Eunji hugged her brother, Ye-jun for the last time and checked in her boarding pass. When she finally boarded the flight, she sat on her seat taking a deep breath. Eunji closed her eyes thinking of her conversation with her dad last night.
"Eunji listen to me! You'll have a well paid job here! They are offering you a good pay. Why aren't you thinking of that?" Mr. Choi said.
"But appa I don't want to do this job. I don't feel like home here. Its alien for me. I want to open my own shop in Korea. Please dad! Trust me I'll do good!"
Eunji tried to persuade her dad.
Eunji had finally got her father's confidence and was happy to be able to fly back to where she belonged, her home, South Korea.
The flight took off after sometime and Eunji gazed out of the window, America left far below, only the lights visible. Plugging in her earphones and continued looking outside the window till everything she could see was blanket of clouds.
Eunji checked her watch, it was still hours before she reached Korea. She closed her eyes and dozzed off in no time. She woke up to the flight attendant announcing their arrival in Korea which was in about an hour.
Excited to every cell, Eunji smiled to herself thinking of everything that was waiting for her in Korea. Her best friend had promised her to pick her up from the Incheon International Airport.
The flight landed in Korea and it took Eunji sometime to get to where she was supposed to wait for her best friend, Yeona. Eunji waited and waited but there was no sign of Yeona.
"Where are you?" Eunji called Yeona.
"On my way! Mianhae!" Yeona cried from the other side.
Eunji had a long flight and was very tired, every inch of her body aching. She sat down in a chair in the waiting room and scrolled through phone surfing the internet.
"BTS the kpop sensation of Korea." She read from a news channel headline.
'BTS...hmm...' Eunji thought and her mind immediately went to Yeona.
'That girl is crazy about BTS. I wonder what's the craze?' Eunji thought scrolling further into the internet.
It had been minutes since Eunji had called and Yeona was still nowhere to be seen.
'Let me call her again.' She thought dialling Yeona's cell.
"Eunji! Give me two minutes I'll be there in no time!" Yeona said as soon as she picked up the call.
Without waiting for her reply, Yeona hung up. Eunji could hear Yeona panting from the other side of the call.
After waiting for a few more minutes, Yeona finally arrived, running.
"Jinja? You are so late after you say me you are gonna pick me up?" Eunji shouted at Yeona.
Yeona ran upto Eunji and hugged her tight.
"Mianhae Eunji-a! You know my Eomma and Appa! They are behind my back about my career! Anyways how was your flight?" Yeona said pulling back from the warm hug.
"Flight? Its hell of a long journey from Migug (America) to Daehanmingug (South Korea)! I am super tired." Eunji replied stretching.
"Lets go grab some dinner then? What do you want to eat?"
Yeona treated her to dinner and Eunji caught on everything she had missed after being in America for six months. Her internship in America was really good and helpful, but home was what she couldn't find there.
Eunji and Yeona finally decided to head to their home and call it a night.
"Nae. Jalga." Eunji bid Yeona bye.
"Bye."
Eunji was greeted in her home by her mother giving her a warm hug and a shower of kisses.
"Uri ttal (my daughter) has grown so much. Aigoo." Eunji's mother said caressing her face.
"Eomma I had only been gone for six months! And you had seen me on video call!" Eunji said.
Eunji finally got into her room that her mother had carefully cleaned and arranged for her. She took a good look around her room, all her paintings were on the wall, hanging. Eunji quickly showered before laying down on her bed.
Eunji messaged her brother and asked about everything in America.
"Noona, I don't want to stay here anymore." Ye-jun wrote.
"You can come back after a few months. Just finish your university and you can go anywhere you want. By then I'll hopefully be financially independent and I can help you then!"
Eunji consoled her brother.
They talked more before she was swept away in her dream world.
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
Eunji moved her hand across her bed, trying to find her phone.
'Yeona' she read on the phone screen.
"Yeoboseyo..." Eunji's voice heavy.
"Eunji its me Yeona." Yeona cried.
"Mmm? Say..."
Apparently Yeona had lost her diary in airport or in her way there and Yeona was afraid someone might read it and would take her for a fool.
'I wonder who got her diary. I pity that person who is reading it for everything in there is her crazy life and BTS.' Eunji thought and laughed before hugging a plushie and being drawn back in her dreams.
Eunji woke up to her mother cleaning her room with a vacuum cleaner.
"Eomma. The sound..." Eunji mumbled in her sleep but gave in and woke up in sometime.
"Eunji-ya your ajhumma (here: mother's sister) owns a shop a few metres ahead of the cafe she runs. She said you can use her shop to open your own shop."
"Jinja? Yaaah. That will be so helpful!" Eunji said excited as she bit onto the rice cakes her mother had made.
*Time skip to a week later*
Eunji set her canvas up again the aisle and picked up her paint brush. As she made fine stokes of bright, vibrant colors giving life to the bare white canvas, a man walked into her shop.
"Eotteohge dowa deulilkkayo (how may I help you)?" Eunji said walking upto the man that had just entered her shop.
The man was looking around her paintings that were displayed, ready to be sold. Eunji had made quite a few paintings in the past one week.
"Umm am actually looking for a painting to gift my friend. He loves paintings actually." The man said.
"So can you tell me what type you are looking for?"
"Yes yes. Something subtle and soothing. It will be great if its in blue shades..."
"Ah I think I have something you'll like to have."
Eunji went inside her shop and took out a work she had prepared while in America. It was a beautiful art piece with a moon centered around blue hues.
"Its perfect!" The man exclaimed.
The man bought it immediately. The man studied the painting in awe and his eyes fell on the name signature.
"Dreamer? That's your name?" The man asked.
"Yes my professional name you can say."
"Ah I see. What's your real name then?"
"An artist shouldn't give away his or her name mister." Eunji smiled.
The man laughed.
"Then can I have a card? I might need your work in the future."
"Sure." Eunji handed over her business card.
Miso (meaning: smile) read her shop name.
The man went on his way looking satisfied with his purchase.
"Yaah. I have something for you... When can we meet?" Eunji heard the man talking to someone over call as he walked away.
Having sold her first painting in the first two days of opening her shop, Eunji couldn't contain her excitement and called Yeona immediately.
"Yeoboseyo Eunji-ya."
"Guess what?" Eunji said.
"Something good happened? Tell me what happened!"
"Yeona! I sold my first painting! And the man was very generous. He paid me a huge sum!" Eunji was almost jumping inside her shop.
"Jinja? Waaah. Chukkayeyao (congratulations)!" Yeona said.
"Let's meet tonight? We'll drink and eat! What say?"
"I'll be there!"
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A/N:
Thank you for reading on. We hope you are liking it. Please comment and vote and share if you like our story.
All the pictures/paintings used in the story are taken from Google.
We never know when things can change for us and how our lives can take a turn leading to something we had expected only in our dreams. Yeona and Eunji were no exceptions.
Stay tuned to know what happens.