"Are you wearing a heart pendant?!"
Ha Chae-yoon looked up from her laptop to see her friend eyeing her new jewelry. "It's a jade one. Tae Gu says it's good luck."
"When have you ever believed in 'luck'?!" Ji-hye asked.
"I still don't but he believes it and it's a gift from him for our 100 days," Chae-yoon replied, touching the pendant that was on her neck. "Leave me alone."
Ji-hye chuckled. "I'm teasing you. He's good to you?"
Chae-yoon nodded. "He is."
"Good. I'm glad. Did you complete his background check?" Ji-hye asked, partially in jest.
Chae-yoon nodded. "He submitted all his government IDs and police clearance and his record is clean save for a few parking tickets which he promised to settle soon."
Ji-hye chuckled. "I'm happy for you. You have to hide your necklace for now because we have work."
Ha Chae-yoon knew this but this was the first time she truly regretted taking off or hiding something. Even her former engagement ring, which turned out to be cheap pewter, she never had an issue taking it off to lock it during work hours. Yet here she was, lamenting having to take off her pendant and her rose quartz bracelet.
Seeing her dilemma, Ji-hye giggled. "Oh, you have it bad for this man."
Ha Chae-yoon smiled proudly. "I do. I like him a lot."
Keeping his gifts close to her was not the only change in Chae-yoon. She also became one of those women who called their boyfriends to check if he had eaten lunch. She chuckled when she recalled giving Ji-hye a difficult time when she would catch Ji-hye on the phone checking on her boyfriend.
"He's a grown man! He knows it's lunch time. Are you his mother that has to remind him?" Ha Chae-yoon used to complain.
But now, at the canteen, she was dialling Min Tae Gu's number asking the same thing. "Are you eating well? Make sure you get your fill, alright? Am I seeing you tonight? I already miss your face! Can you come see me?"
Ji-hye was making kissy faces at her so Chae-yoon threw a table napkin at her friend. "Shut up."
Min Tae Gu was speaking into the phone. "Of course. Can I sleep over?"
"Of course!" Ha Chae-yoon replied, turning away from Ji-hye. She loved it that Tae Gu still asked her whenever he would enter her space, not assuming that he could just step in.
He would even ask, "Can I kiss you later?"
"Hmmm let me think about it."
Min Tae Gu laughed. "Okay then. I'll bring my toothbrush just in case you say yes. I want to make sure I have minty breath."
Another new thing she discovered about herself was that she loved calling Min Tae Gu various pet names. She never used English or Korean nicknames for the people she dated. She just called them by their first name, but with Min Tae Gu, she like calling him nicknames because he seemed to revel in them also.
One time, he was so busy writing five articles due to the various outlets he was providing them that he couldn't even stand up to eat. She brought him food to his home and insisted that he take even just a few minutes break. He protested until she cooed, "Baby, please? I don't want you getting sick."
He absolutely love it.
There was another time that she had an early day filled with meetings so he prepared her a lunch box. To show how grateful she was, she kissed him gently and whispered, "You're so good to me. Thank you very much, Sweetheart."
This term used to make her gag, but somehow for him, it fit.
Later that afternoon, the women received good news from their supervisor. "Ladies, you've been nominated to attend a special seminar on the latest fraud detection technology we are hoping to procure for our headquarters. You will be the first ones trained and expected to share that knowledge to our team here."
"Thank you, Sir!" They replied.
"The training will start next month so you have a few more weeks to prepare for your departure," their supervisor continued.
"Departure, Sir?" Chae-yoon asked.
"Yes. The training will be held in Switzerland and will run for two months," he continued. They were given additional instructions on the papers they needed to submit so that their visas, plane tickets and hotel accommodations can be processed.
This training, if they brought it back successfully, would mean a promotion for Ha Chae-yoon, a promotion that has long been deferred because of her past issue. To say that she was excited about this was an understatement.
When she went home that night, she set up the dinner table with the take out food she bought to celebrate. As soon as Min Tae Gu walked in, she jumped into his arms and told him the happy news. "I finally have the opportunity to get the promotion! Are you proud of me?"
Tae Gu shared in her joy and hugged her tightly. "I always am! Congratulations!"
"Not yet! But I will do my best," she cautioned.
"I'm sure you'll get it."
"Let's not jinx it," Ha Chae-yoon said.
Min Tae Gu frowned. "Why, Inspector. Is that belief in bad luck, I detect?"
"No. I just don't want any congratulations until I am actually awarded the promotion," she replied. Pulling him to eat, she shared the other details of the seminar. Then, suddenly she sobered. "We'll be apart for two months."
