Mm… okay. If you do something like that, I’ll tell you.”
“And I won’t keep bothering you at night either. I’m always sorry for keeping you from resting properly.”
“Bothering me? I’m the one who asked you to stay with me. How is that bothering me? You only came because of me.”
“Still… it must’ve been uncomfortable for you. You couldn’t even say anything.”
At a red light, Yerin tugged him firmly toward her, demanding he look at her instead of straight ahead.
“Don’t say it like that. You didn’t bother me—I bothered you.”
Her large, glistening eyes, so much like her mother’s, sparkled as she spoke.
“If you really feel bad… then at least let me use your arm as a pillow. I know you’re tired, but you always fall asleep alone so quickly. Honestly, shouldn’t the niece be the one acting spoiled while the uncle indulges her? Why is it backwards in our house?”
“Sorry. I’ll be more careful.”
“Tonight I’m going to sleep first, so you just wait until I’m out. From now on, if you fall asleep before me, I’ll wake you up.”
“Alright. But… um…”
“What?”
“It’s just… usually, an uncle and niece don’t sleep together like this.”
Even if he could say their closeness made it fine, the distance between “uncle” and “niece” felt far too small.
“Well, it started because you clung to me on your own.”
“A minute ago you said you were the one bothering me.”
“If we’re going to nitpick every little thing, no wonder Aunt Min-a can’t stand you. Though I guess other people would find it weird… I don’t know. If an uncle and niece are close, maybe it’s okay. We are close.”
“I don’t know. Either way, once you’re asleep, I’m leaving.”
“What if I wake up in the middle of the night? I’ll have to go looking for you.”
“Then come find me. Our place isn’t a maze. Open the door and I’ll be right there.”
If it came to it, he’d just get up and put her back to sleep. Ever since Yerin arrived, his sleeping habits had changed; before, he used to wake up often in the early hours anyway.
“I don’t want that. Just stay beside me.”
“No… it’s just… an uncle doing this with a grown niece is a bit…”
“Weird? Did you do anything strange to me, Uncle?”
“No. Of course not.”
“Then are you planning to do something strange from now on?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
She was the most precious person to him. If anyone ever did something awful to her, he would never let it slide—even if that someone was himself.
“Then just stay. Don’t overthink it on your own.”
Yerin turned her head toward the window. Her long hair swayed gently.
“I… can’t fall asleep without you either. When I sleep alone… the tears keep coming and I can’t sleep. But when you’re next to me, I feel safe. So I can sleep. Listening to your breathing. Smelling your scent.”
The car stopped at another light. Jiho kept staring ahead while Yerin gazed out the window.
“Take responsibility. It’s because of you that I’ve become like this too.”
“I’ll go learn a lullaby at the music academy. If I practice hard, I should be able to sing at least one song properly.”
When their eyes met again, both of them were smiling—realizing just how much they cared for each other.
“Since I told you the truth, now it’s your turn, Uncle. Be honest.”
“About what?”
“Why you came home so early today. Why you played hooky.”
“I already told you. I just… wanted to see you sooner. I’m not that good of a person, you know. Even I feel like slacking off sometimes.”
“Liar. I know how diligent you are. You work late into the night even after coming home.”
“……”
Yerin rested her chin on her arm and looked out the window again.
“…Is it about Aunt Min-a?”
“…You’re too sharp.”
“When Uncle goes quiet, the answer’s always obvious. She must’ve given you a hard time again.”
He had no idea what kind of woman he was dating. Hearing Yerin say things like “the answer’s obvious” and “gave you a hard time” made that painfully clear.
“Hard time? It was just… a little argument.”
“Uncle, an argument requires both sides to fight. If only one side keeps getting hit, that’s assault. She’s always tormenting you, making things difficult for you. Now she’s even doing it at the company—our uncle.”
