2 Closure

It was 3 AM when 34-year-old Lim Yeonseo's phone rang. She turned in bed and groaned. Yeonseo called for her husband before remembering that he had gone on a business trip for a week. She groggily reached for her incessantly ringing phone and seeing it was her mother-in-law Mrs Kang, she answered it. 

"Hello?"

"Yeonseo-ya… Can you come over?" Her mother-in-law sounded like she had been crying. Her voice was hoarse.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Mrs Kang hiccupped and replied, "It's Junwoo… He, his plane…" She was besides herself, sobbing and hiccupping while trying her best to be coherent.

Lim Yeonseo sat up, anxious. "Junwoo's plane… Is, is he okay?!" She was fervently praying in her heart that he'd be alright.

Mrs Kang broke into tears again. "It was a bird strike. The engine failed and the plane crashed in the Pacific. They only identified his body 45 minutes ago…" 

Yeonseo blankly got up and drove for an hour and a half to her in-laws' place. Mr Kang opened the door and hugged her tightly. Up until now, it still hadn't registered in her mind that her husband of 6 years had died. When her father-in-law hugged her in grief, she broke down. The only remaining thought in her head was: he was gone. Just like that, he left. She remembered how the morning he left, they said their last goodbyes at the airport. Her scolding him for getting up so late and almost missing his flight. Him promising to make up for his blunder by buying her plenty of souvenirs. It was so normal albeit the twinge of sadness at the thought of not seeing each other for a week. But now I can never see him again, she thought. She bawled into Mr Kang's shoulder, heavily grieving for her husband who left too soon.

Kang Junwoo's funeral was held 10 days later. He was buried in the Kang family cemetery. Mr Kang stared at the mound of dirt that covered his son's coffin. "That plot of land was set aside for my burial. Who knew that one day the one lying in it would be my son and not me…"

He turned to look at his wife and daughter-in-law. "C'mon, let's go home."

Yeonseo took a last look at the grave before silently following her husband's parents. 

She went back to the home they had once shared. It seemed so desolate without him. Yeonseo looked around and everything reminded her of him. His mug that was casually left on the counter, his wine cabinet, even the other pillow on her bed. 

In the following days, Lim Yeonseo would often call out to her husband before realizing that he would never come back. She would wake up in the middle of the night because she didn't feel his familiar warmth and she would call for him in her sleep. Habits were truly hard to break.

Her days were spent drifting along in grief. Nevertheless, she took care of her ailing in-laws who seemed to have been struck a deadly blow with the death of their only child. She had no family, only them. 

On the 49th day of Kang Junwoo's death, Lim Yeonseo got off work early and bought a bouquet of roses from a nearby florist before heading to the Kang family's cemetery. She placed the roses on the pile of dirt which had yet to settle and stared at the headstone. Kang Junwoo, 1981 - 2017. Beloved husband and son. 

That night, she had a dream. It was the day he proposed to her. Her 28th birthday. Yeonseo had finished her slice of strawberry cake when she looked up and saw a glittering diamond ring in his hands. He then popped the question and of course she said yes. As they walked home hand in hand, Junwoo suddenly grabbed her hands and turned to look at her.

 "What's wrong?" she asked. 

"Yeonseo-ya, I'm happy."

"Me too."

"But are you? You drown yourself in grief every day and the only reason why you haven't fallen apart yet is because you have to take care of my parents."

"Junwoo…"

"No, listen. It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault. It was simply bad luck. No one expected there to be a bird strike. I've passed my seven trials and I'm moving on. You should too. Let go, move on, be happy, Yeonseo. Otherwise I won't be reassured in the afterlife."

The next morning, Lim Yeonseo woke up with tears on her face. She picked up her life and strove to follow what he had told her. Let go, move on, be happy. It won't be easy but it'll happen.