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5. Mismatch

Two weeks had passed, and by then I had gotten very used to life in Korea.
Until I got a call from my mom..

"Mom? What's up? I'm doiㄴ...."

"....Hic...Dael...."

My mom was crying.

"U...Mom? What's wrong...? What's going on...?"

"Hic....Dael....your dad...got badly hurt...."

It felt like the world had frozen in place.

".....What...? Uh...Mom...say that again...Dad...? Why?"

After I heard my mom's whole story, the call ended.
For a while, I just sat on my bed and couldn't do anything.

The very next day, I applied for a leave of absence and booked the earliest flight.
At school, after hearing my situation, they quickly processed my leave.
Was this kind of thing a blessing because I was in Korea....

All that was left was to tell the club.
When I opened the clubroom door and went in, for some reason only senior Yeonjun was sitting in the clubroom today.

"Oh..! Dael!"

The senior greeted me warmly, but then his expression hardened when he saw my dark face.

"....Dael. Is something wrong?"

"I...senior...I'm sorry, but....I don't think I can come to the club anymore...."

The senior gently lifted my head, which had been bowed low.

"Why..? What's going on?"

I opened my mouth, holding back my tears.

"I got a call saying my dad...was badly hurt, so I'm going back to the U.S. I also applied for a leave of absence at school..."

For a moment, it looked like the senior's face had crumpled.
But maybe it was just my imagination; the senior only wore a bitter smile.

"Ah...I see...your father...yeah. Okay, I understand. I'll tell the other club members."

I almost let a few tears fall at the senior's kind words to the very end.

"...Thank you...I'll be going now..."

As I opened the clubroom door and stepped out, the senior stopped me.

"Um...Dael."

There was a tulip in the senior's hand.

"...Take this. It's a gift. I originally had something I wanted to say when I gave it to you today....but now isn't the time. Take this with you at least."

The red petals were so pretty.

"Thank you...I'll treasure it."

And just like that, my life in Korea ended before it had even reached three weeks.