Ji Hyo has been at the mall for almost two hours with Gita and she is already exiting the third store with her fifth bag.

“Want me to carry one for you?” Gita offers, carrying just a small one herself.

Ji Hyo shakes her head weakly. “I’m good so far, but I’m afraid very soon I need to accept that offer.”

Gita smiles at the older woman. “Alright. What else do you want to see?”

“What was that store where we used to buy jeans all the time? I mean, you would. I would get all upset because I was too fat to fit into them.” Ji Hyo reminisces about the past suddenly.

Gita chuckles. “You were pregnant, Eonnie. Besides, I remember you bought some for yourself.”

Ji Hyo playfully rolls her eyes. “Yeah, okay. Those jeans were very good, we should drop by.”

“But you’ve already bought four jeans today.” Gita points at her various bags.

“And your point is?”

Gita shoots her a sarcastic look and smiles. “Can’t win you, can I?”

“No.” Ji Hyo chuckles. Things are getting easy again. “I can show off to the celebrities when I’m back in Seoul, you know.”

Gita gives her a smirk. “Please buy some for Jang Na Ra then.” She mentions one of the celebrities that Ji Hyo works with.

Ji Hyo can’t hold her laugh anymore. “Na Ra-ssi will be gladly wearing these local jeans.”

“Arasseo. Here it is.” Gita announces, entering the store.

After walking out of the store with another huge bag in Ji Hyo’s hand, she exclaims, “You know what I also need? Bathing suits.”

Gita claps her hand. “I sort of figured that! Everybody who comes here takes back a lot of bikinis and stuff. You don’t go to beaches a lot up there, do you?”

Ji Hyo shakes her head. “Seoul is not that close to the beach. Besides after giving birth to Ah Ra, I swear my body never goes back to its usual previous shape.”

Gita pauses what she is doing and shoots Ji Hyo a look. “Eonnie, I know I didn’t know you before and all, but with all due respect, shut up.” She sees Ji Hyo just chuckles instead of being offended, before continues, “You’ve got a wonderful body. You’re very fit and those muscles are to die for! It’s settled. I’m making you buy the tiniest bikini in the store.”

Ji Hyo widens her eyes. “Which I’ll wear in front of my children and ex-husband. Yes, very appropriate.”

Gita smirks and approaches her. All the time Ji Hyo lived here, she would talk to her about her problems with her husband. However, not as openly as she now wishes she had. But up until then, neither of them have brought it up.

“So, how are things going with you two?” Gita braces herself to ask the question since Ji Hyo has given the opening.

Ji Hyo just sighs. “Considering how they were when I left, pretty good.”

Gita smiles in a friendly way. “You know if you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

“I know, and I’m thankful for today,” Ji Hyo looks back at her and returns her smile. “But really, I guess things are going okay at the moment.” She trails off and suddenly remembers what happened earlier that day and how weird it made her feel. She has the urge to ask her. “Have you- uh, have you seen him much since I left?”

Gita shakes her head. “Not really. But he usually met up with Woo Jin Oppa at the beach and went jogging together after work. Although they don’t really do that anymore.” She mentions her husband’s name. “Waeyo?”

“No, nothing.” Ji Hyo replies rather quickly.

Gita is not convinced, but she decides to let it go. “Anyway, Ah In and Ah Ra have grown up so much, huh?”

After more than three hours, Ji Hyo and Gita come back to Jong Kook’s house at almost five in the evening, when Jong Kook said he’d be back from his work. When they arrive though, it seems like Jong Kook has been there for quite a long time. He is sitting on the floor while Ah Ra and Gita’s little girl, Mia, who’s a year older than Ah Ra, play with his hair. They have made numerous mini pigtails with his short hair using colorful accessories, while Ah In and Gita’s son, Anton, are playing video games in his room.

The sight before her makes Ji Hyo instantly bursts into laughter.

Jong Kook looks up and smiles. “Is this amusing to you?”

“Very much.” Ji Hyo tries to control her laughter by covering .

Ah Ra smiles at her Eomma but continues playing with her father’s hair.

“Hi, Gita.” Jong Kook greets him in Indonesian.

Gita chuckles, appreciating his attempt to talk in Indonesian. “Oppa, how are you doing?”

“Fine as you can see.” He motions at his hair. “Has my Indonesian improved since the last time you saw me?” He now asks in Korean again.

“Very.” Gita amuses. “Your children surely have grown up a lot since the last time I’ve seen them.”

