Hoshino POV
It was now Friday, a week into the summer vacation. Most kids around this time would spend their time hanging out with friends and having a fun time.
I, on the other hand, was working at my full-time job. Students weren't usually supposed to work full-time jobs, but my job was kind of different.
I worked with my Uncle, Hung, at the construction company he was with. Since he had high seniority in the company, he roped me into the same scheduling as him. This meant I'd work eight hours on Friday and thirteen hours during the weekend.
Currently, it was 2:50 p.m., only ten minutes left until my shift ended. Since there was nothing left to do, I rummaged through my bag, took out a small portable fan, and sat down on the ground to cool myself off.
With it being the middle of summer, it was blisteringly hot outside.
When I was barely an hour into my shift, my clothes had already been soaked through with my sweat, clinging to me like a second weight. The seven hours that followed were absolutely miserable—but I was getting paid, so there was no point in complaining about it.
To be honest, the fan barely did anything. But it helped distract me from the heat, so I kept going.
I only got a couple of minutes with it before it was snatched out of my hand.
A childish, bright giggle followed shortly after.
"Hihihi, thanks for sharing, Hoshino!"
I didn't react. I just turned around and stared at the perpetrator indifferently. It was Uncle Hung.
He was the youngest of my Dad's siblings, but he looked surprisingly similar to him. The only real difference was that he wore glasses, and his hairline was less pushed back.
Seeing my lack of expression, Uncle Hung crossed his arms with a playfully saddened frown.
"Awwww, did I make you sad?" Even though he asked, he clearly had no intention of returning the fan, still using it to cool himself off.
I simply shook my head. "No, it's fine. I'll use it when you're done."
I wasn't trying to make him feel bad or anything; I really meant it. Mom always told me I should put family first, or it'd look like I wasn't raised properly. I never understood, nor did I really care, but I'd been doing it since I was a kid. Old habits die hard.
Uncle Hung let out a loud, overdramatic sigh. "Oh, c'mon! Don't be like that. If you want it back, you have to stand up for yourself!"
Without waiting for a response, he tossed the fan back and dropped down beside me.
The two of us just stared out at the construction site without saying anything.
Usually, I didn't mind silence, but just this once, it felt kind of awkward. I felt like I should talk to him about something since we were family—but we weren't that close, and I barely knew anything about him. But at the same time, I didn't feel like it. Not because I didn't like him; I just didn't want to.
I glanced over at Uncle Hung from the corner of my eye. He didn't seem to feel the awkwardness at all. In fact, he was humming happily as he tapped against his beer belly.
I felt the urge to chuckle seeing that, but I held it in.
It was then that Uncle turned to me and asked, "So, how do you like it here?"
I was caught off guard for a moment, but shrugged all the same. "It's hot and dirty, but the money is good. So I like it."
Uncle let out a loud, obnoxious laugh, one that rivalled even Dad's. "Hahaha! Well, I'm glad you do."
He stretched a hand toward me and gently placed it on my head, ruffling my hair. The thought that his dirty hand was touching me—much less my hair—was disgusting, but I didn't bother pulling it away.
"But don't be satisfied with this," he said, jokingly, while carrying a hint of encouragement. "Keep studying hard, and you can make even more money! And being less dirty while you're at it."
"You don't have anything to worry about. I'm the smartest kid the family's ever seen. You don't have to worry about my grades." My tone remained as impassive as ever, without even a touch of pride.
Uncle Hung rolled his eyes and gave me a playful shove. "Good! I'm happy to hear that. I hope you have a bright future ahead of you."
"I will."
Suddenly, my phone vibrated, indicating that I had just received a message.
I took out my phone and quickly read it. It was from Mei.
While this was happening, Uncle Hung kept the conversation going.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, but are you coming to the family gathering?"
"I didn't hear about this," I said, in the middle of sending my reply to Mei. "When is it happening? And why are we having one?"
"Did you not read the family group chat?"
