Another Life With You

Hold My Hand

Seo Dan sat by the window, closed against the winter chill. She used to keep it open, in autumn when they had first arrived in Seoul, and practise the cello with the fresh air on her face. Her cello still sat forlornly by the window now. Seo Dan stroked it longingly. The wound in her side, still stitched, tightened and ached whenever she made to lift her arms. It wouldn't be possible to play.

Behind her in the small living room, Gu Seung-jun was making a fuss in the kitchen, clanging cookware, opening and closing the fridge door, fiddling with the stove and microwave.

"Don't you ever have work to do?" Seo Dan queried, still facing the window. It was the safe choice nowadays not to look at Seung-jun while she spoke. Seo Dan had mastery of a good poker face, but one could never be too careful.

"In fact, I do. I have to go after breakfast," Seung-jun answered merrily, unfazed by her coolness. "You can't be lifting pots and pans with your injury, though. That Ri Jeong-hyeok - I can't believe he just returned to work like that! I'm sure Yoon Seri would allow him more leave days if he just asked. Well, breakfast is easy enough to make."

Seo Dan allowed herself a tiny, tiny smile at Seung-jun's griping. After all, no one could see her face now.

They sat in easy silence while Seung-jun finished cooking. At first, Seo Dan had felt embarrassed (though she would never allow herself to show it) to have the man to visit their home. She had decorated it as tastefully as she could, but compared to her more spacious home in Pyongyang, this apartment felt too small and shabby.

She had only allowed him to visit because he had nattered about his life story in the hospital, while she wasn't well enough to speak but lucid enough to listen. Seung-jun had sat by her bed and effortlessly rambled on his own for the better part of his visit: about his family's change in circumstances, how they had to move to the UK and get used to winters without heaters and endless meals of porridge. How he had scammed Yoon Seri's brother of his money as an act of revenge – that, Seo Dan could respect. He wasn't the suave, polished conman she had previously thought him to be. Unless those stories were a con, too, that is.

When breakfast was ready, Seo Dan gingerly stood from her chair, waving off Seung-jun's attempt to assist. He had laid out small dishes on their square, wooden table: rice, rolled omelette, seaweed soup, kimchi, stir-fried beef. "Meat for breakfast?" Seo Dan said in surprise.

"Too much? Ah, you're thin anyway, meat would be good for you now," Seung-jun smiled and began to load some beef onto her bowl.

"That's what my omma used to say to me," Seo Dan said. Her dear, overdramatic omma. She kept her eyes on the bowl to keep her emotions in check.

Seung-jun allowed her a pause before saying, "Being uprooted from your home to another country isn't easy." Seo Dan looked up to see understanding – true understanding – in his eyes. It gave her a small amount of comfort, soothed her homesickness just a little bit.

She pushed the meat around on her rice. "I don't think I'm engaged anymore," she blurted out of nowhere, surprising herself with the admission. She kept her eyes on the food, cringing inside at the thought of what Seung-jun's response would be. There was a loaded silence during which they both spooned food into their mouths.

"Do you remember what you said to me that night when we were drinking?" Seung-jun asked. Before Seo Dan could reply, he continued. "You asked if I've ever chased after something, only to find nothing when it was finally in my hands. You asked what we should do, after that. I've been thinking about it a lot, Seo Dan ssi, and I've realised that it isn't the end of something. It's just a hopping stone in a pond full of opportunities. I thought I had accomplished something when I scammed that money from Yoon Se-hyung, but I've only realised now after taking over as CEO at Queen's what it means to really accomplish things. I mean, I still have to remind myself every day that people aren't looking down on me. That they actually respect my opinion. I can't help that, I guess."