Tragedy struck when the young couple's plans to marry were shattered by the recent disaster involving Jeju Air, leaving their families in grief.

Just moments before the crash, the excited groom-to-be was holding his bride-to-be tightly, beaming with anticipation of their wedding in March.

Five days after the disaster, the international airport in Muan became an outplaced of mourning, with families of the victims collecting their belongings on Jan 2. One of them, Mr A, who spoke to Biz Herald about a nephew who died in the crash. His eyes and tears swelled, "Only teeth remained of my nephew." Just two months into their new apartment, Mr. A's nephew and his bride had gone to Bangkok for Christmas and had not come back.

Mr. A's elder sister, who is also the groom's mother, has been devastated. He continued: "She cried for five days solid, her tears dried up."

The bride's body remained intact due to her fiancé's protective embrace during the accident, while her future husband left behind only fragments.

While many families queued at the airport to pick up personal belongings such as cell phones and passports, many said they wanted a proper goodbye. "I want to hold a complete funeral," Mr. A said, adding that he wants to delay it until more remains can be collected so he can pay respects to both his nephew and his bride.

Around 200 items belonging to confirmed victims were collected to return to victims' families, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. As of 5 pm January 2, 30 victims were identified and returned. One of the mourners was B, who lost a cousin in the tragedy. B said, "We were going to be celebrating his 39th wedding anniversary. Now he is gone."

Their grief was tangible as family members slowly dealt with the remains and possessions. Some lugged dirt-smeared carriers of the last voyage of their loved one; others exchanged tears around boxes that once held joy.

At Muan Airport, where the bodies had arrived, the political figures - National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung - visited to express condolences but did not respond to reporters' questions about supporting the grieving families.

The community is shaken and grieving from the tragedy, where memories of love and promises are now entwined with heartbreak and loss. Slivers of remnants of what was — that empty space, where the tight squeeze now lives as both love and mourning.