Chapter Text
“Wait, Seungwan—!” Joohyun grips the heavy fabric of her gown and heaves it up, chasing after the novelist as quickly as the cumbersome thing would allow her to.
As she rounds the corner, she spots Seungwan standing by a pillar, her shoulders shaking slightly with her face buried into her hands. She takes a step towards the sobbing blonde, only to stop when she sees Seulgi stride into sight, sweeping Seungwan up in her arms. Joohyun freezes.
She made Seungwan cry. And she can’t be there to wipe her tears.
Seulgi glances up and meets Joohyun’s eyes. The taller woman lets out a visible sigh, moving to shield Seungwan’s crying face from the older woman.
“Let’s go, Wani,” Seulgi whispers softly as she caresses the blonde’s head comfortingly, “Get some fresh air and see the sights before you fly back. Deal?”
Seungwan nods mutely against her shoulder. Seulgi gently ushers her towards the lift lobby, away from the bride.
Joohyun starts towards the disappearing pair, “Wai—”
“Where are you going?” Her husband takes hold of her elbow, stopping her in her tracks, “There are more guests to greet, Joohyun my dear.”
The bride casts one more longing look in the direction of the novelist and her best friend, but they’re no longer there. With a resigned sigh, she follows him back to a sea of countless faces congratulating her on her marriage.
I’ll call her tonight. We can talk then.
Joohyun grows more despondent with each ring.
Don’t tell me—
“The number you called is currently not in use.”
She lets her hand fall to her side, her phone slipping from her loosened grip.
She’s…
After her sixteenth attempt, she stops. The night stretches into what feels like centuries, her mind constantly wandering back to tearful brown orbs and a shaky smile. She barely manages to catch a wink of sleep by the time the sunlight glares at her through her windows, harsh and unforgiving. Her husband remains dead asleep. She mindlessly scrolls through her Instagram, until a photo catches her eye.
It’s Seungwan. And Seunghee.
The novelist is wrapped up in her older sister’s embrace, a mix of annoyance and…happiness on her face, followed by the caption: “This brat’s finally home for good. The parents missed her but I definitely didn’t.”
Joohyun’s eyes dart down to the timestamp.
Posted 1 hour ago.
The older woman blinks, muttering under her breath “If she’s already in Canada, that means she left…yesterday. Not long after the wedding.”
The realisation slams into her like a sledgehammer. She searches up the blonde’s personal account, and finds it deactivated. Her heart picking up an anxious pace, she searches for the rest of Seungwan’s private social media accounts. But all of them are deactivated, with only her public celebrity writer account left active. And God knows if the novelist will reply to her.
Especially when she’d left like that without giving Joohyun a chance to say good-bye.
Her chest grows tight, and she scrambles from her bed and out of the bedroom. She leans against her kitchen sink, drawing in as many deep breaths as she can as sweat rolls down her temples. Knowing Seungwan’s feelings for her had been suffocating, but having Seungwan walk out of her life…is even more so.
She’s gone.
The heavy weight pressing down on her heart doesn’t leave after she stops looking at her social media. Even when she’s on her way to the office, it’s impossible to ignore the billboards and posters promoting Seungwan’s latest novel. The standees outside the various bookstores in the immediate proximity of her office taunt her with their claims of Falling as the popular novelist’s greatest masterpiece yet.
She even stumbles upon an interview video with Seungwan in its thumbnail in her recommended videos during her lunch break. She considers closing her YouTube app, but she ultimately can’t bear to tap away from it. She continues watching.
Admittedly, her ears phase out the onscreen conversation as her eyes come to rest on the blonde’s face, noting the way the left corner of her lips curl up. Joohyun knows most of the novelist’s fans will probably fall over themselves over that smile, but she knows better.
Seungwan smiles like that only when she’s sad and she’s trying to cover it up.
