Kyrah knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Most people wished they could reset everything and start anew somewhere nobody knew them, somewhere the mistakes of their past couldn't follow them around like a shadow. She had been given that chance, and she wasn't going to take it for granted.
She had to succeed. She was done trying to prove herself to people who had already decided she wasn't enough.
Kyrah sat on the edge of her bed staring at the small suitcase beside her. It wasn't much. A few clothes, some shoes, important documents and the little things she couldn't imagine leaving behind. She looked around her room and suddenly realized how much of her life had happened within those four walls.
There had been tears here.
Lonely nights.
Arguments with her father.
Dreams she had abandoned because they seemed too far away.
And now, somehow, this tiny room had become the starting point of something new.
Her phone rang.
She already knew who it was before she picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Are you packed?"
Kyrah smiled. "Is that really the first thing you're asking me?"
"Of course. You're going to Hong Kong, not moving to the next street. I need to know you're prepared."
It was Seo Jun.
There was something about the way he spoke to her that had gradually become familiar. He never made her feel like she owed him anything. Even when he offered to help, he did it so casually that sometimes she wondered if he understood how much his kindness meant to her.
"I haven't packed everything yet," she admitted.
"That's fine."
"I still have a lot to sort out."
"Then don't rush."
Kyrah frowned slightly. "But you said you could arrange the ticket whenever I'm ready."
"I can."
"Then why aren't you pressuring me?"
There was a brief pause.
"Because you're not a package I'm trying to ship to Hong Kong, Kyrah."
She laughed.
"I'm serious," he continued. "It's your life. You should go when you're ready."
Kyrah looked down at her stomach and unconsciously rested her palm over it.
"Thank you."
"You've said that about twenty times already."
"Because you keep giving me reasons to say it."
"I'll accept one more."
She laughed again.
"Just one?"
"Maybe two."
Kyrah smiled as she ended the call.
She didn't know why, but talking to Seo Jun always seemed to make things feel less complicated.
He never asked questions she wasn't ready to answer. He never looked at her like she was broken. He never reminded her that she was pregnant or that her relationship with Jinyoung had ended badly.
He simply treated her like Kyrah.
And perhaps that was what she needed most.
Later that afternoon, Kyrah finally gathered enough courage to knock on her landlord's door.
She had been avoiding him for weeks.
Actually, avoiding was putting it mildly.
She had perfected the art of checking through the window before leaving her apartment and pretending she wasn't home whenever she heard his footsteps outside.
She owed him rent.
More than she wanted to admit.
The door opened almost immediately.
The landlord stared at her.
Kyrah smiled nervously.
"Good afternoon."
"Don't 'good afternoon' me."
Her smile disappeared.
"I've been looking for you."
"I know."
"You know?"
"Yes."
"Then why haven't you been answering your door?"
Kyrah looked down.
"I've been busy."
"Busy?"
He scoffed.
"Young people these days. Always busy when it's time to pay rent."
Kyrah sighed.
"I know I owe you. I'm sorry."
He folded his arms.
"You should be sorry."
She stood there, waiting for the lecture she had already prepared herself for.
But instead, he asked, "So why are you carrying that suitcase?"
Kyrah hesitated.
"I'm moving."
His eyebrows rose.
"Moving?"
"To Hong Kong."
There was a moment of silence.
"You're running away?"
"No."
"Then why Hong Kong?"
"I got a job opportunity there."
His expression changed slightly.
"A real job?"
Kyrah couldn't help laughing.
"Yes. A real job."
"Good."
She wasn't expecting that answer.
He looked at her for a moment before continuing.
"You've been struggling for a while. I noticed."
Kyrah looked away.
He cleared his throat.
"Don't misunderstand me. I'm still going to collect the money you owe me."
"I know."
"But you don't have to pay everything today."
Kyrah looked back at him.
"Really?"
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not suddenly a charitable organization."
She smiled.
"I'll pay you as soon as I can."
"I know you will."
He turned to go back inside, then stopped.
"Kyrah."
"Yes?"
"Take care of yourself."
She wasn't expecting those words.
"Thank you."
"And take care of the baby too."
Kyrah's eyes widened slightly.
"You knew?"
He looked at her stomach.
"Your landlord may be old, but I'm not blind."
Kyrah laughed through the sudden sting in her eyes.
"Thank you."
"Go. Before I change my mind."
She walked back into her apartment with a smile on her face.
It was funny how life worked.
Sometimes the people who weren't obligated to care were the ones who did.
Her landlord wasn't family.
Linda wasn't family.
And Seo Jun certainly wasn't family.
Yet somehow, each of them had given her something her own family had failed to give her.
A little kindness.
A little consideration.
A reason to believe she wasn't completely alone.
Kyrah sat on her bed and picked up her phone again.
She opened Seo Jun's contact.
Her thumb hovered over his name.
How was she ever going to repay him?
He had given her an opportunity when she had almost convinced herself that there was nothing left for her.
She remembered the first time they met.
His jacket around her shoulders.
The way he had walked her back to Linda's car without asking intrusive questions.
The breakfast he insisted on buying.
The way he had listened when she talked about coding.
And now this job.
He didn't even know how much he was changing her life.
She finally pressed call.
He answered on the second ring.
"Kyrah?"
"I've decided."
There was a small pause.
"About Hong Kong?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"I'm going."
Seo Jun smiled on the other end of the phone.
"Okay."
"That's it?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know. Something more dramatic."
"Congratulations, you're moving to Hong Kong."
Kyrah burst out laughing.
"That was terrible."
"I can do better."
"Please don't."
He laughed.
"Alright. I'll start making arrangements."
Kyrah's smile slowly faded into something more thoughtful.
"Seo Jun."
"Hmm?"
"Why are you doing all this for me?"
This time, the silence lasted longer.
Seo Jun leaned back in his chair, staring through the windows of his hotel room.
Because he knew she was talented.
Because he had watched her stand alone when she had every reason to fall apart.
Because there was something about her determination that stayed in his mind long after they parted.
And because, somewhere along the way, helping her had stopped feeling like an obligation.
But he wasn't going to tell her that.
"Because I think you're worth the opportunity."
Kyrah's heart gave a strange little flutter.
She quickly ignored it.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet."
"Why?"
"Come to Hong Kong first. Then we'll see what you're capable of."
Kyrah smiled.
"Challenge accepted."
"Good."
Neither of them knew it yet, but that conversation would become one of the moments Kyrah remembered years later.
Not because Seo Jun had promised her a job.
Not because he had helped her leave Korea.
But because when her entire life had made her feel like she wasn't enough, one man had looked at her and simply said:
I think you're worth the opportunity.