It's Way Too Late To Stay Locked Up Inside Ourselves

8 pm

Yoon Se-ri shut the door behind Deputy Director Kim and rested her head against it. Ri Jeong-hyeok is here. We are alone in my apartment. And he has to stay. Oh and a criminal mastermind on the run knows where I live. She suppressed a laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

It had been two long months of wondering if she would ever see Ri Jeong-hyeok again. In the meantime, Se-ri had researched everything she could find about him that was available on the internet. She had found some early album reviews for Company Five — all glowing about the potential of this new force in the indie rock scene. But more recently, it was usually only a paragraph in a story about his father: the death of his brother, the advent of his military service, rumors about his father soon running for office, and his father's attendance at his swearing in as a federal agent this week. It seemed like the visible pieces of Jeong-hyeok's life were very much in his father's shadow. I know the feeling.

His father. My father. Se-ri gently hit her head against the door. Going down the rabbit hole of the Ri family had inevitably led to the coverage of the crown jewel of Ri Chung-ryeol's career: the prosecution of her father for tax evasion and bribery. The conviction of the chairman of Queens Group, one the largest conglomerates in the country, had been massively popular — a rare example of the rich being held accountable. Chief Prosecutor Ri became a household name overnight and speculation of a bid for higher office had run rampant ever since. That the chief prosecutor had also lost his oldest son in a tragic military accident only made the narrative more compelling for the press.

Yoon Jeung-pyeong hated the chief prosecutor with every fiber of his being; he still blamed him for his conviction rather than his own actions. Six weeks ago he had called the family together and announced Se-ri as his successor to rehabilitate the image of Queens Group. It should have been the most triumphant moment of her life: standing in a room with her brothers and finally being good enough. But the momentary exhilaration of winning had soon dissipated. Se-ri was filled with a strange dread over assuming his mantle; as if it were a shroud instead.

Despite this upheaval, Se-ri had found herself at the end of each day wondering about the son of the man who had turned her family's life upside down. Did Ri Jeong-heyok think about her the way she did him? Se-ri had stayed that day for him and yet he had pulled away. A lifetime with her family had made rejection a familiar but bitter pill. But while she could not bring herself to reach out, Se-ri had asked the universe to bring Jeong-hyeok back into her life somehow.

And then came the call that "Agent Ri" was downstairs. She had known instantly that it was him. He had the audacity to show up at her door in that trench coat looking like some kind of debonair action hero. It had taken every measure of self control that she could muster to act nonplussed while mentally cursing his upturned collar.

Now, Jeong-hyeok was in the dining room reviewing protocols with her security division. For a moment, he had looked like a deer in the headlights when Deputy Director Kim accepted her proposal. But then he had sprung into action — focused and absolutely in command. She had spent only twenty four hours with this man and yet fierce protection seemed to be his default instinct. Se -ri could hear Jeong- hyeok's calm and authoritative voice from down the hall. Once the security division returned to their posts, they would be alone. Did the idea of being alone together thrill and terrify him all at once the way it did her? What should I say to him? Hi, why did you almost kiss me and then never call? She rolled her eyes at herself.

Then ten security officers then filled the hallway.

"Chairwoman Yoon, we have gone over the security protocols with Agent Ri and have a plan in place with the agency. Will you be needing anything else at this time?"