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"Wow! I knew I could count on you, Kang Danho." His senior patted him on his shoulder as they both finished reading the article he published online.
The reception from the netizens were great. If there was a field wherein he possessed any bragging rights, it's definitely this one. Landing on the social affairs beat was the cherry on top.
"You really have your way of being honest and truthful, and at the same time, being aware of how others may perceive it. You make sure that the right words will reach the people without misinterpretation. Did you get what I mean?"
Yeah. He most definitely did.
He remembered when he once described her like that too.
"I learned from the best." He blurted out loud before he could stop himself.
"Who? Me?"
Danho turned sideways to directly reject that assumption with his deadpan look. "I meant my wife."
"Oh, right." Yeongin, his senior, didn't get offended one bit. Instead, she looked at him with sympathy. "For how long will she be deployed there again?"
"It's only contractual." His eyes went back to the screen of his laptop, staring mindlessly on the article posted. "She applied for the one that will last for six months."
Her eyes dawned with realization. "Oh, so it's actually not that long? Damn, I should've done more research even if it's just out of curiosity."
"Yeah. The longest she could stay there is for a year or so. Anything longer than that--"
"Is gonna be bad for marriage." She cut him out and laughed. "I'm just kidding! I'm just trying to ease your worries. You haven't been yourself for a while."
But his face didn't move an inch. Not even a faint smile.
She sighed and pat him on the shoulder once. "Two months have already passed. Four months will go by quickly before you know it. Get it together."
"I am!" He gestured to the screen, showing his work. He exhaled and buried his face on both of his palms. "I really am."
Not only was it visible at work, but also in his social life.
"Choisseung, say something. We're losing him."
The three of them were sitting in the wooden seat in his front yard. Yeondu was with her grandma next door.
"You know how it's like in South Pole," Seunghyo said while munching some mixed nuts they bought from the convenience store. "They only have limited internet connection there. She'll come around."
Seokryu slightly hit him on the head. "Do you think he doesn't know that? Stop stating the obvious." She looked at Danho. "You know how Moeum is. She'd keep in touch without excuses if she can. Just keep your lines open."
"That's what I said!" Seunghyo reacted with food still in his mouth. She only rolled her eyes at him.
"She didn't contact any of you for the past week?" Danho asked them.
The couple shook their heads.
"Last time she replied to me was three weeks ago. I never really worried either. Yeondu tells me stories about her too whenever she comes by at the shop," she reminisced. "So honestly, it feels like she hasn't been gone that long for me."
Yeondu likes going to Seokryu's shop where the latter's father previously had a diner. After school, his little girl's either there or at her grandma's real estate office.
"We haven't really spent much time together when we finally started dating and decided to get married." He looked up to the trees visible from where they were.
Most of them were losing their leaves because of the new season entering. It's getting colder.
"Everything went by like a blur," he continued while trying to smile even a little bit. "Right now, I'm holding onto a handful of memories that gives nothing but longing to me. . . for her. And everyday, all I ever wish for was to create more."
"You'd be able to, Danho," Seokryu assured him. "I'm sure Moeum feels the same."
"I know just what you need," Seunghyo blurted out and reached for one of the cans between them. "A can of beer."
"Will you stop making him drink often?" Seokryu whispered to him but Danho could still hear her. "You know what Moeum said before she left."
The mention of her name made him smile a bit. This time, it was more genuine. "Did she make you two promise you'd accompany me here at least once a week?"
The two looked at each other.
"I got the gist by the second week." Danho opened a new can of him and his wife's favorite drink. "It's alright. I'm sticking with this."
"I have some mad respect for this man." Seunghyo was in awe as Danho drank from the can. "The loyalty. The undying. . . wow, I can't even describe it properly myself!"
"You just don't have a wide vocabulary to begin with," Seokryu wasted no second to take a jab on him once again.
This time, it was him who ignored her remark. He turned to their friend. "Just let it out. Say it loud enough to ease the heavy feeling you have."
"I miss her!" Danho didn't hold back once he encouraged it. "I don't think I can wait for four more months! If I call 119, do you think there's a chance she'll respond and go here?"
"Be honest. Did you slip a drop of alcohol in his can?" Seokryu asked her husband.
