Sooyoung. 

Landing back in Korea. The air was a little balmy. There was a car out to greet us on the ground as soon as we came. Jiwoo looked around in amazement, with a glow. Her eyes twinkled in the sun. I could tell that she slept well, amidst the nasty jetlag we were about to face together. The driver opened the door and we climbed in together. I must admit, I missed my country. As we drove down the city streets, there was signs that read in Hangul that made me feel at home. Jiwoo looked outside as if she were a tourist. 

"Where are we going first?" she asks me. 

"As you know, a little someone missed you," I grinned. We turned the corner onto Heejin's apartment building's street. There was a welcoming banner with me and Jiwoo's picture. Outside was Yerim, Heejin, Hyunjin, Jungeun, Jinsol, and their juniors from school who we never formally met yet. We got out the car to be bombarded with hugs. Haseul was there too! She was at the grill barbequing food. "MY CHILDREN HAVE RETURNED!" She ran up to us and hugged us in her apron. She smelled of freshly fermented kimchi and meat. "Oh my gosh, mom," I say. "It's been so long!" 

"We must catch up!" Haseul grins. "Meet Yeojin, Hyejoo, Hyewon, and Vivi! I teach the babies, but I met Vivi at a conference in China." We shake hands. "You guys are all family now! Did you hear about Jungeun and Jinsol?" 

Jinsol walked up to me and showed me a ring. "A couple that dyes blonde together stays together." She snickers. 

"YOU TWO ARE ENGAGED?" Jiwoo screams. "AAAAH!" 

Heejin walks up and smiles awkwardly. "Well, I also got Hyunjin to be my girlfriend-" Jiwoo jumps on her and squeals in her ear. Hyunjin comes up and gives me a hug. She was mostly quiet but when big events happen, she would be the loudest of us all.

"Hey, stranger," I say. "How was Tokyo Japan?" 

She beams. "It was wonderful. I got a chance to come back home for break. I couldn't miss the opportunity." She grins at Heejin who is still struggling on the ground. "Oh my." She holds out her hand to help her up. I was waiting for them to become official ever since I met them. Whenever Jiwoo and I would go on dates, sometimes her and Heejin would tag along. They would be so awkward at times. Now, it's finally happening. After what felt like an eternity.

Jiwoo steps by my side and plants a kiss on my cheek. "We're also dating too," she tweets happily. That tone was one that I never heard in a long time. The happy Jiwoo tone. I put my arm around her waist. "After they romanced me with their money and wealth." 

"I think it would take you more than cash for you to be glowing and smiling like that," Heejin jabbed.

"It was more like, I gave her a sight of Paris that she wanted to see," I say. I look at Jiwoo and admired her. "I hope I can show her the world-"

"Sooyoung, you sound like such a melodramatic-esque chaebol 1st lead in a fast-paced written romantic comedy," Jungeun snickers. "Please stop." 

"At least I don't fall into the category of -"

"I beg to disagree," Jiwoo interjected, squeezing my hand. 

"How was I a jerk?" I asked.

"Because," Jiwoo smiled. "You stole my heart again." 

Yerim tsked and grabbed a kabob. "You guys are so gay, it's making me gay." 

"Everyone in this friend group has a little gay in them," Haseul says. She looks at Vivi, and steps to hold her hand. Everyone reacts in shock. 

"MOM!" we all yelled in unison. 

Haseul doesn't respond. "Continue on partying." 

+

As I unpack my things in the same old room that I lived in before I graduated high school in my father's manor, I began to think about how coming back to Korea has affected me. Did I miss Korea? Have I ever not thought to come back? I lived life on edge, and returned to my home country with a different lense. I walk out to the window and open it. I grab my old camera that still takes good polaroids and took a shot of the sky.

The Seoul sky still looked the same. On my dresser, there was still photos that I had taken of Jiwoo there. Her in her school uniform, beaming at me in the field we would sneak off to in the middle of class. Her eating tteokbokki after her first finals exam. I reached into another part of my suitcase and got out a box of photos I had taken since I left Seoul. At the bottom of it, was a photo of Jiwoo at her graduation. She didn't know that I was there. I had taken it before my flight left. 

I hitched in a breath and laid in my bed. It felt weird to be here again. Above me was an Ansel Adams original, casually on my ceiling. I closed my eyes and felt a sense of nostalgia. My mother took me into a photo shop on Children's day to buy a camera. It was a small cheap one, but I began snapping pictures randomly of her, my sister, and the plants we were growing outside. One day, in the mail that same month, an Ansel Adams book came in. It was a birthday gift from my father. I poured over the book endlessly. I told my mom that I wanted to be as cool as him. I grinned and rolled on my back. I reached for my phone to call Jiwoo. "Hey, you awake?" 

She groaned in annoyance. "I was having a good dream." 

"About me?" 

"Noo...." Jiwoo whines. "It was about me singing at an opera." 

"Where?" 

"The Opera House in Sydney, Australia. And I was gracing the crowd with my voice." 

I missed her already. Why did she have to stay at Heejin's tonight? Wasn't Heejin dating Hyunjin? Shouldn't they have been all cuddled in tonight? "I would love to capture that moment." 

"I'm sure you would." 

"I miss you," I say, trying to hide my neediness. I think it failed. "Talk to me until I fall asleep." 

"I miss you too..." she says in her sleepy tone. "I love you." 

"I love you too. But...please don't sleep yet." 

She did.