~~~~~

2 years later…

“The morning paper,” the housekeeper said setting the newspaper onto the breakfast table.

Jumping in his seat excitedly Jaegeun reached for it, flipped it open to the game section. Jongin glanced at him missing complete sight of what was on the front page. “Can you bring me a pen, Aunt Lee?”

“Yes, dear,” the housekeeper smiled and walked away.

Jongin sipped his coffee and looked at concentrated Jaegeun, “You should eat first.”

“I can eat and play at the same time,” he spoke, eyes glued to the game section. “The crossword puzzle looks fun today.”

“You’re a little too young to start worrying about memory loss. Don’t exercise your brain too hard, kid,” Jongin said.

“I’m not like you,” Jaegeun said looking up at him with eyes of soft anger, “you forget everyone.”

Jongin watched the six-year-old nephew slide out of his chair, grab his bowl of cereal, and walk away with the newspaper. Without sighing Jongin turned and walked out of the now empty kitchen. After grabbing his jacket from the bedroom he stopped by his mother’s bedroom and quietly opened the door.

The woman had gone quiet two years ago, falling into another one of her severe depressions. The doctor had administered sleeping pills which seemed to help with her sleep, but his mother now talked less. Jongin had decided to hire a fulltime housekeeper to tend to the home while letting his mother rest, but she didn’t seem to be getting any better. Always cooped up and sewing in her bedroom – the clothes she made were always sent to orphanages.

Today was no different. The sewing machine was chewing fabric and she was sitting focused, her head lowered, eyes set on the embroidery. Like she, Jaegeun had also completely changed. The home was now like a broken puzzle, the missing pieces lost. He didn’t have the heart to piece it back to what it once was. All he cared about and his only duty was to rake in money to support what was left of the family.

“I’m leaving,” Jongin said from the doorway. “I won’t be back until later. Do you need anything? I can stop at the store on my way home.”

“Drive safe,” she said without looking at him. No heart in her words but he knew she was sincere. Turning, he walked away and like the past two years, drove to work.

Secretary Hong greeted him at the elevator, joining him in the lift. “Chairman Goo has reserved lunch with you tomorrow. It’s about his daughter again and you have to attend this time.”

“Where?” Jongin asked, eyes flat on their silver reflections.

“The usual.”

“I just have to be on time, right?” Jongin asked.

“Yes.”

“What do we have for today? Did you get the records I asked you to?”

“Yes, they’re on your desk.” The slender man replied. “A new salon opened up. Do you want to go see it before lunch?”

“Lets do that.” They turned the hallway in unison and Jongin opened the door to his office, pausing when he spotted Yeji siting cozily on the couch by his rest area.

“There have been issues about the security team that Cha Geunwoo wants to speak to you about.” Secretary Hong said.

“Later,” Jongin turned to him. “You can go.”

With a nod, Secretary Hong walked out and closed the door after him. in a breath Jongin moved forward and joined Yeji, sitting opposite her. Chairman Goo had recently begun reopening talks about their marriage. Pressuring him to agree was their top priority right now and they just had to keep bugging him.

“What is it?” Jongin asked. “Thought you were having morning coffee with your father.”

“We’re having lunch tomorrow,” Yeji said.

“I heard.”

“My father will be really angry if you make another excuse not to show up,” Yeji warned. “He saw through the meeting you intentionally pulled up last time.” Steeling her voice she shot lasers into his eyeballs, “Don’t do it again.”

Jongin stared back coolly. “If I can help it.”

Her eyes shot toward his hand then to his face, her eyes unhappy. “Please don’t wear your ring again. My father doesn’t like it, and I don’t like the sight of it.”

Jongin’s left hand twitched but he didn’t move.

A tiny smile crept onto her face as if glad she’d pushed a button. “I know you don’t like me mentioning her, so I’ll spare you that today. Tomorrow, we’ll wait for you.”

Jongin gently clamped his teeth together as Yeji got up to leave and once the door closed, folded his left hand into a fist with thumb brushing over his wedding ring. Standing up he walked over to his desk just as the door opened again and the receptionist walked in. Holding up the newspaper to show him she nodded and handed it to him. Jongin took the replica of the same one Jaegeun had touched that morning and tossed it into the garbage bin without so much of a glance at what was on the front cover.

He was in a foul mood. If he couldn’t find a good excuse to pass up tomorrow’s lunch, Chairmoon Goo would try to corner him. He didn’t want to get married. Not again. Marriages…were dirty.

~~~~~

“Then let Attorney Cha take care of it,” Jongin explained to Secretary Hong as they walked along the hallways.

