THIRTEEN

It had been days but she could almost feel the softness of his lips in deep contrast with the fierceness of his kiss. Seohyun was a million miles away from home and the distance seemed to feel even farther—and she never felt this way before. Putting her hand on her chest at the sudden recollection rushed over her, it was as if she could still feel how his heart rapped on her while they were kissing.

Taking one of the deepest breaths of her life, Seohyun shook her head and focused on the woman lying on the bed as she wiped the damp hand towel on the latter’s thinning skin. After an event and a photoshoot in New York, she made it to Paris just in time for her next assignment. The next three days were packed with work until she was finally given a few days rest and she spent most of her time in the villa of her mentor just outside the city. She loves being there as it was her home away from home and her adoptive family lived there.

“She’s happy you came.”

Seohyun looked up and smiled at Hyoyeon who was standing by the doorway watching them. The older woman had her eyes closed now but moments ago, she was smiling widely as she told her stories about home. “If only I can stay here longer, Unnie. But she has always wanted me in Korea.”

“Yeah, it’s still home for mom but the weather here is good for her health.” Hyoyeon finally crossed the room and sat on her mother’s bedside.

The day Euna Kim entered Seohyun’s classroom was still engraved in Seohyun’s mind. The woman was beautiful and elegant and she had that very honest smile. That time, she was one of the most successful and powerful model and businesswoman in the country. Euna came to Seohyun’s school to visit her best friend who was then her homeroom adviser. The moment Seohyun caught her attention, she walked up to her and asked her name.

“Seo Joohyun,” she said timidly.

“Ahh, Seo Joohyun, you look like someone I know.” The woman’s smile was warm. “Joohyuna, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I want to be a diplomat.”

“Wow, that’s such a big dream!” The woman knelt in front of her so they could talk on eye level, “How about being a model before that big dream?”

“My umma is a model.”

“You are Park Jaena’s daughter?”

She nodded and the woman smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I know her. We used to go to the same ballet class. Do you want to be like your mom?”

Joohyun shook her head. She never wanted to be like her mother.

The woman smiled and touched her cheek, “It’s okay. You study hard so you can be a diplomat.” She stood and patted her head and walked away.

“My mother said I can never be a diplomat because I’m stupid and we’re poor.” The woman turned and looked at her. Joohyun clenched her fist on her sides trying not to let her tears fall.

“Are you stupid and poor?”

“I’m poor but I’m not stupid.” The woman walked to her again and, to her surprise, wrapped her in her arms.

“I can help you be a diplomat,” she whispered in her ears and her voice was so soft like she was an angel.

Three days after that, Joohyun came home and found her bag by the door and the woman was there smiling at her. With an outstretched hand, she said, “Come, Joohyun, we have a plane to catch.”

She didn’t ask anything that day until they were inside the plane that the woman told her her mother gave her permission to study abroad. A few years after that, the truth was revealed to her by accident—her own mother sold her.

Euna Kim became a mother to Seohyun since she was nine. She was treated like the youngest in the family— clothed, pampered and loved the same way Hyoyeon was. But outside the house, she was a pupil and treated as one. Seeing the passion in her mentor, Joohyun decided to be a full-fledged model and worked hard to be one of the best. When she debuted in the modeling world, they opted to use ‘Seohyun’ instead of her complete name. She liked it that way. It was like gaining a new persona for herself—the one she made on her own.

Seohyun owed her life to this woman who was now almost lifeless in her bed. Two years ago, she was diagnosed with an Early-onset Alzheimer's. Hyoyeon, her only daughter, took over the company when the illness started to swallow her health. They have become her family all these years and it pains her to see her mentor suffer like this. Wiping her tears, she wrapped her arms on Hyoyeon’s arm. “I miss you both, Unnie.”

“We miss you too, you poor little girl,” Hyoyeon affectionately patted her hip and she laughed softly. When Seohyun first came to Paris, she was a lanky girl and her Unnie fussed all over her calling her ‘poor little girl’ that needed to be fed and taken cared of. That moment, she found her new family.

“Taeyeon told me you’re seeing someone.”

Her thoughts were halted by that statement that she could almost feel the sudden loud taps in her chest again. Seohyun was just thinking about him and now to talk about him was a bit nerve-wracking. Shaking her head, she gave her unnie a tight smile, “I am not… well technically, we are just hanging out a lot.”

“Why not make it official?” Hyoyeon poked her shoulder playfully, “Still the old demons?”

“I guess?” She shrugged, “The old demons don’t just always go away.”

“They don’t but it’s just fear, Joohyun. The fear for those demons to take shape.” Hyoyeon shrugged back, “But who knows demons don’t apply to this situation?”

“I don’t know, Unnie. The thin