A few months passed and Luhan hit his growth spurt. He was now 5’6”, a whole five inches taller than Sarang. She had to tilt her head back as far as she could to look him in the eye, and he relentlessly for it.

One day, during the time of year when the snow melted and the trees started renewing leaves on their sparse branches, the middle school students were let out for the weekend. Sarang walked out of school with Eunji, chatting excitedly about their plans to meet up for a karaoke date soon. They split up when Eunji spotted her ride home, and Sarang walked the rest of the way to the bus stop alone. Soccer season was kicking into full gear (no pun intended,) so Luhan no longer accompanied her home as often anymore, but Sarang didn’t complain. She found that she didn’t mind being alone so much anymore, now that her thoughts consisted of more than self-criticism and negativity.

She arrived home late in the afternoon and was met with the sight of her mother anxiously talking on the phone to somebody. And from the civil yet frustrated tone of voice, Sarang accurately guessed that the person on the opposite end of the call was her father.

“—usy these days. I can’t just drop work to come and visit. Sarang is busy too; she has plenty of schoolwork to occupy herself with.” She let out a quiet but aggravated sigh. “At the soonest she has time off from school, I will take Sarang to visit you. Yes, I mean it. Goodbye.”

With a click, she hung up the phone and placed it on the table with a bit more force than necessary. With a grunt, she turned back to her laptop, typing away at the speed of light. Only then did she notice her daughter’s presence. “Oh, Sarang.” She blinked in surprise. “When did you get here?”

“Just now,” Sarang answered tentatively, walking towards the fridge to pour herself some cold water. “Was that…Dad on the line?”

“Yes,” her mother answered tersely, still typing away at her laptop. Even the clicks of the keys sounded annoyed. “He misses you.”

“Really?” Sarang frowned skeptically; she and her dad weren’t that familiar with each other, so she didn’t necessarily understand his determination to see her so often.

Sarang’s mom evidently agreed because she grunted once in frustration before returning her attention to her laptop screen, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she typed up a wordy report. “There are some leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry. How was school today?”

“Good.” Sarang stuck said-leftovers into a microwave for two minutes and tapped her fingers against the kitchen countertop. “Would you be okay with me visiting Dad sometime?”

Her mom’s eyebrows rose in surprise at the unexpected question. “Would you like to?”

Sarang didn’t necessarily have an answer that wouldn’t seem insensitive. “One day, I would. I just…well, I have a bit of freedom this weekend. I was