“Halmoni!! Annyeong!!” a small voice screamed as it ran through the front door of the large house.

SunHee smiled as she recognized the voice, waiting for the small child to come running around the corner at the speed of light.

“Yah! I wanted to be first!” another small voice screamed and the two started arguing.

It didn’t take long for her to finally see the owners of the voices and she grinned. Two children, a five-year-old boy and a smaller four-year-old girl, came storming around the corner of the kitchen door and only halting when they both ran head first to cling to SunHee’s legs. Grinning they looked up at her.

“Oh, annyeong, kids. How are you? I just got done making a fresh batch of cookies for you two,” she smiled at their wide eyes filled with surprise.

“But, how did you know we were coming?” the boy questioned and SunHee put a finger to her lips.

“Secret. Now go eat up before they get cold okay?”

The children grinned and nodded at her before letting go and taking off once more, resembling little race cars as they made their way into the next room.

“Mom. Don’t overwork yourself, okay?”

SunHee stopped and turned around to see her son standing in the doorway smiling at her. She could feel herself getting older every time she looked at him. He was slowly growing up with his own family.

“Overwork myself? I’m only fixing my grandchildren cookies and washing dishes. I might be getting old, but I’m not that old yet, understood?”

Myung laughed at and shook his head, “I bet dad used to have a hard time with that attitude of yours.”

SunHee smiled and nodded. “Mhm, but it was one of the things he loved about me so he dealt with it the best way he knew how to. By annoying me.”

Smiling, Myung stood beside his mother, taking the dishes out of her hand and continuing them for her. She pouted but wouldn’t dare complain. He was as kind as his father once was. It was only one of the many things he inherited from Kyung.

“Why do you always insist on doing that?”

Myung smiled lightly without answering and Sunhee could do nothing but shake her head, a small smile crossing her own face as she sat down at the kitchen table watching him clean the rest of the dishes for her.

“So, where is your wife this time?”

“She wasn’t feeling too well so I told her to stay home and rest. She sends her love, though.”

“She truly is a wonderful girl, isn’t she?”

Myung grinned brightly and nodded, keeping his attention on the dishes.

SunHee stood to her feet, walking past him and into the next room with the children. She smiled as they sat on the couch munching on the last few cookies and going through a familiar box. A few things had been pulled out along with envelopes and a photobook with a bright sparkling heart on top. She could hear them talking about the pictures inside with their mouths full of cookies.

“Are you two going through my stuff again?” she asked, sitting on the couch between the two children, her eyes growing wide for a split second as she looked down at the things spread over her table. There was a picture laid out in front of her. It was an old one of her and Kyung during the spring time. A beautiful Korean hibiscus was sticking out from her hair as he lightly kissed her cheek, making her blush while he snapped the picture. It was one of her absolute favorite pictures of them together.

“Halmoni, who is that?” the young boy questioned and SunHee grinned.

“That, my dear, is your grandfather.”

The children tilted their heads at the picture and smiled brightly.

“You look happy! Where is he now?”

SunHee looked down at the little girl and held her tightly. “He’s currently busy in heaven, watching over all of us down here. He makes sure we stay safe during the day, and at night he becomes the brightest star in the sky to light our way and make sure we don’t end up in the darkness.”

“Ah. So, how come we don’t have a grandpa now?”

SunHee giggled at the boy, “Because I was never lucky enough to find another grandpa for you guys.”

The little boy pouted and pointed to the picture. “Well they’re all stupid then because you’re really pretty! And nice! And make amazing cookies!”

SunHee laughed and wrapped her arms around the children as they continued to go through the photobook. She ended up getting so caught up in the memories she never noticed her son leaning over the back of the couch, watching closely as they flipped through the pages of the old book.

“Dad really loved you, huh? I can see why you never remarried now.”

SunHee hummed in response to her son.

“You know, I still have that teddy bear….even though now it kinda ends up in one of the children’s rooms more than in mine. I promise they’re taking good care of it, though. I know how special it is to you.”

SunHee smiled and nodded, watching the pictures go by as the memories started to flood back. Picking up the stack of letters, she looked at the titles of each of them stopping only when she read one titled ‘For when you move on’. Holding it up to Myung, she smiled.

“He really thought I’d eventually move on. He’s always been an idiot like that.”

Myung laughed and poked the note, “So, are you going to read it?”

SunHee looked at it and nodded. “Only appropriate. I want to know what it says, and I know I won’t be moving on anytime soon...so I may as well. Don’t you think?”

Myung nodded and turned to his children smiling brightly. “Alright, who wants ice cream? Let’s go and get some shopping done for mommy, and head back home.”

SunHee’s eyes widened as she shook her head, “You don’t have to leave!”

Myung shook his head with a smile. ‘We’ll be back later. I’m sure you were planning to make some of your famous cold medicine dishes for my oh-so-lovely wife, as you like to call her. Go through dad’s letters. We’ll be back,” he said with a smile and watched as the children made their way through the living room and towards the front door, waving their goodbyes. Before heading out, Myung followed closely behind after giving his mother a goodbye hug and assured her that they’d return in a few hours.

