Blog

Chapter 10: The Seoul of Kindness – June 14 – July 18, 2020

The next morning, as she awoke to Hobi’s smile, she sat straight up on the couch. The events of last evening flooded her mind, and she burst into tears.

“Hey, hey, it’s all right.  He didn’t hurt you, right?” Hobi was speaking so gently to her that tears began to slip down her cheeks again.

“He broke my heart, Hobi.  Why do guys always break my heart?” she sobbed.

“Come here.”  

He pulled her into his arms.  She readily climbed into his lap, pillowing her bottom against his thigh, her body situated at a ninety degree angle to his.  She turned to face him and pressed her nose against his chest.  

“Minsu, you’re worth a hundred of that guy.  Please don’t cry over him.  He’s a total jerk.”

“I can see it now.  He never wanted me.  He just wanted sex…”

“Like I said, he’s an idiot.”

“I’m just not worth it, am I, Hobi?  A guy’s attention.  A guy’s love.”

“No, Minsu, that’s not true!  You’re wonderful!”  

His heart was breaking.  He lowered his head and brushed a kiss across the top of her head. 

And disturbed that heavenly fragrance again.  Still – like her – it eluded him.

After a few moments, as she began to calm down, a question surfaced.

“Hobi, why were you home so early last night?”

That’s right.  She didn’t hear me tell my cop buddy.

“You said you were going to stay out late.”

“I have a confession to make.”

She lifted her head and glanced up into his eyes.  “What?” she asked, startled.

“I didn’t go out with my friends last night.  I was here all night long.”

“What?”

“I shut the dogs in your bedroom and stayed in mine.”

“What?  Why?”

“Because I had a feeling that jerk was going to pull something like this, and I wanted to catch him in the act.”

Her whole countenance melted.  “You wanted to rescue me?”

His face flooded with vulnerability.

“Why?” she whispered as she gazed up into his beautiful eyes. 

“Because I love you, Minsu.”

Her heart stopped.

“You mean, like a friend, right?”

But his face just grew more serious.  “No, Minsu.  I don’t mean like a friend.”

He wanted to kiss her so badly, but after what she’d been through last night, he wasn’t about to touch her that way.

“But, Hobi, you’re like my brother.”

He’d just suffered a mortal wound.  He could feel where her words had blasted a hole through his heart.  He covered his pain as he bent and kissed her forehead.

“Okay, Minsu.  I’ll be your brother then.  If that’s what you need me to be.”  He tightened his arms around her.

She relaxed against him.  And breathed in deeply.  “Thank you, Hobi.  You’re always who I need you to be.  You’re the true coin.  Not just seven pieces of eight.  All the other guys in my life have been missing something essential.  But not you.  You always bring me peace.  I love you too.  As my brother,” she hastened to add.

The tear sliding down his cheek escaped her notice. 

She was wrong.  Something was missing, all right.

—

A month went by, and they never discussed that morning again.  Hobi took all his feelings for her, packed them into a box, and buried them deep within his heart.  Never to see the light of day again.

It was pure torture to live with her now.  Seeing her every day.  Knowing that even her drama with Naru hadn’t opened her eyes to Hobi’s merits.  Knowing for certain now that she didn’t love Hobi the way he loved her.  It hurt him every day to look at her and know he’d never have her.  

Her brother.

It hurt so badly.  How could she think of him as her brother?

Hadn’t she seen firsthand what a jerk like Naru was really like?  That sometimes when lightning struck, it was destructive?  Why couldn’t she see that what she really needed was a sweet friend?  A guy who would cherish her, hold her, love her, and defend her?  Not some dashing jerk.  Not some mystery man hiding secret motives.

—

Five weeks after the incident, Hobi received a phone call while she was babysitting her friend’s son.  He had to wait an hour to tell her.  

Someone had come to his rescue.

Minsu opened the door of their apartment.  She was tired.  And depressed.  But she wasn’t really sure why.  Maybe because sometimes she still thought about Naru and wondered what she could have done differently.  Would he have loved her if she’d just given him what he wanted?  Or would he have used her and moved on to the next girl?

She hadn’t told Hobi, but one night she’d been out shopping a couple weeks ago.  And she’d seen Naru across the store.  His arm had been around the waist of a beautiful woman.  He’d drawn her close to him and bent to whisper something in her ear.  Then he’d kissed her neck.  In the same place he’d kissed Minsu.  

The memory had been so vivid, Minsu had felt his lips on her own skin as she’d watched him kiss that other girl.  Only, she had welcomed it.  She’d giggled.  She had turned and lifted her face to kiss him passionately.  His hold had tightened on her possessively.  

He’d finally pulled away from her, and a huge grin had blossomed on his face.  Even then, after everything he’d done, Minsu could feel herself still drawn to that grin.  He was so beautiful.  So was the girl in his arms.  Clearly, he didn’t miss Minsu at all.  He had simply moved on.

Why couldn’t she?

Why couldn’t she love her best friend?  As he loved her?

But she just wasn’t attracted to Hobi.  She wished she were.  He was the perfect guy.  But he really was like her brother.

She stepped through the doorway and found him sitting on the couch with their dogs.

“Hey, Minsu.  I have some news,” he began hesitantly.

Why was her heart suddenly racing?

She glanced at him.  “What is it?”

“My sister.  She lives in Seoul.  She just invited me to come work with her.”

“What?” Her heart fell all the way to her toes.  “When?”

“Next week.”

“For how long?”

“That’s the thing…Minsu, I’m moving to Seoul.”