Dust || Yoon Jeonghan

time out

1 year later:

"drinks on me tonight." 

everyone cheered and i couldn't help but chuckle at their childlike excitement. i raised my glass and the others followed the gesture.

"cheers to the most perfect team in Korea!"

"and cheers to the perfect boss." soojin added and we exchanged a brief smile secretly. 

"isn't it amazing how well we are doing already?" soojin said as we chatted. both slightly tipsy.

"yeah. but i never doubted us." i answered confidently.

"never?"

"never."

"and why is that?"

"the reason is too cheesy to say out loud." i smiled sheepishly.

she cringed. "it's that isn't it?"

i looked away pretending to not hear.

"you were going to say it's because we are a good team right? right?"

"no." i lied flatly. "why would i be grateful to you?"

"are you being sarcastic right now?"

i chuckled unbothered by her frustration. "there's something i have got to tell you?"

"woah there. did i just hear excitement in your voice?" she pretended to be surprised.

"yess!" i exclaimed, over reacting on purpose.

"scary." 

"come on! i am excited because hara is coming to korea! i am going to meet her this weekend."

she shrieked gaining attention from multiple tables and i sighed in embarrassment. she whispered a sorry before going back to her excited expression as if nothing happened.

"that's so great! enjoy arin."

"of course i will" i giggled at her goofy face.

we were in a small restaurant in the sub-urbs. a place that was neither fancy nor unique in a city that didn't really deserve to be called a city. 

and yet there i was, doing what i love at a place i had never expected to be. 

the day after the show in japan was released, i handed in my resignment. i didn't yet know where i would go or what i would do. but if there was one thing that was clear, it was that i didn't belong there anymore.

i wanted peace. 

and then i found these people. soojin who left everything to help me bring my own show to life. and the others who joined us to create something meaningful.

as i watched them chatting animatedly silently, i knew i had found the missing piece in my life. i had everything. my dream job. money. reputation and yet i always wanted more. i never realized that what makes all these things so desirable is the people i share them with.

but it's true. the people you come to cherish and trust. they are the best possession. and to be trusted and loved back ... it makes life so much more livable.

it was already night as i walked back and in the silent streets without the giggles of my friends, i felt it again. 

the emptiness.

it was as if the wind passed right through me without touching. as if the overcoat i wore only warmed my skin but not my heart. 

but it had already been a long day. so like every other day i ignored that feeling again. 

i hummed an old melody as i distracted myself with the surroundings. being in a small city kept me grounded. both metaphorically and literally. and i learned from it's people that kindness shouldn't come at a price. unlike what i grew up believing.

i stopped at a familiar place and whistled softly. the cats came out like always and i crouched down to their level while fiddling with my bag to get their food.

"i am late tonight aren't i?" i whispered softly as they nibbled on the treats.

the snacks disappeared slowly as i stared at them with fondness. it was a small thing. to stop by this spot and feed the cats but it was so healing for reasons i didn't fully understand. maybe it was their purity that lured me. it felt as if gradually they were cleansing my self of all the toxicity that had seeped in. 

"everything's okay now" i smiled softly at the kitten in my hands. "right?

:o Cookie:
Arin reunited with her younger brother, apologizing to him for leaving him alone with their toxic parents. he felt unfamiliar since it had been more than a decade since they met but upon realizing that he had cut off their parents too, she made sure to be there for him, since they were each other's only family.

A/N:
the end is coming very soon :)