Right Timing

Seven years pass before their paths cross again. It's unexpected, dizzying even, but certainly welcome.

Chaerin is beyond annoyed by the careless motorcyclist that drove past her as she walked, splashing her and wetting the bottom of her jeans. She'd have settled for gritting her teeth, perhaps even giving him the finger through his side mirror, but that was before she saw that he stopped a bit further up the street and parked near the sidewalk. 

Is he waiting to curse me out? She wonders, halting her gait as she assesses the situation. Part of her wants to turn around and walk the other way for her own safety; she doesn't know what this man is capable of. The other part of her wants to tell him off even if she isn't confrontational by nature. But she could at least hope that he would be more considerate with other pedestrians. 

She really doesn't have much time to decide because he's already off his bike and approaching her quickly, almost as if he were jogging. She fights back her instinct that tells her to run, and simply adjusts her mask on her face when she notices that his mask is not pulled over his nose. She wouldn't risk getting sick at such a crucial time when her comeback is nearing. 

"I am so, so sorry!" The tattooed man starts up when he is close enough for her to hear him. He speaks with an accent, letting her know that Korean might not be his first language. The man comes to a halt before her and pulls his mask down so it rests below his chin; she mentally cringes at the action. ", I wasn't thinking at all. My mind was elsewhere. But I can pay for your-" 

"Barom?" she cuts him off in shock after having taken in his facial features properly. Yes, there is no mistaking him; this is the man she met all those years ago on the roof. 

Eyes roaming his body from head to toe, Chaerin is glad that she's wearing a hat so he wouldn't notice her very obvious staring. More notably, she's glad that the years have been kind to him physically. She feels a blush tainting her cheeks as she takes in his strong thighs, muscular tattooed arms and his hair that he seems to be growing out, giving him a more mature vibe. He sure is a looker and anyone would be able to look at him and agree with her. 

"Uhh...yes?" He breathes out, unable to hide his surprise not only at being recognized, but also by the use of his Korean name. He can't recall the last time someone he knows addressed him as such so it must be a fan. It's pretty hard for him to tell considering that the face of the woman before him is covered by her hat and mask. 

Chaerin takes a step back at the confirmation, willing her heartbeat to calm down as she avoids looking at him. How many times had she imagined a second meeting with him? Or looked him up online to see that he was doing alright after his group disbanded? He'd been more than fine, it seems. He'd managed to build a small collective of creatives to share his passion; no rules, no restrictions, just things done how they wanted it. Chaerin was jealous of the freedom he created for himself, but she admired it too. She felt proud of it, even. Now, she's walking a similar path. 

"Don't worry about the pants," she dismisses his concerns, but the words slip out in English. If she intended to simply let him be and go about her day, that idea dissipates when she sees his eyes light up with recognition the moment he heard her speaking. 

"CL-sunbaenim." 

She hates being addressed as such; she was never one to care about honorifics that the Korean language demands, fearing that it caused people to be extra careful and reserved around her. But Barom's words are accompanied by what might be the brightest smile she's ever seen paired with her name. She could cry. How long has it been since someone greeted her so warmly and genuinely?

"Hi," she musters up and, because she doesn't know what else to say, "You have a lot of tattoos now."

His eyes light up as he laughs, brushing his longer hair behind his ear. "I do. How have you been? You've been missing and missed." 

"Well, I've had worse days than this," she gestures to her wet pants with her hand, hoping to draw some more laughter from him. It doesn't come. Instead, he seems to consider her words deeply, seeing through the façade she attempted to hide with a joke. Chaerin changes the topic to avoid having to focus on it, "I'm finally working on new music again so I'm in Korea."

"Who are you with?" He asks, excited at the thought of her returning to the music industry. It would've been a shame if her talents were wasted. 

"Uh, I'm single?" It comes out more like a question than an answer because she didn't expect him to be so forthcoming. She quickly realizes that that was not what he meant when she sees the panic in his eyes before he starts backtracking.

"No, no," he shuffles his weight to his other leg nervously. "I meant, who are you signed with?" 

"Oh," she pauses for a moment before she laughs at her own embarrassing mistake. "I'm sort of doing it on my own from now. Well, of course I have a team, but no company is what I mean. I'm going to establish my own." Like you did, she refrains from adding in those words.

