It was a very quiet ride after the emotionally wrought conversation. Choi Young Do was still not sure that it was a bright idea to be imposing himself on Kim family’s personal business. But one sidelong glance at his companion in the backseat was enough to help him rationalize his rash act. Cha Eun Sang was still pallid, her head resting against the window glass, gaze pointed to the outside but unfocussed. Choi Young Do took heart in the fact that he had managed to unobtrusively push her to eat a sandwich and drink a cup of coffee. So far she had not shown any symptom of being sick from it. He had gulped down two cups of strong coffee himself before changing into a more appropriate dinner attire of a pair of khakis and a linen shirt. He was not surprised to find out that Cha Eun Sang had taken a taxi to the hotel. So, he decided to utilize the silent journey time to organize his thoughts as David drove them, with sure handed ease, towards Kim mansion.

Cha Eun Sang quietly led him across the courtyard, across the living room and down the corridor. As they reached the heavy wooden door of the Kim mansion’s library office, Choi Young Do thought wryly, “Nothing good ever happens behind this damn door. I just get deeper and deeper into other people’s troubles.” The deep voice of Kim Won beckoned them to proceed inside in response to Cha Eun Sang’s impatient knocks on the intricately curved mahogany panel. In spite of his uncertainty and the acute discomfort that he felt at his presence there, Choi Young Do did feel a tinge of relief on hearing the familiar voice of Kim Won.

As he laid his eyes on the older man’s face after stepping inside the great room, he could discern no glaring sign of his illness. Perhaps his face was a little gaunt, his hair tad disheveled but what was strikingly noticeable was a broad smile that lit up his face. A genuine, heartfelt smile that deepened all the fine wrinkles and laughter lines on his face, reached his eyes and floated around him like a mist of sunshine. He seemed…happy! Choi Young Do was stunned for he had never ever seen Kim Won look like that. He doubted that he had ever seen anybody, in his sphere of business, smile that way. Cha Eun Sang excused herself to wash up before dinner and turned to give Choi Young Do a pointed look on her way out of the room. Yeah, no pressure at all!

“So how have you been, young man?” the voice behind the blinding smile cut through the trance that had descended on Choi Young Do.

He recovered quickly and decided to open ‘softly’ as per the plan he had worked out in his head.

“Dare I say worried, frustrated, confused and extremely tensed, for about two months now?” He stated without any real heat.

Kim Won got up from the grand chair that matched the heavy table and started walking over to where Choi Young Do stood, near the door. He had correctly read Choi Young Do’s tensed body language despite the light tone of his voice. The long arms were hanging parallel to his torso but the shoulders were stiff. He had not missed the way Young Do stood near the door, as if not sure that his presence there was appropriate at all. He empathized with the younger man, whom he had just recently grown so fond of. He knew exactly what the poor, overworked, ambitious young man needed.

Young Do’s eyes followed his movement warily but he did not take a step towards Kim Won. But before he realized what was happening, Kim Won was in his personal space and had pulled Choi Young Do into a tight HUG! The younger man froze, shocked beyond words, every muscle in his body knotted and stiffened, his fists clenched, his eyes flew open and his eyebrows arched high above his broad forehead. He struggled to grasp what was happening. He was being hugged, by a grown man, who was not his father or a close relative (as if that had ever happened) but an acquaintance, with whom he had shared a checkered history, at best. He could feel Kim Won’s palms patting his wide back in a comforting gesture but it did nothing to calm his frantic thoughts. Kim Won pulled back but retained his light grip on Young Do’s shoulders. He lightly squeezed the younger man’s shoulders, vainly trying to impart some warmth to his tensed stature. The beatific smile was still in place.

“Don’t worry so much, Young Do-ah. Have a little faith.”

Choi Young Do shocked eyes followed Kim Won’s back as he walked away from him towards a cabinet, which he opened up to reveal a well-stocked bar. As he watched Kim Won poring over the choices, he wondered if he had heard Cha Eun Sang wrong. Patches on lungs or a brain tumor? A brain tumor could explain the unusual behavior for sure.

Kim Won held up a bottle of single malt and waved it to get Choi Young Do’s attention.

“Will this work for you?” he asked with the casual tone of an old friend.

Choi Young Do barely registered the brand. He automatically nodded assent. He was still trying to grapple with Kim Won’s new avatar. Kim Won turned back with two glasses to see Choi Young Do rooted to the very same spot he had left him at. He exhaled in mock exasperation.

“Aigoo! Do I have to send you a formal invitation to take a seat? Especially since you landed up here uninvited in the first place?” he said with a teasing smile.

Choi Young Do flushed and looked embarrassed. He knew that Kim Won was not the only one who had breached the protocol of their ‘unusual’ friendship that day. He nervously shuffled from one foot to another as Kim Won amusedly looked on. He took pity on the younger man and pointed to the sofa.

“Aish! Sit down already.” He barked as he made himself comfortable on the sofa. Choi Young Do stepped up to the chair that was across from the sofa and grabbed the back. But before he could sit down, Kim Won barked impatiently.

“Not there,” he pointed to the other end of the sofa he was sitting on, “come sit here.”

Choi Young Do followed his instruction, too dazed to protest in face of such strange casual behavior. He sat alright but kept his back straight and turned a little sideways to face Kim Won, who merely smiled and held out one of the drinks. Choi Young Do accepted with a little bow, with both hands held together. He automatically followed formalities because he felt absolutely out of depth in the alternate universe of Kim Won.

Kim Won observed the young man sitting next to him, unmindfully running his finger on the rim of the glass, head downcast, obviously ill at ease and decided to break the ice. He took a sip of his drink and cleared his throat.

“Sorry, I worried you guys. I just had to…get away.”

Choi Young Do looked up, his gaze clearly challenging Kim Won’s understatement.

“Oh! Is that it? Did you not think of me? I am in that ‘getting away’ business, you know. I could have arranged it for you if you had just told me the distance you were aiming for. Timbuktu far enough for you? I have a property there too.” His sounded a little miffed. “Just would have saved us a lot of worry….and anxiety.”

Kim Won smiled that wonderful smile again.

“Nah! What I was looking for was right here, in this country.”

Choi Young Do rushed at the very first, very slim opening that he registered.

“Did you find it?” his eyes were sincere and his voice was somber.

Kim Won considered letting the young man in. He was not a blood relation, not a friend, at least not for long and he was definitely a business associate of sort, with intertwined business interests. But he had found a strange camaraderie in that young man. He did not know what it was that drove that boy but he had felt a stirring in his heart for that