“You let him take care of everything. Are you sure it’s a wise thing to do?”

“If he thinks there’s an issue, there’s probably an issue.” Jongin muttered. “Goo Yeji has never been wrong about people.” Spotting a café on the other side of the hall he turned to his secretary, “Want coffee?”

“I’m good. Then, I’ll head up first.”

Jongin watched his only trusted person walk away and made way toward the café. His throat was itching for some caffeine and his soles a rest from walking even though he’d been sitting all day. After ordering a mocha he sat down at one of the round tables, spent a few minutes watching people walk to and fro, and let his eyes hover around the warm café. Everyone was with a pair or either seemed happy with their lives. Their youth seemed unwasted and his had been so different from theirs.

Right out of college he’d gotten married. His father died. He’d taken over the company with difficulty. His happiness had lasted only a few months before it ended. The rest was bleak and dark. Not worth thinking about.

His phone began ringing and he turned, accidentally flinging his arm out and knocking over his cup of coffee. “,” he muttered and quickly set the cup upright, snatched some napkins, and began dabbing deliriously at the newspaper the coffee had soaked. His hands ultimately slowed when his eyes landed on the front page, the headline reading: Most Wanted Rising Lawyer back in Seoul with Rumored Girlfriend.

Jongin’s eyes shifted to the enlarged picture below. Handsome Kyung, he recognized. The woman hidden on his left in sunglasses was almost barely visible but the angle the picture had been taken gave just the perfect view of her side features.

He knew those features.

Brow twitched and heart thudded. His hand clamped around the newspaper, his nails almost clawing their way through the thin paper. The noise surrounding him disappeared, everything faded. Eyes zoomed in on the unknown woman. His heart beat fast. Jongin immediately recalled the night the fire took the hostel out. Namjoo had been trapped in there.

She had never come out…

“No…” the word breathed out of his lips then he called, “Secretary Hong!” the customers sitting around him turned to stare at him and he suddenly realized the secretary wasn’t there. Rising from his seat he dashed out and toward the elevator, punching the button repeatedly until the lift came for him.

Dashing through the halls like he was running track aiming to break a record, he panted before finding his secretary at his desk rooted to his phone. “What is this?” he asked breathlessly then louder, “What is this?!”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I’ll call you back.” Secretary Hong apologized to whomever he was talking to and hung up. “What’s what?”

Slapping the soaked newspaper down Jongin asked heatedly, “This.”

Secretary Hong shot him a frown before glancing down at the newspaper. “It’s a welcoming party. Ah…I heard about him. Lawyer Han. He’s a defense lawyer. He performed really well in a trial that went global last year. Every law firm is looking to hire him. Guess he must’ve flown back with his girlfriend.”

A knot tightened in his chest. “What?”

“But what about it?” Secretary Hong asked completely missing the point.

Feeling lightheaded, Jongin turned to look away distraught. What girlfriend? What lawyer? All he’d seen was Namjoo’s face.

“Is something wrong?” Secretary Hong worried.

Trying to catch himself Jongin exhaled loudly, “You said…a welcoming party. What welcoming party?”

“I heard the Attorney General wants to throw him a welcome back party. A bunch of law firm reps are attending in order to hook this guy in. He must really be something…”

