The next day when Haneul reached his office, he saw an envelope on his desk, it was a resignation letter. He opened it up and let out a small laugh, "Ash Tuan..you're really something else.." he whispered as he signed the letter and called Tania in his office.
"yes sir? is everything alright?" she asked, making her way inside
"yes, everything is alright, uh, this person wants to resign, I've signed it since this was lying on my desk, but make sure you tell the other newbies that I don't manage these things.." he ordered as he handed her Ash's resignation letter, then he turned towards his computer, "also, please send in the budget file of the hospital under construction in Jinsari.." he looked at Tania when he heard no reply, "are you listening to me, miss Tania?" he asked
"yes sir, I'm listening. SH, isn't this Ash's resignation letter? did something happen between you two? why would she suddenly quit like this?" Tania asked
"she's a doctor, she should be focusing on working in the hospital, this office lifestyle didn't suit her anyways.." Haneul replied
"but didn't she come here to take care of you?" Tania asked, with a wicked smile
Haneul thought for a moment before he spoke, her smile confused him, "she came here for another reason, I guess she achieved her goal.."
"what might that be? seducing you? she sure did that didn't she?" Tania let out a huff
Haneul smirked, he nodded, he was understanding her now, "I knew something was off when Ash told me that things had cooled down between the both of you..poor Ash, she trusts people so easily and ends up getting hurt, again and again..when will she ever learn her lesson?" Haneul took out a file and started looking through it
"do you really think Ash is all that good? You don't even love her! why would you marry her?! She's not even pretty! how did she manage to seduce you with her looks?!" Tania asked agressively
Haneul got up from his seat, "I've had enough of this trash talk! Why isn't Ash pretty? I think she's beautiful! I love her wheaty colour! I love her glistening eyes! her adorable nose, her tiny body, which has the strength to lift up even an elephant..I love her hair which never seems to grow lower than her shoulders. Why isn't she beautiful? she's smart, kind hearted, loving, caring, giving, a little eccentric, with a bad temper and explosive anger, she's creative..she's modest and her being beautiful is an added advantage..why wouldn't I marry her?" Haneul asked
Tania shook her head, "because you don't love her! she doesn't love you!" Tania held haneuls arm but he pulled it away
"I might fall in love with her, we're still getting to know each other..even though we've known each other for 5-6 years now..but this time, I'll seriously think of her as my potential wife..for now, Miss Tania, you should start looking for jobs in other companies, please. For all your hard work I can give you two weeks to look around and resign yourself..that's the most I can do for you, considering your efforts put into your work." he turned away from her and walked towards the window, he could hear the muffled sobs, honestly, he didn't want to go this far, he didn't want to hurt anyone but that's how it turned out.
"SIR!" Hyun came running in his office, "sir, there has been a problem.." he went quiet when he saw Tania leaving Haneuls cabin, crying.
"What is it?" Haneul asked, gaining his attention again
"oh right.." he took a deep breath, "sir..he called." Hyun said, as he closed the door behind him, "he called on your other phone, he said he wants to talk to you.."
Haneul's face turned pale, "he got out?" he asked breathlessly
"..I'm afraid so..he got bailed out, there's someone behind him sir..someone powerful..he won't back out this time..what should we do?" Hyun asked
Haneul grabbed the corner of his chair as his legs felt weak, "I'll meet him..tell him to meet me at the warehouse and..Hyun.." Haneul turned to look at Hyun, "for sometime, I think, you should take your family away, to England or America or anywhere in Europe, I don't want you or your family to get involved in this.." he explained
"but sir! I cannot let you handle this problem all alone when it's not your problem to begin with!" Hyun retaliated
"Hyun, it's too dangerous..tell me where you want to go and I'll book tickets for the first flight..France? you always wanted to go there didn't you? I'll send you there, go enjoy a nice family holiday there and come back when everything's sorted out here.." Haneul ordered
"BUT STILL SIR!" Hyun shouted
"Hyun, nobody here knows anything about you..they're probably already curious as to who you are, they might be listening, nobody knows, so please..listen to me..please..I promised to take care of it, didn't I? so please trust me, protect your family.." Haneul took his phone, wallet and car keys and walked out of his cabin with Hyun next to him
"Jung, I'll be leaving early, I have an appointment, make sure everybody leaves on time, no overwork, okay?" with that he left the office
"Hyun, go take your family to the airport..I'll arrange the tickets and send them over.." Haneul said as he gave Hyun his car keys
"but sir, I cannot possibly leave you here alone.." Hyun said, pushing Haneuls hand away
"Hyun, I've always thought of you as my little brother..I would've done the same for Joon, please go.." Haneul insisted
"..thank you Haneul..thank you, even though you're younger than me..you've always given me the love and care like that of an elder brother.." Hyun hugged Haneul, "I'll never be able to repay you for your kindness..never.."