It’s been two weeks since her wedding. Every day since Seungwan had left without saying good-bye, Joohyun feels herself crumbling even more. She pours herself into her work, trying to ignore the fact that although she should be content with her decision, she isn’t. As she wraps up her presentation to the board, she’s greeted with applause and hums of approval. As the meeting is adjourned and most of the board members file out of the conference room, her father approaches her.
“Good job on today’s presentation, CEO Bae,” he pats her shoulder heavily.
She dips her head politely, “Thank you, Director Bae.”
“He’s a good look on you,” her father continues, “Never dilute power with those who are below us. I’m not happy that you still invited her to your wedding after I told you not to, but it’s a good thing she left. You cannot afford a distraction like her.”
Joohyun balls her hands into fists, “You—”
“Joohyun, your new business proposal is very promising, thank you for your hard work.”
The CEO turns to look at the newcomer. Mr Han bows deeply in greeting.
“If the CEO’s father calls her as such…” Her father remarks disapprovingly, “Shouldn’t you do the same, Director Han?”
Joohyun opens her mouth but Mr Han beats her to it.
“Of course, Director Bae,” he bows again, “My apologies for my carelessness, CEO Bae.”
Joohyun’s father clicks his tongue in disdain and stalks away.
The CEO whips around to face her mentor, “Why did you do that?”
“I did not want you to do something you would regret.”
“I already regret a lot of things, Mr Han,” Joohyun mutters, “What’s one more?”
“It’s late, Joohyun,” he sighs, “You must be hungry. Come eat with me at Hyeonsil.”
“You’re here, Joohyun-ah! And Mr Han!” Mrs Park greets them as they enter the diner, pulling out the chairs for them, “You came at a good time! Business has been booming lately so it’s hard to find space sometimes.”
“That’s good news,” Mr Han chuckles.
Joohyun offers the elderly lady a soft smile as she settles down, “What made business go up suddenly?”
“Oh, haven’t you heard?” Mrs Park giggles, “I thought you would have, since you’re always the first to read her works.”
Mr Han casts a worried glance at the younger woman seated opposite him. Joohyun’s lips have tightened into a thin line.
“She wrote Hyeonsil House into her new book. A lot of her fans have been coming here to eat ever since,” Mrs Park continues.
Mr Han dips his head to the elderly owner, “Ah, really? That’s nice of her.”
“She is, isn’t she? I miss her already,” a bright smile is plastered to Mrs Park’s face, “But home is where the heart is after all. For their daughter to finally return, her parents must be really happy. Well, enough rambling from me. I’m sure you must be hungry. The usual?”
Mr Han nods and she ambles off to the kitchen. Joohyun glances around the diner, feeling a tad guilty for not visiting in a long while. The worn-out menu on the wall next to her has been replaced by a neater, newer one. Her eyes wander over to the photo next to it and what she sees sends a sharp pang straight to her heart.
Seungwan is hugging Mrs Park while the elderly owner holds up a signed copy of Falling.
In silver ink, the words “Yes, Hyeonsil House is the same here and in Falling. Thank you always for your delicious food, Mrs Park. Stay healthy! —Wendy <3” are scribbled onto the bottom right corner of the photo.
“She seems to be doing well…” Mr Han remarks upon following her line of sight to the photo, “Hyeonsil must’ve been really important to her to write it into her book. It makes me want to read it even though my eyes are weakening every day.”
Joohyun feels her throat tighten, “Maybe she got lazy with the name. Or she forgot that she’s writing fiction.”
“That doesn’t sound like the Joohyun I know.”
The CEO shifts her focus back to him, the unspoken question in her eyes.
“The Joohyun I know never doubts her closest friend’s sincerity and art of writing,” he adds.
“Well, things are different now. She left and she didn’t even—” Joohyun chokes as tears blur her vision, “…She didn’t even say good-bye.”
She feels the droplets land on her hand and she breaks down. Mr Han watches on in sadness, his heart hurting for the young woman. He may have known her father for longer, but he had watched Joohyun grow up, so she’d become like a daughter to him.
“You two had difficult choices to make, Joohyun,” he reaches out and rests his hand on her head gently, “There’s more to both your stories than you let on to each other, don’t you think?”
