The door closed with a quiet thud. It’s reverberations being the only sound they heard as they reflected on what they did. What they had to tell Wheein. Or not tell Wheein.

“Are we good parents?”  Yong asked the air around her as she leaned back to look at the ceiling. 

Her question was met with silence and the occasional ruckus from the outside world as people made their way to the beach. A gentle ambiance. 

“Did we really tell our one and only child to figure it out herself?” This time the question was directed at Byul.

Byul was hunched over, elbows on her knees as her hands were crossed over like she was plotting. But she wasn’t plotting, she was asking herself the same thing. Did they do the right thing? Was it going to be alright?

“.......I don’t know….” Byul finally admitted defeat. 

Yong looked at Byul as she sighed. 

They wanted the best for their daughter. Better than what they got back when she was their age, but was it good? Was it good parenting or was it overbearing? They had no guides when they were young so they wanted to be some sort of guide to their daughter, but were they being guides? Or were they just hand holding her?

They continued to sit in silence. Their own thoughts racing and wondering if they were good parents. After all, were they? They know they can be…..eccentric, but what parent wasn’t? Or, what good parent wasn’t? But therein lies the question from before.

Are they good parents?

Wheein is their world. Ever since they met her, they instantly fell in love. It was only natural for them to adopt her. But they were also young. Young and naive and inexperienced.

Byul was just starting the company, just her and two other employees while they worked out of a storage unit. Meanwhile, Yong worked odd jobs here and there in order to make ends meet. Despite this, they still decided to have Wheein. In a way it was a blessing. Having Wheein around served as their inspiration, their motivation, to work order and get further. 

They worked harder so Wheein didn’t have to. So Wheein didn’t have to sacrifice herself, or a part of herself, in order to survive. It was the least they could do. Leave the world a better place than before. Even if it’s miniscule.

But now? Now they are questioning everything they’ve done the past 15 years. 
.
They want Wheein to have a peaceful life. Without the worry about surviving to see tomorrow. And as cruel as it is, how else is Wheein supposed to grow and develop more into an adult if there isn’t hardship? If there is no struggle then what is the point of anything? Yes, they wanted to make it easy for their daughter in every aspect possibly, but is it not doing her a disservice if they don’t even let her get the chance to come into her own person? 

“Be the adult we needed….” Yong whispered the mantra again as if just saying it would give her the answer. 

“The adult we needed when we were Wheein’s age is an adult that is vastly different than the adult Wheein needs now,” Byul whispered more to herself than to Yong. 

“So what adult does Wheein need?” Yong asked. 

Byul could only shrug. 

They were so different at Wheein’s age that they could not draw upon life experience to bestow wisdom. It didn't help that the environment that Wheein is in is foreign to them. They were used to the small town life. Where everyone knew each other and could talk to each other. Sure, there were still cliques and the like, but there was no social media to inflate one's ego or to askew one's view of the world. There were no influencers that were a finger swipe away. 

There was just isolation that grounded them. And, in some cases, inhibited them.

But, despite how much Wheein naturally isolates herself, she's still bombarded with media that only paint one picture. The picture of the ideal. An ideal that they both know is a lie. 

As the silence grew, so did their thoughts. Desperate to seek the validation that they did the right thing in letting their daughter figure it out herself. To figure out complex emotions herself. That the only thing they can offer is guidance. 

"Hey, Yong...?" Byul's soft voice gently filled the space around them.

"Yea?" Yong's voice was just as soft. As if speaking any louder would mean everything they have worked towards and for would collapse all around them and as a result their daughter would suffer. 

"What if.....What if we're overthinking this?" Byul suggested as her hand found Yong's and gave a desperate squeeze. Every time her mind was in conflict, Yong's touch always was the thing to reassure her. 

"Is it really overthinking when it's about our only child?" Yong countered absentmindedly. 

"I mean.....what are we really worried about...?" Byul continued. Her mind found a thread it refused to let go. 

"We're worried about Wheein's future..." Yong said as she gave Byul a questioning look. She knows her wife well enough to know that Byul was onto something. Even if it was subconsciously. 

"But we'll always be worried about Wheein's future. What are we worried about right now?" Byul continued to question. She felt the breakthrough was near. So close yet so far.

Yong paused. She started to see the thread that Byul was following. And the answer was obvious to her. 

"Ah, so we're worried about her emotional maturity about something she has never encountered or experienced before?" Yong concluded.

"By all accounts, Hyejin is her first love...." Byul's voice faded with the admittance.

"Then we're really overthinking this...." Yong sighed as she got up to pace around. Sitting still for so long was making her antsy. 

"Young love is such a fickle thing, isn't it?" Byul muttered as she stretched, "Even though those two are surprisingly mature about their relationship, they still have a lot of growing to do. "

"Yea....In a way, I'm glad Wheeinie is with Hyejin despite Hyejin being...." Yong waved her hand in the air as the right word failed to appear," Well, Hyejin."

"Reminds you of a younger you??" Byul eyed Yong. 

Yong let out a chuckle before turning towards her wife.

"It's a little eerie at times. And...." Yong's face turned somber as she recalled her youth, "We both know what I did...."

Byul stared at Yong a while longer before getting up and enveloping her wife in a loving embrace. 

"But, ultimately, Hyejin isn't you and Wheeinie isn't you or I," Byul muttered as she rubbed Yong's back. 

A ghostly laugh escaped Yong's lips as she melted under Byul's touch. 

"I think....I think Wheenie finally reached the age where anything we say to her is just pieces of wisdom or guidance," Yong admitted, "Even if we did give her the talk it'll just be words of wisdom or guidance since she has to experience it herself. What she does is up to her. And it's obvious her first time will be vastly different than ours."

"Guess that answers our concern," Byul gave Yong a gentle kiss and slowly guided her to the balcony to oversee the ocean. Letting them both bask in the ocean breeze and letting the heat embrace them. 

"But she's going to get hurt eventually," Yong's voice was still tinged in a somber memory.

"It's bound to happen. But we'll be there for her when it does," Byul said as she rubbed Yong's shoulders.

Yong sighed and leaned into Byul's embrace. Enjoying the moment for what it is and letting the worry slip away. As much as she wants to guide Wheein through life, she knows it's not possible. Wheein is different from them in many aspects, and as such, her struggles will be different. The only thing they can do as good parents is to be a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, and arms to hold. But, as good parents, they will not lie to their child. They will tell Wheein the truth from their experience and from their observations, but, ultimately, it will be Wheein that makes the decisions. Wheein will make her own choices and conclusions. 

It was time to let their Wheein soar.