Welcome to Angels Creek, a town full of dreams and joy.

Seulgi mentally reads the welcome signage as they are entering the town. Angels Creek has changed a lot. There weren't many establishments compared to before. It has been five years since she and her mother left the town and lived in the urban area in the south. She could remember the vacant lots on the side where only green grasses and trees could be found, but now, there are shops and houses built there. She wonders, despite the town's prosperity, is it the same peaceful town she has lived before?

“Have you talked to Eleonor before?” Jihoon asks his niece.

“Yeah, a few times when I call dad. She usually picks up the phone,” Seulgi replies. Despite her parents being divorced, her father contacts her occasionally. He still provides her monthly allowances. When her father knew about the accident he was devastated. Even though he had moved on from his ex-wife after the divorce, it didn't change the fact that they had two children together. He thanked God Seulgi survived the tragic accident. What would he do if he lost his daughter too? He would have a mental breakdown if that happened. He visited Seulgi at the hospital from time to time when he wasn't busy from work. He paid for her medications. Seulgi was under therapy for three months in the hospital. She had a hard time walking; she had a broken arm and a broken leg. Not to mention, she has to go to the psychiatrist for trauma therapy. Jihoon insisted that he would take care of his niece but Seulgi's father declined; he wanted to provide for her needs. Jihoon couldn't argue even though he wanted to.

“Your father loves you too, you know that right?”

“Yeah, I know,” She responds, observing the town's changes.

When they arrive at her father’s home, Jihoon helps Seulgi carry her belongings out of the car trunk. He puts them on the porch in front of the door and rings the doorbell. A woman opens the door from inside, carrying a toddler. Seulgi looks at her like she saw a celebrity. The woman has a slender body, blonde hair, red lips, and green eyes that would stare into her soul. Seulgi mentally notes to herself that this must be her father’s wife, Eleonor; she is gorgeously beautiful, she thought.

“Hello, you must be Seulgi?” Eleonor says.

Seulgi pulls her mask down as she looks at the woman’s toddler and grins, forming crescent eyes. Eleonor’s child smiles back and reaches out for Seulgi like she wants to be carried by her.

“Oh my, I think Elena likes you. She’s usually not clingy to people, especially when it’s her first time meeting them,” She let Elena be carried by Seulgi; the latter warmly receives Elena in her arms. “Hello, Elena. I’m Seulgi.” Seulgi flashes the eye-smiles that make Elena cackle and hug her. Eleonor is pleasantly looking at the two.

“She must’ve liked how Seulgi smiles. It’s like she brightens the mood, it’s contagious,” Jihoon pauses as he realizes he hasn’t introduced himself yet; he doesn’t want to be rude. “I’m Jihoon Guk, Seulgi’s uncle,” He bows as a respectful gesture. Although it’s not an American custom, Eleonor has gotten used to it since she married a Korean man.

“I’ve heard, Byung Wook told me. He won’t be here for a couple of days. He’s busy with work,” Eleonor pauses. “Oh my, where are my manners? Please, come in.” Seulgi pulls her trolley bag while carrying Elena as she enters the house. Her uncle carries the rest of her belongings. “Seulgi, you can put Elena down, she can walk,” Eleonor tells her as she carries the rest of the bags inside.

When Seulgi walks inside, she takes off her mask and puts it in her pocket. She breathes in deeply; the smell of the house was nostalgic. There were some minor changes since Eleonor lives there too but it’s still the same as before.

“I won’t be here for long. I have to go now. I have a four-hour drive ahead,” Jihoon says as he finishes bringing all Seulgi’s belongings inside.

“I’ll get some snacks and drinks so don’t leave yet.”

“Oh, thank you,” Jihoon replies.

Eleonor calls her daughter as she runs towards her. She picks her up and carries her to the kitchen to prepare food. Jihoon walks to the living room and sits on the sofa, observing the house. The house is bigger than his home. It’s nice and comfortable. He then looks at Seulgi who’s looking at the painting. It’s a painting of a woman covering her face, the color tone of the background is dark, and some mixed colors around her but mostly dark.

“Mom painted this,” She says. She remembers when she went to her mother's art room; she always looked at her mother's painting and sometimes she would also help her paint, deciding which color palette to use and giving opinions to the painting. It was the reason why she came to love painting as well. She feels connected to her mother through painting, and now that she’s gone, the painting is the only thing left of her memories. She misses her mother so much. Seulgi restrains herself from shedding a tear. She doesn’t want her uncle to worry about her. She’s with her father now, so she would be okay.

Eleonor comes out of the kitchen and brings sandwiches and glasses of juice. After eating snacks, Jihoon decides to leave. He thanked Eleonor for the kind hospitality. He and Seulgi go out of the house to bid goodbye to each other. He hugs his niece and tells her to take care of herself.

