A small knock sounded on the door to the bedroom, and it slowly drifted open, revealing a worried-looking Detective Park outside. "Lia?" she called quietly, giving her a curious look. "Are you okay?"

Lia nodded, her eyes glancing over to Jongin, who sat silently beside her. "Yeah," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry I made you worry. I should go apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Kim," she reasoned, beginning to stand.

At that moment, Mr. and Mrs. Kim stepped into view, an apologetic expression crossing their face. "No, we're the ones who should be sorry," Mrs. Kim said. "We didn't realize so much had happened to you. You must've been shocked when we started asking so many questions."

She cast her eyes away, not wanting to see their sad expressions. It wasn't their fault, they just hadn’t been told yet about her mother's passing.

"It’s okay," she promised. "You didn’t know."

The sound of Park whispering something to Mr. Kim drew Lia's attention from the wall, and she watched as Park's and Mr. Kim's eyes darted from Jongin to Lia. "Jongin," Mr. Kim said after a moment, "Why don't you go ahead and go to bed. Lia and Soojin are going to be leaving soon."

Jongin shook his head slightly. "I'll see them out."

Mr. Kim started to say something, but Mrs. Kim gave him a light smack on the arm before dragging him down the hall, his protests fading with him as he went.

Park looked to Lia. "Let's go ahead and go. I'd like to leave before it gets too dark."

Lia bobbed her head, standing up with Jongin. They both moved out of the room after Park, following her down the stairs and to the front of the house. At the entrance, Detective Park gave Lia a slight nod, leaving first.

Jongin turned to Lia, a wide smile on his face. "Before you leave, say something in English." When Lia sighed, a grand pout spread across his face. "Please," he begged, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Fine, fine, just get rid of that face."

"It's my face, I can't get rid of it," he jeered, laughing as Lia rolled her eyes.

"Haha, you’re so funny," she said sarcastically, then paused as she thought of what she should say. "Okay, how about . . . you're really nice, Jongin."

He squinted curiously. "What'd you say? I heard my name!"

With a chuckle, Lia darted out the door, Jongin's shouts following her. "Ya!" he shouted, his head popping out the door. "Tell me what you said!"

Lia jumped into the car, still laughing as she buckled up. She turned to see Park giving her a satisfied look. "What?" Lia asked, and Park smiled.

"Now, aren't you happy we came?"

"What do you mean?" Lia said in puzzlement.

"You seem . . ." Park hesitated, searching for the right word, "Happier."

Lia nodded in understanding, her eyes drifted to the scenery as Park pulled out of the driveway. Her gaze caught Jongin, who was waving frantically to her from the doorway. She flashed a small smile, giving a slight wave of her hand. "I guess you're right," she agreed. "I feel better now,"

 

---

 

The next day, Lia awoke early, vowing that never again would she sleep in long enough to prompt Park to begin cooking. If there was only one thing she would do during her stay, she would have it be cooking. It was something she enjoyed, as it was something she often did with her mother. When she cooked for someone, it made her feel warm just seeing the smile on their face. So, she made sure that Park knew that of all the spaces in the house, the kitchen was hers and hers only.

At around eight in the morning, she heard Park stumbling down the stairs. A giggle escaped her as a loud bang came from the stairway, followed by a string of curses. Detective Park staggered into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes drowsily.

"What are you making?" she asked, her voice slurred from sleep.

"Bacon and eggs," she answered simply, mixing the eggs skillfully. "My mom used to make it a lot when my dad was out of town."

Park groaned softly, closing her eyes. "Why don't you ever make regular food?" she whined. "Like galbi. I want galbi."

Lia sighed. "I'll make some tomorrow, but most of what I know how to make is American food."

With a dismissing wave of her hand, Park trudged over to the table. "I really don't care. As long as I get food," she mumbled, laying her head down on the table.

Lia gave a short bark of laughter, glancing to the half-asleep Detective Park. "Sometimes I forget you're the adult in the house," she jested, returning back to cooking.

"But you still love me!" Park called lightly with a giggle.

"Mhm," Lia agreed, pulling the eggs from the stove and setting them aside, letting them cool before scraping them onto a separate plate. She then finished frying the bacon, setting them beside the eggs and carrying the plate to the table. "Dig in," she set, laying the plate in front of Park and moving back to the counter to clean.

"You aren't eating?" Detective Park questioned, and Lia shook her head.

"I don't usually eat breakfast. I'll eat at lunch."

"You know, you really should eat breakfast," Park argued, pointing her fork at Lia accusingly. "It's the most important meal of the day."

"I've survived thus far, and will continue to survive without the help of breakfast," she assured, wiping down the counter with a wet rag.

The kitchen grew quiet after that, only the sound of Park chewing filling the otherwise-silent room. After a few minutes, Detective Park made an odd sound, drawing Lia's attention away from her current task of washing the dishes.

"Do you have any plans for today?" Park said, looking up at Lia with curiosity.

Lia shook her head slowly. "No, not that I know of. Why?"

Park shrugged. "I was thinking maybe you could go hang out with Jongin. It's a nice day, after all, and summer just started. I figured you might be bored."

