“She’s quite pretty….I’m sure you already knew that, though,” SunHee smiled as she looked at the woman sitting in her son’s car. Myung followed his mother’s gaze, a loving smile crossing his lips.

“Yeah. She’s my everything,” he mumbled under his breath before turning back to his mother, his smile growing bigger. “I do have to admit her cooking has nothing on yours, mom.”

SunHee laughed and lightly hit his shoulder, shaking her head at him with amusement. “Park Myung, you are 26 years old now. You don’t have to lie to your mother about her cooking anymore.”

Myung pouted laying his arm over his mother’s shoulder, “And you’re 51 years old now, mom. I don’t see the point in lying to you anymore. Trust me when I tell you that your cooking is better than hers. It makes me glad you taught me how to cook when I was little. Remember that? We used to always cook meals together.”

SunHee laughed, holding on to her son’s hand which laid over her shoulder.

“We didn’t actually cook together until you turned 10. Before then you just always decided on your own to try and help me and ended up making a huge mess out of my kitchen!” she exclaimed and Myung burst out laughing.

“Well, I was just trying to help.”

“Sure, help,” SunHee repeated in a sarcastic tone.

“Is that all?”

Both of their attentions snapped back to reality, out of their memories long gone now, when another tall man came out of the house with a large box. Atop sat the dark brown teddy bear. Myung walked over to grab it, holding it in his arm and nodding at the man before him.

“That should be the last box. Thank you so much. You can close the moving truck now.”

The man nodded at Myung and did as he was told.

“So, you’re really leaving me then,” SunHee said in a low tone, her eyes wavering between the teddy bear and her son. The now worn out stuffed animal, patched up in a few spots and one of its eyes having been replaced, laid comfortably in his arm while he looked at his mother.

“Mom, I’ll only be an hour’s drive away. Whenever you need me I’ll be back. You know I will.”

SunHee smiled sadly, “One more thing, though. Please wait for a moment.”

Myung nodded with a small smile and watched as his mother made her way back into the house, only to return moments later with a small basket. She grinned brightly and handed it over to him.

“Here. A few on the road snacks for you and your girlfriend. Just a little something so you won’t forget mom's cooking so quickly. And…” SunHee paused, looking down at the concrete beneath her feet.

“Mom….?”

“A small photo album. It has pictures of all of us in there. You, mommy and daddy, too. I left a few blanks in there so maybe….you could fill those up with your own pictures and come back to show me one day?”

Myung smiled and walked over to his mother, making her look up at him.

“Well, let’s start with that now then!” he exclaimed excitedly as he pulled his phone from his pocket. Turning the camera around he held it up high and threw his arm around her again. “Smile, mom!”

SunHee couldn’t help but grin at her son. He was so much like his father.

Smiling brightly, Myung pressed the button on his phone, a short click sound following. He grinned as he turned the phone back around and looked at the picture.

“This will be the first picture I add to the book. My beautiful mother and me,” he teased and SunHee shook her head at him.

Silence followed and the two of them stood there, staring at the picture on his phone. SunHee plastered a big smile on her face and pushed her son toward his car leaving him wide eyed, staring down at his mother.

“Y-Yah! Mom! What are you -”

“You should get going! It’ll turn dark soon and I’m sure you don’t want to move into your new place in the dark! You’d need lots of flashlights and you’d have to leave all of the lights on just so you can see where you’re going! That’s a waste of money and -”

Myung stopped dead in his tracks and spun around to hug his mother as tightly as he could without crushing her.

“I love you too, mom. I swear I’ll be back to visit you, okay? So don’t cry for too long and don’t stay up all night worried about me. Dad wouldn’t want that,” he whispered into her ear before letting go and smiling brightly at her shocked face.

“Yah. What makes you think I’ll cry over you leaving?”

Myung smiled and wiped his finger across her cheek, wiping away a tear that SunHee never realized had escaped. She smiled and nodded at him.

“You better call once you get there, understand?”

“Of course. Dad would disown me if I didn’t make sure you were okay,” he joked as he started for the car again, waving at his mother.

Getting in the car, Myung yelled a short ‘I love you’ to her and waited for her usual ‘I love you, too’ reply before starting the engine and driving off. SunHee waved after the car until it was out of sight, the moving truck following closely behind and just like that he was gone. Sighing deeply, she turned to look at the house behind her and smiled sadly. It was empty in there now. No child running around the house pretending to be a policeman or asking for more drink. No teenager coming home from school and making his way straight to the refrigerator and eating anything in sight. No.That boy had long since then grown up and even moved out.

SunHee slowly walked back to her front door, a million things going through her mind at this point. Will her son be okay on his own? She trusted him...but still, there was this small part inside of her that didn’t want to let him go. She wanted to keep him forever under her wings and protect him from the world out there. She knew she couldn’t, though. She knew the time would come where she’d have to let go, but she never imagined it to be this soon.

