That One Summer 《 Vmin 》

Chapter 55

An altered perfect life.

But in the end, I can't understand why it doesn't feel right to me. I've spent a week here after what happened with Jimin's dad, yet I can't get used to it. I can't seem to see it as my home. Why? Is it because I need to spend more time here, or is it because I'm away from him who broke my heart?

Jingles at the entrance snatches me out of my thoughts and back into the real world, my gaze flying to the person that had just entered the store. A hollow smile stumbles onto my face out of habit because the store owner told me to learn to make it automatic.

It was a girl around my age. The first thing I notice is her body language, how her eyes held a gaze with the floor. Her actions screamed nervous as she stood in the entrance, and somehow right away I saw myself in her.

"Welcome." I greet kindly to her from where I stood, which caused her to jump badly at my voice.

I'm guessing she didn't see my the first time, and I can't help but chuckle at her reaction, reminding me of how I was when I first came into this store. How I was terrified of the real world and talking to people, and how Mr. Arthur spoke these exact words to me.

"Jumpy aren't we?"

---

"Thank you, Mr. Arthur." I say as he hands me a daily cup of hot chocolate. I put it to my lips, letting it warm me up from the inside.

I had just went outside to go change the sign from open to close, and my body didn't let go of the cold until now.

"No problem Taehyung," he say to me with a smile. "You've been working hard, sorry I had you run the whole store for me today-" He has a coughing fit, turning away from me to be respectful.

"Mr Arthur you should really go see the doctor for your cold." I suggest worried, but he just swats away my idea.

"I'm fine," he says as he clears his throat, a reassuring smile resting on his face." Once again, I'm sorry for working you so much. Now your worrying about me."

"Please don't be sorry Mr. Arthur, I'm glad to help you since you've been so kind to me that I feel like I'm not even worthy or your generosity. I really don't know how to repay you for it." And its true, I can never repay his kind deeds for me.

"Well I wasn't gonna let you walk around in the cold lad, what if you had gotten hypothermia, your friend would be very sad."

No one would care.

The sentence lingers in my mind after it was conjured, my brain not hesitating with the words. This simple sentence that explained my whole complicated life so easily, only because it was the sad truth. No one would miss me.

"Sorry to be a burden," I mumble under my breath, letting my self doubt slip past my guarded walls, my thumb rubbing the ceramic cup mindlessly. Arthur turns questionably in my direction at my words.

"What'd you say?" He asks, stopping his writing to give me his full attention, attention that I didn't deserve. "Sorry, I didn't hear."

"Oh, it nothing," I breathe, covering with my fake smile, trying to lock back up my escaped insecurity that just about passed over his head.

He doesn't look convinced that it was nothing, but decides to drop it when I continue sipping my drink like the words meant nothing.

"Anyway Taehyung, have you thought about it?" he asks, and this time I actually look fully at him; confused.

"Thought about what Mr Arthur?'

"Staying with me."

"Oh, I still don't know," I say sheepishly, remembering that I told him before that I wasn't sure about living here, and I really wasn't. Something just didn't feel right about it.