"Taehyung, what are you doing? You're going to get shot!"
"So you do care about me."
The very second he turns to say that, the gun goes off and he makes a run for it. Haneul starts wailing, Taehyung is on his knees clutching his side and I'm in shoc...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
chapter thirty: keep your promise
I WINCE AS the nurse tightens the bandage, forcing her into apologising profusely.
I assure her that it's fine and she finally leaves, leaving me with some peace and quiet suitable enough to start planning.
The details Jackson gave me are on a sheet of paper I placed in my phone case. I feel so jittery my limbs might just start shaking with the rest of me. I just need answers.
The negotiation is at Lefke in about three days. If I book my plane ticket now, I'll be on the next plane before you could say-
"Aera!" A voice, though out of breath, manages to yell.
"Who's there?" I ask, trying to keep the fear out of my voice as I reach over to the emergency call button.
"Aera, it's me." The voice heaves, possibly dying for oxygen to flow into their lungs as a shadow proceeds into my cubicle. I hold my breath, ready to scream loudly.
"It's me, it's me, you don't need to do that," Taehyung begs quietly, grasping my hands and hovering over me.
A new feeling takes over and I find enough adrenaline-induced strength in me to push him away. He stumbles to the ground, wincing as he holds his side in pain.
"Get out," I say.
"Please, hear me out. I-"
"No! Nurse! Nurse!"
"Shh, stop it!" He clambers up again and covers my mouth with one hand, looking into the corridor to make sure that nobody is there. "Do you really think I'd run the entire mile you drove here for fun?!"
I smile, pushing his hand away. "I'd be careful with the way you're speaking to me if I were you. Let's not forget what I know."
"Aera, I need to come with you."
"No! I don't want to be near you. You disgust me and make me feel physically sick. I could throw up right now!" I start to dry heave to be petty and it works. He recoils and takes a couple steps backwards.
"Jackson will kill you for real if I'm not there. He knows I know enough to make the negotiation work. Just let me come with you."
"No. What use will it be to you if I survive? How do you know I don't want him to kill me? We both know you don't care." I mutter.
"And we both know that's not true." He sighs. "Look at me. It's my wedding day too, for goodness sake."
"Just leave me alone, Taehyung. Go away and go prance around with your murderer of a brother. You're both the same anyway."
"Is that what Jackson told you?" He asks.
I turn away. "That doesn't matter."
Much to my surprise, I feel him take one of my hands into his. His other, quite cold one, grasps my cheek, forcing me to face him. I decide not to give him what he wants and look up instead.
"Look at me, Aera, come on."
At first, I ignore him. But he softly continues to coax me until I have no choice but to obey as it is the only way to make him shut up and go away.
"I'm sorry." He takes in a deep breath. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. He promised he'd tell you himself but I should've known. He can be really sadistic at times and very selfish. I just want you to know that I'm not like that."
"You promise?" I can't help but ask.
"I promise" He whispers. And much to my surprise, he opens his arms wide. At first, I don't understand what he was trying to do. But after I see him nod, I carefully lean forward and let him envelop me in his natural body warmth.
It's not so comforting, but I'll admit it makes me feel better. It may even increase the chances of me accepting his apology.
"So," He awkwardly clears his throat after I pull away. "May I join you?"
"I need to get tickets first."
He smiles a little and I roll my eyes. "Don't think this means you're forgiven. It'll take more than a hug."
His smile fades and I pull out my phone again.
"Wow, you already found plane tickets?"
"Yep. They're pretty cheap."
"Or we could just fly free on mine?" He suggests.
But I disagree, shaking my head. "I want to fly in a normal plane."
"My jet is a normal plane."
I groan. "I don't want to fly with you alone, okay?! I want other people there."
He opens his mouth again and I interrupt him.
"People other than the staff."
We end up planning the rest of the trip up until the nurse walks in to give me my medication before I'm discharged. It takes one look at Taehyung to have him administered to the trauma section. He wasn't too injured though, so he has prescribed pills too and we ended up going home together.
The drive was silent, but not awkward. It left me to myself and him to his.
I watched him from the corner of my eye as he focused his attention solely on the road before him. I'm about to travel alone with him.
So, how do I know I can trust him?
He was open with me just now. He apologised for keeping something from me, but I know there's a lot more. I could see the millions of words he was holding back from spewing out to me back in that cubicle.
And I'll admit, it hurts. It hurts that he can't just be honest with me even though we're married now. Yes, it's out of convenience, but it doesn't change the way it's supposed to be.
My fingernails dig into my palms as the same question runs through my mind.
Why can't he just trust me?
"You doing okay, Aera?" He asks, briefly glancing in my direction. "You look a bit tense."
I shake my head a little. "No, no. I'm fine. Just a little nervous."
He chuckles. "Oh, you don't need to be. I'll be with you and I'll direct you, so you should be fine, okay?"
