‘You ready to go?’

It was late in the afternoon and the university grounds were mostly empty save for the library that was always open for students. There were a few people milling about in the courtyards, walking in pairs and a group of students was picnicking on the lush grass, enjoying what remained of the daylight.

‘Sure. Let’s head off. My grandma’s usually eating at this time so we should be able to see her before she falls asleep. Just in case, we should hurry since she sleeps a lot, a lot more than before.’

Momo said the latter with a frown, but then shook her head and smiled at Mina. There was no reason that she should push her worries onto Mina. She shrugged her bag strap higher onto her shoulder and set off at a brisk pace. Mina stepped in line with her, matching her pace. She didn’t say anything as they walked though the calm look on her face was tinged with a strange nervousness. She was dressed surprisingly well for the day and Momo frowned as she tried to recall what clothes Mina had been wearing the day before. She usually ignored the fashion aspect of a person, leaving that to the better versed Sana, but she could at the very least remember what someone wore.

‘Hey Mina, do you keep a change of clothes in your locker or something? I don’t recall you bringing any in your bags.’

Mina looked down at what she was wearing, denim jeans and a designer blouse with a black trench coat for the added warmth, then back at Momo. “I might have asked my chauffeur to bring me some fresh clothes when I organised the dinner,” she smiled guiltily. She shifted uncomfortably as they waited at the bus stop. “Why? Is there something wrong with what I’m wearing?” Momo shook her head reassuringly.

‘No no. You look good. You look fine.’

The words seemed to placate Mina and they fell into an awkward silence as they stood in the cold. Momo looked around her, searching for inspiration or something she could use to strike up a conversation. Some movement caught her eye and she turned her head slightly to see another person, a guy, standing behind Mina as he also waited at the bus stop. His eyes were stuck to Mina’s profile, wide with regard and admiration. He didn’t seem to notice he was staring but as Momo looked around to the other people standing underneath the bus shelter, she could see that there was more than one set of eyes on Mina and not all of them men. She felt a strange sense of jealousy and indignation though at what, she wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like Mina was dressed immodestly and was baring any flesh but Momo had an urge to cover her all the same.

She sighed and shifted her attention elsewhere, rubbing her foot against the slippery pavement. There had been some light drizzle during the day and the concrete was slick with the moisture. She pressed harder with her foot, irritation bubbling out of her but then her shoe slipped on a particularly slick patch of concrete and her weight shifted backwards. Her arms windmilled as she tried to regain her balance but Mina was there with a steadying hand and concerned look. Momo nodded as Mina asked if she was alright, her face heating up with embarrassment. She was certain that with all the eyes on Mina, everyone had been watching when she had slipped. Luckily, the bus arrived at that moment and she was saved from further self-berating. She got onto the bus and took a window seat, trying to make it clear that she didn’t want to talk. However, Mina didn’t seem to notice and asked her a question about their visit.

‘What do you normally do when you call in on your grandmother?’

Momo thought for a moment, recalling the things she had done in her previous few visits.

‘We usually just talk but if she’s feeling up to it and the doctor has given her the all clear, I take her out for a walk among the gardens. But’s that’s a rare case so it’s either talking or me watching over her while she sleeps.’

‘That seems like a lot of hard work.’

Momo shrugged embarrassed.

‘Not really. Oftentimes when my grandma sleeps, I sleep as well. The nurses were really nice and set up a cot for me so that on weekends or if I’m free on a particular day, I can spend the night. And the talking is nothing. She’s old and the elderly, as a rule, are lonely and want someone to share their company. I enjoy talking to her and I’m paying off some of my debt little by little.’

‘Debt?’

‘Yeah. When I was younger, my grandmother practically raised me by herself until I grew up and she fell sick. If you wanted to call it something, call it a filial duty.’

‘So is that why you’re becoming a doctor?’

Momo paused and frowned at Mina. “Yes and no,” she said slowly. “Obviously the money comes into it but I like taking care of people. It’s a great feeling when you’ve nursed them back to full health and you see the smile on their faces as they do something they couldn’t previously.” She held out her palm and gestured vaguely. She wasn’t sure if what she was about to say would offend Mina. “You know,” she said, looking away, “You’re smarter than you look.” She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw Mina with raised eyebrows and waved her hands hurriedly.

