3 January 1988

She opened her big and round eyes, and with curiosity, she opened her first letter in ten years since she was born. It is a letter sent by a mysterious pen pal. She read out every word softly. 

"Dear Naeun,

How are you? I am a friend, who is by your side, but yet we have a big distance between us.

If time and skies can exist at the same time, then I hope I can find you anytime, be it the past, present or future. I will protect this sky quietly, and look at you smile.

I hope from today onwards, I can be your pen pal.

1 January 1988"

She scratched her small brain in distress, and read the letter from the start to the end again and again, but she still couldn't understand! What time? What sky? She could see that the handwriting belongs to a child, but whatever he or she wrote, she couldn't understand a thing!

Throughout the whole letter, the only things she could understand is 'How are you?' and 'I hope from today onwards, I can be your pen pal'...

14 November 2000

When Naeun went home from university, she could hear the booming sound of the vacuum cleaner. Her slightly obese and curly haired mother is pulling the vacuum cleaner around the living room, and she looked busy.

"I'm home!" Naeun raised her voice.

Her mother didn't even look at her, and she pointed towards her room while continuing to do her work,"You have a letter again, it's placed on your table.

"Oh." She replied, and walked towards her room.

Since she was ten years old, she would receive a mysterious 'love letter' every Friday. This has already become part of her life. Once, the letter came late by two days. That Sunday, she realised that she was not sitting still, and she was even fearing that the person will never send letters to her ever again.

Since the first love letter, she had already treated him as a pen pal. She never knew where the letters came from, as there isn't any return address, so she could not write back to the person. But at least, for these twelve years,it has been an excuse to her parents. She is twenty two years old this year, and she had received unknown letters for twelve years, a letter a week. Now there are about six hundred and eighteen letters in total.

When she opened her room's door, her attention immediately focused on the table. On the brown coloured table, there is a white letter. It waited quietly, as if it was waiting for it's owner to return home.

She walked towards the table, put down her bag and picked up the letter. She unknowingly smiled, while thinking. The six hundred and nineteenth letter.

The letter and its handwriting had grew up with her. When she received the first letter, it is a handwriting of a child. She also tried to take note of the boys around her, to see if anyone of them had a crush on her. In the end, she believed that the person who wrote her letters, is not someone who is close to her, as the boys around her did not even have the knowledge depth to write love letters to her. As she grew up, the handwriting on the letter now became an adult's, giving her the feeling that they are growing up together.

She pulled out her chair and started opening the letter in front of the table. The letter she took out has been the same white paper with light blue lines for years, without any fancy designs on it, which looked plain but faithful. She scanned through the letter carefully:

"Dear Naeun,

This is my last letter to you in this millennium, and indeed, it's hard.

There will always be alot of unusual things happening in our lives, and meeting you was the most happy thing in my life. If I am going to leave this world tomorrow, then the only thing that I can take away is my eternal thoughts.

Soon, somewhere in this world, we will meet. Till then, will you remember me?

I wish you a Merry Christmas.

22 November 2000"

Naeun put down the letter, took a deep breath and looked outside the window, with her heart suddenly thumping nervously. Throughout the twelve years, he had never indicated that they would meet. The past letters were all words that expressed slight love and care. But the letter this time, overflowed with sadness. He said they would meet soon, is it true? What kind of person is he?

Just when she was brooding over it, she heard the main door close. Her father had came back! Her father is a manager of a large company. He's thin, and does not look like a fat-blessed manager. His job is as carefree as a government worker, and he starts work at 9.00 a.m. everyday, and ends work at 5.00 p.m. sharp. Her mother always scolds him for being contented with his small job, and lacks the ambition to do a big business. After being working in a big company for twenty eight years, he is finally a veteren courtier, but till now he is only suited to be a loyal department manager.

Naeun walked out of the room to greet her father, and when he saw her, he smiled and said,"Oh, Naeun, you came back too!" 

