At the Old Home, the grandmas all delightfully munched on the cupcakes and tarts Luna had made.
"This is the most decadent tart Iv had in all of my 82 years!" The old lady with the short hair named Sunhee said.
"You should come around more often!" Another named Rura said.
"Isn't she a catch Haemin?" A grandpa called Sungwoo nudged Haemin and winked.
Haemin smiled and brushed it off while a slight blush crept on Luna's cheeks.
"If I could, I would trade all of my food of a week for these!" Rura said again and Luna laughed.
"Please dont." Haemin said.
"You know if you're single, you could date Sunhee's grandson, he's becoming a doctor." Rura said.
"Please no, if she dates my grandson she'll NEVER come here." Sunhee commented.
Everyone fell silent and ate the desserts, Luna was about to ask about her grandson but Haemin signalled her that she shouldnt.
As if just realizing the dullness she had created, Sunhee tried to lighten the mood, "Why go that far, she can date our Haemin that way she'll always be around. Theres no one better than him."
All the grandmas nodded eagerly and Luna shyly smiled, no matter what they were saying she just loved being around all the warm people.
"Come on don't forget that I-" Haemin sarted to say and all the grandmas and the grandpas completed with him in unison, "-You have a girlfriend."
"We know." Rura rolled her eyes.
He has a girlfriend. Right. Forgot about that.
Luna reprimanded herself.
But instead of thinking about how she felt about that she focused on serving the desserts.
"The girlfriend whose picture you never show." Rura said.
"The girlfriend who never calls." Said a grandpa while passing by.
"The girlfriend who never visits and you always go to see." Sunhee added.
Well shes a shitty girlfriend.
Luna commented in her mind.
All the while they sarcastically mentioned his girlfriend, Haemin just stood there tidying up the pastry boxes with an amused smile adorning his face.
"Are you all done? Because its time for bingo." Haemin smoothely diverted their attention.
"No, Im going to stay here to find out whats in the rest of those boxes.
Luna chuckled, "How about we take a break and Ill serve the quiches after the game?"
They all agreed and shuffled to the hall.
Haemin started collecting the plates and they both went in the kitchen to wash them.
They silently stood side by side while Haemin lathered them and Luna washed them.
She looked up at him secretly and wondered how it shouldv bothered him a little bit but he showed no signs of hurt and smiled his usual prize winning smile.
Luna wanted to ask about his girlfriend and the way everyone talked about her but she didnt know if they were close enough for her to ask about that.
Although Haemin was very easy going and a very comfortable person to be around, Luna couldnt mess up when it came to him, he was like one of those golden people that you should cherish if they come into your life.
"Why can't you show your girlfriend's picture?" She asked nonchalantly.
Haemin laughed, "I was wondering when you were going to ask that."
"Well you see," he began, " She is very busy with work so she cant come and meet the grandmas to lay rest to their speculations and if I show them her pictures without her meeting them, they wont at all believe that Im dating her."
"Why wont they believe you?"
"Because Ella is a singer."
Of all the names in the world it had to be Ella. Great.
Luna thought begrudgingly.
"Her name is Ella." Luna repeated monotonously, the name leaving a bitter taste on her tongue.
Haemin nodded slowly, "A country singer to be exact."
Luna nodded and resumed cleaning the dishes.
Haemin looked at her, confused. She was supposed to react to Ella being a singer, not her name.
But he was unsure of her sudden sullen mood so he continued without inquiring.
"And if I show her picture they'll think Im just lying and she's just some fantasy of mine."
Luna half listened to his story and did her work.
"Shouldn't she atleast find some time to meet you? Even if she is some hot shot booked singer." Luna uttered with an attitude.
"Hey." Haemin looked offended, "Don't say that, she has no choice." He muttered softly trying not to sound too defensive.
Luna smacked herself mentally. Just because the poor girl's name was Ella didnt mean she WAS Ella, her bitchy ex-best friend.
"I- Im so sorry." She started and Haemin waved his hands to stop her.
"Its fine, you're not the first." He smiled, "How about we go to the garden now? I brought some plant succulents that need planting."
Luna nodded and followed him out, mentally still scolding herself for her uncalled behaviour.
☾
The sun had started to set and the sky was a beautiful painting of pink and peach shades and it was starting to get chilly as Haemin and Luna worked in the garden.
Luna carefully took out the succulent from the packet and placed it in the hole in the ground she had dug.
The cool soil made her hands even more cold and she shivered involuntarily.
She cursed her past self for wearing a skirt and not tights and preferring style over comfort.
As she continued to work, Haemin silently came up from behind her and draped his red bomber jacket on her back.
Luna's eyes widened and she touched the clothing on her shoulder.
And when she turned around, he had already gone back to work on his side of the garden.
Luna turned back around, "Thank you." She said it loud enough for him to hear and didnt expect a reply because she knew he would just be smiling again.
After a few moments of silence, Haemin said, "Sunhee was brought here 5 years ago by her son. He couldn't visit much later because he fell ill so Sunhee had no visitors for almost a year.
And months later he died, Sunhee fainted when she heard and it was really hard to get her to stop crying so hard that she would collapse again and again. Her grandson and his mother were so busy dealing with their own grief that they forgot to take Sunhee to the funeral."
Luna remembered how she could see how Sunhee's grief still lived in her, and its shadows lingered on her face, just like her Grandma's.
"He came later ofcourse. But just to tell her that he was going abroad for his studies and wanted her blessing in his father's stead. And naturally she should've shunned him because she never even got to see her only son's dead body because of him. She couldnt bury him!" Haemin's voice was streaked with pain as if Sunhee's pain and anger was his too.
"But you know what she did?"
Luna looked back to look at his stilled back.
"She hugged him and gave him her blessing and even gave him the rest of her life savings. All because it was her son's dream to live abroad and enable his son to have a higher education. She eased her pain with the satisfaction that atleast she could see her son's dream come true." His demeanour deflated as if tired from seeing her whole life through.
He spoke up again, "Like a bandaid."
Both of them had done their work and sat on the ground with their backs to each other gazing at the gorgeous sky.
"Carl Sandberg said that 'Nothing happens unless first a dream.' That's why I dont mind Ella neglecting me a little bit to pursue her career. Because its her dream."
"Oh." Luna muttered.
Gosh hes so nice and understanding. Can I have a boyfriend like that?
"Yeah I guess dreams can be like fuel for some people." Luna said, wanting to contribute to the conversation.
"What about you? Do you have a dream?" Haemin asked.
Luna sighed.
Used to.
"No not really." She replied.
"What about before you got arrested? Did you have one then?"
He said it so casually that for a second Luna overlooked his words.
"What?" Her voice faltered as she shakingly turned to look at him but he was still looking up at the sky.
"Did you have a dream? Before you went to juvie?" He repeated.
Luna glared at his back as her lungs seemed to have stopped working.
She brazenly stood up and as if sensing the movement behind him Haemin looked back.
He was surprised to see her face had lost all color.
He stood up, "Im sorry, was I not supposed to mention - "
Before he could finish Luna backed away from him slowly, turned around and made a run for it.
Haemin mustv called after her or maybe he even tried to follow her but she remembered nothing because the only thing she could focus on was her inside voice shouting,
Another person that's going to leave.
Another person that's not going to believe me.
Another person whose memories Ill have to start deflecting.
She was going to lose another person with the potential to be someone who could care for her because of the accident that happened 5 years ago.