Han Hyeyoon picks a seat by the window. She’s leaving her hometown today in a bus with nothing but a green backpack and a heavy heart. Her mom is waving at her from outside with a sad but hopeful look on her mother's face. Mrs. Han wants to see her daughter happy again. She thinks going to Seoul may just be what her daughter needs to regain her old positive self again.

Hyeyoon waves back, giving her mom a small smile. As usual, her mom notices that her smile doesn't reach her eyes. The bus starts to move and in a few minutes it’s already running fast on the highway to Seoul. Hyeyoon’s been to Seoul only once to attend her aunt’s wedding but that was nearly 13 years ago.

Now, she’s 22 but with everything that she’s been through she feels as if she’s already in her late forties. She hugs her backpack, burying her face on its soft green fabric, and tries to sleep.

Hyeyoon hasn't had a good night's sleep for almost a year now. Whenever she closes her eyes, her mind keeps wandering back to thoughts of her dead father. She feels an immense amount of pain mixed with guilt towards her dad. He was the light of her life; her hope. When he died, she felt like she lost all her motivation to live. The only reason why she hasn’t tried to kill herself is because she didn’t want to hurt her mom and her older sister, Hyerim.

She's never talked to her mom or her unnie about it though; she didn’t know where to begin and she didn't want to be a burden. Although, they knew that their dad's death greatly affected Hyeyoon, her mom and sister found it difficult to make her open up to them. It was mainly because Hyeyoon was never the type to share what she felt or ask for help when she needed to. Instead, she was always the one taking care of her family members.

Hours pass and the bus arrives in Seoul. She is awakened by the noise of people getting their luggage out of the overhead compartment. She gets up, puts on her backpack and gets off the bus. She feels a bit nervous being alone in unfamiliar Seoul.

Will I be able to find auntie’s apartment? Hyeyoon hopes she won’t get lost on the way there.

She tries to find the right bus that would take her to the nearest subway station. The large station is bustling with people, something that Hyeyoon is not used to. In her small farming town, everyone knew each other. The people rushing around looked like cold strangers in her eyes.

"I don't want to ask for directions," she mutters under her breath.

She manages to find the right bus after a few minutes of searching. Hyerim actually offered to meet her at the bus station so she could accompany Hyeyoon to their aunt’s house. But, of course, Hyeyoon is stubborn so she insisted that she can get there by herself. Hyerim works as an office worker in Seoul so Hyeyoon doesn't want to bother her older sister, she knows her unnie would be tired from work.

Hyeyoon pays close attention to the streets the bus was passing and the signs around her. She cannot miss the stop or else she’d be lost and her money is only enough to get to her aunt’s place. The tall buildings of Seoul looked intimidating. She was used to seeing big open green fields but in Seoul she mostly sees concrete. She gets off at the correct stop and follows the crowd walking towards stairs that led to the underground subway station.

She buys a subway card, just as she was told to do and gets on the train. The subway was packed because it was rush hour. Some people shoved Hyeyoon around, trying to squeeze into the train. Hyeyoon clutched the straps of her backpack as she tried to maintain her balance. Luckily, she found a seat and settled down, placing her backpack on her lap.

City people always seem to be in a hurry. I don't undestand why they’re like that, she thought to herself.

She carefully listened to the announcements on the train and got off at the station that her aunt said. All she needs to do now is get on one more bus and she’ll be at her aunt’s place.

“Hyeyoon! I’m so glad you made it here safely! I was so worried you would get lost, Seoul can be very confusing,” Han Mihyang, Hyeyoon’s aunt hugs her as soon as she arrives in her apartment.

“Hello auntie,” Hyeyoon greets her with a polite bow as her aunt lets go of the hug.

Her 40-something aunt was practically bouncing with excitement as she guided her niece in. She was short and chubby with short hair that bounced along with her as she moved.

“Come in! Is that backpack all you’ve brought with you? You probably don't have a lot of clothes, we'll buy more clothes for you tomorrow! Give me your backpack."

“No, you don’t have to auntie,” Hyeyoon says.

"Nonsense," her aunt grabs her backpack and disappears to the bedroom.

Hyeyoon follows her but her aunt shooes her away, “You’re probably hungry! I’ve made dinner, make yourself comfortable and eat.”

“Have you eaten already auntie?”

“Yes, don’t worry about me!” her aunt says while coughing slightly. Her aunt was already busy unpacking Hyeyoon's stuff.

“Are you sick auntie? I can unpack my things myself,” Hyeyoon worries.

“It’s just a little cough, go on and eat. I want to unpack your stuff for you. Go on!”

Hyeyoon obeys her aunt and finds the kitchen-dining room where the table was already set for dinner. She sees a lot of food laid out nicely on the table. She couldn't possibly finish this all by herself.

"Is auntie expecting another visitor?" she wonders aloud.

Her aunt walks, "I asked Hyerim to come over so she could eat dinner here that's why I prepared a lot food! Eat a lot, okay?"

Her aunt grabs Hyeyoon's shoulders and let's her sit on the dining chair, "don't be shy and eat a lot! Look at you, you're so skinny! I'm just going to be at the living room to watch my favorite show."

Her aunt leaves and Hyeyoon hears the tv turn on. She sits alone in the dining table, not eating but just looking at the food. She feels hungry already but she wants to wait until her unnie gets here so they could share the meal together.

She hears a comedian say some joke on the tv that throws aunt Mihyang into a laughing-coughing fit. Hyeyoon is worried that her aunt might choke so she grabs a glass of water from the kitchen and goes to offers it to her aunt. Her aunt drinks the water with tears in her eyes from laughing and coughing so hard.

“I think your cough is serious auntie. How long have you had it?” Hyeyoon asks.

“I told you, it’s nothing to be worried about. Do you need any more rice?"

"No, the rice is enough for me auntie," she says and reluctantly goes back to the kitchen. She's starting to worry that her aunt may be seriously ill.

Hyeyoon grabs a glass of water and drinks. She looks at the clock, it's already 7 p.m. but her sister isn't here yet. Hyeyoon wonders what's taking her unnie so long. Is the rush hour traffic that bad?

She suddenly hears a crash that came from the living room. She immediately runs and screams in surprise when she finds her aunt seated limply on the floor. Hyeyoon rushes to the older woman, “auntie? Can you hear me? Are you okay?" But her aunt doesn't move or open her eyes.

Her hands are shaking as she tries to find her cellphone and dials for an ambulance. Her vision is starting to get blurry and she feels like she can't breathe.  Hyeyoon's thinks what she just witnessed was too familiar. It was the same scene as the night her dad died: Hyeyoon in the kitchen. Her dad in the living room floor. Her aunt in the living room floor. Dead. Dead.

She’s beginning to hyperventilate. She hears knocking from the front door but she can’t get up and walk. She feels like she can’t get enough air into her lungs.

“He-help… help… I- I can’t. I can’t b-breathe,” she tries to say.

She tries to calm herself and manages to get to the front door of the apartment. She clutches her chest as she uses all her remaining strength to open the door. Her sister is standing outside the doorway shocked to see Hyeyoon looking pale and struggling to breathe.

“Hyeyoon! What’s happening to you? Where’s auntie?” Hyerim holds Hyeyoon’s shaking shoulders, trying to calm her younger sister down.

She could barely talk let alone keep herself upright. She points to the end of the hallway, sobbing with tears flowing like a river on her cheeks. Hyerim gently lowers her down to the floor and rushes to the their aunt while dialing 119 on her cellphone.

“Hello? Can we please get an ambulance to…”