Four years later

The thing about returning, the one thing that I love, is the familiar air that lingers around the said area the minute you step out of the airplane.

There’s something about the sounds around you, that have been forgotten or ignored by time, but when you hear them for the first time again you instantly know what they are or how they even occurred. Stressed footsteps were familiar to me from the hectic city life in grand metropolises as New York and London, and the distant chattering of business and other ordeals reminded me a bit of how many business men I saw in the streets of Hong Kong.

After four years I had explored the deep jungles and exotic life in the Amazonas all the way in Brazil, to the fire-like sensation that was Colombia and their culture which gave me many remarkable memories.

That was the little I could explore of both North and South America before the trip went over to Europe to study the northern parts of Spain, the hot nights and friendly atmosphere with the sun shining hotly.

I loved the blue skies that were above me in southern France, the laid-back norms and the relaxing air where multiple beaches and portraits of random citizens took place in my sketch book and later to my canvases. My heart enjoyed the scene to no end, but the excitement to go to Paris in hopes of meeting that person, I never saw the familiar girl no matter how many times I walked around the streets and searched for her.

However, it did give me some beautiful scenery of the hidden, more mysterious parts of Paris and more sketches that begun to sell well. My finances were mostly depended on what I could sell my sketches and paintings on; some sold more than others, but it was still enough for me to eat and find a place to sleep. Yes, some days were spent in decent hotels while others had me sleeping underneath the stars, but I couldn’t say that one was better than the other because they were great in entirely different ways.

Italy, Greece and Croatia were next and I had explored these three countries for a good while. The beautiful coast lines and friendly people made me want to stay longer than I intended to. In fact I spent almost a year in total going back and forth to these countries, before I ventured all the way north to the cold and historical country of Russia. There I learned about the way people lived, both rich and poor, which gave me new aspects in life the more I managed to explore and portray my visions into my art.

When three years had passed, I was venturing through more of the far-east again with the enormous country of China. The old past of the dynasties caught my attention, one could see that in my art as well, along with the modern life of the Chinese and how they went through their everyday shenanigans.

My last destination had been Vietnam, in a small village where I lived more modestly then I had before. I was very much used to western ways of living, so when I came back to more familiar surroundings it was a bit odd to get used to. It wasn’t the same as back in Korea, especially not since I had lived in the big city, but I had learned a thing or two of taking care of myself and doing things manually.

I had then lived in the village for a total of four months when I had gotten a phone call from Seunghyun asking me when I was going to return to Korea again. I had gotten quite a name for myself then, sending my artwork over for him to place in his galleries. At first they got sold for small amounts, in his eyes, but for me it was more than I could imagine.

As the years had passed, I had gotten more and more paintings in his galleries in both Korea and Hong Kong. Now that he was planning to expand his venues further and my art was getting more and more recognized he had some good news for me possibly. He was back in Seoul again, after traveling a lot himself, and I figured then that it was no better time than to come back to the city I grew up in for the most of my life.

Now that I stood by the baggage claim, with the same bag I had for four years with a wardrobe that had changed drastically since I left, there was nothing more for me than to exit that door to go back to the place where I had so many memories of my younger days. The bag in my hands was stamped with many stickers from the countries and cities I visited, with so many tags on it that I almost lost track myself, as I looked away from it and walked further through the crowd.

“Ara!” I heard the familiar sound of my stupid best friend holler, and it took me a couple of seconds to see the familiar tan and height of Kai. With a smile I ran over to him, throwing my bag not too far away before giving him a hug.

“Do you always have to crush my bones whenever you see me?” he asked then with a laugh, before returning the gesture as I could only hit his back slightly.

“I haven’t seen you since you visited me in Greece you idiot; that was two years ago!” I said then before we parted and giving him a stern look, his features masked in a mix of amusement and joy. I couldn’t say I didn’t feel the same because it was something else talking to each other through the phone, but seeing him in person was so much better.

