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Chapter Text

The first time Gil-Young saw Seo-Hye-Rang behind the counter of her favourite guksu stall at the traditional-market, she was surprised.

Who was this beautiful woman and what happened to the elderly lady running the stall? Will her guksu taste different now?

The woman smiled at her when she took a seat at the counter.

When her order came, Gil-Young casually asked, “Are you taking over the stall?”

“Aniyo. Don’t worry, just helping out my imo for the day.”

“I was not worried,” explained Gil-Young as she tucked into her noodles.

“You looked it.” She heard the woman mutter-under-her-breath.

She did?

*** *** ***

Putting her wine glass on the coffee table, Seung-Ah turned to cock an eye at Ho-Young, who was covering her face with a cushion as she huddled against the sofa.

“I thought you like horror shows?”

“When did I say that?” Came Ho-Young’s muffled, quavering reply from behind the cushion.

Seung-Ah picked up the remote, pausing the movie.

“You said you love ‘Sohn: The Guest’?”

Ho-Young lowered her fluffy-shield, “Yes, but not because of the scares-or-thrills.”

“Never imagined you’d be such a scaredy-cat, black-belt holder,” Seung-Ah teased, smirking.

Ho-Young rejoined in defense, “Beating up someone you can see is different.”

*** *** ***

In-Ah’s senses were heightened by the darkness. The silk tie around her eyes softer than she could feel with her hands.

The trace of a familiar, muskily zesty scent was in the air, clouding her mind.

Warm.

The hands on her face were much too warm, as was the trail of fingertips along her jawline, sending shivers down her back, quickening her breathing.
Against her lips, barely touching, was another pair.

She was trained to follow orders and follow them she did, but there was not one that In-Ah desperately wanted to obey yet afraid to. Until now.

“Kiss me.”

*** *** ***

In slight exasperation, So-Yeong reminded her, “We’re at a camping-site.”

Lips parting as she drew So-Yeong’s hand under the waistband of her sweatpants, Hye-Rang promised in a whisper, “I’ll be quiet.”

Seconds-ticked-by as Hye-Rang waited with bated breath. Then, So-Yeong finally moved her hand of her own accord, fingers hot and sure against her slit. She bit down on her bottom lip when a moan threatened to spill-out.

Face buried in the crook of So-Yeong’s neck, Hye-Rang still could not help the audible whimper elicited when So-Yeong inserted one, then two fingers inside her.

“Shh… or I’ll stop,” So-Yeong warned.

Chapter Text

Gusts of sea-breeze rustled In-Ah’s hair as she stared at Hyun-Joo’s back. The wind whipped at her ponytail and she appeared to be huddled into herself, arms crossed.

She retrieved her jacket from the backseat. Reaching Hyun-Joo, In-Ah draped the jacket over her shoulders. She was barely acknowledged but Hyun-Joo pulled the jacket closer around her body before turning around to head towards the car.

In-Ah followed silently.

Hyun-Joo was seated at the driver’s seat, heels off. Kneeling down, In-Ah cupped a foot, brushing off sand with her handkerchief. She repeated the same for the other.

No words were exchanged.

*** ***

In-Ah’s heart ached at the scene she was witnessing. A sobbing Lee-Hyun-Joo felt like sacrilege. How could such a haughty - and precious - Princess be brought so low as to cry.

Before she realized what she was doing, she had wrapped an arm around Hyun-Joo’s shoulders. To her infinite surprise, she was not summarily swatted away.

Instead, she turned into In-Ah’s embrace, hiding her face in the crook of her neck, weeping softly.

Soon, however, she stopped. In-Ah passed her a handkerchief.

As she delicately wiped her face, Hyun-Joo looked at her, gaze imploring, “This is only between us.”

In-Ah nodded.

*** ***

“You’re the only one I trust to protect me.”

Those words from Hyun-Joo reverberated deeply inside In-Ah. She was not wholly certain how she felt about it. It was her job-description after all.

It was disconcerting, however, to discover that even if she was fired from her position right that minute, that she would still throw herself bodily in harm’s way if that would spare Hyun-Joo any hurt.

Then, there were the surreal nights when Hyun-Joo would sneak into her quarters to lay with her.

“Just hold me.”

In-Ah hardly imagined that you could lose your heart to three words.

*** *** ***

When the climax came it was decidedly anticlimactic, though she had still landed in the hospital, worse-for-the-wear but still expected to survive mostly unscathed.

After the unravelling, Hyun-Joo sashayed her way to the top, triumphant.

Hyun-Joo was a regular-visitor but In-Ah wondered whether her position was already superfluous. As was her presence.

In-Ah had heard steady rumours of a marriage-of-convenience.

She always knew she was not made for Hyun-Joo’s world, and her heart and mind could only take so much.

The letter-of-resignation In-Ah had tendered was ignored on the table.

Instead, an offer. “Are you open to a different position?”

***

“As my head-of-security.” In-Ah’s back stiffened, gaze averted from Hyun-Joo’s.

Hyun-Joo stepped nearer, resting a well-manicured hand on her shoulder, another cradling her cheek, leaning in to whisper.

“And something infinitely more intimate. My life partner.”

Something dislocated and then righted itself in In-Ah’s heart. Hope.

“I heard you are getting married,” In-Ah breathed out unevenly.

Hyun-Joo’s laughter tinkled. “Well, only if you agree to it.”

“The perks of being top-dog. I get to define life on my own terms,” the self-satisfied smile which lit up Hyun-Joo’s captivating face sent heat coursing through In-Ah.

She would wholeheartedly embrace Hyun-Joo’s lead.

Chapter Text

After a few more steps, So-Yeong stopped, turning back the way she came.

She should just get the bouquet she saw by the window-front of the flower shop that she thought Hye-Rang might like. After all, it was not often she had the luxury of having her headspace be free to think about getting flowers.

The delighted smile on Hye-Rang’s pretty lips provoked an answering small grin of her own. “Glad you like them.”

Hye-Rang leaned in, pressing a lingering kiss on her cheek, “Thanks.”

“I left you some food,” Hye-Rang said as she whirled away to get a vase.

