It was a comfortable silence.

A subdued silence.

It made everyone around them nervous.

News had spread like wildfire and nearly every person at the company knew about the unfortunate incident.  In the enclosed van, Amina and Youngbae sat docilely next to one another with their dark tinted sunglasses on, their gazes fixed straight ahead.  They spoke only when spoken to – and always in polite, clipped tones.  The managers gave the couple wide berth and chatted quietly amongst themselves.  They forwarded any questions or concerns directly to Jiyong, who seemed just as uneasy as everyone else.  Luckily for him, there wasn’t much news that he could impart.  When he met with Youngbae and inquired if things had gone well, he only received a curt nod in response.

Their ride stopped near the entrance of the airport terminal.  When everyone began retrieving their bags in the back, Youngbae unbuckled his seatbelt and casually followed suit.  Trying to be a discreet as possible, he stayed close to the van and kept one eye trained on Amina.  He could see her sitting inside, jerkily re-securing the cardigan wrap around her increasing waistline.  She shifted once or twice but remained seated.  Was she even coming out?

It was too risky for him to ask.

He could hear the clicking of cameras and welcoming wails from fans across the street and near the entrance way.  Like usual, all the fan club ninjas were already on site.  They wouldn’t question Amina’s presence around him and the others as long they didn’t pay her special attention.  But he couldn’t have her traversing through the terminals by herself.  He motioned one of their security guards over and spoke in low tones.

“Amina-sshi?”

A YG security guard motioned for her.  With a polite smile in place, Amina quickly nodded and accepted his assistance…and then flushed in embarrassment.  She knew her hand was sweaty and clammy from all the anxiety that had been building up inside.  But she couldn’t help it.  She had spotted the lines of VIPs blockading the entrance, their camera phones and DSLRs poised ready-to-go. 

The sight made her nervous.

The minute she alighted, another security guard flanked her backside.  The abrupt appearance of the burly man momentarily took her aback, causing Amina to falter as she paused on the edge of the street curb.

The sound of her sharp gasp caused Youngbae to instinctively step forward, breaking his nonchalant pose near the rear of the vehicle.  His body went tense.

One of the men reached out to steady her.

Only after convincing himself that she was safe, did Youngbae allow a wave of mild irritation sweep over him.  He watched the apples of Amina’s cheeks heat with mortification as she steadily spoke to the two men.  She peered around their shoulders until she made direct eye contact with him.

Time stretched.

Youngbae chomped on his sugarless gum and turned back to an earlier conversation, feigning interest in whatever Seungri was babbling on about.  A few seconds later, he felt a shadow presence near his side and looked over.

He instantly became annoyed.

“Why didn’t you follow her in?”  Youngbae asked tersely.  He could see Amina heading towards the entrance with only one guard in tow.

“Umm… She said only one of us was necessary, sir,” the security guard hesitantly replied.  He was new to the company and still had a lot to prove.

“But I requested that both of you her,” Youngbae’s voice rose.  Seunghyun and Seungri stopped talking, their heads swinging towards the nameless security guard in question.

“Neh,” the man slightly bowed.  “But she wanted one of us to stay behind to offer more protection.”

“Mwuh?”

“N-neh,” the worker repeated, stammering at Youngbae’s harsh tone.  He was afraid to impart his impending doom.  Wasn’t Youngbae-sshi supposed to be the reasonable one?  He felt an urge to run his finger inside the collar of his dress shirt.  “She said she needed someone to…”  He paused nervously.  “Guard your innocent virtue.”

Seunghyun let out a bark of laughter.

Seungri let out a hesitant chuckle, feeling uneasy as he observed the peeved look on his hyung’s face.

A red flush crept up Youngbae’s neck.  His wife had made her message known, loud and clear.  The light in his eyes changed from annoyance to ones filled with contrite.  Youngbae viewed the man with ill-concealed impatience.  “I don’t need you guarding me… or my innocent virtue,” he brusquely replied.  “You may want to see Daesungie, however.  Make sure he gets on the plane.  He has a thing for Japan.”  Youngbae took one last parting look at the other two before turning back to the guard.  “I’ll walk in with manager hyung.”

