Chapter 2:

The morning air was chilly as Park Sanchol arranged a bouquet of pink roses on Kwon Jaejoong's grave first before he made his way to his wife's. It’s been four years since Dara first discovered the little boy’s grave and had made a habit of taking flowers to his grave whenever they visited her grandmother’s grave. Dara was back with her parents in the U.S. But before she left at the end of summer she had reminded her grandfather, as she did every year, "Papa, don't forget to take flowers to my Jaejoongie oppa when you take flowers for Grandma Dara, okay?" Even when she skyped with him she never failed to remind him to take flowers for her Jaejoongie oppa.

Dara had even put a little ceramic vase on Jaejoong’s grave for her to place her flowers inside when she visited. Sanchol had told her not to because Jaejoong's family might not like it. But Dara had insisted, pleading with her grandfather and in the end he had relented. The grave did appear as if no one had visited it in a while so Sanchol thought it might be okay. Dara's weekly ministrations while she was there in Korea kept the grave looking nice along with the flowers she always brought and placed there.

Sanchol smiled at the photo of the little boy. "Do you miss your friend? I do too. Just a few more months and she’ll be back to visit you, Jaejoong-ah," he said, then smiled as he left to go visit with his wife's grave.

**

Three months passed and Dara was back in Korea to spend another summer with her grandfather. As was their Sunday tradition the two made the trip to the cemetery to visit Dara's grandmother's grave. Afterwards Dara walked over to Jaejoong's grave and knelt down beside it.

"Jaejoongie oppa, did you miss me?" she asked, smiling brightly. She removed the old roses that were in the vase and replaced them with fresh ones. "Here are your flowers. Aren't they pretty? They smell pretty too."

Dara reached for her backpack and took out a small pouch and opened it. "Look, oppa, I made you something! It's a friendship bracelet. See? It's made out of yarn. I made it myself in my arts class back home! I made yours blue and purple and black. And look! I have one too but mine is pink, yellow, and blue. Isn’t it pretty?"

Dara reached behind the vase with the flowers. She had a decorative tin can hidden there that she kept the little momentos she brought for Jaejoongie in. Next she took from her bag an origami swan she had made the night before. "My grandpa taught me how to make this. It's not as good as the ones he makes but it’s still nice right?"

Last of all she took a small wallet sized photo of her from the past school year and she placed it in the tin can. "I think this year’s photo turned out better than last year’s one. At least I’m not wearing braces in this one," she laughed, as she placed the photo in the tin as well before covering it and restoring it to its hiding spot. Afterwards she sat back and hugged her knees up to her chest, turned her face up to the sky and closed her eyes as she enjoyed the sun's warmth.

**

Jiyong knelt down beside his brother's grave and bowed his head. It's been nearly five years since he's last been here.

"Joongie-ah," he whispered, as his eyes moistened. He'd taken the subway and then the bus to make it here. His father was on a business trip and his mother had accompanied him.

"I'm sorry for not coming sooner, Joongie."

He looked around the grave and was surprised to see that it didn't look neglected even though he knew his parents had not been here in a while. He was more surprised to see pink roses in a vase near his brother's stone.

Someone had brought Joongie flowers?

Jiyong reached to take one of the roses out of the vase and in doing so he spotted a faded tin container hidden behind the vase. Carefully he pulled it out and looked at it. Then he opened it and was surprised to see several items in there.

Whose was this? Did someone leave it here by mistake?

He brought the items out and laid them carefully on the grave.

There was a keychain with a smiley face, two bracelets made of yarn, a theater ticket stub, a token like the ones used in an arcade,  several oragami figures, a cat-eye marble, a folded piece of paper and several photos.

Jiyong picked up the photos and looked through them. They were all of one girl. Four appeared to be school photos, the others were of her in various places; at the beach, in front of a museum, an amusement park, another of her hiking, and another of her lying down amongst a field of flowers and tall grass.. He turned the photos over and saw a similar message written on each.

'To Jaejoongie oppa. Love, Dara.'

**