Someone Like Yoo

XIV

Chapter XIV: From Oceans to Heavens

I thought only of Mother.

I thought only of how it could have been when all the missing puzzles of my life are pieced together, of how easy and pleasant my heart could have felt with her arms around me. I wonder how warm her hold feels, how comforting her kisses are. I wonder how joyful it would be to see both of my mother and father together sitting at the front porch. They could be in one chair only, cuddling and laughing. Or they could be in two separate seats, sharing one bottle of wine and making up the funniest jokes. Or they could be calling me over, my sweet name finally meeting the soothing tongues of my parents, inviting me for a game of Changgi. Christmastime would be less lonesome with Mom and Dad sitting by the bonfire in the apartment and Auntie Samshin serving us our favorite peppermint teas while Taehee and I compete over who Santa Kullosu favored better between the two of us by counting the presents we received.

The visions hasn't come back so far and I don't think anyone can ever explain it other than Auntie Samshin herself. But ever since yesterday morning, I never asked her any more questions. Otherwise, we'll have to face that conversation again. She smelled more like chamomile today rather than strawberries. She must have been trying to sleep.

"Raeyeon-ssi." A solid voice bellowed my name. I look up at Mr. Byun's ebony eyes and he considered me closely over his silver spectacles.

I have forgotten that I'm still in class.

He runs his hand over the desks at the aisle until it stopped at mine, tapping his fingers over my World Mythology book that is sprawled open randomly on some page. "Did you hear my question?" he directed, gradually removing his glasses and placing both of his hands behind him.

"I'm sorry, I..." I trailed off, trying to at least remember what he was discussing when he came in, but nothing pops up. "I didn't catch it."

He sighed, looking disappointed. "Come to my office after class. I'll give you something to write about. Now," he turns away, putting back his spectacles over his nose and walking back down to his podium in front. "Sarang-ssi, may you please repeat the question?"

A girl in a peach cardigan stands from her seat, her short hair bobbing as she jumped. Oh Sarang, crushing on Mr. Byun again. "The professor asked about the goddess of fate and childbirth."

It's Auntie Samshin. Out of all the questions I could have missed hearing, it's the easiest one.

"Who?" I hear Mr. Byun asking in the small microphone, his elbows leaning over the incline of the podium. Mr. Byun gave me a bewildering look, waiting for my response. It's only three seconds too late when it finally sank in that I have said the answer too loud. I stood up and I could feel Sarang glaring at me so hard there could be a hole in my face by now.

"I meant Samshin Halmeoni."

He shoots me a satisfied grin and went back writing on the board.

I guess Oh Sarang wouldn't be handing me her classroom notes anymore.

♢♢♢

Jin K. Lee Hall is composed of five floors, each solely dedicated for the studies of liberal arts and every corner exclusively fashioned with several sorts of dark wood. It was as if the entire building had become a forest after naturally aging for decades, the velvet green puddle curtains acting like branches of leaves and the sea of students and professors seeming like bugs. But within this mass of trees is an exception.

Right on the third floor, at the deepest, farthest corner of Hall B, lays Mr. Byun's office with his door painted in the brightest white. I've asked him about it before and all he replied to me was, "For luck." I understood immediately, considering that he is indeed my professor in Korean Mythology and a man who is completely diverged in books of gods and deities for almost every day of every week of every year, then it shall be concluded that this man, Mr. Byun Jaeyeong, has fallen deeply in love with magics and lucks.