The Age Of Love

Thirteen - First Session

Before you start reading this chapter let me remind you this again--Jeong Hyeok's feelings are valid. Se Ri's feelings are valid. Enjoy ❤

They sat in silence, his knee bouncing nervously. He let his eyes trail around the room. It looked more like a spa than a professional office. The chairs were plush and comfortable. The walls were painted dark, calming grey, decorated with abstract art in shades of silver and blue. A waterfall adorned the wall between the waiting room and the office. He supposed it helped to drown out any yelling that would undoubtedly occur during the course of an appointment.

Despite the fact that the room was clearly designed to help elicit maximum zen, Jeong Hyeok felt his breakfast churning in his stomach. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous. It's not like he'd never spilt his deepest, darkest thoughts to a stranger before.

But this was different. Back then he was trying to move on from everything he'd lost. And now he was trying to hold on to one thing he wasn't sure he'd ever really had.

Jeong Hyeok's hand began to reach out to grip the one next to him, but he stopped himself, snatching the appendage back to safety. The door opened and a woman stepped out. She looked to be about their age. She was dressed simply in cropped pants, a fitted t-shirt and a suit jacket and she wore her hair naturally.

"Ri Jeong Hyeok and Yoon Se Ri?" she asked.

Jeong Hyeok took a deep breath and stood. Se Ri got up with him and started across the room, but he hesitated. He wanted to walk through that door, but something was stopping him. On that other side of the door lay hope. Hope in the future for him and Se Ri. Hope to build a real family.

But that was the problem. Because out here, there was hope. But if he walked through that door and they couldn't figure their shit out, then he wouldn't have that anymore.

But what good was hope if you never acted on it? So he squared his shoulders and followed her after.

"Please, have a seat." the woman mentioned to the sofa-- a light grey with bright blue throw pillows to match the throw rug on the floor. They sat and she took a seat in the armchair across from them.

"Welcome, I'm Park Seo Yeon," she introduced, picking her glasses up off the side table and putting them on so she could read in front of her, probably containing the contents of the initial paperwork they'd filled out and e-mailed in. It had been pretty basic-- standard identifying information, insurance info, a few personal questions like marital status, occupation, children but not much else. Jeong Hyeok figured she wanted to get to know them in person, rather than starting off with preconceptions. After a second she looked up and glanced at them.

"You just had a daughter," she said with a genuine smile.

Jeong Hyeok immediately felt a weight lift off his shoulders at the thought of his little girl. "Eun Jung," he confirmed. "She's four weeks old and already lifting her head on her own. And man, she can grip a pinky like nobody's business."

"You sound like a proud appa," Seo Yeon observed. Jeong Hyeok smiled. God, he missed his daughter already.

"He is," he heard Se Ri say. He turned to look at her and she had a bittersweet smile. "He's practically obsessed. And Eun Jung loves him so much too. She's definitely gonna be an appa's girl."

"That's wonderful," Seo Yeon beamed. "The father-daughter relationship is such a formative one. But with a new baby sometimes it is very time-consuming. It's good that the two of you are making time for your relationship."

"Oh-- Umm... well... we're not... we weren't... I mean... It's complicated." Se Ri stuttered.

Seo Yeon looked back and forth between them, her eyes seeming to land on the space between them. She nodded, a comforting smile on her face. "You're not together?" she confirmed. There was no judgement in her voice.