American Adventure: My Uncle is Don Quixote

She paused, picking up a glass of water from the coffee table and taking a sip.

"You want to know why I said I don’t quite understand you? It’s because your problem is that you still have a family. You can still have conflicts with people," Emma said, putting down her glass. "When I was eight, I watched a man get his head blown off with a gun right in front of me. I was standing right there. Brains splattered everywhere."

"That man was my dad." Emma picked up her glass and took another sip.

Jin Heon froze. She looked up at Emma’s face, trying to find some trace of pain in her expression so she could offer a "God bless you."

But there was nothing in Emma’s expression. It was no different from when she talked about Li Wei secretly eating macarons—relaxed, nonchalant, and even a little playful.

"And look at me now," she said, spreading her hands. "I’m living just fine, aren’t I? I manage two stores now. My salary isn’t as high as Li Wei’s, but it’s still good money. Life is pretty good."

Jin Heon wanted to say "I’m sorry," but the words felt too light as they reached her lips. Besides, Emma didn’t seem to need an apology from anyone.

She thought about asking, "Are you okay?" but that felt a little stupid. The woman had just said she was living just fine.

Emma didn’t give her time to process it, changing the subject as if what she’d just said was no more significant than "nice weather we’re having."

"So, you see, there’s no need to get so worked up over family stuff. Just being alive is enough."

Emma stood up and walked over to the coat rack, casually smoothing a wrinkle on the suit.

"But if you’re ever in real trouble—I mean the specific kind that you need help solving," she said, turning back to look at Jin Heon, her tone growing a little more serious, "you can come to me. For Li Wei’s sake, I’ll even give you a discount."

Jin Heon’s expression didn’t change noticeably. She simply said thanks, then raised her glass and took a sip of water.

’For Li Wei’s sake.’

Logically, the phrase made perfect sense. Li Wei was Emma’s old friend and colleague, while she was just Li Wei’s subordinate. Emma helping Jin Heon was a favor to Li Wei. It was completely reasonable.

But Jin Heon felt like Emma’s words were conveying another message: ’My relationship with Li Wei is closer than yours.’

Jin Heon wanted to ask Emma about it, but she knew it was the wrong question. The thought was so childish that she’d be embarrassed if she said it out loud.

But she couldn’t help it. She felt that, aside from his girlfriend, she should be the person closest to him.

Emma continued, seemingly talking to herself, "Sigh, I don’t know if this is appropriate, and I’m not really sure if I should be telling you this..."

"You probably think I’m overstepping a bit today," she said, sitting back down on the sofa, "but the truth is, Li Wei asked me to look out for you."

Jin Heon’s movements froze.

"What?"

"He mentioned it when he called earlier and told me to have you come pick up the suit," Emma said, scratching her hair. "He said you didn’t sound right today and asked me to keep an eye on you. He felt it would be awkward for him to ask you directly. After all, he’s the boss and was worried about pressuring you, so he asked me to gently probe and see if I could help with anything."

Jin Heon sat motionless on the sofa, her glass of water suspended in mid-air.

’He noticed!’

She thought she had hidden it so well, but he had still noticed. And he had been so considerate, not calling her out on it directly, but asking a friend to check in on her instead.

Jin Heon suddenly felt a sting in her nose.

She lowered her head, slowly placing the glass on the coffee table.

"So don’t overthink it," Emma added. "Li Wei cares about you, too. You have a really bright future ahead of you. His friends are my friends. If you ever need anything, you can really come to me."

"That won’t be necessary," Jin Heon said slowly. "I can handle it myself. It’s just a small matter."

She stood up and took the suit bag from the nearby coat rack.

"Thank you, Emma," she said with a small smile. "I’ll be taking the suit now."

"Wait," Emma said, standing up. "Are you sure you don’t need to use our powder room? The stuff in there is pretty expensive. It’d be a waste not to use it."

"Okay," Jin Heon paused. "May I use it then?"

"Of course. It’s downstairs, on the right. I’ll go down with you." Emma also stood up.

Jin Heon put the suit bag on the sofa, went downstairs, and pushed open the restroom door. The moment it closed, she saw her reflection in the mirror and understood why Emma had noticed something was wrong.

The concealer around her eyes had completely worn off, revealing faint dark circles underneath. Her lips were chapped, and there was even a faint red mark on her forehead from pressing it against the steering wheel.

She reached out, turned on the faucet, and splashed a handful of cold water on her face.

The water was ice-cold, but she splashed another handful.

Then she leaned over the sink, buried her face in her hands, and her shoulders began to tremble slightly.

The faucet was still running, its RUSHING sound drowning out everything else.

She didn’t know how long she cried—maybe thirty seconds, maybe three minutes. In any case, when she finally lifted her head again, the remaining makeup on her face had been completely washed away by her tears and the tap water.

Now, she had a certain tragic beauty to her.

She turned off the faucet, used the products in the powder room to reapply some light makeup, then pushed open the restroom door and picked up the suit again.

Emma was holding an elegantly packaged bag. "I got you two boxes of the same macarons Li Wei steals. You’ll love them. They’re super sweet."

Jin Heon let out a laugh. "Emma, does Lady Delores know about this?"

"Doesn’t matter," Emma said with a wave of her hand. "I’m the manager now. Whatever amount I say, she’ll reimburse it."

Although Jin Heon didn’t understand why Lady Delores would do something that was so obviously just burning money, she didn’t plan to ask. She just thanked her and prepared to leave.

She stopped suddenly at the door and turned back to look at Emma.

"Emma," she hesitated, "what you said earlier... about your father. It must have been so hard on your mother back then, right?"

Emma was wiping the counter, and her hand paused when she heard the question.

"Huh?" She tilted her head. "Did I not mention it?"

"My mom was the one who pulled the trigger."

Jin Heon’s mouth fell open, even more shocked than before.

’Alright, Emma. You’re the one who really has a right to complain about her family.’