The merry-go-round music plays, and laughter fills the room. The fire crackling in the fireplace warms the space, but not as much as the warmth of the person hugging my tiny frame.
I look up, and my mom's smiling face is as beautiful as ever. There she is, my mom, beaming down at me, her dimple appearing as I reach up to touch her face. I smile back, but that smile doesn't last long.
Suddenly, a fight erupts, and I realize I am no longer in my mother's arms. I find myself hiding in the wardrobe. Smoke fills the room, choking me as I start to cough. My chest tightens, and I struggle to breathe. I try to cry out for help, but my voice won't come out.
And there she is again—my mom. She opens the wardrobe, and suddenly hope returns. She smiles down at me as usual, but this time there's a hint of sadness in her eyes. She reaches out her hand to me, still smiling. I don't ask the questions tugging at my insides, instead, I take her hand, and she lifts me up.
Smoke billows everywhere from the passage, and fear grips me. My mom senses it. "Don't be scared, baby. Mommy is here," she says soothingly.
An angry man's yell comes from behind the door. He bangs on it loudly, sending panic coursing through me. I cry out.
"Open the door now, you bitch!" he yells angrily. "Let us all die together!"
He continues banging on the door, and I look at my mom with wide eyes filled with fear. But she looks scared too, it's written all over her face.
She scans the room as if searching for a way out. Coughing, she holds me tightly. Her eyes land on the window, and she puts me down. I cling to the hem of her dress, begging her not to leave. Instead, she smiles through her coughs and kneels in front of me.
"Mommy will save you. Don't be scared."
She stands back up and tugs at the curtains until they fall off. She ties them around my waist tightly before picking me up again. Gently, she places me out of the window, lowering me slowly to safety away from the burning house.
The banging on the door intensifies, and my mom starts to panic as she hurriedly lowers me out of the window. I glance down and scream, realizing the ground seems too far away. I shake my head at my mom with tears streaming down my cheeks. She's crying too as she lowers me faster while glancing back and forth between the ground and the door.
Suddenly, the door bursts open with a violent force, and fear washes over my mom's beautiful face. An angry man grabs her shoulders forcefully, but she refuses to let go of me. I start yelling through my tears, fear overwhelms me for both myself and my mom.
The angry man looks down at me, and my heart sinks as I realize he is my father—staring at me with utter disgust. Just then, a blast rocks the house, and I feel my mom release her grip on the material wrapped around my body.
I feel myself falling… everything goes black.
"Young lady, wake up."
I hear a voice calling to me as my eyes flutter open.
My vision is blurry at first, but eventually clears enough for me to see an older woman looking down at me with concern.
"You seemed to be having a nightmare," she says gently. "You were crying in your sleep."
I get up hurriedly, wiping away my tears. I look around and realize I'm at the sauna, surrounded by different people. I ended up here because I had nowhere else to go. Today is my third night here.
"Is she awake?" I hear another woman say.
She walks up to me with folded blankets in her arms. "Young lady, this place is not a hotel. It is time to leave."
And just like that, I find myself back on the streets with nowhere to go. I drag my box behind me as I walk aimlessly down the street. Just as I hit the crosswalk, my phone rings, and I reach for it from my tote bag. Tears well up in my eyes as I see the name flashing on my screen.
I put the phone to my ear, and by now, the tears start to escape. "Hye Ri," I breathe shakily.
"Did you miss me that much, Kitten?" Her cheery voice comes through the phone.
As I stand there, my gaze drifts upward and lands on a massive billboard looming over the street. My heart skips a beat as Lee Ye's handsome face fills the advertisement for a famous clothing brand. His smile radiates warmth, and for a moment, it feels like he's looking directly at me.
Seeing him brings a rush of emotions, joy mixed with longing. I wish desperately that I could see him in person… just once. He can take away all this sadness that has settled like a heavy fog in my heart. If only he knew how much his presence could lift someone like me out of darkness. If only he knew I existed…
"Hye Ri!" I exclaim loudly, bawling and ignoring the curious looks from passersby.