*** *** ***

The first Mi-Ri had laid eyes on Kang-So-Yeong was in the interrogation room, where she was being investigated, but all she could focus on then was how attractive the prosecutor in front of her was.

How could a pair of eyebrows and hands be so distracting as to derail her thoughts every other second? Her answers were barely coherent.

Lucky her then, that she was totally innocent in this particular case.

“Kang-geom-sa-nim, free for a cup of coffee?”

She swept a penetrating gaze over Mi-Ri. “Does it entail a horizontal surface somewhere after?”

Mi-Ri’s lips widened into a coquettish beam.

*** *** ***

So-Yeong cupped Hye-Rang’s neck, brushing her thumbs up the column of her throat to rest them under her jawline, tilting her face up.

“Do you enjoy provoking me, my angel?” She challenged silkily, growling next to Hye-Rang’s ear.

Hye-Rang hooked her heel-shod-foot behind So-Yeong’s ankle, settling her hands on So-Yeong’s hips, fingers biting into her pants.

“I don’t fancy you talking familiarly with other people. Women,” Hye-Rang hissed back.

So-Yeong’s back stiffened as she looked into Hye-Rang’s defiant eyes. The hardness in her gaze bled into affection.

The thumb caress over Hye-Rang’s bottom lip was tender. “You’re the only one.”

Chapter Text

Hye-Rang had noticed the prominent scar on Kang-Gil-Young’s hand since their first meeting, her curiosity at the cause niggling at her every instance they met again.

When she became a regular customer at Hye-Rang’s bakery-cum-cafe, she finally mustered up the nerve to venture an ask.

“That looks painful?”

Raising up her right hand, Gil-Young casually answered, “This? Not really. I was lucky the wound didn’t damage any nerves. Mainly just the scarring.”

Hye-Rang wanted to know more but Gil-Young did not seem inclined to be more forthcoming, so she kept any further questions to herself.

However, she was still curious.

*** ***

Soon, Gil-Young brought along some friends, namely a man named Yoon-Hwa-Pyeong and a priest, Father-Matthew. They were a somewhat strange combination but appeared to be very close.

Hwa-Pyeong-sshi was friendly, and would sometimes strike up a chat whenever they dropped by.

After a season, he began to come by more frequently and readily volunteered the information that he was staying with Gil-Young while getting back on his feet in the city.

For a moment, Hye-Rang had wondered about the nature of their relationship but he cleared-up the issue soon enough.

“We’re just friends,” he confirmed, giving her a knowing look.

***

Hye-Rang nearly fidgeted at his gaze but how could he guess? Wisely, she changed their conversation to more mundane topics.

Sometime later, when her need-to-know trumped her reticence, she probed Hwa-Pyeong-sshi about Gil-Young’s scar.

He pointed to his eye-patch, explaining airily, “From preventing me knifing my brain.”

“What?!” Hye-Rang imagined she must have looked like a goldfish, so shocked was she.

He chuckled but there was no amusement in his laughter, his expression turning sober seconds later. “There’s a tragic-horror story behind this but let’s leave it for another day.”

She nodded.

“Let me get you another drink. On me.”

*** ***

Late one evening, while she was tidying up to close shop, Gil-Young came by for some coffee beans and bread.

As Hye-Rang rang up the purchase, she carefully remarked, “I heard from Hwa-Pyeong-sshi about what happened. That was very brave of you, Gil-Young-sshi.”

Momentarily, Gil-Young looked startled but then groused goodnaturedly, “That blabbermouth.”

“Nothing courageous about it. No thinking involved,” she deflected.

“I think it is highly commendable,” Hye-Rang continued to mutter softly.

At her words, Gil-Young looked at her straight in the eyes, something indecipherable in her gaze.

They held eye contact for long moments before sudden awkwardness descended.

***

Hye-Rang let her gaze slide away from Gil-Young’s, flushing. Her heart began to pound heavily.

Uncertainty flashed across Gil-Young’s expression and she hesitated briefly, as if wanting to say something but then simply stated, “Thanks for the extras.”

As Gil-Young turned to leave, a sense of inexplicable urgency seized Hye-Rang and she blurted out, “Wait!”

“Yes?”

She spoke without thinking, “Have you eaten?”

“No.”

A measure of intentionality returned and with it, a shade of embarrassed skittishness but since she already put her foot out, might as well.

“I’m making something light. If you don’t mind, how about joining me?”

*** *** ***

Hye-Rang held So-Yeong’s right hand in hers, turning it this-way-and-that. She traced featherlight caresses on So-Yeong’s palm, slowly mapping out the shape of her hand and fingers.

So-Yeong looked at her quizzically, a hint-of-light-heartedness in her eyes. “What’re you doing?”

“You’ve beautiful hands. I’m a bit envious,” Hye-Rang murmured in admiration.

“I like your dainty ones better.” So-Yeong’s mouth curved into a half-smirk as she took a hold of Hye-Rang’s left hand, bringing it up to her lips, kissing her open palm.

Hye-Rang draped herself over So-Yeong, purring, “I love it most when your hands are on me. In me.”

Chapter Text

One simple late night dinner turned to two and before long, it became a regular occurrence whenever Gil-Young was not involved with a breaking case. It was not always just the two of them, with Hwa-Pyeong-sshi and Father-Matthew joining them occasionally.

Hye-Rang wondered whether that meant they were friends.

Was friendship all she wanted? Sometimes, she thought that was all she needed, an uncomplicated, steady companionship.

Yet, in the warm cocoon of her bed, when she touched herself to completion, it was the face and scarred hand of Kang-Gil-Young which came unbidden to push her over the edge, heart-shatteringly fierce.

*** ***

The puzzle bits-and-pieces of their life stories gradually emerged, making Hye-Rang feel like a voyeur peeping into the sacred bonds forged in literal blood between those three. They were only welcoming, however.

Her fascination with the knife-scar continued unabated.

She was in awe of the tenacious courage Kang-Gil-Young unapologetically made her own, but gushing about it was too-on-the-nose even for her, given her feelings.

A yearning she tried to keep a lid on. Unsuccessfully.

