Grandma’s Worn-Out Hwatu — A Strip of Tape on the Rain Card

“Grandma, what’s this old thing?” Ten-year-old Haeun had pulled a faded cloth pouch out of the bottom drawer of the wardrobe. Inside was a set of Hwatu (Korean flower cards) with their corners worn round.

Pine

Paulownia

Rain

1. A Treasure in the Wardrobe

Grandma was silent for a moment. She adjusted her glasses, took the pouch in both hands and set it on her lap.

Grandma: “This, you see, was the first present your grandpa ever gave me. He bought it at the market, and it came wrapped up in newspaper, with no wrapping paper at all.”

Haeun: “Huh, a Hwatu set as a present? Not flowers or a ring?”

Grandma: “That’s just what I thought. I said, ‘Goodness, what is this?’ and your grandpa turned red in the face and said, ‘Everyone who comes to visit our house gets bored, so I thought it would be nice to have something to play together…’”

Haeun burst out laughing. But Grandma’s laughter soon grew quiet. Her fingers were slowly stroking the corner of a card.

2. They Say the First Game Was a Mess

Haeun: “So did you play together?”

Grandma: “Of course. I didn’t know a single rule. It was my first time since I’d married into the family. Your grandpa would teach me, ‘This is a bird, this is a ribbon,’ but I was so slow to understand—do you know what he said?”

Haeun: “What did he say?”

Grandma: “‘It’s all right, take your time. Losing doesn’t mean you lose. Sitting together is what winning is.’”

As she said it, the corners of Grandma’s eyes turned a little red. Haeun felt a strange feeling and quietly moved closer to Grandma’s side.

Grandma: “After that, every evening, once the dinner table was cleared, I laid out these cards. Before your dad was born, and when your dad was learning to toddle. I’d sit the sleepy baby on my lap and teach him the names of the pictures—one Rain, one Paulownia, like that.”

Chrysanthemum Blue Ribbon

Maple Blue Ribbon

Peony Blue Ribbon

3. One Card Stands Out

Haeun spread the cards out one by one and tilted her head. Strangely, one of them looked noticeably different. Only the December Rain card had tape on its edge.

Haeun: “Grandma, why does this Rain card have tape on it?”

Grandma: “Oh, that one? When your dad was three years old, he chewed on it and it tore in half. Your grandpa stayed up all night taping it back together and said, ‘This is our family treasure.’ We’ve never thrown it away since.”

Haeun: “Dad chewed on it? Ha ha ha!”

Grandma: “That’s why, even now, your dad turns red whenever he sees the Rain card.”

Grandma was smiling, but her voice grew thinner and thinner. Haeun held Grandma’s hand tightly.

4. Why Grandma Cried

After a long silence, Grandma went on in a very small voice.

Grandma: “After your grandpa went to heaven last winter, I couldn’t bring myself to open this pouch. I thought it would smell of his hands. But today, because you took it out, strangely I’m not afraid.”

Haeun: “Grandma… let’s play just one round together. I’ll sit in Grandpa’s seat. I don’t know any of the rules. Please teach me slowly.”

A tear dropped from Grandma’s eye. And at the same time she smiled brightly. It was the moment when Grandma, who had spent her whole life only teaching, became a ‘teacher’ for the very first time.

Grandma: “All right. First, what month do you think this picture is? There’s a crane on a pine tree, and a red sun is up, isn’t there?”

Haeun: “Hmm… January! Because it’s the new year, so the sun is rising!”

Grandma: “My, our Haeun is smart. That’s right. It’s January. Cranes and pine trees both live a long time, so people say the picture carries a wish for you to stay healthy for a long, long time.”

5. The Last Card

That night, the two of them spread a blanket over the dining table and handled the cards for more than an hour. Winning and losing didn’t matter. Haeun memorized the names one by one, and Grandma brought out an old story for each one. When sleepiness washed over them, Haeun picked up the last card.

Haeun: “Grandma, what’s this Paulownia? There’s something on it that looks like a rooster’s head.”

Grandma: “That’s called a phoenix. It’s a precious bird from the imagination. Your grandpa once said, ‘That bird only comes flying when something good happens. So it must have already flown to our house.’”

Haeun: “Why?”

Grandma: “‘Because living with you is the good thing.’”

The room grew quiet. Outside the window, the first snow had begun to fall. Haeun leaned her head on Grandma’s shoulder, and Grandma tucked the cards one by one, gently, into the cloth pouch. The tape marks on the Rain card glittered in the moonlight.

The next morning, before going to school, Haeun quietly lifted the pouch and whispered, “Grandpa, starting today I’ll learn Hwatu with Grandma. Don’t worry.” Haeun never knew, to the very end, that Grandma stood at the door watching her with a warm smile.