11 Hours

19.

within few months, we completed college and were ready for the jobs. her joining date was a week later than mine.

she was asked to join in January 2010. She was all excited as her placement was in the same city as her dad's. she called me one week before her joining,  "i can hardly wait now to get started. i always wanted to be independent" she was extremely happy and so was I.

"awesome yeonha dear, i'm so happy for you, who is accompanying you tho?" i aksed.

"my dad's already there, tae, did you forget?"

"oh yeah, im sorry i forgot." i scratched the back of my head. "so who is going to escort you then? would you want me to come?" i asked after a long pause.

"can you?" she said. i wanted to but i couldn't.

"i wish yeonha, but i won't be able to. i am sorry." i said with disappointment.

"go die, kim taehyung, i knew i couldn't trust you that's why i asked my other boyfriend to accompany me." she said. "other boyfriend? great! my best wishes to you, safe journey." i was actually confused because if she said other boyfriend then did she mean that i was already her boyfriend? i started blushing at the thought.

"you won't ask me who it is?" she asked curiously. "if he were your new boyfriend you would have already told me about him." she laughed at that. "okay tae, no need to get jealous, its my grandfather, he is coming with me." i pretended to laugh along with her.

her fucking grandpa again.

her day of journey arrived sooner than usual.  i wished her luck for her new job.

it was around 4 am in the morning when i heard my phone ringing. i was too comfortable to move and pick it up. i ignored it and continued sleeping. the phone rang again and i wanted to scream at the caller, i answered in frustration, anger bubbling inside me, but was startled to hear yeonha crying at the other end.

"yeonha?" i asked in a soft tone.

she started crying loudly after hearing my voice. "yeonha calm down, breathe, what's wrong? tell me please." she took time to respond and what she said made me jolt awake from sleep.

"my-my grandfather, he-he passed away" she mumbled amidst her sobbing. "what?" it took me a while to get a grasp of things. i felt deeply depressed. it was her job, she was all happy in getting ready to join the company but even before she could step into it, she was facing such a turmoil. at times, reality is more cruel than fiction.

"how? when?" i couldn't comprehend anything.

"i dont know. i tried waking him up in the morning and he didnt move. i took him to the hospital and the doctors declared that he had died in his sleep. i dont know how, im not sure, i dont know what i am going to do, tae, im scared." she burst out crying.

i didnt have words to console her. indeed it was a great loss. he was her world, her grandparents meant more than her parents to her, she grew up with them. she used to tell me how he accompanied her everywhere, a weekend getaway, a walk in the park, picking her up from school and everything else.

i felt sorry for her. he shouldn't have died at this point in her life when she was so happy. he was a nice man after all. i was equally dejected. "do you have anyone there? do you want me to come?"

"we're going to the relative's house, tae, you dont need to come, i can never see him again" shestressed and cried again. "take care yeonha, i am there for you. i so badly wish i was there with you physically, i am so sorry, you can fall back on me."

i so badly wanted to be by her side to give her my shoulders to cry upon. i was dejected, her whimpers and her thoughts kept filling my mind. it was a long day for me. her grandpa was taken to her aunt's house. her dad arrived and took care of her. we didn't text much that night. i couldn't sleep and neither could she, but both for vey different reasons.