There are Many Flowers in Seoul

Chapter Fifty-Four

The car waited at the side of the road with the lights on and the engine running. Deok-su sat behind the wheel, staring aimlessly through the windscreen and drumming his fingers impatiently. Although he had no signs to indicate it, several people had stopped to ask him if he was a cab and he'd been forced to usher them on, apologising profusely for misleading them even if he wasn't to blame for their errors. A small rebellious voice inside told him to move on and leave Tae-won out in the city by himself and that he could get himself back to the apartment – he was a manager, after all, not a slave – but then he recalled the nature of the man he worked with and knew it would be worth all the trouble of dealing with his ire should he disobey his order to wait.

Two figures approached slowly; a woman who was short, young, and slight, and a man with his arm across her shoulders whose head hung in an exhausted manner and whose feet dragged more and more with every step. Despite her clear lack of musculature, the girl did an admirable job of caring for the ailing man, pausing only to catch her breath before she continued toward the car. It was only as they drew nearer and were illuminated by the headlights that Deok-su recognised them as Tae-won and Rose. Flustered by their arrival, he flung the door open and almost wiped out a passing cyclist. Deok-su shouted his awkward apologies after the irate commuter before he rushed to Tae-won's side and attempted to help him.

'Aish!' Tae-won snapped as his manager fussed about him. He shouted in Korean and Rose couldn't take in a word of it. She supposed it was an instruction to return to the car because Deok-su did just that, settling back into the driver's seat with his back rigidly straight and his shoulders squared.

The pair staggered to the rear door and Rose reached out to open it with her free hand, helping Tae-won to sit inside carefully. It was only Deok-su's assistance he was seemingly offended by, not hers. In fact, he appeared to enjoy the way she held his arm and checked that his coat wasn't about to be shut in the door, her eyes full of affection and her lips pressed together with concern and concentration.

Si-woo was nowhere in her mind or her heart in those few fleeting moments; it was all for him.

'I'll get a cab,' Rose said as she stood by the open door. 'If I don't go home soon, Yuta will –'

'Deok-su called him,' Tae-won said, his voice hoarse with illness. 'You can come back with us.'

Rose hesitated. Tae-won hadn't proven himself to be the most honest man in the world and it was entirely possible he was lying to get her to go home with him. On the other hand, Deok-su was within earshot and would have spoken up if he hadn't called Yuta or would offer to do so at that moment so they wouldn't all be caught in a difficult and scandalous situation. As he said nothing, Rose assumed it would be safe to do as she was told. At least, as safe as being alone with Tae-won possibly could be.

Rose had barely secured her seatbelt when the man dropped down to rest his head against her knee, curling up in the seat like a child. The heat radiated through her jeans and Rose reached down to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. 'Idiot,' she chastised him in a tender voice. 'Why did you bother looking for me when you're this sick? You'll just make yourself worse.'

'I told you not to run,' he said. The engine roared to life and Tae-won winced against the sound. If it had been in Rose's power to stop the car from being so loud she'd have done something about it, but she could only move her hand to his and squeezed his fingers in her own. Tae-won worked his fingers through hers, lacing them together and closing his eyes. 'Don't leave again.'

'Is that an order or a request?'

'Both.'