𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝'𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐎𝐧 | ᵗʰᵉ ⁱᵐᵖᵒˢˢⁱᵇˡᵉ ʰᵉⁱʳ

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐

After what feels like weeks, Seri finally gets time with Yeun Suah who is manning her father's store for the day. Suah, petite and pretty, is apologetic. She clings to Seri's hand as they sit side by side under the awning of the store and gives it a shake. "I'm sorry," her mouth curves downwards with guilt, "I've been a bad friend."

"I don't mind." She does mind. "I know you're getting pretty serious about Han Daeyang."

Suah lowers her voice suddenly, setting off alarm bells in Seri's mind. "Right," she casts a wary look around, "I wanted to talk to you about that."

Oh, joy. Have they broken up? Seri tries not to look hopeful. "Oh?" She reels in her excitement. "Everything okay?"

Nervously, Suah plays with the ends of her daisy-print dress. "I've...I've talked it over with my dad and he's surprisingly supportive about it," she sounds timid, afraid of what Seri might say, "Even Daeyang's parents have said yes, though there was a huge fight about it."

Seri raises her eyebrows slowly. "Are you two..." she swallows, "getting married?"

She smiles sheepishly, "Yes?"

Contrary to how she had expected herself to react, Seri wraps her arms around Suah's and squeals with excitement. "Congratulations," she laughs, tears prickling her eyes, and it's genuine. She'll be lonely, yes, but she's looking forward to seeing her friend live a happy life. "I'm so happy for you."

Suah turns and clutches both her hands. "That's not all," she bites the inside of her cheek, "Daeyang's parents, they've bought us a house in the city suburbs. We're going to move there after the wedding. Because here, well...people will talk, you know?"

"About getting married when you're barely twenty-two? Yeah, right. The locksmith's daughter got married at nineteen and everyone was pretty happy about it."

"No, not because of that." Suah ducks her head and suppresses a giggle, "I'm pregnant and the baby would need more space that Daeyang's home here doesn't have."

Seri is positive she has misheard what Suah has told her. She gapes at her friend, open-mouthed. Then, she turns her head, snail-paced, to stare out into the street. This is mental, she thinks because Seri knows she won't have her shit together until she's well in her thirties. And her friend is out here having kids at twenty-one?

Misunderstanding her reaction, Suah gently defends herself, "I'm happy about it."

"As you should be," Seri replies without missing a beat. Her voice is brimming with emotions she can't quite understand. "It is happy news."

Suah's watery smile widens and she lays her head on her shoulder. After a stretch of silence, Seri says, "You better name your kid after me as compensation."

•✧•

Seri and her dad lay in front of the garden doors, soaking in the late afternoon breeze after hanging the laundry. The garden was barely ten feet from the threshold, with a five-foot wall surrounding their small lodgings. Seri's uncle was at the school for the weekend, preparing questions for the upcoming mock exams.

"How'd you know, though?" Seri suddenly asks, "That you're fit to have kids?"

Flynn Keating, who now went by Kim Myeongseok to appease his father and dear departed grandmother, lay on his back. Eyes closed and hands on his stomach, he drowsily says, "There's a lot of reasons. You could be mighty sure of yerself and your hidden parentin' skills. You might have money and land. Security and stability for the future. Societal pressure. Pressure from the loved ones. Maybe it was your dream to have kids. Or maybe you just feel ready after a point."