There are Many Flowers in Seoul

Epilogue

It was quiet in the columbarium.

The morning hour had struck seven and light trickled in through the dusty upper windows, capturing the flecks which gleamed gold as they danced through the slender beams and drifted down to the ground. The building was empty but for the woman who carefully slipped two fresh calla lilies into the bracket beside the glass-fronted compartment she'd come to visit, and the hundreds of urns, mementos, memories and spirits which filled the peaceful resting place of so many of the departed.

Rose had often resented her visits to Grace and Sam. They'd been a reminder of what had been lost to time and mortality – that she would never know the former and never again feel the warmth and comfort of the latter – but now she could see it for what it really was; a way to honour and remember the people she loved, and who'd loved her in turn.

Her heels clicked against the floor, the dazzling sakura jewels sparkling in the light pooling around her feet. They'd taken some getting used to, but after a year back in Tokyo, Rose had finally grown accustomed to them.

'I had an email from Hitomi,' she said. 'Apparently Paris is beautiful in the Spring. Her dance school isn't far from the Seine and she's spending every afternoon in a café staring at some waiter. But I'm sure you both spent a lot of time in Europe in your youth. You must know what a good time she's having.'

Watching Hitomi walk out of her life and into her own had been gut-wrenching for Rose the previous September. Although she'd hugged her tightly and waved her off at the airport, a small part of her had wished that her friend would change her mind and declare that she couldn't possibly leave her behind, and that this was an adventure they should undertake together.

It was possible that Hitomi had wanted Rose to chase after her, too.

To tell her that she'd secretly booked a seat on her flight and that they would hurtle through Paris like a tornado, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake as they had in Seoul.

Instead, Rose had stood her ground, and let Hitomi leave to find her own adventure and walk her own path, trusting that one day those paths would cross and that they would be together again.

Rose's gaze travelled to the suitcase waiting a few feet away which contained the last few remnants of her life which hadn't been packed into boxes and shipped ahead to London where she soon intended to join them.

'Petal?' Takashi asked as he stepped into the building. Their eyes met and he let out a heavy sigh. 'I suppose I shouldn't be calling you that anymore, should I? Not now you're planting your roots elsewhere.'

'I'm still your Petal, Dad,' Rose replied affectionately. 'I'm just... drifting off to somewhere new, that's all.'

'You know, if you want one of us to come with you –'

'I think I'll be okay.'

'Well, that's what we thought about...' Takashi trailed off.

They didn't like to talk about Seoul. Rose would never forget her time in that jewel of a city – nor the people she'd met – but she knew that if she kept looking back at those few weeks then she would stay rooted in the same spot forever, never growing and never moving on.

Rose knew now that she could remember them all – Tae-won, Si-woo and Eun-young – and still move forwards with her life just as long as they were in her heart and memories, just like Sam was.

No matter where she went or who she became, they'd all had a hand in shaping her future, and they would continue to do so even when her path had taken her many miles and years away from them all.

'I'll call you when I land. Promise.'

'Come here,' Takashi said, opening his arms wide. 'Give your old man a hug.'

Rose crossed the marble floor and was wrapped up in her father's arms. He breathed her in, relishing in these last few moments with his precious only child, and fought back the tears brimming in his eyes.

'Come on,' Rose laughed, pulling back to observe his expression, 'we're not even at the airport yet.'

'I know,' he said, 'it just feels like goodbye already.'

'It's not goodbye,' Rose said. 'That's too big a word for it. It's just... the next step.'

Rose released herself from Takashi's arms to collect her case. She kissed her fingertips and pressed them briefly to the glass, offering the urns within a gentle, tender smile.

'It's not forever,' she told them. 'I'll be back before you know it, and I'll make you proud. I promise.'

With that, Rose straightened her back, squared her shoulders, and lifted her chin. She lifted her foot – complete with elegant shoe – and took the first step.

Another followed.

And then, another.

With each step she walked further from the girl she had been when she'd started her journey into adulthood a year earlier, and closer to the woman she would soon become.

With each step, she was closer to blooming into the flower that she'd always wanted to be.

To becoming... Rose.