Day 03: December 16th

Busan

Minju walked down the hallway of her home holding a cup of warm water. She stopped in front of a room and knocked softly on the door.

"Please come in."

Minju slid open the door and stepped into the room.

"Here Halabeoji, it's time for your medication."

Minju put the cup down on the bedside cabinet and gently helped the elderly man sat up in the bed. She picked up the cup again and handed the medication to her grandfather.

Kim Chiwon accepted the pills from his granddaughter and put them into his mouth. He drank some water and gave the cup back to Minju. Minju put down the cup and began to fix Chiwon's blankets.

"Are you comfortable, Halabeoji?"

"Yes, thank you Minju." Chiwon answered with a soft smile.

"It's getting colder now. If you need more blankets, just tell me."

"I will." Chiwon sighed. "Don't fuss so much about me. I'm just getting old, Minju."

"No, you are not." Minju shook her head. "Halabeoji, you are still very young."

Chiwon laughed. "You don't have to flatter me. I know that my time is coming soon."

"Don't say that!" Minju protested.

"I'm just happy to know that once I'm gone, you will still have Yuri, Hitomi and especially Yujin by your side."

"Halabeoji..."

"When I'm gone, promise me that you will close down the supermarket and move to Seoul, so you can be with Yujin."

"No, I won't do that! You had put a lot of hard work into the supermarket. It's your heart and soul! I will not give it up so easily!"

"Minju, I don't want to hold you back from following your heart."

"Don't worry about me, Halabeoji." Minju held her grandfather's hand gently. "I'm going to be okay."

"You are a good child, Minju. I'm really proud of you."

"It's because I have an amazing grandfather." Minju kissed Chiwon softly on the cheek. "I love you, Halabeoji."

"I love you, too."

"It's getting late. You should get some rest."

Minju helped Chiwon lay down on the bed and tucked the blanket securely around him.

"I'm going to leave the water here, in case you need it in the middle of the night."

"Okay. Have a good night, Minju."

"Good night, Halabeoji."

Minju turned off the lights and closed the door. She walked back to her room and quietly shut the door behind her. She the bedside lamp and sat down on the floor. She looked up at the pictures that lined her shelves. They were pictures of people that she loved, like her parents, her grandfather, Hitomi, Yuri.

And Yujin.

Minju’s parents had passed away when she was only five years old. Her grandfather had to raise her all by himself. It was tough to juggle the duties of running a supermarket and being the guardian of young child, but somehow they had managed to make it work.

When her grandfather had handed over the supermarket to Minju after her graduation from university, she thought that he would finally able to enjoy life. Unfortunately, he had suffered a about a year ago and he had been bedridden since then. During the day time, when Minju was busy with the supermarket, she had hired a caretaker to take care of her grandfather. After work, she would go home right away. She had hardly gone out with her friends since her grandfather’s . Once in awhile, Yuri and Hitomi would come over and they would have a dinner party at her home.

When Yujin first left for Seoul, Minju really thought that they could make their long distance relationship work. She would visit Yujin on weekends and once in awhile, she would stay in Seoul for a longer period of time. With Yuri looking after the supermarket, Minju really didn't have anything to worry about. However, things changed when her grandfather got sick. She couldn't go to Seoul and visit Yujin as often as she wanted to, since she didn't want to trouble other people with the responsibility of looking after her grandfather.

Both Yujin and her grandfather were very important to her, so she was trying really hard to hold onto both of them.

She knew that she was being selfish. Yujin was working hard on chasing after her dreams in Seoul. She deserved someone who could be there by her side to share her happiness and her sadness. Someone who could provide comfort and support whenever she needed it. And Minju knew that she could not be that someone because she could not leave Busan. She could not abandon her grandfather. She thought many times about setting Yujin free, but in the end, she knew that she could not let Yujin go.

She loved Yujin so much that it hurt her to be without the other woman.

She wished that there could be way for everything to work out. A way so that she was not torn between the two most important people in her life.

But she knew that was impossible.

A lone tear rolled down Minju's face as she continued to look at the pictures on the shelves, thinking about a woman that was always on her mind.

A woman that was far, far away from her.