The sound of the coffee dripping from the kitchen made its way to Yujin's ears as well as the fragrant aroma of the hazelnut roast which she bought from the usual coffee shop she visits when writing. She's happy that her decision to get a pack of beans wasn't wrong. It saved her a lot of money instead of just going out to find a serene place to work.

But coffee shops were never empty, nor serene at all. 

She realized it was very impractical to be there from time to time, and so she did, as she went shopping and made an office corner in the living room. 

The fun of sitting on an ergonomic chair with a Micke desk bought from IKEA as her computer was neatly placed and arranged on top of it was unmatched so far from all her coffee shop trips. She didn't need a big space, but she needed an ample flat to place everything she needed. 

Just like the space she had upon getting separated from her life pressure back in college.

Yujin stood and grabbed a mug. She wondered if she liked it bitter or sweet today, but she decided that going for a black cup wouldn't hurt, she required an extra kick of harshness on her tongue anyway. She set aside the canister of sugar and went with just pouring enough coffee on her Jack the Skellington edition mug she bought from a thrift store, fortunately, it doesn't hurt her as it should. Rather, she was used to being haunted anyway from time to time.

If there’s something that Yujin couldn’t let go of her old self, it’s being embarrassed by her impulsiveness in decision-making back then, just like how she couldn’t stop thinking of what happened with Rei the other night.

The notification of her email distracted her. Thankfully, Yujin turned around and went back to her desk. She found an email from one of her clients giving her another big project. It’s another win for a freelancer. 

She scrolled down and saw the offer, she couldn’t say no to this as Christmas and extended holidays were approaching, better have something to use to buy presents for her parents.

Hello Mr. Ji,

I have reviewed your offer and I would like to extend my gratitude for considering me to take this project. I gladly accept it! It’s also very timely because I need to go to the US to spend the holidays with my parents so I don’t think I’ll be having issues working on it. Looking forward to additional instructions. 

Ahn Yujin

After a while, Yujin found herself cooking for dinner. Time flies fast when you’re busy and too focused. She was watching a horror film to get more vibe on the Halloween season after finishing some of her work and felt hungry.

If there’s one thing Yujin missed in not living alone, it is the fact that someone cooks for her. She missed her Mom. She also misses Wonyoung sometimes when goes there and cooks for her, but the other girl is busy with her own life. Plus, adulting means letting go of those free time and distractions. 

She suddenly remembered Minju. Randomly, out of the blue. 

Her ex used to cook her little lunchboxes whenever they hung out at her house. Yujin’s parents also acknowledged the girl and treated her like their own daughter. It’s warm on the chest, Yujin thought as she remembered.

Maybe it’s not about her feelings anymore, but there’s always a part of her that feels empty thinking about it. She just probably misses the feeling.

Yujin let out a small squeal, Mrs. Ahn couldn’t help but laugh. She missed her daughter and now that she arrived in Oregon makes everything even better. She looked at her daughter admiring the diverse landscapes seen on the window.

“Wow, I could live here Mom,” She said, not looking away from the stunning coastlines.

“I told you, this place is ethereal. Do you want to leave your life in Korea? I mean, I did tell you before that you can always live with us, but you were being stubborn.” Mrs. Ahn reminded Yujin. Her daughter chuckled. 

“I know Mom, it’s just that I feel like there’s something I need to work back home before settling anywhere else in the world,”

But the truth is, Yujin just feels like staying in her comfort zone, sure she would love to live with her family. However, the proximity she felt before was enough to suffocate her. Being alone helped her get raw on her emotions. 

There’s no deal-breaker living in this state, Yujin can imagine herself settling already and probably writing somewhere in the forest with incomparable serenity.

But then, thinking about it, it’s still far-fetched. She had other priorities.

“I thought you won’t be working, but why do you suddenly need to go somewhere tomorrow? We can hang out with Dad and tour you around,” There was a hint of sadness in Mrs. Ahn’s voice. She knew that Yujin did nothing but work. 

At some point, Mrs. Ahn thought that this was the result of Yujin putting a lot of pressure on herself back then, having a good job was the goal, but working hard and not balancing her personal life wasn’t part of the plan.

“I’m sorry Mom, but this is an offer that I can’t really reject, I don’t get the type of project often, this is a good start,”

“Care to tell me more?” 

“I will be working with small artists in Portland, I’m in charge of writing their profiles and biographies. Not big artists, but since they will have an exhibit, it’s a good exposure for my writing career,” 

Mrs. Ahn nodded. “That does sound good, well then, just don’t forget that you’re also here to spend holidays with us, okay?” 

Yujin smiled at her Mom, she’ll be back in Korea in early January so she was sure that they would have a lot of time together.

Ahn Yujin had a nice sleep on her first night, she thought she was going to suffer from severe jetlag, but perhaps the idea of seeing her parents again gave her a strong urge to rest without having to worry about door deliveries, food for dinner and probably her alarm not loud enough to wake her up.

