The gravel from the drive way crunched under the weight of the car that was pulling up to the brick house with the screened in porch. The driver put the car in park and slowly took his time getting out of the car. He looked around, taking in all the smells and sounds that reminded him of his childhood summers; the fresh smell of grass, the crickets and other bugs out in the pasture, and the distinct smell of delicious food cooking. His stomach grumbled at the scent.

"Man, it's good to be back," he said to himself. He looked around and saw that the scenery had changed a bit, but it was the kind of change that only happened due to the passing of time. Things seemed different but not unfamiliar; like the small amount of clutter on the porch or the weeds growing in the garden.

"Jiyong, is that you?" a voice called from the side door of the house.

Opening the creaking screen door to the porch, Jiyong answered, "Yes Grandma it's me!"

In less than 5 seconds, a tiny old woman with frizzy grey hair wrapped up in a bun busted through the door wearing an apron while carrying a giant ladle in her hand. She threw herself up against her tall grandson and said, "Oh, honey it is so good to see you! My how you've grown!"

Jiyong chuckled as his grandmother basically squeezed the life out of him. "It's great to see you too Grandma."

"Dear are you eating alright? You feel like skin and bones!"

"Yes Grandma. I'm eating just fine, but you know that I've always been skinny."

"Oh I guess you're right... but oh, I'm just so glad you're here and you made the tirp safe and sound. Now let’s get into the house and so you can say hello to your grandfather, he should be in the living room." Jiyong smiled as he hugged his grandmother tightly one last time before detaching himself to make his way inside.

He walked up the steps and opened the side door that led into the dining room and kitchen and the smell from earlier filled his nose. "Grandma whatever you're cooking, it smells amazing."

"Well I had to fix something special for my only grandson who hasn't visited in 6 years. It's your favorite, fried chicken with cream styled corn and macronni and cheese and it should be done here any minute."

Jiyong laughed. "Grandma, that was when I was like 8."

"But it's still your favorite. I know my grandson and his taste never changes when it comes to my cookin'," she said, her southern drawl making itself more pronounced.

He wrapped his arm around the side of the smaller woman and kissed the top of her head. "Yeah you're right. I could never get tired of your cooking."

"That's what I thought. Now," she took the ladle that was still in her hand and lightly batted at his behind, "go in there and see your Grandfather," she said and pointed to the doorway next to the stove. Jiyong nodded. He stepped towards the direction she pointed and heard the creaking floorboards beneath his weight as he walked into the living room.

 Standing in the doorway, he saw the back of the recliner that was occupied my an old man who was too caught up in reading a book to notice that he had another person in the room with him.

Jiyong walked around to the front of the chair and kneeled next to the man. "Pops,  it's me Jiyong." The man still was oblivious, so he spoke again but louder this time. "Pops, it's Jiyong. I just got here."

The old man looked to sound that pulled him from his book and his face broke out into a gentle smile, the wrinkles that coved his face becoming more defined. "Jiyong, my boy. You're here." Jiyong noticed that his grandfather’s voice was rather loud for someone who was sitting right in front of him.

"Yeah, I just got into town."

"What?" the old man's face scrunched up in confusion as he cupped his ear.

"I just got into town."

"Oh Jiyong wait," he set his book down and reached over to the small table that was next to his chair and grabbed something, then put his hand back up to his ear. "Say that again. I didn't have my hearing aid in."

"I just got into town, Pops." He said with a hint of laughter in his voice. He remembered his mother saying that the old man had started a habit of taking out the hearing device so he wouldn't have to listen to the random mumblings of his grandmother.

"It's good to see you. Did you have a safe drive?"

"Yes, but I'm a little worn out."

"Dinner's ready. Come and get it," His grandmother yelled from the kitchen.

"Well let’s see what your Grandmother is cooking so you can eat and then you can go to bed. We have all summer to catch up." he said patting Jiyong on the arm and then stood up, leading the way back to the kitchen with his grandson following his footsteps.

The food his Grandmother had cooked tasted extra delicious. Maybe it was because he had just spent 15 hours driving or the fact that he hadn't tasted it in 6 six years, but whatever the reason, he savored every bite. He could feel that this summer was going to be a nice change from his crazy life back home in the city.

These past couple of years had taken their toll on him, with school becoming stressful and his job even more demanding, he decided that he needed to take some time off before his last year of school started. His mother had said that his grandparents had been asking for him to visit for some time now and after some thought he decided that he should spend the summer with them like he used to when he was a kid.

