Next thing I knew, I was walking with Lu Han to an unknown place. I decided that I might as well complete all my tasks on earth before I left. We were walking through a forest with the sun shining through the leaves. I began hearing noises of children running and the wailing of a baby. Confused, I pulled on Lu Han’s shirt.

“Where are we going?” I whispered. Lu Han didn’t reply and kept walking forward. Rude

Then he abruptly stopped causing me to bump into him. I looked past him to see a mother cradling a baby in her arms while a young boy was cutting wood. Lu Han pulled me behind a couple of bushes and we hid ourselves.

“This is the Lee family.”

I looked around and saw 4 children. Two of them were girls. There was the young boy who was cutting wood and the baby whose gender I was unsure of. I didn’t see a man.

“No husband?” I asked Lu Han. He nodded his head to the left and I saw this man sitting down boiling water. I nodded my head and observed the family.

The two girls were cutting what seemed like vegetables; very bad and limited vegetables. The mother continuously cradled her child while the young boy cut the wood, wiping his sweat every now and then.  The father boiled water and put it inside a bucket then gave it to the woman who I assumed was his wife. She smiled at him and fed some to her crying baby. Soon, the crying stopped and the baby had fallen asleep.

One of the young girls went inside with her sibling to watch over him or her. The woman then walked over to the man, once again assuming that they are husband and wife, and began helping him. They worked together and did not stop; they occasionally smiled at each other. Soon after, the young girl came back out with her sibling who I now found out was a boy and they began playing. The mother took the vegetables and the wood and began cooking what seemed like stew while the Father played with his children.

They all smiled and laughed along with each other.

“He was in jail for 3 years. The man, well, the Father,” Said Lu Han, “He had committed murder and even assaulted his wife many times.”

My mouth fell, he did not seem like the one to commit murder and his wife seemed so happy with him! How could he have murdered someone?

“He realized his mistake and begged his wife for forgiveness. They had already had 3 children at that time. After a while, she accepted him back. But you see, nobody else did. So, they moved out of the city and now live here.”

I looked around at the place. There was a wooden cottage which did not seem very big and was very poorly built. They had a small hut in the back which I assumed was their bathroom. At the front was a wooden bench that they sat on, at the side, they had a small well. No internet, no television, no air conditioning. Nothing really.

“You think they have nothing right? But they have everything. They have each other. They accepted each other; their father mainly. They live with love, not for love. That’s why they’re so happy, because they found happiness in their sorrow.”

I stared at the family as Lu Han spoke. They were so happy. They lived without a worry. It was magical.

Lu Han stood up and walked over to the family smiling. The children ran up to him and hugged him tightly. Even the baby began laughing when he saw Lu Han’s face. I watched their interaction from afar, smiling lightly. He helped the Mother make the food and even set up the table for them and I watched the whole time. Once everything was set up, Lu Han waved me over.

I looked around awkwardly but walked over to the family. They greeted me with bright smiles and made space for me on the bench. I sat down and they handed me a plate; a very tattered plate.

“What’s your name dear?” asked the Father. I looked up at his warm eyes. He smiled at me and then fed his son who was sitting in his lap.

“Da Eun.”

“That’s a beautiful name. My name is Joo Young,” said the Mother. I smiled at her and nodded. The whole family then introduced themselves and I listened carefully. Not knowing what to do after the introduction, I began sipping on some of the soup. In all honesty, it did not taste very good. But, I did come from a rich family, so I had tasted the best of the best. But why was it that this food was extra warm? It was warmer than the top-class stove in my home. Why was it that this food tasted sweeter? It was sweeter than the chocolates I had eaten from England.

“So what are you doing here hyung?” asked the young boy who introduced himself as Yoon Jae. Lu Han looked over at me, but I didn’t dare look up, “I thought a visit was needed.”

“Oppa! You should come more often. Did you know it’s my birthday tomorrow? We’re going to go on a walk to the city! Can you believe!?” the youngest daughter exclaimed. A walk to the city? That’s exciting? I do that every day.

“Wow! Really? I’d love to come along. We can even buy a cake Jin Ae!” exclaimed Lu Han as he smiled at the girl.

“A CAKE!? Oppa I thought those were only in stories.” Lu Han laughed and winked at her while saying, “I can get you one. Just for little Jin Ae.”

A cake. A cake was something foreign to her? A cake that was always in my fridge and always ready to me was foreign to this little girl? Who hadn’t eaten a cake?

The family continued to talk and with every sentence, I grew more shocked; People like this actually existed. The type of people who lived with nothing but acted like they had everything actually existed. So what was I? A person who had everything but acted like I had nothing? I know so but I try to think not.

“You should come visit us as well Unnie,” said the older sister. I looked down at her as she was sitting on my right and nodded weakly. The girl smiled and began putting the plates away and washing them at the side of the home.

“Ji min, I’ll help you,” said the older brother. He bowed at me and walked to his sister. I looked at them from afar; brother helping sister. It looked hard. There was no dishwasher to quicken up the process and there was no constant water either. But they still washed the dishes happily. I dread ever being told to do any work.

“Da Eun, you seem shocked,” said the Mother while smiling. I quickly shook my head not wanting to offend them in any way.

“No No, I’m not shocked at all.”

