“What’s this?”, the head asked with a questioning look.

“It’s what you asked for, obviously.”, The other person said as he handed out a bag to the head.

The head took the bag swiftly and looked inside.

The head looked shocked and repulsed.

“This isn’t what I asked for! What the hell is this?!”, the head yelled as he threw the bag back at the man. “I don’t want to be in this kind of mess. Dispose of this. Immediately! Or I will cut your pay in half or I won’t pay you at all.”, the head pointed at the man with a daunting look.

“Then what is it that you want?”

“I only asked for information that I can use against that Park Jihyo. Not this!”

The man just chuckled how ridiculous the head is right now as he sees the faint lies behind his words.

“I know who you are. I know your true intentions. You think you’re a changed man but you’re not. I know there is still something in you that wants to take over this company.”, he paused as he leaned closer. “You’re just waiting for the right time. Here I am, trying to cut it short for you. You should be thankful.”

The head was just silent.

The man pulled out one of the papers from the bag. It showed the list of money transactions of the company. With it, anyone can pull out the money totaled on the paper from the company without leaving any dirty tracks. As long as it looked authentic and real.

“I know what you did before.”, the man said as he stood up. As he heard those words, the head showed a look of dread and anxiety. “This thing inside this bag is something… less sinful… compared to what you did.”

“Wait. How did you get this?”, the head asked as his voice quivered.

The man smiled mischievously, “Let’s just say it was somewhat similar to what you did.”

“I’ll take this piece as my share and I’m done.”, the man folded the paper and put it inside his pocket. “It’s still your choice. I’ll just leave the rest of the whole thing right here.”, he said as he slid the bag in front of the head and left.

The head was still lost in thought while his hands trembled as he reached for the bag. He remembered what he did. He can’t escape it. No matter how many times he tries to bury it to the very bottom of his thoughts, it still finds its way back to the top like it was fresh from his memories.

That bastard.

Mina, who was called to the head’s office, paused on her tracks when he saw a man she had never seen before walked out of the head’s office.

The man greeted her as he passed by. “Good afternoon.” And Mina just bowed at him.

Just before she was about to enter, the head’s assistant went out.

“Ms. Myoui. The head isn’t feeling well. You may now leave. Sorry for the trouble.”, she said abruptly as she motioned Mina to the elevator’s direction.

Mina just followed because she didn’t want to deal with the head, anyway. And she had to meet with Jihyo, who impulsively invited her out for a drink.

Many hours later, Park Jihyo was dead drunk.

“Hey, Ms. Park. Please slow down.”, Myoui Mina said with precaution as she put a hand on Jihyo’s shoulder.

Jihyo was slouching on the front bar, with her right hand rubbing her forehead as it rested on the bar. While her other hand tried to reach for the empty glass in front of her. But Mina’s hand was faster. She took the glass away from Jihyo.

She was too drunk to even lift an arm.

“Oy, that’s rude Myoui-chan. Give it back.”, Jihyo said with seriousness as she looked at Mina dead in the eye. There was a slight pause and then she started laughing loud. Enough to make the people behind them turn their way. “Myoui-chan! That sounds so cute.”

The barmaid looked at Jihyo irritatingly like she wanted her to leave as soon as possible.

“I’m sorry. She’s just having a very bad day.”, Mina apologized as she tried to smile at the barmaid who just sighed and continued cleaning the set of glasses Jihyo used.

“Ms. Park. Please quiet down.”

Fortunately, Mina didn’t have to bring her own car. Jihyo picked her up from the company building before going to the bar. It seems like Mina will be the one to drive after this mess. Jihyo is far from sober right now to drive herself back.

They have been in the bar for almost four hours. It was almost seven in the evening. And Jihyo already had six cans of the Sapporo Beer while Mina had none of it because she knew she would eventually be the one to take care of Jihyo’s mess.

I never knew Ms. Park is such a heavy drinker.

The truth is Jihyo never had beer in her entire life. Not even a single drop. Not even wine. She was too focused on her studies after all. She never had the chance to attend house parties during college. People often say that she had missed half of her life in college; but she was never just interested in those things because she thought of it as a waste of time.

