Hi everyone, 

I'm back again. And it hasn't been a year yet. surprise surprise. 

That is not something I should be proud about. 

I recently received a gift from my best friend (the new poster as you may have noticed) it was in a frame and all. 

She reminded me that I still have these stories I am still writing. 

She inspired me it. 

So to take a break from my work of marking papers, setting exams, and managing classes during lockdown here where I am, I have written this chapter. 

I wrote this all tonight so it was a bit rushed. I have not edited it (sorry). I will get to it. But I was excited to update before I leave it to sit in my files for another 10 months or so. 

I have also written part of the next chapter. 

Thanks to everyone who is still reading this story. It means a lot to me. THank you! 

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Chapter 16

Yoona wheels her suitcase onto the pavement, taking care with her step. After all, it is hard to see with the little light available before dawn.

She exits the main gates of her apartment complex and looks up to find Changmin standing just beside his parked car. His hands tucked into his coat.

She heaves a deep sigh and her breath condenses into fog almost immediately due to the morning chill.

I can’t believe I agreed. She thinks to herself as she starts to walk towards his car.

“Did you not leave last night?” She jokes as soon as he is in earshot.

“Good morning to you too.” He says, slightly amused as he opens his trunk and tucks her suitcase away.

It was just number of hours ago that he had driven her home after breaking the news.

“I will be travelling to Macau tomorrow to see the Elle Asia Bridal Expo.”

“oh that’s a great opportunity. The exhibits are usually quite well managed. I missed the last two due to clashes.” Yoona comments (quite naively)

“Well, that’s the thing. I thought it might be worthwhile if you go with me.” He suddenly says to her.

Yoona stops fiddling with the leather strap of her handbag and looks up directly at him.

“You’re kidding me.”

“It was just an idea, you don’t have to.” he says staying focused on the road.

“and when’s your flight?”

“Tomorrow morning at 8”

“You’re kidding.” She repeats in disbelief. “You ask someone and give them hours’ worth of notice?” She says glancing at the screen on his car display.

“Before tonight I was pretty sure you were avoiding me. So I didn’t –“

“I wasn’t …” Yoona stops herself and corrects herself rather sheepishly “Ok maybe I was...avoiding you… a little. But just because we’re on ‘good terms’ doesn’t mean…” She uses her fingers to stress the quotation marks.

“I thought it would be better since we’re in charge of the upcoming expo, it would help in terms of inspiration and I can learn a lot faster. I’m not making you go. I’m very sorry it is short notice. But if you’re interested I can arrange…”

“I’ll go with you.” Yoona agrees.

“Really?” he glances over at Yoona who nods reassuringly.

“I wanted to go. I heard this year it will be held at the Galaxy Macau.”

“Yes, it’s a partnership.”

“As expected of Mr Shim, he has done his research.”

“I wanted to have a look at the venue, just to gain more inspiration.” She explains. “Will it be hard to organise?”

“No, since they sent two invitations and also, you have no schedules for the coming three days, so it should be feasible.”

“And you know because…”

Changmin remains silent, as if he didn’t hear her probing question. He holds back a smile and focuses on driving.

“Look, I’ll take this as a favour. You owe me dinner” Yoona says jokingly.

“Of course.” Changmin answers very quickly and chuckles under his breath.

As Yoona climbs into the car, with her still slightly groggy mind, she partially regrets it. Too bad the airports are so far from Seoul city, meaning they have to leave earlier than sunrise.

Changmin starts pulling out and makes a right turn onto the street.

“Hang on…” Yoona says mid-way through stifling a yawn. “The airport is that direction.” She points out concernedly.

Changmin looks over at her and nods with a slight smile.

“I’m so glad you’re not a taxi driver” Yoona pokes fun at him.

“Me too.”

But Yoona’s confusion is answered as he pulls over at a familiar spot on a familiar street.

“I won’t be long.” He reassures as he leaves the car and runs towards the beauty and fool coffee shop. He comes back not long after with quick long strides and Yoona sees a silhouette poking their head out the door and waving at her.

Yoona leans closer to the window to see Shin Hye greeting her. She quickly waves back.

Changmin opens the door and lets the cool air rush into the car.

He hands Yoona her cup of coffee much to Yoona’s delight.

“How did you?”

“I asked if they could. And they said they’re usually up this early preparing anyway.”

“I’m impressed” She looks from her coffee cup to him and back again.

“My token of apology for the short notice.”

“No worries” she says quite cheerfully taking a sip, the warmth travelling from the tip of her tongue and filling her body.

 ***

 After printing their boarding passes, Yoona and Changmin check for their gate number. Yoona catches the seat number on Changmin’s passport.

“Aren’t you travelling in business class?”

“you make me sound like such a spoilt prince.” He says bemusedly.

“That’s not what I meant. I thought just that you’d be more comfortable there”

“When I was booking your ticket, business class was full since they don’t have many seats on these short haul flights. So I switched us both to economy.”

“Wait… you booked my ticket?”

“Yes, now you’re making me sound incompetent as well.”

“No I’m just surprised. You’d usually get …”

“Someone else to do it but because I caused this trouble, I deal with it. As a matter of fact, I paid for your ticket with my money.”

Yoona gapes in disbelief. Changmin chuckles.

“Don’t worry I’ll claim it back from the company.”  

 “Oh. Of course” Yoona laughs awkwardly.

“But the main hotel is full, so I had to rebook our rooms at the subsidiary hotel next door. That I had to pay for, I can’t justify it to the company.”

“Oh but that means.”

