To everyone else, I was always the model student. The child who listened to her parents, never missed church, and studied diligently. I knew better than anyone what adults wanted to see, and I never failed to meet those expectations. But in our family, there was one person who broke away from all of that.

My aunt, Kwon Sunyeol.

The sole rebel in a stiflingly devout Christian household.

Was it because she loved women? Or was she just born that way? Eventually, my aunt cut ties with the family. Well, not with me. She was the one who adored me most since I was little, and she was the one I followed most closely. Even when the family refused to utter her name, we stayed in touch. Sometimes we'd meet for a meal for no reason at all and talk until dawn.

My aunt and I shared a single secret.

Yes, that was all.

But strangely, that one secret was enough. Because I believed she was the only person in the world who could truly understand me.

I've liked my aunt for a long time.

To be precise, I liked the freedom she possessed.

I wanted to hold that freedom in my own hands one day. So, I met women behind my parents' backs. Every time, they would tell me: you look like you're about to vanish at any moment.

They might have been right. In a corner of my heart, there was always my aunt, the personification of freedom. It was only after several relationships that I realized—it wasn't that I didn't love them. I certainly liked them. I felt comfortable with them, and I liked the way they looked at me.

But it was strange.

Even while holding their hands, even while listening to their voices, I kept thinking of someone else.

The person who would leave for anywhere with just a camera. The person who never counted how much was left in her bank account. The person who lived her life without asking for anyone's permission.

Kwon Sunyeol.

I wasn't looking for a woman. I was looking for a way to get closer to my aunt.

It wasn't the existence of a woman that I liked. What I believed I loved was freedom,

And that freedom always wore the face of one person.

Kwon Sunyeol, it was you.

The aunt I knew was someone who never stayed in one place. Moving from city to city with a camera in hand. Someone who didn't feel anxious even when she didn't have much.

I was the exact opposite. I clung desperately to scholarships, time, and my bank balance. People called me cold-blooded. They asked why I lived like that.

I couldn't answer. I simply believed that only by becoming an adult would I earn the right to stand beside her.

Sometimes I was scared. The thought that the things I was building up might be heading in a completely different direction from the life she wanted.

I had to keep telling myself that the age gap didn't matter.