Chapter Text
~Busan, South Korea~
February 21, 2014
“Ok everyone, I have some very exciting news! Quiet down please!”
The room filled with 6 and 7 year olds quieted as they turned to face their teacher.
She smiled. “I know it’s the end of the day, so I wanted this to be fresh in your minds, ok? I’ll be sending you all home with a permission slip for your parents to look over with you. I want to start a pen pal program, and if your parents agree, you’ll write letters to other kids close to your age from other countries. Isn’t that exciting? There’s a lot of stuff your parents will talk to you about when they look over the slip, so don’t forget to give it to them as soon as you see them tonight.”
“Ok, Cho Seonsaengnim!” The children chorused as she began to move through the classroom, giving each student two sheets of paper stapled together.
“I want these slips back by the end of next week, alright? I hope you guys are excited! Class dismissed!”
After being given his sheet, one 7 year old in particular rushed over to his cubby and carefully put the precious papers into his backpack. He pulled on his dark blue puffer coat, tugged his hat over his short black hair, and hoisted the large backpack onto his tiny shoulders. He held onto the straps, waved to his teacher and walked with his classmates out to the lobby to wait for his grandmother to pick him up.
“Rain! Over here, sweetheart!”
He beamed at his grandma and rushed over to her. “Halmeoni, guess what, guess what?” He nearly shouted.
“Can you tell me calmly?” She asked, playfully stern.
He giggled and nodded.
“Then what is it, darling?” She asked as she took his hand and led him out to her car.
“I’m gonna have a new friend!” He said as he clambered into the backseat and his grandma buckled him in.
“Oh, is there a new person in class?” She asked.
Rain waited for her to get into the driver’s side before he answered. “Nope! We’re gonna write letters.”
“Oh, do you mean a pen pal?”
“Yeah, yeah!”
His grandmother chuckled as they began driving home. She listened as Rain babbled about the other things he’d done during class, smiling and replying when appropriate. When the car pulled up to the house, Rain began to fumble with the seatbelt, eager to tell his parents. He slipped on the slush on the pathway, nearly falling, but he caught himself on the stair railing. He rushed into the house, clumsily kicked his sneakers off, and ran into the kitchen.
“Umma!”
His mom turned from the counter and wiped her hands on her apron.
“Hi sweetie, you’re awfully excited! Did you have a good day?”
He bounced excitedly and swung his backpack onto the floor, unzipping it and pulling out the sheets, handing them to her proudly.
She scanned the pages quickly before she smiled at him. “Oh, this is exciting, isn’t it? You want to have a pen pal?”
“Yeah!” He shouted, jumping.
She laughed softly and set the permission slip on the counter. “Go get washed up for dinner and we’ll talk to appa about it, ok?”
“Ok!” Rain said as he ran from the kitchen, stopping briefly by the door to take his coat off before he ran into a bathroom.
“Are you going to let him do this?”
Rain’s mom sighed. “Umma, why wouldn’t I? He’s excited, when are you going to let me make decisions for him without interfering?”
“I’m not interfering, Su-Jin. How will you be sure that he’s communicating with someone his age?”
“It’s run through the school. They’re going to vet the other teacher in whatever countries they want to get involved before any students connect. Rain will be fine, and he hasn’t been this excited about anything involving school in a while. We’re going to let him try, please don’t let him know you aren’t on board with this, just let him be excited. He’s too young to crush his happiness.”
The older woman shrugged and walked out of the kitchen. Su-Jin looked at the permission slip again and decided to read it more thoroughly.
“Hello parents!
I’ve been working on getting this little project off the ground for months, and I’m happy that the school has allowed it. I want my class to join a pen pal program. Yay! So exciting! I’ve reached out to schools in about a dozen other countries who have agreed to make this program possible. My goal is to help the kids learn about other cultures, other languages, and to make new friends.
The countries I have been in contact with teachers from are:
-USA
-Germany
-Australia
-Thailand
-France
-Brazil
-Sweden
-Chile
-Canada
-Japan
-Greece
I want you to talk to your little ones and decide if this is something you and they want to participate in. I know it’s something to be discussed because I hope that you’d be willing to help your children send letters, and maybe small care packages with traditional snacks or small gifts to their pen pals. The other teachers are sending the same type of permission slips out so that hopefully, your child, should they participate, will also get care packages. If you have financial concerns, do not feel pressured to join, I just wanted to try this out.