“You’re not wearing your glasses?” Kai asked then, taking my bag instead of listening to my protests. I let him anyway though, because I didn’t mind when we walked towards a small coffee shop near the exit of the airport.

I shook my head then, before gesturing to my now perfectly normal eyes which could finally focus. “I’ve decided to wear contacts, plus I’m planning on getting a scan so I won’t need either of them,” I said then before we went to the counter, ordering what we wanted before sitting down on a table by the window.

“I was right that the surgery would work,” Kai responded as if he had won something, although it didn’t exactly mean that I lost before I kicked him lightly on the shin.

“Well you paid for it, which reminds me, I tried to transfer the money to your account but it won’t let me,” I mentioned then, and he only shook his head slightly as the waitress then came with our orders. I wanted to ask him why he had bought a cup of coffee and another with a cappuccino, but before I could he started talking.

“That’s because you’re not supposed to pay me back, idiot.”

Well guess it’s safe to say now that the surgery went well, right?

After I had woken up from the surgery, because I fell asleep right after it was done, I felt a bit surprise the moment I didn’t see pitch black but rather a grayish tone. I wanted to sigh then in major disappointment, because I thought the surgery had not been successful until the doctor suddenly spoke.

“The surgery went well, but it will take a while for your eyes to adjust to its surroundings after not seeing anything for a while. So you have to wear this blindfold for twenty four hours before we take it off,” she said then as I could feel someone, probably a nurse, adjusting the pillows on my back before checking on other things.

 “Your vision will be a bit blurry in the beginning, Miss Lee, but with regular checkups and vision exercises you should be able to recover fully. However, you may still have to wear contacts or glasses for now, unless you decide to get a scan done.”

Then she went on to explain other things I should be cautious of, like bright lights and to avoid reading too much, but it didn’t really matter because the only thing I could think of was that I could see again. My eyes were finally on the road of working, which meant that maybe; perhaps my future wasn’t so dark after all.

I wanted to cry with tears of joy, but I waited until I was left alone before grinning from ear to ear, grabbing my cell phone to announce to my parents that I was able to see again. Later, when I called Kai he was equally as ecstatic although he couldn’t talk for long, as he had to study for some kind of exam about strains and too much scientifically vocabulary that I didn’t understand.

I was so happy, but when I thought over the person I wanted to share this the most with, it didn’t take long for me to realize that I had no way to contact her. She had no cell phone as I was aware of, and even if she did I didn’t know her number. I hadn’t spoken to Krystal since the day I left and I began to wonder how she was doing in Paris.

Throughout the years I had been traveling since I was dismissed from the hospital, I’d have to wear glasses although my vision wasn’t very bad. Yes, some things were a bit blurry if it was too far away, but it was better than being fully blind. I switched to contacts now recently, although the glasses gave me more of an awesome hipster look, they were pretty annoying at the same time.

“I still can’t believe you did that for me,” I had to say then, not having thanked him enough as we sat there sipping our drinks. Kai only smiled then before shrugging. “Well a painter can’t really paint without her vision, now can she?” he asked then and I only rolled my eyes by his words.

I was about to retort before suddenly, his eyes widened a bit as he greeted a girl I had never seen before. He stood up a bit abruptly then, and I could only follow although I didn’t exactly know why I did it.

She was tall, taller than me at least, with a fair complexion painted in natural makeup and rosy cheeks. Her brown hair was shoulder-length, her slightly large lips forming into a face stretching grin before she moved to hug my tall best friend.

However, before I could wonder who she was to him they suddenly kissed and it didn’t take long for me to figure out one plus one equals two. To say I was surprised would be an understatement, because I had no idea about who this girl was and that he was even dating someone.

When I got to look at her up close, the moment she focused on me of course she let out another huge grin before moving over to me with a hug.

“You must be Ara right? I’ve heard so much about you!” the girl said then, still hugging me as I could only hesitatingly do the same. Kai seemed to spot my confusion before chuckling, as we all sat down again as I waited for him to explain.

