"Okay. Youre making my head hurt here. Let me get this straight. Youre claiming that youre the reason my niece returned to this country. Is that it?

It might sound presumptuous but yes. I apologize for meeting you in this circumstances. I wryly smiled and bowed my head slightly in apology to Hanas Aunt sitting opposite me.

We got caught in the act. That much was true. And it caused her more than a surprise as that audible gasp we heard froze her on where she was standing for a few minutes before Hana and I separated from each other.

I thought this would eventually turn into us being nagged at by her, or worse, Id be straight up kicked out of the house. But after the ice that she got caged in had been thawed and she finished digesting what she witnessed, Hanas aunt trod to the middle of the living room and stood before us.

There, her inexplicable gaze landed on Hana, the girl voluntarily stood up and walked next to her. Following that, that same gaze landed on me. I easily felt the pressure from it which led me down on my knees as I sat in seiza in front of them.

Yeah. Thats about it. Her hostile gaze was enough for us to obey her wordless commands. Or rather, I just gave in to it for Hanas well-being. I mean, if I refused here, shed be in trouble and that was never in my plan.

And now, were back to the present. After being compelled to tell her what led to what she witnessed, she knocked on her temple as though trying to ease the headache induced by the story I narrated. Its incomplete though. It only starts with her transfer to our school and my decision to walk her home after that celebration.

But with her question, shes stuck on that part wherein I told her that Im the reason Hana returned here.

This woman resembled Hana a lot. If the girl introduced her as her mother, I wouldnt really doubt it. But then again, shes probably younger by a few years than her mother as shes relatively young. And upon observing her for a while, the way she carried herself wasnt close to a mother but an older sister.

She had this air of someone who was working tirelessly in front of a computer day after day either from home or an office. There are stress lines on her forehead. I wouldnt be surprised if shes actually wearing thick-rimmed glasses to protect her eyes from more than 12 hours a day of exposure on the screen and always had her fringes rolled up to keep it away from distracting her.

At the moment, shes wearing a plain, moss-green shirt with a minimalistic design and a pair of khaki shorts reaching only an inch above her knee.

Its probably something shes wearing at home rather than outside.

Although she didnt mention where she came from or how she suddenly appeared without us noticing, I could form a guess that she spotted us outside and followed us inside. She trod on light footsteps, evading my acute senses.

"I dont want to hear your apology but good for you to resort to that right away rather than wiggle your way out." She crossed her arms and slightly inched her chin upward. Shes trying to assert her advantage in this conversation.

Since shes on the moral high ground, she probably wanted to squeeze out every piece of info from us.

As for what shes going to do after that I have no idea.

Hopefully, this wouldnt turn into a situation where she would forbid Hana from meeting me again or tell her parents about this.

I wont do that Hana is important to me.

Hoh? How important? Can you cut off your hand right now and hand it to her?

This woman Talk about getting so exaggerated. But thinking about it, shes testing my resolve, huh?

If I showed her that I was hesitating, shed probably sneer at me.

Aunt, that sounds so extreme. Will you be able to handle seeing blood? Arent you afraid of

Nope. Stay quiet there Hana. Im interrogating this boy. What do you think my sister would say if she heard about this?

She promptly shut down Hana there and shoved the girl behind her, taking her away from my sight.

... Auntie

Dont call me Auntie. Youre not my nephew.

What a sharp tongue. Is she uncompromising? I dont know. I dont even have any idea what shes trying to accomplish here aside from finding out our story.

Uh. How should I address you then?

Maam. Call me maam, understood? Now where are we? Are you going to cut that off or not?

The woman waved her hand as though she was clearing up the air to get back to our main topic.

Well, I will need a sharp object to sever it, otherwise, its impossible.

Theres no other way to answer but that. And perhaps realizing how stupid that was, she once again knocked on her head, rebooting it.

She groaned and appeared to be struggling to think of other ways to test me.

Shes not prepared for this, huh?

In any case, using this chance, I raised an arm and asked.

Maam. May I say something?

Go on.

Im wondering whether youre mad at Hana for bringing me here or catching us in that situation. If its the former, I apologize for that because I insisted on walking her home and checking on her situation. One thing led to another and we eventually ended up in that state.

I paused for a moment to check her developing reaction. And sure enough, her brows were furrowed as her face contorted into something indescribable.

I dont know whats in her head or if shes even trying to understand what Im saying. But one thing is for sure Shes definitely not amused.

... If its the latter, I will start by saying that as a couple, kissing is a normal occurrence.

Its a bad answer. Im aware. But thats intentional on my part. Sometimes, its easier to understand someones motive if you agitate them rather than adopting a wait-and-see approach.

And sure enough, that instantly riled her up.

Behind her, I could see Hana holding back from laughing. Shes also aware of what Im doing. But at the same time, she was also trying to keep herself in check. She knew that her fate hinged on her Aunts decision.

What we have to do is to get her on our side.

You! Stop right there! What normal occurrence? How progressive are you kids these days? Kissing should come months after dating! Moreover, shouldnt you take the necessary steps before inviting yourself in?

Months? This woman is probably from the previous era, or if not that, shes someone who had little to no experience when it comes to dating.

But then again, Hana and I were technically not dating yet but our relationship was already closer than most couples in their first month.

Uhm. I wont defend myself on the second part but Maam, kissing is really normal for couples. I dont know how conservative the others are but its a bare minimum to validate your affection for one another In any case, I know that its our fault for keeping this from you but now that were in this situation, allow me to introduce myself

Upon saying that, I bowed one more time and this time, even more politely by doing dogeza before reintroducing myself.

Hanas aunt was stumped at that and she couldnt form words for a few seconds.

Fortunately, Hana was there to save the day. Given how mature she is she also has the know-how to handle this situation.

Just by the fact that she never thought twice about inviting me in, she was more than aware that her aunt finding out about me was just a matter of time.

.

Aunt, why dont we sit down first? I also wont make any excuses. In fact, I would like to get your acceptance. If youre going to tell them about him, I wont stop you. Just Can you at least hear us out first? Youve only heard a part of our story Its quite long so

As her voice trailed there, her Aunt turned her gaze to her. Whatever shes trying, its working.

A second later, she nodded and succinctly answered. Okay. Ill hear you out.