Scandal

one | 시점

She would remember that moment, always: wading through the crowd of graduates, words of congratulations blurring into noise as she scanned face after face, only to find her mother far, far away--dark hair smoothed back into a french twist, draped in a billowing coat. Disappearing.

A can of Milkis soda slammed down in front of Eris, startling her.

Her dad stood over her disapprovingly, dressed in a brown apron with gloved hands stained with bright red kimchi paste. "Are you going to sit there staring at my wall all day?"

Eris's hands slipped from her face as she scowled at her dad. "I was just thinking."

"Thinking. You're always thinking. Thinking of work." He ripped off his gloves and sat down across from her. He was a small man with flat hair and a squarish face, his eyes sharp and scrutinizing. "I didn't hear you come home last night."

"I did come home," she insisted.

"Really? When? At six in the morning?"

Eris rolled her lips in and looked away. She caught an eavesdropping Nico jump and hurry off.

Her dad expelled a huff of disbelief, his grip tightening on his gloves. Eris ran her finger along the rim of the soda can. "I've told you this and I'll tell you again," he said stubbornly. "I don't like your job. You'd be better off without it."

Now she met his eyes sharply. "Appa. This is my job. Let me deal with it."

"I won't if it's killing you."

"Killing me?" Eris tilted her head, exasperated. "Appa, my job is keeping me alive. It's keeping me alive, you alive, and this restaurant alive, so leave it alone."

At that, he went silent.

An awkward silence stretched between them. Eris tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and took a long sip as her dad stared idly at his gloves.

Finally, he stood up and looked down at her, his eyes guarded. "Eat something before you leave. I just made kimchi."

"Mm." She pushed a fleeting smile onto her lips. "Thanks."

He scowled and shuffled away. "And take some to Elias tonight. You know where his apartment is."

"Save it for yourself," she urged, looking up. "You know he never eats it."

"Give it to him anyway. When he gets home from the department, he won't have anything better to do."

✦

With a box of her father's kimchi tucked under one arm, she strode into Elias's sleek apartment building and waited for the elevator, phone to her ear.

"We are particularly short-staffed, so if you truly would like the position, we'd like you here by six in the morning tomorrow."

Her eyes widened. "Six?"

"The entrance is two blocks from the Old Veld neighborhoods," the woman continued smoothly. "If you don't show, we can't brief you on the specifics of your duties, and we'll have to find someone else."

"Oh, no, don't worry about it." Even as she said it, her heart hurt. "I'll be there, bright and early."

"Good. We look forward to meeting you."

"Thank you so much."

The woman hung up.

Eris glanced at her phone, her lips turning down in a little scowl. "She's so rude," she muttered.