Ha Jin waited at the security check queue for her turn. There were not many people in front of her. She looked at the boarding pass in her hand.

What am I doing? This is simply crazy! This makes no sense to fly off to Cambodia to avoid work now. What will Ji Hoo be thinking of me? Oh gosh! I must go back.

Just as she was about to turn back, the airport staff gestured her to walk through the metal detector. Ha Jin looked at her hesitantly, then walked ahead. Her phone started ringing just as she had picked up her hand bag from the security check.

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Hello Ha Jin! Woo Bin here!”

“Oh, Woo Bin. How are you?”

“I am fine, thanks. I just called to remind you about the picnic I was talking about last weekend. It is tomorrow. I hope you are still free to join us all,” spoke Woo Bin jovially.

“Uh-uhm. I am on my way to a business trip. Thanks for the invite, Woo Bin. But I am sorry I am not in Seoul for the next 3 days,” replied Ha Jin meekly.

“Oh, wow! Your company exploits you very well! Sending you off on a business trip at the beginning of the weekend,” said Woo Bin with surprise.

Ha Jin bit her lips, closing her eyes shut at the absurdity of her excuse.

“Yes, there is this client who is available only this weekend. I hope you all will have an enjoyable time at the picnic,” mumbled Ha Jin.

“Yes, sure. Have a good trip. See you soon.”

Ha Jin could not move for few moments after disconnecting the call.

I don’t know what I am doing. I hope I will not have to regret this impulsive decision.

After crossing the duty-free shops, she walked to the departure gate for her flight, as it was almost time to close the gate. She was ushered by the air crew and shown her seat. Once settled, she took a deep breath. This was perhaps the boldest step she was taking in her life.

Closely followed by the spending of two nights at Ji Hoo’s place, of course!

As the plane started picking up speed on the runway, shivers wrecked through her body with goosebumps all over her skin. The lady sitting beside her looked at her curiously.

“Are you not feeling well, my girl?” she asked.

“Gwaenchanha. I am fine,” mumbled Ha Jin and held on to the hand rest tightly.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Ji Hoo was exhausted after his long day at the medical camp. He started clearing the medicines and the instruments to prepare for the next day.

“Jan Di, please don’t forget to lock the med cupboard. Else, like last year, the rats will have them all,” spoke Ji Ho absent-mindedly.

“You meant Emily, didn’t you?” interjected his British colleague followed by a loud laughter.

Ji Hoo flinched at his own slip up.

“It’s the 3rd time I guess you called her name in this trip? You must be missing her a lot,” added Emily.

“I am sorry, Emily. I think my mind is too tired right now,” mumbled Ji Hoo.

“Don’t worry. I understand. Last night while calling my husband, even I could not remember his name for few minutes,” guffawed Emily.

Ji Hoo smiled at her, shaking his head. Then he remembered to check his phone for Ha Jin’s message. It said she got a direct flight to Siem Reap and would reach there later that night itself.

“Oh no! My friend is coming over here for the weekend. And she will be landing tonight. I need to go and pick her up from the airport. Do you mind doing rest of the clean up? I am sorry, Emily,” said Ji Hoo earnestly.

“Don’t you bother, Ji Hoo. By the way, is Jan Di coming for a surprise visit?” asked Emily wiggling her brows.

“No, it’s not Jan Di,” replied Ji Hoo red-faced and picked up his bag to leave.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Ha Jin stepped out of the airport through the arrival gate. She looked at her phone which was yet to be switched on. She contemplated whether to give Ji Hoo a call that she had reached Siem Reap.

“Hey, Ha Jin!”

She looked up and saw a smiling face of Ji Hoo, waving at her. And that very moment she knew, she did the right thing in coming to him.

“How was the flight? You must be very tired,” asked Ji Hoo while taking her bag from her hand.

“A little. But the flight was ok,” replied Ha Jin softly.

They walked to the tuktuk stand.

“Do you have reservation in any hotel?” asked Ji Hoo.

Ha Jin looked at him bewildered.

“I-I did not think about that. I came to the airport and got this direct flight…forgot about booking any accommodation. Just drop me at any decent hotel…” she mumbled with awkwardness.

“Don’t bother about that. You can stay at my quarter, it is big enough. I won’t let you check-in at any random place at this time of the night,” replied Ji Hoo.

“I am sorry, Ji Hoo. I did not mean to be a trouble for you like this,” spoke Ha Jin, unable to meet his eyes.

“Don’t be foolish, Ha Jin. You are never a trouble to me. Now, let’s go to my place right away. You look hungry and very tired. You need a good sleep,” saying that Ji Hoo helped her get on the tuktuk and they left the airport.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Somewhere, in the city of Seoul, a handsome yet stern-faced man sat in a dark room, with only one spotlight on the table in front of him. Four photographs were spread out in front of him. His right index finger hovered over each of the photograph, as if he was trying to choose one from them.

“These two are pretty obvious. I will keep them for later,” he spoke and kept the pictures of the teenage identical twins aside.

“What do you think of these two? Which one will be more effective?” he asked the only other soul in the room, standing behind him in dark.

“I guess the photographer girl, Chief,” answered the standing man after few seconds of deliberation.

“Hmm, I think so too. They seemed pretty close that night at the highway,” agreed his Chief, as he recollected the scene he saw while his car sped through the highway in the dark night.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Saturday morning was no different for Ga Eul than any other mornings of the week. She woke up early, then went to her mother’s room, who would still be sleeping. She cleaned her room, arranged all her medicines, prepared her food, put her clothes for washing. She made sure that all the chores for her mother were finished before she woke up. Because once her mother would be awake, Ga Eul would no longer be in front of her. Her aunt stayed with them, who accompanied her mother when she was awake.

“Why do you stay away from your mother, my child? She misses you every moment. You are doing everything for her, but not coming in front of her,” her aunt asked her often.

“I can’t. Her eyes become sad the moment I am in front of her. I remind her of father’s death. I remind her of everything she lost because of me,” replied Ga Eul defeatedly every time.

Once her chores were done, Ga Eul sat with her cup of morning tea at the dining table. It faced the little garden at the back of their house. She stared at it while sipping in her tea and various thoughts started entering her mind.

Lately, she had been thinking about her last conversation with Yi Jung. And their interactions before. Somehow it made her feel angry, hurt, uncomfortable. It is true that they started on the wrong foot. But, she did try to make things civil between them. Then why every time it ended up being bitter between them? She thought about his other friends, who were so unlike him. Woo Bin was so funny and friendly. From the party night at New Caledonia, she had started relying on him gradually. And she did find herself smiling and laughing a lot when he was around. And Ji Hoo, mostly reserved and reclusive, turned out to be so caring when he took her to the doctor he had recommended. He made sure to wait till her session was over and have a detailed discussion with the doctor about her treatment. He even spoke to her about not hiding or ignoring her condition, and told her how his parents’ accident in his childhood had pushed him to a similar condition.

No wonder, Jan Di regards him as her best friend and soulmate.

The ringing doorbell brought her out of her thoughts and she went to open the door.

“Woo Bin?”

“Good morning, Ga Eul,” smiled Woo Bin and handed her a beautiful flower bouquet.

Ga Eul stood puzzled and looked at the flowers in her hand.

“What are these for?” she asked.

“A bribe to make you come with me to the picnic,” replied Woo Bin as he made his way inside her house on his own.

That reminded her that she had tu