Chapter 9
The One Who Got AwayInitially, Sandy was tempted to quit but her previous declaration to stop being so melodramatic about everything stopped her from doing so. She told herself again and again recently that she was not going to run away from change. But if she backs out she'd be doing exactly that.
After the conversation with Dong-hae, Jae-suk sunbaenim called her to his cubicle to discuss details regarding her new position. "Sandy... or should I call you Dara?" Yoo Jae-suk asked as soon as they were alone.
Sandy's eyes widened in surprise. No one has called her Dara in a long time. Even her parents have gotten used to calling her Sandy now.
"I'm sorry. I accessed your records, Sandy. When I first saw you years ago I thought you looked familiar but I didn't really think much about it."
"I'm sorry sunbae-nim." Sandy apologized.
"No. Don't apologize. It's your life. I'm sure you have your reasons why you didn't disclose that part of your life and I'm not going to ask. I'm going to respect that." He told Sandy.
"But I want to ask what name you would like to go by once you officially start your program? Sandy is fine. If you want to use Dara again it's also fine by me. A lot of people still have memories of cute Dara circa 1980s. It can be good for publicity. It's your call though."
Sandy took a few moments to gather her thoughts. "Dara symbolizes to me the highest and the lowest points in my life. It's hard for me to go back to that time. I've gotten used to Sandy because I wanted to forget the me that was Dara. Sandy was my escape. Becoming Sandy helped me survive but Sandy also represents my cowardice to face life. To be honest sunbaenim I don't know what to use between the two."
"I've lately felt this need to make a change in my life. I realize being given the opportunity to be a DJ can be an opportunity for me to do that. Even though it terrifies me I want to make the best out of this but if I use Dara or Sandy I somehow feel as if I'll regress instead of progress." She looked helplessly at the man she had come to respect.
"I have a suggestion. Why not call yourself Sandara. Just Sandara without the surname. Sometimes we think that to move forward we have to forget the past but sometimes moving forward means accepting the past. Embrace both the Dara and the Sandy in you. Reinvent yourself and become the Sandara that you were always meant to be. Your parents named you after one of the greatest generals in our country's history. Your name calls for greatness, why not be that?" He looked solemnly at the girl before him and saw eyes that were filled with equal parts fear and hope.
The days passed swiftly after that. She covered for Ahn Kyung Jin for two days until the older lady was able to resume her slot. She was then given the last three hours of airtime every night from 10pm to 1am.
The team brainstormed and came up with
Comments