Chapter 29. Traces

The smell of caffeine and some traces of cinnamon blended harmoniously in the crisp air. He walked on that stoned path as the police officer who escorted or brought him to that coffee shop left him to deal with his estranged six-year old. The wispy lights on each flattened rock was more like transporting him in a different place that he only read in his son's fairy tales.

He marched up to the steps but the faint object by the corner of that generously lightened corner caught his attention. Pulling silently the chair that directly faced them, he took a seat and got mesmerized by the scene. Ji Son was comfortably cradled on that sofa swing beside a cherry blossom by this woman whom he figured out as his son's random keeper.

Her left hand protectively wrapped on Ji Son's waist as the latter has his own arm somewhere on her hips. The newspaper on her right was threatening to fall any moment if she would settle into a deeper slumber. He smiled with the thought that his little boy insisted to be read again and apparently, that paper was the only reachable material as suggested by that wooden newspaper holder resting beside them. Bending closer, it was opened on the Business Section and that probably lured both of them to that state.

The door opened and a teenage girl emerged wearing a maroon polo shirt and a trouser hidden under that brown apron that was tied on her waist. She smiled the moment she saw him and took her small notebook.

“Good evening!” The girl exposed her friendly smile.

“Hi...” he smiled himself and turned towards the one and a half people sleeping by the swing so the girl put a hand on suppressing a grin, “What time do you close?”

“We're supposed to be closed now, but Manager,” she looked at the woman and he nodded, “...said that we have to wait for the Cake's parents.”

“Cake?” He furrowed his brows since it was obvious she was talking about his son.

“Oh, that’s what we call him since he could not remember his name,” she beamed then eyed him seriously, “By any chance, are you his father?”

He nodded, “I guess I am...”

“Then we must wake them now!”

The girl was about to walk towards them but he raised his hand and grinned, “Can you give me a cup of macchiato.”

“Uhm... but,” she hesitated but went on, “I will only accept take out since we will be closing...”

“Yeah, it's okay,” he nodded as she walked back inside and closed the door behind her causing the bells to rang softly. He turned towards the two because the sound would surely wake them up and he was right. The woman shifted until she opened one eye and directed her gaze towards him. He then stood and walked towards them as Ji Son seemed unshaken by the sound and her movement, “Hi...”

“Hmmm... hi?” She tried to adjust her vision with the sudden brightness, “Who are you?”

“He's my son.”

“What?” The woman straightened on the seat but secured the tiny body cuddled near her bosom. “Really? Do you have any proof? Where are the police?”

He grinned amused that she was doubting him. “I asked them to leave and what proof would you want?”

“Uhm, I don't know,” she hesitated since she was still on that half-asleep state. “If he is your son, how come he is here?”

“Well, I was at the office and his baby sitter apparently fell asleep while watching him play at the playground. She's an old woman so it really happened a lot but this time; maybe he wandered off and could not find his way home.” He reluctantly told her as the woman was still eyeing him with doubt, “Look, maybe we can just wake him up...”

“Oh... okay...” she nodded and gently took the boy's arm that was sandwiched between her body and his, “Hey, Cake, wake up...”

“Cake?”

The woman did not even look at him but slowly gathered his son's upper body, making him sit up. He was still asleep so his head ended up falling on her chest again and the woman gave out a soft laugh, “Yeah, I call him that since he could not remember his own name...”

“Aigoo... he pulled that one again!” He shook his head half-amused by the scene in front of him, “My mother, his halmeoni, told him not to give his name to strangers so he pulled up that trick on you, I'm sorry.” The woman looked up and gave him that lazy smile, it felt different. Getting back his senses, he walked towards them and sat on his heels soothing his son's cheek, “Ji Son... Ji Son-ah, il-eona ... it's time to go home now...”

Ji Son sleepily scratched his eyes with both knuckles and mumbled, “Appa...”

“Yes, it's me... wake up...” he finally took him from her arms and carried him. But the woman stood before he could turn.

“How can I be sure that you are his father?”

He smiled and forced his son to straighten, “Ya, tell this nice agassi your name...”

“My name's Choi Ji Son...” he turned to her and mumbled then rested his head back on his father's shoulder.

“Oh, okay...” she nodded but she still looked like she didn’t believe him.

“I'm so sorry for the bother,” he gave her a slight grin. “He talks nonstop and asks a lot of questions, I hope he did not cause any trouble.”

“Oh no!” She shook her head, “I find him really adorable. Make sure you find a better nanny for him. Good thing he happened to walk this side.”

“Yeah, he must have walked a good deal of minutes.” The woman looked at him questioningly so he supplied, “Our apartment building is ten minutes walk from here. It's actually on the other side of that building.”

She nodded as he pointed towards his left, “Aigoo... that was why he ate a lot when I gave him food.”

“Oh speaking of,” he fumbled on his jeans pocket for his wallet, “How much--”

“Oh no! No need for that!” She waved her hand vigorously.

“I really must--”

“No, I insist, he gave me this little distraction from my mechanical existence so yeah, he was no trouble at all. Having a kid around is a treat.”

“Really?” He looked at him as if he did not believe what she was saying and smiled when she nodded with her doe-eyed smile. “Okay, your employee said you extended time because of us. Thank you so much and I'm so sorry...”

“No need for a sorry...” she smiled again and they both turned when the door clang open again and the younger girl emerged with his take-out coffee, “Sim Ji?”

“Oh yeah, thanks,” he finally took his wallet and sheepishly took some bill while balancing his sleeping son on his right arm.

“Uhm... you don't need to--”

“At least, let me pay for this one,” he smiled at her almost begging so she just nodded as he handed the girl his payment, “Thank you, I really don't know how to repay your kindness...”

“You don't need to repay us anything. You have a wonderful and handsome little angel there so take care of him and thank you for sharing him with us even for a little while.”

