We Are Back Home

The name of the countryside is Gachang. It is separated from the urban centre of Daegu, South Korea. Gachang myeon is ringed by mountains and threaded by narrow valleys. Gachang myeon is the site of a major water supply facility for Daegu, the Gachang Dam.

It was quite sunny. A breeze tossed through the trees, sending leaves spinning like coins down onto the rutted dirt road. The house stood on a slight rise just on the edge of the village. It stood on its own and looked over a broad spread of farmland.

Not a remarkable house by any means. It was about fifty or sixty years old, squattish and squarish, made of wood and bricks, two stories high and had four windows set in the front which more or less exactly failed to please.

The wooden framed sash windows were propped open with sticks. There was a small courtyard in front of the house where some pots were kept on its left. Pots were of different kinds of flower plants, aloe vera plant, chilli plant, a tomato plant and much more. It seemed like their granny loves planting.

Serin moved her gaze around everything with a not impressive look. For her, it's a ghost-like house, and she remembered the old restaurant which she visited on her 18th birthday. That day, when she opened her eyes, it was about two days passed to that incident. Her family was worried about her and more worried were her best friends.

They found her lying on the floor in the basement and took her back home. They regretted going in there and Serin thereafter decided she would never visit such places in future. But through her destiny, her grandparents home looks the same as the restaurant.

Serin let out a sigh and continued to walk in with her luggage. It was a totally old traditional house. As they walked inside, the door was slightly opened already. Against their better judgement, they walked in, her parents excited to meet her grandparents.

Inside the house, the furniture was all old. Despite the old house, it was neat and clean. There was a smell of something being cooked in the kitchen, which made each of their stomachs make a 'crrr' sound of hunger. Serin reluctantly walked into the living room. On the wooden coffee table, there were two picture frames kept beside a flower vase.

Serin stared at them in bewilderment before walking towards it. She reached for them, one picture was of a young man and a young woman. Picture of an old couple in their younger days. "They might be grandpa and grandma in their young days", Elin asserted. She was standing behind Serin, making Serin jump forward a little.

Another picture frame was of a sweet couple with two baby girls in their hands. Of course, they were Mr and Mrs Smith with their two baby girls, Serin and Elin. "Hey, aren't they us?", Elin asked in excitement. A slight smile touched on the lips of Serin.

"TBH, it feels pretty good", Serin mumbled in low voice but Elin heard it.

"You said something?", Elin asked. Serin ignored her and went towards her mom.

"Where's my room?" She asked Mrs Smith. "It's upstairs. Wait for Abeoji and Eomma to come and show you your room", Mrs Smith said.

Serin took a seat on the couch before her grandma came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands to the apron she was wearing.

"Oh~ welcome my children, welcome back home", she said and hugged Mrs Smith.

"I missed you, my children. Oh? Isn't she Serin? ", grandma walked passed by Elin ignoring her and hugged Serin tightly. Elin kept looking at her grandmother, thinking why didn't she noticed her standing.

"It's okay, she didn't notice me too yet", Mr Smith winked at her younger daughter, he read her mind. As her father, he knows her daughter very well.

"How are you, my princess? Meeting you after so many years, you have grown up so beautifully", she hugged Serin tightly and pecked her head.

"Nice to meet you too grandma", Serin rolled up her eyes and said warmly with a shaky smile.

"Come, let me show you your room", her grandma held her hands and dragged Serin upstairs behind her. Others followed them back. As they walked upstairs on old wooden stairs, it created little weird sound each time they stepped on it, making Serin feel not to walk on it or they would break.

When they reached upstairs, they saw an old man standing near the door of a room which was at the corner of the hallway. He was her grandpa.

He glimpsed at every one of them and glowed. He walked towards Serin and hugged her tightly as her grandma did before.

"Princess is back", he mumbled and began sobbing, her grandma joined him too.

Serin stood quiet, puzzled that why they were even crying. Mr and Mrs Smith looked at each other's face in confusion too, while Elin's face jaw dropped in jealousy.

Elin cleared her throat before asking, "Aren't am I the granddaughter of you both? Did you forgot me?", Elin interrogated, she was jealous.

"Come on my child", Grandpa confessed. Grabbing her hands and pulling her towards them. They group hugged each other, where Serin wasn't interested at all and Elin was enjoying it.

"Eomma, show them their rooms so that they could fresh up soon and come downstairs as soon as possible", Mrs Smith said.

"Are we going somewhere?", Serin asked with a flicker of curiosity.

"Yes, we'll visit nearby places today", she answered. Serin whined in annoyance, she was tired and wanted to rest.

Grandma wiped her tears and took out keys from the pocket of her apron. She walked towards a door beside them and unlocked that room. It was painted with beautiful baby pink, and furnished well. Serin thought it was her room and walked towards the room but stopped by her grandma.

"Wait a minute Princess, this isn't your room. It's Elin's", she explained, keeping her hands on Serin's shoulder and caressing them. Elin's face was brightened, she jumped in happiness. She took her luggage quickly and walked inside the room, teasing Serin while making faces.

Elin and Serin both glared at each other for a long time as if they both are about to begin a fight.

"Why isn't this room mine? This room looks pretty good", Serin grumbled.

"Because that another room is more beautiful than this", Grandma said her with a grin and winked.

