After his siblings have left to return to their respective monasteries, Jeong-won's mother kept on insisting that they should stay a little bit more to keep her company. Her requests were accepted, but pretty soon when it was dark and late, he realized that it was a plan to make them stay over. After failing to bring up the news of his siblings visiting his mother as well, he worried that her patience would finally run out, but thankfully, she seemed to be fitting in well with his family.

She chatted with his sisters with enough enthusiasm and, as for his brothers, well, she was teased non-stop; not once did she show any sign of irritation – she just nodded politely, laughed when it was needed, and offered stories into the conversation.

He wasn't the only one who was closely watching her; Ro-sa was quietly observing his son's relationship and her reactions to him. She was very pleased to see that their dynamic was not anchored on one person alone; it was as if they were possessing their own gravity.

Gyeo-ul leaves to take a shower in the bathroom and Rosa and Jeong-won are left in the living room to their own devices. His mother has prepared his bedroom where she's supposed to stay; she has urged his son to share the room with her, but it's a subject that he won't agree to. She sometimes hates how he can be too traditional, but he's too old to change.

She takes their moment alone to give him something that she has treasured for most of her life. "Your father gave that to me."

Jeong-won stares at the diamond ring in his hand – it's small, but it shines like the stars in the sky. He has seen her wear the jewelry when she was younger. "Why?"

She sighs longingly as she rests her head on her son's broad shoulder. "Jeong-won, I'm pretty sure that she's the one. And I know that you think that, too. I just want you to have it in case you suddenly have the urge."

"It's too early, Mom," he neither denies nor dismisses the thought; in fact, he clutches on the ring until the diamond is pricking his palm.

"Is it?" Ro-sa asks with a soft laugh. "Your father asked me to marry him when I was twenty. He got down on one knee, pulled that ring, and told me how much he loved me. If I was as careful as you are, I would've never had you."

"Her life is just starting. She still has a lot to do; she needs to take her boards, travel, do the things that she wants. The last thing that she needs right now is this."

"But what do you want?" she presses.

"Nothing. I want nothing but for her to be happy." But he is lying. Deep inside, he wants to marry her. He has never been sure of anything in his life until he met her. He has changed; his allegiances aren't with himself anymore, everything he does in this life will be solely for her. But this feeling – his strong need to marry her – makes him wants to be selfish yet again. He can't ask that from her; not until he sees that she's ready. Without knowing, he is weeping like a little child.

Ro-sa holds her son tightly. "Oh, honey." She rubs his back repeatedly, comforting him. "How come you act around her as if she's a ghost that will disappear anytime? What are you so worried about?"

He fears that he's not enough. Even the greatest love stories have their endings. What if she ends up sick of him? What if he makes a mistake and she hates him for it? What if he suddenly pushes her away and this time, she decides that she has had enough of it?

"Love is not sand, Jeong-won," his mother tells him in a small voice. "It won't slip from your fingers easily. Have faith, Jeong-won." When he doesn't stop crying, she continues, "Your father and I… we were never easy. There were a lot of bumps on the road, but we made it. You are so much like your father, Jeong-won; you love so kindly. But she's a tough one, isn't she? She's a little bit more grounded. She's stronger. You need someone like her." She sighs. "But she smiles more when she's with you. She laughs like a child. What the other lacks, the other provides."

When his mother has gone to bed, feeling more alert than ever, Jeong-won raises up from the make-shift bed at the living room and goes to his childhood room where Gyeo-ul is sleeping. He knocks on the door only to find that she, too, is restless.

"Can I come in?" he asks in a whisper. She pauses for a second but consents eventually. She's sitting on the bed, her legs crossed beneath her. She sets off all the familiarities of the room; from now on, he can't look at it as his bedroom anymore – it will be forever embalmed in his brain as the room where she slept in. In the darkness, he smells her strawberry hair from where he stood. The scent pulls him towards her. He sits next to her and hugs her. Being close to her has become a knee-jerk reaction. She embraces him as well, her thin arms securing him. "Is there any way to make this feeling last?"

"I'm always here," she reassures him quietly.

He knows that, but it doesn't quiet his fears. He hates the impermanence of things; in this life, people change easily, feelings shift.

"I have felt the extremes of my emotions whenever I'm with you," she murmurs. "Both good and bad. I've struggled too much to let go – I've cried too many tears, hoping for this moment. I'm not going anywhere, Jeong-won. So stay by my side. Always."