Her eyes brimmed instantly. She engulfed that person in a tight hug. That person hugged her back just as tightly.
"I missed you so much!"
Ah-rin whispered into that person's ear.
The park was quiet in a way only late evenings could manage. Tall trees lined the curved pathways, their leaves rustling softly as a cool breeze slipped through them. Yellow streetlights glowed at regular intervals, casting long shadows across the stone-paved ground. Somewhere nearby, a fountain murmured steadily, the sound of flowing water blending with distant traffic beyond the park gates. A few benches were scattered around, most of them empty, as if the world itself had paused to give this moment some privacy.
They stood near one of those benches, right beneath an old tree whose branches stretched wide, sheltering them like a silent witness. The air smelled faintly of damp earth and fallen leaves. For a brief second, everything else faded away—no airport chaos, no unanswered questions, no pain carried for years. Just warmth. Just familiarity.
"How are you, cupcake?" the elder woman asked softly.
"I missed you so much, eonni," Ah-rin whispered under her breath, but the woman beside her still heard her.
She smiled gently and replied, "I also missed you so much, my cupcake. Now answer me. How are you? And I want an honest answer." She warned her before Ah-rin could even answer, like an elder sister who knew her younger one too well to lie.
Ah-rin smiled and replied, "I am really good, eonni."
"Then what's this?" Her eonni pointed to Ah-rin's bandaged hand, which had been properly wrapped just before coming to the park.
"It's just a small accident. I only need a few days of bed rest. Nothing to worry about," Ah-rin tried to assure her.
That person sighed but nodded her head in understanding.
"Why didn't you contact me even once in these five years?" she asked.
"I… You know about your husband's doing. I…" Ah-rin tried to reason with her.
Her voice trailed off, swallowed by the weight of old memories. The wind brushed past them again, lifting a few strands of hair across Ah-rin's face, but she didn't bother to move them away.
"It was him, cupcake!! Why did you punish me for his doings??" the lady beside her asked in a hoarse voice.
"I am sorry, eonni. I… I was so scared. I didn't know what to do, what was right or wrong. I… I just wanted to protect my babies from them."
The word babies hung in the air—heavy and shocking all at once.
"Babies??" the elder woman asked in disbelief.
"Yes. I had twins five years ago," Ah-rin replied with a soft smile, memories of her twins warming her heart.
For a moment, there was only silence. Even the fountain nearby seemed to fade into the background.
"Oh my God!!!" her eonni exclaimed.
Ah-rin slowly reached for her phone. Her fingers trembled slightly as she unlocked the screen. The wallpaper lit up instantly.
She showed their picture on her phone's wallpaper.
The glow of the screen reflected in both their eyes.
"My tiny world now. Noah and Naomi," Ah-rin said with a gentle yet proud smile.
"OMG!!! They are so adorable!! Who is elder?" the lady asked eagerly.
"Noah, my son. He is five minutes elder than Naomi. You know, eonni, he is so protective towards Naomi, just like… just…"
Her voice softened as she spoke, her lips curving into a faint smile. For a brief second, her eyes sparkled while remembering someone—but in the very next moment, that sparkle died down, replaced by a dull ache. The warmth drained from her expression as harsh memories surfaced. A lone tear escaped from her eyes.
She quickly wiped her tears and forced a smile to hide her pain from the lady sitting beside her, though Ah-rin knew she had already noticed it.
When Ah-rin first called her eonni, she had truly started treating Ah-rin like her younger sister from that very moment. Ah-rin also treated her as her elder sister. She shared everything with her—every little secret—except for that dark one which turned her life upside down. That past forced her to leave everything she had in her so-called perfect fairytale life.
The streetlight above them flickered once, then steadied again, as if mirroring the turbulence inside Ah-rin's heart.
"Isn't he protective towards his mother?" her eonni asked softly.
Ah-rin chuckled. "Of course he is. Just like…"
She stopped midway again, her lips pressing together. The name hovered on the edge of her tongue but refused to come out. The pause stretched, thick with unspoken truths, making both of them sigh in quiet frustration.
