Prologue
Elera Walker sat at her desk staring at the computer processing what was on the screen in front ofher.
Dear Ms Walker
It is with great pleasure that we offer you the positionof Junior Business Analyst with Kim International…
….your employment will start April 2nd at ourheadquarters in Soul, South Korea…
….we look forward to welcoming you to Soul.
Sincerely,
Kim Min-Jae
Chief Executive Officer
She leaned back on her chair and let out a sight of relief. Finally, she finally had an opportunity toleave.
The next few weeks passed ina blur. Her parents never seemed to settle on how they felt about the move. One moment they were excited, talking about all the opportunities waiting for her in Seoul. The next, her stepmom looked ready to cry, while her father swung-between sadness and pride. Mostly pride. He told anyone willing to listen that his daughter had been recruited by a prestigious company in South Korea, and by the end of the month Elera was fairly certain half the neighborhood knew about it.
The twins were much easier to read. They were excited. Every conversation somehow turned into future visits, shopping trips, and all the places Elera would have to take them once they arrived in Seoul. As far as they were concerned, her move wasn’t something to be sad about. It was anopportunity.
And as far as everyone else knew it was. For Elera? Well…she wasn’t just running towards the new life and Seoul..she was running away from New York and heartbreak.
New York had once felt like a beloved novel read beneath a warm blanket. It offered comfort without boredom, familiarity without predictability. Every day felt like turning another page, eager to discover what happens next.
New York had once felt limitless. Now it felt like a cage built from routines, memories, and places she could no longer visit without thinking of him
Her first love-Her only love.
Matthew had walked into her life when they were teenagers and never really walked back out. Ten years had passed, which sounded ridiculous when she thought about it. People were supposed to get over high school crushes. They were supposed to move on.
But she never did.
Somewhere between study sessions, inside jokes, late-night texts,and a hundred small moments that probably meant more to her than they ever did to him, she’d fallen in love.
Slowly.
So slowly she couldn’t even point to the exact moment it happened. For years, she told herself to be patient. Maybe one day he would see her differently. Maybe one day he would realize what had been standing in front of him all along.
He never did.
