Ever After

Acceptance

There was once a time when Seri had thought she would never get used to the torment of waiting, of not knowing when they would next meet. Time hadn't felt like a friend during their partings – it had seemed to make a point of slowing to a crawl, taunting her with its unchangeability.

Driving along the wide, picturesque roads of Switzerland, Seri suddenly realised that something felt different. She felt... at peace.

Sure, it might have been to do with the snow-capped mountains in the distance, the crisp January air streaming in through the open car window, the fact that she had two weeks all to herself in what had become her favourite country.

Or it could be to do with where she had just driven from: a beautiful, three-story wooden house perched on the hills of Lake Lungern. Her house. Freshly purchased. "My vacation home," she had told the real estate agent. A way for me to dream, was what she had really wanted to say.

But Seri knew it wasn't these things which made her feel at peace. It came from somewhere deeper.

Instead of constantly pushing back against the agony of hoping, at some point in the last 6 months Seri had accepted, instead. Accepted that the yearning and the waiting had become part of her life, that it was woven into the fabric of their relationship.

I would willingly live through all the painful moments, just to meet you again, she thought now. Even if I had to turn back time and relive our tumultuous history, I would do it a hundred times. I would get to know you and fall in love. I would make all the same dangerous and sad choices. I'm happy to make that choice, Ri Jeong-hyeok ssi.

It felt familiar, like she had thought these thoughts before, although Seri didn't remember when she would have.

Oh, she still felt weighed down by anticipation. Her heart felt like it was lodged somewhere in her throat as she parked her car in front of the hotel and left it to the valet. The jittery anxiety of not knowing still made her glance eagerly around each corner for a sign of him. But Seri welcomed the nervousness like an old friend. They were signs, at least, that she might be able to see him.

She had sent out an invitation a week ago for tonight's annual recital, sponsored by Seri's Choice. Even though she hadn't been entirely sure whether her invite would reach him, Seri still had a smile on her face while she addressed it to one Ri Jeong-hyeok, at the Lucerne School of Music. For once, she had an actual address for him. That was enough.

Seri fixed her long-sleeved floral dress as she entered one of the hotel's banquet halls. The white-clothed tables were already set up in the grand, gilded room. Facing the stage, she imagined Jeong-hyeok striding out right now, giving her a knowing look as he sat down and began to play their song. Even the made-up image was enough to make her smile.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she turned to see the school dean enter the room, a quiet, grey-haired man whom she liked. "Thank you for coming and for your patronage each year."

Seri smiled. "It's my pleasure. There are exceptional students this year as well."

Her mind wandered as she briefly thought of an exceptional young violinist she had known. Seri just barely stopped herself from sighing. It was in the past. She had learned from her mistake.

She was brought back to the present in time to hear the dean say, "We have participants from North Korea this year as well."

Did that increase the odds that he would be attending? Despite the quickening of her pulse, Seri forced herself to smile calmly and say, "Right. That's great."

As she left the banquet hall, the hotel's event manager ran up to intercept her. "Miss Yoon, the hotel concierge asked me to deliver this. It's addressed to you."