Chance Encounters

Holidays

Merry Christmas Darling
We're apart that's true

The classic song kept playing in Jin Ah's head all day. It was Christmas Eve and she was missing Ji Sung terribly.

Her last few days at work were crazy. Everyone was rushing to finalize plans for the following year, submit the documentation and beat last deadlines before everyone went home for the holidays.

At this time, Seoul was bathed in different lights and christmas decorations. People were out and about shopping for gifts and just enjoying the romantic atmosphere that the snow and all the lights in the city brought. Christmas was all about love and family and a grateful heart for all that the past year had brought and every one seemed to just bask in that feeling.

It was beautiful, which is why Jin Ah loved the holidays. Too bad that the one she wanted to be with most as she appreciated the scenery, was not here.

There was one complication in the run-up to the holidays: Kim Joon.

Jin Ah sighed.

After that chance meeting at the coffee shop, he seemed to want to reconnect. He added her in social media and sent messages inviting her for coffee or whatever else he thought of.

"Kim Joon, I told you I am with someone," she called him out.

"Just a friendly get together!" He said. "Your boyfriend is not here so maybe I can stand in."

Jin Ah rolled her eyes. "No, I don't need a replacement for my Love. I told you it's no contest so don't even try."

"Alright. Fine. I promise it's just a friendly one."

She frowned. Thinking about it, she finally said, "Let me discuss it first with Ji Sung. I'll let you know."

"Does he control you now, Jin Ah?" Kim Joon jested. "I remember you to be this strong, independent woman."

"I still am," she said. "But this strong, independent woman is also in a very important relationship that she wants to keep."

Han Yi-hun asked her the same, over the phone, when she heard about it. "A possessive boyfriend is not good, Jin Ah. Are you sure he's worth it? Kim Joon is a good guy. Maybe you should give him a chance instead."

Jin Ah rolled her eyes, though her friend could not see. "It's not being possessive. He's far away right now. We're already battling the challenges of the distance and being in different cities, I don't want to add to his anxiety. Besides, I'd feel terrible if the situation was reversed."

"You're right," Yi-hun conceded.

"I'll discuss it with him but ultimately it will still be my choice whether I see Kim Joon. But, my boyfriend's view on it would weigh a lot on my decision," Jin Ah said with finality.

When she told him in a call one morning, Ji Sung did not protest but that was not to say he liked it. "I trust you, you know that."

"Will it worry you?"

"No. But I'm not completely comfortable. Do you want to go?"

Jin Ah thought about it. "Not really. I thought of not telling you anymore because I was not interested in going out with him for anything at all but I was thinking there might be times with Yi-hun that I may consider. Group get togethers. I wanted to know where you stand on that."

"Hmmm well group get togethers are harmless, I think. Still, be careful. If he has asked you out after you've told him you're in a relationship, he may be intent on wooing you. I mean, I can't blame him. You're gorgeous and sexy and smart."