That night, insomnia assaults the CEO. She can’t help but mull over what Mr Han had said to her, just before they’d parted ways after dinner.
“Knowing her, maybe…the only way she knew how to say good-bye was through her book.”
She clenches her jaw.
That’s just being a coward.
But her curiosity soon gets the better of her and she whips out her phone. She searches up comments on the novel.
“I didn’t think she’d be able to top ‘Return’ but she did.
It’s just so...raw.”
Jung Soojung
“Putting herself into the story in the manner of
meta-fiction, it’s a bold move. I’ll be looking forward
to her future works with even more excitement now.”
Kim Taeyeon
“Wendy’s always been known for doing exciting stuff,
so for her to take on a more introspective story…
It’s new and refreshing!”
Ahn Kangta
“Somehow, there’s something much deeper about ‘Falling’
than I’d thought… I just haven’t figured it out yet. What is
your magic, Wendy?”
Park Chaeyoung
“It’s an interesting choice she made to keep some names
the same as the real world while changing others...makes
me think there’s more to this than fiction.”
Kim Sejeong
“What can I say? I should’ve known a genius like Wendy
couldn't have written such bland characters
(save for Irene) without having an explosive twist!
She’s done it AGAIN!!”
Hwang Tiffany
“That ending though… TT”
Im Nayeon
“Really? You’re reading up on that?”
Joohyun’s eyes swivel from her screen and land on her husband, who must’ve just woken up.
He sits up and jabs an accusing finger at her phone, “I already let it go when you invited her to our wedding. You’re leading a company for goodness’ sake, Joohyun! CEOs like us don’t have time to waste on childish stories like this!”
He wraps her hand with his, trying to take her phone away. She yanks it out of his touch, as though it’d scorched her skin.
She clambers out of bed and heads out of the room, “I’m sleeping in the guest room tonight.”
“Joohyun, wait—”
She slams the door shut.
She tiredly settles down in the guest bedroom with a sigh. Propping her head up on the pillow she scrolls through the reviews until a notification from her news app pops up. The moment she sees Seungwan’s name on it, she quickly taps it.
International bestselling author Son Wendy to collaborate with webtoon artist Kang Seulgi on a new project
As stated in the press release, Ms Kang will be flying over to Canada to work on a joint project with celebrity author and Korea’s pride Ms Son. The project is not only highly anticipated by investors and the public—many production studios are hoping to snatch up the publication rights to turn the project into a drama. Although it is rather early on in the timeline of the project, it has already received its name: ‘Only You’. Many fans of both the artist and writer are already in love with the prospects of this story, which will no doubt be a grand one when you put two brilliant minds together.
Joohyun doesn’t think twice before speed-dialling Seulgi. It rings several times, and the CEO wonders for a moment if Seulgi has cut her off too. Just as she’s about to hang up, the artist finally picks up.
“Do you have any idea how late it is?”
Yikes, she sounds pissed.
“Seulgi, I—”
“Is this about me working with Seungwan?”
Joohyun gulps nervously, “Y-Yeah.”
“Let me guess…you’re wondering when I’m going over so you can tag along.”
“…Yes.”
“Why should I let you?” Seulgi asks sternly, “So you can show up and hurt her all over again?”
“That’s not—”
“Have you even read Falling?”
“N-No, I’ve been b-busy the past f-few—”
“So you have the guts to ask to meet her without understanding how much you’ve hurt her in the first place.”
“What do you m-mean I d-don’t understand ho—”
“I think I’ve heard enough, Joohyun.”
The call ends.
Joohyun visits the bookstore after her lunch break the next day. Summoning as much courage as she can, she makes her way over to the shelf dedicated entirely to Wendy Son. The cover of Falling is a pretty blue, a blue that undeniably and unexplainably encapsulates the Seungwan she knows. She picks it up. Everything about it is simple, and it hurts how much it screams “Seungwan” more than “Wendy”. Like there’s a secret waiting inside, just for her.
