RSL Ch 104

“The rumors spread quickly.”

It was a little past 8 o’clock, but the Autobahn was as dark as midnight. There weren’t many vehicles on the road. Few would venture out in such weather.

The rumors have been around for a while. Jae-yi is said to be making his way back to Munich through the snowstorm. Does he always have to engage in such adventurous endeavors?

Despite Johannes’s scolding, Jae-yi merely smiled slightly. The speed of the windshield wipers increased another notch.

“I have a feeling that if I don’t leave today, I’ll be stuck there for a few days.”

– Good intuition. That’s right. It’s chaotic here. It seems like all our onsite meetings for tomorrow will be canceled. They suggested postponing the KVH case to next week.

That remark elicited a reaction. Jae-yi turned up the volume on the car speakers.

“Really? That’s good to hear. To be honest, I wasn’t very confident about that case. I haven’t had the time to go through all the relevant materials yet.”

– Take your time. I heard Nadia might join in if needed.

“Why does it have to escalate like this?”

Jae-yi checked the left side mirror. He briefly moved into the overtaking lane for a vehicle trying to enter the highway from the right.

– The lawsuit amount is in the millions, so it seems we need at least one senior partner on this side to make it look decent.

“Hmm.”

It wasn’t an incorrect statement, but it left him feeling a bit uneasy. There were already three corporate lawyers attached to the case, along with two assistants. Did it imply that his team wasn’t reliable enough to the extent that a senior had to join? Moreover, if it was Nadia, she would surely know that Jae-yi was preparing for a promotion. A new smile slipped from Jae-yi’s lips as he sipped his coffee.

-Anyway, it looks like it will be scheduled for next Wednesday, so let’s take our time preparing. By the way, is Maximilian very sick?

“Probably. He has a personality that rarely takes sick leave.”

-So that’s why you’re racing into the snowstorm.

“He says he’s fine, but I have a bad feeling. I need to go check on him myself.”

-Right, that must be worrying. With the weather like this, who knows what could happen? It’s better to be there for him. He’s not the type to exaggerate.

Johannes had met Seo-jin before. He had always regretted not being invited to the wedding, and eventually, he insisted on seeing Seo-jin when he came to pick up Jae-yi from the office.

But when Seo-jin pretended to recognize him and asked for a handshake, Johannes also exclaimed, “Ah, I remember now.” Seeing the two greet each other warmly made Jae-yi tilt his head in confusion.

‘Weren’t you law school classmates? You were close since your rookie days. I remember you two got along well because you had similar personalities. Why would you think I wouldn’t know?’

Of course, Seo-jin’s memory was half right and half wrong. Johannes was merely a colleague met at the law firm, not a university alumnus. Still, they had known each other for over six years, so it was impossible that Seo-jin had never met him. They must have crossed paths at least once. It was just that Jae-yi couldn’t recall it. Their lives had intertwined so deeply that they sometimes confused that truth themselves.

“Johannes, remember that restaurant near Andy’s where we ate together? Is it still doing takeout?”

Jae-yi suddenly recalled his promise to bring dinner for Seo-jin.

-It should be. If not, just insist on my name.

Jae-yi laughed incredulously at his bravado.

“Are you really that important?”

-I am. Being a 20-year regular is quite something.

Checking the time, he realized he could just barely place an order. Jae-yi pressed down on the accelerator once more.

“Alright. Then I should call now. I’ll get back to you. Bye.”

-Since you’re going, get a lot to go. Bring some falafel or something. If the roads get blocked tomorrow, you’ll run out of food at home. Remember, delivery won’t be available in this weather.

“Stop nagging like a grandmother. Hang up.”

After finishing his conversation with Johannes, Jae-yi immediately called the restaurant to place his order. He mentioned he would pick it up around 9, so he needed to speed up. He maneuvered through the vehicles lined up, all traveling at 100 kilometers per hour, and entered the overtaking lane.

In a hurry, he drove ahead. With the growling engine, Jae-yi’s rental car surged forward.

As he got closer to Munich, the surroundings transformed into a winter wonderland. After getting off the highway, everyone had to drive as slow as a turtle. He finally entered the city and picked up the food he had ordered. It was just a brief trip outside, but snow had piled up on his head and shoulders.

Fortunately, the soup was very hot. It seemed they had prepared it just in time for his pickup. When he mentioned Johannes’s name over the phone, they remembered him fondly as someone who had visited with him before. Thanks to that, he received a free salad.

The real adventure was just beginning. The roads were frozen, and immediate snow removal would be impossible. He slowly made his way home, cutting through the snow that had piled up to the point where the lanes were invisible. Traffic lights were useless. The streets were tangled with pedestrians trying to cross and vehicles trying to inch forward.