For someone who-used-to-be-friendless - from the horse’s-mouth herself - Kang-Gil-Young was a devoted friend. Still, she already knew that.

Her longing for more was her problem, nobody else’s.

*** ***

Gil-Young came bearing gifts one frosty winter night, helping her close-up before driving them back to her tiny studio apartment.

Sharing a hastily prepared doenjang-jjigae and ramyeon between themselves, they managed to fill their stomach for the makgeolli-feast to come. Mainly Hye-Rang because Gil-Young was not much of a drinker.

The buzz in her blood could hardly explain what happened next.

As usual, the unmistakable scar on Gil-Young’s right hand caught her attention. Instead of not doing anything like always, she scooted closer, reaching for Gil-Young’s hand, cradling it in hers.

Gil-Young blinked but did not pull her hand away.

***

Hye-Rang tenderly caressed the scar, “Your hands are beautiful and this scar gives it more character.”

“They’re nothing…” Gil-Young’s voice trailed off when Hye-Rang bent to press a kiss on the discoloured, blemished skin.

The feel of Gil-Young’s bumpy warm skin against her lips sent zings to her heart, enveloping her in a contented fog.

She was snapped out of her trance by Gil-Young’s disbelieving croak, “Hye-Rang?”

She looked up to see Gil-Young staring at her.

“You’re drunk,” Gil-Young stated the obvious, disappointment colouring her words. When she tried to pull away, Hye-Rang held on.

“I’m in love with you.”

***

Did she just blurt that out?

They stared at each other, eyes wide in surprise. Hye-Rang was rooted in her emotional haze, unsure even whether she should apologize. For what?

Gil-Young cupped Hye-Rang’s cheek, fingers gently ticklish on her ears. Tingles of heat sparked where their skin touched.

“Does this mean what I want it to?” Gil-Young whispered in disbelief, vulnerability and a mix-of-undefinable emotions in the depths of her gaze.

“I’m in love with you too, but…”

Before Gil-Young could complete her words, Hye-Rang had already leaned in, crushing their lips together.

That was all Hye-Rang needed to know.

Chapter Text

Their first meeting was not the most favourable impression Gil Young could have left but well, when had she ever left much of a good one?

It was not as if Seo Hye Rang would be as petty as to add something extra into her bowl of guksu now, would she? It was an open stall, any shenanigans was easily noticed.

Now, wait, what was she thinking? Why would a beautiful stranger try to do something weird to her, just another regular customer?

She shook her head. Her brain must be addled by the alcohol consumed with the boys yesterday evening. She was hallucinating an issue where there was none.

However, when she arrived at the stall and saw only a familiar elderly face, the disappointment which hit her and then sat in her gut all through her food was something she was not prepared for.

She loitered at the stall longer than was her wont after finishing up her guksu, waffling whether to open her mouth to ask the proprietor about her niece. Which brought her up short for a second time because she was not someone indecisive.

Heol.

Just as she was about to pose her question, the lady thrust a piece of flyer at her. “My niece will be opening a small bakery-cum-cafe nearby. Please visit sometimes.”

*** ***

Looking around the narrow, clean store with a few tiny tables on one side and racks of bread and some other baked goods neatly laid out on the other, she remarked, “Is the bread here any good?”

Inwardly, the moment the inane question passed her mouth, Gil Young cringed. What the hell did she just say? She might not be the most sociable person around but she was not a doofus. That was a highly offensive question even by her abysmal standards.

Predictably, Seo Hye Rang’s pretty face twisted up in annoyance but only for a second before a polite - evidently fake - smile was plastered on her lips.

“We have free samples. Please help yourself,” she offered solicitously, though her smile did not reach her eyes.

“Oh, okay, thanks.” She cleared her throat, for what she was up in the air about.

Gil Young knew she should apologise for her gaffe but uncertain how she should go about it, which was very unlike her too. What was it about Seo Hye Rang which made Gil Young feel exceedingly simpleminded, stumbling over one faux pas after another? It was decidedly weird.

*** *** ***

It was not until one winter evening, weeks later, when Gil Young finally realized the depths of her lack of self-awareness and idiocy when it came to one Seo Hye Rang. And why she could barely string a coherent thought in her mind while in her haloed presence.

Gil Young supposed she could justify her active ignorance to inexperience and a disbelief at developing an infatuation in her mid-thirties, when she could scarcely remember a time when she had ever experienced such.

But what excuses could be found in being compelled to visit a bakery-cum-cafe when she was not a bread-lover? For the desire to feast her eyes on the beauty that was Seo Hye Rang? The constant need to be in her presence?

The indescribable thrill of being noticed and spoken to? To be mesmerized by her gentle manner and tender gaze? Or even to be entertained by her sarcastic comebacks?

Her mind had come up with the rationale that she did love coffee, so it made sense to patronise a cafe for it. Conveniently, her cafe was not too far from Gil Young’s apartment complex or the station. And bread is an easy breakfast food, made especially reasonable when bought at a discounted price.

She could even acknowledge that perhaps she craved friendship from women now that she had friends of the male sort, and Seo Hye Rang was a natural choice given their easy rapport despite the occasional descent into spirited banter.

The ways her heart would slip-and-trip whenever she saw Hye Rang or the disappointment which fueled her instead when only the part-timer was around were easily brushed off as indigestion. Initially, that was what she told herself. She even believed it the first few times.

Herein lay the problem in hindsight because Gil Young was not someone who was prone to lying to herself - on the contrary - and as she had looked back at all the excuses she had spinned for herself, she could only rue her foolishness. There was always a first time for everything, she supposed.

Not that it would have changed anything.

That precise moment when she had looked at Seo Hye Rang and thought the mole off the bridge of her nose added character to her beautiful face, and wondered how it would feel to kiss it, the pieces all fell together into a complete, unmistakable picture.

She could hardly believe how many clues she had missed, had brushed off, explained away, in denial about.

And she had always prided herself on being intuitive, logical and good at deduction. Guessed she was a fool after all.

A silly woman in love.

Chapter Text

A first kiss should be memorable. Heart-moving and magical. Wasn’t that what they often portrayed in films and dramas?

