The Forgotten Bond

JUNE

Already in the morning it was clear to her that today would be another muggy day. The weather had been unbearably hot since the beginning of the month, so that it could only be endured in air-conditioned rooms. The heels of her shoes clattered across the mall's polished marble floor as she walked towards what might be the most important meeting of their companies' foreseeable future. June came well prepared. Until well after midnight last night she talked strategies with Oren on how they would convince her to join in case she didn't want to and how to seem unapproachable in case she was overly invested. June judged a lot of that as 'childish behaviour' but Oren was sure to tell her over and over again that those things mattered. Two days ago she had asked Ten to set up a meeting between her and Song at a neutral venue, and she approved of his choice. The café he chose was on the top floor of the shopping center overlooking the adjacent park.

She entered the café and headed straight for the seats in the back. As arranged, she found Song at a table by the window. June frowned at the sight of her for a second because she looked like she had gotten into a fight on the way here. The sight of Song caught her off guard. Maybe because she was expecting someone who looked more like a free-spirit-art-student. From Ten's dossier, she had gathered that Song had completed a design degree with a minor in computer science. However, the interesting thing about the computer science part was that she never wrote a bachelor thesis. Judging by that, June expected to meet a... well, a nerd. But that wasn't the case. Instead there was something confusing about Song's appearance. She wore a romantic white blouse, high-waisted blue jeans and white sneakers. The look was casual but June could tell that she had put a lot of time into choosing each piece. The long hair was tied in a low ponytail. The rest of her appearance was in sharp contrast to her timeless clothes and hairstyle: A white patch stuck over her left eye, which stood out against the prominent violets like a white airplane in front of an approaching thunderstorm. However, her eye itself wasn't swollen and it appeared to be just a large bruise. She wore no make-up for given reasons and a large scar extended from the collar of her blouse over her neck and jaw.

June managed to gather herself before Song noticed her. She confidently walked towards her and took a seat across from her.

"Are you all right?" June asked.

Song smiled and waved his hand. "This?" She pointed at her face. "That's not too wild. It looks worse than it is. Really. No reason to worry."

June introduced herself and Song did the same. They both ordered black coffee. When the waitress left, Song leaned forward and studied June closely.

"You are pretty." She noted, adding: "And the hair suits you too. It's well cut."

June looked at her, puzzled. "Thanks. I've been working with men for so long that I'm not used to sincere compliments anymore."

Song laughed. "Compliments from women are always better than those from men. Probably because we don't expect anything in return." She sighed, "I know you want to talk to me about business. Please be frank with me. I like civilized and businesslike conversations, but I can't stand serious and pretentious ones."

"All right then." said June and leaned back. "Ten gave you the highest praise. Apparently you are the best in their field."

"Third Best." Song corrected her frankly. June was surprised at her honesty.

"Ohs? Few would have admitted it so openly. Why did you correct me?"

Song shrugged. "Because I know I'm still the best choice for you."

"Is that so?"

"The second best is in jail. So he's a no brainer. And the very best is retired. And convincing him to come back will prove to be extremely difficult. Believe me, he's not very affable."