Haneul patted his back, "I'll find a way for you to do that! now go..say hi to my sister-in-law and your little princess!" Haneul waved his hand as he walked off towards the bus stop.
He got on the bus and the first thing he did was call Joon,
"Joon.." Haneul went quiet, looking outside the window, it was raining,
"what is it bro?" Joon asked
"hm?" Haneul asked tracing the raindrops, "I just wanted to tell you that if you ever have a problem, you can just lean back on me..Don't be afraid to fall back because I'll be there to hold you. Trust your big brother." Haneul said
"what happened bro? why so suddenly..?" Joon asked, a little confusion clear in his voice
"..nothing really, I just thought I needed to tell you that, even though..we didn't get to spend most of our lives with each other but I've always kept you in my prayers and I always wished for you and mum and dad to return someday..a part of my wish came true, I'm really thankful for that..I just.." Haneul smiled a little, "never want to lose someone I love ..I'll go to the ends of the world to protect the ones I love.." he whispered
"Thank you bro...I'll keep that in mind.." Joon replied
"that's right..oh! I gotta go, I was on my way to the hospital to meet Ash, I've reached there, tell grandma I said hi, I'll visit someday when I find time.." with that he pocketed his phone and got off the bus.
He had no idea whether it was the stop he had to get off on or not, but he was too shy to hop back in, so he decided to walk the rest of the way.
"it's hard without the navigation system..this is bad, I've forgotten how it felt to walk around in the streets, it's raining as well.." he took his phone out and called Ash, but she was avoiding his calls
so he sent a text, "I'm lost..I don't know where I am, can you come rescue me if you're free right now?"
when no reply came he sent another text, "I'm standing in front of this grocery store with a huge cup of instant noodles displayed upfront..."
He suddenly stopped when he realized something, he remembered where he was. He went inside the grocery shop,
He looked around and walked towards the seating area next to the window, he stared at it for a while and smiled
He saw himself and Ash sitting there, Ash was wearing a beautiful gown and both of them were slurping down noodles like anything. He let out a laugh, he remembered how pretty she looked that night.
"do you want to buy something from here?" a warm voice asked from behind
Haneul smiled on hearing that voice, "the time spent here..if I could relive-"
"sorry, we don't sell that here.." an old man laughed
Haneul turned around and saw an old man who was apparently the owner
He bowed and greeted, "I'm sorry I thought I was talking to myself.." Haneul explained himself
"hahahaha..you cannot get back the time but you can make now memorable..you can make today special and tomorrow even special..the noodles are on me!" the man exclaimed
"oh it's really alright sir, I'm just.." he stopped when he saw Ash walking inside the store
"oh it's Ash!" he exclaimed as his hand automatically started waving
"what are you doing here?" she asked, in the most annoyed tone ever
"I'm..uh..here to have some noodles with you..like the old times.." he said, grabbing her hand and making her sit next to him
"I'm not hungry.." she replied
"..I didn't have breakfast.." Haneul said, rubbing his stomach with a pout. What was he doing.
"you must be really hungry to act like that, fine..but hurry up, I need to go somewhere.." Ash replied
"where? hospital?" he asked, as he brought the noodles and uncovered them for Ash and gave her the chopsticks
"..none of your business.." she simply said as she took a big bite.