“Don’t worry, it’s because I’m asking you a favour.”

“But I feel bad.”

“You can shout me to dinner then.”

“dinner?”

“are we being stingy now?”

“How can dinner make up for the cost of the room?”

“two dinners and a lunch”

“deal”

***

As they were standing in line waiting to board their plane, Yoona scrolls through Instagram for wedding posts. Changmin is busy replying to emails on his phone. They are disrupted by a voice.

“Oh look who this is?” They both look up and find the owner of the voice.

“Taecyeon.” Changmin acknowledges his former colleague.

“What on earth are you doing in economy class?” Taecyeon asks snidely. Yoona widens her eyes at the rudeness. Even just by standing there, Yoona does not like his tone at all. She notices that Changmin clenches his jaw ever so slightly but he handles it well

“Just on a business trip.” Changmin replies and ignores his backhanded comment.

“Oh, always working so hard.” Taecyeon says “And who’s this?” he turns his attention on Yoona who is standing next to Changmin.

Yoona didn’t know how to react but before she could, Changmin had done so.

Changmin stands in between and turns to face Taecyeon squarely so that he blocks Yoona from Taecyeon’s view and to Taecyeon’s dismay as Changmin straightens up, he matches his height.

“She’s my colleague” Just then his phone rings. The caller ID says Yoona. He almost turns to look at her but catches on. “Sorry if you’ll excuse me”

And he picks up the call, placing the phone to his ear to start the false conversation, only to hear the airport background noise on the receiver.

As Taecyeon walks away, Changmin has to keep making short responses into the phone as if he was actually talking to someone.

As soon as he is out of earshot. He hangs up the fake call and turns around to find Yoona keeping her phone hidden by folding her arms.

“Thanks for that”

“No worries. You did the same for me”

“That’s a very smart move by the way.”

“Now you’re making me sound incompetent.” She quotes him and successfully lightens the mood making him smile.

“You, ok?”

“Yeah. Some people just aren’t worth it.”

“You did well.”

“Just don’t let them get to you.”

“I’m just going to get a bottle of water.” She let’s Changmin know.

As Yoona was pressing for her drink at the vending machine, she hears the familiar voice from before – she dreaded the way he talked. Sneaking a quick glimpse, he saw that he was with another male in a suit.

“Who was it you were talking to Taec?”

“Oh, you don’t know him, the former marketing director for A team.”

“Oh the one who resigned?”

“Yeah unimportant now.” He says then he adds “I bet you he quit because he lost that client to me. He was late and ended up walking in with his lunch in a paper bag.”

A paper bag? Could it be? Yoona started to think.

She quickly walked away before she could listen anymore. As she walks back to find Changmin her mind is reeling.

“I thought you were buying water?”

“OH, I think I can wait till I get on the plane.” She says distractedly.

Yoona doesn’t talk much and seems to be on autopilot all the way through the boarding process. Until she was stopped as they got to their seat.

The seats were organised 3x3 on this short haul flight. There was already a middle aged man in the window seat. The man already had his shoes off taken off and he seemed to have settled in quite comfortably.

“Do you have your ticket?” he turned and asked Yoona just to double check they had the right seats.

He had specifically chosen an aisle seat while booking.

“Here, I’ll take your seat, you take mine.” He says as he shuffles into the row.

“oh?” she said confused.

He just nodded, prompting her to follow his suggestion.

Yoona looks across Changmin and notices the man and his unenclosed feet.

She leaned a little closer to Changmin’s ear and whispered

“thanks”

“no problem.” He leans back into his seat. The leg room is a little on the tight side on these seats. He realises that Yoona is being pretty quiet.

“Are you alright?”

“Hm?” Yoona asks

“You’ve been awfully quiet. It’s quite unlike you.”

“Actually… Changmin.”

Changmin turns to face her at the sudden use of his name.

“ I’m not sure if you remember the first time we met?”

“Which time?”

“The time I got into your car accidentally.”

“Oh. Right” he chuckles “yes, so you’re letting me remember that embarrassing memory of yours?”

She rolls her eyes at his comment.

“I can’t change what has already happened.” She says pointedly “including the fact that I made you late and made you lose a client because you had to drive me.”

 Changmin’s smile fades after hearing her words.

“How did y-“ he stops realising he was letting too much on.

“So it’s true” she reads his reaction as he was caught off guard.

“I had already handed in my resignation at that point in time, so it didn’t really matter.”

“That Taecyeon guy you were talking to earlier reckons that you quit because you lost that client to him.”

“I let him have them.” Changmin explains. “you talked to him?”

“No, I don’t think I’d want to talk to someone like him quite frankly.” She says with a hint of disgust. “But I did hear his conversation with some other guy. Apparently he said you were late and ended up walking in with your lunch in a paper bag.”

“You know you shouldn’t believe everything he says.”

“But my hunch was right that the lunch bag you were holding was the one I gave you that day.”

“Yoona-“

“I’m sorry.” She says with a heavy heart. “I mean it.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about. It’s not your-“

“If you didn’t have to come back and take me to work, you wouldn’t have-“

“I made those choices.” Changmin reminds her gently. “and I’m ok with them. I don’t regret what I did that day. I mean it.”

“But still…”

“I wouldn’t have been able to follow up on that lead anyway since I was resigning.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

“Ok.” She says finally a little more relieved. “Can I treat you to two dinners and two lunches then?”

Changmin chuckles at her request.

“No you don’t owe me anything.”

“I’m still going to do it.” She says, convinced. 

"If you say so." Changmin chuckles. "If you say so."