Eternity [ryeji]

Chapter 63

Ryujin exhales quietly as she watches the two women in the bedroom who are hugging each other. She can hear faint sobs and muffled words of comfort and her heart breaks for her friend.

She decides to give the two some privacy so she takes her phone and wallet and walks towards the door.

"Wait."

She stops and turns around when she hears the voice.

An exhausted looking Lucy gets up from the couch and approaches her. "I'm coming with you. I need some fresh air," she says.

Ryujin nods and leaves the hotel suite with the woman walking next to her.

She has given her sincere condolences and words of comfort, and she knows that right now, Lucy doesn't need any more of those so she keeps her silence and just stays with her.

They find themselves sitting at the hotel bar a few minutes later.

Ryujin tries to order warm, soothing drinks for the mourning woman but Lucy chooses alcohol instead. She says she needs something stronger than tea or coffee and Ryujin doesn't have the heart to stop her.

Yeji and Ryujin tried their best to be there for Jisu and her family but they couldn't attend the memorial service and the funeral because there are people who would recognize Yeji. So, sadly, they have to wait until after the funeral before they could see Jisu and Lucy in person.

Lucy took her mother to the hotel where Ryujin and Yeji are staying, telling the rest of her family that she wanted Jisu to get out of the house for a bit, get some fresh air and a change of scenery. Luckily, her brother and husband understand and didn't ask questions.

Now Yeji is trying her best to console Jisu although she also doesn't know what to say. It hurts to see her best friend hurting and she, too, is dealing with pain of her own though much less severe: the loss of a brother figure.

"If you need anything, just let me know," Ryujin breaks the silence as she nurses her cup of tea and watches Lucy sip her cocktail.

Lucy nods. "Thank you."

"Chaeryeong and Yuna's flight have landed. They're on their way here."

The woman nods again. Her eyes are fixed on her glass.

The table is quiet for the next ten minutes until Lucy exhales, finishes her drink and looks at Ryujin. "How do you do it?" she asks.

"How do I do what?" replies Ryujin.

"How do you deal with the loss? You have to keep going through this, don't you? I mean, it's inevitable that you outlive all your friends."

"That's right and that is why I try to minimize the pain by not befriending or getting to close to them for as much as I can."

"But you can't help it. I mean, you live in this world. You're surrounded by us."

"That is true."

"So how do you deal with it?"

"Honestly? I don't know. It's been over four hundred years and I still don't know. I react like you do. I mourn. I hurt. I go through the same process, the same pain."

"Eomma told me about your previous relationship, before you met Aunt Yeji. How did you deal with that?"

"Terribly. I mourned her loss for decades and felt like life has lost its meaning," Ryujin says. "You can't really forget or get over these things. It stays with you. The only thing you can do is move on with life. I couldn't even do that."

"Do you still think of her? You still feel the loss?"

Ryujin nods. "I don't think of her as often as I used to, thanks to Yeji, but I can't forget her nor can I forget the pain and that place she had in my heart. But it doesn't consume me anymore. I'm not drowning in that pain anymore. I will always treasure her and the memories we had but my focus is now Yeji and my current life. She will always be a part of me, just like your father will always be a part of you, but I can't stop living just because I lost her."