Like everything else, however, Gil-Young discovered that reality was an overrated disappointment. Also more than whatever she could fantasize about.

Her first kiss was a surprise, not a wholly ecstatic one. It tasted like stale makgeolli. Clumsy and unsatisfying.

To Gil-Young, her first kiss - more a peck - was underwhelming.

The person she shared the kiss with, however, was anything but. Seo-Hye-Rang was warmth and beauty personified, her touch arousing, enthralling and life-giving. Everything Gil-Young could hope to want and wish for.

***

Hye-Rang’s press of lips on her was over as soon as it had happened. Gil-Young was more distracted by her sudden pounce, causing her to lose balance, falling back and taking Hye-Rang with her. Reflexively, she wrapped her arms around Hye-Rang but once she registered what happened, Gil-Young laughed.

Hye-Rang looked up at her through her eyelashes and the impulse to kiss her seized Gil-Young but passed when Hye-Rang began giggling too.

“Mian, too excited,” Hye-Rang beamed tipsily up at her.

“Don’t be,” Gil-Young cradled Hye-Rang’s face, leaning forward to touch their foreheads together.

Hye-Rang snuggled deeper into her embrace.

***

Gil-Young started to stroke Hye-Rang’s hair, gazing down at her, muttering, “New at this and don’t want to botch up.”

Hye-Rang was gazing up at her with doe eyes, making the bees-in-her-gut start buzzing, heat to creep into her blood. Gil-Young swallowed down her building desire but let her hands wander to rest on Hye-Rang’s waist.

“I’m no expert either. Let’s just accommodate each other as we go along,” Hye-Rang suggested sweetly. Gil-Young nodded eagerly.

“Stay over? Snuggling with you is wonderful,” Hye-Rang ventured demurely.

“Ye.”

Despite the lackluster first kiss, the second and subsequent kisses delivered what they promised.

Chapter Text

Gil Young stared off into the distance, her gaze unfocused. These were the times she wished she smoked, so twitchy were her fingers and mind. The act of smoking a cigarette might be something to calm her agitation with. Or be able take her mind off the enmeshed anger.

Maybe.

There was neither a cigarette or something to punch nearby, so she fisted her hands instead, her short fingernails biting into the skin of her palm. She swore under her breath, internally snarling. There were truly no pertinent reasons to stew - they already managed to catch the culprit and close the case - but seeing the survivor still bandaged up and bruised all over had triggered her.

She was fully occupying her own mind space in the midst of people coming and going around her until her preoccupation was suddenly broken by a voice nearby.

“You look like you need a smoke. Too bad I could not offer you one.”

What? Was the comment targeted at her?

She whipped her head to the source of the somewhat gravelly, baritone voice next to her. Normally, she would not have hesitated in side-eyeing unwanted remarks but a brief glance at the man stayed the dismissive words on her tongue.

He looked as if a gust of strong wind might make him fall down. Tall and beautiful, but also wan and too slim. He did not look in the best of health. He was holding on to a crutch.

“True, but I don’t smoke,” she rejoined casually, keeping her tone as light as possible. He was a stranger and looked harmless enough. No point being gruff with someone who did nothing to her, though Gil Young had no idea why they were even speaking in the first place.

Still, it was a passable distraction for her current emotional swamp, so she sort of welcomed it for the moment. She needed to leave soon, however.

“Here for family?” He asked gently.

She answered perfunctorily. “No. For a case.”

“Hmm. I hope your case has a better outlook than mine.”

“We already arrested the man responsible.” She did not provide any other information.

“That is good to know.”

Gil Young turned to him, ready to step away, “I wish you the best on your treatment.”

Instead of the usual generic answer, he was surprisingly candid, “I am not expected to live beyond the year.”

“Life is unfair,” she blurted out. She did not consciously hide the resentment and anger which must have bled through in her tone. Gil Young was not personally unacquainted with the vagaries of life. This man might be a stranger but her heart still went out to him.

“Yes. Especially when it lets you meet a beautiful woman but not enough time for anything else.” There was a bittersweet twist to his small smile but it was nonetheless warm and genuine.

“Sorry.” Gil Young had no idea why she apologised.

His chuckle was rich and raspy, provoking an excitable shiver up Gil Young’s back. This man was a funny one.

“It is fine. Not your fault,” he replied with grace.

He turned fully to face her, extending a hand, “Go Jun. Glad to have met you.”

There was little hesitation on her part when Gil Young took his hand and firmly shook it.

“Kang Gil Young.”

*** *** ***

In the intervening months and years, thoughts of the man would surface on Gil Young’s mind at the most innocuous of times. A terminally ill stranger she had met on a hospital ground for no more than a few minutes and some exchange of words, but whose faint imprint remained in her consciousness long after the fact.

A brief flash of sadness at the realization that he was likely no longer with their world always made her offer up a prayer, though she did not really believe in anything of that sort.

She hoped he was fine wherever he was, regardless.

Perhaps she could request Yoon or Hwa Pyeong to offer up some prayers for him.

*** *** ***

More than two years to the day of that late winter afternoon, as she stepped inside a newly opened cafe near her apartment complex, the face behind the counter which greeted her made her stop in her tracks.

It could not be, could it? What were the odds?

By now, however, miracles were also not an alien concept to Gil Young.

The flash of recognition in the man’s gaze and wide grin which curved his full lips on a face with a much healthier pallor convinced Gil Young that she was not hallucinating.

Life was as yet unfair but it could still allow you brief glimpses of peace and love.

Chapter Text

Jung Woo cursorily glanced at the woman who was supposed to be his blind date partner. He had expected his eyes to pass over her for a brief second and that would be it.

He did a double-take. His whole body tensed up, nerves jangling. It could not be, could it? It had been ten - long, arduous, emotionally crippling - years but he would recognize those features anywhere. Could there really be a doppelgänger out there for all of them?

An intense ache filled with longing and bitterness exploded forth and it took effort to not let what he was feeling saw light on his expression. With long standing practice, he tamped down on the once lidded sentiments, pushing them back whence they came.

His rational mind asserted itself. What were the chances his blind date was ‘her’? An uncanny resemblance did not an identification make. Taking a few deep breaths, he managed to calm himself. He was here for a specific purpose and getting seriously sidetracked just would not do.

