Lee Shin saw her walking hastily to the main road. He has been leaning to the wall, eavesdropping their loud argument. No matter how worried he was, he don’t have the power to intervene. Kyuwon hasn’t officialy introduce him to harabeoji. Wrong move, he might makes the situation worse for Kyuwon.

Even though Shin wants to run after her, he decided to just watch. She said it herself she will go to her dad’s house. She will be safe and sound in Ulsan. He think that rather than her, the old man is the one who need to be comforted the most for now. He will be all alone in his house for the first time in years.

After making sure Kyuwon get a taxi, he text her…

Let me know when you arrive. Take a good time there. Harabeoji will be fine with me

… which she doesn’t respond at all, until two days later with only one word: thanks.

*

Junghyun knock on the gate next door with a halfhearted expression on her face. It’s been three days she have to send food every breakfast and diner to the old man who always sneer at her style and preach her any time he got the chance.

“No wonder Kyuwon eonnie running away from the house,” she said everytime she comes back from the errand. “Eomma. I don’t want to do this again.” Yet, she still doing it when her mother tell her so.

“Wait until he finish all the food. Make sure you talking nicely to him. Alright?”

Junghyun sulked. “He doesn’t even give me example how to speak nicely. How can I do that?”

“But eomma always speak nicely to you, aren’t I? Take me as example would be more convenient.” She pat Junghyun’s back to convince her. “He’s an elder. We’re as the younger people should understand him more.”

Junghyun pouts. “Arasseo. I’m going.”

*

“Lee harabeoji! Open the door. I’m bringing food.”

“Don’t yell in front of my house.” Harabeoji appear behind her all of a sudden. “Move aside. I need to unlock the gate.”

Junghyun quietly stepped aside and have internal sulking. This poor old man. He should’ve been more carefree and less stuborn. Kyuwon eonnie wont leave him if he’s nicer.

“Why are you always bringing me food? Do you think I’m like a stray cat or what?”

“You don’t like it when other people care about you, harabeoji?” Junghyun asks as she follows grandpa to the terrace. She put down the food on the floor, bring the serving table to the spot where grandpa likes to have a meal, and set the food on top of the table without says anything. “Harabeoji, let’s eat!”

The old man comes out of his room after changing clothes. “Are you going to eat with me?”

“No, I have eaten mine earlier. But eomma told me to make sure you eat everything,” she says.

“I’m not a kid. Why do you have to watch over me?” he hold the chopstick and start to mix the food on separate bowl.

“My teacher says, old people have a tendency to act like a children because they growth process is like—“

“Be quiet. Or I can’t diggest well.”

“Ne.” Junghyun takes out her phone from her pants. She checks out her SNS feeds doesn’t even realize grandpa were watching from his seat.

Kyuwon never engross with her phone. She doesn’t even have her phone on her pocket everytime. When she’s at home, she always keep her phone in the room and just focus on the things she currently doing.

“Don’t keep staring at your phone. Eat with me.” Harabeoji says. Because she’s not reacted to his call, harabeoji knock the chopstick to the table.

Junghyun frowned as she turn her head to the old man.

“I said eat with me.”

“I’m already full.”

“Then don’t keep staring at your phone.”

Junghyun looks away to the garden and sighs loudly.

“Is staring at your phone the only way to have a silent moment?”

“What should I do then? Spacing out?”

Harabeoji grind his teeth and glared at her. “What’s wrong with young generation nowadays? Are you, young people, always talking back to elder like this?”

Junghyun notice the tone and color on his face was the sign that she will gets a lecture at this very moment. She immediately jump to the ground and wears her sandals. “I suddenly remember I have to clean the bathroom.” A lie. She bow before running to the door. Doesn’t even wait for grandpa to react. “Ah!” She comes back to pop her head from the gate door, “oppa will bring the tray later. Don’t look for me, okay harabeoji? Please, enjoy your food. See you later. Bye.”

Harabeoji was dumbfounded by Junghyun who moved as nimble as a lightning. She disappeared real quick harabeoji doesn’t even get the chance to open his mouth to call her.

