Note: A little on the topic of gender equality in this chapter, because during my stay here, I've seen a lot of gender INequality. It's saddening. Well, I believe that children are born without prejudice, but our society shapes them to think otherwise. So here's a little taste of it in Keia's life...

Since it was summer, Gary’s family decided to go on a short trip together. That afternoon, Gary and his brother were packing the bags into the trunk when their family-friend arrived with their two sons who were going together with them. It had only been a couple of months since Gary’s brother saw them, but it had been years since Gary saw them. Jihyo hadn’t even seen them.

“O, Jungho hyung!” Gary greeted him.

“Heegun-ah.” Jungho, the family-friend, greeted him back and rustled Gary’s hair as if they were still kids. “Yejoon, Hyunjoon, come here. Say hello to Heegun samchon.” He called his 13 and 10-year-old sons. Yejoon, the 13-year-old, came forward first.

“When did you become this big?” He asked Yejoon. Hyunjoon, the younger brother, ran behind him. Gary laughed and high-fived him. “You too! You’re so big now.” Yejoon and Hyunjoon laughed, but they only had vague memories of Gary. “Do you remember samchon?” He asked. Yejoon nodded, but Hyunjoon hesitated. He laughed. Gary’s brother came and the boys immediately ran and gave him a hug. “Now they remember my hyung.” He said, chuckling.

“It’s cause you’re not around a lot.” Jungho said.

“Keia, can you please bring this to appa?” Jihyo gave her the food bag for everyone’s snacks. Keia took it and instead of carrying it, she dragged it out. Jihyo laughed at their daughter, who was carrying a bag bigger than her.

“Appa!” Keia shouted even before she was close to him. Gary turned around and laughed seeing her like that.

“Eo… Ppalli wa.” Gary said, waving for her to come. “Say hi to samchon.” Keia moved as fast as she can, but she was carrying a bag heavier than her. When she was close, Gary took the bag from her and told her to greet their family-friend.

“Now who’s this beauty?” Jungho kneeled in front of Keia. “She’s so chic.” He said, looking at Gary. Keia greeted him but ran back to where the other women were.

“Halmi… There’s an ahjussi outside with appa.” Keia said, after seeing her grandma. Jihyo and her sister-in-law were still preparing some last-minute things. Her grandma ushered her out as she looked at who it was.

“Jungho samchon.” She said. “Did you see Yejoon oppa and Hyunjoon oppa yet?” Keia shook her head. “Go get Geonwoo oppa, and I’ll introduce you two to them.” She said. The two went with their grandma and met the two brothers. “Yejoon-ah, Hyunjoo-ya, come here.” She called. The two kids came. “This is Geonwoo, and this one’s Keia. Play well together, ok? The four of you.” She said. And just like that, the four got along just like that.

“Mongji-ya, iriwabwa.” Gary said. Jihyo walked towards the three men with her sister-in-law. “I don’t think you’ve met Jungho hyung.” He introduced the two, sliding his hands around her waist. Jihyo, with her blank look, greeted this man. Their sister-in-law did the same. The three men then got in the car with the kids.

“Keia, come on, let’s go.” Jihyo said, holding her hands out.

“No…” Keia complained. “I wanna go with appa and oppadeul.” She said. Jihyo looked at Gary, and he nodded. Jihyo then buckled Keia in Gary’s car and left to get into the other car with her in-laws and sister-in-law. In the car, the three men were able to catch up and the adults were too. The children were as if they were at the playground as they joke around. But it was not that long until they ran out of energy and fell asleep. Keia, however, was still trying to sleep.

“Appa…” She poked Gary’s arm. Gary looked at her. “Can I go with eomma? I wanna sleep with eomma.” She said. Gary chuckled.

“I knew it was gonna end with this.” He murmured. “We’re almost there. Just close your eyes and we’ll be there ok?” He said. Keia whined. “Keia, stop. We offered you to ride that car but you wanted to be here. Now go to sleep.” Keia extended her arms towards him.

“Ana…” She then compensated. Gary lifted her and hugged her.

“Go to sleep.” He said, kissing her head. Keia then tossed around for a while, but fell asleep shortly thereafter. The three men continued to talk, until they arrived at the place they rented. Gary carried Keia to their room, put her down, and went out to help with the bags.

“Did she sleep the whole way here?” Jihyo asked Gary. Gary nodded. “Oppa…” Jihyo complained, and although it was obvious, Gary stood there absentmindedly. Jihyo laughed at her husband, who sometimes pulls the mong face better than her, yet still calls her Mongji. Jihyo sat next to Keia and caressed her. “Keia… We’re here.” She said, kissing Keia’s face. Keia woke up and rubbed her eyes, closing them again. Jihyo laughed, taking Keia’s hand and kissing it. Keia giggled, snuggling by her mom’s side. “Come on, let’s wake up. There are oppadeul outside. Go play with them.” Jihyo said and stood up, heading out. Keia quickly caught up and held onto her mom’s hand.

“Eomma what’s that?” Keia said, looking outside where the men were. Jihyo looked at where she was pointing.

“The grill?” She asked Keia in return. “We’re going to have a BBQ party tonight, so appa’s getting it ready with keun appa and samchon. Do you wanna go see?” She asked. Keia shook her head. When she saw her grandpa, Keia ran towards him. Jihyo just let her be and sat with her sister-in-law.

“I feel like we have so many boys to look after today.” Her sister-in-law said. Jihyo laughed, agreeing. “We need more girls. We can’t be outnumbered.” She added.

“Which is why you should have another child. A girl.” Jihyo told her.

“I don’t think I can handle another one. Not while caring for Geonwoo.” She said, shaking her head. “But you… You and Gary should have another one.” Jihyo smiled.

“One day…” Jihyo replied.

“You two… Can you help me with this please?” The