From Seungwan.
As she makes her way over to the cashier, book in hand, she suddenly recalls Seungwan’s words to her the day of her wedding.
“I’d rather you only read the things that make me look like an amazing author in your eyes, not some sad fever dream.”
She pauses.
Seulgi told me to read it, but Seungwan doesn’t want me to. Maybe…I should respect her wishes.
She turns back and returns the book to the shelf. She exits the bookstore, resolving to convince Seulgi to just let her meet Seungwan one more time.
She gets a very unexpected visitor in the form of the one and only Kang Seulgi at her doorstep that evening. The CEO notes the mustard yellow luggage next to the artist.
She steps out from behind her door, “You’re…”
“I’m flying over tonight.”
“A-About that—”
“I stand by what I said,” Seulgi interrupts her, “Not until you’ve read this.”
The artist pulls out a copy of Falling and holds it out to the older woman, “It’s the very first copy printed and she insisted on keeping it for you.”
Seungwan…kept this for me?
The CEO takes it from her with shaky hands and meets her eyes, “Why…?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Joohyun. I’m not helping you,” Seulgi continues, “I’m helping her. Because I hope that by reading this, you’ll realise why she left, so you’ll let her go. And she can heal and move on. From you.”
Joohyun returns her gaze to the book in her hands.
“My flight’s in three hours,” Seulgi says as she adjusts the bag strap on her shoulder and prepares to take her leave, “I have to go.”
“Wait, Seulgi—!”
The artist stops.
“What if…I read it and I still want to meet her? What happens then?”
Beat.
“I hate to break this to you, Joohyun, but we’re all a little too old for ‘what ifs’ already, don’t you think?”
Joohyun enters the living room, where her husband glances up from the TV to look at her, “Who was that?”
“…A friend.”
His curious eyes land on the book in her hand.
He lets out a frustrated groan, “Seriously, you and this whole damn country need to stop obsessing over her.”
“You’re that jealous, huh?”
He hisses, looking offended, “What?”
“I said, your insecurities are showing.”
“Yah, Bae Joohyun!”
“I’m taking the guest bedroom tonight as well.”
“You can’t keep doing this, Joohyun—!”
His protests are met with the slam of a door once again.
After her nightly routine, Joohyun finally settles underneath her covers and switches on her night light. She picks up Seungwan’s book, gazing at it almost reverently. Her mind races.
If this can help her move on like Seulgi said, then…
She opens it slowly and begins to read, drinking in every word and savouring the turn of every page.
Her phone rings, snapping her out of her sleep. She bolts up from her bed and glances down at the offending device on her bedside table. It’s a call from…a Secretary Kim?
That’s…
She picks up.
“You asked for a wake-up call, CEO Bae.”
I did? That’s…strange.
She glances around, only just realising she isn’t in the guest bedroom, but what looks to be a grander version of her own room. Before she’d moved into the new place with her husband.
She frowns, “A-Ah.”
“Are you sure you’re alright, CEO Bae? You sound…tired.”
Maybe I’m so tired to the point of hallucinating everything.
“Do you want me to move today’s meetings so you can take today off?”
That…sounds really good actually.
She rubs her hurting eyes, “Yeah… I could use the day off.”
“Done. Take care, CEO Bae. See you tomorrow.”
Her secretary ends the call. She lets herself fall back down on her bed. She’s not in that stuffy new place and he’s nowhere to be seen. For once, it feels like she can finally breathe. She kicks her feet up in the air with glee.
Her joy is interrupted when it hits her.
Wait, so where am I? Why am I here?
She jumps out of her bed and starts searching the space for clues. It’s all strangely familiar to her, but she isn’t sure how. She strides out of her room into the kitchen. There’s not a single soul in sight.
Nothing to see here…
Her eyes land on the glass jar of instant coffee on the kitchen counter.
But I don’t drink cof—
She blinks in disbelief, “That’s what Seungwan usually buys…”
The CEO rushes over to it and picks it up, turning it over as her eyes dart all over it.
