The Light of Dead Stars | KSJ

66 - FINAL

The rest of your trip is as amazing as you expected.

You sleep in the day after your wedding but spend the afternoon lounging at the beach and then the pool.

Jin's grandparents call and say that something will be waiting for both of you when you get back in Seoul, and there's less of the guilty feeling this time. Because of the short notice trip, they couldn't make it, as they're currently in some pilgrimage. They did eventually get wind of the whole fiasco, but Taehyung and Sejeong were so good at making it seem like it wasn't a big deal. You're glad that whole thing is over, and while you and Jin gave up on ever truly getting justice on your and even Seri's behalf, you at least know you're stronger than anything that comes your way.

You take a day trip after that, to the northern Basque Country and visit a few coastal towns. They're all quaint but beautiful and less crowded, so full of history and lively sceneries that your parents appreciate greatly. It's also everyone else's last day, so Jin's parents treat all of you to a lovely dinner overlooking the sea, and it's one of those moments that make you feel so thankful that you get to live this life.

The days after they all leave, you and Jin take cooking classes and do food tours, then you visit Bilbao and go to the Guggenheim Museum of modern and contemporary art.

"It's a must-see," Jin says on the day you visit. "It looks too stunning not to explore. Is that okay?"

Somehow his question means more but you don't say much. You've come to know art because of Namjoon, but you appreciate it for its existence as art - it's beautiful by nature, even if you don't always understand it.

You don't think you've been to an art museum without Namjoon since, well, since he went away. It was that bitter and immature part of you that was jealous because he left you for it, and somehow being here reminds you of all those emotions that you kept in for years because they didn't seem fair, nor rational; they just hurt.

Jin lets you take the lead, and you really just go around and towards things that catch your eye. You soak in what you see, and if before you wanted so badly to understand them so you could see it in Namjoon's eyes, now you're just... seeing, and appreciating it for what you see. Perhaps that's how it is when you've truly let go of something, you think. A part of them stays with you, but not big or deep enough to taint your vision.

"This was nice," you say on the ride back to San Sebastián. "I appreciate you taking me there. Did anything catch your eye?"

You. Always you.

"The colored cherries," he replies, cracking you up because it's the same thing you thought.

"I believe they were tulips, Jin," you say, taking his hand. "But they were pretty. There's more of the pretty things I'm only really appreciating now."

He hums and pulls you close. He knows nothing else needs to be said.

On your last day, you go crazy with shopping that you have to buy a separate luggage just for all the wine, cheese, cider, anchovies, and other local ingredients that you're able to pack and bring home. Everyday since you've been here, you find a new restaurant or eatery to fall in love with and you wish you have more time to just soak up the city and enjoy the cuisine a little bit more, but you guess that's what all the shopping was for - to bring San Sebastián home with you.

Still, your time here feels enough. You were able to spend time with your friends and family, and be with your husband without the demands of work keeping you both busy - he made sure of that. You're reminded of how much you love food, and that it's a privilege that you're able to share that love with the man you love.