Thank you!
Cho Seonsaengnim”
“What are you reading?”
Su-Jin smiled at her husband as he walked in carrying Rain. “Rain’s teacher wants to do a pen pal program. It’s the permission slip for that. He’s very excited.”
“Yeah!” Rain yelled, causing his parents to chuckle.
“Well, I don’t see any harm in signing it. Seems like a good opportunity.”
“It is, so we’ll sign it and he can take it to his teacher on Monday. Tanit, did you get washed up for supper?”
“I did, Rain made sure I followed the rules.” Tanit replied as he set Rain down.
“Good boy!” Su-Jin said, causing Rain to grin.
“Thank you, Umma! Can I watch cartoons?”
“Yes, keep the volume down. Unless harabeoji is watching something, then you can sit with him, ok?”
“ ‘Kay!” Rain said, hurrying into the family room.
“What’s wrong, dear?” Tanit asked.
“She doesn’t think we should sign Rain up for this.”
Tanit scoffed. “I’m sorry. Maybe when she sees Rain having fun and making a new friend, she’ll get on board with it.”
“Honey, we’ve been married for a decade, and she still has something to say about my choice in men when you’ve literally been perfect. It’s a nice thought, but I doubt it.” Su-Jin said as she pulled on oven mitts and pulled a dish from the oven.
Tanit silently picked up a few side dishes and followed his wife to the dinner table.
~~~~~~~
February 24, 2014
Rain skipped into the classroom, happily holding the permission slip. He moved up to the teacher’s desk and proudly presented it to her.
“Cho Seonsaengnim! My umma and appa signed!”
She laughed softly as she took the sheet and looked at the signatures. “I’m so happy, Rain! I already know what country I want to find you a pal in.”
Rain jumped up and down. “Ooh! Where?”
“Where’s your appa from?”
Rain grabbed the edge of her desk and set his chin on the wood, eyes wide and shining. “Thailand?” He whispered.
“That’s right! Now that you have permission, I’ll reach out. Did your parents explain how it will work?”
Rain nodded. “Umma said that you’ll get an address from another teacher and that you’ll tell her and then I have to write a letter.”
“Right again! I know you can speak Thai because your appa teaches you, but can you write in Thai?”
“Yeah! Appa has me sign cards for my Thai halmeoni! She’s yaa in Thai.” Rain exclaimed.
“That’s really good! I hope that I’ll hear back in the next couple days, so don’t lose your excitement.”
“I won’t!”
“Go play with your friends.” She said, watching as Rain ran across the classroom and into the side playroom.
~~~~~~~
~Bangkok, Thailand~
February 24, 2014
“Phayu, would you stay behind for a moment?”
The 10 year old watched his friends and twin leave the classroom before he looked at his teacher. “Am I in trouble, ajarn?”
“No, no, not at all. I just wanted to ask you something.” She answered.
“Oh, alright.” Phayu said.
“I was contacted about a month ago by a teacher in South Korea. She’s doing a pen pal program, would you be interested in being a little boy’s pen pal?”
Phayu shuffled his feet awkwardly. “I’m not sure, can I talk to my parents first?”
“Of course, there’s no pressure! Just let me know tomorrow, his teacher wants to get him started quickly.”
Phayu nodded. “I will.” He waied. “Have a good night, ajarn.”
She smiled. “You too, nong.”
Phayu left the classroom and found his brother standing in the hallway.
“What was that for?”
“She wants me to be a pen pal.”
“Are you gonna do it?”
“I don’t know, Saifah. He’s from Korea, won’t it be hard to talk to each other?”
The other boy hummed. “Maybe, what did you tell ajarn?”
“I want to talk to Mae and Phor first.” Phayu replied.
“Fair enough, let’s go home.”
The twins meandered through the halls and out into the afternoon sun. They walked in comfortable silence to the bus stop. They talked quietly on the bus ride about their homework, and ran up the sidewalk once they were near their house.
“Mae!” Phayu called out to his mother when they found her in the yard watering her flowers.
“Hi boys! How was school?” She asked, shutting the water off.
“Good.” Saifah said.
