Saerom runs her finger across the wooden dresser in Hayoung’s childhood bedroom, surprised to find it completely clean when she examines it after. She supposes it’s to be expected that Hayoung’s mother dusts and cleans the room frequently. After all, Hayoung’s incredibly loyal to her family and it seems like every break they have from school, she’s running back home. Saerom wonders if her own mother keeps her room as pristine as this, a 120 square-foot, time capsule of high school Hayoung’s life.

Her eyes wander as she lets her fingers run across the various surfaces of the room again. The cheesy string lights that hang over Hayoung’s wooden bed frame. The IU poster, whose bottom right corner folds up where the tape no longer sticks. Countless trophies from hip-hop dance competitions. The guitar mount on the wall Saerom imagines once held the guitar Hayoung plays for her on late nights when they’re watching the stars outside.

As Saerom finishes her lap around the room, she settles at Hayoung’s desk. She picks up a framed photo of Hayoung’s family, smiling diligently, from beside her alarm clock, and looking at it reminds her of her original thought. Is her room nearly as well preserved? She muses that not knowing the current state of her childhood bedroom is only a testament to why it wouldn’t be. Her mother wouldn’t clean a room she never visits.

“Let’s go to Seoul next. I want to meet your parents, too.”

Saerom first hears Hayoung before she feels her arms embrace her from behind. To this day, it amazes her how Hayoung can understand what she’s thinking without saying a single word.

“I think I’d like that.”