2008 ~

I scanned the crowd looking for familiar faces as people continue to rush in and out of the big auditorium. The graduation ceremony had just finished and I started looking for my companions.

"Ryeowookiee!" my head spun around to the direction of the voice and I saw my bestfriend running towards me. We graduated together today but our seats were located far from each other.

Sungmin reached me and he tackled me with a bear hug. I laughed and hugged him tightly as I could. I have known him since primary school and until now we haven’t got tired of each other’s faces yet. We have been inseparable since then, studying in the same schools and even taking the same course in college. And I think we will going to be workmates too in the future.

“I’m so happy! We are finally free!!!!” he shouted overjoyed.

“Yeah me too! I feel proud of myself for accomplishing my studies… I can go out and look for a stable work now. Finally I can have my parents retire and let me be the one to provide for them,”

“That sounds good Wookie… are you going for the auditions next month? My favorite musical is opening this year and I’m planning to go for auditions. Do you want to go with me?”

“Sure. I don’t think we will get tired of each other right?” I pat his shoulders. One strength of our friendship is our similarity in interests. We both like music and arts that we decided to take the same course in college. So here we are now, after over four years of life in university as theater arts students.

He chuckled. “Of course not. I will still bother you until you get married,”

“Should I be worried?” I raised my eyebrow.

He didn’t answer me because his attention was focused on something. I turned at the direction he was looking at and I saw my parents smiling as they approached us.

“Congratulations to my one and only baby,” mom embraced me tightly and I hung my head on her shoulders enjoying my mother’s warmth. “You have been working hard for it.”

“Its all for you mom and dad…” I said when I pulled away from her and dad also hugged me.

“I’m proud of you son,” he ruffled my hair and I smiled bashfully after hearing his praise. Dad is funny and caring but I’m still not used to hearing praises from him. Praises and sweet talks usually came from mom.

“Congratulations also to you Sungmin-ah. Where is your mom? I haven’t seen her in a long time…” mom greeted and also hugged him.

“They are here including my brother… actually they should be looking for me now,” Sungmin replied looking around to search for his family. Our families were close because they lived near our neighborhood before. They only moved to Seoul when Min started college.

“Auntie you don’t mind if I go looking for them now?” he excused himself.

“Sure dear… tell them to drop by our house some time okay?"

"I will auntie..." he excused himself from my parents before biding goodbye to me. "I'll see you next week I guess?"

"Yup. I'll call or text you later."

I turned back to my parents and gave them the happiest smile I could do. Today is one of the happiest days of my life and I will make sure that my smile will stay the same until the day lasts.

"That smile is contagious you know," mom pinched my cheeks. "And it looks like you are a little kid expecting something from us," she teased.

"I'm just happy that I got my diploma now. I don't have to go to school anymore!!" I cheered.

Dad laughed at me. "I remember my youth. I was like that too but I never expected that working and going out in the real world is more difficult.

"Shhh... don't ruin our baby's day. The lectures and advices can wait but our surprise is not."

The word 'surprise' caught the attention of my ears. "What surprise? Mom, dad, am I expecting something?"

"Honey... did I say something," mom asked dad.

"I didn't heared anything hon," he denied forcing himself not to smile. "Let's go now Ryeowookieee?"

"UGHH... What is the surprise??? I heard it with my two ears," I insisted but they were already far from me, walking towards the exit. I was forced to wait in curiosity about my parent's plans and so I followed them to our car.

~~~~

On the way home to Incheon, I bugged my parents to tell me even just a hint about their surprise for me. I just think that this will be their graduation gift for me.

"So what's the surprise now?" I asked again once we are all seated at the dining room and a bunch of food in celebration of my graduation.

"Can't you wait until we eat? Your favorite cheesecake is waiting," mom started slicing it and getting a piece on her plate.

I smiled automatically upon seeing my favorite food since I was a child. For a moment I forgot about my curiosities on their surprise and got focused on the homemade food that I missed. For almost four years, I spent living in the university dormitories and I had to live by cooking by myself. I cook decently which is courtesy of all the lessons I've learnt from mom but nothing compares from the cooking of the master herself.

"Hmmm I really miss these foods mom! It tastes hundred times better than those instant foods that I had to munch in the dorm," I took a spoonful after another and I carefully chewed everything so that I will not choke.

“Careful son… your mom really worries about you a lot. She always thinks about what you are doing and if you are eating well. If it is possible we could have called you every hour,”

“Ohh… I always think about you two… How I wish I was living with you there,” I confessed. I still prefer living with my parents not only because I bask in their attention when I’m with them but also it is lonely being alone in the dorm.

“Me too… but I don’t want to abandon this house and…” mom said.

“…and I don’t want to leave Incheon. I grew up here,” dad finished.

“Hmm. I don’t want to go far away from you but if I can’t help it, I promise I will visit here often. Didn’t I visit you as much as I can during long weekends?”

“Pardon us for being emotional like this. I think it overwhelms us that our baby is now an adult. You can now travel the world and it leaves us two alone here now…”

“Why are you both talking as if I’m going away?? I just got back mom, dad… is there something wrong?” I am not really surprised because this also happened when I first moved out of the house over four years ago. Well, that was worse because there were crying and dramatic lines from mom saying that her baby is now going away from her.

“Nothing is wrong dear…” mom assured. “But I guess you will stay at Seoul now because you will find work there right?”

“I haven’t planned about that yet but Sungmin asks me to come for the auditions next month. Should I come with him?”

“Why are you asking us that question? It is your career, you decide what you want to do and we will always support you. I believe that you will do well,”

I feel grateful to have loving and supportive parents like them. Because of them, I feel like I have the greatest treasure in the world and I could never exchange it for that. I promise to myself I will keep making them proud of their only son.

“Thank you mom, dad…”

That night I went back to my old room and found that my stuffs were still in the same place like how I left everything before. I could still find my giraffe stuff toys underneath the bed and the music sheets that I left on the bed were there. Though everything was still in place, I am sure that mom had entered my room may times at night when she misses me. The pillows were neatly arranged and there was no speck of dust on my study table.

I went to the table to put down my bag but my eyes noticed an orange letter pinned on one of my books. The color attracted my eyes because it looks different among the dark colored books of mine from high school.

I picked it up and opened it since my name was written on it so I assumed that it is mine. There wasn’t any personal message written inside but I only found a plane ticket to Switzerland and pocketful of cash.

“What is this?” I asked myself. There wasn’t any note about what this is for and where it came from. I went out of my room again calling my parents downstairs.

“Mom, dad do you know about this? What is this?” I held up the envelope not really noticing how dumb my question is.

“Oh you saw it quickly. I thought you won’t notice it,” dad said nonchalantly.

“Did you open it already?”

I nod.

“That is our graduation gift to you son. You said before that you wanted to go to the Swiss so we decided to grant your wish. You deserved it after all your hardwork,” my father smiled at my confused face.

“It is really for me? Oh… I’m going to see it finally!!!” After a moment of surprise I immediately jumped to hug both my parents tightly. I’m overjoyed at the fact that they