Mark (Tustin, California)

Whenever my cousins visit from Korea, our living room becomes a battleground. “Muk-jji-ppa!” we yell, fingers poised for the next round of the rock-paper-scissors spinoff. When we tire of that, it’s time for Jegichagi, where we kick a shuttlecock made of feathers. My younger cousin always cheats, claiming he “accidentally” dropped it. Afterward, we sit on the carpet, eating honey butter chips and sharing stories from two sides of the Pacific. These games feel like a bridge–between here and there, between the old and new.