I made myself a promise: even if it meant becoming a stranger to my loved ones, even if it meant keeping secrets, I would have a life of my own. (Saeed Jones)
Read the last line of the chapter from How We Fight for Our Lives.
I am leaving for Korea soon, for a project that's gonna last for almost 2 years. Who would have guessed that the Korean classes I took during COVID-19 would come in handy? I had to study more but it worked out well. The last few weeks passed by smoothly, and my small farewell happened. Well technically there were 5 different farewells, and I was a little emotional.
I'm not going to lie, I feel good. I have been wanting to restart my life, somewhere new.
Because I know I am on the cliff. Maybe it's the loneliness or burnout. I don't know, I just want to leave. I want to give myself a chance, my life a chance. It all did come around, and for once, I wanted to be just something, someone.
I am a twenty-four-something-year-old lady, desperately wanting to live for herself or just feel alive. Maybe even love.
Finally, the heavens heard, which I am thankful for. But I am scared that my happiness won't last forever, scared that sadness will again creep in.
Scared that I will fall into the sea and drown.
This trail of thoughts stopped by my phone. My ride is here, I am leaving.
I have already checked the paperwork and packing thrice, and am still not at ease.
It's a night flight and for freaking 16 hours!!
Thank god there's a Layover in Singapore. Please be good, Seoul.
Mumma hugs me and says, "You take care of yourself, mera pyaara baccha!"
I smile while seeing my mother holding back her tears and my father crying all those tears. It is always tough to say goodbye to these two...
Fighting my urge to cry, I reply with half breaking voice, "I will. Aap apna khayal rakhna. Dono, Okay? Love you both!"
I rush to hug them both again and kiss them on the cheek, the last one for a while. I hug my brothers too, and I know these two grown-up men hate seeing me go, but they always have my back.
I enter the airport, saying my final goodbye.
And now I am a crying mess.
It is not the first time I am leaving home, but It's still tough. I come from a loving family but we had our ups and downs. A lot honestly, and it made me realise that if the distance between us can keep us happy, then it is alright.
I am gonna miss them, but it is fine. You can love from a distance. There's this line from one of my favourite songs,
"Yeh Jhoka tere ghar ka rasta banega,
Akele mein tujhse mila toh kahega,
Dekh tera kya rang kar diya hai,
Khushboo ka Jhoka tere sang kar diya hai."
Maybe I will find my home?
Almost 18 hours later,
I am finally in Korea and the apartment provided by the company. And to my surprise, it is a pretty lavish place. Like not small, I haven't seen an apartment like this in Mumbai ever. This promotion did come with its perks, dang!
I start unpacking, it's gonna be one hell of a job.
But this is my favourite part of moving to new places, you can make changes as per your aesthetics.
And the whole week went by, arranging my things, decorating my apartment, buying stuff and video calling back home. This all is so internally rewarding. I have a huge ass window in my room and I shifted my bed. Now, I can look out from the comfort of my bed. And there's a study table and then I got a self. I am living my Pinterest dream. There's a wall, which is for memories. Memories I had and will make, with the people I love. I also step up my balcony it's the perfect corner for a breather... Damn, I already love my place. Agh, I love this new start. It's fresh.
The only issue is the noise. My neighbour is noisy, agh. I think they have a dog too, and that's alright but the music and other things, it is kinda pissing me off. But I will wait for a few more days before telling them to make less noise. I don't understand why are they playing loud music at 4 am. Few days went by and this person has tested all my patience. I hate that, but I have to be polite. I should be polite. He/She/They are my neighbours!
So, I just left the note saying, " Hi, I just started living across the hallway. The soundproofing seems to be bad, and there is a lot of noise from your place. Please can you reduce it a bit? Thank you."
Pretty decent for a complaint, right? I am in a new place and I don't want bad neighbours. Being in Consultancy for 5 years does reward you with some patience which I am grateful for.
The next day, I got some chocolates with a note saying, "Hello. I am sorry for the noise. Will take care of that. Thank you for understanding."