It’s just like what I read in Falling—
Does that mean this is Falling and Seungwan is…?!
She looks around, but it isn’t like the novelist has materialised out of nowhere. She places the jar back down with a dejected sigh.
But she wrote herself somewhere into the narrative, didn’t she? If this really is the world of Falling and given how everything is supposed to match up, that would make me…CEO Irene Bae and Seungwan my secretary…
She quickly looks up the number that had called her earlier and taps it, holding it up to her ear as she nibbles at her fingernail anxiously.
“Hello? CEO Bae? Is there an issue?”
“Seungwan? Wendy? I- I mean! Seungwan?”
“I think you called the wrong number, CEO Bae. This is Secretary Kim. Kim Yerim. Who…is Seungwan? Or Wendy?”
“B-but Seungwan…”
“I think you need more than a day off, CEO Bae.”
Joohyun sighs, rubbing her temples, “Maybe I do.”
“Well then.”
Her secretary promptly ends the call. The CEO can’t help but let out a chuckle.
She doesn’t mince her words or hold back.
Just like Yerim.
She takes a deep breath.
She has to be here somewhere. I just need to look harder.
It’s already midnight and Seungwan is nowhere to be found. Her brain switching to auto-pilot, Joohyun allows her feet to take her wherever, until she finds herself at a familiar junction. She looks up and realises she’s outside Hyeonsil House. Her stomach growls loudly.
Well, I could use some food about now…
She pushes past the thick plastic flaps and the bell signals her arrival.
The woman manning the cash register glances up, “Hi, welcome to Hyeonsil… House.”
Joohyun’s eyes widen as she drinks in the sight of the one person who she’d been missing dearly.
Seungwan.
It’s Seungwan!!
Seungwan stares back at her, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.
The CEO swallows thickly, “Hey.”
“H-Hey,” the blonde dips her head and gestures towards a table, “Please sit.”
Why…are you being so distant?
“Where’s Mrs Park?” Joohyun asks as she makes her way over to the table and sits down.
“She’s sleeping upstairs, I told her I would hold the fort till closing hour.”
“I…see.”
“Black bean noodles and spicy rice cakes?”
“A-Ah,” Joohyun nods awkwardly, “Yeah.”
“It’ll be ready in a few.”
“T-Thanks.”
“Here, fresh out of the wok,” Seungwan sets the plates down in front of the CEO.
She makes a move to leave, only for Joohyun to grab her wrist. The blonde looks startled.
“Sit with me?” The older woman asks.
Beat.
“O-Okay,” Seungwan sits down opposite her.
Joohyun isn’t sure why she’d done that. Although she’d spent the whole day looking for the novelist, she hadn’t figured out she’d say if she did end up finding her. There have been many moments of silence between her and Seungwan before. After years of friendship, they no longer needed many words to express how they were feeling to each other, because one glance was all it took. But here, as she looks into Seungwan’s eyes, for once, it’s hard to see what’s going through the younger woman’s mind.
“I didn’t get to say good-bye.”
It’s the first thing that comes to her mind.
Seungwan clears her throat, “Neither did I.”
“Why?”
The blonde’s eyes dip down to her folded hands on her lap and lets out a mirthless chuckle, “It’s weird, really. Wanting to say good-bye because it’s the right thing to do, but not wanting to because it’s difficult. Can I really mean it when I say it? What if I want to see you again? What if…after saying good-bye, all I want to do is stay? Even if it hurts? Even if it kills me to keep watching from the sidelines?”
“Didn’t you say not to talk about ‘what ifs’?” Joohyun can’t wash the bitterness from her mouth.
“When the ‘what ifs’ in my mind already scare me, what more when they come from you, Joohyun-unnie?”
Joohyun falls silent.
“I know, Joohyun-unnie.”
The CEO frowns, contemplating the meaning of those few words, “What…do you mean you know?”
“Remember when I first told you I loved you…while we were still in college? You were the student union president and I was your secretary.”
Joohyun clears her throat, “…Yeah.”
