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Summary: Four years and continents apart. What keeps Yi Jeong and Ga Eul's hope alive are the letters that they write to each other from time to time…

LOVE LETTER

XXVI

The letters always arrive on important days. They are infrequent, but they always have been. The promises though, are always constant.

………………

She writes to him today. He is in some other part of Europe, she needs the address and will get it soon enough. He is taking part in another exhibition, the first time he showcases his celadon collection. Those works are not his first collection though. She glances at the tiny miniature eggs that she has placed on a special display rack that she bought just for those. Each is modelled after a Faberge egg. They all have her name inscribed amidst the patterns and pictures, each character carefully hidden, waiting to be discovered by her.

She writes to him when she hears from his friends what his grandfather has done. It is a semi-open secret in their society and she hates that he is not here to defend himself, that somewhere out there, people are gossiping about him and saying he is a fool to throw away a golden future. She feels it is purely wishful thinking on her part, but she wants to wrap him up with her words, cocoon him with her letters, and guard him from pain.

It is raining and the sky is powder grey. She opens the windows, smells the fresh, almost too sharp scent of rain. Outside, a car goes by and it happens to be that awful shade of orange that he likes so much. It reminds her of another time when an orange car was waiting at the road. Inside, it held the man who held her heart and did not yet know it. So she takes out a piece of paper and writes to exorcise the painful yearning that arises each time she sees something that reminds her of him. It will be one of the longest letters that she has written him.

She sends pictures as well. Her first batch of students as they graduate from Beginners' Class, her first pottery competition which she did not win but placed as fourth, Graduation Day as she finally dons her academic robes and says good-bye to Business and Economics forever. The classrooms she studies in as she works for her teaching degree in Art, a shot of her teacher because Yi Jeong wants to know how it is possible that there is someone on the planet who is better-looking than he is. A photo of the calendar which she uses to count the days until he comes home, each passing date adorned with a neat cross.

She tells him about her days, her weeks and sometimes, the months that have passed in silence that is broken by the arrival of a blue envelope. She tells him funny stories, writes down jokes that she's heard; sometimes they debate about politics (the letters fly fast and furious over the seas then). She lets him know why Woo Bin has become withdrawn: he's refused Jae Kyung's offer to visit her in the States and the both of them are broken-hearted. She describes lessons in class, her favourite students, having dinner with Eun Jae and Il Hyun. She does not ask him when he is coming back although it is the question that echoes most often in her mind.

And one day, several months into the fourth year, she receives another letter. It is short, less than half a page but it leaves her with a full heart. He says that she should not write to him anymore; he will come back soon.

………………………

Finally, after months of failure and perseverance, Akira has finally deigned to nod in gruff approval at a small sake bottle vessel that he has created. As he watches his teacher holding up the precious work that he has laboured so hard to perfect, all he can think about is how he wishes she could be here to see it as well. So he goes home, not to celebrate with that bottle of wine he has been saving for this special occasion, but instead to write. The moment may have passed but it is still possible to share it with her.

Today, a letter arrives from his father. Along with it comes his grandfather's will. Yi Jeong discovers what it means to be cut out thoroughly from the family fortune that once had been his and that pride can be thicker than blood. He wonders whether his peers know about this, and then dismisses the thought seconds after it arrives. A glance at the letter informs him that his father has sent his beloved sports car to his home, and that the salaries for the staff have been paid in full, up until the year of his return. Along with it is a short statement which assures him that he can return to Korea and find work there. Not for the first time does Yi Jeong puzzle over the man whom he hates and loves. So he writes it down and sends her his thoughts. She has no answers, but it is enough that she listens and knows.

It is the night of his exhibition, the first one featuring a celadon collection of works. For the first time, Akira is there. It helps to have his teacher nearby; it calms his nerves even though he has a quiet feeling that it will be a big success. And for a moment, in the crowd, he thinks he sees her and although logic dictates that it cannot possibly be, he is already moving forward. What stops him short is the realisation that it is not her, that it is merely a woman whose profile bears a striking resemblance to hers. He smiles politely, weaves his way through the crowd, trying to get away from his disappointment. The next day, he mails her a letter with photos of the exhibition.

He writes to her during lazy afternoons in cafes, his coffee cooling on the side. Sometimes he describes the towns and takes pictures of the different places his work brings him to. He finds himself noting down little incidents that amuse him: children dancing in a fountain with their little dog, young couples quarrelling, birds that come by the dozens when he tosses breadcrumbs at them. He tells her about the food and sometimes takes pictures of it; he knows how much she loves food. He does not tell her that he has promised himself that one day, he will bring her to all these places so that he can relive old moments and live new ones with her.

He times his letters such that they arrive on important dates. Graduation, application for a new course, the second week of classes so that she does not get too starry-eyed over her good-looking teacher. Birthdays are a given. He sends her tiny Faberge eggs with her name hidden in the patterns and amidst the colours. There are four in all, one for each season and the autumn egg is without a doubt the most beautiful one.

And one day, in his fourth year, Akira tells him that he can go back. He has learnt enough, and everything else that he needs to know can only come by experience and practice. Yi Jeong feels more than a pang at the thought of leaving. Akira sighs and warns him not to be a sentimental idiot. He also reminds him that the airfare from Korea to Sweden is not that expensive. Yi Jeong knows he will be missed too.

Several nights later, he writes to her.

Ga Eul yang,

It's hard to believe that this will be the last letter that I will be writing to you. I don't know when I will be home when this reaches you, but don't reply to this. The next time we speak, I want it to be face to face.

The thought of returning home excites me, yet I feel nervous as well. I think about my parents, and I wonder if my grandfather will keep to his word. I wonder how much my world there has changed. Sometimes I feel unprepared.

One would think that after four years, the remaining time I have here would pass by easily. That's not true. I've been dreaming about us. Sometimes I see you in my house, at times I imagine you are there in a crowd and I am trying to get to you. Even when I don't dream at night, it's hard to fall asleep.

Looking back, in a way, we have come full circle. It started with your letter, and now ends with mine.

I miss you more now that I know I'm going to meet you soon. Wait for me. I will come to you.

Yi Jeong