"Yeah, lessons ended this afternoon." She replied while walking, and threw herself onto the soft velvet sofa. 

"Did you all watch the news today? My boss is on television again!" Her father exclaimed excitedly, his eyebrows raised.

"Your boss is Korea's richest man, what's so special about him going on television? What business has it got to do with you?" Her mother looked at him askance, as if she was scolding him for getting all worked up for no particular reason. 

"But today he spent fifty million on a giant 88.88 carat diamond at the auction!" He said with his eyes gleaming, as if he will receive the diamond,"The vote dispute scene was so exciting! The city's three nabobs is keen on winning the competition, but our boss is determined to win. He never softens whenever he told me to raise the card. When he finally got the diamond and left, the reporters' microns never stopped flashing, even my eyes turned blur when I look at them!"

"What? You helped him raise the card? Why would you go to the auction scene?" Her mother glared while questioning him.

"I'm...not too sure too...he suddenly came into my office this afternoon, and asked if I am free, and told me to accompany him to the auction scene..." Her father looked like a child who had gotten into trouble, as he carefully explained.

"Then you must have said you have nothing to do, right?" Her mother's glare turned sharper.

"I...really have nothing special to do..." He said timidly.

"You are just not making any progress! It will always give people a feeling that you are idle! If not why would he tell you to do such a silly thing?" She scolded him indignantly. 

"Stop always describing it like I have contributed nothing, at least I am still a manager, and I also get a raise yearly!" He tried defensing himself, even if he had to die, he will still have to die handsomely. 

"Hey, yes, Mr. Son! Since ten years ago when you have been promoted to the manager you are now, have you ever gotten any more promotions?" She asked aggressively.

His head drooped down. This is not the first time that he had lost to her.

"The boss has treated me really well, ten years ago I invested on the wrong choice, causing the company to lose ten million, but he did not fire me, and so that's why I can still stay there until now. What more could I ask for?" He scratched his head in frustruation.

"Mom, stop arguing on this old topic! You have been saying that for so many years already." Naeun tried to save her father. Whenever her mother touches this topic, it can last on for hours.

She readily grabbed the remote control and the television, trying to distract them. Just then it was showing the Evening News. The screen showed a herd of reporters surrounding her father's company's chairman, fighting to ask him questions on why he wanted to auction the giant diamond, and helping this seventy plus year old man was Naeun's father.

"Oh, dad! You're on television!" Naeun pointed at the television excitedly.

Both her parents' attention instantly focused on the television screen.

On the screen, showed the grizzled-haired and thin chairman, with reporters fighting to ask him questions on why he wanted to auction the giant diamond, and who he is  going to give it to. But the old man just smiled and told them, "It's name is 'Eternity'." 

After he finished his sentence, the reporters bombarded him with questions again, with spotlights shining everywhere.

"Do you know who he is giving the diamond to?" Naeun's mother asked her husband.

"His wife died many years ago, so he must be giving it to his mistress!" Naeun answered first, confidently.

"But he never had any scandals, the only one with him is only his deceased wife, who had lived in poverty and thrived together with him before. Since she died, none had heard any women with him." Her father could not help but to defend his boss,"Anyway, his health is failing him nowadays, it doesn't seem like he will still have the mood to give his attention to women."

"'Eternity' is simply a secret code, he must have given it to a women." Naeun insisted on her view.

Depending on a female's intuition, Naeun could almost confirm that there is another women whom he loves deeply, maybe even more deeply than his wife.

Elderly people can understand eternity well, because they are almost reaching the end of their lives. But, a young girl could not understand what eternity is, because she hasn't experienced the distance of time.

Hope you enjoyed my first chapter! I don't know why but I seem to take one week to write just one chapter. Anyway I am still not sure how I am going to continue the story so I may change the tags in the future. But I may not, it depends. I hope I don't run out of ideas. TTOTT Feel free to comment! ^O^