July 12, 2002
Amidst the sweltering heat mixed with the unpredictability of incoming heavy rain, I was filled with bubbles of excitement and joy as my mother dressed me delicately, her eyes filled with concentration. It was my fifth birthday today, and no doubt, I was looking forward to the party my parents had prepared for me. I was the second child of the Song family, but I received just as much affection as my older brother and little sister did. My parents always made sure I wouldn't be the left out middle child of the family, but they would frequently be preoccupied with my troublesome siblings, leaving me behind to fend for myself. This special attention today was an apology. 

Yet, I really did not mind, I understood at this young age. My parents had to take care of my ten year old brother, Song Hansuk, who was constantly and persistently being a mischievous monster who would tug at my hair at any given opportunity. Then, there was my nearly four year old sister, Song Haneul, although only a year younger than me, her endless crying and wailing shook the whole house at any given moment. And there was me. Song Hana.

"All done," my mother muttered softly with pride as she gently placed a tiara on top of my head, pulling a few strands of hair in the process.

Staring at me for a few seconds, her gentle and kind eyes radiated warmth and love. 

"You look perfect, Hana. Today will be.....perfection."

My head tilted upwards in curiosity as I let that last word ring in my head.

Perfection.

What was that?

Looking up at my mother who was now combing her short, neck-length hair, I took the courage to ask.

"What is perfection?"

She hesitated for a while, before replying serenely, "To me, perfection is watching a day go to plan. Perfection is seeing you go out there in your beautiful outfit, blowing out the candles to your cake, and watching you have a good time without any disturbance. Hm, yes, that's my perfection."

That, was my first definition of perfection.

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Hana! Happy Birthday to you!"

I blew out the candles with fervour, everyone around me simultaneously erupted into cheers and claps. I smiled shakily, unsure if I enjoyed this kind of attention. There were about twenty adults and a handful of children, I didn't know most of these people(they were all just family friends.)

And as the cake was cut, everyone dispersed into their own little groups, chatting fervently and laughing cheerily. Walking into the shadows with a red balloon in hand, I sat under the big oak tree in my backyard, staring innocently at the clear blue sky above, adorned with fluffy white clouds.

Suddenly, I felt a gush of wind, and my balloon was snatched out of my grasp. Surprised, I snapped my head towards a boy who stood looming above me, with my red balloon in his hostage. Standing up defiantly, I exclaimed in a moment of haste, "Give that back!"

I realised he was a good ten centimetres taller than I was, this meant he was probably around my brother's age. Violence wouldn't solve anything right now; he was much too big for me to tackle. Poking his tongue out at me, he replied, "This red balloon is mine now."

Shooting him an annoyed glance, I pouted as I tried to snatch it back from him. Yet, every time he managed to dodge me and merely just step away. He lifted his hand up and gave me a devious smirk, indeed, as I jumped up to try and catch it, it was no use. I was too short.

In a moment of carelessness, I jumped and then, tripped over, landing rather ungracefully on the grass, grazing my knee in the process. Yelping silently in pain, my face scrunched up as I tried to hold in any noise that would attract my mother's attention. 

I didn't want her to see me in such a state.

"Hey, are you alright?" the boy's voice radiated in my ear as he bent over and touched my hand. Slowly pulling me back up, he lost contact with the string holding on to the balloon. And I watched on, as it drifted up, up, away, and to my despair, the dot of red soon disappeared from my sight.

"Let's go, I'll take you to your parents," he said with responsibility. He seemingly had forgotten about my beloved red balloon, and his mischievous brown eyes before, were now full of guilt and kindness.

I shook my head defiantly, "You lost my red balloon."

He chuckled apologetically and ruffled my hair with his free hand, the other still held tightly onto my hand.

"I'll give you one back. One day. I promise."

"Pinky promise?" I asked him, sticking out my small pinky, and he did the same, although his was quite longer than mine. As our pinkies linked, I couldn't help but stare at this older boy. The longer I looked, the more inferior I felt, as I was unable to utter out any proper words. I didn't know how many minutes passed, but it seemed as if it were eternity as we kept steady eye contact. I was enthralled.

And then, it rained.

"Look how dirty you are," my father reprimanded as he wiped off the dirt on my knee, and dried my wet hair from the rain.

I looked down apologetically, "I'm sorry daddy, I didn't realise that you all had gone into the house before it started raining. But I came right away when it rained!" 

In fact, after realising me and the boy were the only ones left, we both quickly ran back into the house. Hands no longer linked, I watched him disappear into the distance towards his family, leaving me with my father. My mother had gone to tend for Haneul, I was glad she did not see me like this. Otherwise, her perfect day would be ruined.

That night, my father was the one who prepared me for bed, whereas my mother was lecturing Hansuk for throwing cake at a girl during the party. I couldn't help but laugh inside. I knew what Hansuk was thinking, he always told me that he had eyes for that girl. Hansuk was a very troublesome brother, he always got in to trouble, and I would always cover for him, as I was the reliable one in the family. He promised every time it would never happen again. I never believed him, not even for a second. Once a troublemaker, always a troublemaker. It was something I learnt after Hansuk 's continuous antics where he would jump over the fence to our next door neighbour's house and stay there with the old grandma who lived alone, pretending he was her grandson, before my parents realised his disappearance and immediately rush to the grandma's house to take him away and apologise to her. However, every time, the grandma would only smile serenely, not the least bit annoyed. 

As my father put on my clothes, I started telling him about what happened today. How I met a boy, and he lost my red balloon, then I fell and ruined my clothes.

"Today just wasn't a perfect day." I finished with a sigh.

"Why do you say that?" he asked, looking slightly confused. I could tell as his thick eyebrows furrowed together.

I relayed what mother had told me today, about perfection. And how I didn't manage to make the day go to plan. I felt as if I had failed my mother...all she wanted was perfection, but I couldn't even do that.

 My father laughed in response, a big, hearty laugh. My father was a humble and joyous man; always smiling and laughing over little things. His optimism was the reason I could see things in a positive light, he always told me, 'Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.' a classic quote from Dr. Seuss

Ruffling my hair, he replied, "Perfection is not just watching a day go to plan. For me, perfection is just being able to spend time with my family. Darling, don't get too caught up with what it means, you'll come to understand when you're older, okay?"

Giving me a sincere look, he kissed me on the forehead, before tucking me into bed.

And as I laid in comfort, I spent the whole night staring at the ceiling.....

Wondering.....

What is perfection?

Hello my dear readers, I hope this chapter was good. The purpose of my story is to get people thinking, I know, it sounds like I'm going a little too deep, but hey, we all need a little bit of inspirational stuff to keep us going, right? Hopefully you all will look forward to the next chapter, where more characters will be introduced! And I have two questions for you all: Who do you think that boy was? and What do you think is perfection?

xoxo

-happydot