Would love your comments and see what you think of the story so far.
The meeting went surprisingly smooth. The General had his first client and now needed to choose the training location. Lee Min Ho kindly arranged for him to look at a few available gyms through the agency and if Choi Young liked any of them, the actor would help him secure the lease.
The building where he stood did not change much from what he could faintly recall. The same expanse of the glass surrounded him, the same slick translucent elevator tube in the middle, the same busy movement of people in the background.
"Shall we?" A young man barely in his twenties, holding a folder in one hand and a cellphone in another, approached him with a quick stride. Barely glancing at Choi Young he looked at the screen, quickly checking on something and moved past him toward the elevator.
"Are you talking to me?" The General stood still, not sure if he was supposed to follow. Did this world change already from what he remembered? Youngsters did not even look their sunbaes in the eyes or showed any deference for the guests.
"I apologize for my subordinate," a response came from behind him. Another person sharply dressed in a dark navy suit, clearly somebody in authority grabbed the young man's hand and slapped the phone out of it. He hissed angrily at the youngster, "Yah, I told you this is VIP, idiot!" The boy's head got smacked loudly and when he winced, the boss scoffed. "Go, I don't want to see your incompetent face." He imperiously waved the boy off and then put a fake smile on his face and looked at Choi Young, who observed the whole thing with unabashed amusement.
"He is an intern, just started and has not yet been trained properly. I hope you will overlook this minor incident, sir. " Suddenly a flash of recognition sparked in his eyes and the fake smile was replaced by an open in confusion mouth.
"Heung?" The man came up to Choi Young, staring up at his face in complete disrespect, as if it was normal or appropriate. "Is it you, Heung?" He asked again, more urgently and even lifted up on his toes, moving his face closer to examine Choi Young's eyes. The man squinted as if trying to see better and then took a step back now measuring the General's body from head to tow. "I'll be dammed!" He finally exclaimed under the breath and slapped himself on the thighs while smiling so widely, Choi Young worried his face would crack open.
For some unknown to himself reason, Choi Young did not get mad or felt slighted by the man's bizarre intrusion. There was something so intimately familiar in his features, his posture, the way he talked and looked up at him as if a long lost lover... A name in the back of his mind practically tickled his throat; feelings of comfort and irritation were somehow connected to the name and also feeling of trust, a warm and brotherly feeling of trust...
"Hee Jun? Is it you?" Choi Young knitted his brows in confusion, while his mouth relaxed in a warm smile. "Moon Hee Jun?"
"It is me, dude." The man laughed lightly with happiness. "I can't f-ing believe my eyes! I thought you went missing on some super secret black ops mission, everything was so hush-hush and Noona had this weird amnesia thing and nobody was allowed to talk about you. And I was so angry because you abandoned her and I was supposed to be a friend to her, but of course, that pretty face had to swoop in and take her under his rich wing..."
Choi Young's smile did not fade; in fact, it permanently stretched his cheeks to the point of beginning to hurt him. The man's tirade flew past the warrior's ears and he took a step forward and pulled Hee Jun into a tight hug. "Shut up and let me hug you," he said, rendering his friend speechless and leaving him to melt in the warrior's arms. Choi Young heard a sniffle and memories of shirts ruined by Hee Jun's unmanly and outright childish habits flooded him. The general grumbled, but allowed Hee Jun to stay in the hug till he pulled away himself.
The loyal puppy friend sniffled and wiped his nose and eyes with a sleeve of his expensive jacket. "Aren't you going to hit me for putting snot over your clothes?"
"Not today, old friend. Not today." Shook his head Choi Young and smiled again.
Hee Jun sniffled again and then became thoughtful. It seemed that after letting himself be emotional about the reunion, he engaged the part of his brain that was responsible for higher order thought processes. Hee Jun's face reflected mix of complicated emotions, which was quite unusual for him even at this age: disbelief, confusion, anger, happiness, tentativeness, more anger and more happiness, then another flash of anger.
"Where the hell have you been all this time and how dare you did this to Noona?" He hit Choi Young's shoulder hard with a sturdy fist and then ducked instantly, reflex not lost in his memory for the kind of slap that could follow.
Choi Young immediately regretted his momentary lapse in judgment and the too warm reception he allowed before. It obviously set a very dangerous precedent for the future behavior. He lifted his hand in response, heavily landing on the man's shoulder and squeezing it so hard Hee Jun almost collapsed under the weight of his grip. "If there were no people here, you might have ended up with a concussion," the General said quite seriously. "It seems that your touching tic was not affected by years. And how dare you hit me, anyway?"
Hee Jun brazenly glared up at his old crush and challenged Choi Young, "Try and hit me now, big guy. I am not the young kid you knew. I am not afraid of you."
Choy Young looked at him with respect, but scoffed at the next comment that undermined the statement before. "And I can have security revoke you visitor pass."
Hee Jun clutched his fists for a shot of courage and demanded, "You have some explaining to do and I'm not done with being extremely upset." He cocked his head proudly. "Traitor," he added with fiery defiance.
"I guess old habits die hard," said Choi Young calmly. He looked with honest and sad eyes straight into Hee Jun's. "You are right to be angry. And I should have reached out and explained everything when I came back. It was not easy for me either. I too had some trauma, as Eun Soo called it, to deal with."
"Got it." Easily accepted Hee Jun and smiled again, proving amazing flexibility and ability to quickly forgive and forget. "Can you believe the coincidence?"