Worlds Apart - Taekook - Book 2

Laying The Groundwork

"Are you sure? What will you do?" Emi asks her husband.

"Have you paid any attention to the facilities they have here?" Han-Shik responds.

"It doesn't matter what Lotte offer if you'd rather not be alone."

"I have no problem being alone, it's normal for me."

"Han-Shik, I will stay if you want me to?"

"I want you to go... Emi, I've heard your calls to Jara, this is important to you, you have been looking forward to it, go." He sits on the couch in their premium suite that boasted a large lounge area with a dining room table, couch and glorious views over the city.

They'd checked in, showered and Han-Shik was relaxing in loose Gucci trousers, shirtless, towel dried hair, whiskey in hand. The laptop on the coffee table was glaring at him but he could overlook it for now, while he caught up with the baseball scores on tv.

"All that I'm saying is that if you would rather I stayed here, I would... we could get dinner delivered to the suite?"

"I think the question is, 'do you want to go?' because it sounds to me like you're looking for a way out... I'm not going to be that person for you unless you tell me that's what you need."

Emi looks up at the doorway from where she is crouched on the floor of the bathroom sorting through her vanity case. She can't see her husband and she goes quiet while she thinks about what he's said to her. She'd enjoyed travelling to Seoul with him, they'd had a lot of quiet time where silences were comfortable. Emi didn't count herself as a clingy person but she'd found herself hanging onto Han-Shik more often than she'd like. The wedding was a big deal! She was slightly on edge because every time the brothers were together, Han-Shik caused some kind of upset so it rarely ended well and she didn't want that to happen this time. Emi took positives from recent messages and calls between the siblings where they appeared to be okay but this trip would be a real test for her husband, given that he wasn't Taehyung's biggest fan.

It wasn't JUST Taehyung. The whole friendship group would be attending the wedding and she was sure that everyone knew that Taehyung's brother-in-law didn't like him. That meant that the friends would have a preconceived opinion of Han-Shik... Emi couldn't disagree with whatever it was they thought of him, given his previous antics but she hoped that they would still be open to giving him a chance.

Emi knew how excited Jara was, to have the whole family together. It would be a momentous occasion, to have all three brothers and their partners together, plus Jara's parents. It was set to be a first because Jungkook had been missing from their original wedding and Emi knew that Han-Shik barely remembered a thing so he'd obviously been present in body only.

"I do want to go. I'm nervous. All the girls will be there." she explains.

"You've got girlfriends. These people are just more of them?"

Emi rolls her eyes, finally finding the lip gloss she was looking for. "These are new people who matter, Han-Shik. I've known my girlfriends for years, it's not the same thing."

"After today, they won't be new."

"I want to get along with them. I want to fit in. It's important."

"If they don't like you there's something wrong with them and they aren't worth knowing."

Emi decides to give up on the conversation because she was wasting her time. There wasn't any point trying to explain when it was obvious that Han-Shik didn't seem to value any relationship or connection outside of their marriage.

Did he truly care about that?

Emi felt he did. She'd seen the progress and witnessed his vulnerability. She doubted that there were many who had seen that side of Han-Shik and he was different with her than he was with others. She'd visited him once at Yang corporation and when the office door closed, leaving them alone, he visibly softened. He looked pleased to see her and he was so relaxed when they were together at home. This Seoul trip was a test for their relationship and how far they'd come as much as it was a test for the progressing connection between the three brothers.