Under the Blanket

The midday sun blazed through the tinted windows of the family SUV, casting long shadows across the cramped interior. The air was thick with the hum of the engine, the faint drone of the radio playing some old trot song, and the occasional chatter from the front seats. Father was driving, his eyes fixed on the endless highway stretching through the Korean countryside. Mother sat beside him, occasionally turning to hand snacks back to the younger ones. In the middle row, the two youngest siblings—a sister of sixteen and a brother of twelve—were absorbed in their phones, earphones plugged in, oblivious to the world around them.