Never Be Apart

CHAPTER 36

Since I already knew the address where Aunt and the others lived, thanks to having visited once before, it wasn't hard for me to find my way there when I arrived in South Korea.

I greeted the cold breeze with a smile. Just as I was about to get into a taxi, my phone rang, so I stepped aside to answer it.

("Did you arrive safely?") was the first thing he said when I answered, making me smile.

"Yep!" I replied, unable to hide my excitement about seeing my brother again.

("Okay. Enjoy,") he said before abruptly ending the call. I pouted. He still hadn't changed. He was always the one to end the call first between us, never even waiting for my response. I just shook it off and instead headed to a souvenir shop nearby.

In the end, I only bought a pair of black jackets—one for me and one for Yunji so we could match. I also picked up a new winter dress for Aunt since December was approaching.

After shopping, I headed straight to Aunt's house. Since they didn't know I was coming, I knew they would be surprised. Smiling, I rang the doorbell twice because no one answered the first time.

"Who's there?" aunt called out, and I couldn't help but grin. We had reconciled the last time I visited, so I was comfortable seeing and talking to her again. Although she still hadn't explained why she acted the way she did at Dad's wake, we hadn't reopened that topic, and things were somewhat better between us now.

When she opened the door, I greeted her with a smile, waving the paper bag I held. I saw a mix of shock and joy in her eyes, and she didn't know what to do first, which made me laugh.

"Yuki! Daebak! Is this real?! Am I hallucinating?!" she exclaimed, still in disbelief. She even lightly slapped her cheeks, pretending to wake herself up, so I gently grabbed her hands, laughing. 

She stared at me from head to toe in amazement before smiling widely and pulling me into a tight hug, making me laugh even more. "I missed you," she said softly while still hugging me, and my smile widened even more.

"I missed you too, Auntie. Shall we go inside?" I replied, chuckling. She immediately snapped into action, opening the door wider and helping me with my bags.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she asked, sounding a little exasperated. I glanced around the house before answering, looking for Yunji.