“Ara, this is Sulli,” he then told me the girl’s name as I could only nod when he introduced me to her. “We go to the same school, so it says itself that we met there as well,” he informed me further before Sulli just laughed.

“Well met and met, you were the one bumping into me all the time,” Sulli said then before looking over at me. “He’s very clumsy, and it took him over a year before he grew enough balls to ask me out. I ended up doing it myself because I got impatient; such a beauty like me can’t be hanging around,” she shared then, but despite her words it didn’t sound superficial or annoying, but rather funny and filled with humor.

I smiled a bit then, although I had no idea that he was dating her at all, or why her name sounded so damn familiar. But I figured that she seemed to be a likeable character, her eyes twinkling slightly with mischief and constant happiness despite having a very laidback nature as well.

“He never told me about you, or that you two were dating,” I said then as she only shrugged before sipping her coffee, shooting Kai a look I wasn’t quite sure of before he just sheepishly looked away. “That’s because he still blushes just by the fact, it doesn’t surprise me at all actually, but we’ve been studying a lot that we rarely have time to go on proper dates.”

I felt a bit bad for both of them then, but before I could voice my opinion Kai only shrugged. “Well you didn’t want to go official until just recently, so I didn’t even tell Ara because you didn’t want that. So I don’t really know who’s to blame,” he retorted although it didn’t sound harsh, just pretty normal, as I could only observe the pair.

“That was because I was testing you to see your loyalty,” Sulli said then with a smile. “Which means you pass, so you’re the best boyfriend ever,” she said then and I only chuckled in the background by them both.

“That test took two years, honey, why so long?” Kai then proceeded to ask as they continued the conversation, as I fell into the background, but instead of feeling left out I was more entertained and amused by them both,

It wasn’t hard to see that they were made for each other. Although they seemed so different; Kai was tan and suddenly had very broad shoulders, tall and had the kind of shy and boy-next-door kind of vibe despite what people thought of him by the first glance of his dark style.

Sulli however, was filled with color and life, smiling from ear to ear as if life was a breeze. She seemed very outgoing as well, comfortably speaking to me as if we had known each other for years, despite having just met. There wasn’t an awkward moment between us at all, and I figured that she was the perfect match for my best friend.

“That reminds me Ara,” Sulli then said after a good hour spent catching up and talking about our lives, me sharing most of my small adventures around the world and how my art went. “How are things with Soojung and you?”

I almost wanted to choke on my own spit by the name, the girl whom I had missed for so long suddenly evading my thoughts again. Although I wondered how Sulli knew about her, I could only try to recollect myself as the memories of a face I could never forget; vision or not, was then returning to me.

“How do you know about her?” I asked instead of answering, because the only thing I could say about us was that we said goodbye four years ago and that was it. There was really nothing more, I hadn’t spoken to her since, even if I tried searching for her once I had given up because I figured she must have moved on by now.

I hoped she didn’t forget me; that she probably still had lingering feelings as much as I did, but if she had found somebody else I wouldn’t blame her. Four years is a long time, and even I had to admit that I had a few short-lived affairs to beautiful women, although it wasn’t the same. It was more for the thrill than the relationship, for the flirting and for the inspiration which lasted for most at one month, but they were never like her.

“Why would I not know about my best friend?” Sulli retorted then, and with a shocked expression on my face I tried to piece the pieces together and then of course, I knew. I had heard of Sulli before because Krystal had mentioned her, along with a girl named Luna which I had never met. Which says itself; I hadn’t met Sulli before now, so it wasn’t really that odd that I didn’t know.

“Honestly, I haven’t met or spoken to her since the day I left,” I could only say then, trying to mask the sadness as we sat there then. “I’ve tried and wanted to, but after a year I figured it was best to try to move on. I thought she found somebody else in the mean time?” I asked Sulli then, wondering what her reply would be as I waited in anticipation.

