Go MiJa sat very still as she saw Lee SoLin enter the café, some kids with her. SoLin walked to the counter as the four kids with her sat comfortably in a private booth, all dressed quite flashy, but all speaking in another language.

When she turned to peek at SoLin, she froze, seeing SoLin look back at her kids and see MiJa as well. After ordering for the table, SoLin walked over and stood next to MiJa, “Go MiJa?” she asked.

MiJa smiled sheepishly and waved, “Hi. I wasn’t sure if you would remember me or not. It has been so long,” she added quietly.

SoLin nodded and smiled, “It has been very long since I last saw you. Would you like to join us?” she asked, still as friendly as MiJa remembered her to be.

MiJa shook her head, “I’m waiting for people. Thank you, though,” she stood and shook SoLin’s hand, “Enjoy your time in Korea.”

SoLin cocked her head to the right and asked, “Are you going to visit JaeHyun’s grave in two days?”

MiJa was very surprised to hear her brother’s name so easily spoken by SoLin and then she recovered. “Yes. I plan to bring my niece and nephew with me.” And then she looked up at SoLin and asked, “Didn’t you know their mother? I remembered hearing something like that from my brother.”

SoLin swallowed and nodded, “Yes, well, I suppose I might see you in two days, then. Oh, wait,” SoLin called over to her booth, “TaeJin, come here.”

When TaeJin stepped out of the booth, she bowed to MiJa, who looked very surprised. “Is this…?” MiJa started, her eyes wide with surprise.

SoLin smiled, “This is my daughter, Lee TaeJin.” SoLin then turned to her daughter and stated, “This is Go MiJa.” She didn’t need to say any more because TaeJin knew but kept her eyes happy. On the inside, she wasn’t happy, though.

“It’s nice to meet you,” TaeJin smiled.

MiJa nodded, “Yes, well, you, too.” When TaeJin took a seat again, MiJa leaned closer to SoLin and stated, “Your daughter is stunning. Did you teach her Korean?” she added, very curious.

SoLin nodded, “Of course. She also knows Chinese, Japanese, and English. But that’s a necessity in our line of work.” SoLin stepped back and bowed to MiJa again, who bowed in return, hastily. “I’ll see you around then.”

MiJa sat down and stared out the window. She couldn’t believe SoLin was there, out of the blue. SoLin had left the country because of a many reasons, one of them being because of her brother, JaeHyun, though no one ever really knew what happened between them. She scratched her head and asked herself, “Should I ask her to meet the twins?”

***

Meanwhile, MiNyu sat with TaeKyung and ShinWoo on the roof. As they all sipped their own beverages. MiNam sat on the thicker branch of a tree as Jeremy played with Jolie, his growing white puppy. Everyone was quiet and no one could forget the strange way the music Smooth Edges was so casually unforgettable.

“Do you think she really played the guitar? It wasn’t a recording?” ShinWoo asked out of the blue.

TaeKyung nodded, and remembering what he could, he added, “Lee TaeJin is the fastest guitar player in the world. She won the competition for the fifth time in a row this year.”

ShinWoo turned to him and frowned, “How do you know so much about her?”

TaeKyung sighed, “Her mother is an old friend of my mother’s.  It seems, they’ve been out of touch for a while now.”

MiNyu nodded, “Is that why you were with your mother earlier?”

TaeKyung nodded and then he turned to MiNyu, “How was your search at the village?”

MiNyu shook her head sadly, “They had no idea who I was talking about. It’s been so long and yet, I have found nothing out about my mother. I wonder if I am wasting my time?”

ShinWoo kept quiet, knowing that TaeKyung should be the one to comfort her in these times. But before TaeKyung could say anything, MiNam’s phone sounded and he turned off his alarm. He stood and stretched before he turned to the others. “MiNyu, it’s time to go meet Aunt. Let’s go,” he added.

MiNyu stood but so did TaeKyung. “Why doesn’t she just come here?” he asked. He wasn’t too comfortable with all of the sudden moving parts in their lives and preferred to keep MiNyu close.