Min Tae Gu nodded. "I realize that."
She moved her chair closer to him upon realising this. Placing his arm around her, she settled at the crook of his neck and started kissing him. "I'm going to miss you."
"Good. Maybe I should send you dozens of pictures of me," he suggested in between her pecks. "Bring the horseshoe also and the four-leaf clover pin --"
"Sweetheart, stop talking. Just kiss me," she commanded.
Ha Chae-yoon didn't immediately pick up on the effect of the pending separation on Min Tae Gu.
He started asking if he could sleep over at her place more and more often, which she did not mind because she did not want to waste another minute apart. However, the closer her departure date came, he started having nightmares.
His dreams started with pained groans which would wake Ha Chae-yoon. Slowly, it progressed to him reaching out for someone. A week before she needed to leave, he jolted up in bed calling out, "Please come back! I'll be a good boy. Please come back!"
Ha Chae-yoon was so worried for him. "Baby, it's okay. It was just a dream."
The following morning, Tae Gu would refuse to discuss it, brushing it off as, "Bad dream. It's fine."
Because she was leaving soon, she reached out to Hyun Ju. "I just need a lead. Is it something from his childhood? Has he had nightmares before?"
Hyun Ju frowned. "Long ago, yes. Whenever our parents would go on trips without us, he would get those dreams. When I left our home to go to University and when I bought my own place, it was the same. It's probably because you're leaving soon. He doesn't like being left behind. He feels like he's being abandoned at the orphanage again."
Ha Chae-yoon hurt upon hearing that.
"You'd feel like you shouldn't go that's probably why he doesn't want to talk to you about it. Then, he would feel bad about making you feel guilty. It's a vicious cycle for him," Hyun Ju said. "Just talk to him."
"I will. Thank you, Min Hyun Ju."
"IT'S NOT! SHE'S WRONG! How could she say that? She's just making you worry. I'll speak to her," Min Tae Gu protested vehemently when Ha Chae-yoon told him of her talk with Hyun Ju.
"No. I was the one who asked her because I was worried," Ha Chae-yoon said, stopping him from leaving. "I'll worry more if you're not honest with me!"
"I just... I'm... I..." he sputtered words out to try to deflect from what they both knew was true. But, eventually, the weight of their separation and the agony of hiding the burden the past weeks took it's toll on him. He sat on her couch and covered his face with his hands. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry for feeling that way but you should be sorry for not telling me at once," she reprimanded, gently. "I don't like leaving you, either, but I could have assured you that I have all intentions to come back."
Min Tae Gu sighed. "I wish I were stronger about it but people leaving is difficult for me to deal with."
"I understand. Your childhood was tough," Ha Chae-yoon said, holding his hand.
Looking at her apologetically, he continued, "I hope you know that I had no intentions of stopping you from going because I know how important this is to you."
She nodded, understanding this completely.
"I'm going to cry when you leave," he confessed, pouting at her.
Her heart melted immediately. She knew he was trying his best to make light of a difficult situation because he didn't want to burden her. "Okay. I'm going to cry, too."
"Good. Let's cry for one day and then we'll be happy so that you could enjoy your trip," he declared.
"But what if I miss you on other days? Can I still cry then?" Ha Chae-yoon asked, with a pout of her own.
Min Tae Gu thought for a few moments then nodded. "Call me so I can cry with you."
Ha Chae-yoon promised to do so. "Hey you! Don't go looking for other women while I'm gone. Don't go falling for a girl with stars in her eyes. She might have glassy eyes because she took illegal substances! That won't be good for you."
Min Tae Gu chuckled then. "I won't. My heart is fully occupied anyway."
"Good answer, Mr. Min."
Hugging each other tightly, they continued to whisper assurances as the night progressed. "Eat well, okay? I don't want to see your abs anymore when I get back."
"Alright. As long as you make sure you stay pretty. I like my girlfriend to be beautiful."
"Oh you, jerk! You're lucky your face is my type."
"Do you want to bring my ladybugs with you?"
"Of course! Put them on my shoes okay?"
When he fell asleep, she traced his perfect nose with her index finger and then kissed it. Looking out the window to the crescent moon, she whispered, "Hey, space rock... I mean Moon Goddess. Could you watch over him while I'm away? Fill his heart with happiness and let him know that I'm coming back for him. Don't tell him this... because I want to be able to tell him myself but... I'm in love with him."
Narrowing her eyes at the moon, Ha Chae-yoon said, "That's our secret for now. Don't steal my thunder."
Looking at Min Tae Gu again, she whispered, "Keep yourself safe. I adore you, Mr. Min. I'm coming back. I'm coming back."