You slammed your notebook shut as soon as the teacher left the room. You stuffed your pencil and notebook into your bag before zipping it up quickly. You stood up and tugged your bag on. Yoohyuk stared at you before quickly scooting forward, making enough room for you to squeeze by.

Classes were officially over and you made sure you had everything in your bag before taking off. You were the first out of the room and blazed down the hallway to the main entrance. Nunji was parked right in front of the school gates waiting for you. There were a few cars lined up behind her car who were constantly honking their horns. You bowed to them apologetically although you didn’t know if they saw it or not before slipping into the passenger seat. Once your seatbelt was snapped into place, she took off.

“Dad should be home now!” she couldn’t contain her excitement and you wriggled in your seat feeling the same way. You checked on Mieun who was quiet but you heard her move around. You pulled down the overhead mirror and took your hair out of the bun it usually was in. Your dad liked it when your hair was down. As you untangled some strands, your sister smiled, “I did the same thing too after I told my boss I wanted to leave early.” She shook out her hair a little and winked at you.

Your smile didn’t leave your face the rest of the drive. You actually tried not to smile but it didn’t work. You could easily picture your dad in your mind with his clean cut hairstyle that had not changed once for as long as you could remember. His eye smile was defined by the small creases that surrounded it and there was always a slight twitch at the corner of his lips before a full blown smile was revealed.

You saw all of this as your house came into view and it became a reality as you spotted both of your parents standing in the doorway of the house, arms wrapped around each other. It felt like forever since you had last seen him. He was still in his uniform, looking sharp and snappy as always. Your mom looked reluctant to let him go but she pushed him in the car’s direction. She followed after him, most likely to get Mieun so you guys could have your moment. You booked it out of the car and your sister followed suit as she turned off the car.

“Dad!” you almost didn’t recognize your voice but that thought disappeared as you heard nothing but your father’s laugh.

“My girls,” he chuckled as you practically threw yourself at him. It was a good thing he was still in shape despite his age because he easily caught you and your sister who mimicked your action. That familiar secured feeling that only he could provide warmed you up. His signature scent filled your lungs as you breathed it in. Flashbacks of your childhood were brought to the forefront of your mind.

Things became blurred after that as your father hugged you both and you all went inside.

You don’t remember what brought it on but you couldn’t stop talking. You still can’t completely register what you said to him but you talked a lot. All you remember saying was about your days at school and a few things about your sister and mom. He asked you questions and you eagerly answered with no hesitation. Your mom and Nunji let you talk surprisingly and after a few minutes you recollected yourself and let Nunji take over the conversation. It had been such a long time since you had talked so much. The words just flew out of you easily and you liked that feeling.

As your sister talked, you observed your dad for any changes but found none other than a few small things. You could tell it had been a while since he last dyed his hair because a few gray specks flickered in the dim light of the living room your family was in. His wrinkles looked a little deeper but the liveliness in his eyes remained the same. His smile had not left his face and you were sure yours hadn’t either.

Your mom finally spoke up, putting a hold on your thoughts, “Mikyungie, can you help get dinner started?”

You nodded and obediently got up, “Yes, mom.”

You followed her figure across the room and when you were about to push through the door after her, you heard your sister squeal excitedly. You couldn’t help but look back behind you and you saw her hug your father with a letter clutched in her hand, obviously from her fiancée. You quickly slipped into the kitchen and took the crabs out of the fridge. Your mom had started cutting the vegetables while you washed your hands and tied your hair back. You started to measure out the rice and water with the sound of the knife hitting the cutting board filling up the kitchen. Both of you switched roles as she got the steamer ready. She was planning on steaming a few of the crabs and using the rest for the stew. It took a while to complete everything and you two quietly talked throughout the hour.

“How is school so far?” she dried her hands.

“Its fine,” you answered while rinsing the dishware you had used and placed them to the side to dry.

She nodded and the conversation was pretty much like this. She didn’t fish for anything more, just checking in with you.

When everything was ready and the table was set, you called your father and sister in to eat. Your dad looked excited as he planted himself at his usual seat and your sister placed Mieun in her special chair beside her. You and your mom took your seats and she began to serve everyone.

Your dad was practically drooling at the sight of his favorite meal and immediately started eating. He talked about his days away from home whenever he wasn’t inhaling his food. He kept complimenting the food saying how much he missed home-cooked meals. Mieun was in between you and your sister and you noticed her smiling away at the light. While you looked at her, you wished her father was also there for her and her mother just like your father was there for you and your mom. You heard the familiar sound of the Polaroid camera taking a picture which you always avoided. You watched as your sister extracted the picture and looked away as she raised the camera again, preparing to take another picture. Your hair, that you had let back down after finishing cooking, hit your face as you turned your whole body away in a rush to avoid being caught again.

“Awww come on Mikyungie,” your sister tried turning you around, “This is for Hwangin. Dad said he can take a few pictures back and give them to Hwangin instead of me having to send them through the mail.” You refused to heed her command.

“Nunji, leave your sister alone,” your mother thankfully intervened. Your sister groaned and you only turned around when your dad assured you Nunji had put away the camera. “Honey!” your mother exclaimed but it was too late. This time your dad had the camera and quickly took a picture of you. Your mom started to scold him while your sister gave him a high five. This was how your family generally was with your sister taking after your dad in these kind of matters while you were more like your mom.

You didn’t feel any anger towards them but you pouted anyway. “I’ll drop Mikyung off tomorrow at school,” your father declared and your spirits went back up. “I’ll have to head back to the base afterwards though since I was only able to take today off.” Your mood went back down but you dealt with it because you grew up with this kind of military schedule your father always adhered to.

You knew he enjoyed his work although it took him away from home. He made up for his lack of presence on a daily basis with phone calls and texts to check up on yo