The whole thing about weekend was all fun and sun, or perhaps the term for the summer was fun in the sun. Though it’s not even summer yet, the sun had reached its highest peak and no clouds seemed to be appearing any moments soon. As for me, no friends meaning no fun, just sun and it’s not helping at all.

I was waiting for my brother to come pick me up to my grandparents’ house sooner that day, ever since my grandma died my grandpa lived alone in the plain old suburb on the countryside. Their house was pretty big for a single person to be living alone, so my parents thought that it would be a brilliant idea for me to accompany him there on weekends, since I had no friends and no one, I repeat literally no one to hang out with nor going to parties as such, I’m okay with it. At least, half of the idea could involve me to be left alone with my books.

I had no recollections of my grandfather; he had shut himself out of the world since the day my grandmother passed away. He even told my parents not to visit him anymore. He was devastated I assumed and lonely. Then again, I never really was that close to my grandpa. It has been 6 years and he still couldn’t let us in, until yesterday when he called my mom and told her to come by and visit. Knowing such rare opportunities, she decided to suggest her so called brilliant idea.

And that is why on this perfectly bright sunny morning I was on my way to the countryside, to my grandfather’s house.

It’s 2 hours long round trip to their house, my brother drove me in as my parents were apparently too busy to attend the friendly invitation. My brother, Gyu Sook is a doctor in one of the city’s finest hospital. He’s a surgeon at such young age, he lived in an apartment with an old friend of his, the one located near the hospital. He often visits us during weekends and whenever he had day-offs just to make sure he wouldn’t lose any contact with his family.

My brother was no closer to me than to my parents, he had always been an egoistic man, he prioritized his works and studies. We never talked a lot and whenever we actually do he only asked me about my studies. We were awkward, and more awkward when we’re together. We do resemble in several ways, other than that I was far different from him.

During the last 2 hours of driving together, he decided to put in some good music to a good use, its one of his ways to avoid talking and exchanging words. I tried to occupy my mind with something else, something that would get my mind off my brother, putting aside the fact that he was sitting right next to me, and that he was my brother, that I was supposed to be comfortable around him.

As the car approached the countryside, I heaved a sigh thinking that this ride would be over soon.

“We’re here” he said as he pointed out his finger toward an old country house on the side of the road with an excessive sized garden in front of it.

“Are you sure? I don’t remember grandpa fond of garden” he stopped the car in front of the front gate and removed his seat-belt.

“Yeah… and I don’t recall you ever know our grandpa that well” maybe he had a point there.

He got off the car and I watched as he made his way to open the gate. When he came back, he drove the car in through the garden that was filled with tulips, roses, and daffodils. I may not know that much of flowers but I do remember my grandmother’s favorite flowers. I smiled as I saw the view; the road to the house divided the garden into two sides, each side had flowers on them and a sycamore tree stood in the middle. The road continues long until we reached the house behind. The rear of the house, with its veranda and brick patio, commands a spectacular view of the garden.

Coming out from the little residence was an old man with plain shirt tucked inside his jeans. The man is my grandfather looking as sharp as he can be. He stood by the veranda as my brother led me out of the car and I followed him from behind, hiding myself beneath him as I did.

My grandfather looked like he hadn’t aged a day, at least not since I last saw him and that was 6 years ago. He had a few crinkles on the side of his eyes which showed off when he smiled or laughed, his hair had turned gray and his face resembled my mother a lot, from the tip of his nose to the edge of his chin. They looked exactly the same.

Our meeting was awkward, in fact the whole thing about this idea was awkward and weird. But, looking at my grandfather’s face, I was sure everything will turned out fine. He welcomed us inside afterwards as he lightly tapped Gyu Sook’s back during the process.

The inside of the house was even more appealing than to the outside, I took the guess that he changed the whole thing. The living room was joint with the dining room, it has two chintz-covered-armchairs, a pair of slipper chairs, and a rolled-arm sofa all covered in deep brown material and are informally arranged in a semicircle. The wall was painted light-cream and was filled with framed pictures.

Gyu Sook and I sat facing him and started the conversation.

“I’m so glad you can make it here”, he started out after clearing his throat. He offered us tea and we took it gladly.

“I asked your mother to come and visit, but I guess she was busy”, he continued. He sounded disappointed as he said.

“Actually, she did offer us to stay here for weekend but since I have to work tomorrow I couldn’t. That’s why Hye-Go here will stay with you” my brother explained formally and glanced at me for a while.

