Chapter 2

“This summer sucks,” muttered Emilia as she lay on her back in bed. Her mom was gone, school was starting again soon and there was an insufferable heatwave.

She had worked hard to get into university for journalism. It was her second year and the program demanded a lot from her. Maybe school was what she needed to distract her from her mind spiraling.

She checked the time on her phone and moaned as she crawled out of bed. It was noon and she was supposed to meet her best friend Rylie Jang in an hour.

She sat up and brushed her chestnut brown hair in place. The great thing was her hair was only a little past her shoulder and mostly straight, so half the work was already done! She was already running late so she grabbed the first dress she spotted in her closet and hurried to the bathroom.

She finished applying her pink lipstick and kissed the air. Pleased with her makeup, she left her room and walked across the upstairs hallway towards Yuki’s room.

She raised her hand to knock on his slightly ajar door but in that moment, Yuki had also opened the door to leave.

“Jeez Em, are you trying to kill me?!” he shouted while rubbing his shoulder blade, “You got my bone too…”

“Hehheh, sorry Yuki but I’m going to be late. Can you give me a ride to Sky?” Emilia shut both her eyes and hid behind her prayer hands.

“Again? Didn’t you just go out last night? What am I, your chauffeur?” Yuki tried to step around her, but she stuck her hand out to the door frame, blocking his path.

“I swear it’ll be the last time this week!”

“This week?!”

She pouted in response and he sighed.

“Alright, alright. I swear, the things I do for you…” Yuki exaggerated his sigh for her as she shouted for joy. At the end of the day, if Emilia asked, he would do it for her.

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They pulled up in front of Skywalk Café and looked for Rylie. They’ve known each other since they were in middle school and while their personalities were different, they understood each other the most.

“It’s okay, just drop me off here, I’m sure she’s just a little late,” said Emilia as she gave Yuki a hug before opening the passenger door.

“She’s probably late because she’s with whoever her boyfriend is this month,” he said as he rolled his eyes.

“Hey!” She turned around and lowered herself towards the open window, “She just got out of a relationship last week, she doesn’t move that fast!”

“Whatever you say but I just think she needs to slow down or she’ll really hurt herself one day.”

“You can’t say that if you don’t know the whole story…Anyways, make sure you’re home tonight. We should all eat together so dad doesn’t feel lonely.”

“Yeah yeah, got it. I’ll be home to have dinner with you and uncle.” With a wave of his hand, he drove off.

Not a minute later, a black Mercedes Benz pulled up to the same spot and out stepped Rylie with a huge smile on her face. Emilia rolled her eyes.

“Bye babe, thanks for the ride! Call me!” said Rylie as she blew him a kiss while flicking her sleek black hair behind her shoulder. The man called ‘babe’ gave a cheeky smile, saluted with two fingers and sped off.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Emilia crossed her arms waiting for her friend to turn around.

“Who was that?”

“O-oh, that guy? That was umm…Brian? Kevin? Something like that. Anyways, I met him after you left and I needed a ride so…”

“Didn’t you just break up with Brandon like five days ago?!”

“Well…yeah but he was sweet and wanted to buy me a drink so I let him. One thing led to another and…”

Emilia just threw her arms into the air and dragged her best friend inside.

“What am I going to do with you,” she said as Rylie stuck out her tongue.

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On a second floor bedroom balcony, sat a young man in his early twenties enjoying what was left of summer. He was perched on a white metal chair with a pencil and sketchpad in hand, doing what made him feel at ease.

He was sketching the white marble fountain that sat in the middle of their family estate garden for the hundredth time but each time he did, he noticed each one was better than the last, so he kept doing at it.

His name was James Kim and you could say he grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. His family had always provided him with what he needed materialistically but they never gave him the one thing he wanted most, a loving home.

Click Clack Click Clack

Peering through the gaps in the railing, James saw his father leaving with a suitcase in tow and his male assistant following closely behind. Trailing behind them, was his mother.

“I prepared something for you to eat, maybe you could…”

“There’s no need, I have nothing but meetings today and can’t afford to take time away from them. I’ll just grab something quick along the way,” His assistant had closed the door shut and hurried to join him on the other side.

“Also, don’t wait up for me, I’ll be home late.”

He didn’t wait to see her reaction before rolling up the window and signaling his driver to go.

Mrs. Kim kept her faint smile plastered on until the car was out of view. She made her way back inside the mansion, the mansion with nothing but empty rooms and items to fill them.

For as long as James could remember, his father had never been home. He would catch glimpses of him in the mornings and occasionally in the evenings. To call him a workaholic was an understatement. Although, was he truly a workaholic if he chose to stay at the office instead of going home any time he wanted?

He was the CEO of Kim’s Global Ltd, a developing firm that built houses for real estate companies. But not just houses, they built mansions; the kind you dream about living in one day, the kind you see in architecture magazines.

He sighed aloud and continued moving his pencil to finish outlining the fountain. A small gust of wind picked up and blew through some of the pages. It landed on one of an unfinished young girl’s side profile.

He had spotted her the other morning as he was trying to capture the sunrise. There was something about her that captivated him. He had drawn her from different angles and with different facial expressions so there were many versions of her in this very book.

He flipped through them and thought to himself ‘I wonder how she is now…’