His eyes opened as he felt nothing but cold sheets beside him. He sat up and felt a gush of wind entered the room. His eyes darted towards the sliding glass door that leads to the veranda. The soft, light, white curtain was being gently blown by the wind. He stood up and went to lean on the door frame as he saw her standing in the veranda, looking at the sky.

“Waiting for the sunrise again?” he asked. Her head turned to him as she answered with a smile.

“Neh. Care to join me?”

He smiled as he walked to her and hugged her from behind.

“Do you have any regrets?” she asked.

“No” he quickly answered, “but I have one disappointment, though” he added.

“Huh? What is it?” she worriedly ask.

“I was really hoping for having ten children”

She laughed. “Eight is not a bad number and to think that our is pretty big, we’re lucky enough to even have an eight. And you got your set of twins”

“Our is not that big”

She chuckled then turned serious. “Do you think it’s time?” she asked.

“I don’t know when the right time is. All I know is that I’m always ready whenever you are” he answered quietly.

“How about them? Do you think they’ll be fine?”

“They will. We did a very great job in raising them, haven’t we?”

“Yes, we did well” she agreed.

Then the first rays of the sun escaped the confinements of the mountains.

“I love you, Sandara”

“I love you more, Jiyong” she answered and turned her head to seal their words and love with a kiss.

Two hours later. . .

A young boy was grinning widely as he set out to putting into action his “planned” prank to his grandparents. That grin would send his mother to hysterical fits because it’s a sign that he’s up to no good.

He inserted the key in the hole and opened the door. How he got the key? It’s a mixture of his grandparents’ genes rolled into one. Result? The naughtiest family member was born. He slowly pushed the door, his grin faded as he didn’t see his grandparents on bed. He went inside and put the markers down on the table.

‘Where did they go?’ he asked himself. He let his eyes roam around the room. Then he smirked again as he saw the open sliding door. He picked the markers up again and tiptoed to the veranda. As he reached it, his fingers weaken and he dropped the markers on the floor as his eyes grew wide.

There they was, his grandparents, seated side by side in the bench. His knees buckled and he fell kneeling to the floor as tears started to folw. But he’s not crying because he can no longer hear his grandma’s high-pitched laugh, see his grandpa’s boyish smile; can no longer play with them; can no longer get some advises on how to throw jokes from both of them. Instead, he was crying because of what he’s seeing

Their white hairs were gently blown by the wind, looking like silver thread as reflects the sun’s rays. Their wrinkled faces were stretched by peaceful smiles. He was amazed at how his Dara Park still looks so breathtakingly captivating despite her age. The way his grandfather, Jiyong’s arm was wrapped around his grandmother’s shoulder was a full sign of how he loved, cherished, took care and protected her and still wants to protect her ‘til the end. The way Jiyong’s hand held Dara’s hand simply states how he treasured her more than his own life. Then, the way Dara leaned her head against his shoulder clearly says of how she willingly surrendered all of her for him, and still willing to do that. The way her fragile, wrinkled fingers wrapped around Jiyong’s hand is an evidence of how she will keep on holding on for his and her love for him. And lastly, the way they chose to leave the earth physically TOGETHER to start a new journey somewhere out there is a profound evidence of how pure and everlasting their love is.

Who would have thought that those things would make him cry? Him, who never shed a tear even once, cried because of seeing a proof that pure and eternal love does exist?

After a while, he stood up, a small smile on his lips as he knows Park Dara and Kwon Jiyong’s love still travels. But it was soon replaced by a frown. How come he never asked them how their love story begun? How come he never asked them how their love survives through the years? How come he never asked them how to find an everlasting love just like theirs?

Thus, the hidden love remains. . .