OPIA • N.Jaemin

Prologue

The night was a dawning thing,more so with a child in her arms and an uncertainty to how long she will live to hold it.

But Na Seori was a strong if not versatile woman, and despite seeing her husband's body lay cold in front of her only moments ago, she knew she had one thing to do before death came to her as well.

Yes,the night was a dawning thing, but the fierce determination of a living thing held more reckless plights than anything that lurked in the shadows.

Seori gripped her child tight in her arms as she raked down the steel knocker attached to a poorly painted wooden door. The rain beated viciously against the coat she wore but as she called for her child's name to calm him down,her voice was soft and gentle, almost as if she was singing him a tune.

"Jaemin-ssi,Jaemin-ssi...", She cooed,arms bouncing him carefully. She sent him a tender smile before her gaze went back to her surroundings; Searching the dimly lit neighbourhood for any signs of danger. When she saw that they were safe still, she raked down the knocker once more.

The infant in her arms began crying again.

"Ah,Nana",she called,bringing him closer to her chest, praying her rapid heartbeat would tell her one and only son how sorry she was to bring him out into the rainy, cold, night like this. Her eyes closed briefly in distraught, petite figure shaking under the merciless circumstances.

"Hush,my egg roll,my small,sweet,darling...", her voice wavered then,eyes furiously blinking away at the tears that seemed to pour out without her permission. Jaemin,merely a month old, let out a choked cry,his pale hands fidgeting around the blanket that held him. At the sight of his small fingers reaching up to her in a flailing motion, Seori smiled. It wasn't a pretty smile, her eyes were red and her nose and cheeks were too, and her face was wet with more than just the damned tears, but it was filled with a longing hope that perhaps if she stayed here a little longer,her son would be alive for tomorrow's light.

"Are you trying to wipe away eomma's tears?"

Seori laughed,airy and broken, and then she lifted the bundle of warmth a bit so she could place a lingering kiss on his forehead, before she took in a sharp breath and took the knocker in her hands, only before she could raked on it, the door clicked, and finally it opened,revealing an elderly looking woman in her white sleeping gown.

It felt like the world had kissed her on the lips then, and one look was all the woman needed for her to grab Seori by her shoulders and pulled her into a hug.

"Na Seori,my girl. What happened to you?" The soothing way her name came out from the woman made it hard for her to keep standing, but Seori pushed away all thoughts of comfort and life away as she felt Jaemin rustle in her arms, and without even answering the woman's question, she looked her straight in the eyes and handed her Jaemin.

Despite the shock, she took him gracefully and he began crying almost immediately.

"You will take him." Seori said, hushed but hasty as she wiped her wet hands on her clothes and turned towards the door.
Jaemin shrieked as if sensing the inevitable and the elderly woman could only assume the worst seeing how she knew what Seori was. What she spent her whole life doing.
But this was too much. Everything was happening too quickly.

She followed after Seori,her hand gripping her wrist.

"My girl,what is this? Where are you goi—"

"Ahjumma,please." There it was again. Her voice shaky and pathetic. Helpless. She was going to die tonight. She felt it in her bones.

"But Jaemin will live." She told herself,willing the last of her strength to pull away from the other's hold.

"Please. I know you'll care for him just like your own."

Silence. Thin yet unbearably heavy. Unbearably heartbreaking.

Seori turned her head to glance at her child in the arms of the only woman she could call her mother, and seeing them there,standing in a poorly lit hallway entrance,all solemn and grim,left a bitter feeling in her heart. One she fears she'll bring to her death.

"Will you come back?" The woman asked,cradling the infant as she gazed at Seori with regret.

"No." Came the defeaning answer.

The elderly woman's expression waned. The creases on her face furrowing even more as she looked down to stare at the child in her arms now. She had a lifetime of memories with the girl, and a heart filled with an endless love,yet not a single word could leave her mouth.

"His name is Jaemin." Seori said,softly. Barely a whisper. Her hand then gripped the doorknob.

"Na Jaemin."