After Dark (Prompts)

One Night - 9

Im Soo-ah stared at her phone. Today they had their newest photo together -- the first after five years.

She couldn't help but smile at how the day went.

Hyun Jin-heon arrived at her door on time. He wore jeans, a white shirt and a plain black coat, which he left open. As usual, his hair flopped down one side and he was grinning widely. Handing her a basket, he said, "Flowers and food. For you."

Delighted at the gift, Im Soo-ah asked him to come in while she place the flowers in a vase and deciding to put off the food items for later. 

In a few minutes, they were on their way to the coffee shop she had been meaning to visit. "How is Ji-ho today?"

"He's good. Misses his parents but he's having fun at my place, I think," Jin-heon shared. Thinking back to earlier that week when he met Hyojin, he carefully asked, "Soo-ah, I've been thinking about something."

After their orders were taken, Im Soo-ah turned to him and asked him to continue.

"Am I going to cause any trouble for you if I continue seeing you while I'm Ji-ho's guardian?" Jin-heon asked.

"We're okay," Im Soo-ah assured. "I did tell the school administrator and was told that it shouldn't be an issue since Ji-ho's assessment is still discussed with his parents."

"Good," Jin-heon said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I worried I would've gotten you in trouble."

Im Soo-ah smiled, appreciating the concern. "I would want to continue to be discreet at school, though."

"Of course," he agreed. 

Out of curiosity, she asked, "What would you have done if there was an issue? Would you give up watching over Ji-ho?"

"No. Of course, not. I can't do that," Jin-heon denied, vehemently. "I contemplated a lot of scenarios but worst case was I'm going to defer pursuing you until the school year is over. In the meantime, I'll just admire you from afar and hope that you'd still be available in a few months."

Im Soo-ah laughed. "You're funny."

"What? What's funny?" he asked.

"That you think I won't be free in a few months when I've been single for over five years?" she said, shyly.

"My luck!" Jin-heon declared. 

"Men don't like me," Im Soo-ah said.

"I'm a man. I like you," Jin-heon said, frowning.

Blushing at the compliment, she felt like she needed to explain. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not looking for pity. I just sometimes feel like..."

He waited for her to continue, sensing that this was important for her to say.

"I feel like I've been born at the wrong time," Soo-ah finished. Asked to elaborate, she said, "In our current times, people have large ambitions, a high paying job, CEO and that's all great and I'm glad this is a time where women are slowly being acknowledged and getting equal opportunities... It's just... those are not my dreams."

"And what are your dreams?" Hyun Jin-heon asked.

"I want to be a preschool teacher for as long as I can," she said, smiling widely with her eyes shining. "And then I want to be a mom at some point, but I would love to raise my own kids."

"That's a good dream," Jin-heon said. "Why is that not fitting to our times?"

"I know it's very... traditional. Like that old view of women people have? On top of that I'm boring," she said. "So, you can run out now while it's early before I bore you and you'd be looking for your own exit."