“It’s okay, you can be. You come from the city and I’m sure that your shirt is quite expensive, isn’t it?” she asked. I looked down at my blue and white Louis Vuitton shirt and immediately felt guilty for ever hating it and thinking my Mother just bought it to get me to be quiet.

“No, It’s nice to see you like this,” I said quietly. The mother smiled and took my hand, “You’re welcome here any time,” she said.

“I should go check on the kids now. Honey, can you put Young Jae to sleep? He’s tired now,” she said pointing at their baby who was dozing off. Her husband nodded and stood up to cradle the son to sleep.

Lu Han stood up as well and gave the mother a hug. She then looked at me and next thing I knew, I was brought into her warm arms.

“I hope you visit us again. Bye Da Eun.” I nodded at her and smiled dimly. Lu Han shook hands with the father and told him we would be leaving now since they had many things to do. I smiled at the Father and bowed.

“I’ll be sure to come tomorrow to see Jin Ae!” Lu Han shouted as we walked away and back on the path to the city. I kept looking back at the family until they were no longer in sight.

“We have a couple more stops left. They’ll be shorter than this one though okay?” he asked. I nodded and continued following him. We arrived back in the city and Lu Han led us to the bus stop. I sat down on the bench and looked around at the people busily talking away on their smart phones or looking through their expensive bags. I had never made much of these luxuries before. But, now I realized that people actually didn’t have this stuff. This stuff that I called normal.

The bus came and we went on it. The sun was beginning to set so the sky was a nice orange colour. We arrived in the older part of Seoul. It was also the more rundown part. I was now surrounded by different people, some who wore faces of agony and some, faces of glee. We walked down a small road until we arrived at a small convenient store. Inside, was a young man who seemed to be a bit older than I. He was fixing up some things and appeared to be closing the store for the day.

There were dark bags under his eyes which showed how evidently tired he was. Out of nowhere, came a little girl who showed a paper to the young man. He smiled and ruffled the girl’s hair and handed her the paper which ended up being a picture she drew.

“It’s beautiful Hae Rin!” he exclaimed. The girl smiled and put it up behind the counter. He then closed the lights of the store and disappeared behind the counter, locking the doors and closing the blinds.

“He lives here alone with his sister. Their parents left them two years ago; for no apparent reason too. But, instead of holding a grudge, he keeps their shop running in memory of them. He says that they brought him into this beautiful world, so he owes them. He goes to school and then comes home to work. Every day Da Eun, every day. He also takes care of his sister who’s 9 years old. Cute isn’t she?”

Work, school, babysitting? How did he do it all? And he wasn’t mad at his parents?! I was shocked, very shocked.

“Wow, he’s strong.”

“I guess you could put it like that,” said Lu Han as he shrugged his shoulders and began walking away. I followed behind him like the lost puppy I was. It was now completely dark outside and there weren’t many people on the streets. We arrived at what seemed like a doctor’s office and saw a girl walked out. She was crying while holding onto her Mother’s sleeves.

“Cancer. She has cancer. She didn’t know she had cancer until last month and recently found out that it’s incurable. She has a malignant tumour which has already spread through too much of her body. You know she was planning on being a doctor? Ironic eh?  A very smart girl she was. Always top in class. She also played soccer!”

I stared at her as she got into her car. Her eyes reflected her shattered hopes and dreams. Her mother who looked strong was broken as well. The car drove off and I stared at it. Her hopes and dreams were gone, just like that. A simple visit to the doctor told her that her future was no longer there. She was going to die! And just this afternoon, I was planning on taking my life. Why?

Because I’m stupid.

“Life’s short Da Eun. The Lee’s embrace that fact. This girl has to face it. The boy from before lives through it. But, they all accept it. They all accepted the way their life has been laid out for them. So what if it’s not perfect? There’s always a reason to smile in their hearts.”

I looked up at Lu Han’s eyes and flashes of my life ran through my head. Here I was, complaining about everything and anything.

Here I was about to take my life. Over what? My parents? They had given me everything. They did. Sure, they weren’t the best. No, they were terrible. But, they were there right?

But I made that into a problem.

Stupid…

I complained about having to study all night, but at least I got to study right? I didn’t work. I only studied. That was my only job. I didn’t have to take care of anybody but myself.

But there I was about to waste my knowledge.

Idiotic…

I jumped to a conclusion didn’t I? I didn’t think anything through. I have everything and anything; I live like it’s nothing though. I can get anything; I act like I can barely get water.

Lu han continued to stare down at me, “Thanks for completing the favour Da Eun. Now you may go do whatever you want.”

He began walking away leaving me lost and found. I began crying as I was completely overwhelmed with emotion. My eyes were so unclear but my heart felt otherwise. 

Today, I realized that there is always beauty in the ugly. I realized that there are always flaws in perfection but it was my job to love those flaws. Perfect, is too perfect. I yearned for that non-existent perfect, but it lay before me. My nagging and hateful parents were flaws. The flaws I needed to proceed on in life. We all have flaws in our life but we must accept them and embrace them. Flow along with the river, rise up with the sun, go down with the rain. Live through it all. That’s what I need to do; what we all need to do. It’s what I intend on doing.

I looked up at Lu Han’s retreating figure and ran after him. I pulled on his arm and he gave me a knowing look.

“Thank you,” I breathed.

“Thank you for making me realize my delusive problem.”