Graduation

There was a loud bang on the door. Eun opens his eyes and sits on his bed, wondering what could be causing the loud noise outside his bedroom. “What is going on?” he shouts and goes back to sleeping. His mother opens the door with a key. She walks in and taps on the boy’s shoulder under the blanket. “Eun, it is your graduation day. You must get up.” She removes the blanket so he could wake up, and when he does, he asks his mother. “Mama, is dad coming?” Coree breathes heavily, she never wanted to see her husband again, but today is different, she tells herself. “I suppose he will,” she tells her son. Eun holds his mother’s hands, “Just for today mom? After today, we will spend more time alone.” She strokes his hair with her hand, “Just as we always do, Eun.” She taps his leg, “I want you to know that no matter what happens, he is your father. It may not be the same for us, but you must know that I and Papa both love you very much.” She hugs him, and leaves him to get dressed. Before she walks out the door, Coree looks at her son, “When you’re done, Mama will give you something for today.” They both smile, and as she walks out the door and closes it, Coree knows in her heart that it will never be the same again for her family. For four years, Jae has spent more than enough time to visit Eun during weekends. He still seems to be a good father, she thinks to herself. He still manages to send money to Eun’s bank account and makes sure he is able to attend his sports classes. He drives him to his swimming class on Saturdays, and takes him to wherever he wants to have dinner. She walks into the bedroom and looks at herself in the mirror, “Why was I not enough, Jae?” she silently spoke. She looked at the bed, and thought how small it was. It was no longer the bed they had shared as a couple. She gets dressed, puts on her makeup and goes to the living and waits. Eun walks toward her, “Mama?” She stands up, and hands over a box to her son. “Go on, open it.” Eun opens his mouth in awe, inside the box is a Rolex Explorer II Automatic, with a stainless steel oyster bracelet. He has long been dreaming of having one, and his mother surely knows what he wants. “You need to wear it, Mama’s graduation gift.” At thirteen, Eun does not usually ask for expensive presents. Coree made sure that her son gets what he needs, rather than what he wants. “But Mama,” he said, with tears in his eyes, he put back the watch in the box and returned it. I do not need it, this is too much. I am still a teenager and I do not need such an expensive gift. “No dear,” Coree insisted. “You are thirteen, and you are young. You have been a wonderful son and you did well in school.” She takes off the watch from its elegant box and puts it around his wrist. “You deserve it, Eun Lee.” Eun looks at his wrist and then at his mother. He hugs her tightly, and kisses her cheek. “I love you, Mama,” he said to her. They went downstairs afterwards, and Coree told her driver to prepare the car. Just as the gates open, a car stops right in front of their home. It is a red Lexus CL500, driven by Jae Lee. The man gets out of the car, and invites Eun and Coree. Coree refused the offer, "We'll see you at the venue." But Jae insists, and Eun agrees with his father. "Can we make today a family day?" he asked his parents. "Please, Mama?" Coree, always having a soft spot for her family, finally agrees. They left home and waved goodbye to their helpers, who were all awkwardly smiling. While they were on the road, there was a deep sea of silence between the estranged couple. Jae and Coree had been divorced for two years, and would usually talk on behalf of their son, but never about what happened between them. "Here we are," Jae says after half an hour of driving. They went to the venue, and after a few hours, Eun ran toward his parents outside the hall. "I love you both," he says. "Ahm, I hope I wasn't late." a woman said behind them, to their surprise, Mari also came to the venue carrying loads of gifts for Eun. "I suppose I was not too late, all the Lees are still here." Jae took her elbow and told her, "What has gone into your head, Mari? It's a family day." Eun was standing in the middle of them, when his mother grabbed his hand, "Let's go honey," and then with a louder voice, she said, "We're going Jae." Eun waved goodbye to his father, and went on walking to the cab that his mother had booked, which was parked a few meters away from the auditorium where the graduation was held.