The sound of rain tapping gently against the glass was the only melody in the room. The city beyond the window was a blur of silver reflections and glowing lights, but inside their apartment, everything was still.
Sherri had fallen asleep on the couch after putting Youngjin back to bed. HyunBok was curled beside her like a kitten, his tiny arm resting over her waist protectively. The soft rise and fall of their chests gave the room a slow, peaceful rhythm.
YoungBok sat in the kitchen alone, his elbows resting on the table, a half-filled cup of chamomile tea cooling beside him. A candle flickered quietly, casting a warm halo across the page he was writing on.
A letter.
To Hyunjin.
It had started as just a scribble — a few lines of thoughts he couldn't say aloud without his voice cracking. But soon, it turned into full sentences. Then a page. Then another.
My Jinnie,
It's raining tonight. The kind of rain you always loved — soft, steady, like the sky was humming a lullaby just for us. You would've opened the windows and made me sit next to you, your head on my shoulder, mumbling about the smell of wet earth and poetry you never wrote down.
I miss that.
I miss you.
Some nights, the loneliness is loud. I lie in our bed and try to remember how your fingers felt against my back, how your breath sounded when you slept. But memory is cruel sometimes — it fades, like fog on a mirror. And I panic, wondering if I'm forgetting something important.
But then… Sherri.
She reminds me.
She remembers the way you tuck your shirt into your jeans only halfway. The way you laugh with your whole face. The way you used to fall asleep on the couch after dance practice, holding onto my hoodie like a lifeline.
She brings you back to me, piece by piece, even when you're not here.
I think that's what love is — holding onto someone so tightly in your heart that they never truly leave.
You're gone… but you're still mine. Still ours.
Tonight, we watched the rain together. She sat with me by the window in silence. No words, no pressure. Just her presence — warm and steady. She has that gift, you know? She loves softly but with a strength that holds me together when I feel like I'm falling apart.
You chose her well, Jinnie.
Our family… is beautiful.
HyunBok drew another picture of you today. This time, you were flying. A superhero with long hair and wings made of stars. He said, "Appa's coming home soon to save the world."
You already saved mine.
Come home when you're ready. We'll be here. Always.
Yours,
Lixie
YoungBok exhaled slowly, folding the letter with care. He pressed it to his lips for a second — a silent kiss — before sliding it into an envelope and writing Hyunjin's name in English and Hangul, side by side.
As he stood to place the letter with the others they planned to mail next week, he caught his reflection in the rainy window.
Tired eyes. Loose hoodie. Slippers.
But something else too — something behind the fatigue.
Steadiness.
This was what loyalty looked like. What family felt like. Staying when it's hard. Loving when it hurts. Waiting without resentment. Holding the hand of the one next to you because you know they're carrying your heart too.
YoungBok turned off the kitchen light, walking back to the couch. He pulled the blanket up gently over Sherri and HyunBok and nestled beside them. Her hand moved unconsciously in her sleep, finding his. Their fingers linked instantly — as if they had done it for years.
He whispered into the silence.
"Thank you, Sherri."
And for the first time in days, sleep came easily.
Because love was still here.
Even in the rain.
Even in the waiting.