Cloveland Hospital, Seoul
"Good morning Sir." Fuyu says cheerfully.
"Oh Fuyu, how nice of you. You came all the way here despite being so busy." The Vice President says sitting.
"I was free today." She says looking around. She grabs a seat on the couch in front of the bed. Her secretary stands beside her.
"The doctor said he had a heart attack due to excessive stress." The secretary says.
"Sir, you should take care of your health." Fuyu says looking at him.
"I think we should change Sir's hospital, I can smell smoke in the room, how can a hospital provide such service?" Fuyu says with a worried expression.
"No, no need, no need. You take too much tension for me." The V.P. says giving a laugh.
"Offcourse health of our employees is our first priority." Fuyu says.
"Oh, the smoke is just because someone who smokes came to visit me." The V.P. exclaims.
"I see, that is why I can see a lighter below your pillow and cigarette beneath the sheet." Fuyu says.
"He must be stressed out a lot but see he is still working hard so much, meeting people." Fuyu says to her secretary.
"That's important for the company." Fuyu's secretary says.
"See even the laptop is warm, Sir you shouldn't work while you are in the hospital." Fuyu says touching the laptop kept on the table in front of the couch.
"No, no it was just...." The V.P. says. The Vice President's secretary moves towards Fuyu as soon as he sees her touch it, but he gets blocked by Fuyu's bodyguard who smiles at him.
"I see you were taking care of the stocks of Hamyang Bank?" Fuyu pretends to be asking to her secretary.
"Their stocks were falling till last month but then when we decided to support them, they shot up vertically." The secretary says.
"Don't you think it's odd, we decided to save a bankrupt bank without any apparent reason?" Fuyu asks looking the direction of the Vice President.
"I see you are really ill. You aren't even being able to speak." Fuyu says standing up. She moves closer to his bed. She smiles and him and then suddenly turns and picks up a tablet strip. She removes the metallic cover. Both Fuyu and her secretary look at the strips in awe. There were diamonds instead of capsules. She picks the water bottle kept on the side of the bed. She removes the cover of the manufacturing company. She grins as she twists the bottle. The bottle had been divided into three pieces. The bottom was fully filled with water while the top was partially filled. The third part which was hidden beneath the cover was filled with diamonds.
She picks a diamond and takes it near a window. She holds it under the sun rays. Inside the diamond, it sparkled grey and white, while the outside of the gem reflected rainbow colours onto other surfaces.
Her secretary asks for the diamond piece. She keeps it on her palm. Her secretary places it over a book under the sunlight coming from the window. Light scatteres inside the diamond, preventing the black reflection of the words. This all confirmed that the diamond was real.
"Let's reserve a room in the Pelican Bay State Prison. Wait, wouldn't the ADX Florence be a better place?" Fuyu asks her secretary. Her secretary nods. Fuyu takes a diamond along with her and exits the room with her secretary, leaving behind her smiling bodyguard. As she exits the room, more men armed with guns enter the room.
AdonGod Church
He watches her from the Church entrance. She had been sitting on that white ceramic bench for more than an hour. The clouds had started growling but she hadn't moved an inch. Her eyes shift to the side and become glazed with a glassy layer of tears. As she blinks, they drip from her eyelids and slide down her cheeks. She bites her lip tightly in an attempt to hide any sound that wanted to escape her mouth. By each passing second, it was getting difficult for him to look at her. The sky slowly changes its colour and it begins to drizzle. He turns to see a priest looking at him with a pleasant smile. He was an old man, his beard reflected his experience. He was wearing a black coat with a cross around his neck.
"She came here every Saturday with a friend. She is waiting for him." The priest says. He offers him an umbrella. Min looks at that old umbrella for a second but then takes it. Not knowing what to say, he just bows and walks out of the church doors into the garden in front of it.
"You are so annoying." He says holding an umbrella over her head. He sees in her eyes that her brain had built some new walls with which she was lonely on the other side. "If you'll give me a chance we can take them down brick by brick and start to feel together what it means to be a real friend. " He thinks.
"I told you not to cry." He says sitting beside her still moving the umbrella towards her.
"You see that flower, that beautiful white thing growing beside the stairs. It's called the Tuberose. It blooms at night. It has a sweet fragrance. However, if you cut it, the fragrance vanishes. It is said that it protects against evil spirits." He says. He doesn't look at her this time. He takes a deep breath.
"Those blue ones, which look like glasses are called Canterbury bells. That one is Gardenia. It stands for joy. It also stands for loneliness. Isn't it confusing? Flowers are like that. Their meaning depends upon the person looking at them." He says.
"Aren't you going home?" She asks without looking at him.
"Those sword-shaped are called Gladiolus." He continues.
She keeps her head on his shoulder. He stays still, despite the cold wind which was making him ill slowly. The world turned into a blur, and so did all the sounds. The taste of the rain-dust. The fragrance of the atmosphere.
She was trying to hold it in, but it was getting heavier by second. Her throat burned because of the pressure. Her head ached.
Everything was just gone. She starts to brake slowly. It was the kind of desolate sobbing that comes from a person drained of all hope. Her loose shoulders shook, her hands were hanging low, making no attempt to conceal or even wipe away her tears. Min faces the wall, his face creased and his fists closed so tight that he could feel the sweat trapped inside them. He watched her shake with grief, tears flowing unchecked, there was part of him breaking too.
There's just a part of her that had to die so that the rest of her could carry on her duties. That damp air was freezing them in place.
Min's shirt started to turn translucent. Their clothes stuck to their skin as the humidity in the air increased.
A black car stops in front of them. The car window reveals a familiar face. It was Ji-Hun.
"Stand up, it's too late to be still waiting." Min says as he slowly lifts her head from his shoulders. He was about to wipe her tear with his thumb, but then he pulls away his hand.
"Are you both coming? Or are you planning to die here? If you are planning to die, I can even bury you immediately. There is a graveyard behind this church." Ji-Hun says.
"I am even wearing black." Ji-Hun continues. Seri stands up and moves towards the car and takes the seat at the back. Min takes the seat beside her.
He takes a towel kept inside the First aid box and hands it to her.
"I am cold too." Ji-Hun says snidely turning a little and looking at Min with a sheepish smile.
"Want me to set you on fire?" Min asks raising his eyebrows.