MiNam shrugged, “She asked us to meet her at a specific place. Don’t worry, we’ll be back soon,” she added, stepping around him, her shoulder length long hair moved with her. TaeKyung thought for a moment and then clapped his hands together. “Let’s all go out to dinner, then. We can wait for you guys to finish and then go altogether.”

ShinWoo frowned and reminded him, “We have a lot of meat in the refrigerator. We were going to barbeque it because MiNyu was back.”

“The meat will still be good tomorrow night,” TaeKyung argued.

Everyone eyed him carefully and he threw his hands in the air, “I just thought it would be nice to see Aunt again as well.” His statement was met with the same looks of disbelief.

Eventually, everyone agreed to go together. Instead of taking individual cars, a van arrived and picked them up to take them to where they wanted to go. It was the only alternative to keep everyone together.

So, with MiNam, ShinWoo, and Jeremy in the back, TaeKyung sat in one of the middle seats and MiNyu in the other. She felt bad for changing everyone’s plans but something about TaeKyung’s behavior irked at her. She wondered if it had anything to do with his sudden encounter with his mother at the music festival.

***

SoLin got up and walked to the counter. As she waited for the check, she turned to see a van pull up and four men and a young woman stepped out. They entered the café and as three of the men took seats at the other end of the café, a young man and woman greeted MiJa warmly before taking their seats across from her.

SoLin felt uneasy, wondering if MiJa had set this up, and when she turned, she saw TaeKyung at the counter next to her. “So we meet again,” SoLin stated formally.

TaeKyung frowned and demanded, “Did you plan this?”

SoLin raised a brow, not liking his aggressive tone. But at that moment, TaeJin stepped up next to her mother and frowned, “Watch how you talk to my mother.” To TaeKyung’s complete surprise, her Korean was perfect. She didn’t have an accent and she didn’t mispronounce anything.

TaeKyung scoffed and then Jeremy appeared, very suddenly. He stood in front of TaeJin and looked from SoLin to TaeKyung and then to TaeJin, “How do you guys know each other?”

“We don’t,” SoLin stated and then turned to TaeJin, “Get them ready to go.”

TaeJin eyed Jeremy and TaeKyung before turning and walking back to their booth. SoLin turned to the counter and signed for the bill before she took a receipt and put it in her pocket. She turned away from TaeKyung without another word.

As Smooth Edges made their way to the door, MiNyu looked up to see TaeKyung glaring at the young woman she had seen earlier, the rocker girl. She didn’t like the intensity in his eyes and felt her heart give a squeeze. When MiNam noticed, also, he stated, “It’s that girl from the show.”

As SoLin passed, MiJa stood and, suddenly, reached out and grabbed SoLin’s hand. “Please,” MiJa pleaded, pulling her closer, and then added, “can you tell Go MiNam and MiNyu about their mother?”

SoLin looked from MiJa to the twins before she replied, “We’ll see.” MiJa released her hold and gave an awkward laugh. “Have a nice day,” SoLin added before walking out the door.

When MiJa sat down before the twins she stated, “I will go to the village of your father tomorrow. Come in two days and we will pay our respects.”

MiNam nodded and MiNyu sighed, “I wasn’t able to find out anything else about our parents on my last trip. I think I need to give up, Aunt.”

MiJa sighed and shook her head, “The community is small and very loyal, but,” she leaned forward, “I have a feeling this time will be better.” Although MiNam and MiNyu didn’t look very hopeful, MiJa tried to work up their spirits.

When Jeremy and TaeKyung returned to the booth ShinWoo waited at, he asked, “What was all that about?”

Jeremy answered for TaeKyung, “Hyung upset the woman and her daughter tried to defend her.”

“The guitarist is her daughter?” ShinWoo found another puzzle before him and he wanted to figure it out. “Do you think we will see them again?” he asked.

Jeremy smiled, “Why? You think she’s hot, too?” he teased.

ShinWoo nudged him, “No, but I want to see if she really is playing.”

TaeKyung frowned and nodded, “I think we might see them again sooner than we want to. At least some of us,” he added, quite unhappy with the sudden situation. Jeremy and ShinWoo remained quiet, not too sure of why their lives seemed to shift without their permission.