“Gomawo, unnie,” Amina gave Yun Hee a small smile and took the backpack from her elder.  They stood awkwardly facing one another until the security guard left to give them privacy.  “How were the reports?”

Yun Hee airily dismissed the question with a wave of her hand.  She stared intently at Amina’s mouth.  “Forget the reports.  How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine.”  Amina bobbed her head, folding her bottom lip inside .  She could feel the rough scab scrape against her tongue.  “I’m good.”

“I already called President Yang.”

Amina stiffened.

Yun Hee released a deep sigh and wrung her hands over and over.  The incident still made her distraught with worry.  “He was not happy.”

Amina nodded in understanding.  “Let’s just hope he doesn’t decide to call my sukbu.”  She twisted her lips wryly.  “That’s one person we don’t want to see ‘not happy’.”  A swift puff of air wafted past and the bag in her hands was instantly picked.  The action startled Amina and a quick protest formed on the tip of her tongue.  She glanced sharply to her left, catching Youngbae’s retreating back as he continued his trek towards the security scanners. 

She stared.

Speechless.

Her bag bounced along, hoisted high against his shoulder.

“I guess that’s our cue to move out,” Yun Hee concluded.

The backpack landed near her feet. 

Followed by his Louis Vuitton carryon. 

Amina glanced up from her phone.  She watched as Youngbae made himself at home, his body lazily stretched out in the leather and chrome seat beside hers.  Lifting an inquiring brow, Amina observed Youngbae as he slowly began digging through the gift bags recently acquired from fans, reading the notes and messages tucked inside.

He didn’t pay her any mind.

“Gomawo,” Amina politely tossed out, her hand reaching down for her bag.

He jerked his chin in quick acknowledgement and then continued to ignore her.

Amina did a swift double-take before she started ping the backpack.  She placed her sunshades inside.  After a few lengthy seconds, his silent treatment got to her.  Amina whipped her head around and looked pointedly at him, her eyes wide.  “I don’t think you should sit here,” she said, keeping her voice low.

“And I don’t think you should refuse security when it’s offered to you.”  Youngbae folded the letters neatly and placed them back where they came from.  “But I guess we don’t always get what we want.”

The double-entendre was not lost on her.  Amina schooled her features and allowed his words to roll off.  She had endured far worse from him before in the past and knew he wasn’t purposely being mean or callous.  She knew him too well and could see that he was hurting deeply inside.  Amina let out a soft sigh and watched as he placed the parcels onto the floor. 

“You shouldn’t have taken my bag like that.  Your fans were still out there.  They probably think you’re just helping a pregnant coworker, but sitting here next to me isn’t necessary.  The last thing we need is to draw more attention to ourselves.”

Youngbae paused, midway from returning into a sitting position.  The action brought him directly face to face with her.  He eyed her sternly.  “Wae?  It’s not like we’re together.”

“Bae-yah.”

“True?”   

The arrogant lift of his brow did her in.  Her defenses broke down and the fight to stay strong died out.  “I know, but…” Distress filled her eyes.  “We’re still married,” Amina whispered.

“Mwuh?”  He furrowed his eyebrows and inched closer to her.  The scent of his favorite shampoo clung to her skin, adding onto his silent misery.

She leaned in, angling closer towards his ear.  “We’re still married,” Amina whispered louder.

He moved back, the lines on his face visibly softening.

“Mwuh?” Amina asked, her eyes filling up with concern.

A breadth of silence.

“Nothing,” Youngbae answered poignantly, a small shake of his head.  “I just wanted to hear you say it again, that’s all.”

Her lips parted.

The light in her eyes dimmed. 

The sweet reminder left her feeling melancholy.  Amina turned away and bowed her head.  A tinge of regret splayed across the bridge of her nose, causing tears to burn at the back of her eyes.  She fiddled with her bag and busily checked the items inside.

Youngbae watched as Ami