GA IN 

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End 2039.

“Daddy, Mummy, is there anything you need to tell us?” In front of the apartment building now.

“Your birth mother is young. Much younger than Daddy and Mummy. We’ve never met your birth parents before, but we have good reasons to suspect that they’re no longer together.”

“Okay.”
“If she pretends not to know both of you, then please don’t force it. Especially if there appear to be children or a man in the vicinity.”

“Cook up an excuse and say that you’ve knocked on the wrong door if your birth mother is confronted by anyone else. I mean, there has to be a good reason why she’s all the way here when she used to be from Suwon.”

“Don’t worry, Daddy, Mummy, we’ll be fine.”

“Be safe, okay? And no matter what, we love you.”

“We love you too, Mummy.” Byul offers up a comforting smile, which is really precious to us at this point.

“Daddy, we’ll call you when we’re done.”

Kwonnie nods silently, then Ryul and Byul are off.

They hug us before they head off to the apartment building.

We’re keeping our promise to Ryul and Byul. They wanted to meet their birth mother, who we managed to track all the way down to Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. We didn’t want Byul messing up her national examinations thanks to some huge emotional upheaval, so I put my foot down and said only after she finished her exams.

Which is why we’ve brought Ryul and Byul all the way here to pay a visit to their birth mother. If they wish to acknowledge their birth mother, that’s their choice. If they want to go back to their birth family, again, there’s nothing we can do to stop them, since they’re capable of making their own decisions in the eyes of the law. That will be terribly painful, having watched them grow up. But if that’s what they want, if that’s what they feel is best for them, then I guess we have no choice. I don’t profess to know what they’ve gone through, and what they’re going through since I’ve never gone through it myself. But I think I can say, albeit hesitantly, that I’ve tried my best. I can only hope that it’s enough.

“Kwon-ah.” I whimper, and he hugs me without hesitation.

“It’s okay, Ga In-ah, it’s okay. I’ll be here no matter what happens. You’ll have me no matter what.”

“I’m scared, Kwon-ah.”

“It’ll be okay, it’ll be okay. We’ll get through it. We always have.”

“But I don’t know if I want to get through this.”

“I know, Ga In-ah, I know. But we did consider the eventuality right?”

“It seemed simple back then. Now? Now, I don’t know whether I’m strong enough to do it, Kwonnie. I don’t think I am.”

“Ga In-ah, Ga In-ah, listen to me. Do