The first time he met her was when he was 6 and she was 4. There was not anything much than a regular meeting in every Chuseok celebration. Before it stopped when he was sixteen due to his family busy lives, their parents would get together regularly every Chuseok at this legendary restaurant nearby the Korean Folk Village. At first, there were only five children getting forced to acknowledge each other’s existence (his sister had not born until he was twelve). He got along and played well with her brother, but with her (whose existence did not really alert him back then), he did not have anything much to say. Even mostly, he felt that he was not that ‘friends’ with her. She only became an issue in his head by the time she caught up with him in the 9th grade when she should have been in 7th grade. He guessed, he was not so pleased about that then because she suddenly became his parents’ every day topic and then she stopped calling him Oppa.

In the following Chuseok, although he had never been too fond of her, he found himself talking to her when everyone had dashed into the indoor part of the restaurant because of the sudden drizzle. He was halfway to the door when he saw their half-soaked parents shouted her name by the window pane. He paused and looked behind only to find her with head tilted up a little and with a small contented smile, not even trying to avoid the rain. He followed her line of vision before he decided to interrupt.

             “You not coming? What are you doing?” He remembered his high-pitched sixteen-year-old voice call out to her while his hand was holding up a table tray above his head to cover from the rain. Honestly, he had tried to restrain himself from asking. He was surprised as well by how he got so concerned about her so suddenly.

             “In a bit. I want to see the rain first.”

He grimaced over her response that for a second, he thought she had a mental issue.

             “I believe it’s called getting drenched.” He called out louder, stepping closer to her.

            “That’s why,” She beamed, turning her head to his direction. Her hair had started trapping water and her eyes spoke a million things in a way he had failed to decipher, “You should feel the rain, like me. Don’t just get wet.”

He furrowed his eyebrows and snorted mockingly.

            “Well, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” He said before walking toward her and dragged her with him by her wrist. Just when he ignored the tingling he felt in his palm, he heard her mutter once again.

           “We all do stupid things…” She trailed and the next thing he knew, his eyes shifted their attention on her, “But that doesn’t mean we’re stupid. I think it’s important to be able to distinguish between what happens to us and who we are.” She said and stared back as he was stoned. She could see a flicker of annoyance flash across his face, but instead of firing another insult, he slowly took his eyes off from her with a light sigh.

In her view, he did look like he was about to say something, but then they heard their parents start calling their names again from the window pane. Of course, except them two, everyone had sheltered themselves inside. Even his 4-year-old sister had managed to run and take her unfinished Kimbab with her.

           “Let’s get in.” He managed to say, and by that time, he knew he had let her words sink in deep with no resistance.

In the following Chuseok of their high school years, the two families did not get to see each other as often even until they finished their bachelor degree. Her brother’s wedding was the only chance for the two families to catch up, but only his parents paid a presence. Two years later, he saw her SNS location changed to Baltimore, and she saw his changed to Tokyo months after.

All the while, the rest of their families had finally found their way back to keep in touch again after his father first cardiac arrest half a year after he set off for his master degree. She was not left uninformed. Her mother talked her out on the subject via everything that could reach her at that time, so she knew. She knew the Kims family was having tough days. She knew the oldest of the family was summoned to return to Korea when his father was in critical condition. And she knew, the moment she took her oath for her fellowship accomplishment, the Kims were mourning a father.

Their parents were not blood-related, but the four elderly were pretty close that losing his father felt like losing a family. It had been like that many years ago. Her mother once told her that she had been on a blind date with his fiance's father during their college years, but they never worked out as a couple afterward, and soon got along with each other merely because they came from the same village. That explained why her mother called his father by Oppa. Apparently, this Oppa was the one who later introduced her to a friend of his, who was now her father and they two got married earlier. Quite a long story to tell, but everyone in the families knew it was meant to be that way.

On his father’s one-year commemoration, he saw her again for the first time. She was wearing a loose-straight black dress, walking behind her brother’s wife and decided to sit a bit far from another invited guests. By that time, the engagement rumor was long told within their close families. Of course, his uncles and some aunties were there when his father left him a message to wait for this young lady whom he believed would help him keep the family together.

His younger brothers, Jongshin and Sejong, were trailing their gazes on her then, but the two did not seem to recognize her anymore although he swore to God he still did. He remembered the pit of his stomach twinge a little for all the engagement rumor had become more realistic at the sight of hers. Although it felt weird, he knew from the time being, he could no longer see her as a childhood friend.

At the end of the praying time, he came across her brother who immediately hailed him with open arms and patted him by the back. Few seconds before they both pulled away from each other, her brother said to him;

             “You know you have my confidence.”

It took him several passing minutes to finally digest his words. It was vexing actually. He never wanted to give anyone impression that he was happy with how everything was going. Though he had foolishly thought she had turned into a very graceful woman herself, it still was not his decision to make her his wife. Even to make today happened. Therefore, although he was supposed to bide every guest a goodbye before they leave, he did not do Huisoo.

Surprisingly that evening, the first one to notice her was his sister although she was only a toddler when the last time she saw her. He saw them both enveloping themselves in a big hug. And though it confused him how his sister managed to recall the young lady in her teenage memories back then, he caught warmth in the scene before he decided not to care again. He could care less, really. He was having a crying ex-girlfriend across the phone whom he just left heartlessly for the sake of his late father wish.

Soon after the guests were gone, he came to check up on his mother in the bedroom. Even after a year, he knew she would still break into tears when she was reminded of his late father and he himself was not too happy about not being able to do anything about that. Even so, regardless of how unaffectionate he used to be, he knew the least thing he could do at that time was to give her company, so she would not be too absorbed in her own evil thoughts—well—or maybe not.

His mother was not alone, to his surprise. The door to her bedroom was ajar when he reached upstairs and he stumbled upon the fact that the person he had been avoiding all night was there too with Mrs. Han (Huisoo's mother), patiently trying to comfort his sad mother who was having her back leant on the headboard. Her mother was next to his, while the Huisoo was far at the end of the bed, pressing some gentle massage to his mother’s stretched legs— particularly on her soles.

His heart swelled.

There was a brief moment when he felt something rustle through his thumping heart, yet he found himself drop the growing co