“Oy, Myoui-chan. Did you know that Sapporo Beer is the oldest brand of beer in Japan? It was first brewed way back in 1876.”, Jihyo laughed again. “Bet you didn’t. I did my research, you know. I’m really smart, too.”, Jihyo slurred as she pointed at her brain.

“Aish, Ms. Park. I never thought you’d be like this. What happened, anyway?”, Mina asked again after countless of failed attempts. Jihyo just talked about how great the beer was over the past hours and it was quite a miracle Mina went through it all.

“Barmaid-san! Another glass please! I’m about to break a record of my sixth glass here.”, Jihyo shouted when the barmaid was right in front of her. The barmaid got really annoyed at this point.

The barmaid leaned closer to Jihyo. “The only thing that’s about to break is your neck if you won’t stop making a scene.”, the barmaid scoffed as she refused Jihyo.

“OY! What did you say?!”, Jihyo was about to fight the woman as Mina tried to pull her down.

“I’m really sorry about this, Jeongyeon.”, Mina smiled apologetically.

Then Jeongyeon turned to Mina. “Mina, please take your friend home. She is drawing too much attention. And I personally don’t want any kind of mess here. She might throw up any second now and I’ll have no choice but to clean that filthy mess. And I do not want that at all.”, the barmaid said abruptly as she picked up the can and glass of beer away from Jihyo.

“Who says I’m going home?! I’m not done with the beer yet. Oy!”, Jihyo tried to stand up and was ready to fight Jeongyeon. But the seat was tall that Jihyo couldn’t even manage to step on the floor. Instead, all she did was slip and hit her head on the front bar and got knocked out cold. Before Jihyo could completely fall on the floor, Mina managed to catch her sloppily.

Good thing Mina was taller than Jihyo so she can fully support her weight. But Mina was losing grip on Jihyo. Luckily, Jeongyeon caught Jihyo’s arm before Mina could lose her balance.

The crowd gasped and started chattering at the scene.

“Everyone, please calm down. It’s alright. Just a small… inconvenience.”, Jeongyeon assured them of the situation to be under control which looked very unlikely.

Someone entered the bar. “Good evening... What happened here?”

“Chaeyoung-ah, perfect timing.”, Jeongyeon told the other barmaid who just arrived for her shift. “Please take over.”

“I see you got into another trouble, hyung.”, she said casually as she went behind the front bar. “Make sure you won’t make any more mess.”, Chaeyoung said as she pulled out a cloth to wipe the beer stains on the front bar.

Jeongyeon looked at Jihyo who looked completely lifeless at this point. She noticed how Jihyo’s head was badly bruised as it started to form a bump and already turning black and blue. She noticed how big the dark circles under Jihyo’s eyes are and realized how tired this person was.

“This one had a really bad day, huh?”, Jeongyeon grunted as she put Jihyo’s arm around her neck while Mina put the other around hers. They both supported Jihyo’s weight with their other hand on her back.

“Seems like it. I have no clue why, though.”

Jeongyeon chuckled, “I shouldn’t have been too mean to her.”

Jihyo’s car was only right across the street and they were fortunate that there weren’t many vehicles around.

They struggled to walk towards Jihyo’s car as they kept on staggering. Jihyo was completely uncooperative with her being completely unconscious. With the slippery road on the way, it was really hard for them to walk. The people walking past them stared with an avoiding look like they were a bunch of lunatics.

Mina made an apologetic look as she tried to look at the barmaid. “I’m really sorry about the mess, Jeongyeon.”

Jeongyeon just smiled widely. “I’m used to being around drunk people, anyway. Good thing she paid beforehand. She paid way more than the bill, though.”

“She must have thought she would drink a lot.”, Mina laughed and Jeongyeon laughed louder. “Don’t bother returning the money. I’m sure it will be fine.”

They finally reached Jihyo’s car and placed her carefully on the back seat.

