Lia stared blankly at her hands, her eyes tracing the pattern on the front of her passport as her thumbs traced circles on the cover. It'd been seven years since everything happened; seven years since her mother died; seven years since her father went missing; seven years since she'd left Korea.

Seven years since she'd lost touch with Jongin.

The plane rocked gently, and the light above her head blinked on, signaling for her to fasten her seatbelt. The air stewardess came cleared , and everyone looked up at her. "Everyone, please, fasten your seatbelts," she directed. "We'll be landing soon. Please clear up your area and prepare to leave exit the plane."

Once they landed, and she'd gone through customs, she stood at the entrance to the airport, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the handle to her suitcase. Her eyes scanned the left side of the parking lot, where all the rental cars sat silently. Glancing down at the receipt in her hand, she narrowed her eyes, finding the lot number. She quickly dashed over to the car, fiddling with the keys and opening the back. Throwing her suitcase in, she slammed the trunk shut and hopped in the car, starting in as her gaze flicked to the controls. The dashboard lit up, revealing a touchscreen control pad. After messing around with it for a bit, she found the navigator and punched in Detective Park's house number quickly.

She didn't exactly know if Park would be at her grandparents’ house - she just kind of guessed, because it was summer after all.

Pulling out, she started on the course to Park's house, not at all prepared for the memories that faced her there.

 

---

 

While Lia drove along the route towards Park's house, she noticed how much everything had changed in seven years. A lot of the buildings had been torn down and replaced with newer ones, and a lot of the farming land that had been there when she'd been in Korea had been converted to housing developments and shopping centers.

After a few hours of driving, she finally made it to Detective Park's home. She pulled into the driveway, silently celebrating as she noticed the lights shining out from inside the house.

Climbing out of the car, she started up towards the house. As she made it to the door, her long stride began to falter, and she slowed down, hesitation consuming her. What if she doesn't want to see me? she wondered. What if I'd just be a bother?

She shook away these thoughts, making the rest of the way up to the porch. Standing in front of the door, she knocked loudly, hearing a loud grunt from inside the house. A loud crash sounded, followed by a string of curses, and the door flew open, a wide-eyed Detective Park standing in front of her. "May I help you?" she asked, her eyes scanning Lia up and down.

"Um, Detective Park," she hesitated, thrown off by her rather grumpy welcoming. "It's me. Lia. Lia Seok."

Detective Park's eyes grew wide with recognition. "L-Lia?" she echoed, a slow smile creeping across her face. "Is it really you?" Lia nodded quickly, and Park dove towards her, wrapping her in a choking hug. "I can't believe it's you!" she cried.

"Yeah," Lia groaned, struggling to breathe as Park smothered her. "It's me."

Park stretched her away, holding her by the shoulders and looking at her happily. "When did you get here?"

"I landed a few hours ago. I drove here," she said, gesturing to the car in the driveway.

"Ah," Detective Park mumbled, pulling Lia inside. "C'mon, c'mon. Don't stand outside like that; you'll catch a cold."

Lia followed Park into the house, closing the door softly behind her. "Go sit in the living room," she commanded. "I'll make tea." When Lia began to protest, she gave her a stern look. "I practiced while you were gone. I'll have you know I'm quite a good cook now."

With a sigh, Lia moved to the living room, collapsing onto the couch. After five hours of driving, she was unbearably tired. She let her eyes fall closed, listening intently to Park just to make sure she didn't burn the kitchen down. A few minutes later, Detective Park marched proudly into the room, holding in her hands a freshly prepared tray of tea.

"See?" she defended, placing a cup on the table in front of Lia. "I told you I could do it."

Giving it a careful blow, Lia sipped on it. "You're right," she agreed, setting it back on the table. "You have improved."

Park smiled triumphantly. "Of course. When have I ever been wrong?" Lia chuckled, leaning back into the couch with a groan. "You must be tired," she said, setting her cup down. "Go ahead up to your room. We can catch up in the morning."

Lia nodded, stretching with a yawn. She stood as she stretched, clamoring up the stairs and to her room. As soon as she stumbled in, she collapsed onto the bed, laying on her stomach. Her eyes trailed the room, resting on her nightstand. Nothing stood out, until a small book caught her eyes. On the table, sat one book; The Little Prince.

The book from long ago.

 

---

 

A burning scent filled Lia's nose as consciousness tightened around her, pulling her with burning reigns from the depths of her sleep. In the midst of an early morning's confusion, terrible memories flooded her; the smell of cigar smoke as it flooded her lungs. The man standing in front of her, his yellow-stained grin flashing in front of her from underneath an unshaven lip. The faded brown of the closet door as it closed her in, caging her with the beast of her nightmares.

Lia sat up quickly, breathing heavily. Sweat beaded down her forehead, and she glanced around wildly, as if to reassure herself that it was a dream. You're safe now, she told herself. You're out of that house. He can't hurt you here.

She heard a slight knock at her door, and she cleared hoarsely. "Just a minute," she said, jumping up from the bed and changing her clothes hastily. Opening the door, she was surprised to see Detective Park standing in front of her, holding out a plate of freshly cooked bacon.

"Good morning!" she chimed, stepping past Lia and into the room with a curious look on her face. "Glad to see you still keep everything as neat as you used to."

Lia laughed faintly, scratching the back of her head. "Yeah, I just like things that way"

Park pursed her lips. "I understand," she said, waving the plate of food around a few times. "Now, follow me downstairs. I've made breakfast."

"Are you sure?" Lia asked dubiously, eyeing the bacon carefully.

Rolling her eyes, Detective Park handed her the plate. "Try it for yourself. Just don't eat it all."

