~~

The sky had a pale tint of blackness to it.

Looked as if an ink sac had been drilled all over the perfect sky, now leaving it in a depressed form.

He stood there, unseen by the rest of human forces, staring at it.

It intrigued him. Why though?

It was a beautiful image for him, perhaps not for others but he could care less about the human world. It sure was a fascination to the figure, it was so unusual to see this color.

He had never expected it. It meant something for him.

Vanishing into the thin skies again, he resumed towards his next target.

~~

Walking down in town was always her thing. So-Hyun enjoyed watching the sceneries evolve around her as everyone resumed their daily lives. Some rushing home to get safely to families while others just stroll around the city hoping to find some interest.

She had nothing to do at home, really, so immediately after waiting for her mother to arrive home from work, she put on a trench coat and immediately stumbled out the door.

No reason to really. Just to get a bit of fresh air, it was her last day of freedom before school though. She thought to herself, burying her face within the harsh winds. The sky had turned a moody black color, though the city lights reflected upon it, not effecting much. It was a surprise, she’d never seen days like these where the weathers were ever so harsh. Hell, she hasn’t even seen it in the States.

She wasn’t complaining though, the dark clouds represented So-Hyun’s mood, which was atmosphered in a moody one.

Not wanting to go to school tomorrow whatsoever, she continued hoping that the seconds would now go by slower, as minutes would take decades to finish but of course, her dream couldn’t come true. Sunset was arriving, but due to the unusual weatherings that occurred outside, she couldn’t see the sun set down into the horizon. Instead, she looked upon the huge city clock which laid in the center of a beautiful garden, lushing from varied colored flowers to neatly trimmed bushes. People were bustling around the garden center, now furiously racing to get home before the real traffic arrives.

So-Hyun had always taken strolls to contemplate some issue that had been revolving in her life.

It happened to deal with her transfer this time.

God damn you father. She thought, frowning at the thought of the appa who had sent to her all the way, practically booting her out of the house.

Now, I have to make new friends. Start a new life. And ugh, everything’s just new now.

Despite the pounding horrible thoughts, her other half of her conscious laid positive thoughts and hopeful ones.

But...maybe it’ll be good, maybe I’ll like it better here than United States. She pondered on after relentless negative thoughts pounding into her heads. These thoughts though, did nothing but create a huge havoc within her brain, sending small bubbles of pain throughout her mind.

She strolled through the small pathways which had bustling pedestrians walking around busily as ever. Stores were opened with huge luminescent lights shining through the windows while other shops were closed down, with signs signalling the closure. She had no interest in browsing through the stores though.

Continuing her pace, she felt a slight feeling of fatigue bother into her, causing So-Hyun’s walking patterns to slow down a bit now. She was still determined to get somewhere though, somewhere away from home where she didn’t want to be at all.

She didn’t want to go home, where she would’ve been forced to get ready for her educations for the next years. Her mother had now began to usher her more heavily to study on her subjects more, not wanting the same case in United States to replicate again.

It was indeed though, an opportunity to redeem herself.

She understood the importance of education to her family, but still, she couldn’t handle all the studying. Straight hours of memorization skills, arithmetics studyings, composition learnings, it just all jumbled up into her minds.

She needed a break, and this was her only chance to get one.

Continuing to pace through the popular city, So-Hyun had came across all sorts of tourist attractions, this time, actually examining each areas with specific detail. Statues standing in the middle of parks to sceneries of childrens playing with each other, all giggling and filled with joys as they hung out with their friends. Her heart had fell at the sights of smiles that had sheepishly made its way to the childrens’ face.

She couldn’t do that.

She didn’t have any friends anymore.

She had left them all behind.

Heaving a huge sigh, she burdened herself against the emotions and turned back around, realizing how far she had gone from home. Hours must’ve passed before she realized it because now, the city lights had all been fully , lights shining through the cities, stars were now coming out as well as the familiar lunar crescent. The temperatures had dropped slightly too since she had left home, but the past weathers had already numbed her enough to the point where the young teenager could tell no difference between the temperatures.

Beginning to pace back, she began her long journey back to the house.

But.

Something didn’t feel right, she felt something eyeing her. It was just that natural instinct, she honestly didn’t know what she had coming.

At first instincts though, she turned around to find no one.

Wah? What the heck?

Still confuzzled, but not wanting to cause any more distractions to herself, she turned back around to continue walking before she would get in trouble from her mothers. She had enough on herself already. Getting grounded before school, wouldn’t help the situation out, not that she would go out with any friends but, for just the sakes.

After walking for a few more minutes, she had slowly reached a quarters of her journey, before feeling another presence behind her shoulders, this time it felt like a light tap upon her shoulders. Turning around again, no one was there.

The intermittent clouds rang a loud thunder, echoing throughout the cities followed by lightnings coming from the edge of the city. It bursted with a yellow streak, blinding her eyes for a slight nano before she screamed in panic.

She ran. No longer would she ever go out late at nights for this kind of strolling.

~~

“Hi, umma!” So-Hyun yelled in a panicked voice after reaching home, immediately bolting the doors, checking out the peepholes to make sure no strange, crazed, psychotic murderer had followed her all the way home.

“Hi? Is there a problem?” Her mother had yelled from the kitchen, her head peeping out from the archway, waving at So-Hyun.

