Post by Suri on Feb 23, 2019 6:12:58 GMT -6
...
Vehicle transport was something Suri had made a part of her life. She rode the bus everywhere, to school, to her home, around town, et cetera. The only method of transport she used more was walking. Although Suri had the ability to fly, she didn't like standing out, which she probably would if she was soaring through the sky. Besides that, something about sitting in a metal case with wheels and being carried around felt...comforting.
So, it was very unusual for her to feel uneasy in a bus for no reason, and yet, the bus ride to her father's workplace felt like it was taking forever. She didn't know why, but something about this particular one made her...anxious. An uneasy feeling inside her chest made her more impatient than usual. She found herself shifting in her seat, tapping her foot on the floor, and looking out the window only to look at nothing. Her eyes darted back into the bus, but she couldn't stop her gaze from wandering. Was she...scared? Scared to talk to her father about her feelings? No. She couldn't go back. Suri pulled out her phone to occupy herself. It would be okay if she didn't think about it.
After a few minutes, the bus arrived at her destination. Suri stood up and walked to the bus door. She moved her hip close to the card sensor, which went -BEEP- when it detected the traffic card inside her pocket. She hopped off the bus, walked for a short while, and soon, she was standing in front of the building her father worked in.
This was it.
Suri walked into the building without hesitation. She had been here a few times, and she knew her way around the place. She greeted Sool's coworkers and other people passing by as she headed toward Sool's office.
Sool was a jobless alcoholic back when he first met Suri, but he had since worked hard to get hired by different companies. He had climbed corperate ladders for years, and he was in a pretty decent place, with a high income and even his own office. He had to deal with a huge workload in return, though. That day was the same, he had been busy with paperwork the entire day. He was in the middle of his break when his daughter walked inside his office. "Hey, Suri." "Hi, dad." When they greeted each other, Sool noticed that Suri was wearing her school uniform. "Congrats on your graduation. Sorry I couldn't be there." Then, his posture went from leaning back on his chair to sitting up straight.
He knew why she was here. She wasn't just here to tell him that she had graduated, that was for sure. Suri only ever visited his workplace when she wanted to talk about something really important, something she couldn't simply talk about properly on the phone. There were two more chairs other than the one Sool was using, one across from him and one next to him. Suri chose to sit next to her father. This was going to be important, alright. Judging by her choice to sit close to him, the look on her face, and the fact that she was even more quiet than usual, she was probably worried about something. "Something on your mind? Lay it on me. I've got plenty of time to listen." Sool said with a placid face.
Suri turned her chair to meet eye-to-eye with her father. After a moment of silence, Suri began to talk. "I was just at my graduation thing, and I met...I met everyone there. Everyone from home, like aunt Beop, uncle Ryeok, big sis Saka... All my friends were there too, and..." Her hesitation stopped her for a few seconds. "...Everyone was talking about their future plans. Robin got accepted to the college she wanted to go to, and she said that she's moving to a big city, Dippy and Dotty said that they were planning to continue their family business, and Haz said that he got hired by a big company... Oh, I saw Naduru from middle school, he's a baseball player now!" She brightened up with the last comment, but that didn't last long. She had reminded herself of a dream she could no longer accomplish.
Sadness started to show on her face. "...I wish I could have become a sports player too, or, anything, I-I don't know." She found herself stumbling to find her words. Her emotional state really wasn't helping at all. "I know that I was distracted, trying to make a lot of friends, playing sports, and doing martial arts, but I...I could have turned that into something. Like, I could have become a sports player or a martial artist, but I didn't do anything to make that happen-make that a thing...I don't know where to go from this point. I don't know what to do anymore." Sool stayed silent. "I'm sorry, dad. I lost my chances. I made your efforts go to waste, and everyone else's..." Suri could feel tears forming in her eyes now. She thought she was ready for this, but she wasn't after all.
Sool spent a few seconds to think, before calmly saying; "Alright, so in short, you feel like you've wasted all of your time, and you don't know what to do in life." "Erp-umm, yes? P-pretty much..." Suri replied, surprised by his bluntness. Sool took a deep breath before he started talking. "Hey, it's alright. I didn't raise you because I expected something from you. You don't owe me anything." Sool leaned closer and put a hand on her shoulder. "In fact, I owe you my happiness...my life. You already know what happened to your mother, right?" "Y-yeah." "That...that really does things to your mental state, ya know? I was in a pretty bad place all those years ago..."
