Seo Aera stopped coming to work after then. For more than a week, he found her office empty, and from HR he heard that she’d taken all her paid leaves. He assumed that she was going through her move out of the apartment, divorce procedures, whatnot. He tried to contact her a few times; but every time he’d pick up his phone and nearly dialed her number, he couldn’t proceed any further. Something kept stopping him, telling him that it was where he’d draw the line. The two of them had depended on each other too much that being apart from each other as colleagues felt almost impossible. But if she was willing to make decisions without his input and opinion, she had made it a point that she no longer needed his support and approval. They were drifting away, becoming more individualistic, perhaps, turning a new chapter in life. He wasn’t sure if it had anything greatly to do with their moment shared in Taipei that night. But for his own mental well being, he decided not to fret over it any longer.

Within the company, in her absence, Sung Gyu inevitably had to play her role. He worked closely with her PA who diligently reported him the daily tasks and organised accordingly so his own work wouldn’t clash with hers. It was a convenience that the roles of a president and managing director were closely related to each other. Somewhere in that week, he was told that a meeting had been arranged with SJ group, a pioneer in cosmetics who PRd a several of major cosmetic and personal care brands in the nation. But as the time of the meeting neared, he was suddenly informed that the meeting has been canceled with not even a prior notice or a scheduled meeting for a later time. The incident, of course, raised suspicion. Aera had certainly missed out on and carelessly planned meetings for the past few weeks; but none that majorly impacted on the company. Sung Gyu knew that the meeting with SJ group was for their company being sold as a subsidiary; while SJ group itself was reputed in the field, why it was pulled out without prior notice was beyond him.

When both Aera’s PA and himself tried to contact her about it, they were, yet again, answered with complete silence, both being led to voicemail for the umpeteenth time.

Sung Gyu was initially advised (as told by her PA) to not to share the possible future changes in management with the fellow executives and company staff. Sung Gyu and herself were the sole long standing employees of L’aura cosmetics, therefore the two had to keep their secret a secret. What troubled Sung Gyu was, however, with Aera’s continuous absence arousing suspicion not only within the management but also among the other lower and higher level employees, how long could their secret remain a secret? He had to answer on behalf of her myriad times in management meetings and meetings among stockholders, third party suppliers and so on. Frankly, it was getting exhausting and he wasn’t certain how long he could put up with this.

And on top of that, Sung Gyu was concerned. So deeply, irrationally, he was concerned.

Several nights, he found himself driving off to where she previously resided, he’d also gone as far as to the reception and once he even questioned their residence, only to hear that they'd already moved out. He then somehow recalled the apartment that she’d mentioned she would buy, looked it up yet again on the app she used, only to find that it was still on sale, which only meant that it was not the apartment that she’d settled for. He called her several times, on cold sleepless nights when his thoughts were loud and erratic, million different scenarios forming in his mind which led to increase his worries tenfold. What if she really had developed early onset dementia? What if it was some form of a PTSD? Did divorce result in PTSD like that? Or what if, god forbid, it was something even worse? How could he possibly know?

His calls constantly being directed to voicemail drove him crazy. He emailed her a few times. She was not found in social media so there was no point. He even called that good for nothing Nam Taehyun, only to realise that he had already left the country.

Did that mean she had also left the country?

Like this, nearly ten days fled by. The spring days grew less colder, snow melted and made room for flowers to bloom. Outside the window of his ground floor apartment was a cherry blossom tree; when he opened the window that morning, the scent was carried in by the wind along the earthy scent of a previous rain. The path outside was littered in pink. He would have stayed in bed even longer if not for work, and also the strange clutter that he kept hearing from the direction of his kitchen.

The first and the foremost thought that came to him was her, Seo Aera, who, after more than a week of absence could have come to him, her mind changed and ready to take over her place again. As unlikely as it was, Sung Gyu still held onto that tiny string of hope as he climbed out of bed and headed off to the kitchen, the sound of his feet padding off the linoleum floor eerily loud. Whom he did find in his kitchen was not Seo Aera, but he was not disappointed. The familiar figure of his mother was still bright in the backdrop of the early morning sun.

His mother, along with his sister, still resided in Jeonju running a knitting shop together. His sister was married to a good family and she was well off, yet as his mother wished to continue to work and as she was too old to work on her own, his sister Jieun was happy to partner up with her. He had a good relationship with his family despite the hardships he’d had to go through for them. And now he’d support them and visit them whenever possible. He’d invested in buying a bigger store for his mother, helping his sister with her wedding when she couldn’t do it on her own. And in turn, more often than not, either his sister or mother would visit him at his place, and most frequently without any prior notice. 

“Good morning!” His mother greeted him cheerfully and he noticed that she’d refilled his nearly empty boxes of various side dishes and had already started off in preparing for him a feast for breakfast. 

“Good morning! I didn’t know you’d be here” He told her and hugged her briefly. She smelt of the familiar motherly scent of talc and summer days. She laughed as he moved away.

“I thought you don’t tell them when you surprise someone” She said. 

