There are Many Flowers in Seoul

Chapter Fifty-Six

The fabric cascaded around her like a waterfall, tickling Rose's bare legs beneath and the tops of her sandal clad feet. They stood in an old-fashioned street outside of traditional Korean houses after the owners gave them permission to take their photographs. With a limited time window, it was important for them to work quickly so they could get all the shots they required without disturbing the residents.

'Okay,' Si-woo said to stop Rose as she peered out through a doorway as though waiting eagerly for her lover to arrive, 'come outside and take the letter.'

Jung-wook was in the middle of chatting with a giggling Hitomi and jumped when he realised he was being summoned by his boss. Si-woo had waved his arm and then barked at him in Korean when he'd not immediately made his way to the model. Both Jin-hee and Tae-won sat off to the side beneath parasols held by bored assistants who shifted their weight impatiently between their feet, wanting to be anywhere but there playing servant to a pair of idols. They sipped on their water and watched Jung-wook place an envelope into Rose's hands. Inside was a hand-written letter clearly penned by a member of staff. It had to read like a love note in case any eagle-eyed fans zoomed in and tried to get a decent look at the writing – blank letters were always a source of mockery online – and Rose almost laughed at the sight of it. Tae-won didn't seem the love letter sort, even when he was acting out a character for a magazine shoot.

'Try not to smile,' Si-woo instructed. 'This letter is telling you that the man you love has been called away from you, and that you won't see him for a long time, even though his heart is always with you. You thought that he'd be here today, and now you don't know if you'll ever hold him again. Show us what you're feeling.'

'Can it be relief?' Rose joked. 'If I knew I never had to see Tae-won again, I'm pretty sure I'd be dancing in the street.'

'Aish,' Tae-won complained, 'I can hear you, Japan!'

'You were meant to hear me,' Rose retorted. 'Okay, I think I'm ready. I'll just imagine the guy who left me was Si-woo and then we won't have any problems.'

'Yah! Imagine it's me!' Tae-won shouted.

'I prefer her imagining Si-woo,' Yuta said. He'd been in the middle of a phone call, but the shouting was too distracting. Speaking to Eun-young quietly, he informed her, 'We're being told to move the dates around for Jeju. Can we make it earlier?'

'I think so,' she replied. 'Let me check my diary.'

'Quiet, please!' Si-woo said loudly. 'How can she get into character if you're all talking about schedules?'

'Sorry,' Eun-young apologised. 'Rose, good luck! Yuta – um – Mr. Suzuki, let's take this further away, shall we?'

Rose watched the pair leave, talking quietly between themselves with their heads down. As far as Yuta was concerned, Rose's heart was confused. Not because she was still wildly in love with him, but because she wasn't. For years he'd been the only man she thought about, and the one she'd convinced herself that she'd catch one day if only because they knew one another so well, but now he was more interested in Eun-young and she was surprisingly at peace with the idea of them being together. Yuta was more like a brother to Rose than anything else, and all she wanted was to see him happy. If Eun-young could give him that happiness, then she wished them the best in their lives together.

Besides, Tae-won was already holding her heart in his hands.

On the surface, their relationship hadn't changed since the days when they'd argued bitterly and made each other's lives miserable. To look at them, one would be mistaken for thinking their night together had never happened, and that Tae-won had declared nothing more important and life altering than that he enjoyed eating fried chicken. In truth, they'd agreed to keep their relationship a secret. Rose had arrived in Korea with a false name and a desire to keep a low profile, and that wasn't going to happen if Tae-won announced publicly that they were dating. He had legions of dedicated fans who'd immediately hate Rose for taking an interest in their oppa, and her parents wouldn't be pleased to know that she'd thrown herself at a celebrity when she'd told them how much she hated their lifestyle.