Eternity [ryeji]

Chapter 33

Jisu waves goodbye to the tall woman in a cap and walks with Yuna back to her car. "That went quite well even if I said so myself," she says.

"I agree. She was a bit shocked when she found out that you were not one of us but I think she has accepted you now," replies Yuna. "I hope she remembers that it's okay to open up to other people, even those who aren't our kind."

Jisu nods and drives Yuna back to her house. "Do you know her story?" she asks as they stop at a red light. "Her past, I mean."

Yuna shakes her head. "She hasn't told me and I didn't ask. I want to earn her trust first, to show her that she has friends and hopefully change her mind. I know she was a nurse and a showgirl but that's about it."

"Do you think she has ever had a relationship with a mortal? Either as friends or lovers?"

"I'm pretty sure she did. We've all had. It's inevitable."

Jisu turns her head. "Have you had a mortal lover?"

"Yes."

"Really?" asks Jisu, surprised by the honest and straightforward answer.

"Really. Like I said, it's inevitable. We are surrounded by mortals and outnumbered too," says Yuna.

"May I ask what happened?" Jisu says carefully as she starts driving again. "Did you go through what Ryujin went through?"

"I didn't. I wish I had."

"Huh?" Jisu steals a quick glance. "You wish you had? You wanted to go through that kind of pain? I mean, I don't know the whole story but from what Yeji told me, it was terrible."

"I know it sounds crazy but... isn't that what life's about? Going through ups and downs? To love and to part?"

"You've never... loved? I thought you said you've had a mortal lover before?"

"I did. I dated quite a few, in fact. But I've never experienced what Ryujin unnie experienced. I'm kinda the opposite of her. I'm still searching."

"You're still searching? After three hundred years?"

Yuna nods. "Kinda sad, huh?" she says, smiling a bit bitterly. "Every relationship I had never lasted long. I've never experienced what you call true love, passionate love. The good thing about it is that I've also never experienced painful or heartbreaking separation. At least not as painful as Ryujin unnie's."

"And yet you're still looking? Still waiting?"

"Yes."

"Wow. That takes a lot of positivity," remarks Jisu.

"There was a time when I wasn't as positive. I was most jealous and bitter when Ryujin unnie and I were living apart in London. She had found the love of her life and couldn't be happier while I was... alone." Yuna takes a deep breath and looks out the window as the memories return. "I felt like I was cursed. That fate never gave me a chance. It seemed so unfair. I've never experienced falling head over heels for someone. The most I've felt is what you call a crush but it was mostly because he was compatible, nice, smart and because he was interested in me first. I've never experienced what Ryujin unnie and Yeji unnie are now experiencing. That chemistry, that passion, that intense feeling of not wanting to be apart from each other, to want to spend every waking moment together and even the rest of our lives."

"When you had a crush on that person, didn't you want to see him every day? Wait for him to call you?"

"Of course but it never lasted long. The attraction and whatever else I felt would go away after a few months. A year max."