(In)Organic

Never get married in your early twenties.

Especially when it’s arranged by your parents for business.

That would’ve been nice to know for you when you were still young. Now? You're close to hitting thirty, sitting at a bar in a hotel lobby, desperately trying to drown the regret and disappointment as you stare at the divorce documents in front of you.

It was stupid of you to fall for her. At the start, you had both already made it clear you were just doing this for your parents. Whatever was best for business. Still, even if it was just a ruse or a straight up transaction, there were moments in those 6 years that felt real. Hell, maybe some moments that actually were real.

Again, stupid.

All it took was just for the right guy to come in and swoop her off her feet. The right guy to treat her right. The right guy to actually love her like she deserves.

It was bound to happen. ‘Luckily’ the two of you agreed on an out clause in the pre-nup for this specific situation. It was pretty in-depth and thorough, again, ‘luckily’ for you. Perks of it being an arranged business marriage. Get to go out with what you came in with, houses, cars, money, etc. For now, the hearings are just for the aspects that were bought or acquired while together. Fortunately, there won’t be any custody battle for kids (you both were too busy anyway) so these are more so about joint purchases. And the dog.

Still, you find the entire situation depressing. But who wouldn’t? At the very least, you thought that the two of you would eventually grow into the relationship. Like, actually end up being in love. It would have made life easier, having that aspect all ironed out. Well, now you’re stuck in the endless dating cycle, horrified by the countless dating apps, blind dates, set-ups—

“Excuse me? Is this seat taken?”

The question shocks you out of your mental rant, only to be caught in a trance by the beauty that was waiting for your response. Her porcelain skin glowed in the dim bar light. Her dark locks flowed just short of her shoulders. Eyes piercing, peering into your soul. You could go on for hours about the absolute perfection that stood in front of you, but you suddenly remembered that she needed an answer now.

“Uh, yeah– NO! I mean, no it’s not taken. It’s free.” Seeing you a bit flustered makes the woman giggle.

“All right, thanks.”

It’s a few minutes of silence, aside from her telling the bartender her order, in your desperate attempt to make the situation less awkward. You decide to focus on your drink and the… right. The divorce papers. All the bad thoughts start filing back in before—

“Rough night?” The embodiment of Aphrodite asks you.

“Hmm? Me? Oh. uh. Not really. Just a symposium for cardiology research.”

“You kinda seem too down to be bored.”

“Guilty as charged.” you joke. “Kinda weird to open up to a complete stranger but here it goes. My wife– well, soon to be ex-wife and I are finalizing our divorce.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

“Thanks. Nothing toxic happened or anything. It was just… something that ran its course.”

“Still, it hurts, doesn’t it?”

“That’s what the alcohol is for.” You joke. “Now, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s someone like you doing alone in a hotel bar?”

“Luckily for you, I don’t mind. I was attending an award ceremony in one of the ballrooms. It got a bit boring so I decided to take a walk.” The beauty explains. “After a few strides, I saw a guy out of the corner of my eye who looked like he needed some company.”

“Well, he appreciates it.” You joke as you take another sip of your drink. The alcohol clears up a bit for the gears in your brain to start turning. You remember seeing the sign of the awards show. Something about idols? That’s when it hit you. Why this beauty beside you looked so familiar. The puzzle pieces start to fall into place and the picture finally becomes clear.

“Oh my god.” You say as the realization finally hits you.

“It took you long enough.” The beauty smirks before taking another sip of her drink.

“K-Karina? From Aespa?” You manage to sputter out through the shock.

“Now I’m guilty as charged.” She jokes.

“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you straight away. The alcohol—“

“It’s fine! Besides, it was nice being treated like a normal person and not an idol.”

“I wouldn’t really call someone as beautiful as you as just normal.” Your compliment earns a giggle from the idol, her cheeks slowly turning crimson from it.

An hour passes by with your new drinking buddy. The combination of the alcohol and her friendly  and welcoming personality gets you to open up more. You tell her more about your relationship— well, past relationship. How it started as a transaction before you slowly started to fall for her. How you thought there could have been more. 

Karina opens up as well. Upcoming group projects. Upcoming solo projects. How some of the older sunbaes have started to hit on her. It sounded like what you came to expect from someone in her industry. Her idea of mundane seemed like a world away from you. Still, she was so bright while talking about it that your attention never faltered. However, her last confession was something that would shake you.

“Okay.” Karina says before taking another swig of her drink. “I have to come clean if I want the night to go where I want to.”

She already had your full attention, but this seemed like it was important.

“We have actually met before.”

“Karina, I think I’d remember meeting you.”

“Yeah, it’s just you didn’t know it was me.”

You raise an eyebrow in reply, curious to hear a story that you should have been familiar with.

“I think it was a year, maybe two ago. My dad had a heart attack.”

“Oh. Sorry to hear that.”

“He’s fine now. Though he needed a triple bypass asap. None of the on call doctors were experienced enough. None of them were confident in doing the procedure. My mom and I were losing hope when we noticed a commotion among the nurses and residents.”

Two years ago? A triple bypass? The details start to feel familiar to you, but you’ve done countless surgeries that they all seem to blur together.

“That’s when I saw you, rushing from the ER straight to the operating room.” Karina continues. “Hours later you come out of the operating room to talk to me and my mom. I was in a mask so no one would really recognize me. Still, you went through what procedure you did, success rate and road to recovery for my dad. It was a little later when we overheard from the nurses that you rushed back from a personal appointment in Seokcho.”

Seokcho. 

Now you remember. It was your last hail mary of trying to make it work with your ex. Unfortunately, it became the final nail in the coffin for her instead. Still, it was your duty. It didn’t matter to you whether it was a VIP case or not. All that mattered to you was that there was a life that needed saving.

“It shocked me and my mom, really. We didn’t ask for any special treatment. We didn’t even avail the VIP case. Still, you rushed back out of a sense of duty and responsibility. We couldn’t be more thankful that you did.”

As much as the surprise confession shocked you, Karina’s next actions did so even more. What started as a simple, accidental brush of your hands suddenly sent a shiver throughout your body when she took yours in hers. She held on tight before she used her other hand to direct your gaze towards her. 

“I never did get to properly thank you for saving my dad’s life.” The way she said it sent your heart into overdrive. 

Sultry. 

Seductive.