AAE -- For Better For Worse

Part 3 -- Chapter 38

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

 

The morning sunlight slips through a layer of windswept clouds as the black deluxe taxi eases to a stop at the MBS Yeouido headquarters main gatehouse. The rear passenger window lowers with an electric whir.

 

Hyung-Chul leans toward the opening. "Yoon Hyung-Chul, for President Yoo."

 

The guard does a double-take. "Director Yoon? Is it really you?"

 

Hyung-Chul smiles. "I'm afraid so, Mr. Han. It's been a long time."

 

The guard squints, leaning closer. "Is this Announcer Jin Sun-Mi you're with?"

 

Sun-Mi shifts across the seat to look out. "Mr. Han, how is your wife?"

 

"She's doing well, thank you. I'm glad to see you both back."

 

 

With a nod, he waves them through. The taxi circles the nearly empty car park and stops at the main entrance. They get out, and the cab drives off.

 

Inside, the main lobby, usually bustling with employees arriving for work at this hour, lies hushed for the New Year holiday. Their footsteps echo as they cross the terrazzo floor toward the lifts.

 

After years of London casual, Hyung-Chul carries himself with unfamiliar stiffness in his dark gray European-cut Mark Marengo suit, starched white shirt, and tightly-knotted red pattered necktie.

 

Beside him, Sun-Mi glides in black leather Manolo Blahnik Carolyne 105 slingbacks. Her cloud-gray Giorgio Armani suit -- the jacket buttoned over a cream silk camisole -- is altered to fit her nascent baby bump, the pencil skirt hemmed a hand's-breadth above the knee. Her ebony Mulberry Bayswater bag swings lightly from one shoulder. A single strand of Mikimoto pearls circles her neck, matched by solitaire pearl earrings.

 

They step into a waiting lift. Hyung-Chul presses 10F, and the doors slide shut with a quiet hiss.

 

"How do you feel?" he asks.

 

Sun-Mi smiles. "It's strange... but familiar. Like I never left. And you, Senior?"

 

He nods, his grin stiff. "Me, too."

 

 

The lift doors slide open at 10F.

 

Sun-Mi and Hyung-Chul step out and turn left toward Executive Row. They stroll along the dark walnut-paneled corridor, passing doors with polished brass nameplates, until they reach one reading 'Director of Planning and Programming -- Kim Sun-Dal'.

 

He steps past the administrative assistant's desk and knocks.

 

A muffled voice answers. "Come in."

 

Hyung-Chul turns the handle and enters, Sun-Mi following. The office is compact: a desk to one side, a small conversation area to the other. Cabinetry lines an entire wall, one shelf fitted with small monitors showing silent video feeds from MBS's Seoul and affiliate channels.

 

Sun-Dal closes his laptop, rises, and comes forward with his hand extended. They shake warmly.

 

"Please, have a seat." he gestures toward the conversation area -- two beige upholstered chairs and a loveseat-sized couch arranged around a low, rectangular glass-topped table. "Coffee?"

 

"Sorry, but we'll have to catch up another time," Hyung-Chul demurs. "I have my appointment with Joo-Hee."

 

"And you don't want keep the 'Iron Lady' waiting," Sun-Dal chuckles. "How about a drink later?"

 

Hyung-Chul glances at Sun-Mi. "Er... not today. You can buy me a round on my first day back."

 

"It's a deal."

 

Hyung-Chul nods. "Then, I'll be leaving first. Text me when you're finished, Sun-Mi?"

 

"Yes, Senior."

 

After Hyung-Chul walks out, Sun-Dal repeats, "Please have a seat."

 

"Thank you, Director."

 

He shakes his head. "Until you're officially on the payroll, you can drop the formalities, Sun-Mi."

 

She smiles. "Yes, Uncle."

 

 

Sun-Mi settles onto the smooth leather, placing her handbag beside her and crossing her legs. Sun-Dal takes the seat across from the couch.

 

"Coffee? With Miss Oh off for the day, I brewed it myself."

 

She nods. "Cream with sugar, please."

 

Leaning forward, he picks up a decanter from the table and begins preparing their coffee.

 

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Down the corridor, Hyung-Chul hesitates at the door of the corner office that would once have been his. The engraved brass plate now reads 'President Yoo Joo-Hee'.

 

The door is slightly ajar. He walks in, his footsteps soundless on the plush maroon carpeting.

 

Joo-Hee stands with her back to him, facing toward the plate glass windows. Back straight, feet planted shoulder-width apart, chin lifted, she gazes over the shining business towers of Yeouido -- a queen surveying her realm.

 

She is wearing Lie Sangbong: a short raven-black linen blazer over a sheer layered sheath, asymmetrically hemmed just below her knees. Black stockings and jet-black Christian Louboutin Altadama platform pumps, rising audaciously on 140mm stiletto heels, elongate her trim, elegant lines.

 

He stops, watching her in silence.

 

Joo-Hee unbuttons the blazer and slips it from her shoulders, folding it neatly over an adjacent table. The gossamer fabric of her bodice drapes fluidly over her svelte frame.