“Thank you so much for this, Jeong. If I could return the fav-“

“Another date would be fine.”, Jeongyeon said with eager confidence as she smiled from ear to ear. “Besides, she paid extra.”

Mina just smiled at her in agreement.

“Well then. Make sure to come back, Mina-chan.”, Jeongyeon smiled as she pulled up her arm for a hug. “Just make sure your friend is not around.”, she joked.

Mina giggled at how silly this person was. She went in for Jeongyeon’s hug and said, “I will.”

“Jisoo-ya! Lunch is ready.”, her mom called. Jihyo was in her room upstairs busy painting another picture.

“I’ll be down in a minute, omma!”

Jihyo was painting the view outside her window. She studied the colors of each detail that she can see within its frame. She studied the bright colors of the sky, the trees, the houses, the telephone lines. And from her observations, she mixed colors and experimented which turned out right to match the colors of each.

“Jisoo-ya?”, her mom knocked as she entered the room.

“Omma, look!”, Jihyo smiled widely at her mom as she points out to her painting.

Her mom smiled at her very proudly. No matter how many times Jihyo had shown her the same painting, she always gets surprised and impressed how much each is different from the others as Jihyo continued to improve on every aspect on a rapid pace.

“When did you finish the first painting of that view, again?”, her mom asked as she smiled.

“Just yesterday morning. I saw how pretty the colors were, they were really bright, so I painted it.”, Jihyo grinned showing her gummy smile to her mom. Her hands and arms were covered with paint. Her face as well.

Jihyo was only seven years old. It was really impressive how she had done six repetitions of the same view in different perspectives in a very short amount of time. And the improvement on each was unheard of. The colors improved. The mimic on the texture improved. The lighting improved. The perspective improved. Jihyo improved.

“That is really good, Jisoo-ya! Omma is very proud of you. Someday you’ll be a great artist. I am sure of it! Omma will be very very very proud of you as I am now.”, her mom said excitedly as she pinched Jihyo’s cheeks.

“I’m not a baby anymore, omma.”, Jihyo pouted and her mom just laughed at her.

Her mom sat in front of the painting and motioned Jihyo to sit on her lap. Her mom hugged her as they both look at the painting.

“Tell me, Jisoo-ya. What do you think of the painting?”, her mom asked. But Jihyo just looked confused as she looked up to her mom.

“What do you mean? It’s a painting of what’s outside the house.”

Her mom softened as she realized that Jihyo was too young to understand although her skills has matured so much. But she was sure Jihyo will understand as she goes on.

“You see, it’s not always about how well you mix colors. Or how well the details are. Sometimes, it’s about how you feel about the painting itself and what feeling it tries to show you. The meaning of it. What meaning does it tell you, Jisoo-ya?”

“It means...”, Jihyo looked unsure for a moment and then her face lit up as she thought of an answer.

“Home! It means home!”, Jihyo said as she kissed her mom on the cheek and her mom hugged her tighter.

Jihyo noticed how her mom’s expression changed. It felt sad but still, she managed to smile at Jihyo.

“Listen, Jisoo-ya. No matter how hard things get, never forget to be brave and strong, okay?”

Jihyo tried to open her eyes but every time she does, it just hurt. She waited for a few minutes to open them. Her eyes were strained by the sunlight as it reflected on the window. She couldn’t open her eyes at all. But then, she noticed how it smelled different from her apartment. It smelled like Prada.

I don’t wear Prada. This is clearly not my apartment.

Her neck strained when she tried to turn it. Good thing it was supported with a pillow. She felt that she was covered with a blanket. She was on somebody’s couch. She thought of pushing herself up but her whole body felt like it was dipped in hell for the whole night. So, she just laid back down. Her arms and legs felt numb from the burning pain like they were about to fall off. Her stomach felt like it needed her to vomit the intoxication from her body and it hurts so bad. Her head was aching so much that she thought it was too much for her to handle. But then, she reminded herself that it was just a headache. But when she raised her hand to touch her head, she recoiled as she felt a bruised bump. She touched it again, softly this time, and felt there was a pad covering it.

God, what happened to me.