Serin was confused with this behaviour of her grandma. For serin, it was quite weird to see her grandparents hugging, caressing, winking, and crying to her whom they met after ages.

"Where is mine?", Serin asked, raising her one eyebrow and looking for an answer from grandma.

"That room in the corner of the passage", Grandma told her pointing towards a room with a closed-door at the end of the passage, the same room where her grandpa was standing and glancing towards.

As per Serin's expectations, her room will be bigger than her sister's. Elin said it was special before coming there, so she thought there would be video games and karaoke too inside it.

Serin sighed in relief and took little steps towards her room with lots of expectations with her. Elin saw that she was going to open her room. So she walked behind her, Elin was suspicious to know too about it. Serin placed her hand on the doorknob and closed her eyes in the hope that it would be beautiful than Elin's and she opened the door.

"What? Hahahahaha~", the hallway filled with weird giggles of Elin's, making Serin open her eyes in puzzlement. Her eyes widened as she saw her room.

"It's so small than me, and there is even no bed here", Elin said, laughing her heart out.

The room was very small, light purple painted, with one small table and one small wardrobe only. There wasn't any bed inside. This made Serin nasty because it was too worst than Elin's room.

"Is this what you meant beautiful grandma?", she questioned, jumping down her grandmother's throat.

"Yes, it's beautiful. Your room has a view of our beautiful backyard and hills. Cold winds will always touch the window of your room and enter into your room pleasing you", Grandma said with smiling face and pushed Serin inside the room with her Luggage and closed the door behind her back.

"Serin, Be quick. We won't wait for you for long. We have to even leave for art studio today", Mr Smith said shouting and went downstairs.

"What? No rest?" She said with a throb to herself.

She looked around her room standing at one place. Walls were freshly painted light purple, There was a small dressing table near a wardrobe. There were white curtains installed on the windows which were blowing due to the wind coming in the room through the windows.

She went near the windows and yes, the view was great but that was the only thing beautiful in the room. She turned back and looked again at her room. It was very small as compared to Elin's room. She even has a bed in it, and Serin didn't.

Her room has an old wooden wardrobe. She opened her suitcase and put all her clothes inside that wardrobe. Placing her makeup and jewellery box on the table beside the wardrobe, she went in the washroom to get some hot water bath.

"At least my room has a bathroom", she mumbled and sighed in relief. Serin made her way inside it, grabbing her towel along her.

She took a quick hot water shower, wrapping herself in a bathrobe and her hairs in a towel, she walked out of the washroom. She changed herself in blue jeans and white loose georgette shirt with a navy blue tank top under it.

She wore some fancy bracelets in one hand and watch in the other. As she wanted to make her hairs, she started searching for a mirror in her room. But it wasn't anywhere.

Suddenly her eyes captured something behind the wardrobe which was covered with a silk cloth of pearl white colour. It looked familiar to her so she went near it and pulled out that heavy thing from behind the wardrobe.

It was something big and heavily covered with a silk cloth on it, even bigger in size than her. She suddenly remembered the thing which was kept in the basement of the restaurant, from which cold breeze came out and touched her body.

"Why is it kept here?", she questioned herself in turmoil.

Because of her curious mind, She pulled down the silk cloth which fell waving, it looked beautiful while it was waving down revealing a great mirror behind it. It was an old antique mirror. Its border was of polished wood of dark brown colour with a beautiful design carved on it. It was carved in detail with flowers and Chinese dragons on it.

"It's amazingly beautiful", she let out. A smile touched her face unexpectedly as she was admiring the large mirror. She shook her head as she remembered she was late and started making her hairs as she was late to go.

"Are you ready? ", Elin opened the door while asking and came in without taking her permission.

"Don't you have manners of knocking the door?", Serin shouted, looking back at her younger sister in resentment.

Elin chuckled but her attention was caught by the old antique mirror kept behind serin. Ignoring her, Elin ran towards the mirror pushing Serin aside. She was about to touch her mirror when Serin grabbed her hands and pulled back.

"Don't you dare", Serin warned, glaring at her with big eyes.

Serin herself doesn't know why she was acting possessive taking that mirror. Elin was perplexed by looking at her sister behaving like this for a mirror, which wasn't even her.

Serin tossed her comb on a small dressing table beside the wardrobe and dragged Elin out of the room, locking it behind, and went downstairs hauling Elin with her.

"Ohh please leave my hands, it's paining", Elin whined in front of everyone. They were sitting on the dining table, making everyone glimpse towards them. Serin left her hand leaving red marks of her fingerprints over them and took her seat.

"Serin! Why were you holding her hands? Look you left red marks on her hands", Mr Smith scolded her.

"Because I was going to touch that old mirror in her room", Elin mumbled in a low voice and pouted.

"Which mirror?", Mr and Mrs Smith both asked in unison.

"Mirror in her room. Daddy, it's something antique you know?", Elin said. Excitement filled in her voice.

"Ok enough, let's eat now", Mrs Smith commanded to them and everyone began to eat.

But, someone on the table was sitting nervously glancing down at the plate. Immediately turned out to be stressed, after listening about the mirror. He was their grandpa.

"Stop thinking about it now and eat", Grandma whispered to him and looked at Serin who was ogling them both with a confused look.

Serin gave a shaky smile in return and glanced down on the table, thinking about his grandpa's sudden change in expression after hearing about the mirror. And what was grandma telling him about not to think?