seul’s Reviews > The Last Tiger > Status Update

As I drift off, my mind dances back and forth between thoughts of Seung's image, smiling and wiping my tears away at the bridge, and a dim awareness of Kenzo, pressed against me now, his chest rising and falling in a deep slumber. Then the night takes over, my unconscious calls to me, and I slip away, into sleep.

"You!" I chortle, doubling over in stitches, "Going on about 'protecting me', saying that's your duty. Really-how exactly were you planning on defending me if I got into any actual trouble? If anyone's been protecting anyone else… it's me protecting you."

"Perhaps," Kenzo grumbles, "as I said before, not everything can be solved with punching and kicking."

And find myself face-to-face with Kenzo, our heads so close to each other that I can feel the heat radiating off him. He stays perfectly still, holding my gaze, an unreadable expression passing over his eyes. dont know why my heart is suddenly beating so fast. I can only pray that he can't feel it through the miniscule space between us.

Now I watch the stars twinkle overhead, alone.

I wonder where she is tonight. Probably a country away. Strange to consider that there are people from our past still walking through this world, carrying memories of us. Memories that may be repainted or rusted over by the passage of time.

These constellations haven't changed in the last year. But everything else seems to have. For a moment, I'm swept back to the countless nights Eunji and I spent gazing up at the sky together, dreaming about a future that would never come. I see a flower held between her uncalloused fingers as she kneels to inspect it, curious; her delighted laughter rings in my ears.

"Eunji, if you keep insisting on doing everything your way... well, this is how it's going to feel every time your own choices backfire on you."

Relief gradually floods into my veins. My lungs fill with air. Kenzo begins to rise from his kneeling position, lifting his hands, but I reach up and hold them back down, despite myself. I'm afraid TIl forget how to breathe again if I'm left alone.

Kenzo nods as though he understands, settling on the ground, coating the bottom of his cloak in dirt.

"You're just panicking. It's okay." He speaks softly, almost gently. Unperturbed, Kenzo continues moving slowly, repeating the respiration motion until I find the rhythm, mirroring him. "You're calm. You're okay."

"Tiger ki may not be able to move boulders… but it can move people. Harnessed correctly, it can move a crowd, It can awaken a people out of slumber, awaken them to their own destiny, and through them, shake the world..."

If Seung lacked the power to change our fates alone-to continue to imagine a world where we could have what we want, possibly even a world where we could be together-that doesn't mean that I can't do it for the both of us.