"Yeah? I think that's a great idea, a brave one," he tells her honestly, knowing first-hand how hard it is to get things started on your own. CL escaping the comfort of a large company to start from scratch is commendable and he feels his respect for her grow tenfold. 

"I should be saying that to you," she tells him, removing her hat to fix her hair, forking through the silver strands with her fingers. She'd have to take better care of it for sure. "What you've done with DPR is extraordinary. You're all super talented and hardworking."

"You know about DPR?" He seems surprised by her words. Did he expect her not to know? 

"Yeah, of course I do! I've seen all your work as a group," Chaerin laughs lightly, moving to replace her hat on her head before he takes hold of it and inspects it. "Uh, do you like it?"

"I do," he affirms, sending her a kind smile. In fact, he has the same hat at home, given to him by Oh Hyuk when they worked together two years prior. But that wasn't why he reached for it. No, he thought it a shame that her face- as beautiful as he remembers from all those years ago- would be hidden by a hat. In fact, she's gotten even prettier with age, having grown fully into her adult figure. "I just think that you look better without it."

A visible blush creeps up her neck to her cheeks and she attempts to grab the hat away from him, but he sees it coming and dodges her move with a chuckle. 

"You don't believe me?" Barom questions, definitely in the mood to . "Should we ask someone else for their opinion?" 

"Ya! Hand it over!"

"Nope!" 

"Barom!"

"CL!" He mimics, doing various twists and turns to get out of her grasp until he offers her an ultimatum. "We're having a little get together on the roof of our building soon. How about you join us? And I'll return the hat then."

Her eyes narrow at him as she pauses to cross her arms over her chest and consider his words. While part of her is thrilled that he is inviting her to a social gathering with his group, the larger part of her recognizes that she may very well be intruding on a DPR thing if she were to go. She isn't a part of that and she doesn't want to overstep any boundaries. 

"Keep it, I have another one at home," she tells him softly. 

His face falls immediately and his teasing smirk disappears as if it were never there to begin with. "But, why not? I think you should come. I want you to come." 

"I don't know any of them," she shrugs, avoiding his disappointed gaze. "And I don't want to intrude."

"Oh, come on! They will love to meet you. And we can all get to know each other."

"I don't know…"

"Look, I know that you and I barely know each other ourselves, but I would love to hear more about your new musical direction and maybe we can offer advice with your new label," he reasons, but still hands her back the hat. If she doesn't want to go, he knows that it would be a terrible idea to force her or guilt her into going, even if he really, really wants to know more about her. He has the unprecedented desire to know everything about the woman before him. 

"Mmm," she hums and purses her lips as she considers the offer before deciding to go along with it. "Okay." 

And there it is again, the smile that touches his eyes in a manner that's so wholesome and genuine that she can't help but smile herself, glad that she's the source of his momentary joy. 

"Perfect! I will send you the location. It's not far from here actually."

They exchange numbers and agree to meet again in two hours. Chaerin would be accompanied by her sister, Harin, so she could feel more at ease. But now that there are two hours to wait, she knows that she'll be anxious as hell. She'll have to find a good distraction to pass the time, one that doesn't involve researching all the other DPR members. 

"What do they like? I feel like I should bring something," she explains. "I can order food or something."

"We have everything covered so just show up with your sister." 

"No, no, no," she shakes her head at him as they walk to his motorcycle. "I am definitely bringing something." 

He shrugs, "Suit yourself."

“That’s it? Suit myself? You’re no help at all!” she pouts at him, trying not to think too much about how absolutely y he looks as he gets on that bike, his arms flexing as he takes hold of the handle. Oh my god, she thinks, willing her heartbeat to calm down. 

“I’ll see you later, Chaerin,” he bids her. The younger woman barely has time to fawn over his use of her real name because he has the audacity to wink at her before taking off on his bike before she could think of something to respond with.

Mouth agape, she stares after him in disbelief as she is almost completely certain that she spied him laughing through the side mirror of his bike at her reaction. “What on earth?” she asks herself, shaking her head as if that could bring her back to reality. “He just winked at me…”

And she knows that she’d have to keep this bit of information to herself because, if she were to tell Harin, her younger sister would try to hook them up later and that would not be happening if he wanted to be so smug with her. If he wants to act that way, she will definitely give him a run for his money and play hard to get.

Like Ian said, CL came into his life at the right time, huh?