"I don't know; it depends on if he'd want to or not."

"I see no reason for him to refuse. He really likes you," she concluded. "I think you to will become good friends."

"I hope," Lia said. "I've never really had friends though, so I wouldn't know what to do."

Park sighed, turning around fully in her chair until she was directly facing Lia. "All you have to do is be you, Lia. You're amazing, and anyone who doesn't think so just hasn't taken the time to get to know you yet."

Lia looked down, a small smile on her face. "I guess," she muttered.

"I'll finish up the cleaning, you go ahead and walk over to the Kim's."

"But-"

"No!" Park shouted, jumping up and shooing Lia away dramatically. "Go have fun with Jongin! Do something!"

"Okay!" Lia reassured, running to the entrance and slipping on her shoes quickly. "I'm going! I'm going!"

With that she ducked out the door, a sour expression on her face. "You could've just asked," she complained, and started her trek down the dirt road.

 

---

 

A few minutes brought her to the Kim's doorstep. She stared at the wooden door, as she'd been doing for the past five minutes, unsure of whether she should knock or ring the doorbell. Halfway through her thought, the door flew open, a wide-eyed Jongin standing behind it.

"Why won't you knock?" he shouted, and Lia stepped away, taken aback by his sudden appearance. "I've been waiting for you to knock, but you just stood there like a tree! Is your hand broken or something?"

"I . . . uh . . ." Lia hesitated, forming an o shape.

Jongin gave way to an incredulous laugh, stepping out onto the porch. "You're so weird," he mumbled, closing the door behind him.

"Sorry," Lia apologized, stepping to the side.

"No, not the bad kind of weird. You're nicely weird."

"What's good about being weird?" she inquired, frowning slightly.

He smiled brightly, his eyes warm. "Because when you're weird, you get to see things differently from other people."

"Isn't that the whole point of being weird?"

"I suppose," he reasoned, "But it doesn't denote from the fact that it's better to be odd than be a copy of someone else. It means you're truly yourself."

Lia nodded slowly. "Then, I'll assume I can take it as a compliment?"

"Of course," Jongin promised. "Now, is there anywhere that you want to go?"

"Not specifically, but I don't really know what there is to do around here. Maybe you could take me on a tour?" she suggested, and he nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like a good idea. However, my tours are especially magnificent, so they come at a price," he explained, smiling mischievously.

"What's . . . the price?" Lia hesitated.

Jongin laughed, snatching her hand before she could protest. "This," he chuckled, and started walking, pulling Lia along with him.

 

---

 

Lia sat on the ground, her legs spread out on front of her. Beside her lay Jongin, his long limbs stretched about carelessly. He sighed as he stared up into the sky, his eyes combing the red color cast by the setting sun. Lia's gaze swept over the landscape, taking it all in; the crimson sky, the soft wind blowing against her hair, the sound of cicadas in the evening air. It was more beautiful than anything she'd ever seen.

"You know," she said after a moment, "This is the first time I've been out of Seoul."

Jongin propped himself up on his elbow, turning to look at her. "Really?" he asked curiously. "Not even on school trips?"

She shook her head, a bitter smile forming. "I've never been on a school trip. My dad never let me." She looked down at the ground as she pulled up a few shots of grass. "It's not like we had the money in the first place."

A frown crossed Jongin's face as he sat up straight. "Well, I should tell you haven't missed anything," he said, and she looked up at him. "Last school trip I went on, a girl almost got hit by a car."

"Who-" Lia stopped as she realized he was talking about her, and he gave her a warm smile.

"Really, they're always boring. They usually take you to museums, or take you to shrines to go and clean. It's more fun to stay at home."

"I think anything other than staying home would've been fun for me," she said quietly, her smile fading.

"Well, look at it this way," he suggested, standing up in front of her. "Now, once school starts again, you'll be going with me. Then, we can go on school trips together. I can show you just how boring they are, right?" He laughed lightly, and Lia nodded until a thought struck her.

"But I'm not staying here."

Jongin stopped, his expression freezing. He laughed incredulously, kneeling down in front of her. "What are you talking about? Of course you're staying here. Where else would you go?"

Lia shook her head, her gaze going blank. "My mom's family in America. I have to go there." She scoffed angrily, a grimace crossing her expression. "I've never even met them, but soon they'll have responsibility for me? It's so stupid."

It fell quiet, and she felt bad; he was trying to cheer her up, but she just made him feel worse.

She felt Jongin's eyes on her, and she looked up, reading the sorrowful expression on his face. "Sorry," she mumbled, and he shook his head.

"Don't be sorry," he pleaded. "You have a right to be angry with them." He moved to sit beside her, leaning on her arm gently. "And as for you leaving, we'll just act like you're staying here permanently until told otherwise, okay? That way you can enjoy your time here," he promised, nudging her gently.

"Why . . . are you so nice to me?" she asked, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Why not? Besides, you're pretty cool. I think we're gonna be pretty good friends," he concluded, and she laughed.

 "I hope so," she said, knowing he was right.