Then she lightly repulsed when she started to slowly remember.

“Well, then make sure to come back, Mina-chan.”

It’s that barmaid again! Jihyo thought as she heard her muffled voice outside the car.

“Just make sure your friend is not around.”

Is she talking about me? Why that little-

“ I will.”

Is that Mina? Oh, right I went to the bar with her. Jihyo laughed at herself at the back of the car.

“See you, Jeongyeon.”, Mina said as she went to the driver’s seat and closed the door.

She sighed and looked at Jihyo who was laughing. Mina was clueless at whatever it was she was laughing at, but she found it adorable.

“Ms. Park, can you tell me where your address is?”

“No, I can’t, Myoui-chan. I cannot just simply give away my address. People might creep up on me.”, Jihyo laughed again while she laid there helplessly.

“Ms. Park, you need to tell me. I need to take you home.”

“Home? Home is where the heart is, Ms. Myoui.”, Jihyo smiled and giggled.

Mina gave up and sighed again as she started the engine and began to drive to her apartment instead. “I guess I have no choice then.”

It was silent for a while and Mina thought Jihyo fell asleep. She looked at the rear mirror and saw her eyes were slightly open.

“Are you okay, Ms. Park?”

“Do you think she got back home?”, Jihyo asked.

Mina gave a guessing look. “Who got back home?”

“That Sana. She didn’t have a car. And it was snowing really bad. Do you think she got home?”, Jihyo slurred.

“Minatozaki-sama?”, Mina asked in a surprised tone. How come Ms. Park is asking about Minatozaki-sama with such concern?

“Yeah, that woman.”

Mina wanted to scold Jihyo for not addressing Minatozaki Sana properly. But it was helpless since she was far too drunk to comprehend what she would say to her, anyway.

“I don’t know, Ms. Park. Do you want to call her?”, Mina joked and giggled. But she looked at Jihyo, whose eyes were barely open, was nodding seriously at the idea.

“I was joking, Ms. Park. She probably had gone home. It’s already almost eight.”, again, Mina looked at Jihyo who was now sitting and sluggishly typing on her phone.

Mina suddenly stopped the car and Jihyo dropped her phone.

“Oy, Myoui-chan!”

Before Jihyo could pick her phone up from the floor, Mina grabbed it. “Ms. Park. You’re drunk right now. You cannot and should not call Minatozaki-sama at this hour, especially in your current state.”

“But I want to know if she got home!”, Jihyo was acting somewhat like a child right now as she pouted at Mina and pretended to cry. “I need to apologize to her. I was mean to her. I didn’t want to be mean.”

So, this is the great prodigy artist of Korea, Mina thought.

Jihyo continued to fake cry and Mina was almost losing it.

“Okay, Ms. Park. We’ll call her.” Jihyo brightened up like a kid who was given her favorite candy. “But I will be the one to talk, okay?”

“Okay.”, Jihyo smiled as she laid down again and her eyes were bearing the weight of drunkenness as she was getting too sleepy at this point.

Mina took her phone from her pocket and started dialing Sana’s number.

“Good evening, Minatozaki-sama. It’s Myoui Mina. Uhm this might be too odd, but have you gone home?”, Mina asked as she looked a little nervous because it was simply strange and suspicious to ask anyone that question at this hour, especially when there are no close ties with each other.

Jihyo heard Sana spoke but she was too sleepy and drunk to hear it. “Okay, Minatozaki-sama. Thank you.”, Mina ended the call with a sigh of relief. “She said she’s at home. Are you okay now?”

Jihyo thought how stupid she was doing all those things. She thought that she shouldn’t have drank too much and caused Mina a lot of trouble. She didn’t have to drink to brush her thoughts away. She had always believed that it was a something a weak person would do. But Jihyo admitted to herself that she was being weak.

Apologizing to Mina was the first thing Jihyo will do once she gets a hold of herself from her agonizing hangover.

I’m really sorry, Ms. Myoui.

