“I already met Myungsoo,” Suzy began. Tiny puffs of mist emerged from while she talked. The two were walking slowly in the abandoned streets of their neighborhood, as if they had all of the time in the world. Sunggyu made sure he took the spot which was nearer to the highway. The both of them had their hands deeply shoved into their pockets. Everything was quiet, and the bright lights from the heart of the city seemed so far away from where they walked. The lampposts made their shadows stretch out. The stars were slightly visible, and everything was still.

“I had an inkling you did,” Sunggyu replied. He looked up at the dark, autumn sky. “You could’ve met sooner, but I was too selfish.”

“I see.”

The two stayed silent for a while, but she broke it by saying, “This will be our last day…walking together like this.”

“For now,” he added.

She sighed, before her lower lip which was already a bit chapped due to the dry air. “You’re really going?”

“Yes.”

“And there’s no stopping you?”

“Yes.”

“Can’t you just stay?”

Sunggyu looked at Suzy. She was staring at him, her eyes glimmering beneath the dim streetlights.

“Even if I want to, I made sure I won’t,” he answered carefully. “This is for the better, Suzy.”

A pause.

“Okay,” she whispered. And that ended that.

In silence, the two walked all over their neighborhood, going to places they used to visit together: the public park, the 24 hour café and many more. They were like tourists, going around a huge museum while a speaker explained what the piece was all about.

“Do you remember that swing over there, Suzy? Sang Moon pushed you too hard and you fell face first on the ground.”

She could only chuckle at the memory. “I still remember how the sand tasted like.”

Sunggyu looked at her. “You know what sand tastes like?”

“Yeah,” she answered, while nodding. “It’s something I’d rather not taste again, to be honest.”

“You used to always eat whatever was in sight,” the older one pointed out. “I remember this one time when mom placed her strawberry flavored lip balm on the coffee table. By the time she returned, half of it was already chewed off.”

“I remember!” she cried, and this sent them laughing.

“But oppa,” Suzy began. “I also remember how you vanished one day. You left a letter, saying you were going to run away. At the end of the day we found you beneath your bed, sleeping.”

Sunggyu chuckled. “I recall something like that happening.”

“Do you remember how Sang Moon pooped on you while you were babysitting him?”

“You used to pee on me, too, though,” he shot back.

“I did not!” she gave him a light slap on the shoulder.

“As you wish, you did not,” he playfully replied.

Suzy stopped walking, and he paused to look back at her. “Is something wrong, Suzy?”

She shook her head no. “It’s just…now that I think about it, we made a lot of memories as a family.”

He could only stare at his younger sister, wondering where the conversation would lead them to.

“I figured,” she carried on. “Those moments are really important, and no matter how funny or sad or embarrassing it is…it already happened, and there’s no way we can ever take it back. I’m really happy you became our older brother. I know Sang Moon is, too. He looks up to you. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Sunggyu quietly replied.

“The thing is you really tried your best when it comes to looking after us, and I got mad at you at some point because it felt like you were suffocating me. I felt bad about it, but not as bad as liking you too much.”

He bit his lower lip.

“While looking back, I realized just how far we’ve come as a family,” she concluded. She looked up at him, and whispered, “Let’s just stay that way, all right? I cherish those memories and I want to make more of those.”

A tiny smile graced Sunggyu’s lips. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”

The two walked for a bit more, reminiscing along the way. It was somewhere around six in the morning when they decided to head back home. They had breakfast at a noodle shop close to their house beforehand, and before they entered their house, Suzy turned to Sunggyu and said, “Thank you for your time. I think I can let go of everything now.”

<:>

Suzy let out a big yawn, and Sungjong could only stare.

“What time did you sleep last night?” he asked.

“I didn’t,” she answered. “I spent some time with my family.”

He looked at her for a while longer, and said, “I see.”

She smiled at her friend.

“You’re taking everything in better than I had expected,” he remarked. “To be honest I thought you’d come in today with tears in your eyes.”

With this, Suzy scoffed. “You seem to underestimate me.”

“I suppose so,” Sungjong replied. “But I’m glad you’re doing well.”

She smiled, and nodded. Soon, the first bell rang, and when the third period began, Suzy fell asleep.

