There are Many Flowers in Seoul

Chapter Fifty-Four

They were an awkward, odd trio as they staggered down the corridor in the apartment building, Tae-won between them and Deok-su leading the way. He freed himself when they arrived and leaned against the door, struggling to type in the keycode but determined to do so himself. The door yielded to him and Tae-won almost fell through. Rose's hand shot out and she grasped his elbow, keeping him upright just long enough that he could lean against the doorjamb to regain his balance. Playing the gentleman, Tae-won brought Rose into the entry-way first where she kicked off her shoes and stepped up into the apartment hall to give the two men space to enter behind her.

At least, that's what she thought would happen.

Tae-won's intentions weren't as honest as she'd presumed – he wouldn't have been Tae-won if he'd done as expected – and once Rose was inside, Tae-won followed, turned, and said to Deok-su, 'Don't call me.'

Deok-su was still protesting in Korean when the door closed in his face and the door lock engaged. To keep him from entering the code from the other side, Tae-won secured the manual latch and sealed them in. He glanced back over his shoulder and, seeing Rose's worried expression, said, 'He doesn't let me sleep when I'm sick. He just talks at me about schedules and contracts.'

'And the fact that we're alone now has nothing to do with this?'

'Do I look healthy enough to attack you?'

'I wouldn't put it past you,' Rose said.

Tae-won smirked. 'You're giving me too much credit, Japan. Besides, I don't need to attack someone who came along with me willingly. All I have to do is get better so you're not left alone with that bastard.'

'There's some kind of irony in you calling another man a bastard.'

Tae-won tore the baseball cap off his head and unhooked the mask strings from over his ears. Despite his pallid and clammy complexion, he was still a remarkably handsome man with his deep, dark eyes and soul shaking smile. Leaning against the shoe cabinet, he admitted, 'I am a bastard. It's what I have to be to survive. If anyone should understand that, it's you. Aren't you lying to everyone to protect yourself?'

Rose didn't have a good answer for that. Everything he'd said was the truth; being famous was hard work. Perhaps if Rose had realised earlier that she could adopt a persona like Tae-won's then she might never have fallen in love with Keiji and wouldn't have expected to make real friends who'd never think about her wealth or her familial connections. But, if she had, then she wouldn't have been Rose Porter-Abe, she'd have been someone else entirely. Tae-won's armour worked for him – it kept fake people at an emotional distance and spared him the pain of a broken heart – but Rose couldn't imagine treating others the way he did.

'You must be lonely,' she said. 'To live like this all the time. Not letting anyone see the real you.'

'I let you see.'

'Because we were kids together, I know, and it wasn't even for that long. It's almost... sad... that you feel like I'm the last chance you have at being yourself because of a few days that I barely remember.'

Tae-won shook his head lightly but said nothing. Rose always felt like there was something she was missing or misunderstanding with him. Now that she'd discovered their shared history, she thought that sensation would disappear, but it was just as present a feeling as ever. Rather than argue with her, Tae-won kicked off his shoes and walked past her toward the living room.

'Where are you going?' she demanded. 'You need to go to bed!'

'Aish, so bossy,' he complained, rubbing the back of his neck and tousling his black hair. 'I'm sleeping on the sofa. You can take the bed.'

Rose hurried after him and grasped Tae-won's far larger and stronger hand in both of hers. 'I don't need the bed.'

'So, you want to sleep on the sofa with me?'

'No,' she said flatly. 'Don't get me wrong, but you're not exactly the sexiest guy in the world right now.'

'Does that mean I'm usually the sexiest guy in the world in your opinion?' he teased.

Rose cleared her throat softly, her face feeling unusually hot under his smouldering – if unwell – gaze. 'Let me make you a drink before you go back to sleep. It was camomile and honey, right?'

As she made to walk away to the kitchen, Tae-won hooked Rose's jeans by slipping two of his fingers through the belt loops and pulled her close, their bodies pressed together. Moving his hands to her waist, he said, 'I've heard that if you share a cold, you get over it twice as quickly.'

'I don't think that's totally true,' Rose said. Her face felt like it was on fire and she wanted to run and hide until she regained her composure. Letting Tae-won see that he had her flustered was hardly ideal; it was just the sort of thing he'd take advantage of or mock relentlessly, even if he was still running a fever. Rose cleared her throat softly. 'Tea. I need to make tea.'

'I love you, Japan.'

'Okay, you're still delirious.'

'I'm not. I love you. It's a stupid idea and it'll never work, but it's true.'

'If we both know it's stupid and it won't work – mostly because you're a jerk – then what's the point?'

Tae-won flashed his trademark roguish grin and said, 'Because it's fun while it lasts. Admit it, Japan, you feel the same way.'

'I might admit it if you stop calling me Japan.'

'Rose,' the name rolled from his tongue like the most divinely smooth and rich caramel, decadent and delicious. It was a forbidden, passionate tone which made her tremble with desire. Never before had a man said her name with such desire or feeling.

'Say it again,' Rose breathed, unable to stop herself.

Tae-won brought his warm fingers to her cheek and brushed his mouth over hers. Rose didn't even care that he was sick or that she could catch his cold, or that this ridiculous relationship would break them both beyond repair. For one wonderful moment there was only them in all their raw, honest glory, and Rose wanted to exist in those few seconds forever.

'I love you, Rose,' he said and kissed her. In doing so, he made her heart inescapably his, and Rose was too swept away to know that this would mark the beginning of the end of her life as she knew it. Everything that followed could be traced back to this one moment and it would alter her path forever.