Hyun Hae woke the next morning feeling more energetic than usual.  She opened her eyes, recognized her bedroom in their house in Japan that immediately brings smile on her face. She kicks the thin blanket of brown and baby blue in stripes and jumped off her bed. She took the only bag she brought with her that contains some of her essentials. She doesn’t have to carry any more clothes because she has plenty here, her mom even buy her new clothes even though she’s in Korea. When she ask her for the reason of doing that, her mom just shrugged it off and said that buying clothes for her made her feel that she’s just waiting for her at home, and will be very delighted when she sees her coming home with a new dress or blouse, or skirt, or pants for her. There’s a hint of sadness and longing in her tone when she said that but Hyun Hae couldn’t do anything about it. She’s just beginning to appreciate her dad’s country; she can’t see herself settling with her mom and grandma anytime soon yet. She gave her mom a hug instead.

Pushing that memory out of her mind now, she tied her long hair into a tight bun on top of her head before she went to her bathroom across her room, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and ran out of her room to greet her mother and grandma. They are probably in the dining room having a late breakfast.

True to what she has expected, Hyun Hae found her mom seated at her usual seat on the round dining table. The table is made from hard wood as well, and is big enough to let eight people dine comfortably. She ran to her mom and gave her a hug.

“Ohayou, Okasa! Aieru! I miss you so so much!”, she said with great enthusiasm before giving her a light kiss on the lips. She did the same to her grandmother but instead of the lips, she pecked her cheeks.

Her grandmother accepts her hug and gently patted her head while her mother softly chuckled at her actions.

“My my, my baby is as lively as ever. I’m so happy you get to visit us despite saying that you can’t because of your job”, she said sincerely, still smiling up at her.

Minsoo is seated with Haruhi and Takada in the dining table when he saw Hyun Hae running towards their direction. She didn’t notice him. He saw her smiling face. Ah, if it will always be like this every morning… He saw her hug and kiss her mom on the lips that slightly shocked him. All of them are close with their mom but never did they kiss her on the lips, they’re not that intimate. He heard her say things in a lively voice but didn’t got to understand a word from it, must be Japanese by the sound of it, he guesses. But what made his eyes stick to the scene in front of him is what Hyun Hae is wearing. I. See. Skin.

That’s the state he’s in when Haruhi cleared that made him look up to her. Good thing, she’s not looking at him, instead, she’s looking at her daughter.

“Honey, I’d like you to meet…”, she hasn’t finished her sentence yet when Hyun Hae turned her gaze at him. He froze, but managed to give off a small smile. Hyun Hae’s eyes suddenly grew wide, looks of recognition, then surprise, then suspicion are shown on her then wide eyes.

“What are you doing here?”, she didn’t mean to, but she said it a little louder than what’s necessary.

“Oh, you know each other? That’s not impossible since Minsoo here also came from Korea, and he arrived here shortly after you went to bed last night”, Haruhi explained.

Takada on the other hand is just minding her food because she can’t understand Korean. She only speaks Japanese, English, and Tagalog, because of her late husband. Haruhi must have noticed her mom’s dilemma so she started speaking in English; the language they can all use and comprehend.

“Honey, how do you know Minsoo? And Minsoo, why didn’t you tell me that you know my daughter?”, she asked, now facing Minsoo.

He was about to answer when Hyun Hae suddenly in. She gets the hint her mom gave her and started speaking in English as well.

“I don’t exactly know him like ‘know him’”, she said, curling her index and middle finger near her face to show off quotation marks on the words ‘know him’, “but, I’ve seen him back in Seoul for a couple of times, I guess”, she answered, looking at Minsoo then back to her mother before adding, “but what is he doing here, mom?”

Haruhi saw that Minsoo is being uncomfortable with the sight of her daughter. She is wearing a tiny strapped pink blouse that hugs her body a little tight, and she’s wearing shorts, that’s true to its name, is short. It stretches just after her , and even has a small slit on both sides.

“Before I answer further questions, honey, can you change your clothing first? ‘Cause, as you can see, we have a gentleman here”, she stood up, gently pushing Hyun Hae to the direction of her room, while giving Minsoo a small smile.

Hyun Hae’s brows furrowed, looking down on the clothes she has on, she sighed of defeat. “Okay, but these are my sleeping clothes, and I’m at home! Can I say that?”, she said with a small pout on her lips, before getting out of the dining room and out of Minsoo’s sight. He sighed.

By the time Hyun Hae came back to the dining room, her grandmother is not there anymore, probably attending to her plants and orchids on the front yard, she thought. She sat beside her mom, opposite Minsoo. She bowed a little at him as if to say, sorry for my appearance earlier. She now wears a short-sleeved long yellow blouse with Astro Boy print and black shorts that stretches down to the middle of her knees. Minsoo acknowledge her by bowing his head a little at her direction.

“So, mom, what happened after I went to bed last night?”, she asked before facing the breakfast of fried rice, egg, hotdog and hot milk in front of her.

Haruhi told her the things that happened, even adding with a smile how she now adores Minsoo for choosing to live in a Japanese household unlike every other tourist his age that would prefer a hotel room, and so it goes.

After she’s done explaining, Hyun Hae swallowed first before talking again. Minsoo now has finished eating and is just listening to the two women in front of him talk.

“Don’t you think that’s too coincidental, mom? Me and him coming here a moment after the other, we both came from Korea, we must have boarded the same plane, and we both would stay here for a week?”, she asked staring closely at her mom for her thoughts.

Minsoo stressed a little. He knows that the only things coincidental here is that they arrived at the same time at the airport and that he too is on a week-long vacation, things after that…

“Well, coincidences do occur, right? Maybe it’s meant that you two be friends. Any other questions, dear?”, she gave her a smile and a tone that suggests she can’t do anything about the situation now but be cool about it.

She sighed, “Nothing more, I just have a feeling that our guest here is stalking me”, she said, now looking at Minsoo, her eyes squinted a little.

Haruhi looked surprised, “Huh? Why did you say that?”

“Nothing”, she smiled sheepishly, “And, oh, the fried rice is great as always”, she grinned at her mom who then patted her head softly before cleaning up her plate and took it to the sink.

Hours went on. Minsoo is watching TV while seating primly on the sofa in front of it. Hyun Hae is eyeing him. He can feel the piercing stares at his back. He turned to see the scrutinizing gaze the lady is giving him. He looked at her, too. Hyun Hae quits and walked outside of the house. His eyes followed her.