My phone vibrated again—another text from Mei.
"No," I replied, eyes still on the screen. "I'm not in the group chat. I only know stuff whenever Lily tells me."
"Oh… is that so?" His voice went softer, as if he felt guilty. "Do you want to be in it? I can invite you."
"No, it's fine. I don't really care."
Before he could take it the wrong way, though, I asked, still typing, "So why is it happening?"
"It's for your Grandma's birthday, so I think your Dad would want you to go."
For the first time since I'd taken out my phone, my thumbs stopped.
My Dad would want me to go, huh...
I understood why. It was a respect thing. If you showed up and your child didn't, it was basically announcing to the whole family that 'they don't care,' or 'they're a bad kid.' And the ones who would take the fall for that were my parents.
I blinked slower than usual, breathing in the dry, sharp summer air—swallowing my protests that came with it.
…Looks like I'll really have to go.
When I opened my eyes again, I went back to texting Mei while talking to Uncle.
"Well, looks like I'll be going."
Uncle's grin grew wider.
Before I could even react, he slung an arm around my shoulder in a way eerily similar to Yu.
My phone almost dropped out of my hands from the sudden jerk, but I managed to catch it out of the air and pull it back.
"Great!" he exclaimed with genuine excitement. "I'll be seeing you then!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
It was a little embarrassing to see how affectionate he was with me, but that was just who he was. Besides, I liked that part about him, so I put up with it despite how embarrassing it was.
After that, we continued with our little conversation until our shift came to an end. The whole time, I never once put my phone down.
***
It was now 3:03, time to head home. Uncle offered me a ride back home, but I politely declined. Mom wouldn't like it if I burdened a family member for a selfish reason like that, since it would look bad.
That part I could kind of agree with—although for a different reason. He had his own family—a Wife and a kid. He probably wanted to get back to them as soon as possible, and only offered me a ride because it was his duty as my Uncle. So, as his nephew, it was my duty to decline.
I was waiting on an empty stretch of a nearby sidewalk, scrolling through my phone, when a white car pulled up in front of me.
The window on the passenger-side seat slowly slid down to reveal Mei. She had a pair of large glasses on and a thin, black-sleeved sweater—buttoned at the neck but split open down the torso, showing a white blouse underneath—paired with light blue flare jeans.
She greeted me with a warm, cheery smile. "Hey, Hoshino. Did you wait long?"
I made a show of checking the time, an unserious grin on my face. "It's 3:03. You're three minutes late. So I'd say—yeah. I waited for a while."
Mei rolled her eyes, her smile unwavering. "Oh, whatever. It's only three minutes. You can wait that long."
"I don't know. It's hot outside. I could've died of heatstroke if you were any later."
With a look of mild displeasure, Mei ripped the car keys out of the ignition and threw them at me. The keys gave a soft jingle as I caught them out of the air.
"Wow," I said, almost hurt. "So now you're trying to injure me, too? How heartless."
Mei let out a loud, almost annoyed sigh. "Just shut up and get in."
Her tone sounded as cheery as ever, but I swore I could make out the slight edge in it, one that felt like it pressed right up against my neck.
A shiver shot down my spine. "...Yes, ma'am. Sorry."
Mei stepped out of the driver's seat and came around to the passenger seat. I, on the other hand, went over to the driver's seat and stepped inside.
Once I was seated, I dug through my bag. Mei had already gotten herself comfortable and was staring out the window as I searched for a certain object. When my hand hit the bottom with no luck, I froze.
"Ah—I forgot my glasses."
Despite the heat outside, the atmosphere in the car dropped, growing colder and more unbearable by the second.
Afraid to look at the person sitting to my left, I stole a glance at the window instead, studying the inside of the car in its reflection.
I thought I was safe—until my eyes landed on Mei. Not her body, but her reflection—the one staring right at me, at the me who was looking at the reflection.
I silently clicked my tongue.
Damn. There's no escape after all…