Leaving

The day had finally come.

Not like he'd been anxiously waiting or anything. Well, he had been anxious, and he had been anxious while waiting. But not in that way. Not like there was anything wrong with his house in Busan or his family and friends. In fact, he had no reason at all to move.

Other than ambition.

He wanted to dance in the capital.

There were many great opportunities in Busset, yes. And it was a lovely city, yes. He definitely was not doing this because he thought going to the capital was the only way to make a living out of his passion: dancing. He could easily do what he loved from the safe and comfort of his home town. But that was the thing. Jimmie didn't want safe and comfort. He wanted to explore. He wanted to see the world. He wanted to try new things.

And the first step towards that second dream of his was moving to the capital. That would be the first piece of world he'd see. It wasn't much, but it was something, and he had to start somewhere.

"All packed?" The door to his room creaked and a few soft steps sounded on the wood floor, taking Jimmie out of his mind.

He turned around and found his brother Jily, standing dejectedly by the door to his room. Jimmie smiled softly and opened his arms. Immediately a little body collided against his and Jimmie wrapped his arms around him. Jily hiccupped and Jimmie started whispering nonsense to soothe his little brother.

To tell the truth, Jily was supposed to be getting ready for school right now. But the whole moving away thing had hit him so hard that he'd gotten physically sick. It hadn't been too bad or too serious, just headaches and stomachaches, but today in the morning he'd been throwing up nonstop. Jimmie's parents had been forced to call the school and notify them that Jily wouldn't be going that day. All of the boy's teachers knew Jimmie and knew he was leaving today, so they probably knew what Jily's sickness was all about. But they just said they hoped Jily got better. Didn't even ask to see a doctor receipt tomorrow. And good thing too. Because Jily was just so sad he made himself sick, and doctors couldn't detect or cure that.

"I don't want you to leave," Jily sobbed as his hands clutched Jimmie's shirt tightly. "Please Mimi. Don't leave. Please."

Jimmie was convinced this boy wanted to kill him. Cause of death: a broken heart.

He held back his tears and his feelings, and smiled gently as he pulled back. Jily stared at him with big doe eyes, shiny and watery, his cheeks stained with old and new tears. He used his thumbs to wipe the tears as best as he could.

"Come on Jiji, don't be like that." His tone betrayed nothing, but inside he was begging. For all his little brother loved him and was doing this with good intentions, he was making it harder and harder for Jimmie to leave. "You know I'll be back. Thanksgiving and New Years are right around the corner. I bet the company will let us go visit our families during the holidays. Just wait a few months and I'll be able to come see you."

Jily somehow seemed to see or perceive the begging Jimmie had been doing in his heart, and he stepped back and used the back of his hand to wipe what was left of his tears furiously.

"Alright Mimi," he said, meeting Jimmie's eyes for all of five seconds before he lowered his head because he was getting teary again. "I'll be waiting for you, so you better come visit us, okay?"