This face, less vibrant and freshly youthful than the one which haunted his waking dreams but more exquisitely mature, was nevertheless equally captivating and unforgettable. Jung Woo, however, was no stranger to beautiful women, if only the visual appreciation aspects of it.

It would take more than a mesmerising face to keep his attention.

His mind noted that her stature was similar too. He filed away the information.

After the customary introductions, they took to their seats.

***

Aside from looking like an older version of the man in her dreams, Na Ra could not scrounge up much interest in getting to know the man, content to let her father and him talk shop for the rest of dinner.

In her mind, she was recalling the details of a case which had landed on her desk in recent days, turning them around in her head to see where she could begin to build up a defense for her client.

The man would throw quick looks in her direction all throughout dinner but it was while she was eating one of her favourite desserts - a slice of blueberry pie - that he seemed to stare. Na Ra paid him no heed, intent on enjoying her delicious dessert. She had not had much appetite the whole evening, and the pie was a consolation of a sort.

Dabbing the corners of her mouth with her napkin after finishing up her dessert, Na Ra excused herself.

She could feel his gaze boring through her back as she walked out of their private dining room.

When she returned from the washroom, her parents suggested that the two of them get some fresh air at the landscaped mini-garden facing their private dining room.

This should be the last of the programme for tonight, so Na Ra obediently nodded.

Her parents only wanted her to come and she had. She was promised that this would be the first and last arranged blind date she would be made to attend, so she had acquiesced.

She looked forward to being free from this particular family pressure in the days ahead.

***

Sitting side-by-side on a stone bench, Na Ra swept her gaze over the softly illuminated outdoor garden, appreciative of its well-thought out design.

“Do you like peonies?” He made some opening small talk as they both looked out at the beautifully landscaped mini-garden.

“They are pretty,” she answered perfunctorily.

Was she usually so cold towards members of the opposite sex? If Jung Woo was more egoistical, he supposed he would feel slighted by the way this woman reacted to him. He had never been treated as if he was partly invisible by the women in his company.

As it was, he was only intrigued.

Whether this woman was the ‘her’ from his past, he found himself fascinated, compelled by her cool disinterest; which by itself was puzzling. He had never cared one way or another whether women were interested in him. And except for ‘her’, he had never been all that interested in other women either.

Not only was Geum Na Ra not giving him much of her attention, she appeared entirely displeased about being here.

“Is your attitude because of our blind date, or me?”

Taken aback somewhat by his frank questioning, Na Ra was tempted to answer him bluntly with a ‘yes, both’ but seeing that she still needed to give a thought to their social circumstances and basic courtesy, she gave a delicate shrug and rejoined, “This is just the way I normally am, it has little to do with you.”

“Though you are right that a blind date is an anathema.”

An ironic grin touched her lips and she spared him a brief side-glance, “A blind date does not seem your thing either, Jung Woo-sshi.”

His husky, baritone laugh was easy on the ears and an involuntary smile flitted across her lips at the pleasing sound.

“I suppose we have to thank our parents for this,” he quipped, turning sideways to look at her.

“My parents promised me this will be the first and last of any arranged blind dates. They have always respected my choices.”

“That is reassuring,” he intoned huskily.

Na Ra was uncertain as to his meaning, discerning a smidgen of ambiguity in his tone but she was not going to give the man any more unnecessary attention than she had already done.

Flashing him a polite but distant smile, she said, “I would like to go in now.”

She stood up.

Just then, a sudden gust of wind blew past them, sweeping the ends of her loose, long hair up into the air.

Na Ra turned, and did not notice the way the man next to her caught a few strands of her satiny hair and brought it to his lips, kissing the tips before releasing them to follow behind her into the room again.

***

The man appeared intelligent and determined to a fault, unsurprising given his background but Na Ra was far from impressed.

With an inscrutable gaze behind sharp, scrutinising eyes, there was something about him which unsettled her. Would this meeting upend her life? Na Ra fervently hoped not.

Their paths should have few opportunities to cross each other’s in the future. She would try and make certain of that.

Chapter Text

He pulled her along with little finesse, careless of being seen though they were lucky and no other guests were ambling along the corridor.

Reaching the hotel room, he made short work of opening the door and the moment it closed behind them, he was already upon her, lips and hands hungry on her face, throat and body.

Her purse was unceremoniously dropped onto the carpeted floor.

“We can’t,” Na Ra breathed feebly, razor-edged and desperate even as her arms around his shoulders tightened.

Her back was pressed up against the hard, solid door, his hand hot and heavy on her hip, possessively unrelenting.

His tongue licked across the roof of her mouth before he groaned against her lips, “Don’t care.”

“Divorce him.” He demanded imperiously, looking into her unfocused, lust-glazed eyes, pupils blown wide. A shiver of satisfaction creeped up over his chest. If he was to be in thrall with her, it was only right that she could not resist him either.

Burying his mouth against her neck, he trailed a blaze of nips and suckles on the sensitive skin, fully intending to leave blemishes; mark her.

How could she not see that a divorce was inevitable? The sooner the better. Her marriage had been nothing more than an empty shell of a sham for the past two years and if not for a family tragedy which had derailed her plans, divorce proceedings should have already been started.

What was she still waiting for?

His patience was fraying and seeing her on the arms of her husband tonight was the last straw. He should be the one standing beside her, not her useless, faithless lout of a husband.

This episode now was a reminder to her that she was his, that they belonged together.

Pulling up the hem of her dress, he caressed the silky skin of her inner thighs before hooking his fingers into the thin band of her lace knickers, tugging the fabric down past her upper thighs.

Fingers flexing over her jaw, he angled her face up into his punishing kiss, brushing familiar fingers past her downy pubic hair to press down on her slit.
He swallowed her breathy moans as he worked deft thumb and fingers on her clit.

Peppering nibbles on the shell of her right ear, her whimpers egging him on, he dipped his fingers inside her moist warmth. Her fingers were biting into his scalp and clothed back, breathing thin and ragged.

