Fallen

Confrontations

Waking up in her bedroom, surrounded by luxury in the form of her birdseye maple furniture and eiderdown quilt, Seri found herself missing the discomfort of a thin synthetic foam mattress over a stiff wire bed frame, and the presence of the man whom she had grown used to having in her life.

The governor's daughter had assumed her first night home would be a very comfortable one, but the plush bedding which enveloped her did little to alleviate the agony weighing on her heart.

Trying to fight tears throughout the night had proven futile; the sadness kept coming in waves, so much so that Seri reminded herself of a glass filled to the brim.

Unsteady, threatening to slosh over any second.

She found herself oscillating between two extremes; at times she would graciously take reality in her stride, telling herself again and again that it was right for them to let go.

At other times, the governor's daughter found herself cursing her fate as she tried in vain to shake a certain former military officer off her mind.

Having no means of knowing how Jeong Hyeok was coping with her absence only brought greater hurt, and besides crying, Seri didn't know what else she could do.

The good, long session of ceaseless weeping did make her feel better, even if she had cried till her throat hurt and the circumstances had not changed one bit.

Dawn eventually broke, lifting veil after veil of dusky gloom.

She raised her eyes to the skies, and silently watched daylight triumph, before it forced her out of the comfort of her bedroom into the bathroom to press cold towels to her puffy eyes.

Mistaking the fatigue and sadness on Seri's face for stress from the political situation and homesickness, everyone, including the maidservants, fussed over her at breakfast.

Her mother, especially, was heaping food onto her plate, engaging her in endless conversation.

There was so much to eat, in what she now regarded as grossly excessive, but all Seri could manage were three tasteless mouthfuls.

Ironically, she had a stronger appetite when she had only steamed sweet potato to eat for breakfast.

Of course, she was delighted to see everyone in the Yoon household after spending two weeks apart, but there was someone else who now occupied a significantly larger portion of her heart.

Maybe she could call him, but the phone was in the middle of the living room, where everyone could hear her.

That wouldn't work.

More importantly, she was actually assuming Jeong Hyeok would wish to hear from her.

Even if she really did manage to contact him, what should she say beyond 'hello'?

Now, sitting at the porch on one of the wrought iron chairs, the governor's daughter softly sighed as she silently watched their trusty chauffeur diligently clean the car.

It was a routine of theirs since her childhood years, but something was very different today.

"You okay?" Hong Chang Sik broke the silence between them when the uneasiness got too much to bear. It wasn't every day that one came across a quiet Seri. "You're scaring me."

"I'm fine."

That half-hearted reply only earned a narrowed-eye glare from this big brother of hers, who added, "You're not even bossing me around. How can you be fine?"

Looking around them, the governor's daughter rose from the chair to walk over to where the car was parked.

"I would like to go out. Can you take me out?" She asked quietly with an imploring hint in her voice, watching the conflicting emotions on her chauffeur's face as he slowly dropped the rag into the bucket by his feet.