FBF chapter 22 part 3

“Are you different now?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Even while asking, Lee Jihoon’s expression made it clear he already knew the answer. I took a step forward to show that he wasn’t wrong. We stopped in a place where we didn’t need to guess or make assumptions, as we could confirm each other’s eyes.

The moment I confirmed his unwavering gaze on me, my heart raced. It felt like when I saw the sunset he had gifted me inside the cramped small plane. I realized it was time to say what I couldn’t back then. I focused on Lee Jihoon to not miss anything. To see the sky I needed to see, with him, to continue seeing this same sky in the future.

“There’s no need to start over; we just need to understand each other properly.”

“Like correcting coordinates?”

“…Yeah. Like correcting coordinates.”

At a distance where our noses nearly touched, Lee Jihoon flashed a charming smile.

“Whose boyfriend is this smart?”

With a peck, as if to give me a reward, Lee Jihoon’s lips brushed against my cheek. Every time he leaned closer, the cold collar of his coat, touched by the outside wind, brushed against the neck of my t-shirt. Despite the tickling sensation of his kisses landing on my face, I didn’t pull away. With a desperate look, Lee Jihoon seemed poised to press his lips against mine but halted. It was then that I exhaled. I couldn’t break eye contact with him, who was gazing right at me.

I thought, feeling that I might be able to listen to everything he had to say.

As if he could read my mind, Lee Jihoon opened his mouth. His slowly emerging voice was as soft as biting a ripe fruit.

“Don’t you have more to say to me?”

His hand, burrowing into my waist, pulled me closer as if not to let me escape. I awkwardly stared at him, who didn’t take his gaze off my lips, as if my response was essential. My eyes inadvertently returned to the kitchen. I recalled how Lee Jihoon had briefly inhaled the scent as soon as we had pressed our bodies together.

Looking back, I did have something prepared for him. Although I didn’t intend to show it to him since it didn’t turn out as I expected. It seemed like he caught a whiff of that scent, despite his keen nose. I felt it was awkward, but I had to say it.

“…I’m not very good at cooking, honestly. Let’s just order takeout.”

There was no need to mention that I had tried to boil kimchi stew twice and it had gone straight to the trash. I expected him to respond with something like, “I knew it,” but surprisingly, Lee Jihoon kept silent and let out a sigh.

“Right. I asked for something too difficult from Ji Seon-uk, didn’t I?”

What is he saying? He chuckled as he looked at my expression and let go of the hand he had on my waist. After stroking my thigh a couple of times, his warm hand made its way to my cheeks. Lee Jihoon held my face and fixed my gaze on him. As if he were a coach pointing out where to focus. He spoke clearly.

“I’m good at cooking, so that’s fine.”

“…That’s fine?”

“I want to hear something from you.”

“……”

“You can’t help but know when you see that box, yet it’s a word I’ve never heard from you.”

Lee Jihoon approached me slowly again. We locked eyes at a distance where our noses brushed, and he whispered.

“Will you say it for me?”

Seeing the round traces of happiness blooming on the face I’ve loved my whole life, I became uncharacteristically brave. The act of moving my throat to say something I had never said before felt awkward but, at the end of it, I knew there was something we both desired.

“…Lee Jihoon.”

I understood why Lee Jihoon wanted to hear these words. It was a word I had never articulated clearly, not even in my head. It was a term I had never dared to express to anyone.

You are the one who brought this word into existence in my world. Words need to be spoken to take shape. Without you, it might have never been unearthed.

I saw that the word had climbed the stairs of the years we had stumbled through together. The moment it surfaced on the canvas, my tongue curled gently.

To say it to him, standing at the same distance.

“I love you.”

Before the sound of the vowels could fully dissipate, our lips were joined. Receiving a kiss pouring out like a reward for finally getting those words out, I knew this confession wasn’t the end. We had time. A time to look back at where we both stood and realize it wasn’t actually that far. Even after adjusting our coordinates to a place we discovered together, there was still time to confess that we loved each other.

* * *

At the 83rd anniversary event of “Police Day” held at the Seoul city auditorium, an award ceremony for 19 special promotion candidates for the second half of the year took place. The ceremony was brief, but the ensuing events were lengthy. As I sat in the front row as a representative awardee, I didn’t feel the weight of the added police badge but was too busy thinking of the quickest route to get to the car as soon as the event ended. As I glanced once more at the watch I checked three minutes ago, the captain next to me tapped my thigh.

“Do you want to go to the bathroom?”

