RSL Ch 103

“Shall we wrap it up here?”

Jae-yi put down his pen at the client’s declaration. He leaned his upper body against the hard chair back and muttered to himself.

Finally, I can go home.

Looking at the clock, it was just past 4 PM. This three-day business trip to Frankfurt was finally coming to an end. The flight back to Munich was at 8 PM. Having gone all day without eating, he thought he should at least grab some dinner before heading to the airport.

The eight people in the conference room shook hands as they took turns saying goodbye. Jae-yi asked one of them again about the Greek restaurant they had briefly discussed in the morning.

“Acropolis. Just turn down the alley behind here, and it’s right there. I’ll send you the location.”

“No, I found it. It’s right out.”

Jae-yi shook his phone, which displayed the map app, and smiled. The other two colleagues who had come with him were already packing their bags. On the desk lay cold coffee, snack crumbs, and gummy bears, remnants of the marathon meeting that had started in the morning.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Yes, I’ll be in touch again.”

The three of them left the building without any regrets and headed to the hotel. Outside, sleet was falling like an uninvited guest. January in Frankfurt was the reality itself. People who had returned to work after a long year-end vacation were moving busily. The new year that they had been preparing thoroughly was starting like this again.

Jae-yi was no exception. Half of January, which he had hoped to spend leisurely, had already passed, and more business trips were lined up. The only concession for being newlywed was the New Year’s party. The cases he had to handle were steadily increasing. He found himself somewhat resenting the decision he had made last year to aim for a senior partner position.

Entering his hotel room, Jae-yi tossed his briefcase onto the sofa and headed to the dressing room. He planned to meet his colleagues in the lobby in ten minutes to go out for dinner. As he loosened his tie, his hand instinctively reached for his personal phone. To his surprise, he had received a message.

What’s going on, he should be flying right now?

[Feeling unwell. I canceled the flight and rested at home. Call me when you’re done.]

Jae-yi’s eyes widened. He immediately pressed the call button. A flight cancellation was something that wouldn’t happen unless Woo Seo-jin was really unwell.

“Seo-jin.”

As soon as the call connected, he called out urgently. A heavily strained voice came through.

-Yeah, are you done with your schedule?

It sounded like he was lying on the bed, the sheets rustling. Jae-yi’s brow furrowed.

“What’s wrong? How bad do you have to feel to cancel your flight? Don’t you need to go to the hospital?”

He quickly unbuttoned his cuffs while leaving the phone on the table. Then he peeled off the shirt that had been clinging to him all day.

-I have a bit of a fever. I think it’s just a cold, but I can’t fly in this condition.

“So how sick are you that you’re saying that? Can you breathe?”

-Don’t overreact. It’s just a bit over 38 degrees. Anyway, with the heavy snow today, flights are getting canceled left and right. I thought I’d take the opportunity to rest.

“Well, that’s a relief, but is it really snowing that much there?”

Jae-yi instinctively checked outside the hotel window.

-Yeah, that’s why I called. Didn’t you say you had a night flight? It’s going to be canceled. Book another night at the hotel. Don’t bother going to the airport for nothing.

With Seo-jin’s firm statement that it wasn’t just a delay but a cancellation, Jae-yi picked up the phone again and walked back to the table.

“Are you telling me to stay another day when you’re sick? Don’t be ridiculous. Since I haven’t heard anything yet, it seems like the flight is still on, but I’ll check if I can move it up.”

As he sat down and opened his laptop, he checked for other flight times. If he checked out right now, he thought he could arrive before 5 PM. He got up again and threw on a sweater. The dinner appointment was definitely canceled.

-Don’t do that. Even if you don’t hear anything now, they might suddenly not give takeoff clearance. Don’t get stuck on the plane and be in a situation where you can’t go anywhere. Just stay another day.

Seo-jin’s voice lacked strength as he explained. It seemed like he needed to rest. Jae-yi didn’t want to prolong the call.

“I’ll handle it. You just get some sleep.”

It was a given, but he knew Seo-jin wouldn’t accept it.

-There’s really heavy snow here. It’s going to get worse. The runway is whiteout, so landing is impossible. It’s a perfect situation for an accident, so listen to me.

“Okay, don’t worry. If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll drive.”

Changing into comfortable clothes, Jae-yi began to pack. In any case, there was only one conclusion. Seo-jin was sick. He had to get home immediately.

-Why go through all that trouble? Just stay another day.

“It’s not trouble. I’ll handle it, so you rest.”

-Jae-yi.

“Just stay. Rest. By the time you wake up, I’ll be there.”

-Han Jae-yi.

