In Another Realm (AU)

16

Lia asked, "How are you feeling now?" with concern. She had called Yeji to get in touch.

Yeji managed to chat to Lia on the phone as she mumbled, "Didn't feel any better," as she lay on her back on her bed.

"Do you want me to stop by the shop?" Lia asked.

Yeji murmured, "I'm not going to the shop today. It's been closed since it's Christmas holiday."

Lia murmured, "So you're going to shut yourself in your room."

Yeji murmured, "That's most likely going to happen."

"What happened to our plan of going out together? I thought you're going to spare me some time to enjoy the holiday with me too," Lia whined. "The house is so lonely, no one is here, and all I wanted was for you to come along. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, but we haven't spent nearly enough time together."

"I'm truly sorry Lia. I can make it up to you if you want but, you know I wasn't the one who promised you a thing right?" Yeji said as she glanced up at the ceiling, her mind drifting back to Ryujin, as they always had.

Lia grumbled, "Right, I already promised her I'll be the one planning for us this holiday because she said she hadn't made any arrangements for us." Yeji raised an eyebrow at the information and wondered immediately how Lia knew Ryujin had said those things.

"Oh, yes, I haven't brought it up to you," said Lia. "I know you were concerned about her absence because she didn't mention she would be going away, but she seems great now. I encountered Ryujin by coincidence the day before yesterday and had a chat with her. You don't need to worry about Ryujin any more. She seems alright."

Yeji murmured, "Oh, I see."

Was it a real fact? Is Ryujin really fine now that she claims she's fine? Had she worked through the troubles that had been bothering her these past few days? When Lia says Ryujin is fine, what does she mean? The only thing Yeji hoped for Ryujin was to be completely well and to have solved the issue Yeji had been wondering about up to this point.

Once more, Lia's voice came through the speaker and said, "Hey, can I tell you something?," drawing Yeji's attention and causing her to hum in response to Lia's words.

"When I met her that day, something wasn't right," Lia said. "Ryujin brought me to this sort of spot, it's on a hill, a place where we could see the view of the city. I've never been there, and out of all of her friends, Ryujin merely came up with the idea of showing me that place."

Yeji was attempting to understand what Lia was talking about when she said, "A hill."

She had never been to a place like the one Lia had described, and she had never been taken by Ryujin to a spot that only Ryujin knew, so Yeji was a little perplexed as to what kind of location she would be taking Lia to among all her friends.

Yeji had an idea in her head even before she had a chance to speak to her friend. Now, she understood to which spot Lia would have been referring and what might have caused Ryujin to take only Lia along with the rest of her friends to the destination she had chosen.

That hill. Of course, when Ryujin spoke to Yeji previously about the lunar eclipse event, she told her about that hill.

So, much like the last recollection Ryujin had of Lia from the Dal reality before she transitioned to the other dimension, Ryujin had taken Lia to the same location, to that location, to that hill. It happened in a different dimension this time.

"She mentioned that the place meant something to her, but that wasn't the point here." Lia said, "I just knew something was up that time. I believe I now understand the reason why Ryujin disappeared for a while and wasn't able to get in touch us."