The cold chilly wind that wandered through Haji’s house marked the end of the family dinner— a fleeting mont that made Haji feel a sense of nostalgia, reminding him of the things he once had, which are gone forever.
Thanking him for the umpteenth ti, gumi and his parents slowly exited the house, expressing their gratitude for Haji. Now that they thought about it, it had been a long ti since the three of them last ate together. Since gumi’s dad was always busy working and finalizing deals, there was almost no ti for the family to get together. Usually, it was just gumi and her mom who would eat together.
"Um, here... Haji... " gumi’s dad uttered, pulling out an envelope from his pockets.
Upon seeing the bulky envelope that gumi’s dad was trying to hand him, the first thought that occurred in Haji’s mind was the cliche scene in most novels and dramas where the rich family hands soone a hefty sum, just so they would get out of their son or daughter’s life. Knowing gumi’s parents, however, Haji knew that they wouldn’t do such a thing. They were even glad that gumi had made her first friend... why would they try to separate them when they were genuinely happy a few monts ago?
"I know it’s not much, but here... take it." gumi’s dad said. His expression said that he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Also, he didn’t seem that forceful, so Haji was confused as to why he was handing him so money.
Nevertheless, he accepted the money without thinking twice. He was in dire need of money. If soone were to hand him money out of goodwill, there’s no way he wouldn’t receive it. "Thank you so much, sir."
"Once again, thank you for keeping our daughter company, and for dealing with her selfishness." Ruffling her hair, gumi’s dad chuckled before opening the car doors.
"It’s quite all right sir, it should be who should thank your daughter," Haji responded back since he thought it best to do so. "I an... she was the one who cooked dinner.
"Right, now that I thought about it... gumi has never cooked for her friends." Once again, gumi’s dad started teasing her out of nowhere. He then turned around and faced Haji. "In any case, Haji, thank you. Ever since my wife and I went on a business trip for a month a few years back, she beca so uptight. She has not made any friends since then. Thank you so much for sticking by her. She may not know that she’s already overstepping her boundaries, but I hope you’ll understand and still choose to be her friend."
Haji didn’t have any words. Tight-lipped, he nodded his head in response. It may seem like he was acting out of respect and courtesy but the reality was, he was trying not to laugh at gumi’s situation. She was even worse than him when making friends and he found it sowhat hilarious. It would annoy her to no end if he laughed though so he tried to hold it in as much as he could.
"Well then, take care of yourself, Haji, we’ll be going." gumi’s dad nodded his head before all of them entered the car.
gumi once again wore a flustered face as she entered the car with her parents. She seed bothered, and embarrassed at the sa ti, so much so that she couldn’t even manage eye contact with Haji. She sat by the back seat, drooping her head even lower as her emotions sunk low.
Confused, Haji just stared at her, waiting for her to look straight into his eyes and look down on him like she always does. Haji knew all too well that gumi does that to hide her true feelings... and yet, this ti, there was no sign of her doing such a thing. She just stared at her feet, not even daring to look up.
"gumi."
Revvvv! Kikuchi Koji finally started the car.
"gumi," Haji called once again. This ti, he raised his voice a little bit— just a little bit so gumi would properly hear her. She still didn’t look up though.
"gumi!" For the third ti, Haji rapped on the glass window. Since it was way too obvious, there’s no way gumi could ignore him. Her cheeks flushed, she rolled down the window and looked down on Haji just like how she always does.
"What is it?" She hissed like a snake baring her fangs on her prey.
"Make sure you talk to your parents." Haji hissed back. Even though gumi was looking down on him once again, he didn’t feel the least bit scared or irritated by it.
gumi’s eyes widened, and then she pursed her lips before she obediently nodded. "Bye," She said with a slight nod.
"Sure, take care." As Haji said that, gumi rolled up the windows. gumi’s dad pressed the horn once before they roared off, leaving Haji alone once again.
A smile appeared on both Koji and Saori as their family drove off. Koji stole a glance towards the rear-view mirror, getting a good view of gumi... and Haji who was left behind. He snickered, shaking his head as if sothing ridiculous just happened. "What a small world, huh... what a small world it is." He said to himself.
"What was that dad?" gumi asked since she didn’t hear what her dad said clearly. She kept on thinking about Haji’s last words for her and this made her absent-minded for a few seconds. Of course, she knew exactly what to do, it’s just that she didn’t know how to approach it. Sohow, Haji’s words gave her more of that resolve she needed.
"Nothing, Haji was it? Take care of him, will you?" gumi’s dad said out of the blue, leaving gumi confused since it was supposed to be the other way around. Instead of asking Haji to take care of her, her dad asked her to take care of Haji.
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