Another thing that bothered Jihyo was how she was so desperate in knowing if Sana had gone home. She whined about it to be exact. It was none of her business, after all. She already told her that she took the bus and so probably, she also rode the bus on the way back. She had no business at all with her after what happened.

Probably because I am so guilty about everything.

Then she thought, again, how foolish she was at the museum yesterday with that incident with Sana.

Jihyo buried her face with her hands with humiliation and disappointment. She pushed hard that she might carve the shape of her head on the pillow under her.

“Are you done, Ms. Park?”

Wait.

Jihyo felt the gravity got five times heavier as she felt her heart drop in an instant.

As they got out of the elevator, Mina struggled to carry a lifeless Jihyo towards the huge double doors just three meters across. She kept pushing and pulling Jihyo back up to make her stand in the most decent way possible.

“Here we are again, Ms. Park.”, Mina grunted as she struggled.

Jihyo was really heavy. Almost all her weight was leaning on to Mina. Jeongyeon really helped a lot earlier and how Mina wished she were here to help her again.

Mina was about to let Jihyo slip when in the nick of time, Sana caught Jihyo and helped fixed her balance. They carefully carried Jihyo like they were carrying a dead body. Fortunately, there were no cameras outside the door because anyone would see this like it was murder.

“Thank you, Myoui-san. I am extremely sorry you had to go through this. I can manage from here”, Sana apologized as they laid Jihyo on the couch.

Mina let out an exhausted exhale as she was relieved to have managed and preserved her sanity. She had to drag Jihyo in and out of the car and carried her as she tried to calm her down. Mina was just relieved to be alive at this point.

“No. It was nothing at all, Minatozaki-sama. I am deeply sorry as well on behalf of Ms. Park. After our call ended, she started crying and kept telling me to take her to you, so I had no choice. I don’t have the faintest idea why, but she kept on pleading. So, I had to call you back and then this.”

“It’s okay, Myoui-san. If it’s okay with you, please sleep here tonight, as well. It’s getting late and the snow is getting thicker.”, Sana invited with deepest sincerity, feeling guilty with all the trouble.

“I appreciate the invitation, really, Mintatozaki-sama. But I have to go home because my dog for sure is waiting for me.”, Mina said as she made a tired smile. “I will have to use Ms. Park’s car. I will send her a message once I get home.”

Jihyo didn’t want to open her eyes as she might regret living her days in Sapporo. She knew she had botched many things. Bombarding Sana at night on top of it all.

“Ms. Park, I know you’re awake. So please if you could just move a little, my legs are feeling a little numb.”

Jihyo opened her eyes, ignoring the pain of how much of the sunlight went through her eyes. She saw Sana was looking at her and realized it was not a pillow she was lying on all this time.

Jihyo sit straight as swift as she can and put her hands on her lap as she looked down on the floor and avoided Sana’s stare.

“I’m sorry.” Was all Jihyo could say.

Jihyo didn’t know which one she was apologizing for. It went back to her again. How completely careless she had been. She had lost her chance for the reconsideration of the project which would eventually conclude to losing her chance to improve her career as well; just because she was too proud and full of herself. She realized it was not only her who had been affected by the discontinuity of the project, but Sana as well, who she thought would be the most affected from all of this. Sana holds the responsibility and the name of the entire production company so it would be a huge heave for her and her employees if they gained a bad reputation.

She recalled what Sana said. It was a commission personally requested by her. Although it was still a project by the company, it was still supposed to be made for Sana. Jihyo realized how unsympathetic she had been for not bringing out what Sana had wanted for the exhibit.

When have I been so irresponsible like this?

Jihyo felt really guilty.

“I’ll go now. Thank you, Ms. Minatozaki.” Jihyo tried her best to stand up and walked towards the door. But she was held back by Sana who was now standing as well.

“I’ll reconsider the project.”, Sana said as she looked at Jihyo’s eyes.

Jihyo was bewildered.

“What changed your mind?”, Jihyo asked with her eyes wide open, her brows knitted as she looked at Sana.

Sana saw how Jihyo’s eyes were still engulfed with a bit of intoxication. She peered at them and saw behind those intoxicated eyes were hints of how extremely tired Jihyo was after all the commotion yesterday and the days before that.

