Tia got up extra early that morning. She hadn’t been sleeping well. Ever since she’d moved to Seoul. The reasons were twofold. On the one hand, she was worried about Juju. But that concern had taken nearly two weeks to develop. The earlier anxiety revolved around him.
Everywhere she went, she looked for him. She kept expecting to run into him somewhere. Which was ridiculous. Over ten million people lived in Seoul. The chances of her meeting one particular gentleman were astronomical.
Still, she kept looking for him around every corner. At the grocery store. The man did eat, right? Maybe he didn’t buy his own groceries. He had a lackey, or a housekeeper, or perhaps, a personal chef, who did that.
She looked for him at every restaurant she passed, every coffeeshop she entered, every path she walked at the park. But she hadn’t seen him. It had been nearly three weeks since she’d moved here. And she had seen not one sign of him. Most likely, if she ran into him again, it would be through her sister. Though, Julieta had yet to meet him. She’d met only Jin and Jungkook.
And if Tia did see him again, would he even remember her? He had her phone number, but he had never so much as texted after that first day. Neither had she. She didn’t want to be a bother. He was a busy man. A wildly popular guy with millions of girls chasing him. Panting after him. What need had he of a regular girl from Argentina? Even if he had looked at her once with an aching tenderness in his eyes.
But that was seven long weeks ago. Seven weeks and no word. Not a single sign that he was aware that she still existed. Or had ever existed, for that matter. Perhaps she had dreamed the whole thing up. But if that were the case, how to explain the dozen pictures in her phone? Photographs that made her cry every time she looked at them. Pictures that made her heart burn with an undeniable longing.
Photography. It was her gift. It was her passion. And some dear soul had taken for her the pictures she could not take that unforgettable evening. One night she had spent with him. Just a few hours, really. But those minutes had changed her life, and her heart, forever. Though he had clearly forgotten her, she would never forget him. She would always remember his exotic, dark eyes and his enigmatic smile. She would never be the same.
On days like today, she wished she could be. She longed to go back to the hour before she met him and make a different choice. Choose another path. One that led her away from him. Surely, that road would have hurt her less. But some choices, once made, could not be undone. Some consequences kept you up at night pondering the path less traveled. Why had she taken it? Why had it cost her so much?
A steadfast love. It was what her heart longed for. It was what she had been designed for. Constantia Amatia. The name her mother had chosen. The gift she had been given. But it felt like a heavy burden today. Whose steadfast love would she be? Who would accept the gift of her faithful heart? Apparently, not him. So, who? Who would breach her heart’s defenses to embrace her with the warmth of an undying love? She was afraid that no one would accomplish it now. For once again, she had just had to fortify the walls surrounding her heart. To protect herself from any more pain.
—
The phone rang. And rang. Just as Jin was about to give up, a clear, feminine voice answered, “Hello?”
“Tia?”
“Yes?” came a clearly puzzled tone.
“This is Jin. I’m a friend of your sister.”
Jin!!! He wasn’t just Julieta’s friend. He was a member of BTS! More importantly, he was Tae’s friend! But why on earth was he calling her?
“Hi! What can I do for you?” she asked, still perplexed.
Julieta had given him her sister’s phone number. In case he needed to get a hold of her for work-related questions. But this had nothing to do with snack cakes.
Jin had little time to surprise Julieta. But he was going to make it happen. A decade was long enough to mourn. It was time that somebody celebrated Julieta’s life. It was, after all, what her parents would have desired for her.
So he cut to the chase, “Tia, I want to celebrate Julieta’s birthday. I want to surprise her.”
Tia’s heart flipped upside down. That was what she’d wanted to do for years now. But Juju never let her. “I’m sorry, but—”
Jin cut her off. “I don’t care what she’s said in the past. This year is going to be different.”
“Jin, you don’t know what happened. Why she’s this way.”
“Yes. I do. And ten years is long enough. This has to stop.”
“You know? But how?”
“My appa told me.”
“Your father? But how?”
“He was your father’s friend.”
“He was?”
“Yes. They were business associates. Appa is the reason I began working with Julieta in the first place.” He paused a moment, then he asserted heatedly, “I’m going to surprise her, Tia. With or without your help.” Then his voice took on a gentler tone, “But I think it will be better with your help.”
Tia sighed. Hopefully, Juju wouldn’t hate her for this…
—
Julieta was crushed. Jin had asked Tia out on a date. Why was it that she had thought he was interested in her? Apparently, she had confused compassion with attraction.
Apparently, he had called Tia in an attempt to reach Julieta to discuss the contract, but she had been unavailable. He and Tia had instantly hit it off, and he’d asked her sister out for dinner.
Julieta felt like crying. She was slumped in her recliner staring out at the dying sunset. The last rays of the day were fading so quickly. In a few moments, darkness would descend to swallow the remaining light, and she would be plunged into an even deeper depression. She hated the night. She always had. As a child she’d had nightmares. They had returned the night her parents had died. She had battled them for a decade now.
The one bright hope in her day today, the one thing that had kept her from losing it, had been remembering Jin and the confident support he had offered her. She’d begun to build dreams around him. She’d begun to believe that perhaps he could rescue her from her dilemma. And maybe he still would. But she felt broken-hearted that she had finally found a man she could admire, and now he was out somewhere laughing with her sister. Enjoying her smile. Tia was so beautiful. It was no wonder he’d fallen for her. Of course, he hadn’t known what she looked like when he’d asked her out. That must have been some conversation they’d had over the phone. How had Tia managed to impress him that quickly?
What did it matter? Julieta was alone. She’d been alone for ten long years. And it appeared that she’d spend the next ten years alone too. Only it would be even worse. Tia would probably marry Jin, and then she would leave Julieta too. And Julieta would then be truly alone.
Suddenly, something wet plopped onto her hand. She looked down at the water drop resting like a tiny globe against her skin. She glanced up at the ceiling. Was there a leak? She looked outside. But it wasn’t even raining. She glanced back down at her hand. Just in time to see another drop of water hit the back of her hand. What on earth? She reached up and wiped her cheek. She was crying. She hadn’t even felt those tears leave her eyes. Why was she crying? Over a guy she had just met three weeks ago? That was insane. It must just be because she felt so alone.