The first year he visited them, he was 9 years old and he was terrified of being away from his parents and leaving the comfort of the city to go spend a couple weeks off in the country side. But once he got there he soon realized that his grandparents had a lot of things that could interest any 9 year old boy. There was a creek down the road that he would try and catch frogs, at night he would try and catch fireflies. His grandfather would take him fishing at least once a week and he even taught him how to shoot a gun. Which his mother wasn't too thrilled with when she found out after that summer had ended. But his grandfather replied with, "I just want the boy to have the 'All American Experience' is all."

"Dad, he's already a second generation American. He was born here, but that doesn't mean that he needs to go around carrying guns."

"Oh who cares, we had fun didn't we Jiyong?" His grandfather looked down at him and the boy smiled back up, nodding his head. "See that's all that matters to me."

Jiyong's mother rolled her eyes and just let the matter be. She knew full well her fathers obsession with the American country life. He had been that way ever since he was in his early twenties because he had made friends during the Korean War  from America that told him stories of life back home. After the war, he decided that since his family was gone he would make a new life in America, so he followed his American friends and made a home for himself in a small town in Tennessee. He fell in love with an American woman who worked at the small diner by his house and after wooing her with his foreign charm, they were married and had 3 kids within 5 years.

Jiyong's mother, who was never found of living in a small town moved to Atlanta when she entered college and actually met a Korean who she fell in love with and later married. And thats how Jiyong came about. His dad kept some of the traditions of Korean culture from his childhood and wanted Jiyong to know his cultural background, but he mostly lived the typical American life.

He reminisced his childhood memories as he looked at pictures that lined the hallway leading down to the bedrooms. He saw a family portrait of him, his sister and their parents. There were also pictures of his aunts, uncles and cousins, along with pictures of his grandparents in Korea during their honeymoon. It warmed his heart to see how much in love his grandparents were, and still are despite them fighting over the littlest things. Looking at the old pictures made Jiyong feel at home and let his fingers trace the patterns on some of the wood frames, feeling the grain.

"Honey, what'cha doin just standing there?"

His grandmothers voice pulled him from his memories and he turned to look at her. "I'm just looking at yours and pop's old pictures. He sure was lucky to marry such a beautiful girl."

She smiled at him. "No... I was the lucky one. He was so handsome and unlike anything I had ever seen before. He swept me off my feet." Jiyong chuckled, but then a yawn came over him. "Why are we talking about the past. You've had an eventful day. Get yourself to bed and we can talk tomorrow."

"Yes grandma," he said making his way down the rest of the hallway towards the bedroom that she had made up for him, just like when he was a kid. He went to his bags that he had gotten out of the car after dinner and pulled out a pair of pajama's for the night. Pausing for a second before he started changing, he thought that it would be better if he took a shower. So pulling out his shampoo as well he went to the bathroom.

~

When he climbed out of the tub, he grabbed the towel that hung underneath the window. However, what he didn't notice when he first walked into the room was that the window was open. The window was on the back of the house and from there he could see out into the pasture, so the only worry he had was maybe scarring the neighbors horses because they were the only ones that could honestly look in.

He wrapped the towel around his waist and went to grab another for his hair when something else out the window caught his eye. Down where his grandfather's workshop was, the light was on. Quickly drying off he threw on his pajama's and opened the bathroom door calling out his nickname for the old man. "Pops? Pops you there?"

"Jiyong what’s wrong?" he heard the old man answer from his usual spot in the living room. He seemed to be finishing the book he was reading when Jiyong arrived.

"I saw the light on in you workshop. You want me to go turn it off?"

"Oh no it's probably Seunghyun. My truck's been acting up lately so he said he would take a look at it when he had time."

"Seunghyun?" Jiyong asked. The name rolling off his tongue like his mouth was filled with sand.

"Surely you didn't forget about Seunghyun since you've been away. You two used to be inseparable during your summers here."

"N-no... I didn't forget him." Jiyong stuttered. "I um... I thought he would've gone off to college."

"No, he decided that after high school he wanted to help his father run the farm since the man who used to help them moved away."

"Oh..."

"Yep now he does all sorts of odd jobs around town. He's a good man," his grandfather continued but Jiyong was still stuck on the fact that Seunghyun was still here in this small town. "Well its gettin late. Let’s go to bed now, what do you say?"

Jiyong was still lost in his thoughts of Seunghyun as his grandfather pushed him towards the bedroom. As he walked over to his bed he made sure to take another look out his window to see the workshop, but the light was off this time. His heart started beating faster as he thought about the last summer he spent here when he was 16 and how the boy next door had left his mark on him forever. And how he was the one person he was scared most of seeing again.