A Thousand Purple Stars (JinJi)

Goodbye Dream

"A surprise?" she said.

"Mhmm," Jennie said, giggling. "I didn't know when you'd get back from work, so I told him he could just wait in your room."

Jisoo froze.

"Him?" she said, eyes wide. A boy? Jinyoung?

"Yupp," Jennie said. "He's been waiting a while, so you'd better go—,"

Jisoo didn't even wait for Jennie to finish before dashing down the hall toward her bedroom. Her heart started pounding as her legs brought her closer. She grabbed the door knob and burst into her bedroom to find a man sitting at her desk, dressed in worn out jeans and a khaki jacket, his balding head resting against her chair. Jisoo gasped.

"Appa," she whispered in surprise. A smile broke across her father's face as he rose to greet her with a hug. Jisoo threw herself into his embrace.

"Why'd you come up so early?" Jisoo said. She had taken her father out to a restaurant for dinner so they could talk. She thought of taking him someplace fancy to impress him with her new city lifestyle, but they ended up at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant without a name that served typical Korean street fare. It was small and humid and intimate. They sat on low stools with chipping paint, and Jisoo decided that she liked this option better. It felt more like a place she and her father might eat at if they were back in their hometown.

"There's still two weeks until graduation," she said, taking a napkin and laying it in her lap. Her father chose to tuck his into his collar.

"I thought I'd surprise you," he said, smiling with his slightly yellowed teeth. "Nothing much is happening back home, and I missed you."

Jisoo smiled. Although she didn't want to end up stuck at home her entire life, she did still miss her father. She missed his easy smile, his terrible jokes. She missed his awkward dancing and his trot music blasting in the living room on Sunday mornings. She missed his earthy smell and his gruff voice. He was familiar and comfortable, a soothing presence.

"Well, you know I do still have work," Jisoo said. "And I have to study for finals and then take exams. I won't have a ton of time to show you around."

There were quite a few sights that she wanted to show him. Her father wasn't in the city very often, mostly because he hated the city with a burning passion. In fact, she was surprised he showed up this early and opted to spend two extra weeks there. It couldn't have been cheap, either.

"That's alright," he said as a wait brought them a pitcher of water and cups. "I'm not that interested in seeing it. Frankly, I don't know why you're so drawn to it."

Jisoo laughed gently. She remembered how he had stared at her blankly when she announced that she wanted to go to college in the city and fulfill her dream of being a cosmopolitan city girl. After years of being Kim Peachu, Jisoo wanted to be someone else.

"I like what I like, Appa," she said, taking a drink of water. "It's not so bad."

Ordinarily, she didn't like to bring the topic up. It was sensitive territory, and the last thing she wanted was for him to try and talk her into coming back home for good. God knew that she had enough on her mind without having to feel guilty about neglecting him, too. It wasn't as if she was going to abandon him completely, she thought. Lots of children move out of their childhood homes when the time comes to chase after their own prospects.