Structural Damage

Chapter 13 - Goodbyes

Sleep had not come easy for Se Ri, following her declaration to a sleeping Jeong Hyeok, she closed her eyes and attempted to drift off. The problem was, she woke up every hour or so, panic-stricken with the thought of him leaving. She had been able to stave off the flow of tears, but just barely. The last coherent thought she remembered before now, was looking at the clock and seeing that it was 3:46 am. It was now 7:35 am, and she was in the bed alone, she could hear Jeong Hyeok in the bathroom getting ready to leave. He had pushed the door shut, trying to be quiet, it just wasn't working.

Se Ri was lying on her stomach, the pillow bunched up under her chest, her arms under the pillow. She stared at the bathroom door, part of her wanting to go in and join him, the other part of her realizing it was best to stay away. She reached for her cell phone and turned it on. She elected to ignore the number of missed calls and text messages, instead of heading to her contacts and searching for her car service. She sent a quick message, asking for a pick up at 8:15 for a male passenger from her apartment going to Incheon. Within seconds she received confirmation as well as a reminder that they still had her down for a pick up at 12:30 at her apartment as well.

Once the rides were confirmed, she turned her phone off again and set it back on the nightstand. When she heard the running water in the sink turn off, she sat up on the bed, pulling the sheet up to her. She looked up just as Jeong Hyeok was walking out of the bathroom, his bag in hand. He gave her a smile and walked towards her.

"Morning," he leaned forward, giving her a kiss and letting his lips linger for a moment, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't, besides you didn't actually think you were going to leave without saying goodbye did you?"

"No, I knew I would have to," his forehead rested on hers, "I just wanted to let you sleep a little longer. You were a little restless last night."

"Did I keep you up?" She asked rather sheepishly.

"No, I was already awake," he admitted, she wasn't the only one that was upset about his leaving. "I'll call you when I get there and let you know I arrived safely, okay?"

She nodded, "I've got a meeting with the Mayor this afternoon, then I'll go into the office and work for a bit, catch up on what I've missed. Keep my mind off of missing you," she tried to smile and put on a brave face for him, "I've called a car for you, they'll be downstairs at 8:15 to take you to the airport."

Jeong Hyeok stood up and glanced over at the clock, "I better start heading downstairs then." He grabbed his bag and waited to see if Se Ri stood up from the bed, she didn't immediately move. He took a few steps around the foot of the bed, then noticed that she slid from the bed, the sheet dropping, and she slid into the satin nightgown that hung on the end of the bed. She followed him as he exited the bedroom and descended the stairway.

She stayed on the last step, watching him as he walked toward the front door. Se Ri braced her hip against the railing, crossing her arms, and clamped down on her emotions. "The deadbolt is locked, but that is all you have to undo to open the door," she announced, figuring he was trying to identify how to get out of the apartment. He acknowledged her answer but didn't turn around to look at her.

Jeong Hyeok flipped the deadbolt and was preparing to open the door, but he couldn't do it. He had to kiss her one last time, and he felt the urge to tell her that he loved her. He dropped his bag, turned and took several large steps until he was in front of her. His kiss was full of fire and heat, her hands went to his head, pulling him closer, while his hands when around her waist and did the same.

When he broke the kiss, he hugged her for seconds, turned, grabbed his bag and left. He is not able to say the words that were forming on his lips. He wanted to say those three words that would let her know he was having trouble with the concept of goodbye. The three words that meant that he would struggle with sleeping alone when he was back in Los Angeles. The three words that said he would ache for her to be near, but he knew that saying them could potentially ruin everything.