‘Wait, sorry. That was poorly said. I meant that people would normally look at you and only see your wealth and background and think that you’ve gotten to where you are by riding your name and prestige. But that’s not true and people forget, I forget, that you’re not stupid. You’re surprisingly observant is what I meant. Nobody’s ever thought that I wanted to become a doctor so that I could help people since they all knew I was poor.’

Mina nodded her understanding. “I understand what you mean. People only see the surface and what they want to see. They don’t look deeper down to what a person is and who they are.” There was a brief lull in the conversation and after a moment had passed, neither of them made any move to speak and they rode the rest of the bus trip in silence.

~

Momo stopped outside the door to her grandmother’s hospital room and looked at Mina beside her. They had arrived for their visit and all that awaited them was to open the door and step inside. She took a deep breath. She was feeling unexpectedly nervous at visiting her grandmother with Mina in tow and tried to calm her nerves. She knocked gently on the door then opened it, smiling when she saw her grandmother awake and sitting up in her bed. “Grandma,” she greeted, walking forward to hug her. Her grandmother’s face lit up as she saw Momo and straightened up.

‘Momo! I missed you.’

Momo disentangled herself from the embrace and leaned back, studying her grandmother. She looked paler and thinner than when Momo had last visited and she wondered if her faulted attempts at visiting every possible minute of the day had played a part in the decline in health. Her grandmother must have fretted at Momo’s own health being less than good and worry danced on her brow as she stared back at Momo. She a hand to Momo’s cheek but then her pleased expression was replaced with a disapproving frown. “I expected better of you,” she said, wagging a finger. “Do you know how worried I was yesterday when you didn’t check in? I thought you had collapsed somewhere until your friend called to inform me that you were alright.”

Her grandmother paused as she drew in a laboured breath, her body seeming to deflate as she finished her sentence. “Take better care of yourself,” she said softly. “I worry.” Momo nodded and placed her hand on top of her grandmother’s. She could feel the thin bones poking through the worn skin and her heart tightened as she remembered the doctor’s words; your grandmother doesn’t have long left to live. Forcing a smile to her face, she changed the topic.

‘I understand. I’ll look after my health with more care. Anyway, my progress with my studies are going well. My psychology professor seems to have everything under control and hasn’t asked me to oversee many things so I’ve been able to get ahead of the syllabus. I should be fine with the upcoming midyear exams.’

Her grandmother’s mouth pursed as she stared at Momo as if to reprimand her further but then she just sighed and settled back into her pillows. “That’s good to hear. How is work? I remember you mentioning that there was a new worker.”

‘Yep. She’s a girl called Hyunjoo and although she’s younger than me, she works very hard. She had a tough time growing up so she was very closed when she first started working but we’re friends now. Works fine as well. Seungwan’s thinking about hiring another worker though since he wants to spend more time with his wife. He said he’s planning on starting a family soon which I suspect is reason for the spending more time. By the way, Heechul said to say hi for him. He’s been busy recently so he hasn’t been able to visit but he said that he would bring a large bouquet as a show of his penance the next time he saw you.’

Momo’s grandmother snorted at the mention of Heechul, turning her chin as she pouted. “That boy is nothing but trouble I tell you,” she warned. “Nothing good ever comes of associating with his type.” Momo nodded gravely as she listened to her grandmother, having heard those exact words a thousand times before but inside she was smiling. She knew that her grandmother was only joking and secretly loved Heechul like a surrogate son. Heechul had a natural charm about him mixed with respect and the elderly loved him, Momo’s grandmother being no exception. “Alright, will do. Anyway, I’ve thought about buying some more furniture for my apartment. What do you think?” Momo continued, passing over her grandmother’s warning.

Her grandmother paused for a while, considering the idea. “What brought this on?” she asked. “Your house has enough to accommodate you doesn’t it?” Momo sighed, agreeing. “That’s right but recently, it’s come to my attention that having guests over without any chairs for them to sit on is quite unwelcoming.” She sighed again, thinking about the cost of buying a chair.

‘I suppose. But how often are you looking to entertain guests? Your carpets are clean and more than comfortable so there should be nothing to worry about. Regardless, I don’t think you should buy any furniture so recklessly. It’s expensive.’