Twisting the knob to her front door SunHee entered the empty house. Eerie silence she had never been familiar with lingered in the air. She had grown so used to the laughing and nonsense screaming to where she already missed it. Looking around the room she noticed the box that stood on the kitchen counter. A smile grew on her face as she recognized it.

“Ah, Kyungie. I don’t remember leaving your box down here. Are you trying to tell me something?”

Sitting at the counter chair she looked through it, slowly undoing the ribbon tied neatly around the letters reading each title out loud until she reached the one that seemed to fit her situation. She grinned and shook her head.

“You prepared for even this. How much I love and miss you.” Opening it she took the letter out and began to read.

Annyeong, darling,

So, I guess our son has finally grown up and moved out? I hope he still comes to visit you often! I’m sure he wouldn’t dare leave his beautiful mother all alone in that house without coming back to see her. If so, I’ll have a word or two with him once I get to see him! Ah, does he have a girlfriend yet? Married maybe? Is she pretty? Her beauty probably wouldn’t even compare to that of yours. Just like when I left you a bit too early, I’ll need you to stay strong, okay? Unlike me, he’ll come back to you….I’m so sorry about that. I really wish I could have stayed a little longer and lived that happily ever after ending all the fairy tales always talked about. I guess life isn’t a story out of a book, is it?

Our son….all grown up. How does it feel to know you’ve raised our son to be a man now? You’ve done an amazing job. I know it must’ve been hard. Now you can relax a little. He’ll be fine out there in the world. He’s smart, handsome, and had the best mother any boy could have ever asked for. Just be strong for him. I know you must be getting tired of hearing that….I’m sorry for making you be strong for so long. I promise soon you’ll be able to have your own time to do whatever you please.

Let him know he’ll always have a place to return to if he chose to come back. Tell him there’ll always be an extra space at the table for him if he’s ever hungry. Make sure he knows that you love him no matter what he does and I’m sure he’ll always return the love you’ve shown him. Also, tell him that I want him to visit you every few days and to call you every night to make sure you’re fine. Yes, every night. Those are the only rules I have for him. Other than that I wish him a very long and rich life. I hope he gets to live long enough to grow old with his wife and bring us lots of grandchildren just like I wish I could have done with you! I’d love to meet them one day, too. I hope he get’s to do whatever makes him happy, and I wish his family nothing but good and that they all stay healthy and may they always wear a smile upon their faces. Never frown. It doesn’t suit a person to frown. The same goes for you. Smile, you look beautiful when you do! I’ll be watching!

                    I love you both so very much, forever your Kyungie.

"You want me to what?? Did I hear you right?" SunHee asked the grinning boy before her whose only response was a firm nod. “Seriously? You...can’t possibly be serious…”

Kyung frowned a little before taking her hands into his own. “I’m very serious! I know I joke a lot...Maybe even a bit too much sometimes, but I promise I’m absolutely serious right now. I want you to come move in with me. Please? I love you so much...we’ve been together since high school now and all I want is you. I want to be able to see your grumpy face in the morning. To kiss your nose and tell you how beautiful you are after you wake up with bed hair. I want to hold you at night and cuddle with you when it’s cold out to keep each other warm. I want to be there for you when you’re sick and take care of you when you’re feeling down. I want you to be here with me….”

SunHee smiled at him feeling her cheeks heat up as she listened to his sweet words. She had never really thought about moving in with Kyung and now realized how silly it was of her to not think of it.

“What would my parents say if I just moved in with some guy…”

“Some guy?” Kyung protested and she looked up at him to shake her head.

“I didn’t mean it like that! I mean...it’s not like we’re….” she paused, unable to finish her sentence as the thoughts clouded her mind.

“Engaged? Married? You’re right...we’re not. Not yet at least.”

He laughed and before she ever had the chance to think about it, Kyung scooped SunHee up bridal style while she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck trying her best not to fall.

“K-Kyungie! Let me down!”

He grinned and shook his head, “Say, how does the name Park SunHee sound?”

SunHee blushed and hid her face in his chest, gripping his shirt tightly.

“You’re mine already, no matter what. As soon as I can afford a nice ring to match your beautiful sparkling eyes I’ll propose to you. Okay, Mrs. Park SunHee?” Kyung laughed as he watched her nod, refusing to look at him. “So for now, won’t you move in with me so I can keep you by my side forever and always? Please?”

“Fine. I’ll move in with you….dork.”

“What did you just call me?” Kyung asked with a smile, acting as if he were about to drop her. SunHee clung onto him for dear life as she stared up at him, panic in her eyes.

“Nothing! I didn’t say a thing! Kyung, don’t you dare drop me!”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he replied as he picked her up again, giving SunHee no chance to respond as he gently placed his lips onto hers. “I love you Mrs. Park.”

SunHee grinned at him, hugging him closely to her and never wanting to let go again, “And I love you, Mr. Park.”