“So you’re surprising me” He replied, endeared by her fond response. She was a lovely, hardworking woman, his mother. It was her who’d always motivated him to do well, because she herself never failed to do so. He interestedly examined the clutter on his usually empty kitchen counter, and then the boiling pans on the stove. A familiar scent filled his breath, and he opened the lid of a pot in particular and narrowed his eyes upon the warm smoke that it emitted, only to find a thin, watery broth, seaweed floating inside.

It was only then that it occurred to him and he looked over at his mother in surprise.

She only shrugged in response as if she’d know it all along. “I was certain you’d forget” She smiled, moved over and cupped his face in her small slender hands. She leaned up on her tiptoes, only to leave a chaste kiss on his unshaven cheek. 

“Happy Birthday, my son”

Sung Gyu, now washed up and completely dressed, took one long look at the calendar in his phone and shook his head; it had become a habit now, through his busy days. He’d forgotten his own birthday. 

His mother packed him a hearty lunch after he’d had seaweed soup and rice for breakfast, listening to her as she shared tales from her days. Between the three of them, Sung Gyu was the listener while his sister, his mother and now his sister’s two year old son, were the ones to fill the quiet space. His sister was expecting a little girl who was due in june, and the last time he visited them he got to hear all about it from her son, whom he loved beyond words.

With a promise to have dinner with her that night, he finally took off to work. Now that the part of early morning celebrations have ended, it was more or less a normal working day. The last few years, his birthday meant he and Aera and a few other executives that they were close to going out for drinks together. But Aera was still missing, the future of their company’s management was still on the edge. Sung Gyu didn’t think he could think much about his thirty second birthday now, when everything he’d loved; the company, the woman that had his heart, were about to go away.

The only person who seemingly remembered the occasion from work was his PA, who greeted him with a warm store bought coffee left on his table with a note greeting him happy birthday. It had to be the only thing, after his mother’s home made meal, that made him feel better about his birthday. For at work he happened to receive an email from AP group saying that they were sad to announce that his application for the position of managing director had been rejected, the application he was pretty sure he never sent.

Which had him thinking, what the hell was Seo Aera trying to do? Canceled meetings, rejected applications that she herself had sent. It was evident that she was behind all of these as it was she herself that initiated them in the first place. What could be possibly running in her mind? And where was she? How could he possibly find out?

Later in that evening, however, almost as if she’d heard his pleas, Seo Aera brought all the answers to him. 

It was past seven in the night when he returned to his office after a meeting in Paju with one of their suppliers. He was tired and he was very much ready to return home for yet another warm birthday meal and a long conversation with his mother. Just as he removed his jacket and fell slack into his chair, taken by exhaustion, a knock sounded on his door. He lifted his head, called them in. It was Aera’s PA and there was an urgent look on her face. She didn’t have to word it out for him to understand.

“It’s President Seo” She whispered to him as if she could hear it from this distance. “She’s in her office and called for you”

The time of the day meant most of the employees had returned home. Sung Gyu could have too, if not for Seo Aera who was about to flip his world upside down once more.

He wasn’t certain how fast he’d walked, but by the time he’d reached her office, he was breathless, his mind empty, his heart beating so hard. He wasn’t sure, yet again, what any of these reactions meant. What he did know, however, was that he’d missed her. He’d missed Seo Aera so much, and that he was desperate to see her again.

So he knocked on the door once, twice, cautious as to not sound too eager. He waited for a while, and glanced over at the PA who was about to leave. She gestured at him to just let himself in before she hurried away, an odd, unexpected response; yet he did as he was told. Once the PA was out of his sight, he pushed open the door to her office and held his breath.

Inside, unlike all the other days, was completely dark. Even the blinds were drawn, which allowed only a flicker of light coming from the world below. With narrowed eyes, he searched for even a trace of her. It took a second before the door to her personal restroom opened, and there she emerged, graceful as ever. There was a small cake on a tray balanced in her hands, her fine features illuminated by tall candles and their dancing flames.

Sung Gyu couldn’t help but rest his hands on his waist and break out in laughter. He was a little angry, that was inevitable, but equally happy and surprised. He felt warm in his heart which beat ever so loudly like an animal bouncing off the walls of its cage. And his hands were clammy. A part of him wanted to scold her, yell on the top of his lungs and tell her that she’d been irresponsible and wrong. The other part of him, the most significant part of him, wanted to hold her, tell her that he missed her and kiss her hard and long on her lips.

Aera did a very bad singing of happy birthday as she approached him. He held her gaze as he blew out the candles, the room yet again fell in utter darkness.

“Happy Birthday, Director Kim” She smiled.

“And thank you, President Seo” Sung Gyu smiled in return. 

They both hadn’t much of a sweet tooth, so it was only the bottle of champagne that they gladly devoured in the silence of the room. He had so much to tell her, so many questions that needed to be answered. But he’d missed her so much that he spent the entire time standing before her, basking in the mere presence of her, of that pleasure of knowing that she was here. In the background, Incheon was brightly lit and still alive. They’ve kept the lights off, but the blinders were drawn up, allowing the shine of the city to illuminate the room. The sky was a dull grey, a hint of orange and purple far off in the horizon. For the longest time, the two gazed out at the city as it lived and breathed, raveling in the comfort of their presence, knowing that they too were still very much alive.