“Yeah, but I got asked something before I left, I wanted to know if you think I should do it.”
“Oh, well, let’s go sit. What were you asked?” She asked as she led him to the outdoor patio table.
“To write letters to a boy in Korea. Should I do it? I don’t speak Korean, I don’t think he’ll speak Thai. Are we supposed to write in English? My English isn’t very good, and ajarn said ‘little boy’ so I think he might be younger than me.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be terrible to give it a shot, right? You might have fun, and you guys would teach each other about how you live and your cultures. I think try it for a bit, and if it isn’t for you, let your teacher know.”
Phayu nodded. “I’m just afraid we won’t be able to really talk very well, but yeah. Trying it wouldn’t hurt. I’ll tell her tomorrow. I’m gonna go start my homework.”
She patted his hand. “Ok, son. I’ll let you know when to come down for dinner.”
~~~~~~~
The next morning, Phayu walked into the classroom early, finding his teacher writing the first assignment topics on the marker board.
“Ajarn?” He said, knocking on the door frame.
“Good morning, Phayu. Come in.” She replied, setting the marker down.
“I talked to my mom, and she thinks I should try. I’m just worried, I don’t speak Korean.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that! His teacher told me that she tried to pick specific countries for some kids because they have a connection to it. The boy you’ll be communicating with is half Thai and she’s going to encourage him to write in Thai. From what I understand, he’s only visited his family here as an infant, so she wants to help him connect with our culture.”
Phayu nodded. “Oh, then I feel a lot better saying yes. When does it start?”
“When she tells him your address. I’ll email her your mailing address, so it should take a couple weeks to get the first letter. Thank you for agreeing, Phayu.”
~~~~~~~
~Busan, South Korea~
February 25, 2014
Rain walked into his house and bent to take his shoes off when he heard his mom clear her throat. He looked up at her with one shoe still on.
“You have a pen pal!”
He dropped the shoe he was holding and clapped. “Really?”
“Yep, appa will help you write your first letter if you need it, ok?”
“Ok! Who is it?” He asked, voice growing louder with excitement.
“Your teacher said his name is Phayu and he’s a few years older than you, so make sure when you’re writing to him you address him properly. Go tell appa you want to start, he’s watching the news.”
Rain nodded as he kicked his other shoe off and ran into the family room and jumped onto the couch between his father and grandfather. “Appa?” He whispered. “Can we write?”
Tanit laughed. “Of course, Rain, do you want to go to the dining room or my office?”
“Office! Comfy chair!” Rain answered, jumping back off the couch to grab his dad’s hand and pull.
Tanit laughed again as he was hauled away by the little boy. When they reached his office, Rain climbed into the overstuffed desk chair and began swinging his legs while his dad pulled out some paper and a pencil, placing it in front of him.
“Write the date here.” He said pointing to the top right side, watching as Rain very slowly and carefully scribbled. “Good job, son. Now, umma told you he’s older, don’t forget that when you write his name.”
Rain nodded and began to write his very first letter.
“Dear P’Phayu, 25.2.2014
I am very happy that I am having a pen pal. My name is Rain and I am 7 years old, but I’ll be 8 on March 13th. I live in Busan with my yai and dtaa. They’re called halmeoni and harabeoji in Korean. I am an only child. I love blue and purple, cats, playing in the snow, and watching cartoons.
I hope I can visit my family there soon. I haven’t gone to Thailand since I was little, so I don’t remember anything. What kind of stuff do you like? Do you have any brothers or sisters? Do you get to play in the ocean a lot? I hope you’re excited too. Thank you.
Rain”
“Is that ok, appa?” Rain asked after a while of carefully writing.
Tanit leaned over and read the letter. “I think that’s a great first letter. You introduced yourself, but you also asked him to do the same. Let’s go show umma.”
“Appa, is it silly to write another one?”
“What do you mean another one? Do you not like this one?” Tanit asked, confused.
“I mean won’t it take a while to send? What if I forget what I said and then I won’t remember what we’re talking about.”
“Oh, I see. Do you want to make a copy?” Rain nodded. “Why don’t you add on that you’re doing that, it’s a good idea. It can help you both keep track.”
Rain nodded again and began to write once more.
“By the way, I am having appa make a copy so I don’t forget stuff.”
“Like that?” Rain asked.
