Chapter 11 | Distanced

Joohyun arrived in Korea at the break of dawn. It was fifteen minutes past two, when she stepped in the familiar airport. This way, she would be getting little less of the media buzz. It is a good thing that her secretary, Kim Yongsun, has arranged her flight the first thing she called.

It has been almost six months since she went to Slovenia. She feels sorry for not letting Yongsun know about her whereabouts. It must have been tough for the assistant to deal with her father’s anger.

“After all these years of planning to run away, you finally did it, Miss Bae.” Yongsun says as she opens the door of the car for Joohyun.

“How was my father? Did he make you work late hours to find me?” Joohyun asks half-heartedly.

“Oh! Don’t worry about it, Miss Bae. I actually spent those days in my office doing nothing. I just have to wait for you to call me. Anyway, your father is expecting you first thing in the morning. You should enjoy the rest of the dawn in peace before you get your well-deserved scolding.” Yongsun offers Joohyun a smile. She goes to the driver’s seat and starts backing out of the parking lot.

“You don’t have to call me Miss Bae when we’re alone, Yongsun. We’ve been friends since college. And I’m sorry for not letting you know.” Joohyun feels really apologetic at this moment. She treasures Yongsun as her friend but it was too much of a risk to contact her when she was living in Slovenia.

“You were such a brat, Joohyun.” Yongsun smacks Joohyun’s head lightly. She was very worried about what happened to her employer and friend. “I thought you were murdered and all.”

Senator Bae Seongwoo passed a bill for same- marriage this day. He has been getting hate comments all over because of announcing Joohyun’s engagement to the Kang Financial Group’s heiress. There’s about two years left in his term. Long enough to lobby political influence before he runs for presidency. He didn’t know much about this but in spite of the hateful critiques, he also garnered supporters from the LGBT community. As of today, he’s got mixed opinions about his stand but he isn’t complaining. He’s on top of the search engines among all senators in the past three days. Maybe courting the youth would be his strategy after all.

“Has Joohyun arrived yet?” He asks his secretary.

“Yes, Kim Yongsun, her assistant, is already driving her to the mansion.” The secretary informs the assemblyman.

“Good. Ready some elegant clothes for her to wear. We’re going for lunch with her soon to be in-laws today. Let her know that.” Seongwoo s