Her Bin.
She felt her jaw dropped, but was able to recover right away.
Choi hugged her before she could say any word. "Yej, it's nice to see you after a long time!!" Choi said while looking at Hali, as if asking as to what to do.
Bin came near and hugged Hali. "Hali, it's nice to see you again."
"Yeah, Bin, it's been a while, still looking good, huh?" She said, while still looking at Choi, as their eyes talked. What now?
"Let's all sit down.." Choi said, looking a bit nervous with the awkward situation they are in.
"Hi Dr. Son." Bin bowed to Yejin.
"Hi Bin." Yejin replied, trying to smile.
"Uhmm, Bin, Yej...we just want to explain. I hope you two would forgive me and Choi here." She said, glaring at Choi, who was scratching his head.
Yejin and Bin just looked intently at her.
"As you know, I invited Yejin to meet us here, after we patched things up. And I didn't tell Choi about it because I wanted to surprise him. But he also wanted to surprise me by inviting you, Bin. So both of us didn't know that each of us had invited the two of you. I only found about it yesterday and we did not know what to do. I told him to tell you Bin and that I would tell you Yej, but he didn't want to. So here are the two of you. We're sorry." She said with a begging look on her face while Choi just looked at them, waiting for their reaction.
With that, Bin chuckled. "Hey Hali, it's fine. Don't worry, we're cool with it, right Yej? We've talked already, so we're good now, right?" Bin said, now looking at Yejin with a genuine smile.
Hearing him say her nickname and seeing that genuine smile with those deep dimples automatically brought a smile on her face. "Yeah, Bin's right. It's okay Hali, Choi, don't worry about it."
Choi exclaimed, "Yes, thank heavens, we can celebrate this surprised reunion now! Gosh, we missed the two of you!"
Hali stood up and hugged Yejin, and then Bin. "Thank you! Let's make it a memorable trip, then?"
Smiling, Yejin nodded, while Bin just stared at her, returning her smile.
"Okay, so Bin will just check in to his room and then maybe we can have dinner at 7 PM. Let's meet at Caretta's, then?" Choi said.
They all agreed to Choi's suggestion and Bin left to check in, while the three of them returned to their own rooms.
-----
Back to her room, Yejin freshened up by taking a bath. As she was arranging her clothes in the closet, she thought it hard to choose what to wear.
Yejin, just choose what you prepared to wear. Why are you acting like a teenager now?
Shaking her head, she chose what she meant to wear that evening, a flower patterned white dress with green cardigan. She put on a light make up and just blow dried her hair. By 6:45 PM, Hali was on her front door.
"Hey, why are you here?"
"Well, I just wanted to make sure, you're okay.."
"Hey, it looked like you're the one that's not okay.."
"I'm really sorry Yej.." Hali guiltily said.
"Stop saying that, we'll just enjoy, okay, the four of us? We can make it, we're good now, okay?" Yejin said, wrapping her arms around her shoulder.
"Okay, let's enjoy then! I'm so happy to be finally reunited with my best friend and my baby's best friend!
With that, they went to the restaurant.
-----
When they arrived at the restaurant, Bin and Choi were already sitting outside, taking advantage of the cool breeze on that calm night. They sat around the table, with Hali on Yejin's left and Bin on her right. She felt more relaxed now, hoping that she and Bin would be able to continue breaking the ice.
The waiter came and asked for their orders. Hali and Choi ordered seafood while she and Bin both ordered the New York Strip steak. The four of them chatted as they waited for their food to be served.
Choi started by asking Yejin so many questions about her life in the US, to which Bin just listened intently, while looking at her. Hali from time to time butted in to answer for her, but Choi had the most questions and Yejin realized she was the only one talking.
"How about you Bin, how have you been?" She asked Bin courageously, trying to make him talk.
"Uhmm, I'm just fine. I took my MBA at Yonsei, and traveled often because of the ventures of our company abroad, which then led me to Houston." He said, summarizing everything just in a few sentences.
She tried to ask some more, hoping to break the ice between them.
"How about your family, how's your parents and your sister?"
Hali and Choi just looked at them silently.
"My parents are doing great, though of course, they aged a lot now. Dad had been taking breaks more often because of his health. Noona, on the other hand, has established her own business, she's into resorts and hotels. She actually acquired The Villas and renovated it."
