“I just don’t want people to go overboard thanking me when I only helped them with something small and simple,” the woman replied, already busy making more bungeoppang.
The man smiled. “Look at you. Your wings are spread wide. Only people with sincere hearts can see the kindness behind that cold expression of yours,” he teased his wife.
The woman could only laugh shyly as she tossed a cloth at her husband.
After finally receiving a reply from her pen pal, Rachel immediately ran into her bedroom. With a happy expression on her face, she sat down at her desk and began opening the letter.
‘To my pen pal, Choi Rachel. I’m sorry for making you curious by having you guess and guess what my name was. I promised I would tell you my name in this reply. Thank you for being patient and waiting. —Park Cia.’
“Park Cia? Her name sounds familiar,” Rachel said, trying to think.
A moment later, she finally remembered something.
“Oh my gosh! It can’t be.” Rachel was shocked, covering her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide.
Rachel quickly grabbed her thick coat and hurried out of the house.
“Rachel, where are you going this late at night?” Sera shouted from the living room sofa when she saw Rachel quickly heading toward the door.
“I have something to take care of. I’ll be back soon,” Rachel replied without looking back, stopping in her tracks.
The Bungeoppang shop was only about three kilometers from Rachel’s house. In the bitter cold of Seoul, Rachel continued walking quickly, eager to tell the shop owner’s daughter named Cia that she was Choi Rachel, her pen pal.
Rachel slowed down when she saw that the Bungeoppang shop was already closed. Slightly disappointed, she tried to pull her phone from her coat pocket.
“It’s almost ten at night. No wonder the Bungeoppang shop is already closed,” she said dejectedly as she slipped her phone back into her pocket.
“Ah, it’s okay. I’ll see her tomorrow morning.” Smiling, Rachel began walking home.
Once she returned to her bedroom, Rachel took off her coat and sat down at her desk. She reached for a sheet of paper, the kind she usually used to write letters to her pen pal.
‘Cia, are you back from abroad? Because I met someone this afternoon who I think was you.’
After finishing the letter, Rachel’s hands slowed as she was about to fold it and place it in an envelope. “I probably don’t need to send this letter. I’m going to see her tomorrow morning anyway, right?” Rachel murmured.
In the end, Rachel put the letter in a drawer before going to bed, since it was already getting very late.
Rachel was getting ready to leave for school when she stepped out of her bedroom after hearing Ivy crying.
“Ivy, you’re already five years old. How are you still wetting the bed at your age?” Sera asked her youngest daughter.
As a child who had been forced to be strong and forbidden from crying since she was little, Ivy had grown into a somewhat whiny child. Even when Sera merely advised her without raising her voice, Ivy could burst into tears immediately.
Sobbing, Ivy lowered her head. “I’m sorry, Mom.”