Manual Of The Forbidden - Ryeji

Chapter 27

The female voice announced my flight; the time had come.

I stood up and walked to drop off my luggage, then tucked the ticket into my bag. I walked to the line of people waiting to board the plane and stood behind the last person.

I looked around, biting my lower lip, seeing all the faces... What was I thinking? She wouldn't come.

I turned around and walked slowly until it was my turn. The flight attendant checked my ticket.

—Have a nice trip,— she smiled, handing back the ticket.

I took one last look around and sighed. I closed my eyes and fervently wished she would appear, just to say goodbye.

People continued to pass by as I opened them. I lacked magic because the faces I saw remained unknown.

It was useless to wish for her, to hope that she... Of course not, what was I thinking?

I laughed at myself again, without a hint of joy, and walked to the plane. I sat in the corresponding seat, lined with royal blue, and then looked out the circular window. No movement outside the plane seemed unusual.

I decided to relax; it was too late for anything, for everything. Nothing made sense anymore.

My stomach growled inside me, and only then did I realize I hadn't eaten breakfast. I would wait for the airplane snack and try to sleep; eighteen hours lay ahead of me, and I had to adjust to the schedule.

A female voice echoed throughout the plane, first in English, then in Spanish, and finally in Korean, before continuing in other languages.

The plane would take off in two minutes. The wheels began to move and roll on the pavement; the roar of the engine was clearly audible. Time was up.

I closed my eyes; I didn't want to see how my heart stayed behind, but behind my eyelids, her face appeared, and I groaned in pain. Memories projected like a movie in my mind as the plane soared into the air. The first day I arrived, her smile, those tight black jeans she wore that night... A tear ran down my cheek.

I shifted in my seat and opened my eyes to stretch; I had slept for quite a while, and a lightning bolt had woken me up. I looked out of the airplane window, streaked with raindrops, the clouds passing scantily in a completely dark sky. I lowered my gaze; the city could be glimpsed with a bunch of yellow specks of light.

I felt relief and pain at the same time. I had finally arrived in Seoul, I was home again, and upon realizing it, I felt quite far from my heart.

The lights in the city shone brightly, and from above, it was quite beautiful. Of course, it was nighttime.

Two hours later, the pilot announced that we would finally land. The lights grew larger as we approached the ground.

When the plane landed and I got off, I knew there was no turning back, it was all over, even if it had ended badly. I grabbed my suitcases and checked the time on the airport clock. It was eleven forty at night. The flight had lasted just under eighteen hours.

I stepped outside, where the winter cold swept in a scorching manner, and the rain fell furiously over the city, forcing me to button up my jacket. I took the first taxi I could find, completely soaked when the rain caught up with me.

—Where are we going?— the taxi driver asked, having loaded my blue suitcases into his trunk.

—To the outskirts of Seoul,— I said, getting into the back of the yellow cab, giving him my address.