A man, nicely dressed in a blue suit entered the office after Jihyo. Gary stood rooted at the spot next to the sofa, staring at the familiar face. His eyes narrowed, and his expression hardened. From the hard glare that he was sending him, it was needless to say that he wasn't pleased to see him here.
"Why didn't you tell me that you're here?" Jihyo asked.
"I did. Check your phone." Gary looked at her a moment, and answered and shifted his focus back to the man as he made his way over to Jihyo.
"I didn't bring my phone along to the meeting." Jihyo replied, noticing the way his fists were clenched tight at his sides.
She glanced back and forth between both guys and came to realise why Gary was getting so tensed up.
"It has been awhile, Kang Gary ssi." The man slid one hand out from his pocket and extended it towards him for a handshake.
Gary looked down at the man's hand and then back at him. "Yes, it has, Gwon ssi." He returned the handshake, and squeezed his hand as hard as he could.
If Gwon was in pain, he was definitely hiding it well. He gave him a slight smirk as they finally released each other's hands.
"Thanks for the warm welcome." Gwon said.
"My pleasure," Gary replied,with equal sarcasm.
Gwon break his stare from Gary and turned to Jihyo, "Jihyo ssi, since you aren't free today then let's discuss it some other time." He took out his name card and held it out to her. Gary intercepted and took it from him before she had a chance to do so.
She threw Gary a quick warning glance but he paid no attention to it.
Unfazed by his action, Gwon smiled and bid them goodbye. Just as he stepped out of the room, he stopped in his tracks and turned around, "by the way, congratulations on your marriage." His eyes shifted from Jihyo to Gary. A smirk appeared across his face as he turned around, walking away with confident strides.
Gary waited till they were alone before he started speaking.
"Why were you with him?" He shot her a serious look and questioned.
Jihyo closed the door and turned around to face him. "We had a meeting. There's a new project coming up and he's our business partner."
"Tell Syun that you won't be in charge of this project." He said flatly, hiding the anger in his voice.
Her forehead creased with a frown. "Just because of your past feud with him and you want me to reject this project?"
"You saw the way he treated me in the past. He had his eyes on you. He was determined to make my life miserable, and now, with you working with him, I feel uneasy about it."
"You don't trust me?"
Gary shook his head and looked at her, his expression softened. "I don't trust him."
She held his gaze and stood there quietly for a moment.
"I know you hate him but this is business. When I first knew that I'll be working with him, I wasn't happy with it too but work is work and I just had to do it."
"You're still going to work with him no matter what I say, right?" Jihyo kept silent.
"Forget it. I'll wait for you at the basement car park." He said, and leave the name card on her table.
Her gaze followed him as he walked through the door and disappear from her sight. As she picked up the name card, she noticed the paper bag sitting on the table beside it. She peered inside, and was surprised to see a flower pot with a mixture of her favourite flowers - lavender, white roses and baby breaths. In her heart, she was truly happy to receive it but as she looked towards the door where Gary walked out from, she couldn't help but to let out a soft sigh.
***
Jihyo came down from her office and headed towards the car. Upon opening the car door, the acrid smell of cigarette smoke wafted towards her. She entered the car and shut the door. Though the windows were wound down, the smell of the pungent tobacco combined with the air freshener in the car was making her feel sick.
She nudged him and gave him a frown as he turned to look at her.
"I thought you will take some time before coming down. Sorry." He apologized then flicked the half-smoke cigarette out of the car window.
"I saw the flowers. Thank you." She leaned in to kiss him but he back away. She was more than stun to see that reaction from him.
"I smell of cigarette." He said quietly as he start the car engine. Turning her head away from him, she pursed her lips into a straight line and sat back in her seat and snapped on her seatbelt.
When they returned home, Jihyo took out the pot of flowers from the bag and placed it in the middle of their coffee table. She went into the kitchen and opened the door of the fridge, taking out a packet of meat, kimchi and some leftover rice. She closed the door of the fridge and was startled to see Gary standing behind. He was in a fresh set of clothes.
"Are you going somewhere?" She asked, shifting her gaze to the car key in his hand.
"I won't be having dinner tonight. I'm meeting Sung Ji." He replied.
"Oh.." She mumbled then looked away and settled the items that she took out from the fridge onto the counter. "Go ahead. I'll settle my own dinner." She continued while looking down at the counter.
"I won't be back early." He told her and she just respond with a nod. She heard the door close a minute later.
She swallowed hard and slowly lifted her head. Gary has never treated her that way before. Even if he tries to hide it, she knew clearly from his actions that he was upset and she has never seen him being so mad about something.
With no appetite and the mood to prepare dinner for herself, she kept the meat in the freezer, then open the door to the chiller compartment and stored the kimchi and rice back inside. She tore off a piece of paper from the memo pad stuck to the fridge and scribbled on it. She wedged the edge of the paper under the pot of flowers in the living room and then return to her bedroom.
That night, she sat on the bed, watching the hours goes by as she waited for Gary to come back. When she heard the soft melody which sounded when the door opened, she quickly switched off the bedside lights and pulled the blanket over her body.
Not aware that Jihyo had been waiting for him the whole night, Gary stepped in and headed to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of iced water. He rested on the sofa in the living room, tilting his head back and closed his eyes for a brief moment.
He caught sight of the paper on the coffee table as he bent forward to take his cup. He picked it up to take a closer look.
Mianhae.
He placed the paper back at the exact same spot, washed his cup and went to the bedroom. He quietly climbed onto the bed but instead of lying down, he sat there and silently stared at her backview for a few seconds.
He moved his arm towards her back but stopped when he suddenly heard her voice. "You're mad at me?" Jihyo asked, her voice sounded a little raspy from the lack of use.
Gary clenched his hand into a fist and drew back his arm. He laid down on the bed, back facing against hers. "Why are you still awake? I'm tired. Let's talk tomorrow." He replied and covered himself with the remaining half of the blanket.
She bit the bottom of her lips, trying hard not to cry but somehow the tears still managed to escape from her eyes.
"Good night.." she mumbled to him.
