Chapter 21: When the rusty wheel starts to spin

Sulli felt tremors in her heart…small pieces of pain inside. “But I guess that will no longer change. He’s my first love anyway. So it’s just expected that I’d still feel a little of what I used to” thought Sulli

“You’re Ok?” asked Uncle Sam

“Yeah...I am fine Uncle.” Said Sulli smiling

“You don’t look disoriented after seeing him” said Uncle Sam

Sulli held Uncle’s hand “That’s 3 long years Uncle…3 years of learning to accept what is not meant to be and being content of what I have.” Said Sulli

“If you said so” said Uncle Sam

“On the other hand, I will talk to your doctor. I will make sure that you recover as soon as possible.” Said Sulli

“The doctor said it’s just fatigue.” Said Uncle Sam

“At your age, fatigue is not ‘just fatigue’” said Sulli

Uncle Sam missed his niece. The twice a year visit to her in the US is always not enough. He would always long for Sulli. He wonders how other people who might be missing her could survive three years not seeing her.

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When Sulli saw her Uncle sleeping, she packed her things to leave. She needs to sleep. Her head has already started to hurt due to the timezone difference. She hasn’t gotten enough sleep since she learned of Uncle Sam’s hospitalization.

Sulli left the room quietly. When Sulli got to the exit, she is surprised to see Minho. What time is it? It’s been around 7 hours since they left. Why is he here?

Minho saw Sulli approaching and he still feels like his legs will start to shake at the sight of her.

“Hi.” Greeted Minho

“Hi…You were here all the while?” asked Sulli

“Umm..Yes…I wanted to talk to you.” Said Minho

“Ah…you should’ve just gone back to your office or gone home first. It’s really late to be waiting here. And I could’ve stayed with Uncle until tomorrow morning, so you might be waiting for nothing.” said Sulli

“It didn’t matter if I get to talk to you today or not…I just wanted to wait…Um…You’re going home?” asked Minho

Sulli is confused. He’s going to wait here even if he’s not sure I am going out of the hospital tonight?

“Yes…I need to rest. I haven’t slept in 2 days.” Said Sulli

“Oh..alright, you’re right. You need to rest. I can drop you off.” Said Minho

“Oh, no need. I can just call the driver.” Said Sulli

“You will have to wait here for a long time…let me drop you off…I mean I insist.” Said Minho

Sulli can’t say No anymore, she just doesn’t have the energy to argue.

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It was hard not to fall asleep while Minho is driving, but Sulli tried not to.

“What did you do in the US?” asked Minho

“Oh…the first 2 years, I studies Masters. And then I worked for FlyAir in our small headquarters there.” Said Sulli

“That’s good. You liked working for FlyAir?” asked Minho

“Yeah…I like it. I guess since I know everything is for what Dad and Uncle worked hard for, everything I do felt valuable.” Said Sulli

“I wonder why you never tried working with other companies.” Asked Minho

“Oh, I did SkyRock for a while right?” said Sulli

“I mean not as an intern but as a regular employee.” Said Minho

“Oh that” Sulli can’t suppress a yawn. “I…thought about it..but I figured I want to learn FlyAir fast. Uncle is frequently getting sick…” Sulli’s eyes are closing already. “I want…to..help himmmm”

Minho looked at Sulli. “She fell asleep.”

Minho stopped in front of Sulli’s house but he did not wake her up immediately. He wanted to savor this moment. He doesn’t know when he can get this close to her again.

When Minho felt Sulli has slept for a few minutes, He pressed the doorbell by the gate. Gene opened the door for him.

“Minho…it’s you.” Said Gene

“Miss Gene…You’re also back.” Said Minho

“Yes..You’ve seen Sulli?” asked Gene

“Yes, She’s in my car…sleeping.” Said Minho

Gene looked at Sulli peacefully sleeping.

“She had a rough week at work…And then Samuel got hospitalized.” Said Gene “If not for what happened to Samuel, it may still take years before we get back here.”

“I can’t say I’m happy that Samuel is sick…But I’m happy to see you both back.” Said Minho

“I know…I know you are.” Gene squeezed Minho’s arm

“There are a lot of things that happened. I am glad that you’re still a good man after all these years.” Said Gene

“I might not be as nice as I was before.” Said Minho

“But you still take care of her…And that means not much had change…right?” Gene tried to search Minho’s eyes for the answer. And it didn’t take long for Gene to see it. The way he glanced at Sulli. The way his eyes would get wet and blink a few times to prevent the tears from falling.

“No matter how much had change in the business, I’m glad that your heart did not change much...As for my Sulli…She had it tough…” said Gene “C’mon let’s wake her up. She needs to lay down on her bed.”

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Sulli woke up early the next day. She has to be in the hospital before Uncle wakes up. It was still a bit dark when she went out. She is surprised when someone called her name from behind her. When she turned around, it was Minho.

“You…Why are you here so early? Did you ever went home?” asked Sulli

“Yeah…I did…but I can’t sleep. So I decided to just wait for you here.” Said Minho

“Ok…What do you need from me?” asked Sulli

“Umm…I wanted to talk to you.” Said Minho

“Ahh…yes you said something about that last night…but I think I fell as sleep.” Said Sulli “I’m sorry about that. But then…I’m in a hurry now. I need to be it the hospital before Uncle wakes up.”

“Do you want me to take you there?” asked Minho

“Oh…You already did too much yesterday. I don’t want to treat you as a chauffeur when you are in fact our business partner.” Said Sulli

“I actually don’t mind.” Said Minho

“Mr. Minho, I’m glad that you want to help our family this much. But I don’t want to cause any trouble.” Said Sulli and just walked away.

Minho caught up with Sulli and grabbed her arm

“Why are you calling me like that?” asked Minho with his intense look

“Like..what?” asked Sulli

“Mr. Minho?” said Minho

“Ahhh but you are now a CEO. And I am now a business partner…That’s just right.” Said Sulli

Minho is feeling sheer pain on how cold Sulli is to him now. Why…why is she going farther and farther away from him?

“I better get going, see you around.” Said Sulli

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Sulli went to the hospital to find that Uncle Sam is already awake. She took care of everything that Uncle Sam needs. When it was almost lunch, Uncle Sam wanted to eat ramen. And so Sulli went out to buy him one. But on her way out of the hospital, she saw