“Ani, ani. How’s grandpa?” So-Hyun asked, now relaxing a bit knowing she had arrived home.

A solemn face arrived onto the middle-aged woman’s face, her expression beginning to frown now, “Why don’t you go see for yourself?”

So-Hyun nodded, walking towards the master bedroom which accompanied her grandparents. Opening the grand door, the huge of bursting heat had erupted from the other side of the rooms, causing her face to slightly become hot.

There was no sound but instead the sights of her grandma knitting on the comfortable armchair, by the side of the huge bed which laid Grandpa. No snores were head, but the breathings could be heard slightly if one was close enough.

Tiptoeing to her grandma, not wanting to wake up her grandpa, “How is he?” So-Hyun asked, worriedly, pulling up the blanket up to his head.

Grandma couldn’t do anything but just shake her head, continuing to knit at the lavender beanie.

“I’m fine.” He croaked out, startling both of the females.

“Wha? Go back to bed, grandpa. Get some rest.”

“Help me up..” He ordered, surprising So-Hyun with the tone he had spoken it.

It wasn’t cruel, but cold. She never felt that tone come from him before. Sure he was always harsh before, but never was his words that way. Perhaps, it was due to his deteriorating health. He was getting crankier as the days went past.  

Grandpa had always been a sick man. Ever since she was a young child, he was always known to be sick with anything. Whether it was from a small cold, to a heavy flu, he had always been in bed. On rare occasions, she saw him out of his bed, and usually most of the days was him getting fresh air, or just wanting to get out of the room.

So-Hyun never really remembered him before she had moved back to Korea, but she remembered vague memories.

Were they good? She couldn’t really decipher for herself.

Her grandpa had always lectured her, nagging at her everytime she made some small mistake.

Whether it had been spilling a glass of water, or just tripping upon herself.

“Stop being so clumsy.” He would always scold her, sometimes even slightly slapping her on the arm. She never winced but it felt natural as her grandpa had always done that. She never really knew any other side to him, or if she did, she didn’t remember at all.

Her grandma had shown more sympathy and mercy though, always being there for her just like her mother. Guess that’s where the caring traits had originated from.

After a usual scolding from her grandpa when she was a little child, her grandmother would shoo him away quickly arriving to So-Hyun’s side with a knitting kit. So-Hyun had remembered specifically getting a teddy bear, knitted from her grandmother. It was a big, brown, fluffy bear, having a bowtie lay on his chest. She’d always hug it, whenever she needed something to sleep with, always play with it, whenever she was lonely.

But she had lost it in a small house fire, remembering the teddy bear lying on her bed as it perished from flames. It had been before they moved to California, living nearby in Kansas. Until then, she had always missed it but her grandmother would’ve never made another for her believing she was too old at this point no matter how much So-Hyun argued and pleaded.

It was sad, really.

Snapping back into reality,

“Eh-hem. I said come help me.” Grandpa’s voice now boomed, much more louder than the croak that had left his mouth a few seconds ago.

“No, you have to rest.” Grandmother interrupted, shaking her head at his behavior.

“Ani, just let me go get some fresh air for a bit.” He stubbornly protested, now raising himself onto the bed. He pushed the pillow behind him against the bedpost, laying against it.

“It’s about to go rain outside. You wanna get even more sick?” His spouse argued, no longer having the patience she had a few minutes ago.

So-Hyun didn’t like it when her grandparents argued, it was a daily thing, having each other nag at each other relentlessly, so she had no choice but to in, “She’s right, Grandpa. Just stay in bed for a bit, once you get better, you can get out more.”

She had attempted to say it cheerfully, but no pitches in her words had came out, leaving a monotonous voice ringing out.

In reply, the stubborn elder muttered short words under his breath, finally giving up. He had pushed the pillow back down onto the mattress, lying back down to get more rest.

“Has he always been this impatient?” So-Hyun asked her grandmother, turning to the woman who had now started a new knitting project, choosing a selection of yarns from the bundles of colors. Stopping mid-way in between a hot pink and light pink wool, she turned towards So-Hyun, sighing.

“Yeah, he won’t give up. I know his time is coming, but he should still stay in bed.”

“Ohh..”

So-Hyun couldn’t manage to tell another thought without turning the mood into an awkward stance, but it was too late. No one had spoken, no sounds were heard except the sounds of snoring and knitting utensils slicing against each other. Not too long after, So-Hyun had enough of this unbearable silence, getting up to leave the room.

“Get better, grandpa.” She whispered softly, smiling at him.

No gesture was returned but a wave from her grandmother.

These reasons led to the soft tears that had left So-Hyun’s eyes at night time. She just wished her grandpa would get better, as deep inside, she knew he had a soft side to him even if she never seen it before. He was a veteran, fighting within the Korean War, so it meant a lot to her that he would regain his never seen health.

Besides knowing, she actually remembered the days where she was really young. The days where he would push her on the swings. She went high, as if she was a bird soaring into the skies. Soon enough, the swings would collapse back down, creating a whooshing feelings as both of the human beings laughed joyfully to each other.

She had really missed those joyful days. Now she was back in Korea, but it wasn’t the same at all. It was much more saddening this time to step off a plane, arriving for what her mother called, “home.”

holla, subscribe and comment. i didn't proofread, my bad. tell me your thoughts? what i should do? i like it all. :3 alright byeee ~ <3