The dim red hue lighted the darkroom gently as Kwangmi finished hanging up the last of the pictures.  She absolutely adored the intermixture of science and art that film photography provided.  She had practiced mixing the chemicals with some of her other pictures and figured that she had gotten the right balance.  Even after the completion of this assignment, Kwangmi knew that this was an art she would keep up.  As she cleaned up her workspace, she couldn't help but continuously glance at the dark squares drying up on the line.  She couldn't get that day out of her head, the date she'd had with Minwoo.  It really had been one of the best day of her life, and she wanted nothing more than to spend more time with that boy.  She smiled to herself, anticipation welling up inside of her at the prospect of seeing her and Minwoo's hard work.  He knew she was there, developing the pictures she had taken of him that evening.  She didn't want to leave, but as a knock sounded at the door, she knew her time was up and other people needed to use the darkroom.  

"Kwangmi, get outta there!" one of her female classmates demanded.  "There's a line building up out here!"

Gathering her things, Kwangmi shouted back, "I'm coming!  I'm coming!"

Kwangmi quickly retreated into the dark hallway, seeing her fellow classmate standing impatiently.  Kwangmi smirked.  "A line, huh?"

The girl shrugged impishly.  "I'm line enough, don't you think?"

Kwangmi laughed, stepping away from the doorway to let the girl through.  "Well, it's all yours.  Enjoy."

"Oh, I will."  Flipping her hair over her shoulder, the girl stepped into the red lighted room.

As Kwangmi walked down the dark hallway, she bumped into another figure coming her way.  "If you're looking to use the darkroom," Kwangmi informed, "Soo just went in.  You'll be waiting."

The shadowed man mumbled something unintelligible and Kwangmi uttered a small "Sorry?" for clarification.  The man cleared his throat, starting again, saying something about not minding waiting.  Kwangmi wasn't quite sure what he had said and she didn't care to linger any longer.  With a shrug, she gestured to the opposite end of teh hall.  "Well, it's all yours for the waiting."  And with that, she left him standing in the dark.

Kwangmi sat on the sofa, flipping through a sleek photo album -just one of many that lined the top two shelves of the bookshelf in the main room.  She loved doing this, it helped calm the racing hyperactivity of her mind.  She still was wrapped up in her nostalgic thoughts by the time Kevin returned home from his part time summer job at the local grocer.  After removing his shoes, he found her cross-legged on the sofa, a photo album in her lap and many more on the ground beneath her feet.  Kevin's sigh blew out through up-curled lips.  He sat down next to his little sister, glancing at the old, grainy photographs of the inside pictures.  They were the pictures of their grandparents, their mother's parents.

"What made you take these old things out?" Kevin asked, angling the book toward him to get a better look.

Though he knew she hadn't noticed him come sit beside her, she offered no shocked reaction to suddenly finding him beside her.  Instead, she flipped the page, pressing forward in the world of forgotten memories.

Well, maybe not quite forgotten.

"It's the project I'm working on.  It made me want to look at Grandma's and Grandpa's childhood again."

"Why do you look at these things so often?"  Kevin had asked this question before, but he always delighted in the answer she always gave.

She sighed out her reason, the words as if floating away on a gust of wind.  "Because it makes me feel sad."

Kevin's lips curled up even more.  "And remind me how that is a good thing?"

Kwangmi grinned up at her brother patronizingly, as if this long-repeated conversation was proof of his idiocy.  "Because there is beauty in all things sad.  That's why we humans keep pictures, read/write poetry, listen to aching songs, and collect antiques.  Sadness unifies us, brings the past into the present and prepares us for the future."

"Whatever you say," Kevin conceded, like he always did.

She waved his words away.  "You'll never understand.  You're not an artist."

"Nope," he agreed.  "That's all you.  Don't expect me to interpret a canvas of painted lines that looks like it was done by a two-year-old."

The little sister shoved her brother's shoulder.  "Art is more than paintings.  And it's more than the artwork.  Part of what makes art beautiful is the history of the person who made it."  She glanced down at the pictures again.  "Or, in some cases, the people portrayed in the art."

They were both silent for a long while, just going through the old pictures of people long gone, but their legacy left behind for future generations to appreciate.  After they had closed the album, Kevin stretched out, wrapping his arm around Kwangmi's shoulders.  "You know, I think I'm starting to understand.  Just a little bit."

"About art?"

"No.  About the beauty in sadness."

Because at that moment, the aching longing wrenching his heart was the sweetest pain he had felt in a long time.  And he finally understood why his sister continued looking at old pictures.

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This update is much too slow in coming, and it's not much, but it's something.  I'm still continuing it, but don't expect regular updates.  I'm so sorry.  But take comfort in knowing that I still fully intend on completing this project.