The wind was softer that day. The sun had just begun to settle into the horizon when Lee Ha-eun answered her phone.
“Halmeoni! Are you okay? Did you… did you talk about me with them?”
On the other end, her grandmother’s voice was calm but distant.
“Mmm… Come home, child. We’ll talk later.”
The call ended, but the storm in Ha-eun’s mind had just begun to rise. Something was off.
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The buzzing city faded as she rode her scooter through quiet roads. Her thoughts drifted backward—memories of her mother’s gentle laugh, the warmth of crackling fires, snow-covered windows at her best friend’s house… and the smell of tteokbokki being shared in thick blankets of winter.
That house — her sanctuary of memories — stood before her again. A simple, humble white home with a silver gate that creaked gently in the breeze. Ha-eun parked her scooter and stepped inside, calling softly:
“Halmeoni… I’m home.”
She followed the scent of warm food into the kitchen, where a feast had already been laid out. Her heart squeezed.
“Halmeoni!” she gasped, rushing over as her grandmother doubled over, coughing heavily.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to overdo it? You should be resting, not making all this!”
The older woman waved her off with a gentle chuckle.
“Not every time will I be here with you, child. I’m old now. One day, I’ll have to go…”
“Don’t say that,” Ha-eun whispered, pulling her into a hug. “You’re not going anywhere.”
⸻
Later, as they ate in quiet companionship, Ha-eun finally spoke.
“Halmeoni… how is she? Min-kyung imo…”
Soon-im sighed, looking out the kitchen window.
“Still beautiful. But… thinner now. And I noticed—her spark is gone.”
Ha-eun lowered her chopsticks.
Then, out of nowhere:
“Ha-eun-ah… marry her son.”
The words dropped like a stone in her chest.
“W-what…?” she stammered, eyes wide.
“Eat, eat,” her grandmother smiled gently, as if she hadn’t just changed the course of her world.
⸻
That night, Ha-eun lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Her thoughts spiraled.
I don’t even remember him well… Min-jae. Even as kids, he was always distant, quiet… cold. Has he changed? Or is he still the boy who kept to the shadows?
Her thoughts blurred, heavy with memories, until they finally pulled her into sleep.
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The Next Morning – 10:00 AM
Something was wrong.
Her grandmother never slept in.
She crept to her room, whispering, “Halmeoni…?”
No answer.
Her heart thudded faster.
She rushed to her bedside. “Halmeoni!” she cried, shaking her gently.
Still nothing.
Panicking, Ha-eun checked her pulse—faint… or was it even there?
She dialed the ambulance, fingers trembling, then grabbed her grandmother’s phone.
There—Mi-kyung. She pressed the call button.
It rang.
No answer.
Just before reaching the hospital, the phone lit up. Mi-kyung was calling back.
“Hello? Auntie?” she asked gently.
But the voice that answered wasn’t the one she expected.
“I-it’s me… Ha-eun. H-Halmeoni… she’s… she’s not breathing…”
“What?!” Mi-kyung’s voice shook, her heart dropping.
“Where are you now?!”
“I’m on the way to Hanseo Medical Hospital.”
Mi-kyung froze. That was Min-jae’s hospital.
“Wait for me. Don’t worry ok we are coming.”
⸻
At Hanseo Medical Hospital
Dr. Kim Min-jae had just finished scrubbing out of surgery when his phone rang.
“Eomma?”
“Min-jae… listen carefully. Soon-im halmeoni is on her way there. Emergency case. Help them. Please.”
“What happened?!”
“No time for questions—just go!”
Min-jae ordering a team to prepare at ER because he have another case to handle. Moments later, a gurney burst through the doors. Ha-eun stumbled in beside it, her eyes wild, her body trembling.
“She’s—Soo-im! She’s my grandmother!” she gasped.
“Room 3!” Doctor barked. “Move now!”
Another doctor ran ahead, recognizing the name.
“Is she… Soon-im halmeoni?”
“Y-yes!” Ha-eun cried, shocked the doctor even knew.
Mi-kyung and her father-in-law rushed into the hospital, breathless.
“Where is the patient, Soo-im?” she asked a nurse.
“Her granddaughter’s with her now. But… I’m sorry—she didn’t make it.”
Mi-kyung’s heart stopped.
Down the hall, she saw Ha-eun—frozen, knees on the floor, face soaked in tears. And in that moment, she wasn’t 25. She was just a child who had lost everything, again.
She rushed forward, tears welling up.
“It’s okay… It’s okay, baby,” she whispered, wrapping her in a trembling embrace.
Ha-eun sobbed into her chest, unable to speak.
Behind them, Min-jae finally arrived. His eyes darted between his mother, his grandfather… and then landed on her.
Ha-eun.
⸻
[To be continued…]
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