<:>

It was somewhere around noon when Sunggyu visited the grave of his social worker. He placed the bouquet of white roses he brought along with him in front of the tomb. The wind blew, sending off the woody scent of the tree barks in his direction. He stood there in silence for a while, and with a satisfied smile, he walked on ahead.

There was nothing else to say to a corpse, anyway.

<:>

When the clock two, Myungsoo was out of his university. He boarded the train going to Daehyun’s school, but decided to visit his mother’s grave out of impulse. He bought a basket of flowers in a shop near the cemetery before going ahead.

The sky was cloudless, and it was the perfect shade of blue. The crimson leaves clashed beautifully against the heavens, amd Myungsoo didn’t think about blood on his hands whenever he saw the branches. He had no idea why, but his nightmares didn’t wake him up at night anymore.

He stood in front of the grave, staring at the bouquet of white roses. Whenever he would visit, he would usually see the same flowers resting on that very spot. Myungsoo took out his phone, and the familiar voice mail resonated inside his ears.

“Mom,” he began. “That guy you looked after visited you again. I just thought you should know.”

Beep.

<:>

“Hyung, where did you go?” Daehyun asked, when they were already out of the school’s premises. They were walking along the pavement, then, and the young boy’s hand was tightly clutching Myungsoo’s.

“I went to the cemetery.”

“To visit your mom?”

“Correct.”

There was a pause, and he said, “You miss her a lot, don’t you, hyung?”

“You think?” he asked back in reply, his voice not bitter. He simply wondered how Daehyun would respond to that.

“I think you do,” the boy answered. “I mean, my mom’s still alive but sometimes I miss her a lot. You’re really brave, hyung.”

Myungsoo tousled Daehyun’s hair. A warm smile graced his lips. “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?”

“Rice cakes!” he cried, while shooting his hands up in the air.

The older one chuckled. “Rice cakes it is.”

He fished his phone out of his pocket. The urge to call Suzy was strong, but he figured he shouldn’t.  For the time being, he shouldn’t distract her. That was the best he could do for Sunggyu.

Later that evening, he received a text coming from Sunggyu himself. It read: Aren’t you going to see me off, at least? My flight will be at six in the morning at Incheon Airport. I’ll be there by midnight. You can tag Daehyun along, too.

Myungsoo looked at Daehyun, who was busy making a card for Suzy’s birthday. Tomorrow was the weekend, and so he had no problem if they had to come home late.

“Daehyun,” he called out. “Do you want come with me to see your Sunggyu hyung off?”

The younger one grinned, and nodded his head enthusiastically.

<:>

Sunggyu’s luggage was already in the trunk of his car. It was eleven in the evening when the family stepped out of their house to bring Sunggyu to the airport, which was in Incheon. His flight was at six in the morning. Mrs. Bae decided to not go with them.

“I might drag you back home, Sunggyu,” she reasoned out, but her eyes were glimmering. “And I have to prepare for Suzy’s birthday, too. Some close relatives will come over.”

They took Sunggyu’s car, and he was the one who drove. Mr. Bae stayed in the front seat while the siblings stayed at the back.

“It’s real,” Sang Moon said with a sigh. “You’re really leaving us, hyung.”

He glanced at his younger brother through the rearview mirror. “I’ll return soon.”

“The house will be really quiet, though,” the younger one pointed out. “And nobody will protect me once noona goes berserk.”

“Hey!” she yelled, while leering at Sang Moon.

“You’ll be older in less than an hour,” Sunggyu began, in order to keep the two from arguing. “Do you have anything in mind?”

“It’s something you can’t give me,” Suzy said. “So it doesn’t matter.”

Everyone in the car knew what she was talking about, and Mr. Bae didn’t say anything. In one way or another, he found himself having a difficult time swallowing the fact that his eldest son would leave. Even if they weren’t blood related, Sunggyu was someone he could be proud of. He carried himself quite well, and despite his imperfections, he still shone.

He’s our Sunggyu, he found himself thinking.

The ride consisted of squabbles from the back and heart-to-heart talks coming from the front. The songs coming from the player were almost inaudible due to everyone’s voices.

“Sang Moon, stop pulling my hair!”

“I am not!”

“Yes, you are!”

