Yoon Jisoo sat by the cafeteria window and twirled her hair, thinking of a way to execute her plan. Her mind was drawing a blank on how she could get Professor Ri and Seri Unnie back together. The only thing going for her at this point was that her semester with Mr. Ri was almost done and any plan of hers that may fail won't necessarily affect her grades.
Why did Abeoji and Eomeoni have to make such a mess of things anyway, she thought. Admittedly, she didn't know the entire story yet but she was certain her parents' horrible judgment of Mr. Ri's background and stature in life made things complicated for her sister.
"Hi, may I join you?"
Jisoo looked up and saw Song Hae In standing by her table with a food tray in his hands. "Hey! Sure, have a seat! My books are a mess but go ahead."
Hae In shyly moved to the seat in front of her before he offered a muffin. "Do you want to share? I noticed you only have your fruit juice."
"Oh! Thank you! I love these," Jisoo commented. She was taking small bites when she suddenly thought of something. "Hae In-ssi, you work with Professor Ri, right?"
The young man nodded.
"Are you particularly close to him? Like could you ask personal stuff?"
Hae In chuckled. "I don't think ANYONE can get close to Mr. Ri enough to ask that."
Jisoo joined in his laughter. "You have a point. But, UGH. I need information!"
Hae In frowned. "May I ask why? Are you, uhm, interested in Mr. Ri?"
"What? No! I mean, he's cute but I'm not 'interested'," she clarified. Looking around to ensure no one is eavesdropping, she leaned close and whispered, "I'm plotting to fix him up with my sister. Well, they used to date so I was hoping they'd get back together because my sister still likes him... I think."
Song Hae In smiled, "You're playing matchmaker?"
"Yup! Anything for my sister. She deserves to be happy and Mr. Ri seems to be a good man so I support it," Jisoo declared. "I just don't know how to do this."
Hae In shyly smiled then suggested, "How about... we pretend to date."
"Excuse me?" Jisoo raised an eyebrow.
Hae In held up his hands. "I mean, doesn't fake dating always work in dramas? We could... I mean, we could pretend to date, I'll tell Mr. Ri that your sister seems mad at me and I need his help then we could set up a meeting for them."
Jisoo's face went from curious, incensed, interested and finally wide-eyed agreement. "Do you think we could pull it off?"
"We have to be convincing," Hae In said. "Mr. Ri will see through a crappy storyline."
"Seri will, too," Jisoo said. "But I think convincing her will take less effort."
"Okay, so how do you want to do this?" Hae In asked.
"Hmm maybe we should look like an actual couple who's dating," Jisoo said. "Let's take photos."
When she moved to site beside him, they started taking pictures beside each other. "They don't look like couple photos!" Jisoo complained.
"Uh, okay... can I come closer?" Hae In asked. When she agreed, he draped an arm around her. Slowly, they came up with poses that were a lot more convincing.
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"What do we do with those?" Hae In asked when Jisoo was satisfied with what they had.
"I'll have Seri casually discover them, but then how do we bring in Mr. Ri into this?" Jisoo asked.
"I can show them to him as well... I'll pretend I'm worried one day. But we have to work out our timing."
For the next hour, the two of them worked out the kinks of their plan. Before they parted, Jisoo asked, "Why are you doing this?"
Hae In smiled. "I owe you for your kindness," he said, simply.
Jisoo nodded gratefully. "Thank you for indulging me."
*
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Ri Jeong Hyeok just finished dinner with a few colleagues at a restaurant near the shopping district. Seeing that the night was chilly but clear enough for a walk, he decided to head to the footpath by the river to take a walk and sort his thoughts.
His professional and personal life were entangled lately and he was unsure how to deal with it yet. For the past ten years, he drew a line between the two and never mixed work with his dating life.
Yes, he dated. During his first year in the United States, he focused on his studies and nothing else. However, his break up from Seri and the loneliness of living in a different country eventually caught up with him and he thought dating would solve it.
It did not.
Every woman he met, while wonderful human beings, did not capture his heart the way Yoon Seri did. The more women he met, the more he felt certain that what he shared with Seri was a once in a lifetime event that would never be replicated
He stared at the night sky and sighed. Turning, he saw a familiar bench and a ghost of a smile crossed his face. "Hello, Old Friend," he greeted the inanimate object. Placing his worn out briefcase beside him, he leaned back and let out another deep sigh.
How many sighs of his had been witnessed by this bench?
The last time he was here, he was begging her to leave the country with him. To choose him. After all, they said that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.
However, things went wrong and he found himself on a plane, alone. The night sky when he left was a lot different to what it was now. Then, it was cloudy, the moon and the stars hidden behind the clouds — a visual representation of what his heart was feeling at that time... Dark.
Uncertain whether it would ever find its light again.
Absentmindedly, his fingers went into his cuff and touched the leather bracelet he wore with his watch. This was something that was similar from that night to this one. His bracelet, one of his rare splurges. It was something he still had it years later, so he figured it was worth the two month allowance he spent to have it made.
At first glance, it was a normal leather bracelet like dozens of men wore. However, looking closely, one could see that what was customized was the lock. Instead of a regular gold or silver clasp, his bracelet was held together by the lock Yoon Seri gave him for their 100 days.
He did not have the heart to throw it away. In spite of everything that happened between them, that time was still his happiest and most treasured part of his life. Though he held some anger toward the woman, he would never wish away the time he spent loving her.
It was precious.
His musings were interrupted by a feminine voice that commanded, "Excuse me, Mister? Please move to another bench."
Exasperated at the bossy tone, he crossed his arms and retorted, "Can't you pick another bench? I was here —"