One fortunate thing was that Jae-yi’s home was located in the heart of Munich. It was only a 10-minute drive away. The new house being built in Karlsfeld was still unoccupied. The two had set up their newlywed home in his small apartment, which was filled with memories from their days as friends. The spare key that Seo-jin had kept was still in his possession.

All the furniture was also what Jae-yi had used. Seo-jin’s belongings from Korea were so minimal that it didn’t feel like they were merging households. He said that he had left so hastily that he hadn’t even prepared a place to stay in Seoul, so he had been living in a hotel at first.

Seo-jin at that time was, how could he put it, so emotional and spontaneous that it’s hard to imagine now. He reached the threshold of betrayal, sadness, and anger and committed the biggest act of his life.

‘I just couldn’t bear to see you married. I was confused and angry.’

Hearing his later confession, they both smiled bitterly. Jae-yi also confessed that he had been lost just as much as he had. It just seemed to take him longer to find a solution because he didn’t know the reason.

BEEP. The horn blared. The car came to a stop. Everyone was tangled up because of one truck that couldn’t get out of the tight traffic light and was stuck in the middle of the intersection. It didn’t seem like the situation would be resolved soon.

Jae-yi let go of the steering wheel and leaned his upper body against the seatback. A song with an unknown title flowed from the randomly shuffled playlist.

I called you a month later, like a fool. If I had known you were crying, I would have come to see you. You should have just told me then. I liked you too, but there was someone else, so I couldn’t approach you.

Jae-yi couldn’t help but chuckle softly. The timing of the late realization seemed to be a steady seller everywhere.

They had both gone through quite a mess for similar reasons. Now they could laugh and reminisce, but the feeling when Seo-jin disappeared to Korea for the first time was truly like being hit on the head with a hammer.

The shock was so great that he called and messaged him daily like a stalker. Once, he left about thirty missed calls in a row. Then, a reply would come late at night.

[Stop calling.]

That was all. There were no explanations like, “Let’s talk next time,” or “I can’t really tell you for various reasons.” He felt flustered and angry. Then, gradually, he began to worry.

Had he done something to upset him?

At that time, no matter how much he retraced his steps, he couldn’t find the cause. The anxiety that went beyond worry disrupted his daily life. His life became a mess. The more it did, the more he tormented Seo-jin’s brother, Chris. Of course, there were no results. If they had fought, he would have just said to resolve it on their own, and he never got a clear answer.

Then, once he managed to reach him on the phone, Seo-jin’s voice was calm.

‘Well, it’s just that the treatment is good. They’re looking for a captain for the A350, and I’m perfect for it.’

Even when Jae-yi pressed him, asking why he was doing this, his answer was pathetic. He had called during a brief break in a company meeting, but he couldn’t move on to the next meeting at all.

Jae-yi thought it was unfair to come out like this without any discussion. He thought that even if others didn’t know, he should have at least told him in advance. He felt completely foolish, as if he had become a complete idiot without knowing anything, despite being called his best friend. However, Seo-jin didn’t even give him the right to feel that way.

‘Is that important?’

‘What?’

‘Is it important that you became a fool? I didn’t know you were getting married either. But I didn’t say anything to you.’

The conversation began to flow in a direction that was increasingly different from what Jae-yi had expected. He hadn’t anticipated that his marriage would come up there, leaving him momentarily speechless. He was feeling frustrated, while he calmly suggested that he hadn’t done anything good either.

Then, through the phone, he heard his laughter mixed with a sigh. He must have felt it was childish. So he simply concluded that he was hurt. Hearing the news of his best friend’s marriage over the phone must have been disappointing. In fact, he remembered that Seo-jin’s reaction had not been good from the moment he first learned of his marriage.

‘You’re… getting married…? To whom…?’

‘Gisella. You know her. She’s our classmate.’

‘…’

The conversation kept breaking off, and he checked on him several times to see if he was okay. He took his word that it was because he was driving. They had agreed to talk face-to-face soon, but he hung up. He never got to hear him say congratulations.

So he thought that was the reason. That he hadn’t told him in advance about going to Korea because he was upset. He had thought about it so simply.

Of course, now that he thinks about it, Jae-yi hadn’t intended to announce it that way from the beginning either. He had tried to set up meetings several times. But it hadn’t been easy. He had resolved not to wait aimlessly at his empty house anymore.

So he just waited. Seo-jin said he was busy with flights, so Jae-yi decided to wait until he had time. As a month passed and then two, things got tangled up. What he had intended to say casually before hearing it from someone else ended up having a much larger impact than he had expected. He couldn’t blame anyone. It was a mistake.