Suzy tried to scratch her younger brother but her seatbelt stopped her from doing so.

“Noona’s trying to hurt me!” he complained.

“You hurt me first!”

“I did not!”

“Did too!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Noona’s lying again!” he pointed out.

“Dad, Sang Moon pulled my hair!”

“Dad, she’s trying to bite me again!”

“I am not trying to bite you—”

“You were squirming in your seatbelt and you were trying to reach me!”

“I was trying to scratch you!”

Sunggyu sighed heavily, and he halted the car, causing everyone to get yanked by their seatbelts back to their seats. The siblings stayed quiet. Both father and son looked back and bellowed, “Be quiet!”

<:>

With Sunggyu’s luggage out of the car, the four of them entered the airport. The sound of wheels rolling about against the tiled floor could be heard, along with the occasional sound of the announcer over the speakers. Laughter, tears and hugs spread around the place, and Suzy was simply amazed. She looked around her, thinking about the different stories the people held.

She saw a woman carrying a young boy no older than two years old. The bespectacled man who was with them at that time kissed the boy's forehead, and tears began to emerge from his eyes. She watched as he walked away, dragging his bag behind him.

Soon, it will be Sunggyu’s turn, she thought.

“Happy birthday,” Sunggyu said. His voice dragged her back to reality. He tousled her hair with a tiny smile on his lips. “It’s too bad I won’t be able to taste the cake I bought.”

She scoffed. “You’re hilarious.”

“Let’s have a commemoration picture,” Sang Moon suggested. “Since it’s the last time—”

“Sunggyu hyung!”

The whole family looked back, and Sunggyu laughed as he proceeded to kneel down on the floor to greet the young boy.

“Daehyun-ah, you made it!” he locked him in a tight embrace. “Do you not feel tired?”

He shook his head no. “I’m okay.”

Daehyun looked at the people around him, and as if remembering something, he began to bow in front of Mr. Bae, Sang Moon and Suzy before doing his self-introduction. With a warm smile he hugged Suzy by the waist.

“Sunshine noona! It’s great I can see you again.”

She could only laugh while glancing at Sunggyu. “It’s good to see you again, too!”

“Myungsoo hyung is on his way,” Daehyun added. He looked back, and pointed at the approaching figure with his lips. “He’s over there, see? I think he’s helping a granny with her bags. He told me to come here first.”

Mr. Bae chuckled. “Who is this bright young man?”

“His name is Daehyun,” Sunggyu answered. “He’s the younger brother of Suzy’s friend.”

“Suzy’s boyfriend?” Sang Moon teased.

She glowered at him, and Daehyun cocked his head.

“My brother is a boy,” he began. “And he is noona’s friend. He’s her boy friend.”

Mr. Bae laughed. “Of course; of course. I am Sunggyu’s father, by the way. You can call me ‘Uncle’.”

Myungsoo finally arrived, and the first thing he did was to bow down. “I’m so sorry for only arriving now.”

“You’re all right, Daehyun explained everything,” Sunggyu said. He carried on with the formal introductions, and they all shook hands.

“Are you sure you’re not noona’s boyfriend?” Sang Moon insisted, his eyes clocking the stranger’s every move.

“No,” was Myungsoo’s blunt reply.

“You must really love your sister, hyung,” Daehyun remarked. “You look after her well.”

This caused Sang Moon to blush and turn away. Sunggyu checked his phone. It was already one in the morning.

“Sang Moon,” he began. “How about that commemoration photo we were talking about?”

The youngest of the Bae family was able to call a bystander to take a photograph for them. Myungsoo had to swallow back his tears while smiling. Mr. Bae’s arm was resting comfortably on his shoulder, and both Sang Moon and Suzy were holding Daehyun by the hand. Sunggyu, on the other hand, stood beside Mr. Bae.

Though it was only for a short time, he felt like he finally belonged to a family. His heart felt so warm it could burst.

Myungsoo then realized why Sunggyu cherished his foster family so much. They emanated a certain familiarity and kindness, causing whoever they’d encounter to feel loved and wanted. He knew: he wasn’t envious of Suzy’s family anymore. Rather, he was blessed to meet them face to face.

All because of a random phone call.

"Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it."
- Proverbs 22:6

Part 2 | available