"...After I first met you, though, everything turned for the better. I got in contact with my family again, stopped drinkin' so damn much, and got myself a fuckin' job, you know why I did that? It was for you." Suri, hearing this, felt even more guilty for failing him. Sool noticed Suri's horrified expression, and realized that his words were interpreted the wrong way, and rushed to clairify his meaning. "W-what I'm trying to say is, you're the reason I've changed myself for the better. I was...demotivated. If I didn't have a reason to move on as fast I did, I might have become a shut-in, a freeloader, hell, I might have even starved to death."
Suri was unaware that she had made such an impact on her father's life. "Don't think that you've failed me, you haven't." Sool added. Suri felt her tears going right back inside. It seemed like she was feeling better, but one thing still made her worry. "Dad, I... Thank you.. But I...I still don't know what I should do in my life." "Well, your life ain't over. You're only twenty, I'd say that's only barely a step from the starting line. I thought my life was over when I was thirty, but look at me now! Started as a drunkard, now we're here!" Sool then pulled both his hands to his hips and posed in his chair, successfully making Suri giggle.
Suri felt a lot better now. She felt like she was going to cry earlier, but now, she had calmed down. Sool chuckled at his own silliness as well, before he started talking again. "You've got plenty of time to figure out what's ahead. If you're not sure now, then... Why don't you try travelling around the world?" Suri was puzzled by Sool's suggestion. She was expecting her father to point her in some direction, but this one, she didn't see coming. "Tra-travel? How would that help?" Luckily for the confused Suri, Sool had an explaination ready, which he followed up with. "Well, you've been living in this town your entire life, and you don't have that many life experiences. It doesn't have to be one large trip, maybe small, quick trips. You can fly, remember? You could go to the other side of the world and back in one day, on your own! That's something I could only imagine doing, back in my day." The thought was exciting for Suri, and it did make sense. That would give her time to relax and clear her mind a bit, and experiencing more things could help her decide what to do.
"Well, you don't have to decide right now. Let's talk more about it when I get to go home, okay?" Sool then stood up from his chair. "Wanna go get some ice cream?" His daughter looked like she could really use some. Suri had always loved ice cream, so Sool made this suggestion thinking that it would make her feel better. "...Yes, please." He was correct. Suri felt like she could really go for something sweet. Ice cream was the perfect thing to cheer her up.
They went to a Bathin' 31 Robbits* to talk some more, before Suri went home.
A few days later, Suri talked with her father and her relatives, and she made up her mind. Suri decided that after one month, she would leave her hometown for the first time, to travel the world.
Vehicle transport was something Suri had made a part of her life. She rode the bus everywhere, to school, to her home, around town, et cetera. The only method of transport she used more was walking. Although Suri had the ability to fly, she didn't like standing out, which she probably would if she was soaring through the sky. Besides that, something about sitting in a metal case with wheels and being carried around felt...comforting.
So, it was very unusual for her to feel uneasy in a bus for no reason, and yet, the bus ride to her father's workplace felt like it was taking forever. She didn't know why, but something about this particular one made her...anxious. An uneasy feeling inside her chest made her more impatient than usual. She found herself shifting in her seat, tapping her foot on the floor, and looking out the window only to look at nothing. Her eyes darted back into the bus, but she couldn't stop her gaze from wandering. Was she...scared? Scared to talk to her father about her feelings? No. She couldn't go back. Suri pulled out her phone to occupy herself. It would be okay if she didn't think about it.
After a few minutes, the bus arrived at her destination. Suri stood up and walked to the bus door. She moved her hip close to the card sensor, which went -BEEP- when it detected the traffic card inside her pocket. She hopped off the bus, walked for a short while, and soon, she was standing in front of the building her father worked in.
This was it.
Suri walked into the building without hesitation. She had been here a few times, and she knew her way around the place. She greeted Sool's coworkers and other people passing by as she headed toward Sool's office.
Sool was a jobless alcoholic back when he first met Suri, but he had since worked hard to get hired by different companies. He had climbed corperate ladders for years, and he was in a pretty decent place, with a high income and even his own office. He had to deal with a huge workload in return, though. That day was the same, he had been busy with paperwork the entire day. He was in the middle of his break when his daughter walked inside his office. "Hey, Suri." "Hi, dad." When they greeted each other, Sool noticed that Suri was wearing her school uniform. "Congrats on your graduation. Sorry I couldn't be there." Then, his posture went from leaning back on his chair to sitting up straight.
He knew why she was here. She wasn't just here to tell him that she had graduated, that was for sure. Suri only ever visited his workplace when she wanted to talk about something really important, something she couldn't simply talk about properly on the phone. There were two more chairs other than the one Sool was using, one across from him and one next to him. Suri chose to sit next to her father. This was going to be important, alright. Judging by her choice to sit close to him, the look on her face, and the fact that she was even more quiet than usual, she was probably worried about something. "Something on your mind? Lay it on me. I've got plenty of time to listen." Sool said with a placid face.