Han Kyungmo… Jongin needed to find him, meet him. Find out what this was really about. If that…who this alleged girlfriend was, Jongin needed answers because this girlfriend…looked like his dead wife.

~~~~~

“You’re here?” Namjoo asked opening the door.

Kyung smiled back and held out flowers, “Thought you could use something to decorate your place.”

“I’d rather this be food, but it shall do,” receiving the flowers Namjoo let Kyung in.

“Have you gone to see Hwan yet?” Kyung wondered glancing around.

“I was going to visit Sunday. You know, been busy settling back in,” Namjoo replied searching for a vase. “And I need to buy something for my niece first. I can’t go without a gift.”

“You should call Hwan, let him know it’s not me holding you back.” Kyung picked up a fancy pen and observed it.

Namjoo snorted behind him and brushed a string of her loose hair back, “Sit down. The soup is finished. Want to help scoop out some rice?”

“Why not,” he replied. “Oh, Kim & Young called. President Song wants us to start as soon as possible.”

“Really?” Namjoo looked at him with a grin.

“Yes, really.” Kyung nodded. “Looks like you and I are finally going to have a real job now.”

Namjoo smiled and carried over the vase with the moon flowers, “Pretty, isn’t it?” Preparing the side dishes she set them out onto the table before sitting down. “Then what do we do tomorrow?”

“Go enjoy food.” Kyung raised his brows.

“Well, I suppose that’s exciting in its own way.”

Kyung ate and chewed quietly then looked at her. “Are you sure you really want to stay here alone? I mean…you could stay with Hwan. They have a baby now and could use some help.”

Namjoo glanced at the food then looked at him, “I did worry about how your grandmother’s place would be, but I actually love it. It’s warm and there’s a good view of the city. I’ll be just fine. It’ll be just like…those old days at the hostel.”

“I’m glad to be back.” Kyung said.

She wished she could say the same too.

“Whatever it is that happens, everything will work out Namjoo. Don’t think too much about anything. Just live for yourself now.”

Once she sent Kyung off Namjoo poured herself a glass of wine and walked over to the wall sized window. Lights were glowing, cars pouring through traffic, and people moved like shadows below. Seoul was still the very same, it was just that she was on the other side of the city from where she used to live. After departing two years ago, she had set her resolution to live for the better.

While staying in Jeju she read a lot, studied from books Kyung helped her find. When her passport arrived she immediately flew out. While interning, Kyung had helped her apply and get into a two year program at an international tech school. Now she was going to be his immediate secretary working alongside him in the firm and for the rest of her life, would be alongside him.

In the end, she had her own job and a new start. She had feared coming back, had been anxious and nervous about it but she’d forgotten how big of a city Seoul is. Among a population of over 15,000 Jongin wouldn’t be able to find her very easily. Even if she passed him along the streets, she was a different person now. Maybe he had gotten married to someone else in those meager two years. Whatever had taken place during the gap of two years, they had moved on. She would believe in that.

~~~~~

Jongin had managed to skip lunch with Chairmain Goo and Yeji. Instead, he’d gone to prepare for the welcome party tonight after Secretary Hong managed to snatch him an invitation with place and time.

All afternoon he’d waited for the clock to strike six. Now that he was at the plaza he was starting to grow as anxious as if he was about to give his very first presentation to an audience of over a thousand. The doorman, formally dressed, greeted them at the doorway. Following the tail of the crowd Jongin easily mixed himself in with the rest of the businessmen and hovered around.

Tables were decked out everywhere, everyone an acquaintance of someone else who knew someone else. These people networking to enlarge their circle of professionals. Jongin wasn’t here to expand his circle. He was here to look for the star of the party.

The ballroom was frustratingly large and packed. Of the law industry he knew very few people but the private ones the company worked with. Even he wasn’t very familiar with the connections Cha Geunwoo had. He’d never been very interested in law or anything related to it. In the packed ballroom he felt like a duck in a sea of flamingos. It was an uncomfortable feeling and he tried not to let it bother him.

He passed by a crowd murmuring something and laughing with each other, wine glasses in their hands. His steps stopped and he turned to gaze through the gap between them. On the other side beyond an overly large white table with drinks and snacks he recognized Kyung dressed in a classic black and white suit. There was a woman beside him laughing, smiling.

The knot in his chest further tightened and he immediately walked toward them. As he neared his heart burst at the sight of the replica of Namjoo. He merely stopped breathing and almost collapsed to the floor. The relief sputtering through him was overwhelming. His head spun in disbelief. Because how!? did this make sense?!

Namjoo…whom he believed was dead…was here…smiling…

How?!

Gripping his hand into a fist he slowly trudged forward, each step bringing him a foot closer to reality. Jongin’s eyes remained hard on them. They seemed oblivious to his approach until he neared like a dark shadow about to swallow them. Kyung first turned and the smile dissipated off his face. Noticing his turn of the head Namjoo followed, her eyes landing on him.

And Jongin knew when he saw that gaze of shock in her eyes – the proof to his answer that this was his Namjoo, somehow alive and not dead. Suddenly, he was ever angrier. She was here well and healthy, standing prettily with a man she shouldn’t be with.

For a long drawn-out moment he merely stared at them. Then he asked the obvious, “Namjoo?”

Eyes set on him, she offered nothing just like the very last time he spoke with her, the confrontation that had closed everything, his last effort she’d refused to cooperate with. She was just the same.

“Namjoo,” he said more confidently.

This was her, Kim Namjoo, who had turned his world upside down in the blink of an eye.

The liar.

His expression twisted with distress, “What is my wife doing with another man?”

***Jongin is still as upset as ever. We'll find out later why Jaegeun isn't happy with him. And as we see it, his home peace is wrecked and his life is nothing but unhappy.