“Yes, Cake--”

“Ji Son,” the doe-eyed woman corrected the girl and they both chuckled.

“I mean, Ji Son is really an adorable boy and everybody loved him even our customers. Some even thought he is Manager's son.”

He smiled with them as his son nuzzled on his neck, “That's good to hear then. But I guess we need to get going.”

“Oh yeah! The evening breeze is not really good for him.”

That concern written on her face touched him so he just nodded and mouthed a thank you before turning. But the woman called him back and felt her touched his son's cheek then whispered, “Hey Cake, don't ever wander off again like that, okay?”

~~~

She was getting more comfortable in her new place. The table was moved outside the Director's office just as she asked and it was located by the little corner in front of Mrs. Kim's table. Although, it may appear a little crowded compared to her position inside his room at least she won't feel that awkwardness or any negativity of being near him. He would phone in whatever he needed and she would just enter the room every time she needed to and leave just as soon as she was finished.

Seo Hyun also found the best solution for that coffee-dilemma. Every morning, she would drop by Yoona's and order his coffee and she would just reheat it when he arrived and put it on his desk. Their conversations were still limited to office works and nothing more and though she was his personal assistant, he never brought her to his meetings and would do the reports himself. It was even funny how he would give those papers to her for editing since it appeared that they were exchanging roles.

That set up has been better than before. Way better. But she would still prefer to see him a lot. Maybe she really did miss seeing him for a long time that if only she could drug him to sleep and just watch him the whole day, she would grab that chance. She put an elbow on the table as stacks of paper lay on her table. Concentrating has been her major concern so far. For one, he was already a distraction. Then there are those other things that had been popping up in her head.

The mysterious call she had that night sent goosebumps all over her body. Not that she was giving important thoughts to it, but it was her first to experience something like it. She shook her head and stood to go to the restroom. She checked her reflection on the mirror and fixed a smile. Running a hand on her hair, she adjusted her off-shoulder top so as to avoid exposing too much of her silken skin. Seo Hyun also pulled down her dark teal tiered skirt since sitting for a long time seemed to make it crinkled up that it appeared too short for its normal length.

After putting on that light blush on her cheeks and applying a little lipstick, she went out and prepared the documents for him to sign. She knocked gently waiting for his response until she heard a faint answer from him so she opened the door and peeked in. Yong Hwa was on a call when he raised his hand a bit signaling for her to come in. Taking her seat after he signaled for her to do so, she waited as he continued talking and laughing.

“Ahhhh... really? How about the gown? But-- yes, yes... you should not try it on!”

Seo Hyun turned her head towards him but the moment their eyes met, he rotated his chair that she could only see the back of it as he continued to sway and chuckle.

“Are you having cold feet now? You can't back out! We have been waiting for this for almost three years and now you're telling me you're a nervous-wreck?”

He continued to laugh as she fidgeted on her seat. There was something about that conversation and his excited tone that was giving her uneasy feeling. Should she go out? Maybe she should while he hadn't notice yet but just before she could stand up, he swung back facing her and looked straight into her eyes.

“Only the best wedding for you, of course...”

Those words sparked this blister inside her that made her unable to react or even pull away from his gaze. Is he getting married? The question almost weakened her and thankfully she was sitting or else she would have fallen limp on her legs. They were still looking at each other as he continued to appear to be listening intently to that someone on the other line. She could only gauge a soft sound from the other line but she was sure it was a woman's voice happily chatting while he was wearing that gentle smile Seo Hyun hadn't seen for a long time. She could not make anything out of it at all but her heart was throbbing so fast and she wanted to go out. Yong Hwa was really torturing her and she prayed he would stop looking at her with that smile that was not for her-- no longer for her. She could not even understand why she, herself, could not pull away as they maintained that eye contact.

“Listen, I have to hang up now,” he finally said but his eyes still held hers, “Check the other designs first before you decide. Anyway, I'll be there tonight. Maybe we can pick out something together.”

Her vision finally fell on the papers she was holding on her lap. It weakened her and she regretted going there. He was getting married. She closed her eyes tight before they start to tear. She was getting dizzy and if only she could cover her ears so that she would no longer hear what he was saying to that person he was talking with.

“Ms. Seo?”

Seo Hyun almost jumped when she heard him call her so she slowly lifted her head up and faced him again with a forced unaffected expression, “Uhmm... I just need your sig-- signatures here...” She clumsily stood and placed the folder in front of him and pointed on the space for his name. “And, uh... on the... next--”

“Are you okay?”

That was the most stupid question she heard for that day. How could he even ask her that? “I... yes, I'm okay.”

“But you look pale, maybe you should--”

“Oh, no Director,” she forced a smile as he finally scrolled his signature on each page. Afterwards, Seo Hyun gathered the papers and hastily compiled them back on the folder but she was shaking so much that the folder fell in no time. “I'm sorry...” she whispered again bending over to retrieve the papers on the floor.

“Hyu~n, are you sure you're okay?”

The moment her name was called that way, she froze as she was about to pick a paper that had fallen just by her feet. She turned back only to see his surprised expression. He did not really mean to call her that she thought and went on picking up the scattered papers. “I'm fine. Maybe because I skipped breakfast,” she lied.

It was all too much information for her mind to process so she decided to just hurry up for her own sake. Thankfully, he stood himself and walked in front of the bookcase. After making sure that everything was inside the folder, she stood and was about to ask for permission to go but he cleared his throat and the gentleness of his voice when he called him that pet name had left no traces.

“I am looking for the Media Evaluation Studies here awhile ago but I can't find it.”

“Oh that,” despite the vagueness she was feeling, she easily remembered what he was talking about. “I put it up there,” she walked towards him, pulling the built-in ladder on the corner. She