"I'm glad to hear that Bin." She smiled, looking at him.
"Hey Hali, you haven't told me yet what happened during your wedding. Did Choi cry?" Turning to Choi and Hali, Yejin teased Choi.
Bin just smiled, and answered for Hali. "Yes, he cried...no, he actually wept. Luckily, I have a handkerchief at hand."
Hearing that, Yejin laughed out loud, imagining the scenario. Bin and Hali laughed with her.
"Hey, you two, you still haven't changed huh? It's a good thing you did not end up together, otherwise, I will surely be bullied by the two of you for the rest of my life." Choi, with his big mouth, told them.
With that, Hali glared at him while Yejin just smiled and Bin looked down.
"Yeah Choi, we'll always visit your house and bully you forever! Right Bin?" She joked before she realized what it could mean.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Bin, I didn't mean to say it like that.." Blushing, she turned to Bin.
"Huh?" Bin asked, as if not understanding what she had just said.
"I mean, knowing you and Ha-na expecting, I shouldn't have joked like that." She said shyly.
Hali and Choi exchanged glances and looked at Bin.
"Bin, haven't you told her?" Hali asked.
"What's that?" Yejin asked.
"Ha-na's pregnant with Geun's child. Geun died five months ago, and I stood up for him in taking care of Ha-na. The child's not mine, Yej." Bin said straightforwardly, as he drank from his glass.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought the baby's yours, because you were with her in her check-ups...and you did not correct me when I called you as the baby's appa." Yejin said, bewildered with what she heard.
"I'm sorry, I didn't correct you...I was just considerate of Ha-na's feelings, with Geun not being around." Bin said, looking straight at her.
"I understand Bin. How hard it must be for Ha-na." She felt guilty, thinking that Bin was the father of Ha-na's baby and getting jealous over her. Now her heart was filled with compassion for her.
With that, their orders arrived and they started to eat. After their dinner, Choi invited them to their room to hang out some more.
-----
While in their suite, the four of them continued to chat just about anything that they've been through in the past five years, with Bin telling stories about his travels, Yejin about her residency and practice, and Hali and Choi, their jobs and new life together.
Hali even joked that she'll come to Houston once she got pregnant so that Yejin can take care of her, leaving Choi behind. Choi replied that maybe Yejin would go back to Seoul and just do her practice there. She just smiled at their idea and joked that she'll go back if Choi would employ her for Hali. They chatted until around 10 PM and because of the tiring travel, Yejin wasn't able to suppress her yawn, which Bin caught.
"Hey, you're sleepy Yej. You should go sleep now." Bin looked at her, with his usual comforting voice. She smiled with a giddy heart, after hearing him say those words.
Hali agreed with Bin and called it a day for them. As she and Bin went to the door, Hali hugged her and thanked the two of them for the night. "You just don't know how happy I am seeing the two of you like this." She told them, almost teary-eyed.
Yejin held back her tears because she knew how messy she could be when she cries and she won't be able to stop right away. She just hugged her back. "Hey, thanks, too! We'll go now, see you tomorrow, lovebirds."
As she and Bin stepped out, he asked her room number, as if calculating if they should go together in the hallway.
"310. You?"
"330, it's on the other side."
When they arrived at the other side of the hallway, she turned and told Bin that hers was on the left side.
He nodded and said, "Mine's right here, goodnight Yejin." He smiled as he motioned towards the right side.
"Goodnight Bin..." she smiled, and before fully turning left, she added,"...and thank you very much for tonight."
She turned and walked away without turning her head back.
Bin was left standing until he saw her enter her room. With that, he then went to his room. He went straight to the shower and while taking a bath, he thought of what just happened.
So she's here...
To be honest, he felt a certain kind of peace in his heart after they talked last time in his office. And seeing her now, even being in her presence for a few hours today, didn't bring the pain that he used to have when he saw her a couple of times before here in Houston...
Not wanting to over-analyze things, Bin got into his sleepwear, and decided to just enjoy this time with Hali and Choi, and Yejin as well...for old time's sake.
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A/N: Hello, my dear readers! I hope you enjoy this new update. Thank you for sticking through thick and thin, just as Bin and Yejin experience the challenges of falling in love. Indeed, love is not an easy thing! I hope your hearts are all well! Fighting! 💪🏻❤️🤗