Joohyun (Present)

 “There’s somebody looking for you,” the voice of Hyolyn, the firm’s secretary, chirped in as she walked by the desk where a young woman was struggling to keep herself awake.

Looking up from her cluttered desk, there was a short yawn before a simple reply came out of her lips. “Who is it?” the other woman asked, though more distracted by her fatigue rather than getting the energy to sign the last bit of the exhausting project she was just about to finish. Irene had been staying at the firm for the last two days, the excessive deadlines and new arrangements of the complex buildings sprawled on various papers on her desk, which had luckily just been completed. She thought she would have gone insane had she worked for another day with that goddamned hotel, or if she had to sleep on her desk for another night.

The steam of hot coffee escapes the cup in the other woman’s hand. “She says she’s a friend,” Hyolyn mentioned, her tan complexion fresh after a holiday which Irene would die to take, as she looked down from where she was standing with the white coffee mug.

That was not something Irene would expect; most of her friends were either on vacation for the summer or too busy with their lives to even bother with visiting her at work. The only person who ever did was her mother or Wendy, but even that was only on special occasions. “A friend? What friend?” Irene had to ask, because she felt as perplexed as ever.

“How would I know?” the bronzed woman asked then, her shoulders shrugging before walking away with a certain sway to her hips that were showcased through her pencil skirt. “She’s waiting inside the conference room,” Hyolyn said, and nothing else, as she sat down by her desk to continue working for the day.

Irene had a fair view of the room, and the fact that the walls were of glass only made it easier to look, but even then she could barely make out the figure of the person standing there. The only thing she could notice was her heels, with legs stretched elegantly in strides that proved her to be a woman of her words.

When she finally got through the doors, ready to greet the stranger who suddenly came to visit her, she was surprised by the sudden wave that hit her. Metaphorically, of course, because it wouldn’t have been odd had an actual wave entered the office?

Irene wasn’t sure where it came from, but the image of the woman dressed so sophisticatedly in a black dress sent odd lumps throughout her stomach.  It didn’t even help one bit when the woman who stood there, gazing at the blue prints and models of other buildings, turned around to face her. The woman’s eyes were strangely focused on her, slightly in an expression that showed something of knowing surprise. She seemed both prepared and thrown off at the same time, her small lids widened yet her lips almost curving up in something alike a smile.

Irene didn’t know why, but she coughed, trying to suppress the feeling she couldn’t describe. A sense of familiarity ran through her veins and chest, but it still felt as if something new entered her system. She felt like she knew the woman, but at the same time she couldn’t be sure. “It’s been a while,” the woman then said, the smile she was toying with more apparent as she stepped to fully face the architect. “I took quite a while finding your address and company, but I was right that you’d become an architect.”

She walked casually, yet confidently towards one of the chairs by the long table, placing the designer purse beside her. Her dark hair was tied up in a loose bun, some of her bangs falling around the frame of her striking features, her almond shaped eyes blinking a bit before focusing on her again. “How are you?” she asked then, the smile still apparent. Irene had no idea what to say, because the woman who sat on that chair had a name that was on the tip of her tongue, but never escaped because it wouldn’t make sense that this confident woman could be her.

It took about half a minute before the woman suddenly arose from her seat, the playful smile on her lips gone as they parted in what seemed to be disbelief. Her eyes were still on her though, despite the slight embarrassment that crept through her fair complexion, which instantly made Irene recognize the woman. “Do you not remember me, Joohyun?” she asked then by using a name she hadn’t been called in years, as if it was a joke, but Irene couldn’t get herself to say the truth because she wanted to hear the woman tell it herself. “We used to be neighbors back in Jeju Island,” the woman continued then, her eyes darting around the room as if not to look at the architect. “Kang Seulgi; the girl they used to tease for looking like a bear?” she continued, and Irene knew that what Seulgi brought up was not one of the top reasons for why she should have remembered her, but she didn’t say anything to it.

“Right; Little Bear Seulgi with her yellow dress!” Irene replied then. Instead of saying what she really thought, Irene faked as if she didn’t know and just found out, although she didn’t know why. “That’s right, we used to be friends,” she continued although that wasn’t the only thing they were, not really, but it was something that she still couldn’t explain after all of those years.