“Yes, she did,” Sulli replied and I could only sigh, the slight disappointment for her moving on although I couldn’t say I was any better. As mentioned, I wished her nothing but happiness, but it still stung after four years for a reason I didn’t have to mention.

“It didn’t last long though; I don’t know too much about who it was because she never told me, but he seemed like a jerk,” Sulli said honestly and I could only nod then, not sure if I was happy for the fact that she might still be single or not.

“Honestly though, she didn’t tell either of us too much about how things were going. She seems very busy,” Kai then suddenly shared, and I wondered how they were still friends despite the awkwardness that must have been their breakup, but he didn’t seem to mind as he spoke casually about her.

“I thought you would have seen her; she’s been touring around with her class doing various shows. Some in the places you have been to,” Sulli said but I could only shake my head. I hadn’t seen a single glimpse of her, except for sometimes when I reminisced or found myself dreaming about her.

I saw her face more in my paintings than in person, because she was still my secret muse despite how long time had passed.

“We haven’t spoken to her much either, but I honestly thought you two would still keep in touch.”

My shoulders shrugged again then, the drink in my cup now gone as I just absentmindedly tapped the white cup. I didn’t really know what to say, because I had no idea of how she was doing or what was going on with her life. I doubt she did know about what I was doing either, because I mostly stayed away from the media as I wanted to fully focus on my art.

“Well, I’m getting a bit hungry so who’s cooking?” I asked them, to change the conversation into something else, hoping they wouldn’t notice my suddenly lost thoughts as I only wanted to be glad for the fact that I was home again.

“Sooyoung of course; she’s probably the only one who knows how to not burn the kitchen here,” Kai said with a chuckle and we both followed before we got up to leave.

“How have things been going with Sooyoung and Sunny anyway?” I asked then as we went towards his car, which was quite fancy despite him being a student. It was in black, not a very expensive one but still better than most cars people had.

“Same old, same old, except for the fact that Sooyoung has mostly been around with Jessica,” he shared then and another surprise hit me then with widened eyes as I turned to look at him again. “They’re friends?” I exclaimed in surprise as we stood by the car, Kai placing my bag in the trunk as Sulli simply got in the car.

Then he shook his head, as if he knew something I didn’t know. “She says so, but I’m not too sure since I always seem to catch them with her tongue down Jessica’s throat.”

He must have found my expression hilarious as he then laughed to the point that he had to support himself on his car, and I was still shocked as hell when I tried to imagine the picture of Sooyoung and Jessica as a couple. It didn’t quite work out in my head, as my lips were parted in shock.

I wasn’t mad about her dating Jessica because Lord knows I’ve been over it; I almost forgot that we dated for a while, but it was more of the fact that Sooyoung was dating someone… sort of. She’s been the type who hasn’t cared about gender, but then again she didn’t care about love or relationships. I had never heard her speak fondly of a love interest, and that was just odd for me to believe.

“You guys want to eat or not?” Sulli said after rolling down the window, her head poking out with some shades on her face. “Sooyoung is soon done, and I don’t want her or Sunny to eat everything up before we get there!” she continued, ignoring the fact that I was still in shock and Kai was almost on the ground laughing so hard.

“We’re coming,” I stuttered out before shaking the shock and disbelief away, kicking Kai so he’d get up and get ready to go. He was still chuckling a bit as we got in the car, and he pulled out of the parking lot and towards the road home which I hadn’t seen in years yet still knew.

I looked out the window then, seeing the familiar scenery as the sun shone down the tall skyscrapers and the bustling city life, the airport getting further away from our vision as I could only smile by being home again, laughing with old and new friends as if nothing ever changed.

Although I still wondered if Krystal thought of me when she was all alone; about the things we used to do, how we used to be, and if she was alright. Was her hair still scarlet red? Or did she let the color fade until she got back to her natural color again? I kept mine cerulean dyed because of a stupid reason; maybe, I thought if we managed to cross the same paths she would recognize me.

We didn’t, and as I thought about it now, I wondered if we ever would again.