Anger flickered in Yerin’s eyes. It pained him to see her make that expression because of him. He wanted her life to be filled only with reasons to smile. And yet he was grateful—grateful that she got angry for his sake. And ashamed—ashamed that he just sat there listening while his niece spoke that way about his girlfriend.
If you love her… if you love her…
If he loved Min-a, shouldn’t he be angry at Yerin for talking about her like that? Or should he defend Min-a? Tell Yerin she hadn’t met Min-a enough times to understand what kind of person she was, or what kind of family she came from—the Representative, his wife, their expectations of him, their obsession, the crushing sense of responsibility that came with it.
Something inside his chest kept churning, clawing at him until his heart felt ragged.
Would it feel better if I let it all out?
Before seeing Yerin, he had wanted to be honest and receive comfort. But now it felt impossible. Even with family, it took courage to speak. What if Yerin looked at him with pity? He had never been the sore spot for his mother or his girlfriend. He was always supposed to be the best, the example, the one they could be proud of. If he clung to his niece and cried, if he poured out his heart… maybe she would end up hating him.
He still didn’t know what love was, but he understood the chill of hatred. He didn’t want Yerin to hate him.
“Just… just… it’s just… just.”
“Just what? Is it so bad you can’t even tell me?”
“No. It’s just… I don’t want to keep burdening you.”
“I already told you. If it’s hard, let it out. There’s nothing wrong with someone who’s struggling saying they’re struggling.”
The car pulled up in front of the building. Parked in the underground lot, Jiho stood frozen, lips trembling, unable to move forward or back.
“Your aunt… and your aunt’s father. Min-a’s dad. The two of them today… they made things difficult for me.”
“Father and daughter causing trouble together, huh.”
Yerin’s tone turned rough. She stared straight at him, but he couldn’t meet her eyes and only hung his head. He felt like a child again—standing in front of his older sister after getting into trouble. Fighting with a friend, kicking a ball through a school window, waiting for judgment after confessing some petty mischief.
“What did they say that was so hard? Did they say you couldn’t do your job?”
“No. It was just… the usual things that get under my skin, but today they were even harder to hear. Talk about marriage, kids, the company… and then they brought you up too. I couldn’t stand listening to any of it, so I left.”
His voice trembled. His tongue felt twisted. His throat tightened and moisture gathered at the corners of his eyes.
“Pathetic, right? Running away like that.”
“It’s not pathetic at all. You did well. You held back instead of fighting. No matter how much those two make things hard for you—”
Yerin reached out and wiped away his tears with her pale, slender fingers.
“I just… I just wish someone would understand me. I feel bad for you being alone. I want to protect you until you’re an adult. But everyone keeps complaining. Everyone keeps telling me what to do, trying to correct me.”
“It’s okay. It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong, Uncle.”
He buried his face in her chest. Yerin gently comforted her uncle, who felt utterly pathetic. She told him it wasn’t his fault, that he was always doing his best, that he should straighten his shoulders and find strength.
Only after leaning on her for a long while did he finally pull away. Yerin’s shirt was damp with his tears.
“……Sorry. For bothering you again.”
“If you know that, then treat me better from now on. Thanks to my crybaby uncle, my clothes are all wet.”
“Yeah. Sorry. It’s nice having a niece who’s an old soul. Makes it easier to talk like this.”
“What do you mean, ‘old soul’? Calling your own niece that.”
Yerin shot him a look.
“Then I’ll just call you a kid. No—actually, I’ll say you grew up too fast.”
“So why am I the kid? Where’s a kid this big? Does that mean Uncle was clinging to a child and bawling his eyes out?”
“When did I ever bawl my eyes out?”
They continued their back-and-forth as they stepped into the elevator. He’d have to go pick up his mom once she dropped off her luggage. Since the whole family was together for once, what should they have for dinner?
He pressed the button and teased Yerin while waiting for the doors to open—then froze.
“Mom? Min-a?”
“Oppa.”
Two people he never expected to see stood right in front of their apartment door.