Standing in the middle of the hospital hallway was Jennie. She had her back turned toward V and didn’t see him coming up behind her.

 

“I’m here.” V said, frightening her. He didn’t stop to make any conversation and continued walking toward the exit.

 

When they reached outside, V stopped and turned to her. He could feel his heart pounding so hard it felt as if it would burst out his chest. “Thank you for taking care of me.” 

 

Jennie’s face softened. “You’re welcome.”

 

There was an awkward silence between the two. Jennie was fiddling with her fingers and V looked everywhere but at her. They were so quiet that the chirping of birds were heard. 

 

Looking up at V, Jennie opened to speak. “You know I still care about you, right? I never wanted to hurt you.” She moved all her hair to her right side. “I hadn’t been to Korea in so long. Yes, my family is here but my goal was to create a life in America and I did. I didn’t want to give up my dream of living there.” 

 

Although the way she handled the whole situation really hurt V, he understood why she would be unwilling to move back. He still didn’t know what to think of the hurtful words she said to him but he was moved to know that she followed him across the world because she still loved him.

 

He knew it probably wasn’t the most rational idea, but he leaned forward and planted a kiss right on her lips. The contact of their lips was an unspoken agreement that they were officially back together.

 

--------------------

 

After dropping Jennie back off at her hotel room, V made his way to Kim Inc.’s headquarters. His father left him a message earlier telling him to come by. V knew after being gone for a year, he needed to make up some ground and invest most of his time to the company so that his father could trust handing the business over to him. It’s not that V necessarily wanted to take on the responsibility of being the CEO of Kim Inc., but he knew it was what his parents wanted. None of them trusted anyone but family to take on the role and inherit the business.

 

When he arrived at the headquarters, V made his way to his father’s office. He knocked on the door and heard his father tell him to come in. 

 

Upon seeing his son enter the room, Mr. Kim smiled. “There you are. Are you ready to get back to work?”

 

Even though he wasn’t, V nodded. “Yes, sir.”

 

He spent the whole day in the office with his father; making calls, negotiating with other businessmen, and making deals. It was very draining and every time he wanted to take a break, he told himself he couldn’t. He told himself that he couldn’t take a break until his father did.

 

A yawn escaped his lips and his father turned to him. “Want a break?”

 

He wanted to say ‘no’ but his father would see right through his lie. “Please.”

 

“Go get something to eat.” His father said. “You’ll need the energy.”

 

That was something V admired about his father. He would never take a break and would just muscle through long hard days until his work was complete. V remembered being five years old and wanting to be a hard worker just like his dad, but he never realized how difficult his father’s job actually was.

 

“Do you want me to bring you back anything?” 

 

His father shook his head and continued jotting down notes. “I’m fine, son.”

 

V stood up from his chair and walked out of his father’s office. He checked the time on his phone and saw that it was already six o’clock. It had been eight hours. He couldn’t believe how long he’d been