UNKNOWN GUEST

#53 Movie Night And Regrouping

 After a moment, Helen pulled away, she cleared her throat and avoided my gaze, her cheeks slightly flushed. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of her trying to compose herself. "You alright?" I asked, my voice soft with concern.

She nodded, but I caught the faint sound of a sniffle. "Helen, are you crying?" I teased gently.

She quickly shook her head, though her expression betrayed her. "No," she insisted, but her hand instinctively went to the corners of her eyes. "My makeup is gonna be ruined," she added with a small sigh, clearly trying to shift the focus.

I fumbled through the pockets of my jeans and jacket, hoping to find a napkin, but came up empty-handed. "Ah... seems like I forgot my napkin," I admitted, feeling a bit useless.

She frowned slightly but then, with a playful glint in her eye, reached for my tie. "Is it okay?" she asked, but before I could even nod, she was already using the tie to dab at the smudged mascara beneath her eyes.

Don't ask me how to breathe in moments like these because I genuinely forgot. I mean, can you blame me? She was wiping her eyes with my tie, and all I could think about was how close she was. I could see every little detail—the way the tip of her nose flared, the moisture in her brown orbs, the way her lashes fluttered slightly as she tried to fix the mess. It was such a simple, intimate gesture, and yet it had me completely tongue-tied.

Once she was done, she let go of the tie with a satisfied sigh and looked up at me. "Movie is on me, popcorn is on you," she declared, a smile breaking through her earlier flustered demeanor.

I nodded, still a bit dazed. "As you wish."

The movie was great, even better than I expected. The characters' struggles and growth were portrayed with such depth, it was no surprise it won the Academy Award. As we strolled out of the theater, a comforting silence settled between us, despite the soft snowfall gently covering the city. I sighed and turned to Helen, feeling a mix of emotions I couldn't quite name.

"Helen, I have something to tell you," I said, maybe too abruptly because I saw her body tense up as if she was bracing herself. I cleared my throat, realizing how my words might've sounded, and reached into my coat pocket. Her eyes widened in alarm.

"What are you—" she started, but then she exhaled in relief when she saw the card in my hand instead of whatever she'd imagined.

I smirked, teasing her a little. "What? Are you disappointed it's just a card?"

She rolled her eyes at me, clearly unimpressed by my attempt at humor. I handed her the business card, watching as her expression shifted from confusion to something else as she read it. Her eyes flicked up to mine, narrowing slightly.

"Jason, were you job hunting for me?" she asked, half-serious.

I shook my head quickly. "Not exactly. You know Stark Industries funds a lot of charity organizations, including hospitals. So, I asked Mr. Stark if he knew of any hospitals that might need an excellent doctor who's an expert in tissue engineering."

She just looked at me for a moment, a soft smile forming on her lips before she shook her head. "Thank you for trying to help me, Jason. But... I've already accepted an offer. If everything goes well in the final meeting, I'll be hired."

"Where?" I asked, curious but trying not to let my thoughts run wild.

"Here in NYC," she said with a nod, but then her expression shifted slightly. "But there's a good chance I could be relocated to Seoul."

I wasn't sure how to feel about that. My first thought was that she had turned down my effort, but that didn't bother me much. What got me was the realization that she might be leaving. The idea of her moving away, possibly for good, left a weird feeling in my chest. I tried to smile, even though it felt a little forced.

"That's fantastic," I said, trying to sound as supportive as I could. "I mean, you get a chance to return home, to work in a more familiar place. I hope the final meeting goes well."

She grinned, her face lighting up. "That's what I thought too. Honestly, I'm really glad to be around my family while working at the same time."

She paused then, something shifting in her eyes as she looked at me more closely. "And... I'm definitely confident that it's possible all because of you to a large extent. I would've quit my passion, my dream, just because of some failures and rejections. Because of you... I started looking for more. When one door closed, I searched for a few more windows, and I found one, a great one."

I felt a bit uncomfortable with her words, unsure how to respond to such sincere gratitude. But she wasn't finished.

"I don't know how you predicted everything so accurately, and I won't even ask about it," she continued, her voice steady. "I just want to say—thank you. Thank you so much, Jason. You came to me out of the blue, but you came as a ray of hope when I was about to get lost in darkness. Thank you."

I cleared my throat, trying to lighten the moment with a chuckle. "Well, it's all your hard work. You don't need to thank me."

I parked the car in Uncle Clint's garage and turned off the engine, but my mind was still lingering in Times Square. Leaning back in the seat, I let out a long sigh. Helen said she'd let me know when she was leaving. She's leaving for good, and I can't change that, even if I wanted to. Do I even have the right to?

Abandonment—it's a feeling I know all too well. Everyone leaves eventually, and now Dr. Cho is too. It's as if I'm destined to watch people walk away while I'm stuck behind, unable to move. Just when I thought I'd found a really good friend, everything came crashing down. What a wonderful present for Christmas.

Soon, the day came when Dr. Cho would be leaving—December 29th, three days before the New Year. She called, asking if I was in New York City, but I lied and said I wasn't. I figured she wanted to say goodbye. Before hanging up, I added, "We'll meet in a few months." That's it. That's all we said.

The next few days passed in a blur. Uncle Tony called me to the Stark Tower, though I wasn't sure why. Apparently, Maria Hill, who manages Stark Tech, had to go on a 'vacation,' which I knew was code for a meeting with Fury at some secret location. So, I had to step in and handle the management for a while.

One fine afternoon, Uncle Tony and I were in his lab, working on something I didn't have the focus to care about, when a loud noise came from the roof, accompanied by a shower of light rays. I didn't need to guess—Thor was here.

A few moments later, Thor barged into the lab, his voice booming, "Stark!"

Uncle Tony waved at him without looking up from his work, "Hi there, hammer man!"

Thor didn't even blink at the nickname, his expression urgent. "We need to find the scepter," he said, his tone deadly serious.

Tony and I exchanged confused glances. "The scepter?" I asked.

Thor nodded, his face grim. "My brother Loki's spear. Some human being on your planet has it. And you know what they can do with it."

The room felt colder all of a sudden. Uncle Tony and I shared a knowing look, the weight of the situation settling over us like a heavy cloak. He let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Should we call them?"

I nodded, feeling the familiar knot of tension forming in my stomach. "Regroup the Avengers."

Uncle Tony sighed again, the gravity of it all hitting him too. "The Avengers," he echoed, his voice carrying a mix of resolve and exhaustion.

Guess what's coming next?