“…No.”

According to the notice received before the event, it had to end within five minutes. I had even set up a barely feasible plan just in case it ended on time, so I couldn’t believe there were still three more segments left. All my attention was on my phone, which I had set to silent mode before entering the venue. There might have been a message from Lee Jihoon asking if I had started yet.

The event concluded 20 minutes later than expected. Having communicated beforehand that I wouldn’t be able to attend the dinner, I hurriedly navigated through people eager to exchange greetings as I burst out of the auditorium. So focused on escaping, I only realized I didn’t have my car keys when I arrived at the car. It was absurd, as this was the first time something like this had happened. Why was I running to the car without the keys?

Standing in the underground parking lot, I blankly retraced my actions and urgently turned around. I didn’t even have time for this.

“Hey, Officer Ji,… No, you’re a Sergeant now. Anyway, isn’t this yours?”

At the familiar voice, I turned my head to find the captain approaching, waving something in his hand.

“Captain!”

As I recognized the familiar object, I ran towards him. Only when the car keys dropped onto his open palm in front of me did a relieved sigh escape my lips. I clenched my fists and bowed my waist slightly.

“Thank you. Where did you find this?”

“Under your seat. I called for you as soon as I picked it up, but you were gone.”

“Ah… I’m sorry. I was out of it.”

“It shows; what’s so urgent?”

The captain clicked his tongue and reached for my head. He then adjusted the hat I must have thrown on in a rush. Dressed in uniform, he had even put on the hat he usually wouldn’t wear. The captain, who had also received a promotion alongside me, was wearing the same hat. I flinched at the awkward sensation, choosing instead to slightly bend my knees while gazing at his graying hair, thinking that it would be difficult to see him up close like this after today.

Checking to ensure the hat was properly placed, the captain seemed to have the same thought. His lips twisted as if to ask something.

“You’re glad you’re not going to be stuck there anymore, right?”

“No.”

Although I spat it out quickly as if I had rehearsed it, I meant it. The captain rolled his eyes and scolded me.

“What’s not to like? You should be happy. Do you want to create another lump in your brain?”

I noticed his gaze tracing over the scar concealed by my hair. When I had said I might need sick leave, he had looked at me without a word for a long time. According to Senior Jung, who visited me in the hospital, the captain seemed to feel guilty about my situation. Although the lump was something even doctors couldn’t exactly explain the cause of, perhaps he worried it was due to neglecting his duties towards me.

I insisted it wasn’t, but I knew he didn’t believe me. I had heard that the captain had a significant influence in my transfer after the promotion. When he heard the news, he had come to see me, brushing it off and claiming he didn’t know anything about it. However, he couldn’t not know. I heard there were many people aiming for the division I was moving to out of all the promoting officers. It was a department known for having a light workload but conducive to accumulating experience. I had been too busy adjusting back to work that I hadn’t even bothered to concern myself with that fact, but clearly it was only because of the captain that I had been pushed forward. Just the fact that the head of the new department was a close peer of the captain said it all.

“Go on. You worked hard today.”

He threw out this curt reply and turned away, but I carefully grabbed his arm.

“Captain.”

“Why?”

“Thank you. I learned a lot because of you.”

“……”

“It’s a valuable team for me too. If you ever need my help with anything, please call me anytime.”

It was something that would shock Lee Jihoon if he heard it, but I wanted to be straightforward like that. The captain glanced at my eyes for a moment before bursting into a hearty laugh, as if he had realized I was sincere. As he nudged my back toward the car.

“You’re saying strange things, kid. Is there even time for this? You were just running like a madman earlier.”

“Ah….”

“Go on, hurry.”

“Yes. I’ll come back and say hi!”

I almost ran as I said my final goodbye. The hat that the captain had carefully adjusted skewed once again. Startled, I didn’t even have time to fix my appearance in the rearview mirror as I started the engine. The clock pointed to 6 PM.

I barely made it in time. From the ticket issuance to check-in, even passing through security was all tight. There couldn’t be any delay. While I thought Lee Jihoon was overdoing it when he insisted on carrying my luggage, now, in hindsight, it was a wise decision. My goal was simply to board the plane before departure, and having stepped onto the aircraft just a few minutes before the scheduled departure time, all I could think was that I had finally made it. Relaxing for the first time, I handed my ticket to the flight attendant guarding the airplane entrance. But just as I was about to step inside after only showing my ticket, my action was halted. After smiling at me, the flight attendant, with an air of certainty, led me in front of her. Was it normal to be guided so late without even asking?