“Oh, I can say the same to you.” Jong Kook politely replies, looking at her little girl that’s still tying his hair along with his little girl.

Ji Hyo sits down on the couch and Gita follows. She puts all of her shopping bags on the coffee table and sighs, feeling tired.

“Wow, what do you have here?” Jong Kook prompts when he approaches them to see a million bags on the table. “Where did you take her, Gita? To every shopping mall in the island?”

Gita sneers. “No, we just went to Beachwalk,” She mentions the name of the mall. “So, be prepared, because we still get a lot more ahead.”

Ah In runs from upstairs with Gita’s son. “Are we going out, Appa? What are we doing today? I’m sick of playing the Nintendo!”

“Ah In-ah, be careful.” Ji Hyo scolds him when she sees his son running on the stairs. “You don’t want to hurt yourself again.”

“Why? What happened?” Jong Kook looks lost before he notices something on his knee. “What’s that on your knee, adeul-ah?”

“I slipped and Eomma put this on.” Ah In lifts his leg to show his father. “It’s ugly.”

It is one of the band-aids he keeps for his children. There are ones for Ah Ra, with pictures of Mickey Mouse and friends, and ones for Ah In, with pictures of Star Wars. The one he’s using now however has a picture of Daisy on it and Ah In is not happy about it.

Jong Kook chuckles at his frown. “Do you want to change? I have ones with the Star Wars characters.”

Ah In’s eyes light up. “Yeah! I want the Stormtrooper one!”

Jong Kook extends his arms to be held by Ah In, before glancing at Ji Hyo, who’s avoiding his eyes. So, she went inside his bathroom, what’s the big deal? Whatever the case, he just lets it go. He walks hands in hands with Ah In to get him the Stormtrooper band-aid.

Jong Kook says before he enters his room. “So, we can go to uh- I don’t know. Gita, have any idea? You and the kids should join us.”

Mia puts an arm around Ah Ra in a protective way and smiles. “Let’s go, Ma!”

“That’s an idea.” Gita agrees.

“I’ll leave you two decide what we should do. We’ll be right back.” Then Jong Kook and Ah In disappear in his room.

Gita turns her sight towards Ji Hyo, who’s only staring into her shopping bags. She can tell there is so much behind that look of hers, but she knows how stubborn Ji Hyo is. In fact, both Ji Hyo and Jong Kook are.

“You know what I think you should do?” Gita breaks her silent thought.

Ji Hyo quickly looks at her. “What?”

“You’re going to be here for two weeks, right?” Gita asks, which gets replied by a nod from Ji Hyo. “Well, I think you should have a getaway for a couple of days, to go to the north, visit places like Lovina Beach to go see dolphins or Mount Batur to go trekking. You’ve got time for that, you won’t have much else to do here in the south.”

Ji Hyo pauses and thinks to herself. She has been to both places with Jong Kook before, but her children haven’t. It’s only a little over two hours' drive from Kerobokan, where they’re staying now, but it can be a change of scenery up there. It won’t be so bad, will it?

“We can do that.”

Ji Hyo watches her children playing in the pool from the tanning chair. Ah Ra is now feeling confident enough to be there by herself, sitting on a float that has two little holes through which she puts her legs inside the water. Despite the safety of it, Ah Ra still can’t stop waving her tiny legs madly underwater, as if she would sink if she stopped. Ah In is holding a water gun and splashing his sister, who doesn’t seem to mind. At most, she just sticks her tongue at him and giggles.

Their mother’s mind however is far from there. It’s been two days since Gita’s suggestion and she still deeply thinks about it. She also can’t stop thinking about the half pack of condoms in Jong Kook’s drawer.

Does he have a girlfriend?

Who is she kidding? People don’t need to be in a relationship to sleep with someone.

She can’t tell which one is worse, knowing Jong Kook is seeing someone or that he’s just sleeping around with random girls. On their bed. On the bed where they had made love to each other so many times. Where they had shared meaningful moments.

She shivers at her own thought.

She knows she doesn’t exactly have the right to feel that way, but she can’t help it. Ever since their separation, she hasn’t been with anyone else. Not only she is simply not in the right place for it, but she also has kids, whom she refuses to leave aside so she can go and find someone. She doesn’t want just anyone after all.

Maybe the condoms have been there this whole time since I left.

But before she can let herself be excited at the new possibility, she thinks twice.

It’s a really naïve thought. It can’t be because it has been too long ago.

How many people would get tu