Jiseok Short Story Collection

The time when day lingers

Beyond the west-facing window, the last remnants of the sunset that I can no longer hope for fade away, reddening as they stain the sky. I sit with my knees pulled tightly to my chest, leaning against a pillow, and quietly watch the darkening sky of my world fade into yesterday so untouchable it seems it might freeze in place. For 12 years, he was my dawnlight. He was my summer breeze and my hope, the one I devoted my whole heart to in silence, and in the end he married someone else and left me alone in this terrible darkness.

A suffocating, heavy loneliness settles deep in my ribs. This cruel reality goes beyond pain; it hollows me out completely, leaving only the cold realization that I spent my whole life chasing a beautiful portrait of a distant sky that could never warm my hands. My chest aches under the weight of a love that could not stay. I close my eyes and surrender myself to the darkness swallowing the room. The seasons will only keep on freezing cold.

Then, breaking the stillness, I hear the soft click of a door opening in the silence. It is the signal that I am no longer alone.

A quiet shadow enters the room, but I keep my eyes closed and do not move a muscle against the wall. I no longer have even the strength to lift my head or move. The footsteps approaching the edge of the mattress are low and steady. Even with those measured steps coming up to the head of the bed, I remain still, trapped in the darkness. But the cold air in the room stirs for an instant, and soon a familiar, comforting scent of perfume spreads like a greenhouse. Clean, sweet, and instantly soothing, his own scent wraps around me first. That fragrance immediately pulls my wandering mind back into the present.

Before I can even open my eyes, a thick, warm blanket is completely wrapped around my chilled shoulders. The terrible winter cold is cut off in an instant.

"Look at me."

A low, deep voice murmurs softly, breaking the room's stillness. No matter when I hear it, it's always gentle, like something firmly fixed in place.

"Not the distant sky—look at me, right here in front of you."

It's Ji-seok.

In the suffocating tension, I finally turn my head to face him.

The moment my gaze meets his deep eyes, the untouchable starlight far away fades away without a trace. Ji-seok smiles quietly. The soft dimples that curve over his cheeks bloom like the gentle warmth of daytime that will never leave me. He takes my small hands and carefully wraps them between his large palms. Then he slowly, steadily strokes the lines of my palm with his thumb, very gently, in a steady rhythm. It is a firm, careful touch, and an unspoken promise that he is not some summer breeze slipping helplessly through my fingers, but solid ground that will support me beneath my feet.

He pulls me a little tighter into his arms and holds me completely against his chest. Then he rests his chin lightly on top of my head. When I bury my cheek in his shirt, the steady, even beat of his heart reaches my ears intact. That steadfast rhythm gradually settles into step with my racing heart, as if soothing it. Ji-seok wraps one big arm around my back and gently pats me. A tender silence that fully covers us settles over the room. For the first time in my life, I am no longer peering toward the edge of the world for signs of love. At last, in this dazzling reality that embraces me completely, I am fully loved.