At Long Last

Conflicted

February
Seoul, South Korea

Se-ri was lazily stretched out on her bed, reading last quarter's sales figures off her laptop screen, though nothing complex was being processed in her mind.

Pyo Chi Su would be glad to know that a soft launch for a persimmon-scented men's body wash, inspired by his ridiculous farewell poem to Se-ri, had gone well.

Surprisingly, it had gone as far as to sell out at selected Seri's Choice stores in Seoul. Pyo Chi Su's dream of a men's body care range might come true after all.

January had gone by in a flash - product launches and festive promotional campaigns always hastened time in its footsteps.

Work was going well.

Personally, Se-ri was doing better. Honestly, when one's baseline was so low, it didn't take much to be 'better'.

She would still have horrifying nightmares involving Jeong Hyeok from time to time, ones that would drain her subsequent mornings of joy.

But at the very least, the frequency of her anxiety attacks and meltdowns was definitely lower than what it used to be. A few sessions ago, her psychologist did say that he was happy with her progress.

Everything that she could think of preparing in Lungern was largely taken care of, including the hiring of a housekeeper in maintaining the place.

All that was left to do was to plan her wardrobe and pack for Switzerland, including bringing the small items that she had prepared for him through her twelve letters.

A pressed azalea bookmark.

A dried maple leaf from the South.

A seashell from the South.

In merely four weeks, she would see Jeong Hyeok again, and she was honestly ecstatic.

The only melancholic thought was, if four weeks could fly by quickly, what about two?

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February
Pyongyang, North Korea

"What brought the two of you here to Pyongyang?"

Ri Jeong Hyeok was genuinely surprised; it wasn't everyday that he got visitors at his apartment in Pyongyang, especially ones by the name of Pyo Chi Su and Kim Joo Meok.

"We are here to report updates of recent maintenance work done along the border to the ministry, since it involved some theft attempts of aluminium and equipment." Joo Meok explained. "And since we are here in Pyongyang, Captain Pyo suggested that we paid you a visit."

"I see. You caught me at the right time, actually. I'll be leaving for Switzerland in three weeks."

A sly smile spread across Pyo Chi Su's face, before he narrowed those small eyes of his into teasing slits.

"Captain Ri. Are you..."

"What?"

"Come on, you know what I am talking about."

Jeong Hyeok gave his successor a glare of mock anger, before nodding with a softened expression.

"Awww, that's sweet!" That was obviously Joo Meok.

"I'll be meeting her directly at Zurich airport. If the flight timings of the regular scheduled flights have not been changed, she would be arriving two hours before me."

Pyo Chi Su nodded dramatically with his mouth pursed in a tight, condescending expression.

"I hope that nasty woman is less annoying than she was last year."