He pushed until she fell headlong into a keen moan, body arching against his. There were few things as beautiful as having Na Ra come undone in his arms.

With the help of her sluggish hands, they managed to unbuckle his belt and made short work of freeing his erection from the confines of his trousers and boxers. He gritted his teeth against the keen, silky sensation of her hand on his erection.

Covering her hand with his, he pumped his erection with her hand, guiding her rhythm. Their breaths mingled in the cool air between them as he rested his forehead against hers.

Too soon, he needed more. Forgoing the condom in his pocket, he hooked his hand behind her right knee.

The flimsy red lace of her knickers was pooled around her ankles and when he pulled up her leg to open her up for him, it slid down through her foot onto the floor, pooling around her black high heels.

He entered her in one sure snap of his hips, rasping a hiss into her satiny hair at the pleasure and completion suffusing him when he was fully seated inside her.

She clung to him as he bent forward to kiss her, her head tilted back against the door. His movements were languid until the fevered desire in his blood took over and he began to thrust with abandon.

***

Looking down at her flushed face, he announced with a hard edge to his voice, “I’ve waited long enough. I’ll get you the best divorce attorney around.”

She stared up at him with a slightly bemused and sad expression drawn over her beautiful features. “I’m sorry.”

Jung Woo did not want her regret or apology, he just wanted her to leave and divorce her husband, preferably more than a year ago but he would settle for tomorrow.

He tucked himself in. A shower would not be amiss but he could do that back in his own place.

Bending down, he picked up her lace knickers from the floor and stuffed it into the pocket of his jacket.

Fishing out his handkerchief, he half-crouched before her, wiping away the stain of his semen on her crotch and stockings clad thighs before holding out her knickers for her to step into.

Her hand a delicate perch on his shoulder, she obediently stepped into her underwear.

Without another word, he stood up, turned and went into the adjoining bathroom.

Not a moment later, she entered as well, standing beside him at the bathroom vanity. She avoided looking at him as she smoothed over her hair, dress and reapplied her smudged lipstick.

He observed the ghostly tremors she could not help but betray in the reflection of the mirror. Inwardly, he sighed to himself. His Na Ra was no shrinking violet but he knew she continued to be highly torn about their affair.

Her husband had not been willing to discuss divorce, preferring to keep up appearances. When he was the one benefiting from the continual golden cage he was intent on trapping Na Ra with, of course he would. However, Jung Woo was all out of forbearance now.

Regrooming completed, he turned towards her.

“Let’s go.”

As he passed before her, she called out, “Jung Woo.”

There was a note of hesitancy in her voice as she put a hand on his forearm to stall him.

His expression grew softer. Cradling her face, thumb soothing on her cheek, he stated gently, “I want us to get married. We can’t do that if you’re still married to him.”

Briefly, her gaze slid away from his but not a second later she looked into his eyes again, nodding. A pleased smile curled the edges of his lips. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss on the faint pleat between her eyebrows.

“Come back home with me tonight. We’ll move you out tomorrow.”

Her only answer was to take his hand in hers, her gaze tender. Grinning, he laced their fingers together, firmly gripping her hand.

They would be fine. The future was theirs.

Chapter Text

[お嬢さん、結婚して下さい]

Kwon Joo had little idea how it happened but as she stopped in front of a small store to appreciate its prettily designed facade, suddenly, a beautiful, smartly dressed man materialised in front of her, speaking in Japanese. She blinked at him in incomprehension.

There was nobody in her immediate vicinity, so she assumed the man was speaking to her.

Was that supposed to be a pickup line?

Her Japanese was rudimentary at best and perhaps she could be mistaken for a Japanese given she was in Tokyo and did not stand out like the other tourists milling around, but what little she did understand of his words had her questioning the man’s sanity.

Kwon Joo was trained to react calmly in emergencies and emotionally volatile situations but she was being tested now. She took a step back, scanning her surroundings. She was at a side street and there were less people about but there still were. Her ears picked up the existence of a convenience store nearby she could take refuge in if things went south.

After a second of thought, she answered in English, “Mister, I think you must have mistaken me for someone else. I have never met you before.”

“No, I am being very earnest. And I have seen you before.” He answered in flawless English, stepping forward to maintain their prior distance.

Kwon Joo took another step back and he followed. She muttered under her breath in her native Korean, body on full defensive alert.

“Keep your distance, mister. I don’t wish to involve the police if it could be helped but I will.” She warned him in English, ears perking up at the sounds of Japanese law enforcement walkie-talkie a street away.

“There is no reason to be afraid. I do not mean any harm.” This time, he replied in Korean, a pleased grin curving his lips. “And I am serious about my marriage proposal.”

If Kwon Joo was the scoffing type, she would be scoffing by now. The man was either mentally not all there or he was entitled and delusional beyond belief, and by the looks of it, he was likely both.

It was simply her bad fortune to meet someone of this caliber on her holiday.

At any rate, he did not appear to be carrying a weapon. They were still in full public view of passing pedestrians and with patrolling law enforcement nearby, she knew her chances of getting away unscathed were high. Still, she needed to be careful and find an opportunity to get away when she could.

He suavely changed tack when she did not respond, offering smoothly in a silky baritone, “I suppose that was too inappropriate and shocking for a first proper meeting. How about coffee then?”

She nearly rolled her eyes at his vain temerity and gave a curt reply, “Aniyo.”

As she started to walk away, he reached for her and out of reflexes drilled into her from long hours of practice, she caught his arm and threw him over her shoulder.

The man stared up with disbelieving eyes at her but did not immediately react and as a few people began to gather around them, chattering in shock and curiosity, she hastily picked up her fallen tote bag and walked across the road to the other side of the street.

At this juncture, if it could be avoided, she had little wish to involve law enforcement.

She was acting in self-defense but with language barrier and other issues at play, she could not be certain the outcome of police involvement would come out in her favour.

Thankfully, the man did not follow her. Keeping him within earshot, she was surprised by his burst of laughter when she rounded the corner to another street. The man was mystifying.

A sudden flash of deja vu assailed her. There was something faintly familiar about the man’s gaze which she could not place.