"And let Moeum strangle me the moment she step foot back here? No, thank you."
"Moeum-ssi!" he cried while looking up to the sky. "Oh, wait. She's in South Pole." He shouted to the ground. "Moeum-ssi!"
"If one of the neighbors knock on that gate, I'm gonna hide inside their house." She pointed to the front door.
"If ever you'd be gone for that long like her, rest assured I'd do worse," he told her.
"God, you two are an embarrassment sometimes." Seokryu grimaced. She opened her phone and held the record button when she reached her chat box with her bestfriend. "Moeum, get back here soon. I miss you! The next time you leave me with these two idiots, I'm gonna kill you!"
---
The following day, Yeondu was alone inside their house while doing her homework. In front of her was a tablet device her father bought her for school purposes.
Just as she was about to finish her homework in Math, a video call invite popped up. Her eyes widened in surprised as she immediately accepted the call.
"Eomma!" she greeted Moeum. Her pencil competely forgotten on the floor.
"How's my baby Yeondu?" she adorably asked her through the screen.
"I miss you a lot! I told my classmates my Mom is in South Pole and they didn't believe me until you gave me a picture! Thank you~"
Moeum's smile widened. She was visibly cold and Yeondu can notice that.
"Do you have a lot of warm clothes there?" she asked.
"Yeah!" Moeum assured her. "Remember the jacket you gave me before I left? I'm actually wearing it right now. Right here." She showed her a jacket underneath a larger padded jacket she had on.
"When you come back here, I'm gonna give you the warmest hug," she pretended to give her a hug in front of the screen.
Her mom gasped a little. "Wow, I actually feel a bit warmer now while talking to you!"
Yeondu's face turned serious. "The weather there must be too much sometimes. Please don't get sick often. Appa might get sadder."
"Hm?" She pouted. "Oh, right. Where's your dad, Yeondu? Isn't it Saturday?"
"He just went to buy groceries. He's probably on his way--Oh, there he is!"
The grocery bags he was holding dropped to the floor. He went straight to the floor and sat beside where Yeondu was.
She chuckled as she moved the tablet so that the camera points to her father.
"Hey, I've been calling you on your phone! Good thing Yeondu answered when I called her." Moeum laughed when he saw his expression. "Are you seriously crying in front of our daughter?"
"I don't really mind." The little girl shrugged her shoulders. "He barely managed to hold it in these past few days waiting for your call."
"You just had to call on that one time I didn't have my phone with me," he finally spoke. He was still sniffing. "I left it in the car while I was at the grocery."
"Oh, God. Look at you." Her mom was laughing, but Yeondu could tell by her eyes that she also misses him the way he does. "I managed to borrow a laptop from one of our colleagues here. He's one of the few who could connect his computer to the WiFi. My phone barely gets any.
"You don't have to always call if you can't. It's okay," Danho said gently. Even though the longing on his eyes says otherwise. "A simple short message would do."
"You guys might miss my voice," she reasoned. "Because that's what I miss about you."
"And this is where I take my leave." Yeondu stood up but her dad stopped her.
"We'll stop it, I promise." For the first time in a while, he was smiling from ear to ear. "Just stay here and talk to your mom too."
"But I don't wanna hear all your cheesy lines!"
"What do you mean, Yeondu?" Moeum acted clueless. "Your dad is a bit of a poet if you ask me."
"I can't believe Eomma's still smitten by your corny antics from thousands of miles away." She scrunched her nose and moved her head to the screen so that her mom could see her. "I'm just going to put the bags in the kitchen and grab something to eat. I'll be back!"
Danho could do nothing but look at how her daughter carried the groceries one by one. "She's growing up so fast. She's becoming more mature than me."
"That's not surprising at all," Moeum told him. "Compared to my first encounter with her, you're naturally petty and foolish the moment I first saw you."
"You also said I was kind, determined, and with principles. It all came in a package and you persisted on having me anyway."
"And you always had to have the last word." Moeum moved closer to the screen. "Don't be too sad. We may be miles apart, but I could easily feel it."
"Mudflat Man misses going on missions with you." His voice was more serious this time, but his eyes were smiling just the same.
"Captain Jung is almost done with her quest. Please continue to save the world while I'm away."
"Roger that, Captain."
***