Hye-jae - Book 1: New Beginnings

Sweet Reunion Part 2

The bus to the airport took 45 minutes and Seon-jae fiddled nervously with the settings on his phone and scrolled through a few news sites throughout the journey.  He had deleted all social media when Hye-won's case was preparing for court, just in case anything he had posted might be used against her and hadn't even missed them since but he did keep up to date with the news, at least every few days.  The weather really was so lovely here - not as hot as at home but also, nowhere near as humid as Seoul in the summer.  Pollution was much lower here too - well Freiburg is practically in the Black Forest so that's no surprise.  When the bus finally pulled into the airport terminal - I'm definitely taking Hye-won back in a taxi, even though it will cost me over €100 -  Seon-jae hopped off and headed for a small coffee shop with chairs outside in the morning sunshine where travellers stopped to have a last cigarette before entering the building.   He got a take-away espresso - the Germans did love their coffee too - and sat in the sunshine while sipping it.  Only a few other customers were around and Seon-jae just zoned out as best he could for half an hour.  He had installed an app for the airport arrivals in real time and he could see that the flight must have left on time as it was still due to land just after 11am.  By 8.20am, he couldn't make himself wait any more and walked into the building.

The Euroairport was small and having checked the display screen to see that the flight was still on time, Seon-jae strolled along the few shops and cafes in the foyer.  He hadn't noticed much on his way through with Professor Jo eight months ago - it was night and he was so anxious anyway.  What would I have done without the Professor?  Without him and his contacts in Germany, I might have had to give up piano altogether when...everything happened.  After strolling around for a while, Seon-jae finally just took a seat at the exit and prepared to wait for the next two and a half hours.  

He thought he had been nervous yesterday but then at least, he had the shopping and cleaning to occupy his thoughts.  Now his nerves were off the scale.  He could feel his heart pounding and his palms were sweaty.  What if there was a problem at customs?  What if the police came and arrested her again?  Even with the Professor's help, there could have been something he didn't think of.  It was agony not to be 100% sure that she would walk through those gates in a few hours but also agony to imagine her coming through.  Would she wear the mask on this side too?  Probably.  What would she be wearing?  Something the Professor's wife would have bought for her but nothing like her usual, elegant style probably.  

He dreamed back to the very first time he had seen her, on the stage of the Arts Centre with the Professor and Min-joo, checking the sound before the concert.  He had been making a quick delivery and had been drawn into the wings by the sound of a grand piano playing.  He had peeped from behind the curtain and seen two men playing a duet while with her back to him, a tall woman in black, looked on.  Even from the back, she had looked elegant with slim legs and one high heeled foot propped on the other.  When she quietly walked around to the other side of the piano, while listening attentively and gently nodding her head in appreciation, he had seen her for the first time.  A white bow at her neck, smooth hair pinned up and a smile of pleasure lighting up her face.  She was so beautiful, like a film actress or the lead in a drama series.  She was the kind of dark beauty that wouldn't be seen just anywhere.  He remembered thinking that she looked like she belonged there - on stage in a fancy arts centre listening to a beautiful grand piano being played just for her.   When she spoke to the two players - one older and one younger - she was laughing gently and even from that distance, he could see the shining eyes and bright teeth.  Of course, her hair is shorter now.  In her last letter, she told me it is about to her shoulders and she mostly wears it clipped back.  She will still look incredible - I am sure of it.  I wonder will she have become even thinner?  She is so slim anyway, she shouldn't lose any more weight.