Seungwan draws in a sharp breath, “You said no because you couldn’t return my feelings. So why did you say yes…when you don’t return his?”
“Seungwan, you—"
“You don’t love him.”
Joohyun isn’t sure why hearing the truth she’s been trying to hide for so long from Seungwan herself fills her with a shock that transforms into anger.
She leaps to the defensive in her panic, “What are you saying, Son Seungwan?!”
“You married him because that’s what your father wanted,” Seungwan isn’t perturbed by her outburst in the very least, “You wanted to live up to his expectations. And it’s not like he hasn’t made it quite clear that he doesn’t like me hanging around you.”
“You knew, and yet you…” Joohyun’s hand balls into a fist on the table.
And yet, you never gave me a chance.
“It’s funny how…it should hurt more if you really loved him,” Seungwan’s voice trembles with emotion as her eyes grow watery, “But I don’t know why…”
The blonde pauses to wipe her tears away before they actually fall.
“But knowing you don’t love him and yet…you’d still choose him… I don’t know why it broke my heart even more,” Seungwan continues, “It hurt more to see you choose to lose yourself for someone who doesn’t love you the way you should be loved.”
Whatever anger the older woman had dissipates at the novelist’s explanation, guilt replacing it swiftly.
“That’s when I realised…you made your choice. You chose your father. And then it was my turn to choose. So, for once, I…decided to choose myself.”
Silence hangs in the air as the older woman struggles to make sense of everything she’s learnt.
Seungwan knew everything. This whole time.
And seeing how much Joohyun choosing a loveless marriage to satisfy her father’s expectations must’ve crushed Seungwan.
“Seungwan…” Joohyun breathes out her name, “Is it too late then?”
“I really don’t know, Joohyun-unnie,” the novelist sighs, “Why did you pick up the book? Even after I told you not to?”
“I…”
She recalls Seulgi’s words.
“So you have the guts to ask to meet her without understanding how much you’ve hurt her in the first place.”
“I wanted to know how much I hurt you.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Joohyun. I’m not helping you. I’m helping her.”
“So I can apologise.”
“Because I hope that by reading this, you’ll realise why she left, so you’ll let her go. And she can heal and move on. From you.”
“But what do I do, Seungwan? Because I don’t want to let you go.”
Seungwan’s eyes snap up to meet hers.
“You know a lot of things about me, Seungwan. And I know a lot of things about you. But I think it’s time we admit we don’t know everything about each other. And sometimes, it’s easiest to miss the things right under our noses,” Joohyun takes Seungwan’s hand in hers, “Seungwan… Ever since our college days, I’ve always loved you. And I…still love you. But I was selfish. I chose the safe, easy life that my father had all planned out for me, over my heart…that is you. And for that…I’m sorry.”
“Joohyun-unnie…” A genuine Seungwan smile appears this time, “Not that I don’t appreciate you telling me this, but…shouldn’t you be telling that to the me in the real world?”
The CEO blinks.
She’s right. The real Seungwan doesn’t know yet.
If I can show her the truth…
“Your question about whether it’s too late…” Seungwan intertwines their fingers, “I believe you already have your answer, Joohyun-unnie.”
A heavy drowsiness sets on Joohyun right after as her eyes fall shut.
When Joohyun opens her eyes next, her vision is obscured by the book.
I…must’ve fallen asleep.
She pulls the book away from her face and shifts to sit up. Only then does she realise she’s already at the end of the story. A familiar ache erupts from her heart as she re-reads the ending once more—the very moment Irene comes to stand outside Hyeonsil House, Seungwan fading from her memories like a dream. However, before she closes the book, she spots a hint of blue ink on the next page. She flips it.
She grows rigid as she focuses on the words scribbled on the porous surface. She’d recognise that handwriting anywhere.
“Joohyun-unnie. At this point of writing, I don't know if I’ll have the strength to give this to you. I don’t even know if I’ll be brave enough to witness your marriage. But if there’s one thing writing Falling has taught me…it’s that one day, I’ll be strong enough to take my first step forward.