Grandpa turned to look at me and smiled, “I’m sure you would love it here. I’m sorry for not making any contacts with you children for these couple of years, you must’ve thought of me as a bad grandfather”, he chuckled inwardly.

“No, if I were you I would’ve understood as well” I spoke up against my will and shut up quickly after that.

Gyu Sook and Grandpa watched me and laughed a bit. And that must be the first I ever saw them laugh, and I came to realize that both of them look alike if they do.

“You see, your grandmother was a bit stubborn. But, she always get along with children the way I would never will” there’s a hint of sadness in his voice, though his eyes looked warm.

     I looked at my grandmother’s picture hanging on the wall behind him and breathe in.

     “I’m sure she would love if you spend more time here…” he looked at both of us and smiled. I expected he would break down and cried, but he didn’t instead he inhaled and settled down. I watched him in silent as his eyes lit up to look at the picture of my grandmother on the coffee table.

“I’m sure she will” Gyu Sook held my hands and smiled. My brother didn’t have the chance to spend time with my grandmother as much as I did, he was too busy as a pre-med student around that time. I was glad I was the younger one in the family.  

After biding goodbye, Gyu Sook finally went off home. There’s only me and grandpa now and as I hate how my mom sent me off here but I would hate it more if I have to spend my weekend alone again there.

Grandpa had a care-taker here with him, a woman who lived next-door named Chae Goo Ri. She’s a 42 years old woman with a son named Chae Kyung Soon. Every day she would come and cook for him, sometimes she would do the cleanings and such. But, since Grandpa lived alone there are barely works for her to do. Grandpa had a weak heart, so he had to sleep-off the rest of the day. In exchange, Chae Goo-Ri showed me around the house.

The house was pretty big since Grandpa remodeled it using the money he had been saving up, he threw a little color into the house. The dining room was an enclosed porch joint with the living room, and some wide seen-through windows on the sides made it even brighter, the sliding glass door were installed to open the room to the terrace and the glorious view of not only the herbal garden but also a dock and a bay. The scenery was breathtaking from the room.

“She had always wanted a house like this…” Goo Ri spoke up as I admire the scene from the porch.

“You mean my grandmother? You knew her?” Goo Ri faint a smile and walked to my side, watching the scene with me.

“He spoke of her a lot” she said and clicked her tongue.

It seemed weird to me that how my grandfather could share something with a stranger rather than to his own family. I thought that he kept it all to himself all these years, and it just reminded me of how fragile a human’s heart can be.

Goo Ri then showed me to my bedroom, the one I used to share with my mother during our past stay here. But of course, it changed; The storybook bed, with its hand-carved headboard and diminutive scrollwork crown is placed on an angle between two windows, warming up the bed itself are softly inviting bed linens in a dainty white-on-mauve wildflower print, unfinished louvered shutters at the window and a polished bare wood floor, with a nubby textured all-cotton woven area rug.

“I really hope you would like your stay here, he really needs the company now more than ever”, she said before letting me settling in with my room and stepped out to give me some privacy.

I heaved a sigh and rolled my eyes around the room. I laid my back on the bed with my arms wide open to the sides, I looked at the bare ceiling and closed my eyes. The house had certainly got bigger, but it also felt lonely. Just like my grandpa’s heart.

I fell asleep almost instantly, when I got up the sun was about to set. I got up from bed and took the liberty to open the window to let the salty air fill into my room. My room was in the second floor, right above the dining room. The view from my window were the dock and the bay, and of course the little herbal garden underneath it.

My eyes landed on the figures below, Chae Goo-Ri and my Grandfather. They were tending the herbal garden carefully, while standing beside them was an awfully familiar face. Goo Ri took notice of me as she looked up and waved happily, my grandfather did the same as he talked with the guy beside him. I watched as they laughed and did small talks, and since the guy didn’t notice me, I decided to observe them for a couple of minutes before making my way downstairs.

I never believe in fate. It never worked on me before, but I guess I lack of trust as well. They said the first time was a choice, the second time was a coincidence, but the third time was fate. In my case, none of it was right. I already explained before that it was not my first meeting with her, but I did only notice her then.

Weekend for me was supposed to be grand, crashing in knock-up alley to listen to music, strolling down the town with my dad renewed truck, or just riding around the public beach with my bicycle. But sometimes, my dad would send me off to my aunt’s place in the country-side just to keep me away from the unhealthy side of the city, which was probably the best for me right now.

