On Your Ground | Jensoo

Epilogue 2

12 years later: A Snapshot

Jisoo stands in a hallway cursing the magnetic lock to her hotel room. The little red light mocks her as she curses her decision to even come to this stupid medical conference in the first place. She missed her family and desperately needed a good nights sleep. One more night and she'd be home, that is if she could get into her room of course.

"You tricky son of a—" click, "Finally!"

She pushes into her hotel room with a frustrated huff and tosses her bag on the bed, still questioning her own ambitions in becoming one of the top surgeons in her field. She just wanted to do her job. Not hobnob at conferences with various members of hospital administrations. She could only take so many stupid medical puns and half-hearted attempts to kiss her ass by those lower on the administrative totem pole.

She's grumpy.

She's tired.

She just wants to see her family.

Glancing at the clock she removes her blazer with frustration.

"I was almost late! Ugh. Okay. Ten minutes..."

She buzzes around the room without any direction (mind scattered from exhaustion) for a brief moment while wringing her hands with indecision before coming up with a set plan of action.

She removes her laptop from her bag and sets it up on the cheap desk; making sure the power cord is connected as well. Two nights ago she was interrupted with a sudden 5% warning and spent a good twenty minutes digging through her bag full of stress balls, Frisbees, pens, and notepads (all labeled with various pharmaceutical brand names) only to return to a dead laptop. She's had a long day and would be damned if she had to settle for a phone call tonight.

Glancing at the clock again she darts to the small (even by her standards) bathroom to wash the day off her face and switch into an old pair of sweatpants.

Groping blindly at the counter with shut eyes and wet face, she realizes there is no washcloth. Her eyes open to check the shelf above the toilet only to roll them in disappointment as she realizes the towels haven't been replaced. She makes a mental note to not wait for the last minute in booking a room next time. This hotel had seemed decent enough online but left much to be desired in reality. It was her own fault really; she wasted too much time hoping she could worm her way out of coming in the first place.

She's unbuttoning her blouse when suddenly the famiEver ringtone of Skype cuts through the air. Grabbing an old t-shirt and slipping it over her head she darts out of the bathroom (stumbling over shoes & almost busting her ass in the process) and slides into the chair in front of the desk, excitedly clicking the bright red 'Answer call' button.

The screen lights up and she's greeted by t-rex with a purple bow on its head with what looks like yellow painted nails that are too suspiciously neat for a 7 ("and a half Mommy'' she likes to add on days she's feeling extra grownup) year old to have done. A little hand with a bright red superhero band-aid on the tip of one finger moves it back and forth making it lunge in and out of focus at the webcam.

"Rrrrawrr!"

Jisoo finds herself overjoyed by her dinosaur greeting and a heartening laugh escapes her.

"Hello there and what's your name?"

Another roar and then a whisper just outside the camera view, "Momma what was that name from your book? It started with an 'E' like elephant."

Another voice just outside the screen quietly (and full of pride) responded, "Epicurus, sweetie."

A high pitched giggle fills the speakers as a tiny face fills the screen. "Okay, so Momma told me the name but it's too long so we're just going to call it Eve. Did you hear that Mommy? This is Eve, like an elephant."