Grace was really the template of how a woman should be. Even if not an universal template, her confident demeanor and calm temperament were enough to be looked up to.
The worst, for her son, was that her calm could be mocking, guilt-trippy, piercing, heavy, and display a whole range of other different flavors. And because it never outright changed to portray those flavors, it was like an universal weapon which could tear even bigger wounds than conventional weapons.
The calm tone this time felt more piercing than it should have been.
Alex cringed, as he felt his teeth ache. He first bent down to glare at Leyna with a dark face through the rearview mirror, before he turned to his mother with a bright smile:
"Mom, seeing you today has made me happy and brightened up my day in a way you can't imagine. But I told Ga-yeong I will go visit her today and see how my unborn nephew is doing, so I won't be able to accompany you further. Have a good day, and please, make sure to take care of yourself."
With that, he threw another glare at Leyna before he closed the door of the car and stepped back in a fluid motion.
In the car, Leyna looked at the scene of Alex retreating from his bane through the rearview mirror with amusement coloring her features.
Grace looked at her son through the tinted window, then calmly turned to her driver:
"Leyna, let's go."
"Yes, madam."
Leyna nodded, and the car started moving. She looked at the brightly smiling Alex who remained in place and was happily waving at them. But instead of laughing, that scene made her lose any sense of amusement she had been feeling. She held back a sigh, her expression clouded with sadness as she lamented:
"He really has yet to recover. Are you not worried about him, chairman?"
Grace leaned back in the comfort of the leather seat, and closed her eyes. It was only then that her poised response came:
"Only what has caused the wound can heal it back. He has just not found the right person yet. Until then, he can keep running all he wants, because that is what he will do. He will keep running."
Leyna fell silent. She spoke quietly when she stopped the car to check the road:
"So there is nothing we can do."
"Nothing, except for letting fate do its job."
Leyna looked at the resting chairman, then at Alex who was in the distance. She exhaled, and took the opening in the traffic to get on the road, driving to go back to the office.
"When we get back, find out how far along 'K World Group' is with their project."
"Understood, madam."
_ _ _
_ _ _
When the grey with glaring red at the back disappeared, Alex practically skipped as he turned around. But that was when he realized that he came in that very car, and that his Aston Martin was still back in the underground parking lot of the mall.
His lips twitched out of frustration, and at the same time, he wondered if his Audi was still where he had left it Friday night when he had left the party with pleasant and soft company.
He should not have cared, given that he was able to get himself a new car for each day of the year, but with a bit of OCD, and the possessive desire to have his things where he could have access to them wherever he wanted, it was no wonder he felt frustrated.
He turned to the road, watching taxis drive past, but even though they might have been well taken care of, thinking about others using them, about all the germs that transited through them, his trust issues flared up.
He exhaled, and shook his head. There was now only one solution.
He took his phone, and made a call which connected soon enough. He didn't wait for the other side to speak up, he went straight to the point:
"Hey, Mark, come pick me up. I'm going to your place."
"You–"
"Alright, see you soon. I will send you the location."
*Beep*
With a smile back in his face, Alex looked around to find a place to sit.
Fifteen minutes later, a dark SUV stopped by the roadside. The door on the passenger side opened, and Alex climbed in. He flashed a smile at the dark-haired driver, and let himself fall deep into the seat with an exhale.
Mark gave Alex a cursory glance, his calm dark eyes seemingly having exhausted any capability to express frustration from Alex's impromptu decisions. Seeing the sweat on the latter's forehead and the slightly damp shirt, he commented with a subtle eye-roll:
"You could have found somewhere better to wait for me."
With a shift in gears, the car moved again to return to the traffic as he checked the road.
Alex fastened his seatbelt, and released a sigh:
"It feels good to share some of the vigor of the sun. And anyway, I remained under the shade of a tree. It was very comfortable."
Mark rolled his eyes without bothering to hide:
"And yet, you seemed to be suffering when you came in just now."
Alex smilingly replied:
"Well, what can I say? I like open spaces, nature, and everything that is natural."
Mark placid answer came without tarrying even as he kept his eyes locked on the road:
"Good for you that nature can be found amidst the concrete jungle."
Alex turned to give Mark a good look, before he smiled:
"You feel sourer than a jealous woman. Why so much dissatisfaction?"
Mark rolled his eyes again, and this time, with enough fierceness to make it feel like he would suddenly shoot them out of their sockets, before he let his frustrations out;
"Why else? Don't you realise how much work you have dumped onto me? And now you call me to be your driver. Why are you going to my place exactly?"
Alex displayed a look of realization, as if he was only then coming out if his obliviousness, becoming aware of his own lack of awareness only now:
"Ah, so it is because of me!"
Mark's lips twitched. His heart suddenly felt painful, and had his body not been in such good health, he would have felt suffocated, and maybe suffered from a stroke.
He kept his breath deep to calm down, to keep himself grounded, and avoid losing it. Still, he clenched his hands on the wheel of the car, before he relaxed.
After an exhale, he repeated the question he did not get an answer for:
"Why are you going to my place, Alex? You have yet to tell me that."