*

Shin been standing hesistantly in front of Kyuwon’s house. Junghyun kicked him out of the house as he was about to take a bath. She wait by the door in front of their house to watch over him just in case he run away instead of doing the errand.

“What are you doing?” she nag without a sound. She point her finger to the house direction telling him to hurry go in.

Shin gives a sulking face as he knock the gate with his palm. He keeps knocking—loudly and impatiently—while showing displeased glare to his sister.

“What is it?”

Mr. Harabeoji appeared before his eyes with similar displease look. Ofcourse, with the way Shin knock on the gate door, who wouldn’t feel annoyed. Shin has successfully transferred his bad feeling to the old man.

Shin bow his head and flashed Kyuwon’s grandpa with an obligatory fake smile. “I’m here to bring back our stuff.” He decided to be straightforward so he can straight back home immediately.

Harabeoji squint his eyes. “What stuff?”

Shin takes a quick glance at Junghyun only to find she has already disappeared. “It’s the food tray and plates. My meddlesome little sister brought to you earlier.”

Harabeoji slightly nods before allowing Shin to come inside.

It’s the first time for Shin to be in Kyuwon’s house. He can’t help but look around to observe how it looks like. He wants to know where is her room and the smell of it. It must left a trace of Kyuwon’s presence even though she hasn’t been there for several days. If Shin bluntly asks the old man about her room, he wonder how bad will getting beaten by him.

“I haven’t wash it yet.” Harabeoji stands next to the dining table he hasn’t cleaned up yet.

“It’s alright.” Shin kneeled to put the dishes on the tray and clean the table. He looks up to harabeoji. “Should I move the table or is it usually lay here?”

“Put it at the corner. There’s a space next to that cupboard.” He pointed at the usual place Kyuwon put the dinning table.

Shin moves the table without saying anything. He forced himself to stop thinking about Kyuwon so he can focus on harabeoji. He knows well, talking about her might end up causing trouble and makes grandpa wouldn’t want to see him again. More over if he knows that Shin and his one and only grand daughter are more than just a close friend. He have to takes the slow route in order to gets his trust.

“So,” harabeoji put his hands behind his back, “how old are you?”

Shin walks toward harabeoji before says, “20 years old.”

“You’re the same age as Kyuwon,” harabeoji nods to himself. “What course do you take at school?”

“Music.” Shin remember how Kyuwon always says that the grandpa is very idealist and stubborn about his bad point of view of things other than traditional arts. So he decided to give a little sweet talk for the man. “It was hard for me to choose which music I will especially learn. Because there’re so many good music. But because I don’t know much and no one really helped me and give me guidance, I decided to walk on modern music path.”

Harabeoji sneered. “As expected.”

“Yes.” Shin put a disappointed look. “After I met Lee Kyuwon I found that gugak is a really good one and apparently it’s so interesting to learn about the meaning behind every songs even when it doesn’t have a lyric.”

Well, it wasn’t a total lie. Shin actualy find gugak amusing after he watched how The Windflowers presented the music with passion and delicacy. It sounds so beautiful and elegant.

“Lucky you.” Harabeoji says as he smirks.

“Ne?”

“Here, here.” He walks into his room, asks Shin to follow him.

Shin tailing him with frown on his face. Wondering what’s going on—why the old man invite him to his personal space all of a sudden. But despite being confused, a ray of hope fluttering in his head. It could be the case that his grandpa in law started to have a liking on him. Is it the sign that his relationship with Kyuwon can move forward in the more convenient way?

“Have a sit.”

Shin obey him without says anything.

“So you have interest in gugak, correct?”

Shin blinks for feeling uneasy. His instinct says this will become a long conversation. The glint in harabeoji’s eyes somewhat different. Shin can sense excitement and bluff on the old man’s eyes. Not to mention the smug expression on his face.

As harabeoji open his mouth, the long long long story about his blooming youth has begun.

**

Shin grimacing in pain as he returned home. It’s 2 in the afternoon, yet the story of harabeoji’s legendary youth only up to his blooming twenty three years old when he was about to propose t