Looking around the once again empty house, SunHee felt the eerie silence overcoming it. Sighing, she turned the television back on to a random channel for background sounds before picking up the latest letter she discovered. She smiled at the sight of his hand writing. She missed it. Flipping it over, SunHee carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the old letter, surprised at how well they all kept in tact after all of these years, and began reading.

Annyeong, honey,

If you’ve finally come around to opening this letter, you must have moved on and found someone else worthy enough to be loved by you. Please don’t feel bad! I want you to be happy. Want you to smile and laugh. To argue and make up again. I want you to be truly happy instead of sitting in sadness all day long. I hope he treats you the way you deserve to be treated. The way I wish I could have treated you for a while longer.

Make sure you give all of my things to our son now, besides the letters. There’s two more that I’ve prepared for you. I want him to have the memories I’ve left with you now since you’ll be busy making new ones. I’m happy for you! This man must truly be special to you. Let him know that he has my blessings. I’ll be watching you both, and I want nothing but the best for you two. You deserve it. I’ve loved you for so long--I still do--but now it’s time for another man to show you how to truly be loved.

Let our son know that he shouldn’t bear a grudge against this man. He’s meant to make you happy in the ways that I’ve failed. He needs to accept that now, finally, it’s your turn to be happy. Do tell him to be a bit cautious. Tell him to watch this man and make sure that he truly deserves to be loved by such an amazing woman as you. If not, he has my permission to let this man know that he needs to leave you alone because you only deserve the best.

I love you. Both of you. I will always love you. Never forget that but now it’s time for me to let you go….and for you to let me go. I’ll see you again one day, I’m sure of it. But until that day, live your life, be happy, and most of all….be loved.

                        Love you to the moon and back, your Kyungie

"Y-Yah! What kind of nonsense are you talking about now? Did you have one too many drinks again?” SunHee yelled as she looked at Kyung grinning from ear to ear as he layed on the couch. His feet propped up on a pillow while his head sat comfortably on his arms folded behind his head.

“You heard me right, and no. I haven’t had one drink today. Or maybe the post guy. The pizza guy is kind of cute, too, but I don’t think he’d be your type. He keeps messing up our order. The guy from the coffee shop maybe?”

SunHee listened to Kyung’s mumbling, her blood boiling at the stupid ideas that he was coming up with.  Walking over to him she punched him as hard as she could in his arm, making him sit up to stare at her. He didn’t realize she had been crying until he looked at her face, tears still running down her cheeks.

“You idiot! We’re married and I’m pregnant with your child! What the hell makes you think I’d ever leave you to find someone else?! You are my all. The only idiot I’ll ever love! There is no pizza guy, or coffee guy, and it sure as hell won’t be the damn post man! You can’t possibly be in your right mind if -”

“I’m not. I haven’t been in a good while…” Kyung mumbled under his breath, staring down at the floor rather than at her face. He couldn’t bare to look at her.

SunHee stopped, staring at him with a questioning look at the seriousness of his tone. A small smile was spread across his face but she knew that it was fake. Fake to lighten the mood. Fake to make her feel better. Fake so he could hide his own pain.

“Park Kyung….what do you mean?”

“I’m sick, jagiya….I really didn’t want to tell you like this….I found out the last time I went to the doctor’s because of that bad headache about two months ago. It turns out that I have a brain tumor. There’s not much they can do for me anymore. They caught it too late. He said if I’m strong enough, I should have at least 10 months left to live….so, shortly -”

“Shortly before our child is born…..you’re going to….” SunHee cut him off, neither of them wanted to finish the sentence they had started.

SunHee stood in front of Kyung as he wrapped his arms around her waist, silent tears flooding down his cheeks as she held him tightly placing soft kisses on the top of his head only to be followed by her own tears.

“We’ll get through this, Kyungie,” she whispered refusing to let him go.

“Please, I need you to do me a favor. I want you to move on after I die. I want you to be happy in life. To live. To Love. To be loved.You’re too wonderful of a girl to be alone for the rest of your life, understood?”

SunHee smiled sadly and shook her head. “I’ll have our child to love me. And then one day I’ll have grandchildren that I’ll get to love. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll get plenty of love, but there will never be another man I’ll love as much as I love you. Do you understand that, Kyungie?”

Sniffing, Kyung looked up at her and she wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Why are you so stubborn?” he asked as SunHee kissed his nose.

“That’s just who I am. How about this: I’ll try to find someone else. If I do, okay. If I don’t, also okay.”

Kyung smiled sadly at her before turning her around and sitting her in his lap, placing his head onto her shoulder.

“Araso. I guess that’s all I can ask for. I love you so much. I’m so sorry.”

SunHee shook her head and held onto his arms as tightly as she could. “It’ll be fine, Kyung. I swear it will be.”

The next few hours went by silently as the two sat there clinging onto each other for dear life, not needing any words to prove just how much they loved each other.