And after 2 hours of driving dad’s old truck, I finally arrived. My aunt lived next to Kang Nam Yong, a single elderly who owned the biggest house in the neighborhood, his wife passed away few years ago and he went wild afterwards. He remodeled his house just like his wife’s request and made it exceptionally splendid to crash in. I used to help out tending his garden and herbs, which I found it pretty helpful since I could earn little extra money to save up. My aunt had been taking care of the old man for these past years, ever since he realized he couldn’t live alone. He’d never invited any of his family over, and he never told my aunt why.

Sometimes I found the chance to hear stories about his dear wife, whenever he felt like he wanted to share something with either my aunt or me. We both would walked along the bay looking at other people sailing their boats or just lounge around inside his front porch after gardening.

He had always said that his wife was the best thing that ever happened to him, an unexpected encounter with her had led him to 43 years of pure happiness. But, I’m a boy and boys weren’t supposed to get sensitive and sentimental after hearing those sad love stories. My own grandparents had died since before I was even born, that’s why I’m not used to with long and desperate stories.

The countryside however offered a new and different perspective of life, unlike in the big city where people treat other people like trash. Here, all of the people are kind and friendly though most of them have reached the age of 50 and above. Despite all that, I found a friend here, his name is Do Kyungsoo. He lived with his parents and an older brother who already left town to the big city. Having a friend like Kyungsoo helped me out to survive couple of days here, we used to sneak out during midnight to the dock and climbed up the sycamore tree and sometimes dozed off.

As I made my way to my aunt’s house which I would find it empty, my phone buzzed.

“Hello”, I picked it up as I stood in front of the doorway

“Jong In? where are you?” Chanyeol’s voice was unlike any other, and he was the only one who would call me this early.

“I’m at my aunt’s house. Why?”

“Ah! The one on the countryside? What are you doing there?”

“My dad sent me off here again”, I clamped the phone in between my shoulder and my ear as I instinctively looked for the key to the house.

“Do you think it would be a good idea if I followed you there?” his tone seemed doubtful and needy

“You want to come here?”, my hand moved to search for the key on the ventilation above the door frame, still no luck.

“Can I?”, he asked again, his voice came out desperate.

“Why? I thought you’re going to the beach today with the twins”

“I was but then Jaerin showed up. She insisted us to go with her to the mall, and watch movies. I turned her down and now she won’t leave me alone” he said the last words almost like a whisper.

“So, just go home. I’m sure she won’t follow you there”, I was also desperate to find the key but then I gave up and decided to walk to Kang Nam Yong’s house, knowing my aunt will be there.

“My parents are leaving town for the night and I forgot the key to the house. I thought you’re home and maybe I could come by and crash in for the night” , he answered hesitantly

“What about the twins’ house?”

“They don’t want me there, not if Jaerin still clinging on me”

“Are you sure you want to come here? I mean it’s 2 hours trip..”

“So, can I come there?”

“I must tell my aunt first though, but I’m sure it would be fine..”

“Really? Thanks man!”, he ended the call almost instantly as I sighed.

I put the phone back to my jeans’ pocket when a car dashed in front of me, it stopped in front of the Old man’s front gate and from the car stepped outside a young man. He opened the gate and got back to the car, soon he drove the car inside. But does it seemed weird to me? Yes. As far as I can see, Nam Yong never had guests coming by. So, who was that man?

My senses became much clear as I walked closer to the house through the back side, that’s when my aunt caught me. She was walking by the dock outside the herbal garden with Kyung Soon on her side.

“You’re here”, she walked up to me while Kyung Soon followed her from behind.

“Hyung!”, Kyung Soon ran as soon as he laid his eyes on me. I greeted him as I ruffled his messy hair while he did his usual laugh.

“Eomeonie, I stopped by the house earlier but I couldn’t find the key anywhere” I slouched my back and walked toward the herbal garden. But, my aunt stopped me suddenly.

“You can’t go inside just yet, he has visitors” she pulled me back and whispered

“Oh yeah, I saw a man earlier… what does he want with Harabeoji?” I peep at a little to see the inside of the house but got smack on the arm by my aunt.

“They’re his Sonja (grandchildren)”, she lowered her voice even more

“Really? I didn’t knew he had any Sonja, he never told us”

“They stopped visiting after his wife died”

“How come they’re here now?”

“That’s none of your business, now come on let’s go back before you try to do anything stupid”, she gripped my arm again to make me follow her side, back to her house.

On the way back I encouraged myself to ask my aunt permission regarding Chanyeol, surprisingly she was okay with it. “It’s fine, as long as you guys don’t cause any troubles”, she said and smiled. My aunt met Chanyeol on my birthday last year, so she knew him already. She wouldn’t be bothered by Chanyeol anyway, he’s not that much of a trouble. She already had more experience in dealing with me, so Chanyeol wouldn’t be a problem for her.

