Eternity [ryeji]

Chapter 44

Mr. Hwang exhales and closes the bedroom door, leaving his exhausted daughter who has finally fallen asleep.

Yeji has been spending her days looking for clues as to where Ryujin might have gone and her nights crying herself to sleep.

She went to every gallery that ever housed Ryujin's exhibitions and interviewed everyone Ryujin knows: Yuna, Chaeryeong, Jisu, Jisu's husband, her father and even the art broker who knew nothing about Ryujin personally. When she got no results, she summoned her father to Korea on the first possible flight and badgered him to tell his contacts to find Ryujin.

He was surprised to learn what Ryujin had done but he wasn't angry. He knew why the woman did it and a part of him admired her courage. It must've killed Ryujin to let Yeji go, to let her have a life without her. Another part of him wished that there was another way to do it. He couldn't handle seeing his daughter looking so sad.

He put everything on hold and decided to stay in Korea for as long as his daughter needs him.

He could easily ask his contacts to find Ryujin but he wants to stay away from the matter. It's something that he thinks the two should sort out on their own. He will step in and help if really necessary.

The next morning, Yeji wakes up with the usual puffy eyes and exhaustion but there's a small difference today. She had a very vivid dream last night. A dream about Ryujin who's standing alone at a beach, staring at the ocean with tears streaming down her face while clutching their promise ring.

It feels so real that Yeji can't help but tear up as she remembers the images. She misses her and the dream has refueled her determination to find Ryujin and tell her that she's making a mistake.

She wipes her eyes then goes to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.

Her father is in the living room, having breakfast while watching TV. He sees his daughter rushing to and from but says nothing about it.

Yeji changes her clothes, takes her laptop and sits down next to her surprised father.

"Dad, I need you to help me."

"Sure. How can I help?"

"When we bind ourselves to someone, we can always find that person wherever they are, right?"

"Yes but-..."

"How exactly?"

"What?" He blinks, staring at his daughter.

"How can we find them exactly?"

"Err... depends."

"You once explained to me that it might be a dream or a déjà vu or just a strong feeling or intuition about the other person. For you, if you got the feeling that Mom was in trouble, you'd call her."

He nods.

"But I can't call Ryujin now so is there another way to find her?"

"What? How-..." His eyes widen when the realization sinks in. "You bound yourself to her?" he asks.

"Yes."

"And she let you?"

"She didn't know I did it."

He exhales then shakes his head. "You stubborn little girl," he remarks, breaking into a small amused grin. "You resourceful, stubborn little girl. Why do you remind me so much of your mother?"

"You're the stubborn one, Dad. Now tell me how I can find her."

"Did you get a strong feeling about her?"