The sea breeze was soft.
It wrapped around Sherri like a familiar lullaby, the scent of salt and sand mingling with the memory of Hyunjin's laughter. They stood at the top of a gentle slope, where the waves kissed the rocks and seagulls danced across the sky.
YoungBok took a slow breath beside her, his hand in hers. He wore a light blue hoodie and sunglasses, his blonde hair blowing softly in the ocean wind.
HyunBok clutched his bucket and tiny shovel with excited hands, already planning the sandcastle he wanted to build "just like Appa used to."
Youngjin was snug in a baby sling against Sherri's chest, his little hands curled into her sweater.
This place — Samcheok, Hyunjin's favorite seaside town — had always been sacred.
A place where he found peace.
And now, it became theirs.
They checked into a small coastal guesthouse Hyunjin once showed them in pictures. The room smelled like the sea. The windows framed the sun's golden path across the water. Sherri gently unpacked their things, placing a framed photo of the three of them on the side table.
YoungBok stood near the balcony, watching the waves. Quiet.
Thoughtful.
"Are you okay?" she asked, coming beside him.
He nodded, but his voice cracked a little. "This place… it's so him. Every corner feels like he's just about to walk out and yell, 'I bought you tteokbokki!'"
She smiled through tears. "He probably would."
YoungBok leaned his head on hers. "I just… miss him so much."
"I know," she whispered. "I do too. Every day. But he sent us here for a reason."
YoungBok blinked, surprised. "He knew?"
Sherri nodded. "Before he left, he told me, 'When it gets too heavy, take him to the sea. It always resets me.'"
Later that day, they walked barefoot along the shore.
HyunBok's laughter rang out as he ran ahead, dragging YoungBok by the hand. "Help me find the best shell for Appa!"
YoungBok crouched beside him, digging gently. "How about this one? It's got gold in it."
Sherri smiled as she watched them — her little family, bound not by blood alone, but by choice, by loyalty, by the deep kind of love that survived everything.
She knelt with them, cradling a small spiral shell in her hand. "He'd love this one."
"Put it in our 'Appa jar!'" HyunBok shouted.
YoungBok laughed. "We'll fill it till it overflows."
That night, they built a small bonfire by the beach.
HyunBok toasted marshmallows — well, mostly burned them — and Sherri gently rocked Youngjin while humming the lullaby Hyunjin wrote for them.
YoungBok sat cross-legged, a notebook in hand.
He scribbled something.
Then handed it to Sherri.
> To Hyunjin —
We came here for you.
We sat on your sand, breathed your wind, followed your footprints.
You are still everywhere.
In our son's laughter.
In her soft eyes.
In every breath I take between missing you and loving you.
We're coming back stronger.
Just hold on a little longer.
Sherri pressed her forehead to his. "Let's keep writing for him."
YoungBok nodded. "Every day. Until he's home."
They lay that night in one bed — Sherri curled around Youngjin, YoungBok wrapped around HyunBok, all their hands intertwined in the middle.
No sadness.
Just love.
Just dreams.
And a sky full of stars Hyunjin would one day see again with them.