— Seungwan”
Tears well up in her eyes. They fall onto the page, marring a word or two. She quickly pats them dry and shuts the book. She sobs quietly as she clutches the book, holding it tightly to her chest.
For three months, she pours her everything into her work, relentlessly. And at the end of those eighty-seven days, her hard work finally pays off as she stands in the front of the board, presenting how she’d quietly accumulated all the major shares required for her to swallow up her husband’s company. Not to mention, she’d gained enough support from the majority of the board to remove her father from office completely, allowing Director Han to take over his position as head of the board. Her move is met with outrage from her father, but he is promptly ushered out of the room.
She holds a press conference the next day. And while she hates the cameras and the lights and the million questions tossed her way, this time, she decides, she can and she will endure it all for Seungwan.
“CEO Bae, in a very sudden and unprecedented move, you’ve taken over your husband’s company and unseated your father as the head of LP Industries by placing Director Han in charge of the board…all within three months of your marriage. Can you explain?”
“First of all, there’s no way I can say this without being subject to the scrutiny of the media and the public, so I will tell you the truth as it is,” Joohyun straightens her back and faces the reporters head on, “I used to be afraid of that scrutiny. Especially from my own father. But I realised I can’t live that way anymore. Not when it hurts those who love me more than he ever did. Chasing and securing business deals just to gain the approval of those who’ll never truly respect me as a person…I don’t want that kind of safety anymore. It’s nothing compared to being able to love someone without expectations or limitations. My happiness is not in counting money, but in the one who counts her anxiety away. The one who kept choosing me no matter how much I hurt her. So this time, as she learns to choose herself for once, I want to choose her too.”
“Does that mean your—”
The CEO scoffs, “I’ve already filed for divorce. It’s a business sham of a marriage and I hate the thought that I ever thought it was for the best. Or that I could endure his jealous, whiny ass for life just to pretend that I love him.”
The crowd of reporters break into gleeful murmurs as several begin typing out juicy tweets with their phones.
“That’s all from me,” Joohyun rises to her feet, “I’ll be taking some time off. If you have any more inquiries, please direct them to Secretary Kim or to Director Han.”
She prepares to take her leave when a reporter calls out to her, “Wait, CEO Bae! Who is this person you’re ‘choosing’?”
Joohyun pauses and turns to look at him coolly, “You didn’t think I’d tell you before I tell her, did you?”
Without another word, she exits the hall. Arriving at a deserted corner, she pulls out her phone and pens a text message. She gives it another fifteen minutes before hitting the send button.
[Joohyun: Have you seen the news?]
A reply comes a good five minutes later.
[Seulgi: Yes. I have.]
[Joohyun: I read her book, Seulgi.]
[Joohyun: So this is what I decided to do. Is this enough to show my sincerity to her?]
She gets no reply from the artist. She grows more despondent as the minutes pass, but just as it’s about to hit the 20-minute mark, she finally receives a message.
[Seulgi: Seungwan will call you.]
Joohyun’s heart skips a beat. And it doesn’t get a break, because the very next second, her phone buzzes with a call.
She scrambles to pick up, “Hello?”
“Joohyun-unnie.”
Joohyun feels her legs weaken at the sound of the younger woman’s voice.
It’s Seungwan. It’s really her.
She leans against the wall, feeling breathless all of a sudden, “Seungwan…”
“I saw the press conference.”
“I miss you, Seungwan,” Joohyun doesn’t hold back this time, “I want to meet you. Will you…let me?”
She hears Seungwan’s breath hitch. The CEO closes her eyes and begins counting silently with her.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
“Yeah, let’s meet, Joohyun-unnie.”
Joohyun’s nerves are on edge from the very moment she gets off the plane in Toronto and gets into a taxi with the address Seungwan had sent her. Her skin prickles from all the nervous energy thrumming through her. Given the way her heart pumps hard and fast inside her chest, she’s surprised it hasn’t given way yet.
