“Minjae-ah, can you come over for a moment?” called Sooyoung from her room.

“Neh, eomma! What is it?” asked Minjae, as he walked into Sooyoung’s room.

“Minjae-ah, I have a favour to ask of you,” said Sooyoung, as Minjae sat next to her.

“What is it, eomma? You sound so serious. Are you feeling unwell?” asked Minjae concernedly.

“Minjae-ah, would you be willing to meet Sungjae-ahjussi again?” asked Sooyoung tentatively.

“Why do you ask that, eomma? Has something happened to him?” asked Minjae.

“No, nothing’s happened. I just… He just… He just wants to see you again for some reason,” said Sooyoung.

“Is he worried I might object to him, eomma? I told you before I have no problem with you being together with him, right?” said Minjae.

“Yes, you did, Minjae. And eomma is very thankful for that. But he would like to meet you again before he flies back to the US,” said Sooyoung.

“Bwoh?! He’s leaving?” asked Minjae in a shocked voice.

“No, he’s just going back to tie up some loose ends before he comes back to Korea for good,” assured Sooyoung. “So would you be free this week to meet him?”

“I’m free tomorrow afternoon, eomma,” replied Minjae.

“All right, I’ll let him know then,” said Sooyoung.

…

The following afternoon, Minjae headed down to the café where he first bumped into Sungjae after he came back to Korea. When he entered, he saw that Sungjae was already seated.

“Annehasaeyo, Sungjae-ahjussi,” greeted Minjae.

“Ah, annehasaeyo, Minjae-ah,” greeted Sungjae with a smile. “Would you like a drink?”

“It’s okay, ahjussi. I’m not thirsty,” replied Minjae.

An awkward bout of silence followed Minjae’s reply, as Sungjae thought about what to say.

“So, what did you want to see me about, ahjussi?” asked Minjae.

“I…” began Sungjae. “I actually just wanted to meet you after your mother told you about my identity. I was hoping that you would still be willing to meet me.”

“I shared with you the other day, didn't I, ahjussi?” said Minjae. “I don’t hate the boy who did this to eomma. Her happiness is more important.”

“But sometimes, it’s difficult for us to do something that we thought we could do once we are faced with the reality of actually having to do it,” said Sungjae.

“I understand, ahjussi. I honestly don't hate you, but can you promise me something?” asked Minjae.

“What is it, Minjae-ah?” asked Sungjae.

“Please don’t hurt my eomma again. I’ve watched her go through years of loneliness and pain. Pain that she bottled up and refused to let anyone see. All those times I secretly watched from outside her room as she flipped through your old photographs and memories, I could feel the pain that emanated from her,” related Minjae. “I really will hate you if you cause eomma any more pain from now on.”

Sungjae blinked hard to stop the tears that threatened to leak from his eyes.

“Eomma also kept wearing that ‘6’ ring that you gave her all these years. There was once she couldn’t find it after she took it off for her shower. I’ve never seen eomma look so crazy while looking for something. She dragged me into her room and made me help her shift practically every single bit of furniture to check where the ring had rolled to. I know what’s engraved on it because I found it when I pushed back her vanity table. She keeps the other one locked up in her drawer. I’ve seen her take it out a few times to look at it before she puts it back,” continued Minjae. “I truly believe you’re the one who can get her to open up and bring her happiness. If you were not the one, she would not have held on to those feelings for all these years. My eomma has suffered enough, ahjussi. And so have you. So if you really are coming back to her for good, please make sure you don’t cause her pain again.”

Sungjae closed his eyes, steeling himself to say what he had in mind. “I underestimated your eomma’s feelings for me, Minjae-ah. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for putting her through that but I hope you understand that at that point of time, I truly believed that I was going to die. There was no perfect solution but I believed that the solution I chose was the one that would cause your eomma the least amount of pain. But it looks like it had the reverse effect to what I intended. I’ve apologised to her and I will apologise to you now, Minjae. I’m truly sorry for the pain I’ve caused your eomma. I’m also sorry that you had to watch her go through it for all these years and I hope you will accept my apology.”

“I accept your apology, ahjussi,” said Minjae, as he took Sungjae’s hand into his. “But there’s no need to apologise. I’m sure you’ve had a terribly hard time these past twelve years yourself. It couldn’t have been easy learning to live with your condition. I’m not blaming you at all. I just want my eomma to be happy and I believe you can give her that happiness. I’m quite certain it doesn't matter to eomma whether you’re blind or not. Her heart still belongs to you.”

“Thank you for your blessing, Minjae-ah,” said Sungjae with a smile, though an unruly tear finally leaked out of his eye and streaked his cheek.

“You’re welcome, ahjussi. I heard from eomma that you’re leaving for America again but you’re coming back soon. When will you come back?” asked Minjae.

“I will leave next Monday and be back in two weeks’ time. I promise I will stay for good this time. There’s a favour I need to ask of you though,” said Sungjae.

“What is it, ahjussi?” asked Minjae.

Sungjae spent the next few minutes stating the favour he needed and explaining the details to Minjae.

“Is that okay with you? Would you be willing to help me?” asked Sungjae.

“Of course, ahjussi. It would be an honour for me to do so,” replied Minjae.

As Minjae pulled his hand away from Sungjae’s, he noticed the scars on Sungjae’s hand that he had noticed previously but did not get a chance to ask Sungjae about.

“Ahjussi, you have a few white scars on your hand. What happened?” asked Minjae.

Sungjae smiled and replied, “Funny you should ask that, Minjae-ah. You gave me those scars.”

“Bwoh? Jjinja?” asked Minjae in disbelief.

“I think you’ve forgotten this since it happened so long ago. Thankfully, I still remember this part of my life. You were six years old and your eomma and I took you and three other friends out for a picnic. You were throwing a tantrum and nearly got the both of us knocked down by a car. I tried to stop you from struggling and you scratched me,” said Sungjae with a laugh.

“Mianhe, ahjussi. I must have scratched you hard for it to scar like that,” said Minjae.

“Hahaha, don’t worry about it. It happened so long ago,” said Sungjae. “Actually I’m qui