ROOM FOR RENT in bold capital letters, written in English. Minsoo stares at the sign and immediately took it with him, he rang the doorbell. A middle-aged woman came out and he was greeted with a warm smile. She’s wearing a simple yellow shirt and a pajama that states the time of the day.

“Annyeonghaseyo”, he greeted in Korean, forgetting that he’s in a different country and that this woman may not understand him, he covered his mouth.

“Oh, you’re Korean?”, the woman asked him, a bit surprised, but smiled.

Minsoo was almost apologetic after his initial greeting but was caught surprised upon hearing his native language being spoken to him. The woman saw the confusion and sudden relief on his face; she gave him a kind smile before speaking again.

“I see you’re surprised”, she smiled. “My late husband is Korean so I’ve learned the language”, she laughs softly.

Minsoo, more relaxed now, smiled up at her.

“So, what is it that you need, young man? From the looks of it, you seem to just have come from the airport, fresh from Korea?”, she asked.

“Uhm, yeah, I am on a week-long vacation here in Japan and I decided to experience your country to the fullest. And that means, I plan to live in a Japanese household. I saw your sign”, he blabbered on, not wanting to admit the truth that he actually followed a girl he knew back in Korea without thinking and now, he doesn’t know where to go and what to do. It’s his first time here, and he’s already cursing himself for doing the things he just did that made him end up here. He couldn’t say that to this nice woman now, can he? But on a side note, he’s silently surprised at how good and subtle he can lie when faced in a situation like this one.

The woman smiled broadly at him now.

“Ah, really? That’s nice to hear. Young ones these days always prefers a hotel room to stay in for their vacation, they are merely tourist, just observers of how things are like here, it’s so rare to have someone like you who actually wanted to experience living here”, the woman is beaming which made Minsoo curse himself a little for lying and putting up a plausible image of himself in her eyes.

“So, how long are you trying to say?”, she asked that made Minsoo smile even wider.

“Week, for a week”, he beamed.

“Oh, I see. But it’s better if we continue our talk inside”, she opened the front gate wider now and motioned for him to step in.

“I’m Haruhi, by that way, you can call me, Haruhi Obachan; that’s the equivalent of Ahjumma”, she said, looking back at him as he was slightly lagging behind. His thoughts are trailing off.

Kekeke, I wonder how she’ll react when I enter the house. Hmm, I wonder what’s her relationship with Haruhi Obachan, her aunt maybe? With the thought of a surprised Hyun Hae playing in his mind, he can’t help but form a smile.

Haruhi saw him smile and regarded that as a simple response to what she said. “What’s your name?”, she suddenly asks that broke Minsoo’s thoughts immediately.

“Oh, Minsoo imnida, Bang Minsoo. Nice to meet you,  Haruhi O-bachan?”, he stutter a little, not sure if he’s pronouncing it right, before bowing his head low.

“Ah, you’re so polite, don’t worry, you’ve pronounced it decently”, she laughed a short laugh.

The walk from the front gate to the main house is a short one. They took the little pathway of stone patches that’s evenly placed on top of Bermuda grasses that covered the entire front yard. Orchids of different colors hung casually by the fences, and more different types of plants are rooted on plant boxes. Flowers, lots of flowers can be seen which are being taken care of Haruhi’s mother.

They reached the front door and Haruhi immediately slides it open, inviting Minsoo to come in before her. As she locks the door behind her, Minsoo let his gaze trail on the whole house. He can tell that the family has been living here for a good amount of years, basing on the antiquity of some of the furniture. A book shelf made of hard wood sits by the far corner of the living room full of books. Haruhi then followed his gaze and smiled.

“Are you fond of books, too? My daughter loves them! And I better emphasize the word love whenever I say that. She have books in Tagalog, English, Japanese, Korean, even Arabic. The first four, she can read and comprehend fluently but Arabic, she said she’s starting to learn and is really fascinated by the writing! Aish, that kid”, she said smiling while slightly shaking her head. “Oh, have a sit first, I’ll prepare your dinner. We already ate so I won’t be able to join you but I’ll stick around and see that you get what you need”, she said as she head to the kitchen.

Minsoo was left thinking the things Haruhi have just told him. A girl who can speak Tagalog, Korean, and Japanese? Is she talking about Hyun Hae? So, she is Hyun Hae’s mother? Why is living in Korea if her mother is here in Japan, then? Minsoo pondered on that thought as he walk over that said book shelf, scan its contents for an interesting one to read, but lost his appetite to do so, he’s hungry. And just in time, Haruhi emerged from the kitchen telling him that dinner is ready.

After he has eaten, they talked about the bills which he gladly paid before resting himself on the bed of the room given to him. Soon, he heard the soft tick of the light switch being switched off in the living room; darkness envelopes the house. Staring at the white ceiling that appears black now, he replayed the scene on the dining room when he asked Haruhi as to where this language addict daughter of her is. She slightly chuckled at the term he chose to coin her daughter.

“Her name’s Hyun Hae” he remembered her saying. He nodded, his curiosity was quenched. She added that her daughter immediately went to bed to rest, saying that airplanes and she were never best friends and they will never be. She chuckled again after quoting her. He also learned that he will also be living with Haruhi’s mother—Takada who is now tightly sleeping on the room they both share. “You’ll meet Okasa, tomorrow”, she said before he could ask.

He then ask if it was alright for him to stay with them since they’re all woman which she shrugs off rather quickly. “Nah, we’ve been having borders for years now, they stay for a short time just like you, the longest would be three months, we’re used to it, plus, my cousin and his family are a door away, they live next door, my nephews always barge in here, you will definitely meet them tomorrow, please excuse them if they’re a little loud, and will be louder since Hyun Hae is home.” He wanted to ask why she and her daughter live separately but decided to let it slide, tonight’s not the right time for a more personal inquiry.

Now that he’s lying flat on his bed did he only realize his fatigue. He closed his eyes, and then went dead to the world.