The Eighth Letter From Her

May 29, 1995

Dear Nayeon,

Gosh, your name is just as lovely as I imagined it to be. Is that weird to say? I hope it isn’t. I’m just… surprised, is all. In a good way, of course! At least in a way, we’re finally getting to know each other more and you won’t have to call me D and I won’t have to call you N.

We’re friends now and I’m really happy about that.

I’m really sorry that happened to you. You didn’t deserve that. Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it? You’re free to spill out all your feelings to me and I’ll be happy to listen to you. Or read whatever you have to say. At least I won’t be there to interrupt you. This is a safe space.

I’m a safe person to talk to.

I haven’t gotten around to buying a cellphone, actually. But my boss said I might need one since beepers aren’t a thing anymore and that’s the only thing I have. My friends from home made a long-distance call on my birthday just to greet me.

Which was yesterday actually. I’m not sure how much they paid but I’m sure it did take a chunk of money from their wallets to do so, it was nice. But I got to spend the day with my friend Tzuyu, she lives here, and her entire family invited me over to their house to have dinner. It was great, the food was great. Her mom made braised beef and stinky tofu. Was my first time trying it too. And yeah, it really was stinky, but it tasted great! I wish I could send some to you so you can try it out. I don’t think they have that in Korea. If only they did. Taiwanese food is amazing.

Her mom also did the effort of making kimchi stew for me and it made me miss my mom and of home.

During the day, I just went to work. My workmates surprised me with a small cake, but that was pretty much it.

Honestly, nothing much has happened to me. Just the same thing, wake up, breakfast and then go to work and then I get home and make myself dinner. I can’t exactly make anything that’s from home since they don’t have the ingredients that we have. But I try to make do. It’s nice and fun to try new things.

Asides from the bad thing with your ex, what have you been up to?

When is your birthday?

I hope you take care as well.

Sincerely,
Dahyun

Dahyun was writing down the details of Nayeon’s previous letter down at the back of the envelope. It made her happy. The fact that Nayeon willingly gave these details to her. It was like Nayeon was introducing herself to Dahyun, but in writing.
But she didn’t mind. Nayeon called her a friend and that was more than enough.

She carefully placed the stamp on the corner of the envelope, it was light blue with a beautiful drawing of two rabbits standing behind tall flowers. Dahyun thought it was perfect; she hoped that Nayeon would have noticed it.

Sometimes Dahyun would take off the stamps that Nayeon had used and kept it in a notebook, just for safekeeping. Nayeon may have thought too little about stamps but there were occasions that some of the ones she had been using looked really pretty and Dahyun thought it would have been a waste if they were just there on the envelope.

Granted that she had always kept Nayeon’s letters safely in a box inside her bedroom, but she decided to have something special for these stamps.

She wondered if Nayeon was going to do the same for the one she would be sending.

“Im Nayeon,” Dahyun said quietly as she looked at her writing on the envelope. She smiled to herself, tracing the name gently with her thumb. “She has a pretty name.”