Sixth story in the Song series.

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SIX. The girls. On an RV. On an end-of-summer road trip.    

Turn Right at Happiness

By September 19, one by one they all have showed up in Seungwan’s house in Meaford, ON. Yerim is the first to arrive, safely delivered by a private shuttle service straight from Pearson, bringing with her a suitcase the size of her own self. “Eonnie, I will never understand why the you’re buying a house in the middle of nowhere and a farmhouse at that,” she exclaims. Being used to Yerim’s brand of exaggeration, Seungwan merely rolls her eyes at the comment.

The next to arrive are Joohyun and Seulgi. Their respective flights depart Seoul by a day apart (Seulgi has a panel duty for K-Con Canada), but they congregate in Toronto before going to Seungwan’s house. Their shuttle arrives just as Seungwan takes out the roast chicken from the oven. She takes off her mitten, tells Yerim to take out whatever wine she wants from the cellar under the stairs, and goes to get the door. Seulgi’s bright smile greets her as she looks into the peephole. The first thing Seulgi does after she opens the door is glomping on Seungwan. “Hi, Seulmate. Long time no see,” Seungwan says. Behind Seulgi, Joohyun rolls her eyes. After Seulgi lets her go, Seungwan draws Joohyun into a hug. “And hi to you, too, love of of my life.”

Yerim makes a loud gagging sound all the way from the kitchen.

The birthday girl arrives last past midnight after dinner’s been set aside, wine is drunk (in moderation, in Joohyun’s case), and all have settled in pajamas in front of Seungwan’s giant TV in the family room. Seungwan leaves her comfortable place behind Joohyun, who whines and promptly gets pelted with popcorn by Seulgi and Yerim, and gets the door. Sooyoung drops her whole weight on Seungwan as soon as Seungwan opens the door for her. Her hair is frizzy and smells of airport, and she looks understandably tired. “Eonniehwhydyouhaftalivesofar,” she mumbles against Seungwan’s hair.

“Okay, just a quick note. Our RV is gonna be delivered here in—” Seungwan checks her wrist watch (she rarely wears one, but this occasion deems it necessary), “—three hours. That means you ladies have enough time to pack before we’re leaving.” She takes her phone from the kitchen island and connects it to the portable projector she’s prepared. She aims the projector at the concrete wall on the left side of the room. Just as its display focuses, everyone but Joohyun lets out a groan.

“Why am I not surprised she’s made a PowerPoint for this,” Yerim mutters.

Seungwan gives her a wiggling finger. “You know I like being prepared, young lady.”

“Young lady.” Sooyoung snickers. “Now that I’m officially a member of Club 30, I’m looking forward to using that as a roast.”

Yerim flicks a piece of burnt toast at Sooyoung.

“We? As in you and Joohyun-eonnie?” Yerim asks, incredulous. “Our Joohyun-eonnie? Adopting a dog??”

“Or maybe not a dog.” Seungwan shrugs. “It’s just an idea. We might or we might not.”

Sooyoung frees her hand from Seungwan’s and loops her arm around hers instead, pulling her closer. “Knowing Joohyun-eonnie, that’s such a leap of faith.” Then she stops, realizing what she’s just said and pulling Seungwan into a stop as well. “Holy , eonnie.”

Seungwan gives her the soft, patient big sister smile. “Yeah. Holy .”

Seulgi turns to the two of them and snaps a picture of them together. Sooyoung tells her to take another as she pokes Seungwan’s cheek. “Have you told your parents?”

“My dad knows. He has—for quite some time now, but he’s never brought it up. My mom, on the other hand….” Seungwan leaves it there. “I guess she’s kinda had some intuition about it. But still.”

Sooyoung swaps place with Seulgi. She takes a picture of Seulgi and Seungwan together, then with Yerim in the middle. She makes them turn around so that the barn that they’re heading to is in the background. “And Joohyun-eonnie’s parents?”