Legal Disclaimer
This light novel is inspired by the beautiful landscapes and cultures of Bolivia and South Korea. However, the characters, events, and situations portrayed are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, places, or events is purely coincidental. This content does not intend to represent or reflect the historical, social, or cultural reality of either country. The author disclaims any legal liability arising from the interpretation of these elements.
Chapter 6 – Arrival
The plane landed at Viru Viru International Airport.
From first class stepped out Ryu, flawless in every detail, a frown on his face, and an invisible weight pressing down each step.
It wasn't the heat, nor the change of country, that tightened his jaw.
It was something else. Something waiting for him before leaving the airport… something he couldn't afford to fail.
***
He headed straight for the VIP exit, shoulders straighter than usual, almost military.
— "Well?" — his mother asked as soon as he stood in front of her.
She was impeccable, as always: perfectly styled hair, calm gaze, and that exact tone that said little, yet said everything.
Ryu lowered his eyes and swallowed hard before answering.
— "I lost grandmother's necklace."
She kept smiling out of courtesy.
But her eyes hardened for an instant.
— "That necklace belonged to your grandmother. It was the only thing I asked you to bring."
Ryu's fingers contracted behind his back. He shifted his weight slightly.
— "I'll do everything I can to recover it," — he said, pressing his lips together at the end of the sentence.
She watched him in silence for a few seconds.
Then she exhaled softly, with the serene calm of someone who had lived between worlds.
— "I don't want your father to know… not yet," — she said almost in a whisper.
— "You know how he gets with… lost things."
She paused, her tone shifting slightly.
Her gaze was more intimate now, though still firm.
— "And don't embarrass me in front of your in-laws. This family is welcoming us with open arms.
— "We're not here just because of you, Ryu. This is bigger than that."
He nodded, fully understanding the weight of her words.
— "This arrangement cannot fail," —she continued.
— "If the necklace doesn't turn up, find something else with the same meaning. What matters is the gesture. The message."
— "Understood, mother," —he replied, calmer now, though the tension in his jaw remained.
She touched his arm with two fingers.
He didn't move. But his shoulders stiffened slightly.
— "You look just like your father when I serve him rice without salt," —she said without looking at him.
Ryu blinked. He wasn't sure whether to laugh or sigh.
Instead, he inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly through his nose.
She allowed herself a small gesture: touching his arm with two fingers, neither comfort nor affection, just a reminder of responsibility.
Then she spoke in Spanish, her accent soft and elegant, laced with subtle irony.
— "And please, stop frowning so much. You'll scare the local children."
Ryu barely smiled.
She gave him a half-smile, brief but charming, and slipped back into Korean effortlessly.
— "Don't forget why you're here."
He already knew… but that reminder made him feel there was still something they hadn't told him.
As he walked out, among the economy-class passengers, someone was there… and it would mark the beginning of his mission.
***
The humid heat struck her the moment she stepped out of the plane.
It wasn't a caress—it was a heavy, insistent embrace that made her loosen the zipper of her jacket, pulled down her cap and tightened the strap of her backpack, trying to hide the trembling in her hands.
She felt a strange mix of anxiety and relief. The trip had been long, emotional, and exhausting.
Zayra was still dazed. Not just from the hours of flying… but from everything she had remembered.
And from what she still wasn't ready to face.
She looked out the window as the Bolivian sun lit up the landscape with an almost savage intensity,
so different from the gray skies of Washington.
Passing through immigration made her nervous. Not just because of the heat or the drastic shift in atmosphere.
It was something else: she knew her life was about to turn in a completely different direction.
***
As she exited, she was greeted by a joyful cry.
Camila was the first to appear, running through the crowd with a contagious smile and arms wide open.
— "Sisterrr!" — she shouted, throwing herself at Zayra with a scent of sunflowers and hospital.
Her scrubs were tied around her waist, revealing a summer dress underneath.
— "You made it! Finally!"
Camila, with her sweet face and radiant energy, was the very definition of "noble heart with steady hands."
Despite her youth, she had proven to be a brilliant surgeon, driven by vocation rather than vanity.
Zayra had always admired her: empathetic, protective, incapable of ignoring another's pain.
A step behind came Bruno, so different yet complementary.
He wore a perfectly ironed shirt and a serious expression.
His always-observant eyes lit up when he saw his sister.
— "Welcome home," he said with a half-smile before hugging her firmly.
— "Dad is organizing everything. You'll meet your fiancé very soon."
Bruno was the kind of man who seemed to have been born with the criminal law in his pocket and justice tattooed on his soul.
A judge at 24, serious but fair, his calm voice inspired respect without ever raising it.
— "And you won't believe how handsome they say he is," —added Camila, nudging Zayra playfully with her elbow.
Zayra laughed, touched by her family's affection.
— "And Mariano?" she asked as they walked toward the car.
— "With his wife, you know…" Bruno replied with amused resignation.
— "But he called this morning. Said he'll get in touch as soon as he can. He's happy you're back."
During the drive through rural roads, past fields swaying in the wind,
they spoke of simple things: how much the town had changed, the school's remodeling, a new café that sold Korean food.
— "And how's Washington treating you?" —Camila asked from the front seat.
Zayra took a deep breath.
She looked out at the passing landscape, as if searching for answers among the trees.
— "Complicated… but I think it's finally time to do what I must do."
The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky in amber tones.
The truck descended the long road that would take her home.
On one side, wild vegetation. On the other, open plains under a scorching sun.
No houses, no markets, no people walking. Just asphalt and the hum of the engine.
Zayra leaned back in the rear seat, gazing out the window.
She felt the land was preparing her, with no witnesses and no noise, for what was coming.
That long, silent, solitary stretch…
It felt like an invisible border between the woman she had been in Washington and the one she would have to learn to be here.
In the distance, among dry shrubs, a pair of thin birds crossed the road on their long, awkward legs.
Camila pointed them out with a smile.
"Look, they're already welcoming you!" she said.
Zayra frowned as she watched them move clumsy and rushed.
It wasn't fear… it was as if they mirrored her own stumble and the guilt of lost years.
The horizon began to fill with the shadows of the town.
Zayra closed her eyes for a moment, imagining her father's embrace.
But deep down, she feared that warmth wouldn't be enough to erase five years of absence… and disappointment.
In that moment, she knew her return wasn't going to be a simple reunion.