VINCE opened the canned beer and handed it to Lien.

“Thank you,” she said.

Now they were both seated on the floor, leaning against the sofa.

“You know what, I think I envy you.” She took a sip.

“Hmm, why?”

Lien shifted her body to the left so that she could see him. “You achieved what you wanted in life.”

“And you?” He propped his hand on the side of his head.

“My father abandoned me right after my mom’s funeral. I was just seven then. I don’t know what gotten into him to do that. Then, when we met again after a year, he started ignoring me. He treated me as if he didn’t know me.” She felt her chest tightened. “So, I told myself that I will do my best to get recognition from him. Instead of doing what I really want, I entered his world, hoping that maybe he would at least…” She sobbed.

Vince caressed her arm, and it was really comforting.

“He was the same reason why you looked sad when you bumped into me in that coffee shop, right?

Lien nodded in response.

“You should confront your father why he acts like that towards you. You’re his daughter. He shouldn’t do that.” Vince let out a sigh. “Somehow, I can relate to you. My dad abandoned me too.”

“Really?”She propped her hand on her chin.

“Mom brought me here when she and Dad had an argument. Dad wanted a divorce, but instead of divorcing my father, we ran away from South Korea. Soon after that, she died. I never heard from my father since then, so technically he abandoned me too.”

“Oh, you’re Korean?” Her eyes widened. “I thought your eyes are just like that—ah, how foolish of me. Your surname is ‘Yoon’, and I didn’t even notice that.”

“It’s just half of my origin,” he said.

“But your Korean feature dominates your entire face, you know.”

“Yeah. Mom always tells me back then that I was an exact replica of my father, and I hated that.” Vince took a gulp of beer.

She laughed. “I was the exact opposite. I looked like my mom. That’s what Grams always says.”

“Your mother must be pretty.”

Lien felt her cheeks burn as Vince stared at her.

“I am prettier than her, though.”

She made him laugh at that. Lien couldn’t help but smile as she listens to the sound of his laughter. It was like music to her ears. A tune she would never get tired of listening to.

“You should smile more often, Lien,” said Vince as he continued staring at her with sparkling eyes. “You were the prettiest when you smile.”

She jokingly punched his chest.

“You’re hitting on me, don’t you?”

He just laughed again and sipped his beer.

Lien had a glimpse of the clock hanged by the wall in the living room. It was past eleven in the evening, and she was still there, having a good time. There’s no one in her right mind would stay that late in a man’s house.

She put the empty can of beer on the table.

“It’s already late. I have to go,” she told him. Lien was about to stand when Vince held her by the wrist and pulled her back to her seat.

“Why are you in a rush? You live next door,” he said.

“I know. But you have to rest. You have to go to work tomorrow.”

“It’s fine. I usually sleep late.” He let go of her wrist. “This is the first time I had someone who never gets tired of talking to me. When you leave, this house will fall into silence again. No one will answer me in the silence.”

She looked at the crushed cans of beer and soju bottles on the table. Vince had a lot, and she only had two cans of beer. Lien returned her gaze on him. His face was red, as well as his neck.

“You’re drunk.”

Vince blinked his eyes twice and grinned. “Ehe… I am just a bit tipsy.”

He even demonstrated that ‘a bit’ with his fingers.

Lien shook her head. She thought, between the two of them, she was the one who’s broken and bruised. But now, seeing him like that made her realized that they were on the same boat. It’s just that Vince was good at hiding. But the alcohol never failed to do its job.

Now she knew why fate let them meet. They were two broken pieces.

Vince closed his eyes.

She tapped his cheek. “Are you going to sleep now?”

“Mmm…”

She scoffed. “How dare you! Did you plead me to stay just to watch you sleep?”

“Mmm…”

Lien kicked his leg.

“I’m leaving for real,” she said. “You can’t stop me now.”

“Mmm…”

She stood up and headed to the door.

She glanced back at him before opening the door. Vince did not move nor open his eyes. He must be really sleeping.

She opened the door carefully and closed it slowly.

When she arrived at her unit, she saw her phone with tens of missed calls from her editor. But Lien just ignored them. She called her cousin instead, the one who lives with her grandmother.

“Jill!” she greeted when her cousin answered her call.

She heard Jillian groaned on the other line.

“Did I wake you up?”

“What do you think? Why did you call in the middle of the night?”

“I’m coming home tomorrow.”

“Good. It’s been months since we last saw you.”

“Hmm… yeah.”

“How’s Grams, anyway?” She lay on her bed.

“She missed you so much. Be prepared when you got home tomorrow. Grams said she’ll spank you hard to teach you a lesson,” Jillian warned her.

“Oh, really? I’m not a kid anymore. I can just walk faster, and she’ll never catch-up. Grams must forget about her plan and welcomed me with open arms.” She laughed.

“But hey, tomorrows a weekday.”

“I know.”

“You rarely come home on a weekday because you’re always busy with work. Is there something wrong?” Jillian sounded worried.

“You will know once I get there, okay? For now, go back to sleep.”

“Lien, you know you can’t fool me.”

“Jill, go back to sleep. I’m sleepy too, so goodbye.” She hung up.