The day I left my homestay.
I didn't have as much luggage as I'd expected.
A few changes of clothes.
English books.
A few novels I'd brought from Korea.
And.
My digital camera.
I took one last slow look around the room.
The day I'd first arrived here.
Sitting on an unfamiliar bed.
I remembered the night I'd cried alone because I missed Mom.
Before I knew it, even this little room had become familiar.
I lightly ran my hand across the desk one last time.
"Thank you."
After murmuring it softly.
I closed the door.
"Ready?"
My homestay mom smiled brightly.
I hugged her tightly.
"Thank you for everything."
She patted my back too.
"It was so nice having you here."
"Take care of yourself, okay?"
"I will."
The front door slowly closed.
It was goodbye.
To my first home in Vancouver, too.
A little while later.
Eun-jin's car arrived.
"Youjung!"
She opened the trunk with a smile.
"That's all your luggage?"
"Yeah."
"It's not as much as I expected."
Just then.
A familiar voice came from somewhere in the distance.
"Hey!"
When I turned around.
Ben was smiling brightly and waving at me.
Hide and Dai were with him too.
I laughed in surprise.
"Ben?"
He casually shrugged.
"Figured you could use an extra pair of hands."
Hide grabbed the handle of a suitcase and grinned.
"Looks like moving day."
Dai raised his hand high.
"You've got a moving crew now."
I smiled.
"You guys really didn't have to."
Ben answered right away.
"Why wouldn't we?"
That one sentence.
For some reason, it warmed my heart.
The luggage was loaded into the car in no time.
Ben hoisted the biggest suitcase up with ease.
"Ben."
"That's really heavy."
He smiled.
"I've got it."
Hide let out a little laugh.
"Don't let him fool you."
"He's totally showing off."
Ben gave Hide's shoulder a light shove.
"Oh, shut up."
Dai laughed too.
"I think he's right."
All four of us burst out laughing.
When we reached downtown.
Eun-jin stopped the car.
I lifted my head and looked up at the building.
Its glass exterior sparkled in the winter sunlight.
"Wow..."
"It's so tall."
Eun-jin smiled.
"It's twenty-five stories."
The elevator stopped on the seventeenth floor.
Eun-jin opened the door.
"Come in."
Warm air welcomed us.
One wall of the living room was made entirely of enormous windows.
I walked over to the window.
Between the buildings.
I could see the blue waters of English Bay.
The sea glimmered calmly in the winter sunlight.
A breathless exclamation escaped me.
"...Wow."
Eun-jin smiled when she saw my expression.
"It's even prettier at night."
"You can see the lights from the boats, too."
I gazed out the window for a long time.
We carried the luggage into my room piece by piece.
My room was a little smaller than the living room.
But I liked the window that let in so much sunlight.
One bed.
One wooden desk.
One small closet.
And the downtown buildings visible outside the window.
I opened the window.
Cold winter air seeped into the room.
Eun-jin smiled.
"Make yourself at home."
After looking around my room for a moment.
She smiled.
"It's yours now."
I smiled and nodded.
"Thanks."
When we finished unpacking.
Eun-jin clapped her hands.
"Let's go grocery shopping."
Hide grinned right away.
"I'm starving."
Dai raised his hand too.
"Same here."
Ben looked at me with a smile.
"Ready?"
"Let's go."
Safeway was just a short walk away.
As the automatic doors opened.
Warm air and the smell of freshly baked bread welcomed us.
Eun-jin pushed the cart like she knew the store by heart.
Before long, it was piled high with ingredients for Korean food.
Ben looked down at the cart and laughed.
"You guys really do eat rice with everything, huh?"
I laughed and answered.
"Pretty much."
Hide raised his hand.
"Hey, so do I."
Dai laughed.
"Same here."
Ben nodded with a smile.
"Fair enough."
When we got back from shopping.
Eun-jin turned on the TV first thing.
The familiar MTV logo appeared on the screen.
A moment later.
Ashanti's “Rock wit U (Awww Baby)” started playing.
Eun-jin smiled.
"We always have MTV on at our place."
"It feels weird when it's quiet."
Hide dropped onto the couch.
Dai opened the refrigerator and peered inside.
"Wow..."
"It's empty."
Eun-jin laughed.
"That's why we went grocery shopping."
Ben bobbed his head lightly to the music.
Hide grinned.
"You always do that."
Ben let out a small laugh.
"What?"
"When there's a good song."
Ben shrugged.
"I can't help it."
Everyone burst out laughing.
Inside the small living room.
Music and laughter blended together naturally.
A little while later.
Ben quietly knocked on my bedroom door.
"Hey."
He was holding a small paper bag.
"For you."
I took it with a puzzled look.
"What's this?"
Inside the bag.
There was a tiny potted plant, small enough to fit in my palm.
"Ben..."
He smiled, looking a little embarrassed.
"I just thought..."
"It'd make your room feel a little less empty."
He paused for a moment.
Then added playfully.
"And..."
"It's pretty hard to kill."
I burst out laughing.
"Seriously?"
"Yep."
"I figured it'd survive college life."
I carefully set the plant on the windowsill.
Winter sunlight shone on its little leaves through the window.
"Thanks."
Ben smiled.
"Anytime."
Before I knew it, the sun had begun to sink.
Hide stood up.
"All right."
"We should get going."
Eun-jin walked them to the door with a smile.
"Thanks so much for coming today."
Hide waved with a grin.
"Our pleasure."
I looked at Ben.
"Thanks for helping today."
He shrugged with a smile.
"Anytime."
After hesitating for a moment.
I smiled.
"Next weekend..."
"Eun and I are going to cook."
Ben's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
"We'll make a proper Korean dinner."
Eun-jin smiled too.
"Lots of food."
"So come hungry."
Hide raised his hand high.
"I'm in."
Dai chimed in right away.
"Count me in."
Ben nodded with a smile.
"I wouldn't miss it."
We rode the elevator down to the first floor together.
We passed through the lobby.
Then stepped outside the apartment entrance.
Trees that stayed green even in winter stood quietly around us.
Hide and Dai waved first and headed off.
"See you next week!"
"Bye!"
Ben stopped walking for a moment.
"Got a minute?"
I smiled and nodded.
"Sure."
We sat side by side on the steps outside the entrance.
The cold winter air.
Cars passed slowly in the distance.
English Bay, visible between the buildings, held the colors of the evening sunset.
For a while, neither of us said anything.
The silence.
It wasn't awkward at all.
Ben spoke first.
"So..."
"How do you like your new place?"
I looked up at the window of my room on the seventeenth floor.
A smile came naturally to my face.
"I like it."
"...It already feels like home."
Ben looked up at the window too and smiled.
"I had a feeling you'd say that."
I asked playfully.
"How?"
He shrugged.
"I don't know."
"It just feels right."
I smiled too.
The wind had grown colder.
But I didn't want to get up.
- End of Episode 9 -