Rising Stars

XXI - A Chance

"One never truly forgets to do what they love."

- Luxanna Crownguard

January 2nd, 2021

A record deal. A record deal... That thought was on repeat the entire drive back from The Grand Vastaya to my house. I needed to land one this year. Within the first two months of 2021.

I had to do it.

I parked Eunkyung's car in the garage, and, as I locked the car, I stared at it.

Learning to drive with amaxophobia was a strange feeling. The first day was spent doing nothing but getting comfortable actually sitting in the driver's seat, having my hands on the wheel and my foot on the gas. Getting over the initial rush of fear and anxiety was the hardest part, in all honesty. With a little encouragement and help from Lux, I managed to break through that barrier.

"You can do it," Lux encouraged as she sat in the passenger seat, her thumb up and her smile wide.

"You know, technically this isn't even legal."

She rolled her eyes. "You're twenty-two, Jae. The fact that you still don't know how to drive shouldn't be legal. But you're a special case, so we let it slide.."

I smirked. "Not gonna deny that, but... y'know. Trauma."

Lux nodded. "Like I said: special case."

Then, we started to drive.

Now driving itself?

That was fun.

I picked up on it rather quickly.

According to Lux, I "drove like it was a game." Though, I wasn't sure if that was a bad thing or a good thing. And Lux didn't seem too keen on giving me an answer either. Nevertheless, after a few days' practice driving alongside Lux, she told me that she believed I was ready to drive alone.

Much to my own surprise, I found myself agreeing with her. There were some days where I actually wanted to drive alone instead of with Lux.

And tonight was the first time that I'd driven alone.

A success, especially because I made it home safely.

Mom and Dad. Thanks for watching over me.

Sitting on the couch of the living room, her laptop resting on her lap, a textbook along with a highlighter beside her, Eunkyung glanced up at me as I walked through the front door still dressed in uniform from The Grand Vastaya. "Welcome home," she said.

"Hey," I replied, walking over to the table and hanging my coat on the back of a nearby chair. While I was there, I dropped Eunkyung's keys beside the black smiley-mug she set on the coffee table. "Did you make dinner?" I asked as I moved towards the refrigerator.

"Yeah. It's in the fridge."

"Thanks." I popped open the fridge door. I spotted the container of food that Eunkyung prepared, then I noticed that it was still completely filled. "Did you eat?"

"Nope," she replied, popping the 'p.'

"Noona." I sighed. "You need to eat."

Promptly, Eunkyung picked up her laptop and moved it to the table. "I wanted to wait for you."

"I appreciate the sentiment," I said. "But I don't want you to starve yourself while waiting for me to get back from a closing shift."

"It's a good thing you're lowering your hours then, isn't it?"