“Yep, just like that.” Tanit said as he took the letter and scanned it in his printer to print a copy. “Now, let’s go show umma.”
~Bangkok, Thailand~
March 12, 2014
Phayu walked into his bedroom after school and found a pale grey envelope sitting on his bed. He swung his backpack off and set it on the chair at the desk. He picked up the envelope and saw it was from South Korea. He sat on the edge of the bed and opened it.
After reading it, he smiled to himself.
“Why are you smiling?” Saifah said as he walked into Phayu’s room.
Phayu handed him the letter. “He’s very excited.”
Saifah chuckled. “Yeah, you better make sure your response is good.” He handed the letter back.
Phayu moved the backpack and sat at his desk, pulling paper and a pen out and he began writing.
“Hello, Rain 3/12/2014
I’m happy to have a pen pal too! I’m 10 years old and I have a twin brother named Saifah, our birthday is April 22nd. I like blue too. And cats. My brother likes dogs more though, so we have one of each. Do you have pets? My cat’s name is Toffee and my brother named his dog Sir Fluff. He named him when we were 4. I’ve never seen snow in person, but I’d like to. I like cartoons too. My favorite show is Avatar the Last Airbender. What’s yours?
I like to play soccer and basketball. My brother and I like to help our phor fix motorcycles. I like video games too, mostly Minecraft, but I like to play Mario Kart with my brother and phor. We go to the beach pretty often, so yes, I do get to play in the ocean a lot. Do you like living with your grandparents? I love mine, but my bpuu makes really dorky jokes, I don’t know if I could live with them all the time. My teacher said you were half Thai, is your mom or dad Thai?
Phayu”
When Phayu was satisfied, he pulled out a second sheet of paper and wrote a copy, then he opened a drawer and pulled out an envelope and carefully folded his letter and tucked it inside before sealing it. He carefully copied the return address. He went out into the living room and found his dad reading a magazine.
“Phor?”
“Hm?”
“What kind of stamps am I supposed to use to send a letter to a different country?”
His dad looked up. “Just a global stamp for a letter. If you and this kid ever want to send an actual package, there’s more to it because of the cost.”
Phayu nodded. “His name is Rain. But, anyway, do we have those stamps or do we have to get some?”
“I should have a few left, but if you’re going to be writing pretty regularly, we should get more. Let me go check my office.” His dad said, standing from the couch and walking away.
Phayu sat on the couch and waited and after a moment, his father returned with stamps. He peeled one off the sheet and handed it to Phayu. The boy carefully stuck it to the corner of the envelope and then looked up at his dad.
“Will you drop this off at the post office tomorrow morning?”
“Sure thing, son. Hand it to me and I’ll put it with my keys.”
~~~~~~~
~Busan, South Korea~
March 20, 2014
“Rain, guess what?” Su-Jin said in a singsong voice as she walked into Rain’s play room.
He turned from his Lego set and looked up at her. “What, umma?”
She waved an envelope. Rain jumped up and rushed over to her.
“Did I get a letter?”
“You did, sweetheart. Here.”
Rain opened it with clumsy fingers and pulled the letter out. Su-Jin smiled as she watched Rain read the letter slowly. When he finished, he set the letter down.
“He sounds nice.” He declared.
“Does he? What did he say?”
Rain thought for a moment before he handed her the letter. After she read it, she smiled.
“He does sound nice. Do you want to write all by yourself, or wait for appa?”
“Myself! Can I go in his office?” Rain asked.
“He won’t mind, go ahead. Just don’t touch anything you aren’t supposed to.”
Rain nodded and ran upstairs. He grabbed paper and set it on his father’s desk before he climbed into the chair.
“Dear P’Phayu, 20.3.2014
I really like Avatar too! My umma only just let me watch it. I wish I had a brother or sister, I don’t have anyone to play with at home. I also don’t have a pet, my halmeoni won’t let me. Umma says that if we ever live by ourselves that I can have a kitty.
I’m not very good at playing soccer and I haven’t tried basketball. I think I’m too little, no one ever believes that I’m 7. Motorcycles are kind of scary, aren’t they? They’re loud. But that’s neat. Halmeoni won’t let me play video games. I feel bad saying it, but I don’t like living with them. They’re boring, and I don’t think my halmeoni likes me very much.
