Ever After

Romance

Seri had been busy most of her life trying to justify her existence.

She had to be the best daughter, the best student, the best employee, the best CEO, the best example of a businesswoman.

Because of that, she ate just enough to not be hungry. Slept just enough that she could keep working. Dated men just good enough that they wouldn't get in her way.

So, it was as a nearly 40-year-old woman now that she experienced romance the way a teenager would – carefree, giddy, like nothing else in the world mattered.

They only had two more days until Jeong-hyeok's concert, and one more day after that until Seri would fly back to Seoul, and he to Pyongyang. But oh, what glorious days they were.

The morning after the fundraiser, Seri woke early and decided to go out in search of a coffee. "He must have a hangover," she said to herself as she strolled in the early sunshine. It wasn't like they were in their 20s anymore, able to bounce up and go about their day like normal the day after heavy drinking.

She hurried back so that he could enjoy his cup of coffee while it was still hot, but opened his room door she found the room empty. The curtains were drawn open, and the bed was made. It was difficult to say whether he had woken early or not slept in at all.

Dejected, Seri walked up the stairs to her floor. She wondered what he had planned for the day.

As she approached her room, the door abruptly opened from inside. She almost spilled the cups of coffee in her surprise. "Aigo!" she gasped. "Jeong-hyeok ssi... you startled me."

There was a corresponding look of relief on his face when he saw that it was her. Waving for her to enter the room, he stepped aside and lifted a paper bag. "I bought us some croissants for breakfast."

"Oh! I got coffee," she held the two cups up and they grinned silly grins at each other.

After breakfast, Jeong-hyeok still had various practice sessions and meetings throughout the day, and she still had to dedicate time to work. So Seri bid him a good day and curled up in his room (somehow she felt safer there, even though they technically had the same hotel rooms) to bide the time until dinner, when he would return.

The door beeped and there was the sound of the lock sliding open just before 6pm. Jeong-hyeok stepped in but didn't take his shoes off, earning a questioning glance from Seri.

"Are you busy?" he asked.

"No, are you hungry?" Seri said brightly, turning from her laptop.,

"That's what I came to talk about... I haven't practised yet today, so I'll have to do so over dinnertime. But I was thinking – only if you wanted to – you could keep me company and eat there. Only if you wanted to."

As if he had to ask.

Since he would be practising for some time, and they were still wary of being seen together, Jeong-hyeok set off first to the nearby university which was lending its practice rooms to the orchestra.

Seri took her time to finish giving feedback for a new Seri's Choice store blueprint, then switched to looking up restaurant choices. After heading to the restaurant and collecting the food, she made her way to the university address and room number Jeong-hyeok had provided her with. It was along a hallway in the basement lined with similar looking doors. Seri found the right one and opened the door quietly to find a small, soundproofed room with a lone piano stood against the wall, and two folding chairs in the corner. Taking one of the chairs, Seri set the food down on the other one.

She simply sat for a long time, enjoying the intricacies of the piece Jeong-hyeok was practising, admiring the graceful sweep of his hands and the intensity in his expression. When the last note sounded, he turned towards her and the furrow of concentration in his brows cleared.