The life of Nusi

Chapter: 15 New Years Party

It's New Years eve and everyone from the village is at Nari's house. The village holds its New Years celebration at the Chun's house each year, because it's a huge house that is four stories tall. It also sits on the highest part of the whole village. You can see for miles in all directions from there. The Chun's love hosting parties and this party was going to be the one that people would talk about for years to come. New Years is also Nusi's birthday. Every year since Nusi could remember The Chun's incorporated her birthday with New Years. Every Sunday there is a birthday party for someone in the village, but Nusi's is the only one on New Years. Uncle always told Nusi she had the best birthday, because on New year's you can start over no matter what you were the year before. As always, there were tables and decorations and so much food you could feed three villages of a bigger size. Everyone was eating and drinking and talking and dancing. Children were running and screaming and playing, while old people told stories like they always did. A huge cake was brought out to the table that Nusi was sitting at, while all the village gathered around to sing to her. It was a three-layered chocolate cake with white icing on it. The cake had green and red sugar ballons all around it, with a single red sugar rose in the middle. The cake read, HAPPY BIRTHDAY NUSI across it in tri-colored icing. Mrs. Chun made the cake from scratch and was very proud of it. Fifteen candles were burning around the cake as they sung, and someone yelled,

"Call the fire department, looks like a forest fire!"

Everyone laughed as they continued singing. When they finished, Nusi blew the candles out, and made her wish. She opened the presents she received, and thanked everyone as she did. Uncle gave her a pair of quarter carat diamond earrings. Mr. Lee gave Nusi a wristwatch that was his wife's. It was white gold with small diamonds that marked the quarters of the watch's face. On the back it said to my loving wife, and Mr. Lee had added on the back of the band, and my spirit daughter. Nusi cried like she always did, and Mr. Lee joked that it was the only way he could get her to come to work on time as he wiped tears from his eyes. Kwan, Nari and Hyun gave Nusi a picture of the four of them in front of the Bento Shop. Everyone was having a great time. As it got later in the evening, a karaoke machine was brought out, and everyone took turns singing. At one point Nari's father sang an extremely sappy love song to her mother, and Nari wanted to crawl under the table as he sang it. To make matters worse, he kissed Nari's mother like the way teenager's kiss, and he did it in front of the whole village. Nari wanted to dig a hole right under the table and never come out, until Hyun said to Nari,

"I can't wait until we have been married that long and I can kiss you in front of the village like that." Nari's heart melted at the thought of that. As the party raged on, Uncle stood up tapping his glass. Everyone got quiet as they looked his way. Nusi went and stood to one side of him.

"I would like to thank the Chun's for having this party once again and including Nusi's Birthday in it." Everyone cheered. He hushed them again and continued, "and I would like to say that Ms. Heejin and I are to be married in the spring." A huge roar erupted over the crowd as the women rushed to Heejin looking at her ring and hugging her, while the men shook Uncles hands and smacked him on the back.

News Years came, as they counted down and everyone hugged and kissed while fireworks went off in the sky. Uncle kissed Nusi on the head and hugged her, then turned to Heejin and gave her a big kiss on the lips. Nari's parents kissed as did Kwan's. Mr. Lee was sitting next to the widow Choi. She moved in for a kiss, but just before she made it to his lips, he pulled out a picture of his wife and kissed it.

"Oh Mr. Lee," she said, as both laughed and gave each other New Years kisses and good wishes for the upcoming year.

As the party went on, Kwan, Hyun, Nari and Nusi snuck off and headed to the beach.