Snow is really fun, I hope you get to see it someday. My appa is Thai. Did you like my idea to copy in case stuff takes a long time?
Rain”
“Umma!” Rain shouted.
Su-Jin came in, looking worried. “What’s wrong?”
Rain pointed a chubby finger at the printer. “Do you know how to make a copy?”
She chuckled. “Yes, I can do that. Do you have a folder to keep copies in?”
“Oh. No.” Rain pouted. “I didn’t think of that.”
“It’s ok, honey. I’ll take you to pick one out in a few days, ok? We’ll keep the first two letters safe in here until then.” She said as picked up the letter and scanned it.
~~~~~~~
~Bangkok, Thailand~
March 31,2014
“You agreed to do a pen pal thing? That’s weird, Phayu.”
“Shut up, Ming. The kid seems nice and he’s excited. It’s not weird.”
“He’s a stranger, though.” Ming said.
Saifah scoffed. “You were a stranger until we decided to be friends with you.”
“Still, it’s weird. How long are you gonna write to him?”
“I don’t know, at least through the rest of his school year. I don’t know if he’ll stay with the teacher who started it next school year or not. We might keep going after that if we actually end up being friends. I’ve only sent one letter so far.”
Ming just hummed and went back to eating his lunch. Saifah and Phayu exchanged a look before they shrugged at the same time.
After classes were over, Phayu and Saifah made their way home. When they walked up the path, they saw their parents arguing playfully as they unloaded groceries.
“Kit! Careful with the eggs.”
He chuckled and swung the bag like a pendulum in front of him. “Praew, we’ve been married for 14 years, have I ever dropped the eggs?”
“There’s a first time for everything, phor.” Saifah said as they were close enough to be heard.
“Hey!” Kit said. “Don’t jinx me!” He held the bag securely in his hands.
“Phayu, another letter came. It’s on the dining table.” Praew said.
“Thanks, mae!” Phayu said as he jogged into the house.
There was indeed a new letter in the pile of mail and he grabbed it, heading to his room to read it. He plopped down into his desk chair and opened it. As he read, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of sadness.
He left the letter sitting on his desk and went out to the kitchen where his parents were busy putting food away.
“Mae? How would I cheer up someone I don’t know?”
She turned and gave him a confused look. “What do you mean?”
“Rain. He thinks his yai doesn’t like him. The way he wrote it, it sounds like he knows it.”
“Oh, that’s not good. I don’t know honey, write what you think feels right. You could ask him to explain why he thinks that if he’s comfortable with it. Did he at least say why he thinks she dislikes him?” Praew said.
“No, so I don’t want to guess. I guess I’ll go back and figure out what to write.”
He walked slowly back into his bedroom. He sat and read Rain’s letter again. He pulled out his notebook and pen and began to write.
“Dear Rain, 31/3/2014
I do like the idea of making copies, it’s smart. But I’m sorry you think your yai doesn’t like you. Why do you think so? (If that’s ok, you don’t have to tell me.) I hope you get to play video games eventually, they’re fun. I don’t know what else to say about your yai right now. Sorry…
Aside from that, who do you like on Avatar? I like Toph, she’s funny and cool. I also hope you get to have a kitty soon, pets are nice to have. And it’s ok if you aren’t good at sports, as long as it’s fun, that’s what matters! I’m not good at soccer either, but I play because my brother is good, and we have fun.
Motorcycles can be very loud, but they’re so cool! There’s so many little parts that have to work to make them run, it’s really fun learning about fixing them. My phor had a client that had a whole jungle design painted on his. Bikes are only scary if the person who owns it is scary. Most of them are cool.
I really want to help with why you think your yai doesn’t like you, so I hope you’d be ok telling me. I hope this gets to you soon.
Phayu”
He quickly copied his letter and then tucked the first safely in a new envelope. He jogged out of his room and went to his dad’s office. When he saw the man sitting, he knocked on the doorframe.
Kit turned the chair to face his eldest. “You figure out what to write?”
Phayu nodded. “Sort of. Can we take this to the post office now? I don’t know why, but it feels important. I think he’s lonely.”
Kit smiled. “Sure thing. We’ll go and pay for quicker shipping. Will that make you feel a bit better.”
