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The door opened, dozens of kids pouring into the studio at once. The sight never failed to make Jiah smile, as she watched the five-year-olds run up to her excitedly, hugging her at the knees or spinning around in circles, gushing about their days.
"My teacher gave me a gold star today! She said she loved my colouring in!"
"I won first place for running at athletics yesterday, are you proud of me?"
Jiah grinned, crouching down she pat the little boy's head. Another girl who'd also been telling her about her day was waiting obediently as well. Jiah tried to stop herself from attacking her with a cuddle, stroking her hair instead.
"That's amazing guys!" standing up again, she set her hands on her hips, "Are we ready for class?"
"Yes!" the group chanted, and she nodded.
"Okay, let's first go over what we did last week."
She'd moved to a smaller town a couple of hours from Seoul a few months back, managing to set up a karate training centre in no time. Parents were enrolling their students so fast she couldn't even keep up at first.
It was such a blessing that word spread fast about her skills, that she was surprised she ended up being so busy so soon.
Her routine was the same nearly every day, but there were little things here and there that made it all worthwhile.
"Thank you, teacher!" her students chorused after her last class of the day, coursing out of the room to meet their parents.
She watched the last of them leave before checking her watch.
It was about time Ji Young came home from school, and every second that passed without him walking through the front gate kept adding to her anxiety.
She'd fled Seoul for a reason. She changed her name for a reason. She's been doing anything and everything she could to undo what her life had become.
But nothing could override the innate feelings she built up whenever the smallest thing felt out of place.
Fishing her phone from her pocket, she locked the studio door and stepped over the cobble path to her new house. Ji Young's name flashed on the screen, a text that had come in a couple of hours before.
Ji Young: Noona, the basketball coach has let me try out for the team today after school so I'll be home a little later than usual. Don't wait up for me :)
Heaving a relieved sigh, Jiah dropped her phone back into her pocket. She would never stop being paranoid.
Searching the fridge for an iced coffee from her stash, she settled in a seat by the window. The giant ball of fire in the distance was slowly beginning to hide behind a hill, the streaks of gold and orange shooting through the sky, swirling through patches of blue-grey candyfloss.
