Chapter 1, Family Gatherings

          The emerald green leaves painted fluorescently by the searing summer heat swoop across the dirt road as the children play on the front yard. Animated laughter and cheers fill the empty street as the little girls skipped with their ropes and the boys played with their racing cars. Inside, the adults lounged around on the sofas eating snacks and conversing between themselves as the children played outside, the vibe of the farmhouse overflowing with exuberance and carelessness.

          Everyone is happy. Everyone is smiling. Everyone is participating in activities apart from one little boy who sat away from it all, hiding under a table. Listening to the playful laughter of the girls and the animated shouts from the boys, Daehyun curls up into a tighter ball hugging his knees to his chest with his lips in a pout. He didn’t want to play with them. They didn’t offer him to join in on their games and besides; he didn’t want to participate anyway. He liked being alone. 

          Pressing his cheek against his knee, Daehyun emits a small sigh, blinking down at the old pair of trainers he wore. He really wanted to buy new ones but his father couldn’t afford any at the moment. Just as he blew some air from his lips, he hears the patter of small footsteps across the wooden floor coming closer and closer towards his hiding spot. Daehyun stills for a moment, listening quietly as the footsteps pattered uncoordinatedly across the room as though they belonged to a certain 4-year-old…

         Suddenly, the tablecloth is yanked up and a pair of round eyes peak underneath, a small smile creeping up on a familiar pair of pink lips. “Daehyunnie!” the little girl squeals, climbing under the table towards the said male. “Found you, oppa!” she giggles, poking the 8-year-old on the cheek. “Why are you hiding?” she innocently asks, planting her bottom next to Daehyun who simply just blinked at her like a lost puppy. When the reply she is waiting for never comes, she frowns and scrunches up her nose before tilting her head to one side.

“Do you want to play with me?”

          Daehyun stares at her wordlessly and she huffs, giving up and running out from under the table back to the other kids. She knew Suzy and Jongin will want to play with her. When she returns to her cousins she throws a small fit, looking through the window at the table that concealed the boy beneath it.

          “Daehyunnie doesn’t want to play,” she whines dejectedly, picking a rope up from the floor. As soon as she begins to skip, the tablecloth is slowly raised, revealing a small head peeking out of it and staring through the glass. Daehyun watches as Bisuri continues to play with her other cousins, attempting to jump over the rope whilst Suzy, Minah and Yejin played with their dolls. Unlike the other girls, Bisuri was different, more spontaneous and bright despite her tender age.

          She talked a lot and always smiled, being the chirpiest kid of them all among all her other cousins. She was nothing compared to when she was born. Daehyun could remember how her tiny fingers reached out for his when he used to sneak into her cot in the middle of the night and how she never cried even when he woke her from her slumber. In fact, Bisuri invited the company of the older boy, grinning toothily whenever he climbed in next to her and soothed her to sleep with his fingers playing her little strands of hair.

          Daehyun loved Bisuri a lot after she was born, he would refuse to go anywhere without her being in a pram beside him. She was cute and Daehyun admired her for being his little baby cousin. But as she grew older, Daehyun began distancing himself from her; afraid she’ll grow up to dislike him and his shy demeanour. He didn’t want to risk it, so he stayed away and watched from a distance, his eyes glittering in awe at how she went from a small, vulnerable baby to a waddling, loud and bouncy 4-year-old who found it extremely hard to sit still in one place. 

          Daehyun watches her and smiles when she successfully jumps over the rope for the first time. She lights up like a candle and tries again to master her new skill, cheeks rosy from the humid summer season. Again, she jumps over the rope and squeals, trying again and again until her feet hurt from all the jumping.

          “Daehyunnie oppa!” Bisuri squeals, running into the house with the rope being dragged behind her. Daehyun wipes away his smile and watches as the small girl crawls under the table holding both ends of the rope within one hand.

          “Oppa look, I can skip!” she announces, making Daehyun’s heart flutter. She reaches out and grabs his bigger hand into her own small one before tugging him out from under the table and leading him outside where the other kids played. With wide brown eyes and a beating heart, little Daehyun watches as the 4-year-old draws the rope in front of her and attempts to skip, trying as hard as she could to impress the older boy. At some point, the rope gets caught around the little girl’s ankle and in a flash, Daehyun is kneeling in the dirt, tenderly bringing her foot out of the hazard and letting her proceed.

          Bisuri lights up jubilantly at the caring gesture and drops the rope to wrap her arms around him, but it barely lasts a second because a shy Daehyun is hastily pushing her away, using the backdoor as an escape route to reach the adults in the lounge and leaving the rejected cousin with Yejin and Suzy who weren’t paying her any attention to start with.

           Offended, Bisuri runs in after the boy and wears a frown when she finds him avoiding her by being curled up against his father’s shirt, pink cheeks squished against the thin material. “Daehyunnie oppa!” she whines, begging for his attention and causing a scene in front of the adults who silence and watch with curiosity.

         “What’s the matter, Suri-ah?” grandpa asks, his kind eyes wrinkling from the intrigued smile spreading across his lips. The girl in question takes no time to respond, accusingly pointing a finger at Daehyun and drawling out a solemn “He wont play with me.”

           Mrs. Kwon coos at her daughter’s sweet complaint and without being able to resist any longer, grandpa Jung scoops the little girl up into his arms and rocks her in his tight embrace, letting her know that it’s almost dinner time anyway. Mr. Jung pats his son on the shoulder and leaves him on the couch to call the other children in from outside. Daehyun shyly avoids eye contact with Bisuri, skin still burning from when she tried to hug him. When the women began to prepare dinner, the sun had already set behind the horizon blanketing the spirited greens in a mellow amber hue. It doesn't take long for Mr. Jung to get the excited, hungry children rushing inside with their clothes covered in dust and their mouths salivating at the delectable aroma of home cooked food.

          By default, Bisuri and Daehyun end up sitting beside each other on the dinner table sandwiched between the adults, neither of them paying any attention to the other. They never chose to sit anywhere else even if they argued or fought. Bisuri was too fond of Daehyun to sit with any of the other kids, and Daehyun was too fond of Bisuri to sit beside anyone else. It has always been this way, ever since the 4-year-old no longer needed to be seated on a high chair at dinnertime.

          Warm laughter and zesty conversation surrounds the dinning table as the adults settle down with their share of food and wine. Daehyun, the only child on the table who doesn’t need a Sippy cup, prepares a purple one filled with berry juice for Bisuri and leaves it in front of her plate wordlessly. She tries to hide her grin behind her hair but inevitably, her hawk-eyed grandpa notices and continues to scrutinize, zoning out of the conversation between the adults and focusing on his two grandchildren.

         When Bisuri struggles to pick up her meat with her violet pair of training chopsticks, Daehyun immediately intervenes by feeding her the meat off of his own. Happily, Bisuri allows herself to be fed by the older boy, obediently opening and waiting for the other to give her the meat. In the end, Daehyun ends up feeding his cousin more than he feeds himself but he doesn't complain once and only continues to aid to the younger girl, eliciting warmth in the stomach of his grandpa. 

          As though they had never fought, Daehyun and Bisuri get on well for the rest of the evening making the eldest man on the table muster a watery smile filled with sheer delight. This is all he has ever wanted since the day the little girl was born.

For his dearest grandson to simply take good care of her and perhaps always be there for her even in the future.