"No sign of them. They seem to have vanished without a trace." Andrew said, waiting for Ji Hoon to respond. He and Ji Hoon were standing in the garden at Fort Estienne, talking. Their stances couldn't be more different; Andrew stood with his weight on one foot, his shoulders relaxed and hands in his pockets. Ji Hoon stood with his back erect, feet apart and hands tied behind him. His eyes were fixed on the east facing window where the early rays of morning bounced off.
"They can't even find any evidence that the OIS were ever in New York, let alone that they were working with Vultaggio." Andrew continued.
"That's to be expected." Ji Hoon said finally. "They wouldn't be good at their job if they left any trace." Andrew bit the inside of his cheek.
"Baek Hyeon must've cut his ties with Vultaggio... When do you plan to expose him? You've been hiding evidence on the OIS's corruption for a long time now. Don't you think the time has come to make them pay for their crimes?"
"I will." was Ji Hoon's short answer.
"When?" Andrew was itching to know.
"Soon." Andrew sighed, knowing that Ji hoon's one worded answers were an indication that he was not going to discuss the matter any further. He changed the subject.
"You're lucky Vultaggio survived." Andrew told Ji Hoon in a dry voice.
"No, he's lucky I didn't wring his head off his neck." Ji Hoon replied coolly. "I'm serious, Hoon." Andrew said, his voice wrought with tension. "You could have been deported or imprisoned if he was dead. A murder charge is not easy to get out of."
"They might have put it down to manslaughter."
"Not with evidence of the three lead bullets that they dug out of him!" Andrew burst with impatience. "Self defense only counts if you shoot once! And since you shot him only after he shot Laura..." Ji Hoon's hands clenched into fists on hearing that.
"And then where would you have been, huh? If you had been convicted, you'd have been out of Laura's life faster than the Interpol could blink. And she would've never forgiven you for that." Andrew continued more softly. A slow exhale left Ji Hoon's throat.
"She needs you, Ji Hoon. You two are meant to be together. Even Mr. Talavera knew it."
"What?" Ji Hoon sounded surprised and his eyes left the window to glance at Andrew. Andrew pulled out a letter from his breast pocket.
"Mr. Talavera's last will." he said as he handed it to Ji Hoon. "He'd been watching you these last few months. He was impressed by how you handled the assignment. He wanted you to continue taking care of her should - anything have happened." Ji Hoon scanned the document with slow perusal, not missing out a single word. When he finished, he folded it up and returned it to Andrew.
"It doesn't say in so many words -"
"It says what he meant." Andrew finished for him.
"He wanted me to take care of his daughter as a bodyguard." Ji Hoon insisted despondently.
"He wanted a good man for his daughter. And I believe he found it in you."
"That's a fanciful assumption." Ji Hoon said obstinately.
"Why are you so piqued about it anyway?" Andrew asked in surprise. "You love her; and she loves you. I don't see what the problem is."
"The problem is, I'm just a fugitive from a distant country who has no right to ask for Laura's hand." Ji Hoon turned back to stare at the east window. Andrew frowned.
"That never bothered you before." he stated.
"Mr. Talavera survived. He'll be out of the hospital soon. I'm sure he'll be eager to see Laura. And now that Vultaggio is behind bars -"
"On trial, but it's a shoo in -"
"Whatever. It doesn't change the fact that Laura doesn't need me as a bodyguard anymore." Ji Hoon finished, hiding the disappointment from his eyes. Andrew rubbed his jaw thoughtfully.
"You can always ask him next time you see him, you know," he said.
"What?"
"Mr. Talavera. You can ask him for Laura's hand - officially if it'll make you happy."
"It's not about my happiness Tae Wook, it's about hers!" Ji Hoon said impatiently.
"Well in that case, I give my full unconditional blessing." A voice said behind them, making both the men turn around. Jason Talavera was being rolled along on a wheelchair by a male nurse, a blanket over his legs and his fingers crocheted on his lap.
"Mr. Talavera sir!" Andrew's eyes widened on seeing him. "I thought you won't be discharged till next week!"
"I'm not as fragile as I look, Andrew." he said with a smile. "By the way, when was the last time you took a day off?"
"Er..." Andrew swallowed trying to remember. Jason chuckled.
"Clearly not since I hired you. Take the rest of the month off. Full pay, of course." Andrew's mouth opened and shut as he was lost for words.
"But - sir - there's er, too much work to do!" he said doubtfully.
"Oh, there'll be work until you reach the grave, Andrew. So you better get some good rest while it's given. And check your bank account, will you? There's a little something I deposited for you as a bonus for all your hard work this past month." Andrew smiled widely at him, tears of gratitude in his eyes.
"Thank you sir! And I'm glad to see you so much better... I'll get going now sir!" Andrew smiled at Ji Hoon and left. Ji Hoon was left alone with Jason. The two met each other's gaze in silence for a moment.
"Sir." Ji Hoon broke the silence with a bow. Jason smiled.
"I meant what I said earlier, young man," He said. "I must say, I couldn't have found a better man for my daughter. Although the credit really goes to Andrew. Who would've thought..." Ji Hoon looked inquiringly at him.
"I know how much you did for Laura, Ji Hoon. And I must say, I'm very impressed."
