The following Saturday, Joohyun took the subway downtown for dinner. Seungwan was going dancing that night with his classmates, but he was coming in from the suburbs early to have drinks and a meal with her first.

When she emerged from the station, Seungwan was waiting for her. He was more dressed up this week, his brown shoulder-hair-length tamed and slicked back.

Instead of blue jeans and boots, he wore polished white sneakers and crisp -colored dress pants. His button-down shirt hung open loosely over top, the ends untucked. Underneath, a plain white t-shirt was neatly tucked into his pants, accentuating his trim waist.

Joohyun whistled when she stopped in front of him. “You look positively robust,” she teased.

“Have to look good for my date.” Seungwan winked. “And then look better than the kids in my class tonight, too.”

Joohyun laughed and shook her head. “Let’s eat and you can tell me more about that.”

It was her treat today, and she took Seungwan to a restaurant owned by one of her teachers, a quiet little space with a tasting menu and an extensive wine list.

Seungwan took one look at the menu and told her he would eat whatever she wanted to try. “We’re supposed to share, right? That’s the idea?”

“Yep.” 

“Then surprise me. You’re the chef, you tell me what’s going to be great. I’m here for the company.”

“Charmer,” Joohyun muttered, smiling. “Any allergies?”

“Nope.”

After ordering, Joohyun asked Seungwan about his exams that week. He told her about a vertical obstacle course they had to complete under a time limit.

“You start with a hose carry, up a fire escape. It’s bundled, over your shoulder, so off-balance, but it’s not bad.”  

“How many storeys?”

“Three. Then you drop the hose, and a partner on the ground tosses you a rope so you can haul up another bundle. Hand over hand. It’s a different set of skills from army stuff, but the basic principles are the same. Conserve energy, work smarter, not harder. Pace yourself because the hard stuff is at the end.”

“Sounds like fun.” And she was serious.

Seungwan took it as she meant it. He nodded. “It is. The stamina part is really important. And the younger guys have it like crazy.”

“You’ve mentioned the age difference before.”

Seungwan grinned. “I think it’s because I’m the youngest in my family. Back home, people call me The Shon Child. I like that I’m the old man in my
class. I think the only time I haven’t either been way younger or way older was on our tour in Russia.”

His face sobered up, his mouth pulling tight. “We were all too young, then. But at least we were in it together.”

She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “Yeah.”

They had bonded that tour. All of them. In over their heads. It had been Joohyun’s third roto, and the first one to not be fully, properly staffed at all levels.

Her section was more than half reservists, all excellent soldiers, but only Seungwan had done the full pre-tour work-up training. And the leadership overseas had been in shambles, too.

It was the first tour for her where went sideways. Joohyun had stepped into a leadership role someone else should have occupied, and they all got through it.

But when they got home, most of the troops under her had returned to their own units. They’d lost touch. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t keep tabs on you guys,” Joohyun said softly.

Seungwan gave her a surprised look. “That wasn’t necessary.”

Joohyun disagreed. “In hindsight...”

Now it was Seungwan who squeezed her hand. “We’re all still hanging in there.”

“Tell me about Kyungsoo.” Joohyun leaned in, hanging on his every word as Seungwan told her about his friend moving out to Busan, turning into a beach bum.
It sounded wonderful.

“We worked as house movers for a while. It was good for him to be home, for a while, but then he got restless. He likes to be alone with the adrenaline rush on the ocean.”

When their food arrived, Seungwan had lots of questions about why she’d ordered each one. The wine was good, the food was great, and the company was best of all.

Before she knew it, it was dark outside and both of the desserts they’d ordered had been polished off.

A second bottle of wine was nearly finished, too, and she was feeling the effects of that all over. A good kind of buzzy.

“I should get going,” she said reluctantly, because she had nowhere else to be that night, but Seungwan did. “You have a party to get to.”

“I wouldn’t call a bunch of drunk kids blowing off steam a party.”

Joohyun laughed. “You used to.”

“Damn, you knew about those?”

That made her laugh even harder. “Young corporals and master corporals are not great at being subtle.”

Seungwan gave her an aw shucks look that made him look three years younger. 

Just as charming, but more vulnerable in a most unexpected way. He’d once used that charm to cover up fear. She’d seen it then, and she realized now that was the big difference.

This Seungwan oozed confidence. He knew he was capable of this new career. The way he talked about his training, with pride and a cocky knowledge, was totally different from how he saw his role in a complicated military campaign.

Firefighting felt like a better fit for him, a more direct use of his kindness and compassion. And almost certainly more likely to give him feedback that he was actually making a difference.

That younger man Joohyun had just caught a glimpse of again had seemed unmoored and uncertain.

Tonight’s Seungwan was neither. He was intense and earnest, still very charming, but with a new depth—which would be dangerous for her to get too distracted by, but she felt the irresistible tug anyway.  

Outside the restaurant, Joohyun waved in the direction of the subway. Where she should head to, so she could go home and crawl into bed. “Well, have
fun tonight.

“Do you have to get going? We could grab a drink, keep talking.”

“What about your classmates?”

“I can blow them off.” Seungwan paused. “Or you could come with, if you wanted?”

The last time Joohyun had gone clubbing would have been the winter after they returned from Russia. Four years ago.

That woman felt a decade younger than Joohyun felt lately. She was only thirty-three, but a divorce and a radical career change had taken their toll on
her.

Except, right now, she felt absolutely up for it. “Are you sure?”

His face lit up. “I’d love to have a friend there.”