Ga Eun opened the door and walked down the hallway, to the direction of her class.
"It does work out it seems."
She turned to find Ki Jun walking to her.
"What is it?"
"Getting him here will definitely make you snap out of it."
"What does it mean? Why are you troubling him like this, anyway?"
"What did he say to you?"
She was silent for a while. "Good things," she finally said.
"And will these good things make you live properly again? Not like some cancer patient on the edge of her life?"
"Stop being so dramatic."
"But will you listen to him?"
She turned to Ki Jun and held his gaze, frowning. Before finally answering, "Yes. Yes, I will."
He snorted.
"And what now, you're going back to class?"
"No. He—um, Doryeonnim offered to take me home."
Ki Jun's eyebrows went higher. "Okay. That's unexpected."
"He's being kind."
"Uh-huh"
They almost reached her class by then. Ki Jun stopped her, "Wait. You're supposed to be sick, right? Let me get your bag."
Without waiting for her answer, he entered her class and came out a few minutes later. "Here," he gave her bag, "Go with that Lee Myung Hwan and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Ne. Gomawo."
He ruffled her hair.
"Yah!" she protested, avoiding his hand, "You're messing me up!"
"Go and uh…..should I say have fun?"
"You shouldn't."
"Okay, then. See you tomorrow. I better go back to class. Because I do need to graduate, hahaha! See ya Ga Eunnie!" he waved and with his long strides, disappeared into the next hallway.
***********************************
She didn't need to wait long, because he arrived with his car less than a minute after she came out of her school. He opened his passenger door and she approached the car. But somehow could not make herself get inside. This felt too—strange.
"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing her just standing there.
"I—I think—"
"Get inside, Ga Eun, it's alright."
She bowed and finally got inside, closing the car door.
Honestly, her heart beat like mad, sitting that close with him. She busied herself with her seatbelt until he said, "Ok, let's go."
They said nothing for a while, his music player played Bon Jovi songs along the way. She was absorbing the fact that she's riding in his car, her sadness was forgotten for a while.
"You're scaring me, Ga Eun."
"I'm sorry?"
"If you're quiet like that, I'm afraid you're going back into your sad thoughts."
"I'm not, Doryeonnim. For the first time in days, I'm not thinking about Appa."
"Yeah? Tell me what you're thinking."
"Hmmm...I thought…..it's strange that you and I are sitting together in this car. I mean, this is the first time."
He smiled, "It's not strange. It's perfectly normal, I think. The strange thing is this is the first time I'm taking you home. I mean, we live in the same house. We go to the same school. Though you're in high school and I'm in university, it's from the same organization."
"I honestly don't mind this, you know? If you ever need to, you can ask me and if our schedules match, I'll take you home."
"...But that's impossible, Doryeonnim."
"No, it's not! Why is that impossible?"
Because I work for you, it's crazy to think that you could drive me around.
"It's just…..improper."
He sighed.
He was about to argue when his cellphone rang.
"Oh. Min Young-ah. Hmm….ne, I can't go there right now. I have something important to do…..Yes. Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, bye."
The familiar pain, like a best friend, came knocking her insides again. For several seconds, she let herself digested the revelation. So he was still going out with his high school girlfriend. How long have they been together? Three years?
"Do you really feel like going home right now?" Myung Hwan asked after he hung up.
Ga Eun, who was deep in thought, turned to him. She realized that they were in the intersection before the road that led to the Lee Family's house.
"Because if I were you, I wouldn't want to go home right now," he added.
She blinked and only stared at him.
"Do you want me to take you home right now?" he asked one more time.
Several seconds that felt ages passed, before she shook her head.
"Anywhere in particular you want to go to?"
"No."
"Will you be okay if I take you somewhere?"
"Yes. You can take me anywhere you want to, Doryeonnim."
His eyebrows went up before he chuckled.
"Aigoo, Kim Ga Eun! Never say things like that to a guy!"
"Ne? What do you mean, Doryeonnim?"
"Things like "I'll go anywhere you want to take me," that's a really dangerous thing to say!"
"Jeongmalyo? Waeyo?"
Myung Hwan opened his mouth but then closed it again, continuing with, "People would turn what you say negatively. Especially boys. They might take advantage of it."
She frowned and was about to argue when he said, "There's somewhere I want to take you to."