There is a strained smile on the other woman’s face, but there is an attempt to relax it as she looks away for a brief moment. “Yes, we did,” Seulgi replied then, although there was an awkward tone to it as the silence lingered through the air. It held all sorts of things that Irene didn’t want in a silence; unanswered questions that should have been solved years ago.

“What brings you here?” Irene asked with a small smile. She was trying to act as if they were two childhood friends meeting again, which they kind of were, but weren’t at the same time because they never really were sure of how to define their friendship. But acting like it was nothing more to them than that, made it easier to not freak out, or make her emotions run wild.

It doesn’t take long for a reply, almost as if it was an interruption to what Irene asked. “How could you forget me?” Seulgi asked instead, and although she didn’t sound offended it still held something to it that made Irene feel a bit bad. No, she didn’t forget because she couldn’t really forget, but she could bury away the memories.

“I was surprised,” Irene replied honestly then. “I didn’t forget, it’s just that you have changed a lot since the last time I saw you,” she continued, moving to sit on the chair opposite to Seulgi while tying her light brown hair in a loose ponytail. The dark haired woman only scoffed, her eyes set in a slightly witty reply although she didn’t utter anything. It was the same type of answer she would always give when they were younger; her face would mostly be stoic, but she never meant any harm. It was just one of her many funny ways of expressing things. “It’s been sixteen years, Seulgi,” Irene replied to her scoff, adjusting her loose shirt as they sat by the table with the city life bustling many floors beneath them. “If you think you haven’t changed since then, you might have to invest in a mirror,” she said then while lightly gazing at the image of the woman opposite of her.

The dark and long hair had been tied up, but from what Irene could guess she must have cut it a long time ago. Her slim body was fitted into a black dress, an expensive brand obviously from the way it was tailored and how she walked around in it. Seulgi had always been on the feminine side, but the young and cute girl she used to be was replaced with something alike a full grown woman that walked out from a Vogue magazine. Her face was graciously painted in makeup, her lips in a glaring red that oozed confidence and control, something Seulgi wasn’t really representing sixteen years ago. It made Irene wonder how much time had done to them, because she herself felt as if she was pretty much the same.

Maybe the only thing that seemed to remotely stay the same was her eyes; they were still dark and mysterious as she remembered. Most of all, they still had that slight warmness to it that gave Irene a sense of acquaintance and memories that could both make her smile and cry.

Seulgi cut to the chase rather quickly, not leaving Irene to ask one single question as some papers and a picture were presented to her on the table. “It’s your old home,” Irene stated then, recognizing the small map that showcased the area and not least the picture that was beside it. The house was pretty much as how Irene remembered it; small yet roomy, in a small hill just by the shore with a view over most parts of the ocean. The tall grass was gently adding to the scenery, although the nature around the house was not exactly taken care of, judging by the image.

She knew the house well after not only countless of visits, but also from seeing the wooden home from afar as her bedroom window was straightly pointed against it. Although there was a tall fence and a good couple of meters separating the two properties, she still got a somewhat clear look from the house. “When can you start?” Seulgi asked then, causing Irene to look up at her a bit perplexed by her sudden question.

Her eyes seemed to smile, something her lips didn’t, and it was an indescribable thing that wouldn’t make sense hadn’t you seen it yourself. The light haired woman was wondering what Seulgi wanted her to actually begin on as they sat there, although she didn’t have to wonder for long. “What do you think?” she asked then, before tilting her head to the side as if the answer was obvious. “What other reason would I come here to show you a house for?”

Irene understood then, but still had no idea exactly what Seulgi wanted to achieve with her visit. “I want to build a house there,” she continued then, as simple as that.

Irene could only sigh a bit in frustration, wondering why she came all the way to ask her to do something like that. It wasn’t as if Irene was bad in her job, she was probably a bit above average, but that also meant too many projects with too little time. Plus, why would Seulgi ask her of all people to help her? Though she had her ideas and theories, she pushed them to the back of her mind. “There is already a house there,” Irene replied dryly, but Seulgi didn’t seem too amused as she gave her a bored look.

“I want to rebuild it,” Seulgi continued then as if to inform the woman about something she should have known. “It’s been like that far too long with no one living there, and the first person I knew would be able to work with me on this would be you,” she informed, much to Irene’s surprise, before leaning back on the chair. Seulgi was quick to speak before Irene could even utter a word. “That’s why I was asking you; when can you start?”