“You know you can call us anytime, right?”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl now,” She flashes a smile. Jihoon feels reassured that her niece will be in good hands.

She watches her uncle drive away.

Seulgi goes back inside the house to bring her belongings to her old room. There are five rooms in total. Her old room wasn’t used for a long time. When she opens the door it’s the same as when she left it. Although Eleonor might have cleaned it from time to time, the room's arrangements are still the same. She unpacks her things and arranges all of them right where they belong. She didn’t think she would be back in her father’s house, living with him with his new family. It’s not that she doesn’t like to live with her father. It’s just that she feels like an outsider living with her father's new family. She isn’t quite sure if his wife is okay for her to live there. Maybe her father forced her to agree and Eleonor has nothing to say about this matter since it’s his house. Then she thinks about Eleonor; her father has good taste for women. She didn’t ask her father about Eleonor but she thinks the woman is in her late thirties and thinks she is one fine attractive woman.

Seulgi hears a knock on the door. “Come in," She says.

“Seulgi, dinner at 6:30 P.M.,” Eleonor says, Seulgi nods, Eleonor smiles and closes the door. Seulgi continues unpacking her things to arrange them.

About twenty minutes later Seulgi comes down from her room and goes to the kitchen, earlier than what Eleonor told her to come. When she comes down, she sees Eleonor preparing a roasted chicken for their dinner. Seulgi takes the initiative to help her by preparing the plates and the cutleries.

“Thank you for helping me. You’re supposed to wait until 6:30. I was too busy cooking and looking after Elena.”

“It’s okay. I can look after her,” Seulgi replies as Elena runs towards her and hugs her leg, and says cutely, “Ddeulgi.” It made Seulgi laugh at how adorable Elana is.

Eleonor is awed by the two of them. It made her like Seulgi. She had thought before that Byung Wook’s daughter would be a snob teenager but when she finally meets her in person, her verdict of her changed. Seulgi is a kind and affectionate person. She could tell that they would get along just fine.

When the preparation is finished, they sit down and eat their dinner. Eleonor is feeding Elena who’s on the toddler’s feeding chair at her left side. Seulgi is across her, eating the food Eleonor cooked. The dinner is so Americanized, Seulgi thought. What did she expect? Her father remarried an American. It’s not like she hates the food. She just misses her mother’s Korean dishes. She likes Eleonor’s mashed potatoes with gravy. She thinks it has a nice combination, plus the tender and juicy roasted chicken is top-notch. “How’s the taste?” Eleonor asks Seulgi, expecting feedback.

Seulgi looks at Eleonor like she smells something of her, she smells nice like a hint of floral fragrant; she then directly looks at her in the eyes – those beautiful green eyes that are alluring. “It’s delicious,” She replies, smiling. “I love the taste of the…” She trails off. She doesn’t know its name.

“Garlic parmesan mashed potatoes topped with mushroom gravy,” Eleonor answers.

“I like the taste of the gravy. I seldom have gravy,” Seulgi takes a bite of the roasted chicken. “I haven’t tasted a home-made roasted chicken before,” she takes a bite again, “It’s so juicy and delicious.”

Eleonor is glad to hear it, she didn’t expect wholesome feedback from her; it made her happy. “By the way, I was asked by your father that we’re going to Archangel Raguel High School to enroll you. Since he won’t be back soon, he wanted you to be enrolled as soon as possible, so you can catch up with school.”

Since the accident, Seulgi wasn’t able to finish the final semester. She is even late to enroll for this school year. The school supposedly started in the last week of August, today is the second week of school; she needs to catch up.

After dinner, Seulgi gathers the plates to wash them but Eleonor insists that she’ll wash them, and Seulgi must get some rest since she traveled a long way, and by tomorrow they’ll go early to school to enroll her. Elena runs towards her and interjects, “Ddeulgi, sleep!” Seulgi laughs and feels defeated by Elena's cuteness; she abides by Eleonor's wish since she’s tired from the four-hour trip anyway. So she goes to the washroom and takes a quick bath, and then she goes to bed.

That night, she’s carried by the current of her thoughts on how things will work out for her. She’s back in her hometown but the feeling isn’t the same anymore; it seems strange and unfamiliar. There are a lot of changes in the town, probably the people living there too, especially the house she had once lived in. Although there aren’t many changes in the interiors of the house, it’s nostalgic yet it also feels foreign, maybe, it’s because she’s living with her father’s new family. Then, she comes to think of all the things that happened in her life: the divorce of her parents, the accident which led to her mother’s death, coming back to his father’s house with his new family, and school. They were overwhelming and her anxiety is rising. Seulgi couldn’t sleep well on her first night.