There are Many Flowers in Seoul

Chapter Fifty-Six

Not that it mattered.

She'd be leaving for Japan before they knew it.

The days since their encounter had passed by quickly and Rose had noticed how time seemed to speed up whenever a person was finally happy, as if the universe was determined to snatch away the hours of joy from them after blessing them with good fortune. The only good thing to come out of that was that Tae-won had fully recovered from his illness. Rose tried to take some credit for his speedy return to work, but he'd declared that it was because of Deok-su's nagging that he'd come into the studio and demanded that they continue with the location shoots so that he could finish the contract sooner rather than later. At first, Rose suspected he'd changed his mind about wanting to be with her and would pin the blame for all his talk of love on the fact that he'd been suffering with a fever. The moment she saw him give Si-woo the cold shoulder, she understood; Tae-won wouldn't forgive the photographer for kissing her.

Rose could have told Tae-won that she suspected the only reason Si-woo had made such a brash, sudden move had been because he wanted to force her to come to terms with the conflicted feelings inside her heart and succumb to the love she'd tried to deny, but it wouldn't have changed anything. There was no erasing the kiss or the fact Si-woo had offered her a relationship to get over Tae-won. The only thing they could do was to pretend it never happened and work together as though nothing was amiss so as not to make the shoot any more difficult than it needed to be.

So, as Rose pretended to read the letter, held a hand over her mouth in shock, and forced fake tears into her eyes, she thought instead of how much she loved Tae-won in that moment and how broken she'd feel when it came to its inevitable end. Yes, it was inevitable, and it hurt her soul knowing that they'd soon part ways and he'd be nothing more than a blissful but irritating footnote in the story of her life, but that day wasn't yet upon them and she intended to enjoy every second she had with him until it arrived.

'Good!' Si-woo shouted when a tear rolled over her perfectly powdered cheek. 'Imagine that he's walked out of your life forever, and you're wondering if he's with Jin-hee.'

Rose couldn't picture Tae-won with Jin-hee. She was beautiful, there was no denying it, but she wasn't his type. At least, not anymore. There was no way a man could decide he wanted someone who was honest with herself and disinterested in his fame, and then move onto a woman who'd use him to boost her career profile. That said, Tae-won was all about his image, and it was entirely possible that he would date Jin-hee once she left the country.

While her mind filled with awful images of Tae-won embracing Jin-hee the way he had her, Si-woo waved over the actor and whispered an instruction to him. Tae-won sighed softly, apparently irritated that he was being called into the shot despite the way his stomach filled with butterflies whenever he and Rose were together.

'Stay in character, Rose,' Si-woo instructed, keeping her attention away from the man who was now stood just outside of the frame. 'And turn in three... two... now!'

Rose turned to see Tae-won stood on the street with her. He wasn't the real Tae-won, but the fake Tae-won from the campaign who'd supposedly sent her a letter than he was leaving her for some reason. The part of her in love with the real Tae-won wanted to laugh at this sudden twist of fate, but the character she was playing had taken possession of her senses, and Rose's lips parted in a silent gasp of relief and surprise upon seeing him standing before her. Perfect tears brimmed in her eyes, making them sparkle in the daylight, and she crumpled the letter in her fingers from holding onto it too tightly in her shock.

As Tae-won walked forwards slowly he entered the shot and the cameras snapped away to capture every moment of their romantic, heart breaking reunion. Embracing his experience as an actor, the fake Tae-won asked his Silver Lilies lover, 'Did you read the letter already?'

'You said you weren't coming back.'

'I couldn't leave without you,' he said. 'When did I become so weak without you?'

'Okay, move closer,' Si-woo instructed, almost shattering the delicate fantasy world they'd constructed when their eyes had met.

Rose took a hesitant step, but she knew in the same position, she wouldn't just run to a man who'd been willing to leave her all alone. She'd be too afraid that he might do it again, or that he might be a mirage or dream there to torment her. The letter in her hand was real, but what if he was a spectre? What if he was just her dearest wish appearing before her eyes and would vanish into smoke when she was about to find herself in his arms?

'Don't move,' Tae-won told her, his expression smouldering. 'I'll come to you. I'll always come to you, Rose, no matter the distance.'

'Tae-won...'

Their relationship was meant to be a secret – they were meant to pretend that they hated one another in front of everyone – but their promise was impossible to keep when they had to play lovers for the camera. Tae-won strode to Rose and brought her into his arms, embracing the weeping girl with such conviction that she could understand why he'd won an award for his acting work.

'Don't cry,' he said as his cheek rested atop her head. 'I'll never make you cry again.'

'And... Yes, we've got it. Let's set up the next scene down the street.'

Tae-won released Rose abruptly and she was knocked out of the fantasy in an instant. Noticing her stunned expression, Tae-won risked a gentle brush of his fingertips against the back of her hand and said quietly, 'You're not a bad actress, Rose.'

'I was going to say the same thing.'

'Who says I was acting?' he asked with his trademark smirk. Tae-won cleared his throat and complained loudly, 'Aish, this concept is stupid. How much longer are we doing this?'

'Tae-won,' Rose said quietly, 'can I take back what I just said? You're terrible.'

'Same to you, Japan.'