 

His breath tightens. Her silhouette -- feminine curves outlined sharply by the bright morning light -- pulls at him before he can brace against it.

 

She steps out of her shoes and pulls out the French pins from her loose chignon. Lifting her arms, she gathers her hair, red-polished fingertips combing through dark waves. Whipping her head, she sends her thick shoulder-length mane billowing as she rises onto her toes in a long stretch, arching her back and spreading her arms wide. Lowering her heels, she pivots side to side, her body undulating in a slow, rhythmic looseness -- torso rippling, hips swaying -- as she settles back into herself.

 

He stands rooted, unable to look away. The familiarity of her movements triggers a distant picture -- Joo-Hee in the flower of her youth, laughing, lissome, effortlessly drawing him in. The woman of his past, who was supposed to be his future before Fate intervened -- brushing against a place he thought long closed.

 

She stretches once more, then lowers her arms. With practiced precision, she twists her hair back into the chignon and locks it in place again with the pins. Then she carefully steps back into her heels, maintaining a runway model's balance with ease, and reaches for her blazer.

 

Hyung-Chul's breath eases. He rolls his shoulders. Blinks hard. The image dissolves -- it was never love, only desire -- and the pull recedes, leaving him steady again.

 

Slipping on the blazer as she turns, Joo-Hee takes a step -- and sees him. Her eyes flash with sharp accusation. The diamond pendant in the cleft of her chest -- his gift from long ago -- glints as she inhales, cherry-glazed lips parting in a startled gasp.

 

When their eyes meet, he deflects his gaze at once. "Umm... Joo-Hee..."

 

Recognition softens her expression. She exhales slowly, her mouth curving into a welcoming smile.

 

"You're... early."

 

"Traffic was light for New Year's."

 

"It's been a long time... too long."

 

 

He moves to stand beside her. They are eye-to-eye now -- she is no longer the face of MBS, but at the center of power.

 

"You haven't changed."

 

He moves to stand beside her. "You haven't changed."

 

She smiles wistfully. "You're flattering me."

 

"The night before our engagement party... You stood in this exact same spot, just as devastatingly beautiful. Is that a coincidence?"

 

Color rises in her cheeks. "I was just..." She cuts herself off.

 

"Letting off some stress?" he finishes for her.

 

A slight smirk touches Joo-Hee's lips, but she turns back to the window instead of answering.

 

"If the pleasantries are over," Hyung-Chul says tersely, "let's get to the point of our meeting."

 

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Sun-Mi sips her coffee, waiting for Sun-Dal to speak.

 

"What did Hyung-Chul tell you?" he asks.

 

"Only that you have an offer for a new program. But first -- tell me straight. Is this related to Joo-Hee's offer to Senior?"

 

"Whoa!" Sun-Dal raises both hands, palms out. "This was my idea, not Joo-Hee's. I wanted your answer first, before I take anything to her."

 

"Do you need her approval?"

 

"No. I have carte blanche over hiring and firing on the announcer teams. That was Joo-Hee's doing, to keep GM Kim out of the loop."

 

She leans back slightly. "All right, I'm listening."

 

"Lee Kyung-Hee is leaving soon. That opens two gaps -- one in our women's programming, and another in the team management. When Joo-Hee and I moved up, we consolidated the dual leadership into a single position, which Kyung-Hee has admirably filled.

 

"And you want me to assume her programming slot?"

 

He nods. "Yes. I was considering several candidates... then heard you were back in Seoul."

 

"Why me? I've been away from broadcasting for eight years."

 

"That's exactly why I'm making this special offer to you. We need a fresh face. A new perspective. And someone with the grit and judgement to push through when things don't go right."

 

Her brow furrows. "And you think I'm that person?"

 

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Fixing her gaze on N Seoul Tower in the distance, Joo-Hee folds her arms, her voice flat.

 

"I've received assurances the Board will approve your appointment at the next meeting. Until then, you'll work as a consultant, organizing MBS's new digital operations department... and report directly to me."

 

Hyung-Chul shifts his feet, nodding. "Very well. But you didn't need to call me in to tell me that."

 

"You're right."

 

"Then why?"

 

Joo-Hee turns towards him. She moves a small step back so the edge of the table is touching her legs, leaning her weight against it, fingertips resting on the surface.

 

"I called you here... to find out if it's possible for us to work together."

 

He tilts his head. "If you mean, do I have any concerns working for a woman? The answer is no."

 

"I'm not just 'any' woman. And that's not what I meant."

 

"What are you trying to say?"

 

 

"I need to know if we can exist together in the same room. Can we stand face to face, look each other in the eye, and speak honestly?"

 

She pauses, pressing her lips together.

 

Her voice softens. "Is it still possible?"

 

He lets his silence answer for him.

 

"Is it... Hyung-Chul?"

 

Her gaze drifts to the side, but he doesn't look away -- fixed on the diamond sparkling near her heart.