After paying the taxi driver and thanking him, I drag my box and turn to face the tall building in front of me. I haul my box up the stairs, pausing at the door to wipe my palms against my T-shirt, trying to calm myself before knocking.
Almost immediately, the door flies wide open, and we both squeal with excitement.
"Ah, I missed you so much, my kitten!" she says.
She watches me devour my noodles like a hungry lion, her expression a mix of shock and longing. "I will choke on my noodles if you keep staring at me like that!"
"What? I missed my best friend!" she exclaims loudly, resting her palms on the table.
"I missed you too, Bubbles," I say with a mouthful of noodles, and we both laugh.
After eating, I sit side by side with Hye Ri on the couch, recounting the last three nights of terror I experienced. She hugs me tightly, patting my back as I cry my heart out.
"Why would you even go to that mean girl, Ji Soo? You should have called me," she scolds.
I shrug. "You were happily married with a kid and living your life in Busan. How was I supposed to know you were back in Seoul?"
"Right." She points her finger at me, nodding her head in agreement. "Fair point."
I squint at her, noticing she's avoiding eye contact. "What are you hiding, Bubbles?"
She attempts to speak multiple times but keeps closing her mouth each time. This continues until I can't hold it in any longer. "Speak now, will you?" I insist.
She gets off the couch and throws her hands up in defeat. "I divorced my husband, okay? It's over between us! I sold our home and moved to Seoul immediately after the divorce with my daughter."
Tears form in her eyes as she fights them back. Sighing, I get up to hug her tightly. "It's okay."
"I know," she croaks through her tears, nodding against my shoulder.
"You did the right thing. I never liked that jerk face anyway." We both laugh softly.
Hye Ri and I grew up together. We did everything together—even went to college together. She married her longtime boyfriend after college and moved to Busan when he got a job offer there after their wedding.
We stayed in touch over the years but only connected occasionally over the phone. I didn't think we would be here together again after so long.
"So you're a restaurant owner now, Bubbles?" I tease as she arranges my clothes in the wardrobe while I lay in bed watching her.
"I know right?" she says excitedly.
"Life is unpredictable indeed! You used to set the house on fire when you cooked back then." I laugh as she playfully slaps my arm.
"I'm a mom now! Cooking sort of comes with the package."
"Aww! I can't wait to see Ha Eun." I grab her hands in mine and pat them gently.
"Believe me when I say she will be so happy to finally meet you too." She smiles brightly before her expression turns serious again. "But aside from that...you mentioned you wanted another job. How will you juggle that with your demanding writing job? You have deadlines to meet."
"And debts to pay," I remind her with a sigh. "I have to do it one way or another."
"Right! Especially since we don't know how those loan sharks will act next time! What they did to you was terrible—and your aunt deserves to burn in hell!"
We both laugh at that last part before Hye Ri's face brightens suddenly. "You know what? My landlord owns this recruitment agency. I heard he is looking for a housekeeper for some celebrity who wants his identity kept secret."
I raise an eyebrow skeptically. "A housekeeper? Really? I think I'm good."
"No! Think about it. You could be living in luxury while earning money! Plus," she adds with a mischievous grin, "you might even get some juicy gossip about this mysterious celebrity."
I chuckle at her enthusiasm but then feel a flutter of excitement at the thought of working for someone famous—maybe even someone who I've admired from afar! Oh, my Lee Ye. Sweet delusion but a girl can wish right? He is so dreamy!
"What do you think?" Hye Ri nudges me playfully.
"Okay! But what if he or she is a total diva?"
She laughs loudly. "Then just pretend you're a fan who doesn't care about his fame. Just focus on cleaning!"
"Right! Because nothing says 'I'm not a fan' like scrubbing floors while internally screaming over how dreamy he is!"
Hye Ri bursts into laughter again before pulling out her phone and scrolling through it quickly. "Let's call them right now!"
Before long, we're dialing numbers and making plans for an interview that feels more like an audition for reality TV than an actual job opportunity.
As we chat excitedly about what could be ahead of us, with wild speculations about who this celebrity might be—I can't help but feel a spark of hope igniting within me once more.
Maybe this unexpected turn of events will lead me somewhere good after all...