Chapter 11: Is this a coincidence or fate.
'Let's just get some rest for now,' I thought, a wave of bone-deep weariness crashing over me. My brain felt full of static. I needed to clear my head.
I fumbled my keys out of my pocket, it felt cold in my hand rather than familiar after receiving this unfortunate news, then I unlocked my door. The click of the lock releasing felt like surrendering to my fate.
The apartment was exactly as I'd left it, a studio so small you could almost touch opposite walls.
Of course I was exaggerating because of my current mental state.
I had a lumpy couch that doubled as a bed. A tiny, greasy stove. A window that looked out onto a brick wall. The lingering smell of yesterday's instant noodles. It was gloomy, cramped, and undeniably mine. Well, not mine for long.
I slumped onto the couch, the springs groaning in familiar protest. I grabbed the remote from the wobbly coffee table and stabbed the power button.
The old TV flickered to life with a burst of static before settling on a late-night rerun of a sitcom, the canned laughter sounding hollow and alien in the quiet room.
I'd already changed into sweats, and I had a bowl of cheesy nachos in my hand, it was sad but hey, at least it was something, right?
But all of a sudden, cutting through the fake TV laughter, my phone began to ring on the coffee table.
"No one ever calls me this late," I mumbled around a mouthful of cheesy nachos, my brow furrowing. I put the bowl down and picked up the phone. The screen illuminated, showing the caller ID.
Sarah Lee.
My breath caught. To think Sarah Noona was the one calling. Unlike my boss Zoe, Sarah was someone I knew before I moved to this city.
"What's Sarah Noona calling me for by now?" I muttered to the empty room. A flicker of worry cut through my fatigue. "Come to think of it, shouldn't she be resting right now? This is usually when she gets off her shift at the hospital."
The phone kept ringing, insistent. I swiped to answer and put it to my ear. "Evening, Noona," I replied, forcing my voice into its most respectful, modest tone, the one reserved for family you haven't seen in years or so I believed.
"Julian, my dear! It's been awhile!" Her voice came through the line, warm and rich as honey, instantly dissolving some of the chill that had settled in my apartment. It was a sound from my childhood, full of unconditional care.
"I know, and I'm sorry I haven't taken the time to check up on you, Noona," I said automatically, the polite script kicking in.
"Well, haven't you gotten a lot cheekier since the last time I saw you?" she laughed, the sound light and musical. "Who says I'm the one who needs checking up on? Maybe I'm calling to check up on you." I couldn't help but notice there seemed to be other voices in the background on her end, muffled, cheerful sounds, maybe a TV or people talking. My tired, overstimulated brain dismissed it as interference or a program she had on.
"Noona just wanted to call and see if you were alright," she continued, her voice softening into reminiscence. "It's been years since we've seen each other, hasn't it? Since you left for college. My little Julian, all grown up and in the big city."
"It has, hasn't it," I replied, yet the words felt inadequate. A pang of homesickness, hit me right in the chest.
I thought of her cozy kitchen, the smell of ginger and garlic always in the air, little Ophelia's childish laughter in the background.
"Well, I also wanted to let you know that we might be able to see each other sooner than you think." Her tone turned playful and teasing.
"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, sitting up straighter. It was clear she was dangling a hint, and I, exhausted and emotionally wrung-out, bit immediately.
"Your Noona just so happened to have something she needs to deal with here. Something that requires me to move. Let's just say I need to put some attention on business there."
"Wait, so you mean… you're coming here?" My voice turned incredulous. This wasn't a hint; it an ominous statement. In my current state, such good news felt almost physically destabilizing.
"More like we already did," she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "A few days ago, actually. It was all very sudden, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. I've already arranged for Ophelia to transfer to a college here. I've been thinking of moving with her for some time now anyway, And with this…" Her voice warmed even further. "I'll have the pleasure of seeing our little Julian more often than not. We can have proper get together's again like we used to."
"Wow… I have no words. That's… I mean, I'm so happy for you...." I said the words, trying to inject genuine joy into my tone, and I was happy.
Truly. The thought of having some familiar company over was wonderful.
But even as I said it, my eyes did an involuntary, panicked sweep of my gloomy studio apartment.
The peeling paint, the second-hand furniture, the palpable air of struggle, it all seemed to magnify under the imagined light of Sarah Noona's visit.
If she were to come over, to see this place, this evidence of how barely I was scraping by… what would she think? My pride warred with a deep, shameful embarrassment. I was the college kid who was supposed to be making it. Not the one getting evicted and living off cheesy goodness.
The warmth of her news and the cold reality of my circumstances collided in my chest, leaving me breathless and utterly torn.
"Julian... Is something wrong? You don't seem happy." Noona's voice came through the pho
ne, laced with a concern so immediate and intuitive it was almost unsettling.