This is the fourth story in the Undone series.
This is Jung Hoseok's time to shine.
He is taking control of a new project at Stellar Design, and he has decided it's time to take control of his love life as well. He is weary of being alone, and he...
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Hobi took a minute to think when he got to the memories of the Governor’s Banquet. He seldom allowed himself to think about that night. It truly hurt too much.
Seeing Izzy tonight, standing close enough to hold her, fighting the urge to kiss her,, it all came flooding back in vivid detail.
Jimin watched his friend’s face glow as he described the banquet, the surprise of the awards, the time with his family, Izzy's smile.
Then Hobi stopped and drew a deep breath. He downed the contents of his wine glass and poured another. Jimin watched, knowing the next part of the story was still too raw for Hobi, especially after seeing Isabelle tonight.
Squaring his shoulders, he told Jimin about that night.
He shared no details, keeping her taste and her sighs and her sweet love a sacred secret for himself. But in the end he did not have to share those facts for Jimin to know.
Jimin watched as the color drained from Hobi's face and his fingers turned white from the grip on the wine glass.
Joy, pain, and regret tumbled across his face as he told Jimin it was a night he would never forget.
Then he shared how the bliss had been replaced by confusion and chaos, ripping Isabelle from him in a storm beyond the control of either of them.
Jimin was dismayed to hear Olivia's name added to the mix again.
“That’s were it all went wrong, again" Hobi confessed, his face shadowed by his thoughts.
“ We never talked about it. She avoided me for that whole week, refusing to answer my calls or texts, then acted like it never happened. I guess she was….” He took a deep breath, “ ashamed to be with me….or regretted it…..or...”
Hobi sat staring at his hands, trying for once more to determine what happened. Like countless times before him, he found no answer.
“ Hobi,” Jimin asked gently, “ The girl you knew then, the one you spent all that time with, the one who was your best friend…was she the type of woman who would be ashamed to be in a relationship with you?”
Hobi shook his head “no" immediately.
“ No,” Jimim said, “ and she was young, but you were so close, and knowing you I am sure you were meticulous about consent, knowing she was ready for that step, protecting her.”
Hobi flushed as he remembered the details, how sure she had been, the tender way she had touched him, the way she had freely and beautifully given herself to him.
He did not even have to answer, it was all over his face..
“ Yes,” Jimin said, “ And Olivia …”
Hobi nodded, the guilt and regret rising like bile at the thought.
“ You never talked about it?” Jimin asked.
“ No, she left right after graduation. She told me that day she had the internship with the same firm. I hugged her and promised we would talk soon. She left…with her boyfriend and I stood there like an idiot thinking it was just two months, two months and then I could make everything right.” The words spilled as Hobi remembered those last moments.
“But then, something happened over the summer and she was transferred to the LA branch of the firm. She called me in late August. I could tell she had been crying, but Izzy always was the one to try to make everything OK."
" She said we would still be working on projects together and that she might get flown out frequently for conferencing."
"I hated myself for bringing it up, but I asked about her boyfriend. She paused forever, and then said something like maybe she could catch up with me when she came to visit him. I went on a weekend bender after that- still can’t drink cheap American whiskey," Hobi paused.
Jimin nodded his sympathy.
“Olivia moved to the city. She was staying in her aunt's apartment while her aunt went to live on some island with her boyfriend. She had trouble making friends at the firm and soon we were spending a lot of time together.”
At Jimin’s frown he shook his head.
“ Friends only. I am slow but not stupid. Olivia is a habit that wears you thin quickly."
"She tried to get me to move into the apartment with her. I did spend a lot of weekends there, but all I could think was how hurt Izzy would be if she came to visit and we were living together."
" It didn’t matter to Olivia, she told whatever story was convenient when people asked about us.”
“So, did Izzy visit?” Jimin asked, trying to fit the rest of the puzzle together waiting for Hobi to share in his own time.
Hobi shook his head, “No, they kept us both busy and allowed us to work on several projects together, but always said she would remain based out of LA. But she didn’t….”
Hobi stopped and drained the second glass of wine. He closed his eyes and bowed his head.
This next part had hurt him deeply. It was the reason he returned home.
At times he felt he had solved the riddle, and other times he refused to believe that either or both Izzy and Olivia would betray him like that.
Jimin watched his friend shut down. Whatever had happened next was too hard for him to talk about- at least for now.
Jimin reached and put his hand on Hobi's shoulder, a silent promise passing between them.
He hesitated a moment and decided to take the chance.
“Hobi, it is clear that what is between you is unfinished. I don’t believe in coincidence. You have been given this chance. Talk to her. Find “ it" again. Make something new, just don’t let her go this time,” he said.
Hobi looked at his best friend and saw the wisdom of his own experiences and regrets coloring his advice.
Jimin was right, he had never hoped to see Izzy again, yet tonight he stood inches from her.
They had shared dinner and built new memories. She had laughed with him, been at ease in his company. It was a start.
Taking away all the past complications, their friendship was still there, right there for them to take and renew. It is where they had started the first time. It was where he would start again.
Jimin watched the color flood Hobi's face and saw the spark ignite from deep within him.
He knew that look.
From this moment Jung Hoseok’s fierce laser focus would be aimed at Izabelle Walker.
Good luck to her in resisting that!
The bar began to close around them and Hobi checked the time.
“Still early old man,” Jimin teased, “ and we are still regrettably sober! I know another place….”
Hobi stopped him with a brilliant smile. “ No regrets tonight. It is late and I am hoping for a call tomorrow. I offered to show an old friend around the neighborhood.”
Jimin stood and slung on his coat, both of them ignoring the hungry looks of the women watching them leave the bar.
Hobi laughed at the compliment, thinking Taehyung a year ago would have made a much more daring offer to a woman that interested him.
All that had changed for him now with Sky in his life. That was exactly the type of change Hobi was wishing for his own life.
Jimin gave him a brief hug as his own car pulled alongside Hobi's waiting one.
“ Thank you,” Hobi whispered, once again grateful for the friendship of this beautiful man.
Jimin's response was a wink and nod before he moved to fold himself into his car, all rhythmic grace and confidence.
Hobi spared a wish and a prayer for Jimin's happiness too. He had Roni now and his own shot at a changed life.
Hobi buzzed with memories the short drive home, his talk with Jimin opening the floodgates of things he had almost forgotten.
When he finally sank into bed it was with thoughts of Izzy lingering in his mind. But tonight was different than the times in the past.
Tonight he drifted asleep dreaming of Izzy as he had seen her tonight, soft and warm and safely tucked into bed a few miles from where he lay rather than a few thousand.
