Finding Jiyong

Chapter 6

The agent I talked to told me that their boss saw my compositions and he gave the go signal for a preliminary meeting. Ahjumma!” Jiyong vigorously shook Dara awake in his excitement. “This is it, Ahjumma!”

His excitement was infectious. Dara jumped up as soon as the news sank in. They both jumped up and down in happiness, holding each other’s arms. When their excitement died down, they realized that they were actually wrapped in each other’s arms. They let go of each other and laughed awkwardly in a pathetic attempt to cover up their unease. They sat down back on the bench and nudged each other with their elbows. Jiyong finally blew a tired but happy sigh. Yawning, he laid his head on Dara’s shoulder. 

Dara jostled his head with her shoulder. “Yah!”

“Ahjumma, stop moving.” He sleepily grumbled and nuzzled further into Dara’s side. Dara sighed and kept still. Jiyong was starting to visibly relax on her side, his breathing slowly getting even, his weight getting heavier and heavier until Dara heard soft snores coming from his lax mouth.

Dara took in his relaxed expression. It was rare for Jiyong to leave before her. Most of the time it was Dara who couldn’t fight off sleep. She watched as Jiyong’s outline started to blur and the weight on her side lessened. 

A cold chill spread onto her side as Jiyong’s figure faded away. She shivered and tried to rub some warmth into her limbs to no avail. Jiyong’s disappearance seemed to suck out all the warmth from the place. Her lids eventually started to droop and her consciousness slowly faded into nothingness.

Dara woke up in her bed shivering. The cold remained in her bones and she shuddered uncontrollably beneath the covers. She was genuinely happy for Jiyong but a dark foreboding crept into her bones along with the chill. Change is coming. Her last thought before she drifted into a dreamless sleep was, ‘Is this the beginning of the end?’