Momo hummed her agreement. The more she thought about it, the more money became a worry. She shrugged and steered the conversation away from the topic. “Okay. I’ll give it some more thought later on. Anyway, how are you feeling right now? I was thinking about taking a walk outside.” Momo’s grandmother shook her head slowly, a regretful expression on her face.

‘Maybe tomorrow. I’m feeling quite tired right now.’

Momo nodded, disappointed. “That’s a shame,” she said. “The weather’s great today. It rained all of yesterday so it’s been clear skies all day. It’s a breath of fresh air from the rain and grey skies. I can’t remember the last time there was a blue sky. It’s been so long that I nearly forgot what a clear sky looked like.”

‘It would have been better if there had been no clouds but you can’t have everything. It was good enough that there was a sunny day so I guess I should be happy. Sometimes life hits you so hard that you just feel like staying in bed all day and forever and hope that somehow magically, everything will right itself. But it never works that way so you end up waiting in bed while the world moves on around you. When those times come, a little sunshine goes a long way and the sunny sky outside makes you want to see it enough that you get out of bed and realise that not everything is as bad as it could be. There are the little joys in life that even damned luck can’t take away from you and you want to keep walking on and persevere just so you can experience those moments. So it’s a good thing that it was sunny today. I hope that it can be sunny tomorrow as well so that we can go out and see. It would be great if there were no clouds tomorrow but that’s highly unlikely. Maybe we can get a big fan and blow them away to another part of the world.’

Momo paused to laugh at her brainless idea then realised that she had been rambling for the last minute or so and nothing she had said had made any particular sense. She stopped, suddenly embarrassed and made an excuse about wanting to go to the toilet. Her grandmother didn’t seem to have noticed her lapse of mind and just nodded as Momo got up. Momo stood up and tried to remember what she had said but her mind was working slowly, like it was walking through mud. She turned around to leave the room then froze as she caught sight of Mina standing behind her. Her hands flew to and she fumbled for a moment before she found her voice.

‘Mina, I’m so sorry. I completely forgot that you were here. I normally visit alone so it slipped my mind that I had brought someone with me. Sorry…’

She trailed off as she ran out of things to say and relief flooded her when Mina smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, it’s alright. I quite enjoyed watching you two speak,” she said then hastily added, “I just mean that it’s obvious that you care for your grandmother a lot and it’s sweet that you’re able to talk together like this.” Unsure of how to respond, Momo just nodded and gestured for Mina to take her seat beside the hospital bed before leaving to attend to nature’s call.

~

Mina took the seat that Momo had vacated and watched as the blonde left the room. A second later, she remembered that Momo’s grandmother was still there and turned her head back around to face her. Momo’s grandmother was looking at her with curiosity and Mina stared back politely, waiting for the older person to say something.

‘So, are you a friend of Momo’s? What’s your name?’

Mina’s eyes widened until she remembered that Momo had forgotten to introduce her when they had entered the room. She hurried to her feet and bowed as she introduced herself. “My name is Myoui Mina,” she said in her best debutante voice. “I went to high school with Momo and we attend the same university right now.” There was a bright laugh and Mina looked up from her bow to see the old woman waving at her dismissively.

‘There’s no need to stand on ceremony. Take a seat. I just wanted to know your name since my clumsy granddaughter forgot to introduce you.’

Mina did as she was told, sitting as straight as she could. Momo’s grandmother must have noticed as she patted Mina’s shoulder with another laugh. “There’s no need to be so stiff either,” she chuckled. “I’m just an old woman, not some police officer.” Mina tried to smile and found that the grandmother’s cheeriness was infectious, smiling genuinely as she looked at the face that reminded her so much of Momo. “Sorry,” she apologised. “I’m just a bit nervous is all…”

‘Come now. This isn’t a marriage interview or the like. I’m just Momo’s grandmother, not her mother.’

Mina nodded mutely, her nervousness heightened as she realised that she had regarded her first impression with Momo’s grandmother as what she had just described. “That’s true,” she said weakly. There was a lull as Momo’s grandmother’s expression grew serious. She leaned forward to peer more closely at Mina before she spoke, her next words scarily accurate.

‘You like Momo don’t you?’