Wow! Great Start! Thanks, Neighbour. And the noise wasn't as bad as before, Thank god. It's Christmas Eve today, and it's shit cold here and everywhere I see there are couples. Agh, It's exhausting being alone!
I am returning after buying groceries and humming to a Kiska Rasta Dekhe, Aye Dil Aye Saudayi...
*Lift Door Opens*
There's a dog! A huge dog! On leash but there is a huge dog with a guy? A guy who looks like Jungkook? Huh?
As I step outside, dead scared, the dog jumps on me, I am dead, fuck. Please don't bite me.
"Ahhhh ah Mummyyy, Nahi nahi plsss!", I screamed.
The guy says, "No Bam No!"
The dog he gets down and suddenly is silently standing with those cute eyes. I realise Oh, he likes people, he was just excited. Aww. I instinctively pet him on the head and he seems excited again. But this time I am not scared, I am trying not to be.
The guy says, " I am so sorry. He gets excited when he sees new people. He will cause no harm. Don't you worry?"
I smile , " Okay." and ask him, "Bam is it?"
He smiles, "Yes."
"Oh okay."
He is Jungkook!!!!! Even though I wasn't sure without my glasses, now that I have gotten a closer look and talked, He is. I am frozen. He is JEON JUNGKOOK!!!
Jungkook asks me, "You live here?"
I say, "Ah-ah yes, 1703."
He smiles, "Oh, you are the one who moved in next door."
I smile and say, "Ah yes. Hi, I am Sneha Maheshwari. Nice to meet you."
He smiles and my heart melts. "Hi Sneha, I am Jeon Jungkook. It's nice to meet you too."
My ARMY heart cannot take it anymore.
I smile, "I kinda knew, just didn't want it to be awkward. I will leave now, Have a good day! Bye!" and I bend down to pet Bam again "Bye Bamie!"
Bam barks once, so cute.
"Ah, okay! Then I will see you around!"
He leaves with Bam, and I still cannot believe that we are neighbors. Damn, I saw him in person. It was too awkward to ask for an autograph, but it's okay. It's a memory for a lifetime. And how I embarrassed myself. Agh. I thought I would never see him again like it's anyways rare to meet your neighbor and a busy person like him, it's gonna be never.
It's 31st December today, the last day of 2025.
I had some pizza and beer, probably like 4 bottles, and now I am off to the terrace. For the New Year fireworks!! I won't lie, I am kinda tipsy.
Wow, the terrace and the view. Ah, there's someone here, smoking. His back looks huge, We have eye contact and It's Jungkook. He gives me total Daddy vibes, man.
Now it's awkward.
I smile, "Umm, It is nice here, isn't it?"
He smiles back, "It is. Fireworks will start soon, it will be more beautiful."
I smile, Somehow I feel like smoking too, while looking at him I ask, "You have another?"
He looks at me surprised, "What?"
"Umm do you have another cigarette?"
He says, "Yeah sure. A regular?"
I smile, "No no. It's just my high is wearing off, and looking at you smoke makes me feel like I want to too!"
He laughs, "Here you go."
I take the cigarette and place it in my mouth.
I try to light it and fail—amateur mistakes. He smiles and lights my cigarettes. I almost choke on the smoke and laugh, "Thanks!"
I swear to god, this was the sexiest thing a man ever did for me.
We had a random, lighthearted conversation going, and there was a comforting connection. He has this melancholy vibe to him, this side of him feels good. We watched the fireworks together, smoked more and talked about I don't remember exactly. All I remember is he brought me back to my apartment. I am so so ashamed. Thank god for him, because I couldn't walk straight. I needed to just sleep.
He said, "Just grab my arm, and walk with me?"
I don't know what expression I made but I said a loud, "Thank you so much!"
And then Blank...?
YOU ARE READING
Finally, Home.
FanfictionYou know, how they say When the timing is right. The right person often comes by. And they stay. They teach you, love you, nurture you. That is what they were to each other. Just what they needed, A Home. (In-Yun/Fate)
