The Age Of Love

Ten - Hope

Jeong Hyeok walked into his flat, shrugging off his suit jacket as he went. He tossed it on the couch and reached up to loosen his tie as he made his way to the liquor cabinet. Popping the top off the Macallan, he poured the amber liquid into a tumbler. He took a hearty swig, topped the glass off, then put the bottle away.

He collapsed onto the couch, legs spread wide, head lolled back, arms to the side like a limp starfish. Bringing the tumbler up to his head, he pressed the cool glass to his forehead as though the liquor could cure his headache by osmosis.

His meeting with his parents had started off as expected. The accusations, the contempt, the narcissistic way they made it all about them... none of that was a shock. But the ending was a twist he sure as hell hadn't expected.

Couple's counselling. It could actually be a sensible idea if it hadn't come from his father. But it had, so every bone in Jeong Hyeok's body wanted to hate it. For starters, they weren't a couple and couple's counselling would imply that they were-- or that they wanted to be. And he wasn't sure that he did. Certainly not now. But there was still a part of him that thought maybe... eventually. He tried to picture the future.

He and Se Ri are lying in bed. The rising sun shines through the south-facing windows, illuminating the room in a warm glow. She snuggles into his side, laughing at some witty remark about something stupid he did. The door creaks open and he looks towards it to see a toddler-sized Eun Jung creeping into the room, carrying a stuffed animal. He gives her a half-hearted admonishment about entering without knocking. His daughter looks sheepish and apologises but climbs into the bed unbidden, worming her way between the two adults to snuggle.

A sudden warmth prickled the centre of his chest. A tiny, little, glowing dot of hope. Could it be possible? Maybe. But there were so many other ways it could go. And most of them ended in pain-- for him, for Se Ri, and most importantly for Eun Jung. Plus, then they would have given Ri Chung Ryeol the satisfaction of getting his way.

He heard a ping and without looking he reached out with his free hand to retrieve the device lying next to him on the couch. Opening his eyes, he looked at the screen.

It was a picture of Eun Jung. She was strapped into a baby swing. She had on a mint green onesie that said 'green is the new pink'. Whatever that meant. One hand was by her head, her tiny fist balled up. The other seemed to reach for the camera, fingers splayed. "I miss you, Appa!" was scrawled across the bottom.

The glowing dot in his chest returned. He could tell himself the feeling was strictly in response to his daughter, but this was now the second time today Se Ri had reached out to him without prompting. Maybe she was really trying here. Maybe there was hope. But he needed to hear it.

He sat up, tapping the circle on the top of the screen to initiate a call and waited as the phone rang a couple of times.

"Hey, you survived," Se Ri greeted.

"Just barely,"

"Well, mostly dead is slightly alive," she consoled.

"So no need to go through my clothes for loose change," he agreed.

"How was it, really?' she asked.

"It was... interesting." He took a sip of his scotch, then leaned forward to set it on the coffee table.

"Interesting like... their heads exploded and you get to collect the inheritance now?" She inquired hopefully.

"No such luck," he sighed. "My mother wasn't too bad. Just her usual roller coaster of fun. Long story short there, she loves Eun Jung and hates you."