Heartworm (n) – A relationship that you can’t get out of your head, which you thought had faded long ago but is still somehow alive and unfinished.

💧

Dense clouds sprawled across the sky, draining the color from buildings and cars that sped past Yoojung’s eyes in the faltering light. Even inside the safety of a taxi, Yoojung could taste the scent of rain, heavy and suffocating. For a moment, a stillness fell over the busy streets of Seoul as the car slowed to a stop at an intersection. Then, a low rumble rolled across rooftops straight into Yoojung’s quivering heart.

“Please drive faster,” she urged the driver once more.

As if reading her mind, the car leaped into full force. A small figurine glued on top of the dashboard shook violently. In another situation, the bobbing motion may have been adorable, but it was now moving so noisily that Yoojung wondered if it would snap from the cheap plastic that held it all together.

Yoojung was already tearing off her seatbelt before the taxi screeched to a full stop. She dashed through the wide doors, ignoring the curious gazes that were thrown her way. She knew she was nowhere near presentable, for she had left her friend’s house in pajamas and a pair of sneakers. If only she had seen the text earlier. If only she had met up with Doyeon at the local café the night before. Why did she have to be so stubborn, so aloof?  

She pushed through the crowd as much as she could, while straining her ears to catch any announcements that indicated a flight would be departing for the US within the half-hour. A sea of blurry faces closed in on her, like a current pushing in the opposite direction. Each step she took forward was met with an invisible force that caused her to stagger several steps backward. Yoojung gritted her teeth and forced her eyes to focus.

She found Doyeon at the end of the crowd, suitcase in hand as she stepped towards the security checkpoint. Dread crept down her spine like a spider carefully leaving a trail of silk. In the distance, a sliver of light ripped through the clouds, followed by a downpour. Yoojung opened almost simultaneously, her voice hoarse and broken as she screamed the woman’s name over and over again…

🌻

When Yoojung finally opened her eyes, she found herself breathing heavily. Her body felt sticky as a thin layer of sweat formed on her skin. Her fingers unconsciously grasped the white bedsheets below her, her heart hammering violently against her chest. It took another minute for Yoojung to recover enough consciousness to loosen her grip. She hurriedly drained the cup of cold water on the nightstand, the details of her dream still flashing vividly in her head.  

The room she was in contained a large, king-sized bed. The heavy, grey curtains across from the bed blocked out all the sunlight, offering no indication of what time of the day it truly was. Yoojung gently tapped a small lamp on the nightstand and the room was suddenly filled with warm, orange light. She squinted her eyes to make out the digits flashing against a wooden alarm clock.  

11:30 AM.

Yoojung ruffled her hair in frustration and tried to recall what happened the night before. She remembered drinking in the corner of her favorite club and staggering into the elevator to a room she had booked beforehand. Flashes of security guards chasing her down the hallway and falling into soft arms flooded her senses all at once. She felt herself being lifted from the ground, as if she was floating, before being laid on something as soft as clouds. Someone tucked messy strands of hair glued to her face behind her ears. The person’s embrace was warm, comforting her without even saying a word. Yoojung remembered feeling like she could melt like ice-cream under the touch. She gripped tightly onto the person’s shirt, muttering incoherently as she felt the person gently smooth her back.

“Shh…I’m here.” A soft voice cooed against her ears, sending goosebumps down her arms.

As the girl in Yoojung's memory pulled back to take a closer look at her face, the cloudiness of that memory dissipated at once. Yoojung bit down on her lip unconsciously as she vividly recalled Doyeon’s face inches from her own, her eyes full of concern. They had stared at each other with bated breaths until tears arose, and they found themselves crying. Their lips crashed together in one igniting motion, a kiss unlike those found in movies, but one that promised realness and steeped in passion.

If this was a dream, she was willing to never wake up.

-----

The voices outside were becoming louder. Yoojung slapped her cheeks until she felt the heat rising in them before she tiptoed across the room to crack open the door by a few inches. Yoojung took in the vast office with some confusion. Blinding light fell f