It was a long flight home. The 29-year-old was focusing as hard as she could given her current severe lack of sleep at the luggage belt area of Incheon Airport. Maybe it wasn’t too wise to own black luggage cases. It turned out that a good majority of the passengers today shared her love for muted colours. So here she was, facing the consequences of her life decisions. She adjusted the air pods in her ears, trying to keep herself awake with her favourite songs. It was a rough 15-hour flight, and her body could no longer tell what time it was. Her lower back hurt. Her eyes were dry. And she was yawning for the tenth time since she got off the plane. It must been the age. She was no longer a young teenager who could aced her exams even without 2 days of sleep. Long-haul flights didn’t use to hurt so much.

Still, the familiarity of hearing the Korean language in the background was comforting. As much as she had settled and grew accustomed to the States, it would never be home. It was good to be back in the country that she grew up in after being away for the last ten years. Reaching into her pockets for her phone, she sent a quick update to her cousin again. He had been waiting for some time and was probably getting restless. It was a good fifteen minutes later before she managed to load both her suitcases on the airport trolley and make her way out into the public area of the arrival terminal, where her cousin was eagerly waiting for her with a huge grin on his face.

“SEO EUNBI!” The 31-year-old shouted with both hands waving frantically in the air, the second their eyes met.

His enthusiasm was contagious, and Eunbi let out a wide smile to match his.

“Hello to you too, Eunkwang.”

Seo Eunkwang ran towards her, with his arms stretched out. The second he reached her, her eager cousin enveloped her in a huge bear hug, almost successfully lifting Eunbi into the air.

“I missed you so much! Why are you tinier than when I last saw you?”

“I may have lost some weight,” Eunbi replied as her cousin released her and she had a closer look at him. “Also… You have been working out!”

Eunkwang smirked at her, flexing his arms for a second but reaching out to help her with the luggage trolley. “Come on, you must be exhausted.”

She nodded, falling in pace with him as Eunkwang headed for the car.

“You didn’t wait too long, did you?”

“Nah,” He shook his head. “Are you sure you don’t need any food by the way? I know you texted earlier that you weren’t hungry, but we could buy some food from the airport for standby. My kitchen… is kind of just decoration.”

“I am good. They served dinner on the flight. I much rather just sleep right now. I wished you would let me stay in a hotel...”

They reached his parking spot, and Eunkwang ignored her last statement for a bit as he loaded both her luggages into the boot of his car. 

“Don’t be silly,” he finally replied as they got into the car. “We are family.”

It was a topic that Eunbi knew Eunkwang had gotten tired of arguing with her about. Her cousin was a weak spot of hers. It was extremely hard to say no to him. The issue was, Eunkwang was fully aware of this fact.

“Yes… but you have a housemate.” Eunbi grumbled softly as they drove out of the airport.

“For the tenth time,” Eunkwang responded. “It was Hyunsik’s idea and I agreed with him. It’s not like you are visiting for a short period, why waste money on hotels? You are already spending money from shipping your personal belongings into the warehouse. Who knows how long you would need to find an apartment and get a job? You will be more comfortable at my place. It’s non-negotiable.”

Winter had come to an end in Korea and the trees along the highway was decorated with young green leaves. It was finally spring, the season for new life. The night sky was well illuminated by the full moon tonight. It would probably be a good weather for stargazing if they weren’t driving towards the city. Eunbi stared out of the window, letting out a small sigh at her cousin’s reasoning.

“I don’t know him and it's really odd to have him to move out for me.” The sense of guilt had not receded in her, even though this decision was made over 2 weeks ago.

“Well, Hyunsik isn’t homeless now. I told you he is staying with Changsub. They are like my closest friends, so they don’t mind, Eunbi. You’re my family and this means the boys will see you as their family too. I am not charging him rent during this time anyway. So I am taking Hyunsik’s room, and you will take mine. It is decided, Eunbi. There is no need to feel bad.”

Eunbi knew her cousin’s friends by names. Eunkwang had mentioned them to her a couple of times over the years. She knew the three of them were in a band together, and that Hyunsik and Eunkwang were housemates for several years now. She probably had a vague idea of what the two of them looked like from Eunkwang’s social media, although quite like her, her cousin was someone who post on Instagram no more than 2 times a year. His recent post were all of his girlfriend. Eunbi would be meeting Yerim in person for the first time this weekend, and Eunkwang had been looking forward to it. It only just occurred to her now that, Eunkwang was so fixated on introducing Yerim and Eunbi, that it probably slipped his mind about his other friends.

 “I will find my own place soon,” She promised. “Well… after I wake up anyway. That might be 36 hours later.”

“The flight was that exhausting huh?”

The girl hummed in agreement. “We must arrange a day for you to introduce Hyunsik to me. I really want to apologise for all this trouble.”

“You will like him.” Eunkwang declared confidently, flashing a quick look in her direction. “You are the same age. He is a really nice person… and I might add, rather good-looking too.”

Eunbi turned to face her cousin with a deadpan expression at those words. “Seriously?”

“What? Don’t you trust your big brother’s judgement?”

“Well, I did get all the brains in the family.”

“Funny, Eunbi. I would argue the heart is more important than the brain. What do you say? Should I set you two up? Hyunsik is my most romantic friend and I would totally date him if I were a girl.” Eunkwang responded before letting out a hearty laugh.

“Eunkwang...” Eunbi groaned.

“I am kidding! Do you not know how to take a joke now? Besides, you agreed with me that it’s time for a fresh start. It has been what, a year now?”

Eunbi paused at her cousin’s words. He had commented on the topic so easily, a topic that Eunbi still tended to dance around. Eunkwang wouldn’t understand of course. She had told him several times that she was over her old life in Boston. She needed a fresh start. She needed to leave everything behind. The States had been good to her since their family relocated ten years ago. But it was also a place with too many memories. The memories haunt her. Taunt her. These memories... terrified her. It had been a year. Her life had changed so much since then. She had changed. It took a few months of convincing from Eunkwang that relocation would do a lot of good for Eunbi. There was no denying it. So, Eunbi chose to run.

Her cousin saw it as Eunbi finally getting a much needed fresh start. He was elated. She never did correct him, but Eunbi was simply trying to get away from everything she knew.

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