Lia picked up a piece, staring straight into Park's eyes as she ripped off a bit of the bacon with her teeth. She chewed slowly, making sure to duly note each distinct taste within the small piece of pork. "I feel like I'm a judge on Master Chef," she said after a moment, and Park raised an eyebrow.

"Master Chef?"

Lia waved her hand dismissively. "It's a show back in America."

Park nodded, enlightened with this new piece of information. "Maybe I'll look it up later."

"It's not that interesting," Lia protested. "Anyways, this tastes pretty good," she praised, finishing off the piece. "You've improved."

"Yeah, well I had quite a bit of free time on my hands since I moved here."

At her remark, Lia made a sound of realization, and Park gave her a confused look. "I meant to ask you yesterday, but I was too tired; why are you here? I thought you'd be working."

"Well," Park began, taking back the plate and motioning for Lia to follow her out the door, "I decided to get relocated to the local station. It was getting too hectic at the district office for me."

"But you were such a good detective!" Lia argued.

"It's just that . . . I'm better off settling old people's disputes than dealing with child murder cases." Park continued down the stairs, signaling that the conversation was over, and no more would be spoken of it.

As Lia stepped into the kitchen, she smiled at the small spread of food; toast, eggs, bacon. There wasn't much, but it was enough for the two of them. "But I thought you didn't like American food?" Lia recalled, setting herself down at the table.

Park shrugged. "I figured that I'd make it, since you just returned from America."

Lia's smile grew wider at the explanation. "You didn't have to go to all that trouble," she said, ducking her head and she began to eat.

"Oh shush, it wasn't any trouble," Park said, and she scooted closer to the table, leaning over to peer curiously at Lia. "Now, tell me, how was your family in America?"

Lia froze. The man with the yellow teeth; the dim light of cheap cigars; the pitch black closet. Her eyes swung out of focus. He's not here. Everything's fine.

She hadn't realized it, but in her remembrance she'd allowed her fork to slip from her grasp. The sharp sound of metal against glass snapped her from her daze, and her head shot up. Her wild eyes met with Park's, and she forced a smile.

"Sorry. I'm still a bit tired," she lied. "America was fine."

"Fine?" Park echoed, and Lia nodded.

"Yeah, fine," she said, and cringed as her voice cracked. She stood abruptly, the force sending the chair skidding back a few inches before stopping with a low groan. "I've got to go and pack my things," she announced. "I have to start unpacking my things at my apartment."

"O-of course," Park stuttered, recognizing that the discussion was over. "But you have an apartment? Where?"

"Seoul," she mumbled, pacing her way out of the room and up the stairs. As she neared her room, she darted through the door, letting it slam shut behind her.

She felt herself press against the door, and her knees gave out from underneath her as she collapsed into the ground. Silent tears slid down her face, and tightened. You aren't there any more, she whispered to herself, her tears patting against the wooden floor.

He can't hurt you.

 

---

 

The car pulled to a stop, and Lia gave a short nod to Park. "You sure you don't mind taking my car back to the airport?"

"Of course not," she promised. "Just be careful. It's not good for young girls to live in such a big city by themselves; trust me, I know."

"I'll be careful," Lia reassured her, stepping out of the car and lugging her suitcase with her. As the car pulled off of the curb, Lia waved slightly, smiling at the thumbs up Park gave her.

Turning around, she sighed at the apartment building. In all honesty, it wasn't too bad. After studying so hard in the U.S., she'd finally gotten a scholarship to study in Korea. This scholarship, as well as awarding her with free schooling, also got her housing paid by the university. She'd thought that it would be a dorm-type of apartment, but it was actually quite nice; a gate stood at the front, with a small code pad, the name of the complex engraved into a large iron plaque that hung over the gate.

She fumbled with her purse, finding the small slip of paper that had the code written on it. After putting in the code, there was a loud buzz, and the gate swung open. She stepped in, taking in the appearance; there was a small courtyard, and surrounding it was a four-story apartment complex.

Her eyes scanned the bottom floors, until finding a large sign reading 'OFFICE', with an arrow pointing to the building at the farthest end of the complex. She jogged awkwardly over to the office, dragging her suitcase behind her. At the door, she gave a small knock, receiving a sweet call in reply.

As she swung the door open, she was greeted by a women appearing to be in her thirties. Her short black hair bobbed around her shoulders, and she flashed a warm smile, motioning to the chair in front of her desk.

Lia sat down, her lips. She had no idea what she was supposed to do; never once had she bought an apartment, and she was already awkward enough in situations she was well-adapted to.

"Hi, I'm the landlord, Go Jiyeon. And you're . . . Lia Seok, right?" Lia nodded, and Miss Go smiled. "This all must seem really odd to you. This is your first apartment, am I correct?" Once again, Lia nodded. "Well," Miss Go continued, "There isn't anything particularly odd about the rules here. There's just the basic requirements; no animals, no loud music, payments are due by the third of every month-" She broke off, looking up at Lia. "Although I don't think there will be any trouble with the payments, knowing the school is paying."

Lia nodded slowly; she had no idea what it was she was supposed to do, so she just continued to nod to everything the landlady said.

"Now," Miss Go said finally, stacking her papers neatly and grabbing a key from the top of her desk to hand to Lia, "Here's the key to your apartment. If you have any trouble, go ahead and come to me. I'm always in my office, but if I'm not here I'm in apartment number one. You're in number 10."

Standing up, Lia gently took the key from her hands, bowing deeply and making her way to the door. "Good luck!" she heard Miss Go call from behind her, and she smiled broadly. Finally, she was starting to get her life together.