Family

A month later, when Gi-hun had gone to buy some groceries, In-ho knocked on Sae-byeok’s room. When she allowed him to come in, surprised to see him there, he found her petting Roc, the cat. He smiled a bit.

“Sae-byeok,” In-ho said. “It’s Gi-hun’s birthday soon,” he explained. “Do you want to help me organize a small party for him?”

“Of course,” she said. “What were you thinking about?”

“I was thinking about inviting his best friends. You don’t know them yet, and I think he’d love it if you met them.” As he said that, he noticed how Sae-byeok was now looking at him worried. “Is that ok?”

Sae-byeok didn’t want to meet new people, at least not yet. It made her anxious, but In-ho was right. Gi-hun would be very happy if his friends met her; Gi-hun was the kind of person who loves having all of his loved ones together. He wants everyone to get along well.

“Yes, it’s ok,” she finally said. “To be honest, Gi-hun has done so much for me, I couldn’t say no even if I wanted to.”

In-ho grinned. Whenever someone talked nicely about his husband, he smiled immediately. He liked knowing Gi-hun was loved.

“And thank you for including me,” Sae-byeok said. “I know you don’t like me that much, so I’m grateful you want me in the party.”

In-ho’s expression changed.

“What do you mean I don’t like you?” he said, sitting on her bed, with worry noticeable all over his face. “What makes you say that?”

Sae-byeok shrugged her shoulders. “I thought you didn’t actually want me here and were just allowing it so Gi-hun would be happy.”

Although that was partly true, In-ho couldn’t help but feel bad. Was he really making this girl feel unloved by him?

It wasn’t as if he loved her as much as Gi-hun did, but he knows if something happened to her, he’d feel destroyed. He was still not used to having a stranger in his house, but he had started to like her. She was quiet and a serious person, but she was nice to have a conversation with. Not that he talked to her, but he heard her conversations with his husband.

“I do like you,” he said. “And I do want you here. Please don’t think I don’t. Ok?”

She just nodded.

In-ho got up and left, still feeling guilt all over his body.

—

Gi-hun’s birthday arrived. In-ho had convinced him to go for a walk, and Gi-hun had declined because he didn’t want to leave his daughter alone at home. But after In-ho’s insisting and Sae-byeok confirming it wasn’t a problem for her, he accepted.

The plan was to wait an hour until all of Gi-hun’s friends arrived at their house, and Sae-byeok would be staying there, opening the door for all of them.

The first one to arrive was a man that was shorter than she was. He introduced himself as “Jung-bae” and sat on the sofa waiting for the others.

“You’re 10, right?” he asked. “You are extremely tall for your age.”

“I’m turning 11 in less than two months, if that counts.”

Jung-bae laughed.

The next people to arrive were another same-sex couple who were called Ali and Sang-woo, and they had a two-year-old son who also came, even though the taller man was picking him up.

Ali hugged her. “It’s lovely to meet you, Sae-byeok.”

Sang-woo gave her a small smile.

A group of people, who introduced themselves as Se-mi, Jun-hee, Dae-ho, Hyun-ju and Young-mi, were the last ones to arrive.

They all tried having a conversation with Sae-byeok, and even though she tried her best replying to not seem rude, she was starting to get overwhelmed.

Luckily for her, they started hearing the sound of the keys in the door. The one they had all been waiting for was there.

When he opened the door, next to In-ho, he had to hold a scream.

“SURPRISE!” they all said.

Gi-hun, almost tearing up, started hugging everyone. “Oh, Asyar is here too! Hello, little one, how have you been?” he said, talking to Ali and Sang-woo’s son.

“Did you plan all this?” Gi-hun asked, looking at his husband.

In-ho pointed at Sae-byeok. “Sae-byeok and I did.”

Gi-hun looked at Sae-byeok and smiled immediately.

“Oh, kid, you can’t imagine how much I love you,” Gi-hun said, hugging her, leaving Sae-byeok surprised.

No one had ever said those words to her before. Of course, she felt loved by him, but she wasn’t actually expecting him to say it outloud.

She grinned a bit. It wasn’t a huge smile, but Gi-hun could swear he had never seen her smile before. Maybe birthdays were special, after all.

“How old are you turning, old man? 72?” Se-mi asked, giggling.

“41, actually!” Gi-hun said proudly.

“Don’t listen to her, Gi-hun. You do look like a 41-year-old,” Jun-hee said, and she smacked her girlfriend’s arm for what she had just said.

They all sat down and started eating the snacks In-ho and Sae-byeok had prepared, with background music.

“How long has Sae-byeok been here for?” Hyun-ju asked.

“She’s been here for over a month,” In-ho said. “And we’re pleased to have her with us. She’s a very special kid.”

Once again, In-ho surprised Sae-byeok. She didn’t really understand him, though. Was he just saying all of that to impress the guests?

It was true that in these last few weeks, with preparing Gi-hun’s birthday and everything, they had become closer, and had started talking a bit more, but she still hadn’t really felt as if In-ho wanted her there.

She went to her room to get one of her comics, and went back to the living room to sit down a bit away from all of them.

It was the fifth time she was rereading this comic, and she still hadn’t gotten bored. She spent the next half an hour reading it, a bit distracted by the music and the people chatting. When she was about to finish it, she noticed how someone had sat next to her.

It was Ali, if she remembered his name correctly, and his son sitting on his lap.

“Hey!” he said. “What’s the comic about?”

She sighed. It wasn’t the first time someone had tried talking to her when she wasn’t feeling like it, but again, when was she?

“It’s about a man a woman who fall in love while investigating a murder,” she said.

“Oh!” Ali said, surprised. “I didn’t think you were the romantic kind of person!”

“Well, I’m not,” she said. “But ever since I got adopted, I’ve been reading romantic comics non-stop. Gi-hun and In-ho make me believe in love.”

Ali smiled, and when he was about to reply, they both noticed how In-ho was standing there in front of them.

“That was such a cute thing to say, Sae-byeok,” In-ho said, smiling, and sat down next to them. “So, you want to believe in love? How so?”

“I don’t know; I guess it reminds me of my friend from the orphanage who got adopted before I did.”

In-ho and Ali were now 100% focused on what she was saying, ignoring the music, and patiently waiting for her to continue.

“We had been friends since… well, we weren’t even one year old when we met. So, yeah, our entire lives,” she said. “Her name is Ji-yeong.”

As she continued explaining, she didn’t even notice how the music had stopped playing and everyone was now paying attention to Sae-byeok’s story.

“Do you miss her?” Young-mi asked.

“Yes,” Sae-byeok replied immediately. “She was my best friend. My only friend. I’ll probably never see her again, though. But I’ll always remember her.”

She felt like she was going to cry. She hadn’t been able to speak to anyone about it after she lost Ji-yeong. Speaking about her made her so nostalgic.

“Oh god, Sae-byeok at her young age, has had more love life than I have,” Dae-ho said, fake crying.

“Shut up, Dae-ho! She’s just a kid!” Hyun-ju said.

Sae-byeok didn’t know how to react. What did he mean by that?

Sure, her parents’ love life reminded her of her love for Ji-yeong, but she had never thought of it being romantic. She’s just 10. She doesn’t have to be thinking about anyone that way.

At the orphanage, her roommates were always talking about the boys they had a crush on. She had never understood them; those boys were disgusting.

Maybe she did have a small crush on Ji-yeong.

But again, she was just a kid. It was just a 10-year-old crush.

It didn’t really matter, because she was convinced she would never see her again.