And maybe it scares her a little to admit that only Seungwan can make her feel this way.
As she hands the fare over to the taxi driver and gets out of the vehicle, she doesn’t expect to find the novelist waiting for her by the gate. She stops, drinking in the sight of the woman she’s missed for so long. Seungwan’s blonde hair is a tad longer now and her glasses have changed from those thin golden frames to clear plastic frames. But more than that, the younger woman sports a warm, genuine smile.
Just when she’d thought she’d be lucky if Seungwan would even want to speak to her again.
But here she is, smiling at Joohyun, with the softest twinkle in her eyes.
She’s a far cry from the Seungwan four months ago. Joohyun wants to curse herself for pushing the one she’d always loved to the brink, but when Seungwan looks at her like that, like forgiveness, like grace, she feels like everything will soon be alright with the world.
With them.
“It’s cold,” Joohyun remarks softly, white puffs escaping her lips as she takes her first few tentative steps and stops in front of the blonde.
“Well, that’s Canada for you,” Seungwan chuckles.
“Where’s your family? And Seulgi?”
“I told Seunghee-unnie to take them out for the day,” Seungwan pushes open the gate, “Let’s go in, before you catch a cold.”
If anyone had told Joohyun she’d find herself in Seungwan’s house in Canada, seated next to the younger woman by the crackling fireplace three months ago, she’d scoff. And maybe cry a little. But she’s here now, nursing a mug of hot chocolate in her hands as she gathers her courage to speak her mind.
Joohyun finally clears her throat, “Seungwan, I…want to apologise. For choosing the easy way out because I was scared and selfish. For all the pain I put you through. For not telling you the truth sooner. And…I know it isn’t fair of me to want you back in my life only after realising how much you really mean to me until I’d lost you, so I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me after this, I just wanted to tell you that I’m really sorry and I—”
“You never lost me, Joohyun-unnie.”
Joohyun stares at her, bewildered.
“I mean, maybe I gave you the wrong idea by not saying good-bye,” Seungwan hums, “Then again, I think I needed the time and space away from you to heal. But I’d hoped that one day, in the future…I’d be able to see you again on better terms. Because I don’t think I could ever stop loving you.”
“Listen, I—” Joohyun nearly chokes from the overwhelming emotions flooding her, but she endeavours to tell her the truth, loud and clear this time, “I love you, Son Seungwan. For the rest of my life, I’ll keep choosing you. Every day. Every hour. Every minute. Every second.”
Seungwan’s eyes widen, “Joohyun-unnie…”
“I may have given you a sad ending in Falling, and I know we need a lot of time to rebuild our relationship, but if you’ll let me…” Joohyun continues shakily, “I want to begin a journey towards a happy ending…with you.”
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
“Ah, what the heck, Joohyun-unnie,” Seungwan murmurs under her breath as she takes a gulp of hot chocolate, buying time to find the right words, “How cheesy.”
For once in four months, Joohyun is able to smile, “Oh? Is that a yes?”
Seungwan punches her shoulder lightly, letting out a watery laugh, “Yes, you idiot.”
The CEO watches in wonder at the way tears shimmer like precious jewels in the novelist’s eyes as the younger woman’s smile grows on her reddening face.
It’s breathtaking.
The next thing she knows, Joohyun is leaning in, reaching for the mug in Seungwan’s hands. She sets it aside gently. Joohyun can hear her own heartbeat thunder loudly in her ears, and she wonders if Seungwan can hear it too.
If she feels it too.
Joohyun’s eyes dart down to supple, pink lips. But she doesn’t inch any closer. Because it’s Seungwan’s turn to decide.
So, she waits.
One.
Two.
Thre—
Joohyun feels a softness press against her lips. Her eyes flutter shut as she revels in the warmth of Seungwan’s lips. She wonders, after all these years of wanting to kiss Seungwan, why it feels less like a heated explosion and more like warm contentment reverberating from inside her. And she guesses, after years of making the wrong choices, she’s finally made the right one. The one that finally led her home.
Home to Seungwan.