In A Beautiful Way

Home

Haein trudged up the path to her house, wondering if something would ever change in the years to come. At this point, she was used to it. When she got home, not a single person greeted her other than the maids. The living room was usually empty since the adults were all out at work, and her brother spent most of his time hiding in his room. It was always quiet, cold.

She wondered if she would ever call this architectural masterpiece her home, instead of a house she simply slept in. Since she was young, she'd envied her other kids around her, the kids whose parents came all the way from work to pick them up personally, the kids who were showered with hugs and kisses by their parents as if they hadn't seen each other for a year. She would always watch their happy reunions forlornly from afar, wishing that her parents would come once, just once to pick her up instead of simply sending their driver over.

Once, she'd watched a drama out of boredom, and was shocked by what she saw. In the show, the entire family gathered close around the dining table, elbows touching as they ate their dinner together. The food was much simpler than what was served in the Hong household, but the conversation and joyful laughter more than made up for it. She watched in awe as the family talked about their day and chatted about mundane things like what they saw on the streets. It didn't matter that the topic of discussion was nothing interesting, they just wanted to talk and feel a sense of togetherness.

At the time, Haein had thought it was an exaggeration, a perfect projection that was impossible in reality. After all, who on earth would talk while having dinner? It was just a direct road to indigestion. And what kind of family actually enjoyed spending time with each other and shared about their day? Shouldn't families fight each other for assets and wealth? It was all she'd ever known, anything else was foreign to her.

Now that she was grown up, she realised that it wasn't a fantasy after all. If anything, her family was the weird one. At dinners, the children were forbidden from speaking, while the adults took the opportunity to throw jabs at each other over land disputes and stocks. The only sound would be cutlery clinking against the dinnerware, and the occasional snide remark. For Haein, dinner had never been a familial affair. Rather, it was a formal business meeting under the guise of a meal where everyone fought to earn her grandfather's approval since it was one of the only times they would be in his presence.

Climbing up the stairs to her room, Haein felt no sense of comfort upon arriving home. There was no sense of belonging, no assurance of protection, no warmth of love. The only comfort she took in being in her room was that she could block everyone else out. In her house, being alone was better than being in company. It was either the scathing remarks of her mother, the accusations of her brother, or the silent indifference of her father. She would take being alone over being in a room with them any day.

As a child, she'd dreamed of escaping. She wanted to marry a man whose family was nothing like hers, whose family would welcome her with open arms like she'd always desired. Maybe if she married someone like that, she wouldn't have to live alone in this house anymore which was nothing but a luxurious prison. Maybe she would finally know what it was like to be loved unconditionally by people who actually cared about her. But as she grew older, she realised that it was a farfetched fantasy. Despite all her wealth, what she truly wanted was nothing she could ever buy, and she'd thrown that idea away before she could get disappointed by reality.

But even as she vowed to herself not to waste time on such silly wishes, she couldn't bear to change her wallpaper which was the only one she'd ever used. The photo was so outdated now, she'd been about six years old when it was taken, but she held onto it like a lifeline. It reminded her of the happiness that once blessed their family before that fateful accident that made her mother a bitter woman who cursed the world for taking her eldest son away, and latched onto her only remaining son as overcompensation. Sometimes, when she had another fight with her parents, she would storm up to her room, having every intention to get rid of that photo once and for all, but she couldn't. Multiple times, she had tried to burn it, to erase the only evidence that they'd once been a happy family, but she couldn't. She would cry all alone in her room, and miss her brother more than anything, wishing that he could come back and change everything.

If only her parents would miraculously love her again someday. If only they would care about her for once instead of merely obsessing over her brother. If only they would grab the hand that she extended towards them, then maybe it wouldn't be so hard to live in this harsh world.

...

Hyunwoo skipped along the sandy path up to his house, his feet kicking dirt into the air. He was home! There was no place that brought him greater happiness.

From where he was standing near the door, he could already hear Miseon yelling at Hyuntae for borrowing her hairbrush without her permission and using it on his disgusting hair which he probably hadn't washed in days. He could hear the sound of the spatula scraping the bottom of the wok as his mother cooked in the open air of the backyard. He could hear his father's hearty laughter as he chatted with their fellow farmers, taking a well deserved break after a day's hard work.

He smiled to himself. This was home.

"Oh? Hyunwoo ah! You're home late today. Did you have training again?" His mother asked upon seeing him.

"I did! Coach upped our training sessions to three times a week because the inter school games are coming up." Hyunwoo said as he donned the slippers by the back door. He walked towards his mother, peering over her shoulder to see what she was cooking.

"Aigoo, I hope you're getting enough rest then. I cooked your favourite tonkatsu for you today, you better eat up so that you have energy to study. My precious son is working hard!" She said affectionately.

Picking up a pair of chopsticks, she fished out a small portion of japchae, allowing him to try some.

"How is it? Does it need more seasoning?"

"Nope, it's good." Hyunwoo shook his head vigorously, his voice muffled by the huge mouthful of food she had just stuffed into his mouth.

"Where's your jacket? The weather forecast said it was raining in Seoul earlier, wasn't it cold on the way back?" She asked.

Hyunwoo felt his heart flutter as he thought of her. "I left it in school."

"Why? Did you forget it again? You're becoming more forgetful lately. Did you bring your umbrella? The weather is supposed to be wet for the next few days, I don't want you to get soaked just because you forgot your umbrella." His mother nagged at him, but her tone was tender. As always, she was worried for her youngest who often got a little too excited and became forgetful.

"No I didn't. I lent it to a friend because she fell asleep at the library and it was cold. And yes, I've been bringing my umbrella like you told me to, it's always in my bag."

His mother raised an eyebrow at the mention of a girl. "Who's your friend? I don't think you've told me about her before."

"Her name is Haein. She's one of my juniors at school, we're paired up for that project I was telling you about."

"I see. She has a pretty name. Is she nice then? She must be if you gave up your jacket for her." She teased. Bongae knew her son all too well. Once he liked a girl, he would go out of his way to care for her. It had been the same with his other crushes as a child.

"Actually, not really." Hyunwoo admitted.

His mother was confused. "What do you mean?"

"She's like no one else that I've ever met. She doesn't have a lot of friends at school and she's always glaring at everyone. She's known for being cold and unfriendly. But..." Hyunwoo paused, a smile on his lips as he thought about her. "She started talking to me after I was nice to her. She even showed me her secret spot on the rooftop that no one else knew about other than her best friend. She ate lunch with me just because I asked and she... she smiled at me."

Bongae chuckled to herself when she saw the dreamy expression on Hyunwoo's face. Ah, so he'd fallen in love after all. Clearly she wasn't just a friend like he claimed. She wondered who was this girl that had utterly captured her son's heart to the extent that he was happy simply because she smiled at him. From his description, Haein seemed like quite a special girl.

"She sounds wonderful sweetie. Maybe one of these days, you can invite her over to visit. I would love to meet her."

The idea excited Hyunwoo. He wanted to show her everything. He wanted to show her their orchards full of pear blossoms, he wanted to show her the house he grew up in, the convenience store that his father owned, and feed her with his mother's amazing cooking. Haein would love it here, he was sure of it.

"Okay! I'll bring her home one day, you'll see."