“I think so. Thank you, phor.”
~~~~~~~
~Busan, South Korea~
April 2, 2014
Su-Jin was walking from the mailbox, carefully shuffling through the post when she saw a new letter had already arrived for Rain. She looked up at her car and saw Rain leaning over the center console talking to his father excitedly. She climbed into the car and held the letter up.
“Woah! Already? That was fast!” He exclaimed as he snatched the envelope.
“See that special stamp? It means Phayu wanted it to get to you faster.” Tanit explained to the small boy.
“Ooh. I wonder why.”
Su-Jin chuckled. “Well, read it and find out.”
“Ok!” Rain shouted and ripped the flap of the envelope open.
They drove silently while Rain read until he spoke.
“I think I made him sad. Or worried maybe.”
“How come?” Tanit asked.
Rain quirked his lips and looked out the window. “I don’t wanna make you mad.”
Su-Jin turned to face the backseat. “We won’t be mad, sweetheart. We promise.”
“We do.” Tanit agreed.
“I told him that halmeoni doesn’t like me…” Rain whispered, still scared they would get mad.
“Oh, Rain. She loves you, she’s just…old fashioned. She’s not very affectionate to me either.” Su-Jin said, hating the look on Rain’s face.
“It doesn’t feel like it sometimes…I’m sorry, umma.” He said, tears springing to his eyes.
“You don’t have to be sorry, sweetie, you never have to apologize for your feelings. Do you want to tell us why it doesn’t feel like she loves you? Or do you just want to tell Phayu about it?”
“Am I allowed to say him?” Rain asked quietly, rubbing his hand across his cheek.
“Of course. If you already kind of told him, that’s ok. Just know you can tell me or appa how you feel anytime, we’ll never get mad at you.”
Rain nodded and clutched the letter to his chest.
When they got home, Rain disappeared into his dad’s office to write.
“Hi, P’Phayu, 2.4.2014
I can tell you. She’s mean when we’re at home. She’s mean to appa. Umma seems tired, and I think it’s because we live here, but we can’t leave, halmeoni doesn’t want us to. She always tells umma what to do with me. And I think when she’s mean to appa, it’s because he’s not Korean. Umma is happy and loves him a lot. Halmeoni doesn’t care. It makes me mad. Appa tries really hard to make everyone happy. Except himself. That makes me sad. And lonely.
Ok, no more sad. I like Sokka, he’s really silly. Toph is cool too. Sports aren’t really fun, mostly because I get picked last since I run slow. I like watching soccer though.
I guess I’ll believe you, but I still might be a little scared of motorcycles. But I’m glad you like the copy idea!
Thank you again for agreeing to write to me. I get very happy when I get a new letter.
Rain”
Rain doodled a small smiling rainbow beside his name before he padded out to the kitchen looking for his dad.
“Hi, honey.”
“Hi, halmeoni.” Rain said quietly, clutching the letter he’d written tighter. “Where’s appa?”
“He’s helping harabeoji take the garbage out. Why?” She asked.
“Nothing.” Rain answered before he ran back into the office.
“Umma, what was that about?” Su-Jin asked as she walked into the kitchen.
“He was holding a piece of paper and wanted help with something.”
“Oh, I know what he wanted. He makes copies of the letters so he doesn’t forget what they’re talking about. I’ll go help him.”
Su-Jin walked upstairs into her husband’s office, she found Rain standing in front of the printer scowling at it. She laughed softly.
“What are you up to?”
“I put the paper where it’s supposed to go. How come it isn’t making a new one?” Rain said, stomping his foot.
Su-Jin pulled a stool over and helped Rain climb onto it. “See this button?” He nodded, so she continued. “You have to push that one, then this big green one.” She pushed the buttons and the scanner began copying and printing the letter.
“Oh, ok. I can remember that. Thanks, umma.” Rain said.
After a moment, Su-Jin handed him the letter and its copy and watched him stick his tongue out as he carefully folded the letter and sealed it into an envelope. He wrote Phayu’s address and opened a drawer before scowling.
“Umma, I think the stamps are gone.” He said, frowning.
“Well, it’s early enough, why don’t we take a little trip to the post office to send it and buy more, ok?”
Rain nodded and padded over to her, letter clutched in his hand and followed her out of the house.