She immediately prepared the morning after and ate breakfast with her parents. They were catching up on their lives after not living together for almost a year. It might not be a lot, but a thousand miles away makes a difference when you’re not with your family. 

“Nice to finally meet you in person!” Mr. Ji, Yujin’s client, immediately reached his hand out to the latter for a handshake which she gladly grabbed.

“Me too, Mr. Ji, I couldn’t thank you more for giving me this project, I’ll work hard!” Yujin exclaimed, a little too excited. Her client chuckled and called for a waiter to start ordering their food.

They were in one of the restaurants in town. Yujin was enjoying the view so far, Oregon gave her a scene of vibrant arts and culture, eco-friendliness, and diverse neighborhoods. 

“The artists will be visiting the venue tomorrow, I think that’s the best time to meet them instead of scheduling a one on one interview, you can just pull them on their free time,”

Yujin took down notes, she couldn’t help but feel nervous meeting these artists. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the work, the place, or the idea of meeting new people in a different environment. 

Setting aside the jitters, Yujin wiggled her hand and breathed deeply to release tension. She walked towards the building. It doesn’t look as corporate as the ones in Seoul, but definitely, it definitely screams vintage-modern.

Today is the first day she will be interviewing people for Mr. Ji. It’s not just a one-day interview, as a writer, Yujin needs to deep dive into each of their personalities. It’s going to be a lot of work, but she’s ready and here for it.

Yujin picked up the lanyard from the table, she saw her name ID and the tag “Staff” behind. Then, she started walking to the empty function hall.

There’s no art yet, she noticed that workers are starting to assemble panels that will be used for the artists’ pieces. It was busy inside. 

The tall girl made her way to the back of the venue, she saw someone sitting on the carpet floor, charging her phone from the outlet near her. The stranger was wearing a casual mustard plain shirt paired with jean ankle pants and loafers. Checking how she looked, Yujin was sure that she was one of the artists.

“Hi, how can I help you?” Even before Yujin could speak, the stranger noticed her and immediately stood up from her position.

“Hello, my name is Ahn Yujin and I’m assigned to meet the artists today,” 

“Oh just in time!” The stranger suddenly clasped her hand to remove some dirt.

“Kang Seulgi, by the way, I’m one of the artists here,” 

“Nice to meet you, Seulgi-ssi!” 

“Would you like to go somewhere quieter? We have a conference room at the door on the left,” 

Yujin nodded and followed Seulgi.

“I’m actually surprised that I spoke Korean earlier, imagine if you weren’t one,” Seulgi chuckled as she tried to pull a chair for Yujin to sit on. And she immediately walked across to sit on the opposite side.

“Well, you have the right gut, so, that’s zero issues,” 

Seulgi chuckled. Yujin noticed that the girl seemed to be older than her just by the looks, not because she looked old or anything, but because the way she spoke and moved sounded like she was an older sister.

Yujin was right, after a while, they started the conversation and interview, and she learned that the girl was five years older than her and had been staying in Oregon for quite a while. Yujin was in awe when Seulgi showed her art. She specializes in contour drawings and all pieces look immaculately clean, primarily composed of lines and edges to define their shape and form. 

“Both blind contour and contour drawing will be exhibited,” she explained. Yujin nodded from time to time for acknowledgment. She’s talkative on a professional level but today, she felt a bit shy, likely because again, she’s not in the same environment as before.

“In a while, you will be seeing the rest of the artists, there’s only five of us anyway, the last person joined just a year ago, but the organization has been built for almost three years now, I was one of the pioneers,” Seulgi mentioned. She then included the history of how the organization has been built, and the money they get from clients buying their pieces goes to a charity back in Korea for homeless children. 

“I don’t know if this is a sensitive question to ask, but I’m curious how you make a living if all the money from your art is going to charity?” 

“Good question actually,”

Seulgi took time to purse her lips, she was trying to fix her thoughts on how she could explain to Yujin about their history.

“Basically, all artists that have been recruited by Mr. Ji were struggling in some sort of dark past, like it’s a spectrum, but to be specific, in my case, I suffered from an abusive family, I went to Oregon to find myself and I’ve been working jobs here and there, I can make ends meet and when I found about this org, I joined as my escapism, it worked! Now, I’m also selling my art outside the org and got myself some clients,”

“I’m so sorry to hear that, I hope you’re all okay now,” 

“It’s okay, I’m all better, thanks to finding peace in Arts. When I discovered my talent, it felt like other things don’t matter anymore, it’s my saving grace,” Seulgi smiled reassuringly.

It has taken Yujin’s interest to other artists as well, hearing this from Seulgi got her curious about the lives of the other artists.

Seeing how Seulgi survived such a family tragedy makes her feel warm, and appreciate Mr. Ji’s organization. She can’t imagine the stress and idea of dealing with this in their young years, it must have been difficult. Yujin suddenly appreciated what she had in life.

But what was her saving grace? She thought, she never sat and pondered about it. It’s always whatever comes and goe