“Because I want to see if you have taken my criticism seriously. I want to see life in your work. I was carried away, so I went ahead of myself again.”, Sana said. But it was not the whole truth why she wanted to reconsider the project. “So, will you do it?”

Jihyo was reluctant. She felt like Sana’s reasons were not enough for her to agree with this. She can tell just by looking how Sana wanted to say more as she tries hard not to show it to Jihyo. But she just couldn’t tell what it is.

“Please?”, Sana implored as she smiled lightly at Jihyo as she looked at her with gleaming eyes.

Jihyo felt faint as she looked at Sana who was being sincere with her. Although she hasn’t told her every reason, it felt like it was now enough for her to agree. Besides, as a great artist and a fast learner who had proven many people that she has extraordinary talent, Jihyo wanted to prove to Sana that she will not just be easily defeated with just one criticism.

“I am not a person who gives up so easily, Ms. Minatozaki.”, Jihyo said boldly. “Besides, I was going to call you today and make sure you reconsider the project without a second thought.”, Jihyo smirked.

“Not someone who gives up so easily, I see.”, Sana eyed her with a mocking smile as she looked at Jihyo’s corpse-like appearance.

“It was a moment of vulnerability where I had to reflect upon my mistakes.”, Jihyo lied as she tried to hide her smile from Sana.

Sana just smiled how silly Jihyo gets when she tries to defend every point she has to make.

“Speaking of that moment of vulnerability, you should call Ms. Myoui.”, Sana said. “While you wait for her, please feel free to eat whatever you find on the table as you rest for a bit.”

Mina arrived with Jihyo’s car at eleven at the apartment complex to pick her up. It was a Saturday, so Mina fortunately had the time.

While Mina was waiting at the parking lot, she noticed there were two women on the other end of the building. They didn’t seem to notice her as the trees were blocking their view. They were talking to each other but somehow, Mina felt like it was out of place. There were other apartment buildings around the area, but they kept on eyeing at the one Sana lived in. It seemed like they were eyeing at every floor. They looked uncertain as there is a total of eleven floors in the building. The first floor being the reception and each of the next ten floors corresponds to one apartment. It was clearly suspicious.

She looked around to see if there were other people, but she saw none. The two women started walking towards the building but slowly stopped on their tracks when Jihyo and Sana walked out of the building; and then they returned to chatting casually.

Jihyo and Sana stopped by the entrance and shook each other’s hands as they said their goodbyes and Sana went back inside. Mina looked to see if the women were still there, but it seems they have left already.

Weird.

“Good morning, Ms. Myoui.”, Jihyo greeted as she smiled.

“You seem to be in a good mood today, Ms. Park.”

“Well, I have good news. Ms. Minatozaki has reconsidered the project.”, Jihyo said with an enthusiastic wave.

Mina, who had been a little disheartened by the project’s discontinuity, rejoiced with Jihyo as she put her hand over in shock with her eyes wide.

“Really?! How did you manage to convince her? It’s clearly close to a miracle to have Minatozaki-sama be convinced at something, you know?” Then Mina made a dubious smile at Jihyo. “I see. I never expected you to be a slithering sly, Ms. Park. Is it why you had yourself soaked in alcohol and pleaded me to take you to her?”, Mina laughed as they entered the car. “You sounded really desperate last night.”

Jihyo slightly blushed at Mina’s unbelievable remarks. How can Myoui Mina think of her like this?

“Ms. Myoui, I’m not that kind of person. I have dignity, you know?”, Jihyo said with her arms crossed facing away.

“I was joking, Ms. Park. You really are too serious when it comes to these things. Take it slow, okay?”, Mina patted Jihyo’s shoulder. And Jihyo smiled at her sarcastically.

“Anyway, Ms. Park. As you can see, you owe me a lot.”, Mina laughed as she started Jihyo’s car. “Do you want me to recap what happened?”, Mina teased.

Jihyo sighed and smiled, “I think I don’t need a recap. I clearly remember everything. Now please take me back to my apartment.”