"Where is it, Doryeonnim?"
"Harabeoji's office. In the hotel" he didn't explain more, but only turned his car in the direction of Sang Kyu Hotel.
***********************************
The Head Concierge received him with an air of familiarity and respect that Ga Eun couldn't help to note. This was his element. One of the hotels he would run in the future. Sang Kyu hotel in Seoul was the heart of the Lee Family empire. The place where the business flourished and their family gained their famous name.
"Min Ki-ahjussi," Myung Hwan greeted the head concierge.
"What can we help you with today, Doryeonnim?" Min Ki asked.
"I'd like to have lunch in Harabeoji's office."
"Ah, like how it was before—I understand, Doryeonnim. Would you like to order now or later?"
"I'll call you in a few minutes?"
"Absolutely, Doryeonnim. I'll be ready."
He smiled and patted Min Ki's arm before leading Ga Eun to the elevator.
"I often eat lunch here with Harabeoji. He would randomly call me and I'd just drop by here during lunch time."
The elevator stopped and they padded through the thick green carpet, arriving in front of a big oak door and he keyed in the code.
The door opened easily and they walked in, Myung Hwan holding the door wider for her.
He closed the door and was silent. She was sure he was lost in nostalgia, remembering his grandfather. His eyes roamed around the room. To the stacks of documents, the pictures hanging on the wall, and the white orchids placed on desks and tables inside the room.
Choi Min Ki, the Head Concierge, obviously had taken care of the room as if Lee Dong Sun would come the next morning.
"Yaaah. It definitely looks the same. Nothing has changed," Myung Hwan let out, and his voice was hoarse.
"This place is him, Ga Eun. This hotel is his hard work."
"Ne," she responded softly, as he sat down on the seat and he motioned her to sit beside him.
"We always sit and talk here together when we eat," he said heavily. "It's something I'm definitely going to miss."
"It's hard to accept that Harabeoji is gone, you know? It felt like he just went on a business trip and would come back one of these days....."
She didn't answer, she only looked at him. He was staring at the big chair in front of them.
"If I try hard, I think I could still smell his perfume."
"He leaves too soon, right? He was perfectly healthy for his age. He could still live for years. Decades, maybe."
He leaned farther in his chair and was silent for a while, lost in his memory.
"You see, Ga Eun, I lost Harabeoji too."
"Ne, Doryeonnim."
"But I think the pain of losing a father would be much greater than losing a grandfather."
"All I'm saying is, they are gone, Ga Eun. My Harabeoji and your Appa. They are not going to come back, and it's nobody's fault that they left us. Not our fault. Not theirs. We will miss them. Terribly, I believe. But then, surely we can't stop in our grief, right? We have to move on. Trying to fulfill what they wish for us would be a good way to move on, don't you think so?"
She could only nod, as tears dropped again, and she felt like she was hanging by his words, gripping tightly to sentence after sentence he uttered.
"When will you start moving on, Ga Eun?"
"I—I don't know, Doryeonnim. When do you think I—could find the strength to move on?"
"Tomorrow. If you set your heart to do it," he said convincingly, looking straight into her eyes.
"You could still cry. You could still grief. But moving on, I think, means trying to live as good as you can despite your sadness."
"Ha—have you moved on, Doryeonnim?"
"I'm trying to, every single day," he smiled at her, his eyes were sad but the smile was effortless.
"Because, as I said to you before, Harabeoji would hate to see me moping around. He'd want me to get back up on my feet as soon as possible."
She wiped her tears.
"Will you try? Starting from tomorrow?"
She nodded.
"You promise to take care of yourself like how your Appa would prefer?"
"N—ne, Doryeonnim."
"Say "I promise" Ga Eun."
"I pro—mise, Doryeonnim."
"Good," he said, smiling wider at her, "And I know you could be trusted."
He offered her the tissue box and she helped herself.
"And now, let's have a very, very big lunch to brighten our mood," he said in a more cheerful tone, walking to the shelf to get the menu deposited there. "Do you want anything special?".
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Author's Note :
I want to stress that in her darkest time, it's Myung Hwan's hand she'd always reach out to. It's his voice she'd always answer to. He has a lot of influence on her, she'll listen to anything he says.
This is going to be another strong memory that will strengthen her feelings for him.
Tell me what you think about this chapter, will you? You'll make me really happy.