Eternity [ryeji]

Chapter 7

After dinner, Yuna excuses herself to go up to her room, claiming that she has a lot of exam papers to grade.

Ryujin knows that her friend really just wants to give her and Yeji some time alone so she thanks the woman by patting her shoulder as she walks past her.

“Now then. What else do you need to know?Yuna has practically given you a history lesson,” she says as she sits down on the armchair.

Yeji asked a lot of questions during dinner. Some out of pure curiosity, some merely to confirm what her father has told her.

Yuna explained the different look that each generation has despite their equal status as immortals. Back in their homeland, everyone would age to a certain same point and stay that way forever but since the place was destroyed, sending them out to roam the earth instead, the stopping point would differ. She told her how they would look like their current selves forever while Yeji’s father would look middle-aged for the rest of his life.

“Well, that’s gonna save me money,” Yeji had replied. “No need to buy anti-aging cream.”

Overall, she was quite receptive and open to the idea of what she has become.

“I think I’ve asked enough questions for tonight,” Yeji tells Ryujin as she huffs, taking a seat on the couch. “I still need to process this.”

“At least your father told you at an early age.”

“Yeah. I’ve had five years to adjust to the idea but I never wanted to learn about the details until now. I was in denial for quite a long time.”

“What got you out of it?”

Yeji shrugs. “Not sure. Maybe realizing that I’m not alone helps,” she says with a smile. “Now about that house tour…”

“Let’s go then.” Ryujin stands up then goes to the nearest painting. “This I painted back in the nineties, when modern minimalism was the trend. It was a time when being semi retro was hip. Quite ironic how that decade became the decade where I made the most money considering I’m terrible with retro sixties and seventies abstract style-…”

“I said house tour, Ryujin. Not art tour,” teases Yeji, interrupting Ryujin. “This sounds very similar to Yuna’s history lesson.”

“Oh right! Right. Sorry.” Ryujin grins sheepishly. “House tour. Right. Well…” She gestures around the room. “Ta-da! The living room. We have a nice couch, comfortable armchairs and that’s the TV.” She points at the large flat screen TV.

Yeji laughs. “I can see that.”

“And you’ve been to the kitchen as well so there’s that. Oh! The study. Come on. You like books so you’re going to like this.”

Yeji follows Ryujin to a room where a sturdy wooden desk sits, surrounded by shelves of books. “Wow. So many books,” she comments as she looks around, “This is more like a library.”

“It kinda is. We’ve collected a lot over the years,” says Ryujin. “From exciting novels to boring encyclopedias. You name it, we probably have it.”

“Cool,” says Yeji.

“Thank you,” replies Ryujin with a smile. “Now you’ve seen the guest bathroom so that’s that. Let’s go upstairs.”

They walk out of the study and Ryujin briefly points to the back of the house where there’s a small backyard but it’s already dark so Yeji can’t see it clearly.

“This is Yuna’s room.” Ryujin gestures to the nearest door once they’ve stepped onto the landing. “My room’s further down the hall,” she says, pointing to her right. Then she suddenly remembers her studio and the painting of Yeji she’s been working on. “Um… hang on.” She knocks on Yuna’s door. “Yuna-yah.”