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“Just please tell them I’ll be out for a little while,” Jia requested over the phone, trying to sound as childish and earnest as she could. “I want to go and eat with some new friends. They invited me to join them and you know I can’t say no. I promise I’ll be back by supper.” 

“Fine but make sure you bring me back something too if it’s good,” her sister replied before she hung up. 

As soon as the line went dead, a small smile appeared on Jia’s face. She then made a note to remind herself to visit the cafe she had met Luhan at to grab something for Maiyu on her way back home. 

Tucking her phone away, her grip on the straps of her knapsack naturally tightened as she looked at the building planted in front of her. Once she took in a deep breath, her legs began to move toward the structure. Pushing the door open, Jia was then hit with the mingled scents of floral perfume and rice pudding. As soon as she stepped inside, all of the eyes in the area landed on her. 

No one said anything for a couple of prolonged seconds before they broke their gazes and returned to what they were previously engaged in prior to her arrival. With a clearing of , Jia made her way over to the front desk where a middle-aged woman was seated. “Hello. Welcome to Hankyung Retirement Home. Who are you visiting today?” she questioned courteously. 

“I’m here to see Chen Xinliang. I actually brought her back a few days ago,” Jia explained. 

“Ah so you were the young lady who found her.” The woman smiled. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Kwon Ahmi. Mrs Chen is in the recreational room. I’ll take you there.” 

“Really? Thank you,” the girl stated as the woman left her post and guided her to the designation. 

“Mrs Chen hasn’t stopped talking about you, you know,” she informed, impressed. 

“Is that so? It didn’t seem like she liked me all too much when I met her though,” Jia said as she scratched the back of her neck. 

“Don’t let her fool you, dear. She might seem like a tough nut to crack but on the inside, she’s as soft as marshmallow. You just have to give her some time to get used to your presence.” 

“I figured she was that kind of person.” Jia chuckled quietly. “When she told me not to come back unless I brought her favorite dessert, I realized that she did in fact want me to visit her.”  

“You’re actually the first person who’s paid her a visit in ages,” Mrs Kwon confessed gently. “I think her son moved back to China awhile back. Can you believe that? He abandoned his own mother as though she was nothing but a stranger. I swear if I ever see him again, I will make sure to teach him a lesson.” 

“He… he just left her here?” Jia whispered. Her heart wrenched in sympathy for the elder. “Doesn’t she have any other family in the area who could come and see her?” 

“Sadly no. There isn’t anyone around for her. From what I’ve heard, she only has one son.” Mrs Kwon shook her head and then halted all movement. “We’re here. I’ll be at the front desk if you need anything. Don’t let that woman scare you away now, you hear me?” 

“Are you kidding me? I would never think about running away. Especially not after all of the trouble I went through for her. Do you know how many shops I had to go to in order to find her favorite dessert?” Jia questioned rhetorically. “There were so many of them that I lost count.” 

“Of course, of course. If that’s all, I will be going now. I don’t want any more senior citizens sneaking out on my watch,” Mrs Kwon remarked before she returned to her work station. 

Left alone in the corridor with nothing else to do, Jia peered inside the open entryway where she found around nine or ten elderly citizens spread out about. Her eyes scavenged the place until they settled on a rather familiar figure. 

“I’m not lying to you,” Mrs Chen huffed. “That girl really was my great granddaughter. Who do you think she inherited her good looks from? I’m telling you, if I was sixty years younger she and I could be considered twins.” 

“Quit it already, you crazy, old bat. We all know you only have one son and he took his family and went back to China without you. So how is it possible that she is your great granddaughter?” Another elder by the name Lim Inhae retorted sourly, clearly not buying what Mrs Chen was trying to sell. 

Another pang hit Jia’s heart as she pulled away from the entryway and allowed her presence to be concealed. She could hear their conversation perfectly from where she stood because they were all talking loudly. The further she listened, the more she found her heart hurting. “She must be really lonely,” she croaked softly. 

“Besides, that girl was way too nice and sweet. But you? Ha. You’re as bitter as a cup of black coffee,” Mrs Lim sneered. That was the last straw in the haystack for Jia. 

Plastering on the brightest smile she could manage, despite the dreary information she had just been given, Jia finally revealed her arrival. “Taipo! I’m here,” she mused energetically. 

Everyone in the recreational room provided the girl with their undivided attention, wondering who she was addressing in a language which was certainly not their own. 

At the sound of her jubilant voice through words that she actually comprehended, Mrs Chen looked over and balked at Jia waving rather ecstatically at her. To be honest, when the elder