I felt a sense of unease as I passed by the economy section and then the business class seats without stopping. Only when the attendant first paused to draw back the thick curtain resembling a partition did an unfamiliar space reveal itself. Before I knew it, I had reached the front row of the airplane.

“Your seat is 1A. Your attendant will be along shortly to assist you, so please rest comfortably.”

After verifying the spacious seat designed with privacy curtains, it was only then I checked my ticket again. It was the first time I had looked closely at my seat, having focused solely on boarding successfully. Thanks to Lee Jihoon, who said he would reserve for me since it was his airline, I hadn’t needed to pick a seat, and in my haste, I had checked in using a kiosk rather than at the counter.

Thus, it was only now that I discovered what he had pulled off. I alternated between gazing at the seat number 1A and the word FIRST written at the top of the ticket.

…Who spends this kind of money on a flight that only lasts four hours?

As soon as the question formed, the last message from Lee Jihoon before I got out of the car flashed through my mind.

Lee Jihoon

“Are you really busy? 6:29 PM

“Let’s definitely see each other on the plane? 6:30 PM”

I thought it was just a casual comment since we were still on the same flight, but suddenly, I felt a sense of dread. The memory of Lee Jihoon complaining about bizarre captains who sometimes ask him to greet first-class passengers returned to me.

No, surely not…

Even as I shook my head, I began to glance around unconsciously. The excessively affable instructions from the designated flight attendant turned into a reality that was starting to sink in as I found myself alone in the spacious seat.

“…Is this really insane?”

As I whispered this out of fear that someone might hear, Lee Jihoon, surprisingly, nodded obediently.

“Yeah, I should watch out. I almost stood up just now.”

I unconsciously checked Lee Jihoon’s pants, as though he had sensed my glance, and he smiled. He awkwardly pressed his cheek against my lips that had opened up and then got up.

“Stretch your legs comfortably.”

In an instant, my legs flopped down. After laying my legs over the opposite seat, Lee Jihoon massaged them, then picked up the hat he had tossed aside and placed it on my head.

“You’re wearing a hat. If I hear one more time that you are good-looking from the cantina, I might just run out again.”

Before I could even retort, I watched him float away towards the curtain. His smile seemed to be painted, the same one that Young-soo always criticized.

“I’m delighted to hear that you are satisfied with the services provided.”

Speaking as if he meant to be overheard, Lee Jihoon gestured to point at himself when he said “services provided.” The combination of his shameless face with that cheerful tone made me snicker. Only after seeing me laugh did Lee Jihoon pull back the curtains with a satisfied expression.

“I’ll see you in a bit.” He mouthed silently.

—

Kang Young-soo

“Did you get the award and board the plane? You must be busy, huh? 7:00 PM

“Looks like Ji-hoon already answered and took off, huh? 7:02 PM

“How is this kid becoming more and more cheeky? Does he practice every night? 7:03 PM”

—

Kang Young-soo

“Guys… Have fun and come back… 11:02 PM

“Although I’m too busy to go with you this timeㅠㅠ 11:03 PM

“Just think of me a little while you’re traveling… Got it… 11:03 PM

I agreed to meet Lee Jihoon on the airport roof. While waiting for him to wrap up, I found Kang Young-soo’s persistent messages on my phone. Remembering how little time difference there was between Korea and here, I decided to reply to him.

11:53 PM What souvenir should I get?

I sent it without hesitation, and it was as if he had been waiting for it; a reply came immediately.

Kang Young-soo

“I heard the mango jelly there is delicious… 11:54 PM

“Got it 11:54 PM

“I also heard the beer is amazing… I think they sell it at the airport, too… 11:55 PM

“I’ll get that. How about for Da-in? 11:55 PM

Kang Young-soo

“The above info was all given by Da-in… 11:56 PM

“Are you with her? 12:00 AM

“Yeah. 12:00 AM

“I’ll get a lot. We can share. 12:01 AM

“Yeah >_< 12:01 AM

“Let’s make sure to go together next time. 12:03 AM

“Sure ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ 12:04 AM

“Who decided we should go together?”

I looked up at the incredulous voice. Lee Jihoon was pulling a suitcase toward me. Having apparently rushed over right after work, he was still in uniform. I felt a strange sensation seeing the same face I’d just seen hours ago on the plane now outside. Perhaps it showed on my face as he raised an eyebrow and laughed, casually tapping the hat on my head.