Aera was the first one to break the silence between them. 

“How are you?” She asked him. Sung Gyu was surprised by how clear and confident her voice was. He’d be fooled into believing he’d gotten the Aera he’d known back again.

“I’ve been good” He sipped his champagne and gazed into the glass in his hands. “Busy days”

“I’m sorry about that,” Aera answered, her voice still firm, still awfully confident. “Must have been tough for you”

“Not much” He took a deep breath and turned to her. Her eyes were still focusing on the view beyond the window and the way that streetlights reflected in her dark irises was mesmerising. “How about you?”

She sighed heavily and folded her arms on her chest. “I’ll be honest. Not very good”

Sung Gyu nodded and nodded, then he stayed quiet, assuming she had more to tell. And she did.

“I moved out, went to the new place”

He looked at her again, his questions quiet yet he hoped she understood him. Aera, as expected, glanced at her and smiled gratefully. “And you were right. There was something dodgy about the previous apartment I looked at...thanks to you I was saved from being scammed” She laughed a quiet little laughter, which made him smile before he could stop himself.

“I’m glad”

Aera nodded.

“So did you find a new place?” He pushed on.

“I did, I did” She turned back to look at the city before she had a sip of champagne. “It’s a little far from here. But I’m happy with the place. Got two bedrooms and a little lawn in the balcony and all”

“Sounds nice”

“It is” She sighed, “I’ll invite you over, one day”

Sung Gyu sure did wish she would. After that, they both fell quiet. The silence wasn’t deafening as it had been in times that they’ve fought. In fact, it was comforting as it allowed them to get their thoughts in line. They both stood against Aera’s large mahogany table, her plush leather chair between them. If one looked from behind them, they’d be too lone shadows, their own people lost in their own worlds. Nobody would have a clue that each of them were in either of their minds.

“I came to tell you something, actually” Aera voiced out after a long time.

Sung Gyu set his glass aside and turned to her. She still hadn’t looked at him herself. Her glass was forgotten although it was still in her hand, and she had her arms crossed, fingers tapping her elbow rhythmically. She was nervous, and that in turn made him nervous to hear what she was about to say.

“Like you said, Sung Gyu. I did a lot of thinking. I was thinking for the last ten days. I was thinking so much, about so many things”

Sung Gyu pursed his lips. “What did you think about?”

“Just, you know...things” She sighed, remained quiet for a second, and as if she changed her mind, she continued. “I thought about the company, about the past, about all we had to do to bring her to this point...then i thought about Taehyun, then about myself. I thought about what I had let him to do to me...to the company...then I thought about you”

Sung Gyu perked up at the mention of him and looked over at her. She met his eyes, and for a second, she held his gaze in an enigmatic exchange. “I thought a lot about you, Sung Gyu. A lot”

His heart picked up, as if she’d just pressed a button and he was brought back to life. What did she think about him? He was desperate to know. But he couldn't possibly ask her in words, It would be unprofessional, It would be wrong. They were still the employer and employee that they’d always been; so how could he?
 

“It helped me come to a decision” She told him, then; interrupting his train of thoughts.

He gazed at her cautiously, curiously, terrified of what turn it could take.

“For the past few days, I was thinking long and hard about what I could do with the company, and what I could do for you. You were right, you know. Just because something in my life changed, that doesn’t mean I should give up on something I loved. And I love the company, I love it so much. And its fate too means so, so much to me”

Sung Gyu’s heart, at that point, was pounding so hard in his throat. Aera wasn’t someone to keep the suspense like this for so long. But tonight she really seemed to be testing him.

“And?” He pushed on.

“And I thought about you too. I think I have told you before, and even though I haven't...Sung Gyu, you mean a lot to me. Not just as a director, as a colleague; but as a friend, as family, as the strongest pillar that I had for all this time, the one person that I trusted with my whole life”

Sung Gyu thought that if it was possible, he would tattoo her words on his heart.

Aera glanced over at him; he caught that shine of moisture in her eyes. “I know how much the company means to you too. And I know that there’s nobody else that I could trust her with but you...It’s your birthday today. Then I thought, what could I give you? You had plenty of nice clothes, you weren’t interested in shoes or perfume or anything, anyway. You’re perfect, so what more would you need? I realised then, what you loved the most, and-,”

As Sung Gyu could only watch her, rendered completely speechless, she searched on her desk in the dark and finally located a thick envelope, which she handed over to him.  He quietly took it, holding his breath and pulled out the content. Seeing what they said, this thick sheef of nicely typed paper, Sung Gyu wasn’t sure what he felt. Angry? Heartbroken? Betrayed? He couldn’t tell.

“This-?” He started, and Aera beat it to him.

“Yes. I’m handing the company over to you”