As we arrived at her house, Kyung Soon dragged me to his room that he shared with me. But since Chanyeol will stay for the night, my aunt suggested Kyung Soon to move in to her room and let me and Chanyeol have the room for ourselves. I put down my belongings on top of the bed and pulled out the extra one from the closet for Chanyeol to use. Kyung Soon didn’t agree at first with the idea, but I sought him out for an ice cream and some comics I brought from the city. As I settled down, I moved to the front yard where I parked dad’s old truck and put down the bicycle. I went back inside to enjoy lunch.

Aunt’s house was a bit small, but since she lived only with Kyung Soon it was more than enough for both of them. My uncle passed away a couple of months back in a hit and run case, it was rainy that day so they couldn’t find the culprit who did it. His body was found the next morning by some locals who happened to pass by. It was such a terrible loss for us, but my aunt’s the strongest person I’ve ever known so she’d survived.

“What’s for lunch?”, I sat down next to Kyung Soon on the long work counter, while my aunt was busy preparing lunch for us.

“You don’t mind eating leftovers right? We had Soup and Pork-chops from last night”, she placed the food in front of me and Kyung Soon as we stared at it doubtfully.

I glanced at Kyung Soon whose pouting and ruffled his hair. “Eat”, I muttered.

Aunt offered me 2 plates for both me and Kyung Soon. “Umma, can’t we eat something else?” Kyung Soon pushed the plate away from him and pouted even harder.

“Kyung Soon-ah, eat your food if you won’t then you can’t come with us to Harabeoji’s house this afternoon”, my aunt put some pork-chops on his plate and shoved his plate over to his side.

“But, we already ate this yesterday”, he slumped back to his seat refused to eat.

“Kyung Soon-ah, you should eat otherwise I won’t give my comics to you”, I spoke up and watched him slowly. He looked at me daringly and give in.

“Jong In-ah, you don’t mind helping out in Harabeoji’s house again today, do you?” my aunt looked at me and I gave her a nod.

After we all finished the meal, my aunt decided to go back to the old man’s house first since she asked me to clean up the dishes. Couple of minutes later, I followed her with Kyung Soon.

As we arrived, my aunt told me that his granddaughter is upstairs while the young man from before already went back home. I supposed she will stay in for the weekend as well. Kang Nam Yong was taking a nap due to his weak-heart and will soon join us.

“So, Harabeoji had a granddaughter and a grandson?” we were now tending the garden, my aunt watered it while I just watched her every-doing. Kyung Soon were playing in the dock, watching people sailing boats and stuff.

“Yeah. He asked them to come yesterday, and they gladly obliged, though the grandson couldn’t stay” she cut off some dry leaves and twigs and threw them somewhere.

“The girl’s around your age, I guess. She’s still in high school”, she continued. I nodded my head a couple of times before digesting the information.

Our conversation was then interrupted by Harabeoji, he stood in front of the porch and greeted me.

“Harabeoji, you’re up”, my aunt looked up to him and wiped the sweat off her forehead. He joint our little activity and chatted a while with me.

All of a sudden, I heard faint footsteps from behind us. I looked back the same time as the two of them did and saw her. Sung Hye Go. The girl I met in the library and the one who hadn’t left my mind ever since.

I was awestruck, she didn’t wear any glasses or tucked in uniforms, her hair wasn’t all that messy, she had crystal brown eyes and a complimenting white skin. Her wavy black locks were tied into a ponytail as the sun lit up her features. She looked at me and I could even barely catch my breath, our eyes were locked with each other in just a second before she broke the stare and looked away.

“Did you sleep well, Hye Go-ah?” my aunt walked to her and smiled. She offered the same smile and nodded her head.

“I must’ve dozed off earlier” she muttered and rubbed the back of her neck hesitantly.

“Haraeboji…” she said timidly to Kang Nam Yong while the elderly only smiled and went back busying himself with the garden.

I looked at her and she smiled to me for a glimpse. “Ah, this is my nephew Kim Jong In. He helped out a lot” she introduced me to her which I found it useless since I already knew her, nevertheless she extended her hands to me and I took it almost instantly trying to look calm.

“I-I know her. We go to the same school” I blurted out after my first contact with her and I could see she was taken back with my words.

“Is that so?”, my aunt creased her eyebrows and glanced at us by turns. I pressed my lips together waiting for her response.

“Right, you’re in my history class” she said and smiled, but never did she look me in the eyes.