***

Laughing, Tae Gu stood up. The few passersby who had stopped at the commotion moved away when they saw him stand up.

He knew she was agile with keen reflexes but could not have anticipated that she was good at Hapkido too. Undoubtedly a woman with many talents.

Dusting off his suit, he noticed a piece of name card lying by his feet. Picking it up, his gaze glinted at the information gleaned from the card.

Kang Kwon Joo.

He repeated the name he found on the card, rolling the sounds of it on his tongue.

Carefully slotting the card into the pocket of his jacket, Tae Gu strolled down the street past two patrolling police officers, his mood the brightest it had ever been. This could only be serendipity.

They were meant to be.

Tae Gu was certain of that after this wholly coincidental meeting. After all, what were the odds?

His parents would be pleased to know that he was finally returning home for good.

*** ***

When he had first noticed her walking towards him from a distance away, he had thought he was hallucinating. It would not be the first time he had thought he had seen the woman who had haunted his dreams on the streets in different cities he had travelled to before, and this would likely not be the last.

So far, each and every time he had attempted to get a better look, he had been disappointed to find that they were not the woman he was searching for.

It might only have been brief minutes but he could recall with clarity what she looked like, and there was also a life-like sketch he had commissioned soon after the incident to make sure that time would not blur his memory.

This time, with every step nearer, his mind and heart began buzzing with excitement.

It could not be, could it?

When she stopped in front of a storefront a few meters away and he finally had a clear look, his heart leapt up in elation. It was her!

He could not lose this golden opportunity to get to know her.

Standing before her, however, he was himself as shocked by what came out of his mouth instead.

*** *** ***

Three years ago. Majorca, Spain.

Tae Gu first noticed the woman from where he was brunching at an outdoor cafe, standing by a traffic light on the opposite side of the street from where he was seated. Dressed in a simple but flattering yellow sundress, she had on a pair of sunglasses and also a light blue sun hat. A tote bag was slung over her shoulder.

He did not really understand why she should catch his eye but she did.

She was pretty and willowy but nothing he had not seen before. Yet, his eyes could not seem to move away from her. There was a certain warmth and softness to her demeanour which compelled him.

Then unexpectedly, a young child ran past the woman into oncoming traffic. Over the panicked reactions of other waiting pedestrians, with nimble movements, the woman caught hold of the child, falling bodily with the child in her arms onto the pavement, preventing an accident.

For a split second, as she stood up, their gazes met across the distance. It was over as soon as it happened but Tae Gu felt as if he had been given a glimpse into infinity.

Her sunglasses lay broken on the pavement as she gently smiled in reassurance at the young child and his grateful mother, spots of dirt on her sundress and hat.

Admiration filled Tae Gu and the inexplicable urge to want to know the woman on a personal level surged through him. Before he could even begin to step away from his table, however, the woman had gotten into a taxi and left.

He could not explain it but while he had only seen the woman for mere short minutes, he had never forgotten about her. She was indelibly imprinted into his mind and heart.

Chapter Text

Gil Young had little time to give a snort of disgust before she was pointing and shouting at the man, “Gyeongchal, stop!”

Unsurprisingly, the man turned tail and began running in the opposite direction but Gil Young had already anticipated his pivot, throwing the can of tomato she had just bought at his back. Her throw accurately hit the spot she was aiming for, slowing down his speed and within a few paces, she managed to catch up to him.

Fortunately, his apprehension was fraught with less issues and after cuffing him and pulling him along with her, Gil Young approached the young woman standing by the pavement, handing her her snatched handbag. “Miss, are you alright?”

“Thank you, officer.” The woman looked calmer than moments before though a slight concerned expression still marred her pretty face.

“Nothing to it. Can you come with me to the nearest station for a report?”

“Ne.”

“Sorry, Miss but do you think you can help me pick up the dropped groceries?” Gil Young gestured at the few items lying haphazardly - spilled from her carry bag - on the ground a few metres away. The bent out of shape can of tomatoes she had used as a projectile was lying about a bit nearer to them.

“Eo, ne.”

***

Su Hyeon stepped out of the police station with weary steps. It had been an atrocious evening though it ended somewhat better than she could have hoped. While she was still mildly shook, she could put the incident behind her and sleep better tonight, at the least.

Turning towards the beautiful detective standing next to her, she bowed slightly, expressing her gratitude once again, “Kang-hyeongsa-nim, gamsa hamnida.”

“It’s my job. Just glad you’re okay,” she remarked breezily, a faint quirk playing about her lips.

Kang-hyeongsa seemed like a straight arrow - not to mention heroic - and Su Hyeon could feel her estimation of the woman going up another few notches.

Before Su Hyeon could take her leave, she offered, “It’s late. If you don’t mind, let me give you a ride back.”

After only a second of pause, Su Hyeon accepted the kind offer.

*** *** ***

One thank-you-dinner turned to the occasional late dinner or supper between acquaintances and then casual friends, and before Gil Young realised what was happening, she was looking forward to the back-and-forth - regular messages and even phone and video calls - traded between themselves.

Su Hyeon was easy to talk to and for someone unused to having friends - the two men in her orbit were in a more unique category - Gil Young discovered that she enjoyed Su Hyeon’s uncomplicated company.

She was cheery and pragmatic, a ray of pretty sunshine in Gil Young’s relatively drab world.

Gil Young had even met her son and mother, and through them managed to experience a semblance of what she imagined was normal familial warmth she had little opportunity to know much about.

So it was with a sense of complex foreboding that Gil Young found herself developing the sort of unwelcome attraction to another person she had so far managed to avoid. She had always thought herself immune to those supposedly common human feelings, perhaps a consequence of her traumatic past and the sometimes crippling doubts resulting from them.

How was she to know that she was actually capable of such emotions given the right person and conditions?

Gil Young was not even certain what it was she was feeling when she felt the initial creeping of desire. That uncanny hunger for a touch, for a taste, an inhale of the scent of Jung Su Hyeon’s skin was completely alien to her.

Or the way her hands itched to hold Su Hyeon’s smaller ones in hers; hands Gil Young was sure was softer and warmer than her own.

