Chapter 5

                                    

                                          
 – And now –, Seoyeon started running down the street as fast as she could, – to Seoul!
After dashing to the bottom of the hill in an almost unnerving silence, passing by the houses and the trees accompanied only by the sound of her steps and the soft howling of the wind, the girl finally stopped on a short bridge in front of the first crossroads she met, greeted by the sound of the stream flowing under it. She leaned on the white guardrail, exhausted, trying to catch her breath, but a few cars passing by immediately put her back on alert. She wasn't safe yet – she had only reached a provincial road, which meant now she was even more exposed to the chance of someone spotting her passing by.
Alright, the girl started thinking. If the train's no longer an option, I need a new plan.
On the other side of the road, on her left, was a bus shelter, so first she rushed there, sitting down sideways in a corner and pulling the hood of her hoodie over her eyes. Good.
Luckily most countryside areas were well served by local buses, so it wasn't gonna take long before one would pass by. What time is it?, Seoyeon wondered, looking at her phone for the first time after her helter-skelter escape – and almost cussed again: 9:10 AM!?  
Argh...!, she cried in silence: Of all the mornings!  
Her manager had probably decided to let her get some more sleep this time, since she kinda needed it after the horrible day, But...  
I'll text her..., the girl thought, feeling sorry just a bit. But only after I get away from here.
The bus was arriving in a few minutes, so Seoyeon closed her eyes and tried to calm down, but her thoughts, instead of staying sat on the sofa with a coffee and a book, decided to dress with her worries and go out instead.
Where was she gonna go, in that endless city? What was she gonna eat, where was she gonna sleep, and most of all, how was she even gonna start looking for anyone, or anything, there?? Seoul wasn't just big – an entire world could fit in it, she thought. Enough people – enough of the thoughts, worries, wishes that all of them had too, to cover the sky like and invisible bubble, under which, Seoyeon was starting to feel scared, maybe there just wasn't enough space for her wish too. What made her think that she, out of everybody there, could really find what she was looking for, when she didn't even know what it was, nothing more than a dream? Why her, and not someone else?
What can I do, there, alone?
Seoyeon looked up from under the hood and took a long, calm breath. The air was colder than the day before, still humid from the night, and the dew sitting on the grass and reeds on the river bank shimmered in the hazy morning light like little lamps lit up on dock, at night, to bid farewell to a sailing boat. The same direction the stream was flowing, she had to go. The girl smiled at the coincidence – though not a rare one, she found it pretty comforting, and reassuring in a way.
–
And so she knew it was no use, getting troubled now. Her thoughts and worries could do their own thing, and Seoyeon could do without them for a while – they were gonna go back later eventually, and on their own, because going back, for her, was no longer an option.
-
The sun had gotten higher, the snow up high was melting, and the water level was starting to increase. The boat's anchor had been weighed, and, just like the stream carrying it was flowing back to the sea, Seoyeon was going back to the place she belonged – and nothing more to it. Then, where, or how, or if it was really possible to find that place, was no longer to wonder – it had to, it was in the stars,