Vengeful Desires

28-

He turned again slightly, gaze sweeping the aisle only to find her conspicuously absent.

Frown deepening, Hyun-woo craned his neck and scrutinized their surroundings more intently - eventually catching a fleeting glimpse of what looked like Amirah's distinctive Afro puffs disappearing around a far corner in one of the security mirror's reflections.

Suppressing an exasperated sigh, Hyun-woo refocused on Soo-jin and her companion with an apologetic dip of his chin. "I should get going," he stated, voice emerging clipped though polite. "It was nice seeing you again."

Without waiting for a response, he fished his phone from his pocket and rapidly tapped out a text to Amirah - 'Car's unlocked.'

Hyun-woo turned and headed for the checkout lanes.
Some time later, as Hyun-woo unloaded the last of the grocery bags into the backseat, he glanced up just in time to see Amirah slipping silently into the front passenger seat from the far side. Her features were carefully composed, betraying nothing of where she'd disappeared to moments before inside the store.

Sighing softly, Hyun-woo simply shook his head and climbed behind the wheel beside her. The ride back to his penthouse flat.

Not until they were ensconced in the quiet solitude of his living room, side by side on the sofa with the muted sounds of some forgettable drama flickering across the enormous flatscreen, did Hyun-woo finally allow the undercurrent of discontent to make itself known.

"You ran off back there," he stated lightly. "Did I make you uncomfortable earlier?"

From the corner of his eye, Hyun-woo saw Amirah tense almost imperceptibly. Her jaw tightened as she continued staring ahead at the television for a protracted beat. Then, finally...

"I didn't feel like running into anyone tonight," Amirah muttered, sinking deeper into the cushions as her body seemed to fold in on itself in a subtle withdrawal. "That's all."

Hyun-woo's expression softened with understanding as he leaned back into the sofa, angling himself to better study her downturned profile. One arm draped casually along the backrest as he propped his head against his palm.

"Hey..." he murmured, reaching out to brush a few stray curls away from her face. "You know there's nothing at all between Soo-jin and me anymore, right?"

Amirah remained silent, seeming to focus intently on the flickering images still playing out across the television screen. Finally, she exhaled a soft breath.

"I do."

Hyun-woo smiled faintly at her clipped acknowledgment.

"I'm serious, Amirah-ah." Hyun-woo leaned in closer, his deep voice taking on an insistent edge as he fought for her full attention. "There isn't anything there, not even a tiny speck of feelings left over."

At this, Amirah couldn't quite smother the eruption of amusement, as she twisted to face him more fully with dancing eyes and a wry twist to her lips.

"Yah, I know already," she chided through her amusement, reaching out to give his knee a gentle swat. "You can stop repeating yourself now. I'm trying to focus."

Grinning rakishly at her playful admonition, Hyun-woo didn't so much as twitch at the light reprimand. Instead, he simply reached for the remote and paused the drama streaming across the screen.

Then, still smiling softly, he shifted until he was fully facing her - one hand coming up to gently cup the line of her jaw and guide her gaze towards his.

"Amirah-ah...look at me for a sec?" he began, holding her stare as his thumb traced idle circles against the apple of her cheek. "I need you to know something."