“Is this how you treat someone who literally dragged you from hell? You basically made me a chaperone, Ms. Park. I think I deserve a thanks”, Mina teased more as she started to drive.

“Next time, I’ll treat you and everything is square, okay?”, Jihyo retorted and chuckled.

Mina thanked Jihyo with a smile. As they passed through the gate, Mina saw the two women walking ahead with their backs facing them, so she made a turn.

“I believe the shortest way is in the opposite way, Ms. Myoui.”, Jihyo suggested.

“Ah, this way has the least traffic.”, Mina said as she turned.

“By the way, Ms. Park. There had been a lot of complaints from your other clients in Korea. You were supposed to go back today, right?”

Jihyo thought about it but she didn’t mind at all. Those other commissions are small compared to what the production company has to offer.

“I don’t mind honestly. I can just go back to Korea after this. This current one is the biggest for me right now. Besides, it’s just a little extension for my stay to enjoy more of Sapporo.”, Jihyo smiled.

Sana saw Jihyo’s car left. She picked up the blanket she put on her. As she looked at the blanket, she remembered how feeble and fragile Jihyo was last night.

It was already nearing midnight and Sana was still in her study. She was busy settling with the demands and concerns of the other artists the company commissioned. She looked through the different requests the artists made as they were listed down on separate sheets of paper. She saw how some lists were short enough for the company to easily provide while most were long and a little demanding, but the company can still provide for them.

Sometimes, Sana saw these lists as a way to know more about the artists the company commissions. If the list is long, the artist is probably short-witted to think of improvisations; or the artist is clever enough to know the things to improve his or her project but lacks own will to provide for it. If the list is short, the artist is probably too timid and shy to ask for more, pushing away the chance for improvement; or the artist is trying to prove that he or she knows well enough that they can manage for themselves. These were accurate assumptions.

But Sana saw something different from the others. A sheet of paper was empty. There was no list. Just a name. As Sana expected, it was from Park Jihyo.

Sana sighed as she thought how this person was just different.

She heard a grunt from her living room, so she had to check.

It was just Park Jihyo having a bad dream. Sana saw how Jihyo furrowed her brows and frowned.

“I’m sorry I failed.”, Jihyo mumbled.

Sana thought she was talking to her but Jihyo’s eyes were closed still. She felt sad when she heard Jihyo say those words. She felt that Jihyo was talking about how she turned the reconsideration down. Sana wanted to apologize to her. She did not mean to turn it down. She was just carried away by her own feelings.

She saw Jihyo shivered lightly and curled. Sana got worried she might be getting too cold. So, she got a blanket and covered Jihyo with it as she looked at her with concern.

As she was about to return to her study, she heard Jihyo say, “Please stay.”

Sana turned around and saw Jihyo curled tighter.

“I miss you, omma.”, Jihyo muttered. Then her lips trembled as she tried to hold her tears back like she was fighting it. But then she slowly uncovers the thick layers she put up over the years. Her brows creased more, her frown getting deeper. Sana saw how Jihyo’s expression slowly turned into a child’s. A child who had long lost the touch of a mother’s embrace.

She finally let go. Her tears fell rapidly like it was never going to end. Jihyo sobbed and cried like she was grieving.

She was grieving.

Sana felt her heart ache at the sight of Jihyo being so transparent and vulnerable in front of her. She thought how hard it must have been for Jihyo to carry such heavy emotions around with a firm and strong façade in front of people. For years.

With earnest movements, Sana sat beside Jihyo. And carefully, she lifted Jihyo’s head to let it rest on her lap. She comfortingly her hair to try and make her feel better, even at least a little.

Sana smiled with relief as Jihyo’s sobs slowly ceased until only her soft breaths were heard. Sana continued to Jihyo’s hair as Jihyo continued to sleep peacefully.

Jihyo’s face softened and smiled.

“You’ve done a great job. It’s your turn to smile now.”, Sana whispered.

Sana smiled as she put the folded blanket down on the couch and went to her study.