Ever After

Waiting

On the long flight home, Seri couldn't help replaying her and Jeong-hyeok's last night in Zurich over and over.

She couldn't believe it had happened. She couldn't believe it had taken so long to happen.

The red dress had been a last-minute decision on the day. She had decided to drop by the nearest department store after lunch, and just happened to catch a glimpse of that red dress. Not exactly the same brand or cut, but Seri found herself reaching for it impulsively.

It ended up being worth the investment. She had felt Jeong-hyeok's eyes on her the whole night – during intermission, seeking her out from the stage and afterwards, while guests mingled and got ready to leave.

"The old me would have killed for him look at me like that, just once," Seo Dan had commented drily, when Seri had approached during intermission to compliment her on the performance.

Seri would have killed to have him here with her now, lying next to her on the plane. He didn't even have to be looking at her (though he was always looking.)

Despite his reservations, she felt that their intimate experience had brought them closer together, broken down some invisible barrier that had stood between them before. The only regret she had was that she only had the one night to enjoy their newfound closeness.

Collapsed on the floor, they had remained in a blissful embrace for a while, him still seated against the wall, she cuddled against him. Afterwards, she had managed to coax him into showering together. Another first.

The warm water had sleuthed over his hair, softening it from the slicked-back hairstyle to the unstyled Jeong-hyeok she knew and had fallen in love with. "I like you like this," she had said, brushing his bangs down so that they covered his eyes.

"I thought you liked the makeover from Seoul."

"I changed my mind."

"Too bad," he had said with a straight face, before chuckling when she shoved him in reaction.

She loved the sound. She loved that she had seen every inch of him now – from the scars that marred his back, side and shoulder, to the way that shadows played across his back muscles as he moved, to the way his skin was paler where the sun didn't hit.

She already missed the banal daily routines that most couples would do together, but which felt new and exciting to Seri. Brushing their teeth side-by-side. Arguing over the air-conditioner temperature. Falling asleep in the warmth of each other's embrace.

Three months would feel longer than three years.

Work had her busier than ever when she returned to her life in Seoul. Seri settled back into her daily routine: a workout in the morning, an apple for breakfast, a full day at the office, then dinner by herself at home or with her family at their house.

"You look refreshed, eonni," her brother's wife Hye-ji said during family dinner, shortly after Seri's return. "Your skin is glowing! Maybe it's the clean Swiss air that made a difference!"

"Or... possibly a new love interest?" Se-jun looked hopelessly eager as he tried to fish for more information.

Seri ignored the knowing stare from her mother as she focused on cutting up her food. "No time for dating," she replied matter-of-factly. "Work keeps me so busy. Maybe it was just the satisfaction from watching our charity's young talent blossom. Music does the soul good, you know."

After dinner, her mother pulled her aside to the study.

"You finally found him, didn't you?" she said, with such hope in her eyes that Seri almost felt like tearing up, that her mother cared so much.