Front Page News

Chapter 17: The Escalation

Seo Dan is also surprised by his sudden action. But before she can push him away, he tilts her up gently so she has to look at him with those doe-like eyes that haunt his dreams.

"And what if I didn't want our arrangement to be over?" he asks.

Her stubborn face melts to confusion and Alberto takes that as his cue. There is a proposition that he had been mulling over for some time.

"Come with me to London," Alberto says.

His words linger in the air of the sunlit garden for a second. Then Dan scoffs and breaks away from him.

"Are you crazy? How could I do that?" she asks angrily. "I have a life in Seoul, Alberto. I'm important here. My family is here. What on earth would I do in London? Wait around for you to come home from work every day?"

Alberto just watches her silently with his hands in his pockets, because he had anticipated every one of these questions.

"And more importantly, why would I move with you?" Seo Dan scoffs. "We had a very clear arrangement. We never put it into words, but I thought you knew: friends with benefits. No emotions involved."

"Well, I failed," Alberto explodes suddenly, unable to hold himself back any more. "Can you honestly tell me that you feel no emotions about us ending, Dan? Because I call bullshit."

He watches her eyes widen and her lips part slightly at his confession. A wave of relief rolls over him, because he'd just taken a gamble; Seo Dan could have just as easily declared that she felt nothing for him and sent him away. But she didn't, because he had been right in judging her and all the subtle, maddening ways she'd shown him what she really felt for him. He can see that truth in her face right now. Alberto takes a deep breath, conquering his sudden urge to kiss her, and takes Dan's hand instead.

"Dan-ah, I'm not asking for your hand in marriage," he says carefully. "I don't want to be another fiancee of yours. And I'll never make a promise to you which I can't keep."

"You don't have to live with me if you don't want to," Alberto continues. "You could fly back to Seoul as often as you like. Whether you come for a weekend or you come forever, I know that you'll do it on your own terms. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"But you've been in two serious relationships, Dan-ah. Why not try something a little less structured? The world is so big, and not everything follows our plans." He smirks a little bit and raises an eyebrow at her. "Why not see a bit of the world with me?"

The morning light filters through the heavy trees and onto her questioning face, illuminating her dark eyes with intensity. Alberto squeezes her hand.

"I'm just asking for a chance." He wishes fervently that she would accept, but knows that he can't push her. "You don't have to answer me now, but please, think about it."

***

"You can go get a change of clothes and a cup of coffee, you know." Jeong-hyeok glances up into the kind nurse's slightly amused face.

She checks her watch. "She's been asleep for...what? Eleven hours, at this point? I'm sure she'll be asleep for half an hour more."

Jeong-hyeok protests quietly that he doesn't need to leave, but the nurse is adamant.

She says that if his girlfriend wakes up to see him like this she'll break up with him on the spot. His friends had gone home and come back, she says, referring to Pyo Chi-su and Gwang-beom. He could, too. Broken bones were hardly something for all-night vigils, she added with uncanny prescience, no matter how in love young people were these days.