"..oh..okay.." Haneul said disappointedly as he ate his noodles.
All you could hear was the sound of the rain and Haneul slurping
~
"Thank you so much for the noodles sir..I had a lot of fun, after so long..thank you.." Haneul bowed, shaking hands with the old man again and again
"Ash.." he turned to call her but she was already gone, he bowed one last time and ran after her
"Ash! I need to talk about something really important with you!" he shouted
"Haneul I need to go somewhere, you've already got me late.." she snapped back
Haneul lowered his head, "what I have to say is also very important..you just need to listen.." he insisted
Ash didn't say anything and continued walking, that was a green signal, she just agreed to listen so Haneul followed her inside the apartment building,
"I feel really nostalgic right now..brings back a lot of good memories.." he smiled as he looked around before getting inside the elevator
He couldn't help smiling, he had a goofy smile plastered over his face,
"I thought you had something to say" Ash said sternly
"oh right..sorry, I just feel too giddy right now..ah this elevator..good times.." he wiped a fake tear
Ash shook her head, hiding a smile which made it's way to her lips.
When they got off, Haneul smiled even brighter, "waaaahhhhh...I might die of this feeling..I feel happy and bitter at the same time..if only there was a way to turn back time and relive the moments again.." he followed Ash to her door, "if only we could do that, I would've made sure..no one would've gotten hurt because of me.." he whispered as his smile disappeared
Ash couldn't help but feel worry, what was he talking about, why was he saying that, she had no idea but seeing him like that wasn't making her feel good.
"That's what you had to say?" she asked as she opened the door and walked in,
"oh..no I-" Haneul stopped suddenly, his eyes widened with shock, Ash followed his gaze but Haneul stopped her from turning around, he held her shoulders, "look at me..don't turn around..do not look around. Just look at me." his voice was shaky and breathless
Ash narrowed her eyes, "what are you doing Haneul.." she tried turning around but Haneul held her even tighter,
"..you-" he gulped, taking a deep breath, "don't be shocked and just trust me..promise me, you'll do as I say..okay?" he said
Ash furrowed her brows, "Haneul..what are you saying?"
"promise me you'll be alright.." he sounded desperate and scared
"okay, I promise.." when she said that, Haneul gulped again and took another big breath as he let go of her, she turned around slowly and almost lost the strength in her legs, falling back on Haneul, who held her against him, "are you alright Ash?" he asked
Ash reluctantly looked around and suddenly turned around and hid her face in Haneuls coat.
Haneul could say nothing that would calm her down, he looked at the scene in front of his eyes, the broken window, all the furniture damaged, broken glass scattered on the floor, but what was the most scary of all was the writing on the wall, "now you'll pay."
Haneul took Ash out, "let's go from here..you cannot stay here.." he said, Ash was too scared to say anything so she quietly walked with him
~
Haneul regretted not bringing his car, but they got a cab, Ash was still shocked, so was he, but he needed to be strong to protect Ash, so he took his phone out and plugged earphones in Ash's ears and rolled down the window, Ash turned to look at him, he didn't say anything, he just gave a reassuring smile, gently rubbing her hand.
The cab stopped in front of a tall building, they got off, "where are we?" Ash asked
Haneul smiled, one reason, because she talked and the second because he was excited to bring her here
"oh this? this is where you're going to stay for the time being.." he smile, "with me.." he whispered as he held her hand and took her inside the building, "the apartment is on the 9th floor, it's a one bedroom apartment, so I'll sleep on the couch and you can sleep in the room.." he explained as they got inside the elevator
"so this is where you've been living? but why would I live with you?" she asked
"..because there's something you need to know and it's the reason you need to stay with me..whether you like it or not..that's the most sane way to protect you.." Haneul said in all seriousness
"..to protect me?" Ash asked, "so..all that happened was..because of..you?" she asked, pointing a shaky finger at him
"..I'm afraid so..I would've asked you to just leave me but it's too late now, even if you leave me right now..they won't let you live peacefully..so please trust me.." Haneul said, not making eye contact with Ash
"they..?'' she asked
"..who did that to your house.."
