Tia looked at her sister.
“You’re moving WHERE?” She could not believe her ears.
“Seoul. In South Korea. I just found out today. My company is giving me a promotion and a huge pay increase if I accept the position. Come on, Tia. You know I’ve always wanted to move to Asia.”
“Yes, but I don’t understand why. You’re going to be so far away from me now!”
Her sister shrugged. “So? Move with me.”
“WHAT?!!” Why was her heart thundering in her chest? Seoul was a huge city. It’s not like she’d ever see him there. Even if she moved across two oceans to be near him. She sighed.
“I’m serious. You’ve got no one here but friends once I move. And you spend half your time in Europe anyway. Think of how much less time you’d spend on planes. You could take on Asian assignments too.”
It was true. She could do her job just as effectively from Seoul. Maybe more so. It certainly wouldn’t be worse. And she’d be near her only remaining family, her precious sister. She sighed as she studied Julieta Carmelita. Her sister had been given a bold name by their mother. Youthful Garden. And she was! She was the epitome of her name. Julieta was so beautiful; she took people’s breath away. They had exclaimed over her beauty from the time she was little. To be honest, she’d grown weary of it. She wondered if anyone ever saw the real her, the one who lived inside the perfect body and face. The one begging to get out and be seen and known.
Tia had also been given an amazing name. Constantia Amatia. It was a mouthful. Her mother had always told her it was a good name. It meant Steadfast Love. Faithful Beloved. Her mother had always called her that in its entirety, pronouncing a blessing over her life every single time she’d uttered her name. Now her friends had shortened it to Tia. She had a double Tia in her name. Her mom would have said that was a double portion of goodness. Privately, Tia wondered if it was a prophecy foretelling that she’d eventually be an aunt to twins.
Thinking that she didn’t want to miss a single moment of Julieta’s unfolding story, she realized there was only one option. She wanted to be there when Julieta fell in love, when she married, and when she had those twins!
So she smiled at Julieta. “All right, sis. I’ll move with you. I’ll see if I can get assigned to Seoul. I’ll need a legitimate reason to move there legally.”
Julieta grinned at her. “I knew you’d say yes! How could you not? What would I do without my baby sister?”
Tia grinned at her. What, indeed?!
—
Jin sat with Jungkook watching a sad movie. He looked over at his younger friend. Then he handed him a Kleenex. Jungkook’s nose was all red as were the rims of his eyes. Jin watched another tear escaping to slide down his cheek. He was privately thinking that any ARMY would he exclaiming at how adorable the Golden Maknae was when he cried. Anyone else would have looked a mess and been embarrassed by his tears, but not Jungkook. He still managed to look like the cover boy for a fashion magazine. Even sitting here without makeup covering his face or his hair professionally curled. Jin grinned at him. He understood. After all, he was also worldwide handsome.
“This drama is so moving,” Jungkook murmured.
“I don’t understand why you like to watch movies like this, Kookie. They always make you cry.”
“Look! There’s so much passion for life!” Jungkook gestured at the TV.
He was privately thinking of Hyejin, whom he had managed to keep a secret from his friends. He just wanted her to himself, so he’d put on his best poker face every time a text message had come through from her. And his friends thought he’d taken up jogging. Every day they were in Seoul, he’d get up at five o’clock and head out for his “jog.” This was a code word for meeting Hyejin. He grinned as he thought of her. If she were here, she’d be wiping the tears off his face with her elegant fingers. He sighed. He missed her. They didn’t see nearly enough of each other.
“So, what is it that you have to do today, Jin-Hyung?”
Jungkook was needling him again. Jin threw him an irritated glance. How did Jungkook manage to make a term of respect sound so teasing?
“I’m meeting with an executive today to discuss modeling for her product.”
“Why is this the first I’ve heard of this?”
“Her company is just now branching out into Asia. She’s actually moving to Seoul to establish an office here. She flew in today just for this meeting.”
“So, why are you doing this?”
“My appa was friends with her papa, apparently. She reached out to Appa when she found out she was being assigned to Seoul, asking him for any help he could give her. Apparently, her sister also needs a work permit because she wants to move with her. When the executive told Appa about her company’s products, Appa thought I would be the perfect spokesperson. I imagine she’s going to ask if all of BTS will represent their company.” He shrugged. “I’m doing this as a favor for Appa. We’ll see how it goes.”
“What’s the product?”
Jin grinned at Jungkook. “You’re going to love this. Food.”
Jungkook’s face split into a wide smile as his dark eyes danced. “When is the meeting? I’ll get ready right now! Are there going to be samples?”
Jin laughed. “I warned them I might be bringing a hungry friend with me. They promised that we could try every flavor and kind the company sells.”
Jungkook squinted at him and wrinkled up his nose. “So, what’s the product? Does it involve bread?”
Jin laughed again. “Snack cakes.”
“YES!!!” Jungkook did a fist pump. “I was hoping you’d say that. I’ll make sure I’m hungry!”
Jin looked at him sharply and responded dryly, “Jungkook, when aren’t you hungry?”
Jungkook wiped an errant tear off his face. “Good point,” he conceded. But today his belly would be filled with sweet goodness thanks to Jin’s appa!
