Deen-Wink?

The bell rang again. The sound of it woke me up from my slumber. Rubbing my eyes, I saw Taewon ahjusshi opening the door. It was Mee.

'Shae texted me,' she informed. 'Is Deen here?'

'I'm here, Mee,' I yawned from the dining table.

'Let's go home,' Mee ushered to me.

'I want to see Mona!' I exclaimed. 'Where is she?'

'Mona is still with Jan,' Taewon ahjusshi replied. 'They headed to his parents' place. They'll be late.'

'You heard him,' Mee said. 'Let's go.'

'No!' I said stubbornly. 'I want to see Mona!'

'Deen,' Mee was stern now. 'We should not disturb Mr. Hong anymore. He wants us to leave.'

'When did I say that?' Taewon ahjusshi asked sharply. 'I didn't tell you to leave.'

Mee stared at him incredulously. I was excited. 'See?' I declared triumphantly. 'He said we can stay.'

'I didn't say that either,' Taewon ahjusshi replied.

'Make up your mind!' I shot back. 'Can we stay or not?'

'No.'

'Yes.'

Mee and Taewon ahjusshi said together. They looked at each other.

'You can stay till Jan returns with Mona,' Taewon ahjusshi said drily.

'Mr. Hong, we cannot just impose on you like this!' Mee protested.

Taewon ahjusshi tutted. 'First of all,' he began. 'It's Taewon. Not Mr. Hong. Not Taewon sshi. Not Taewon oppa. It's Taewon. T-A-E-W-O-N.'

'Secondly,' he continued. 'This is my house and I get to decide who can stay and who doesn't.'

Mee began to protest his strange thought process but he cut her off. 'Thirdly,' he continued loudly. 'I'm just about to make dinner and you haven't had yours yet. So stay for dinner. Shae is here as well.'

'I-I already had dinner,' Mee replied, feeling a little flustered. Unfortunately, her grumbling stomach gave her away.

'Yeah, I've worked at T-Net for nine years and I don't recall them ever providing any food to their staff,' Taewon ahjusshi said, feeling smug.

I giggled at Mee's embarrassed expression. Her face was almost as red as a tomato. Out of the corner of his eye, Taewon ahjusshi winked at me. I rubbed my eyes once again. Did he just...wink?

Mee sighed. 'Fine,' she finally agreed. 'But we'll leave as soon as Jan sshi returns with Mona.'

She entered the house and sat beside me. 'Are you doing your homework?' she asked. 'Let me take a look at your notes.'

I obediently handed them over. As she scanned my work, I felt Taewon ahjusshi observing us silently. If Mee felt his gaze on us, she did not show any inkling of it. But her hands were sweating a little. After a while, Taewon ahjusshi went into the kitchen.

'Deen, where is Shae?' Mee asked. 'Can you ask her to look over the math problems? She may know the answer to this.'

'Alright, Mee,' I replied. As I rushed upstairs to Shae noona, I saw Mee taking a deep breath before heading towards the kitchen.