Call Me Noona

Chapter 23 - Decisions, Decisions

Nikki made sense. I really had nothing tying me to this place, other than complacency. I loved my job at the gallery, but I would find something. Seoul was full of galleries. I knew I could keep my art here with Jisung and continue to sell those pieces. That would help supplement my income. I felt a sense of calm as I realized I had made my decision. Well, I had made it earlier, but now I could support it. I needed to do some research first, before I told Minhyuk, but I felt confident in my decision now.

At work the next morning, Jisung and I had our weekly meeting to go over operations, upcoming exhibits, and whatever else needed to be covered. I decided to go ahead and tell him.

"Sajangnim, I need to talk to you," I prefaced. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Must be important if you are calling me that." He leaned closer to give me his full attention. I took a deep breath and held my hands in front of me.

"Minhyuk has asked me to move to Korea and I have decided to go," I spewed the words out quickly before I lost my nerve. "I wanted to give you plenty of notice."

"Hmm, I can't say that I did not see this coming. When do you plan to go?"

"Well, I literally just made the decision last night, so I have zero plans yet. I just did not want to leave you in a bind. It may be a few months. I don't know for sure."

"You have been my right hand for so long, I don't know what I would do without you around, Sunny." I looked up at him with tears in my eyes.

"I love it here. I love working for you, working with you, but I am ready to live the life I want now. I have lived for someone else for so long... it is finally my turn. I hope you understand."

"I actually do understand... and I support your decision completely. You deserve happiness, Sunny. I want you to be fulfilled. I want you to have all the things you have been denied all these years. The gallery will survive, but it just won't be the same without you here." He smiled reassuringly and patted my hand.

"I never saw any of this coming. How did you?"

"I am not blind. I see how in love you two are. You are a grown woman, not some teenager who is infatuated and motivated by hormones. What you have is true and real. It should be cherished... nurtured."

"I intend to do just that," I leaned back in my chair and smiled confidently. "I am scared to death though!" Jisung laughed and nodded. He had left his home to come to America, so he did have some sense of empathy.

"I am proud of you for taking charge of your life. You are making a brave move, Sunny. But you know, finding a job is going to be really difficult. Have you started looking into that yet?"

"No, and that is why I think it may take a few months to do this. I don't even really know where to start."

"Well, I have some thoughts on that," he paused for dramatic effect. "Why don't you run the new gallery in Seoul for me?"

"I am sorry, what?" I blinked at him several times as I struggled to process what he said.

"I decided to open the new gallery finally. I was going to tell you during our meeting this morning, but you got there first. The space you found is perfect. It is exactly what I envisioned. I got some estimates recently and I have our lawyers reviewing the lease now. It will be ours in a few days. I already have crews lined up to begin renovations, and they estimate 4-6 months, depending on what we want to do inside." I was in shock for so many reasons.

"You want me to run the gallery? Without you there?"

"Yes," he laughed, "I can't be in both places. But with you there, in a way I will be." He leaned back in his chair and took a long sip of coffee before continuing. "I would love to get you over there within the next few weeks to oversee the renovations and the opening. I will come over occasionally, but this will be your baby. I know you have your vacation coming up, so of course that will not be affected. You have earned that time off and I want you to take it. If you accept my offer, that is." My brain was still catching up. I could not believe what I was hearing. "Sunny, you will accept, won't you?"