25 Resolve

Soomin sewed alternatively onto the collar Haru had brought to her. The collar belonged to Luna and had gotten torn during the accident. It needed only a few stitches but Soomin could make the stitches look pretty so why not? She had graduated from a fine arts and fashion designing academy to begin with. Later, getting married and having a beautiful daughter such as Haneul had her stay as a housewife.

But there was skill in her hands. Her fingers moved exquisitely along the ends of the collar, sewing it together with her thin and small needle. Her sewing box was filled with colorful and playful buttons to express lightness and youthfulness to the collar, hiding the small sewed patches which were made earlier to fix it.

Haneul and Haru were sitting down on the ground, carefully watching her put each button into their place.

"Omo, omo!" Soomin exclaimed to her creation. "Goodness, so pretty!" She added joyfully. "Haru-yah, show me pictures when Luna wears it, hm?"

"Sure, Soomin-ssi." Haru smiled. "Thank you, Luna is going to look super cute in this."

"Haneul," Soomin called her daughter. "Take these away, would you?"

Haneul nodded before grabbing the sewing box and standing up to put it back into its place. Soomin looked at her daughter walking away slowly before she looked back at Haru from the corner of her eyes. She cleared her throat slowly.

"What is it?" Haru asked as she noticed Soomin's glance.

"I heard you met my future son-in-law." Soomin slowly said. "What do you think about him?"

Oh? Was Soomin still considering whether or not the man was good for her daughter? Although that was good and Haru had the chance to convey negative feelings towards Yeom Tae to avoid the marriage but avoiding this marriage meant proceeding towards another and who knows if the next man turns out to be horrible?

Yeom Tae was a good man. Though Haru was a loyal friend, she considered all facts and figures for her friends. Not just their feelings. And right now, vouching for Yeom Tae was the best option.

"He's decent." Haru said, "But I think you should ask Haneul if she wants to get married or not."

Soomin sighed. "You know that girl always says no, right?" She frustratingly asked.

That was true. Haneul was too ambitious to say she wanted to get married even if she liked the man. There was really no way out of this one.

"But still," Haru said. "Nothing good comes out of forcing."

Soomin nodded, acknowledging Haru's words. That was a relief. At least Haneul's traditional parents weren't tyrants. They still acknowledged the right or wrong. As long as they did, Haru was relieved.

Haneul walked back and Haru stood up to leave. She bade her farewell and ran off to her house. It had been a long day at the hospital so Haneul decided to catch up on her sleep too when she saw a small envelope placed by the shelf in the lounge.

"Ah, right!" Soomin exclaimed as she stood up, "I forgot to tell you about this." She said while walking towards her daughter and holding the envelope. "Yeom Jae-ssi planned a small trip for you and Yeom Tae. Get ready on time, okay?" She handed the card over with a bright smile on her face.

Haneul received the card and turned around to walk upstairs to her room without giving the card a single look. "Goodnight." She uttered to her mother while leaving.

Haneul walked into her room and looked at the card. It was a small trip to Gwangju for the Dano festival. It was the start of June already and the festival was close. They had to take a train from Seoul to Gwangju. The ride was going to be less than 2 hours till they reached Gwangju to partake in the festival.

Yeom Jae had sketched their entire trip himself and had made sure that it was traditional enough. Haneul sighed loudly. She reminisced her last Dano which was spent in the hospital walls. What was she even doing with her life right now?

Frustrated, she put the card on the table and fell to her bed. Tomorrow was another day, she could worry then. Right now she needed to catch up on her sleep as it had been long since she had closed her eyes.

The next morning, instinctively, Haneul found herself online shopping. Whenever she found herself free during small intervals, she also found herself online shopping. She needed a traditional yet modern hanbok for the trip, shoes and accessories to pair with it. She also found herself looking for rings.

Yeom Tae had already gotten a ring for her. In case he proposed to her, she felt like she needed to have a ring for him too. There had to be an exchange no matter what. At this point, she wanted to get married. In that case, at least their families won't plan trips like this for them. If she was married right now, she could just tell her husband that she would rather stay in the hospital, which was much more therapeutic to her.

These trips meant nothing, neither was she excited for anything. She just wanted to get over it. She even decided to propose to the man if he wouldn't do it himself. She had dragged all of this for too long and it was affecting her negatively now.

She ordered a dress that caught her eyes, shoes, accessories, and a ring.

The ring was beautiful and it would look even prettier on the man's hand. Even though it was not a valuable moment for her, she made sure to give it her best. If she would give her best now, no one would dare to say a word later to her.

With the express delivery on, now she only had to wait for her items. She also texted Haru and Youngsoo to show up on the day to help her dress up.