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Epilogue

As Deok Sun pushed the food tray down the aisle, she glanced out the window and smiled at the sight of the clouds outside. She quickly checked her watch and her smile widened.

"My dear?" Deok Sun was startled out of her reverie by the elderly woman sitting on the aisle seat. 

"Yes ma'am, what is it?" she asked, leaning forward to the elderly woman with a smile. 

"I've noticed you staring out of the window to look at the sky quite often," the elderly woman said, and Deok Sun smiled.

"Ah, I was just thinking of my husband," she replied, "He's in the Air Force and he must be in the sky right now too, teaching new cadets how to fly."

The elderly woman clapped her hands together with a delighted smile. "How lovely that both of you have made a career out of flying! It must be nice to share the sky together."

Deok Sun smiled at those words, as she remembered what she had told Jung Hwan so many years ago in his bedroom. "If you're going to be a fighter jet pilot, then I'm going to be a flight attendant so that I can share the sky with you."

She soon stowed away the food tray and sat down to prepare for landing. She adjusted her scarf which bore the colors of the Air Force, and looked at her wedding ring. They weren't allowed to wear too much jewelry, so Jung Hwan's commemorative ring from the Air Force was safe in her bureau at home. Instead, Deok Sun wore only her wedding ring and a pair of simple pearl earrings that Jung Hwan had given her for their anniversary.

The landing was smooth, and soon Deok Sun was back on dry land. It was a good thing their flight landed in Sacheon today because it meant she could easily meet up with Jung Hwan at the Air Force base.

As she entered the premises, she gave Jung Hwan's name to the officer on duty, then sat down to wait. After a while, Jung Hwan emerged, and Deok Sun smiled as she saw younger cadets snapping to salute her husband. "Let's go home?" he said after kissing the top of her head, and he grabbed her bag. She linked her hand through his arm and they walked to their car.

It was an easy drive from Sacheon to their apartment in the nearby city of Jinju. "Home sweet home," Deok Sun sighed happily as they let themselves in. Just as they always did when they arrived home together, Deok Sun put their clothes in the wash and prepared their things for the next day. Jung Hwan busied himself in the kitchen to cook their dinner.

"Mmm this smells good," Deok Sun said as they sat down to eat. 

"Jung Bong wants us to try out his new ramen recipe before he does it on-air for his show," Jung Hwan said as he brought a spoonful to his mouth, "We need to give him feedback."

They spent the rest of the meal talking about everything and nothing, then they cleared the table and did the dishes together.

After, they stood in front of the whiteboard that hung prominently in their living room. Each with a marker in hand, Deok Sun and Jung Hwan began to plot their schedules for the week. 

"Hey, don't forget to arrange for a rental car here," Jung Hwan tapped on a date, "I'll be in Gimhae then so I won't be able to drive you." 

Deok Sun nodded, "Oh right." She wrote down the reminder and said, "Oh, since you'll be in Gimhae, you should see if Dong-Ryo will be there too. He's been going to Gimhae often to supervise the work on his restaurant's new branch."

They finished coordinating their flights and schedules, then finally put down the markers and made their way to the couch. Jung Hwan turned on the TV as Deok Sun lay down and rested her head on his lap. "Taek won again? How many championships is that now?" Deok Sun said, and Jung Hwan shook his head, "I've stopped counting ever since we were in high school! Taek just wins all the time!" They laughed at that, then looked at the TV with interest as the news turned to Taek's love life.

"Isn't he dating a model?" Deok Sun asked curiously, and Jung Hwan shook his head. "No, he's dating that actress." Their eyes met and Deok Sun sat up.

"Model," she declared.

"Actress," Jung Hwan shot back.

They narrowed their eyes at each other, then Deok Sun grabbed her phone.

She dialed a number quickly and put it on speakerphone so both she and Jung Hwan could hear.

"Hello, dear sister-in-law," came Sun Woo's voice on the other line.

"Hey Sun Woo, isn't Taek dating an actress?" Jung Hwan said, looking at Deok Sun with an eyebrow raised.

She narrowed her eyes at him as Sun Woo said, "No, I think it's a model this time."

Jung Hwan covered his eyes as Deok Sun began to dance around in victory, but all of a sudden they heard Bora say, "No, he's done with the model, it's an actress now."

Deok Sun groaned, "There must be a way to settle this!"

Bora said, "Hang on, I know what to do."

They all listened in as they heard Bora say, "Hello Jinju? Is Taek dating a model or an actress? ... What?! He's dating BOTH?! At the same time?? How do you-- oh you know, never mind. Thanks Jinju, bye!"

"That's enough excitement for the night," Sun Woo said, "We'll see you at Gimhae soon? At Dong-Ryo's new branch?"

"Yes, we'll see you then!" Deok Sun and Jung Hwan both said their goodbyes before they hung up.

Deok Sun looked at Jung Hwan with a big smile on her face, and he reached out to ruffle her hair affectionately. "Why is my wife so happy?" he asked with a smile.

"I'm just happy that we're all still friends, that we've stayed in touch through the years," she said. "We may all be out of the old neighborhood now, but we still have each other."

Jung Hwan nodded thoughtfully, "Would you believe we've all known each other since we were five years old? That's almost 30 years of friendship."

He smiled softly at her and cupped her cheek with his palm. "And the best thing to come out of those 30 years together is this," he said, looking at her lovingly, "I love you, Deok Sun."

She smiled back at him, her heart filled with love for this man she had loved since she was a teenager. "I love you too, Jung Hwan."

He leaned forward to give her a kiss, and Deok Sun's heart leapt as she thought of how she and Jung Hwan would continue to share the sky and the rest of their lives together forever.