Mina froze, unable to react to the words. She had never said the words aloud, even to herself, but as she replayed the phrase in her head, she found that it didn’t seem as embarrassing as it had at first. She nodded resolutely. Surprisingly, the old woman didn’t say anything, her chin thoughtfully. A few nerve-wracking seconds passed until she spoke again. “I suppose I should do this properly then.” Mina frowned at the confusing sentence until Momo’s grandmother spoke again.

‘So, what do you like about Momo?’

Mina hesitated for a few seconds as she collected her thoughts. “I like a lot of things about Momo but if I had to choose, I would say her face.” As soon as the words left , Mina wished she could take them back, realising how shallow she sounded but she was beaten to speaking as Momo’s grandmother laughed. “That’s not wrong. She does have the face of an angel.” Mina blushed but attempted to explain herself.

‘Sorry but that wasn’t what I meant. Momo is definitely beautiful with a face that you could never tire of looking at and that was what drew me to her in the first place but after spending time with her, I came to find that her face expressed a lot. Her happiness, sadness, her emotions. She says a lot with her face and her eyes even more so.’

At this, the old woman nodded appraisingly. “That is a better answer than I could have hoped for. It seems you really do like Momo. I guess I can’t fault you though. That granddaughter of mine is pretty much perfect.” Feeling slightly surer of herself, Mina managed a smile. She had never needed to think or say the things she thought about Momo but it felt good to have said it. It suddenly felt real that she liked Momo. In all the time since she had confessed to Momo, it still seemed like a dream. She would never have imagined that she would like someone or would experience the butterflies that she once thought so low of.

‘Well I guess I should offer you some encouragement or the like. Go get ‘em.’

Mina frowned. She hadn’t expected this sort of reaction from Momo’s grandmother. “So you don’t oppose it?” she asked warily. Momo’s grandmother shook her head, amused. “What reason is there for me to? The heart wants what it wants but you should remember that you need to be in a relationship before I can even begin to oppose anything. Besides, you seem to be a good match for Momo. You’re young and beautiful and you don’t seem like one of those vapid girls that would just chase someone for the fun of it.” Mina took a deep breath and relaxed, some unknown tension leaving her. She bit her bottom lip and wondered how much of a compliment it was the things that Momo’s grandmother had said about her.

‘However, there are a few things that I am worried about. Momo is the only thing that gives me the will to continue fighting my cancer. I’m old and this body offers little and even though I know I won’t live for very long, I still hope that I can beat this blasted disease. I know how sad it will be for Momo when I lose this battle and I don’t want that. Can you promise me one thing?’

Mina nodded slowly, glancing to the door and wondered when Momo would be coming back. She wasn’t sure what Momo’s grandmother wanted to ask but it seemed important. She focused back on the old woman in front of her.

‘Promise me that no matter what, you’ll always watch over Momo. I know that you like Momo and love doesn’t always work out but if you can, make sure that Momo is never alone. She’s been abandoned enough in her life and I worry that she’ll feel the same when I die. She’s stubborn and prideful and sometimes too smart for her own good but I love her and I hope that you can honour this wish of mine.’

Mina swallowed and nodded again. “I promise,” she said. Momo’s grandmother smiled at her, relief evident in her expression. She reached forward and patted Mina’s cheek before closing her eyes and falling backwards onto the pillows.

‘My apologies but I’m feeling really tired right now and don’t think I can stay awake for much longer. Tell Momo I said goodnight.’

~

A while later, Mina was seated in a chair in the hallway and drumming her fingers on the armrest as she waited. She glanced at her watch then jumped up as she saw Momo walking towards her. “Is there something wrong?” Momo asked as she neared. Mina shook her head. “No. Your grandmother wanted to sleep so I stepped outside. She told me to tell you goodnight.” Momo nodded as if she had expected this. “Did she say anything else?” Mina hesitated, thinking of whether she should tell Momo the things that she had talked about with her grandmother.

After a quick pause, she decided against it. The things that Momo’s grandmother had said seemed private and personal and it felt disloyal to divulge it. Above all, if she did tell Momo, it would bring up the cause of the conversation. Although her liking Momo wasn’t a secret, it was a sensitive topic and Mina wasn’t sure if she was ready to bring it up again so she just gave a brief shake of her head and asked a question in return.

‘What took you so long by the way? You were gone a while.’

Momo grinned wryly and pointed a thumb behind