"Sir, I - I failed." Ji Hoon's voice wavered. "I let Laura get hurt -"
"That's not the way I heard it from Andrew." Jason said with a frown. "As I understand it, my headstrong daughter threw herself in the line of fire to protect you. That speaks for itself, does it not?"
"Sir?"
"I've never seen my Laura in love with any man the way she is with you." Ji Hoon remained silent.
"She was willing to die for you." Jason said half to himself. "I don't think it is my place to keep her away from you. In fact, seeing you together would bring me more joy than I can explain." Jason wheeled himself closer and took Ji Hoon's hand.
"You more than deserve my Laura, Ji Hoon. In my eyes, no man of such remarkable bravery or admirable resilience and selflessness should fear himself unworthy." Ji Hoon swallowed, overcome with emotion.
"Thank you, sir." he croaked out. Jason patted his knuckles.
"Excellent. Now that that is out of the way, I'm sure you'll want to tell Laura herself?" Jason nodded towards the east window. Ji Hoon turned sharply.
"She's awake," he whispered as he watched Laura walking around in her room. He turned back to Jason.
"She hasn't seen you yet, sir, she should know -"
"Good grief boy, can you get any more noble?" Jason said with a chuckle. "I appreciate the thought, but I'm sure she'd be a lot more thrilled to see you first. A crusty old thing like me can wait - I waited this long to find the perfect man for my daughter, didn't I?" Ji Hoon suddenly gave him a hug before retreating into the house as fast as he could, a look of pure uncontained joy on his face.
"And in other news, notorious mob boss Giovanni Vultaggio has finally been convicted of his crimes and received a life sentence without opportunity for parole. New York will sleep better knowing the dangerous mafia king of the underworld has been put away. In a shocking turn of events, Luke Wetmore, the heir of Wetmore Industries, has been summoned for questioning under suspicion of involvement with said mob boss, Giovanni Vultaggio. Evidence also suggests his involvement in -"
"Deye deye, involvement in a major car accident that took place months ago. Get with the times, woman." Ji Hoon turned off the radio that was filling the car. Laura was driving and smiled at his irritation.
"Why couldn't we have put music on? You've heard that headline like three times already." Ji Hoon grumbled.
"I just want the satisfaction of knowing that Luke Wetmore got his head soaked." Laura smirked. Ji Hoon gave an unwilling smile at that.
"And why couldn't I drive? The guy is always supposed to drive the girl on a date!"
"You are so misogynic!" Laura said with mock horror. "Mmm, that's only attractive about you. Don't worry, I'll let you be my macho spy who drives when we arrive." Ji Hoon rolled his eyes playfully at that.
"Where are we going anyway?" he asked.
"Home." Laura replied simply.
"Huh? But we just left Fort Estienne." Ji Hoon said, confused. Laura shook her head.
"Not that place. Our home." she said with a secretive smile. The car drew to a stop near Westhampton beach. The sun was close to setting in the gray clouded horizon and the view was magnificent.
"Our new beach home." Laura said, as they got out. She pointed to a quaint beach house, situated a little higher up on the rocks by the beach. Ji Hoon stared at it, his lips half parted.
"Ours?"
"Well, it's fully furnished, it's got two bedrooms although the guest room isn't furnished yet so there'll only be one bed..." Laura trailed off innocently. Ji Hoon hooked an arm around her drawing her close.
"You are more dangerous than a nine-tailed fox." He crooned, planting kisses along her throat. Laura smiled, closing her eyes to relish the sensation.
"Ji Hoon, we do have a house full of rooms for this, you know." she said when he began to get a little heavy with his kisses.
"I'm just getting warmed up." He teased her skin with his tongue. Laura pushed him back.
"You really are a rogue!" she laughed, bounding up the beach towards the house. "I'm serious though Ji Hoon, what do you think?"
"It's the best gift I've ever gotten - I'll be honest, no one has ever given me a house." He grinned. Laura laughed again, stopping in her tracks to let him catch her. They stepped up on the threshold of the house.
"What the -" Ji Hoon exclaimed when he saw a little wooden board on the door with two distinct birds painted on it - a bluejay and a mockingbird.
"I made that myself." Laura said, blushing. "I figured - that's us. An unlikely pair who found each other." Ji Hoon smiled and planted a tender kiss on her forehead.
"It's beautiful," he whispered softly. "Which is why I hope you won't be too disappointed in comparison with my gift." Ji Hoon pulled her close with one hand. The other slipped into his trouser pocket before coming out with a little silver ring with a single round green stone set in the middle.
"It was my mom's," he said to Laura as he held it in front of her, "dad gave it to her when he proposed - a few days after mom mentioned how much she wanted to have kids." Laura giggled, although her eyes shone as she glanced at the ring.
"Laura? Will you wear it for me, for the rest of our lives?" Ji Hoon asked in an earnest voice. The tears became more pronounced as she nodded and let him slip the ring on her left hand. She then vaulted onto him, wrapping her legs around him as he held her.
"Do I get a kiss from the infamous Rogue Ranger now?" She asked with a sly smile. Ji Hoon grinned.
"I'm not just any Rogue Ranger anymore, Laura, I'm your Rogue Ranger." And he met her lips without restraint, sealing them with a kiss promising tomorrow and forever.
John 15:13 Greater love than this no one has, than to lay down one's life for one's friends.