It was a simple Thursday evening. Minhee was lying on her bed, her feet resting on the headboard. She stared up thoughtfully at the ceiling. Right above her bed was a collage of various pictures she had collected over the years. Amongst those many captured memories, was a single picture of a boy, a shy smile resting on his face. A grin spread across her face as she was reminded of her childhood best friend, Junmyeon, and all those days spent under the sun.   Those dog days of late summer had always been the highlight of her year. She remembered how her family would always fly out to the lively and bustling California from the quiet and homey suburbs of Texas. Since she was eight, Minhee remembered meeting Junmyeon for the first time during a birthday party at her Aunt's house.   Because her Aunt often volunteered at the community center, she had made a lot of friends around town. So when Minhee visited her, she often met a lot of new faces.   On a particularly hot summer day during the summer of 2000, Minhee was sitting under a twisted oak tree with bright, rubbery leaves while everyone else was partying inside her Aunt’s house. She was toying with a particularly large leaf between her fingers when someone shadowed her. She looked up, expecting to see one of her cousins but was pleasantly surprised to see a boy, about her height, holding a deck of cards in his hand.   A blanket of silence surrounded them as they stared at each other.   “Junmyeon.” He stated simply. His face seemed to be turning pink, but it could’ve just been from the heat pouring through the leaves above.   She quirked a brow at his introduction before a small smile relaxed on her face.   “Minhee.” She breathed as she stifled a chuckle, amused by Junmyeon’s shy introduction. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he rubbed circles with his thumb over the back of the hand holding the cards.   “Do you want to sit down?” Minhee scooted over a few inches as she adjusted her sitting position.   With a nod, Junmyeon relaxed as he joined Minhee beneath the oak branches and shining leaves.   “Do you… want to play cards?” He asked after a few minutes of silence and the ambiance of the surrounding nature in the backyard.   Since that pleasant afternoon under the twisted oak, Minhee and Junmyeon enjoyed passing the lame hours of midday playing cards, hide and seek, and all sorts of other games they could come up with.   Those bright summer days together, however, did not last forever.   In the spring of 2005, Minhee’s father came home with a dreadfully ugly, yellow envelope. Within that unforgiving envelope were equally indifferent “release” papers. Personally, Minhee found the word, “release,” to sound too kind and happy for what it brought. If anything, those papers only made her and her family struggle for the next four years. Although, this wasn’t the first time things went sour for the family.   Before Minhee was old enough to remember, her family used to all live in the ever busy city of Busan. While her parents were nearing the cusp of their mid-thirties, they felt pressured to enjoy the last of their fleeting youth. In an equally impulsive and exhilarating decision, Minhee and her parents moved to San Diego. With only the clothes on their backs and whatever they could fit in their suitcases, they took what little they had to this foreign land that seemed to promise new feelings they’ve never experienced before.   Between the awkward exchanges with the locals and the culture shock they experienced, Minhee’s parents found the excitement they craved for and, as a bonus, the reinforcement of their bond as a family. Over the years they spent in California, Minhee’s widowed aunt had moved to San Diego as a way to cope with the loss of her late husband. Together, they supported each other through thick and thin.   Like all fleeting things in the world, their happiness did not last. It was a lame winter day; Minhee and her family had gone out shopping. While they were out, a shadowy figure, who had been eyeing their home for quite some time, approached the back door. After a few rattles and a click, the door groaned open. Dressers and cabinets were emptied shortly after. The once vacant floor was now covered with various belongings, from pants to silverware. The interior of the house looked as if a cyclone had terrorized it.   While heading to the back door, a small glint was peeking from under a disheveled dresser in one of the bedrooms. The lamp that had been carelessly knocked over was what was causing the glint. Curiosity overwhelmed the intruder, so with the toppling of the dresser, a plain tin box was revealed. A small lock rested defiantly on the box’s latch as the last stand to protecting whatever valuables Minhee’s family had left.   Once again, after some rattling and an empty click, the box squeaked open. Inside this modest box were the family’s emergency funds. A few hundred and fifty dollar bills were scattered amongst twenty and ten dollar bills. A satisfied grin spread across the intruder as they quickly packed up the box and ran out the back door without a sound.   After that day, more misfortune followed. While recovering from the robbery, Minhee’s father noticed his briefcase had gone missing. If only it had been any other day… Her father had gotten home from work wi