“I love you. Bye.”

Jae-yi quickly ended the call before he could hear any more nagging. Fortunately, the phone didn’t ring again. Seo-jin knew well that he wouldn’t listen to any persuasion. He was probably lying on the bed, sighing.

He picked up his phone again. First, he called the airline to express his desire to move up the flight time. However, there were no available seats. He checked other airlines, but they said flights to Munich were being canceled one after another. Still, he couldn’t give up. He called a rental car company and finally managed to secure a car.

“Sorry, but I don’t think I can have dinner with you.”

Two colleagues were already waiting in the lobby. Jae-yi quickly finished checking out. When he told them that flights to Munich were being canceled, one of them looked troubled.

“That’s unfortunate. I have another schedule tomorrow.”

“Think of it as an opportunity given by the heavens and take a day off.”

The other one seemed quite relaxed.

“That’s not going to happen. Stephan is going to call for a conference call in the morning.”

“Just don’t answer.”

“You know, if I don’t answer, he’ll keep calling two or three times.”

“I still won’t answer.”

“I’ll take my leave then. See you at the office.”

Seeing that their conversation was dragging on unnecessarily, Jae-yi couldn’t wait any longer and abruptly said goodbye. He dragged his suitcase and hopped into a taxi.

When he arrived at the rental car company, it had started to snow lightly here as well. He felt he needed to hurry.

“I guess you made the reservation in a rush. The inspection isn’t finished yet, so you’ll have to fill up the fuel yourself. Is that okay?”

“I don’t mind.”

Receiving the keys at the counter, Jae-yi signed the documents and got back his copied driver’s license.

“You’re returning it in Munich, right? I heard it’s a mess there right now.”

The counter staff, folding the customer receipt and handing it to him, glanced at Jae-yi with concern.

“I’m not going to the Alps, so it should be fine.”

“Just don’t speed too much. Even on cleared roads, if you push it too hard in this weather, you could flip over.”

At the staff’s words, Jae-yi looked at the blue compact car standing alone in the parking lot. It was a hybrid manual car that looked a few years old. It wasn’t his taste at all, but at least he had managed to get something. No matter what he drove, he just needed to arrive today. Given the urgency of the situation, he couldn’t voice any complaints.

“Where’s the nearest gas station?”

“There isn’t one around here, but you’ll find one soon if you take the outer road. Don’t forget to fill it with diesel. Here you go.”

Taking the receipt and contract, Jae-yi stepped out into the biting cold. The air was starting to freeze. It would take five hours to Munich. Originally, his goal was to make it in under four hours, but he decided to abandon that. As the staff had said, it would be troublesome if the car flipped over.

He loaded his luggage into the trunk and immediately set out to find a gas station. He also bought drinks and dinner at the kiosk. He loaded two caffeinated drinks and a hot coffee into the console box and bit into a buttered pretzel. After taking a bite, he started the engine. At the same time, he called Seo-jin.

“I’m on my way now. I’ll arrive before 10 PM.”

-Did you really rent a car?

“Yeah.”

Jae-yi took another bite of the pretzel. He could hear Seo-jin’s sigh. How could I stop you? His voice, muttering that, sounded worse than before. He seemed a bit congested and was coughing lightly. He must have taken his medicine, so Jae-yi thought he should bring something else.

“Aren’t you hungry? Should I get some tomato soup? Or is it too late for dinner?”

-Get it. I’ll eat it tomorrow. Just don’t drive recklessly. It’s really snowing heavily here. Everything is frozen.

“I’ll take a day off tomorrow too.”

-Why?

“I have to take care of you.”

At that, Seo-jin let out a weak laugh.

-If you’re going to do that and then work all night while I’m sleeping, you might as well just work from home. That’s unfair.

Why would he feel unfair when he was the one working? Jae-yi just said he understood. There was nothing more to say to someone who was sick. Rest easy. I’ll be there soon. Yes, come safely. Even after the call ended, Seo-jin’s voice seemed to echo in the car. Jae-yi pressed down on the accelerator.

It had only been three days they were apart, but he missed him quite a bit. Hearing that he was sick made it even more so. He felt a pang of sadness, as if his heart was burning. It might be because Seo-jin wasn’t the type to complain often.

If it weren’t for the snow, he would have been speeding at 180 kilometers per hour. He was exercising maximum patience to keep it under 100 kilometers. Jae-yi poured the coffee into his mouth. The temperature was dropping as he headed south, and the snowflakes were getting thicker.

-Jae-yi, you’re heading home, right?

As he was passing through Nuremberg, he received a call from the company. It was Johannes.