"At least now tell me, Ah-riniee. How long did you promise not to reveal it!! At least tell me! You lost everything just because of your stubbornness," the elder woman said, her frustration evident.
Ah-rin sighed before forcing a smile. "Forget about me, eonni. Tell me, how is your life going?"
The conversation shifted, but the tension did not disappear from there.
The lady looked at Ah-rin intently. How much this girl had changed over the five-year gap. The little, adorable, bubbly girl she once knew was nowhere to be found. Of course, now she was not anyone's little girl or princess—she was a mother, the mother of her twins, her entire world.
She had lost her old charms, but she had also gained new ones. She looked more confident and independent now. Though she had always been confident and independent, her aura now felt more powerful than ever before. If only they saw her like this right now, they would definitely feel proud of her.
The leaves above them swayed again, a few drifting down near their feet.
"Eonni!! Where are you lost?" Ah-rin whined, breaking her chain of thoughts.
She chuckled, making Ah-rin pout.
The elder woman took Ah-rin's right hand, which rested beside her, and placed it gently on her lower abdomen. At first, Ah-rin couldn't understand what she was doing. She blinked, trying to process it—then sudden realization hit her, and her eyes sparkled with happiness.
"Eonnii!!! Is it what I am thinking??" Ah-rin almost jumped in excitement.
"Yes, Riniee… You are going to be an aunt soon."
"Eonni, eonni, eonni!!! I am so, so, so, soooo happy for you. Oh my God!!! I feel like I am dreaming right now. This is the best news I have heard after coming here. Does he know??"
"No… not yet."
"Huh!!!"
"I got to know just a few moments ago. I was coming back from seeing the doctor. But while passing through here, I felt like it was you. So just to confirm, I came—and I'm so glad I did. I am sooo happy to meet you after such a long time. Today, I got the two biggest and happiest news of my life."
"So, I am the first one to know about our little junior?? Yahooo!!!"
Ah-rin jumped like a kid in happiness. The elder woman smiled at her bright face and stopped her from jumping by holding her hand.
"Cupcake, when are you coming?" she asked eagerly.
"To where, eonni?" Ah-rin asked, still breathing heavily from all the jumping.
"Where you belong. Yourhome."
The park suddenly felt colder the ice.
She looked at Ah-rin with hopeful eyes, but Ah-rin's smile slowly faded.
"Eonni, what happened five years ago… I… I can't go back there. Not now. Never. It's not my home anymore. Not after everything they did to me."
"Riniee—"
"Eonni, please… It's not like you don't know," Ah-rin said firmly, resentment creeping into her voice.
"Riniee, please!! That happened years ago!! Can't everything go back to how it was back then?"
"No, eonni. Can they remove the pain they caused me? When I needed them the most, they were the ones who left me with no other choice but to leave everything behind. I can't go back after five years and pretend like nothing happened."
The silence that followed was heavier than before.
"Riniee, please. Me, Mom—we really miss you. Please at least come with Noah and Naomi. They have the right to know about their family, their background."
"They don't have any family except me!! Their only family is me, and mine are them. We don't need anyone else."
"Riniee…"
"Harsh, but this is the reality now, eonni. This is the truth of my life. Sorry. I have to go now."
Ah-rin turned to leave.
"Ah-rin," her eonni called after her. "You don't have the right to decide for them. It's about their family. They should decide whether they want to know them or not. Not you. Not any of us. Mom really wants to meet them."
The park lights blurred slightly as Ah-rin blinked.
She didn't say anything.
She simply walked away.
And as Ah-rin walked away, the empty park around her whispered a truth she wasn't ready to face—home was out there somewhere, but would it ever be hers again? Was home a place she had lost… or just a memory she was still chasing?
The sound of her footsteps faded into the quiet park, leaving behind unanswered questions, lingering hope, and a past that refused to stay buried.
To Be Continued….