Almost Home
Almost Home is a tender, slow-burning story about youth, loss, and the fragile places we belong to before the world asks us to leave them behind.
Set against a neighborhood on the brink of disappearance, the novel follows three young people whose lives quietly intertwine as they navigate school corridors, family pressures, unspoken dreams, and the weight of becoming someone before they’re ready. Ha-Yoon carries the noise of responsibility too early, learning how to be strong long before she learns how to rest. Seon-Woo moves through life with careful silence, shaped by hardship and a loyalty that often costs him more than it gives. Hae-Min runs toward the future with talent and momentum, unaware that some distances can’t be outrun.
Their bond forms not through grand declarations, but in ordinary moments: late-night walks, shared meals, rain-soaked laughter, and the quiet understanding that comes from surviving the same place together. As time moves forward, choices fracture paths, circumstances test loyalty, and the meaning of “home” begins to change. Love appears in unexpected forms, sometimes too late, sometimes too soon, sometimes quietly, without permission.
Years later, when the past resurfaces in unfamiliar ways, the characters are forced to confront what they’ve lost, what they’ve become, and whether some connections ever truly fade. Almost Home is a reflective, emotionally grounded novel about growing up, growing apart, and the lingering pull of the people and places that once held us together, even after we think we’ve moved on.
