AAE -- For Better For Worse

Chapter 14

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

 

Leaving the club in Daechi-dong, Hyung-Chul steers his BMW west along busy Bongeunsa-ro. The confrontation with Joo-Hee lingers like scent of stale cigarette smoke in his mind. Her words had been sharp, but not unexpected. In their world, love was a luxury, not a right. Yet the thought of Sun-Mi -- her open smile, her unguarded warmth -- melts the frost left behind. A boyish grin tugs at his lips.

 

His car phone buzzes. He presses the CONNECT button.

 

"Yes?"

 

"It's me," Sun-Dal slurs, his voice thick with alcohol.

 

"You're still at the bar?"

 

"Where else? Did you talk with Joo-Hee?"

 

"I just left the club. Believe me -- Joo-Hee really had no choice," he replies. "Once this is resolved, you'll get her back."

 

"You're sure your plan will work?"

 

Hyung-Chul hesitates. His plan is more hope than strategy, stitched together with instinct and defiance.

 

"Let me worry about that," he replies. "Nothing's settled yet. But get over your funk and go to Joo-Hee. Right now she needs a friend more than ever. Be that friend."

 

"That'll be hard," Sun-Dal sighs. "Just seeing her makes my heart fall."

 

"Trust me. What you do now will be rewarded. But I've gotta go now."

 

"Thanks for the heads-up. See ya tomorrow."

 

The line clicks off.

 

 

Hyung-Chul drives to his usual rendezvous point with Sun-Mi. But tonight, it is more than a routine meeting . This is where his plan begins.

 

Approaching the bus stop on Apgujeong-ro, he sees her waiting and pulls over. Recognizing the car instantly, Sun-Mi steps forward as soon as he stops.

 

She slides into the passenger seat, buckles in, and turns toward him. "Where are we going tonight?"

 

"Seongnam."

 

"Why so far?"

 

"I thought it'd be nice to go someplace different. There's a small club, The Odyssey, with live music."

 

He reaches into the back seat and presents Sun-Mi with a small bouquet -- daisies and white roses -- delicate and understated.

 

"For you."

 

Her face lights up. "Flowers? What's the occasion?"

 

"Isn't it special just to have known you?" he teases, half-joking, half-serious.

 

The words strike a chord. She immediately remembers her summer in England, his voice at the airport as she was leaving London -- "Isn't it special to have known me?"

 

She looks at him, searching. The day has been a puzzle -- flowers left at her gate, Joo-Hee's warnings, and now Hyung-Chul's strange behavior. She senses something is on the cusp, behind the depths of his dark eyes, in the way his mouth twists slightly to one side.

 

Her fingers tighten around the bouquet. A flicker of unease passes through her chest -- quiet, but insistent.

 

"Senior, what's going on?"

 

"I have something to tell you."

 

His answer reveals nothing, but does provide her with an opening. "Me, too. I've something I want to tell you."

 

He smiles in anticipation. "Is that so? I hope it's the same thing."

 

 

The heavy urban traffic gradually thins as they leave Gangnam on the Gyeongbu Expressway, heading south toward Seongnam. Outside, the sun sets in a glorious orange blaze behind Cheonggyesan Mountian, casting long shadows across the pavement.

 

But inside the car, silence settles like a blanket.

 

Hyung-Chul fixes his eyes on the road, mentally rehearsing his proposal, trying to keep the distracting thoughts at bay -- his father's stern warning over the risks to MBS, and Joo-Hee's threats, veiled in concern. Can he live up to his bold words? Protect Sun-Mi from the certain storm?

 

Sun-Mi stares out the window, watching the scenery blur past in streaks of light and shadow, lost in her tangled thoughts. Choose London, the opportunity of a lifetime? Or love?

 

And if love, can she bear the consequences? Being the reason he loses everything -- or being the one he leaves behind to keep it.

 

Joo-Hee's words echo in her mind...

 

"There's no place for you in Hyung-Chul's future ... Forget Hyung-Chul, for your sake, and for his!"

 

She glances over at Hyung-Chul -- solid, steady, an anchor for her vacillating heart.

 

Her anxiety calms. He has never failed her before. And now, more than ever, she wants to believe she can trust him to help her make the right choice.

 

 

The car hums on the highway, a quiet refuge in the flowing stream of traffic, carrying them toward a night that could change everything.