Suri turned her chair to meet eye-to-eye with her father. After a moment of silence, Suri began to talk. "I was just at my graduation thing, and I met...I met everyone there. Everyone from home, like aunt Beop, uncle Ryeok, big sis Saka... All my friends were there too, and..." Her hesitation stopped her for a few seconds. "...Everyone was talking about their future plans. Robin got accepted to the college she wanted to go to, and she said that she's moving to a big city, Dippy and Dotty said that they were planning to continue their family business, and Haz said that he got hired by a big company... Oh, I saw Naduru from middle school, he's a baseball player now!" She brightened up with the last comment, but that didn't last long. She had reminded herself of a dream she could no longer accomplish.
Sadness started to show on her face. "...I wish I could have become a sports player too, or, anything, I-I don't know." She found herself stumbling to find her words. Her emotional state really wasn't helping at all. "I know that I was distracted, trying to make a lot of friends, playing sports, and doing martial arts, but I...I could have turned that into something. Like, I could have become a sports player or a martial artist, but I didn't do anything to make that happen-make that a thing...I don't know where to go from this point. I don't know what to do anymore." Sool stayed silent. "I'm sorry, dad. I lost my chances. I made your efforts go to waste, and everyone else's..." Suri could feel tears forming in her eyes now. She thought she was ready for this, but she wasn't after all.
Sool spent a few seconds to think, before calmly saying; "Alright, so in short, you feel like you've wasted all of your time, and you don't know what to do in life." "Erp-umm, yes? P-pretty much..." Suri replied, surprised by his bluntness. Sool took a deep breath before he started talking. "Hey, it's alright. I didn't raise you because I expected something from you. You don't owe me anything." Sool leaned closer and put a hand on her shoulder. "In fact, I owe you my happiness...my life. You already know what happened to your mother, right?" "Y-yeah." "That...that really does things to your mental state, ya know? I was in a pretty bad place all those years ago..."
"...After I first met you, though, everything turned for the better. I got in contact with my family again, stopped drinkin' so damn much, and got myself a fuckin' job, you know why I did that? It was for you." Suri, hearing this, felt even more guilty for failing him. Sool noticed Suri's horrified expression, and realized that his words were interpreted the wrong way, and rushed to clairify his meaning. "W-what I'm trying to say is, you're the reason I've changed myself for the better. I was...demotivated. If I didn't have a reason to move on as fast I did, I might have become a shut-in, a freeloader, hell, I might have even starved to death."
Suri was unaware that she had made such an impact on her father's life. "Don't think that you've failed me, you haven't." Sool added. Suri felt her tears going right back inside. It seemed like she was feeling better, but one thing still made her worry. "Dad, I... Thank you.. But I...I still don't know what I should do in my life." "Well, your life ain't over. You're only twenty, I'd say that's only barely a step from the starting line. I thought my life was over when I was thirty, but look at me now! Started as a drunkard, now we're here!" Sool then pulled both his hands to his hips and posed in his chair, successfully making Suri giggle.
Suri felt a lot better now. She felt like she was going to cry earlier, but now, she had calmed down. Sool chuckled at his own silliness as well, before he started talking again. "You've got plenty of time to figure out what's ahead. If you're not sure now, then... Why don't you try travelling around the world?" Suri was puzzled by Sool's suggestion. She was expecting her father to point her in some direction, but this one, she didn't see coming. "Tra-travel? How would that help?" Luckily for the confused Suri, Sool had an explaination ready, which he followed up with. "Well, you've been living in this town your entire life, and you don't have that many life experiences. It doesn't have to be one large trip, maybe small, quick trips. You can fly, remember? You could go to the other side of the world and back in one day, on your own! That's something I could only imagine doing, back in my day." The thought was exciting for Suri, and it did make sense. That would give her time to relax and clear her mind a bit, and experiencing more things could help her decide what to do.
"Well, you don't have to decide right now. Let's talk more about it when I get to go home, okay?" Sool then stood up from his chair. "Wanna go get some ice cream?" His daughter looked like she could really use some. Suri had always loved ice cream, so Sool made this suggestion thinking that it would make her feel better. "...Yes, please." He was correct. Suri felt like she could really go for something sweet. Ice cream was the perfect thing to cheer her up.
They went to a Bathin' 31 Robbits* to talk some more, before Suri went home.
A few days later, Suri talked with her father and her relatives, and she made up her mind. Suri decided that after one month, she would leave her hometown for the first time, to travel the world.
*Bathin' Robbits, the ice cream brand founded by two frog zoans!
RAMEN