And Gil Young finally learned what it meant to be tempted. By Su Hyeon’s pretty lips, her rounded cheeks and the silky, creamy skin she would catch glimpses of through the gaps in her clothes. It made her want to sigh in frustration and pull on her hair.

As inexperienced as Gil Young was, however, she was not an unaware ignoramus. She caught on soon enough what her feelings for Su Hyeon - whenever they met and even when they did not - meant.

The excited flutter in the cage of her chest when Su Hyeon had beamed her beautiful smile at her had given her nano-seconds of cringe when she had thought back on to the moment.

What was she? A young teen going through her first serious infatuation?

Still, once the brief embarrassing wince had passed after her recollection of that moment in time, the meaning of it all fell into place quite quickly in her mind. Her mind reminded her that she was technically experiencing her first crush.

The realisation made her want to bury her head in her hands but Gil Young resisted the impulse. Instead, she reached for the old can of beer in her refrigerator, letting it distract her for the few seconds it took to gulp down the stale tasting beverage.

By the time it took her to finish her can of beer, she managed to come to a more optimistic conclusion. She had survived unimaginable trauma and horrors, she would survive falling in love.

Right?

***

What was it about feelings that once you acknowledged them, it did not always make things better? If anything, it made Gil Young feel like she was an embarrassingly nervous wreck whenever she was with Su Hyeon, although what she was trying was to be stoic about her newly developed feelings.

She regularly felt like a dolt, unsure and sheepish, very much unlike her usual brash and blunt personality. Did catching feelings make one an idiot? A grinning idiot at that?

Nevertheless, behaving in a silly manner at times did have its pluses, especially when her gaffes would bring sweetly blooming smiles and laughter onto Su Hyeon’s already captivating face.

Unexpectedly, seeing Su Hyeon happy gave her a glow of contentment too.

Gil Young wanted more but was also content to continue their friendship as it was, knowing the chances of achieving anything more to be negligible at best. She was not going to spook away a treasured friend just because she had developed inconvenient feelings.

It was not always easy but neither was it a complete hardship. She would be fine.

*** *** ***

One late autumn evening, as they arrived at Su Hyeon’s apartment complex after a casual supper, she suddenly piped up, a note of hesitancy in her soft voice, “Gil Young-sshi, do you think we could talk for a bit?”

“Sure. Do you want me to park and go up?”

“Ani. This won’t take long.”

Gil Young stopped at the visitor’s parking, turning off the engine before turning towards Su Hyeon.

“What’s up? Anything you need my help with?”

Gil Young did notice that Su Hyeon had been a bit more reserved the last couple of times they had met but when she had voiced her concerns, Su Hyeon had given her a tiny if tired smile and said she simply had things on her mind, and would open up once she was ready.

Perhaps Su Hyeon was finally ready to confide in her.

Su Hyeon’s hands were tightly gripped in her lap, nerves radiating off of her. Her gaze was downcast.

“Is everything alright?” Gil Young was getting a bit edgy just by looking at Su Hyeon’s demeanour. She hoped it was nothing too serious.

Slowly, Su Hyeon raised her gaze to look at Gil Young, “Oh, ye.”

She seemed to be steeling herself before gazing intently at Gil Young. “Gil Young-sshi, do you mind if I ask you a deeply personal question?”

Confusion assailed Gil Young. She was quite the open book and Su Hyeon already knew a part of her past. What personal question could make Su Hyeon appear so skittish?

“If you want.” She offered with little hesitation but a half-thought had formed in her own mind, ratcheting up the tension already building along her spine.

Su Hyeon parted her lips, closed it again and then averted her gaze. Just as Gil Young opened her mouth to reassure Su Hyeon that she could ask her anything she wanted, Su Hyeon faced her again, blurting out, “Do you like women?”

The question was both expected and not, but it still made Gil Young speechless for a few heartbeats as Su Hyeon stared at her, eyes wide with anticipation.

Where was this going, exactly? Gil Young was not certain what to expect. She was intuitive and quick on her feet when it came time to take action during investigations but for something like this, she was stuck waffling. And she was not sure she wanted to be presumptive given the feelings she did have.

“Erm… as in how?”

Su Hyeon appeared taken aback by her need for clarification but this time she answered without dallying, “Romantically?”

Gil Young did not immediately answer.

Before the atmosphere between them could grow heavy with incipient discomfort, she replied, as smoothly and lightly as she could, “Ye.”

In an instant, the tension she had observed in Su Hyeon seemed to leach out from her, her expression brightening.

“Are you seeing anyone now?”

Gil Young nearly sighed. Her? Seeing someone? She imagined she could hear Hwa Pyeong sniggering at the back of her mind.

“Ani.”

Something indecipherable glinted in the depths of Su Hyeon’s gaze and then she looked a tad nervous again.

“What would you say if I suggest that we date?”

Huh? Date?! Did she hear correctly?

Gil Young felt as if her brain had temporarily short-circuited. Before she could formulate a proper, measured response, her mouth had run off, “That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard.”

Did she just say that?

They stared at each other for a few thundering heartbeats before Su Hyeon began to giggle, her smile turning impish, “Okay.”

Suddenly, Gil Young felt self-conscious, her right hand reflexively reaching for the back of her neck to scratch at it out of habit.

In an instant, the air around them seemed to turn electric but Su Hyeon deftly cut in with a sparkling, “I need to get back now. Let’s arrange for that date soon.”

“Eo.” She answered automatically, excitement flooding through her at the reaffirmation from Su Hyeon.

Su Hyeon reached out to clasp her left hand, gripping it gently before releasing it to open the door, a tender smile on her face.

“Jalja.”

Gil Young nodded mutely, words failing her at the buzzing in her heart and mind. She was still processing the tinkling warmth clinging to her skin from Su Hyeon’s grasp moments before.

At the steps of the entrance, Su Hyeon turned back to wave at her. She waved back. Once she could no longer see Su Hyeon, she thumped her head back against the car headrest, exhaling loudly.

She was not dreaming, was she?

Before she could ruminate longer, she heard a ping of notification from her mobile. It was a message from Su Hyeon.

Her heart leapt up, lips curving into a tiny grin. It would seem she was indeed awake.