By the end of January, Soo Ryeon was back to work as an Associate Professor at Korea University School of Law. Halfway through her second year of teaching, she was happy to have found a job that encompassed her love of law, science, and math. She taught in the Law & Health Sciences area, a concentration she'd naturally gravitated toward early in her education at Seoul National University. Her interest had been further solidified after Logan had enrolled in the Pre-Med program at Yonsei University. It amused her that they had ended up in related careers, especially considering how different everyone had insisted they were when she'd first transferred to Daegu high school.

Soo Ryeon's course load included two sections each of Intro to Health Law and Law & Bioscience, and one section of Scientific Method For Lawyers, which she co-taught with her former mentor, Dr. Lim Rea Doo. Though they'd known one another less than two years, they had a very close relationship, born from the trials they'd endured together. Soo Ryeon had been by his side as he'd recovered from a serious heart attack, and he'd lovingly helped her cope in the dark days after her terrifying on-campus attack. Even at the age of 61, he had no plans to retire anytime soon, and although he was no longer officially her mentor, Soo Ryeon continued to learn from him and seek his advice and approval. He was a fatherly figure and good friend, and the pair enjoyed the time they spent teaching together.

The Scientific Method course Soo Ryeon and Dr. Lim taught together was a lab-based course that required a significant amount of research and preparation. When Logan worked on weekends, he sometimes came home to find his wife and her colleague huddled over their laptops, intently discussing discrepancies in their research and their students' lab results. It was hard work, but Soo Ryeon excelled at it, and thrived on the intellectual challenge.

After they finished class on the third Friday of the new semester, Soo Ryeon and Dr. Lim packed up their laptops and briefcases and walked together toward the faculty parking lot.

"Excellent job today, as always," he complimented. "I think the research groups you assigned will work out splendidly."

"Thank you," she demurred. "I have to admit, I'm so ready for some down time this weekend!"

"Big plans?" he smiled, knowing of Logan's penchant for planning special dates.

Soo Ryeon nodded. "Logan's off tomorrow, and the weather is finally supposed to clear up, so we're packing a picnic and spending the day at Namsan Park."

"Oh, that sounds lovely," he enthused. "It's such a beautiful park, even this time of year."

"Yeah, we haven't been there since last fall, and there are some new exhibits we want to see at the Seoul Academy of Sciences," she told him excitedly. "Plus, I love the Japanese Tea Garden."

Dr. Lim chuckled. "I bet you two are like a couple of kids in a candy shop at the science museum."

Soo Ryeon giggled good-naturedly. "Logan did well in his high school science courses, but his interest in biology really piqued when he enrolled in Pre-Med."

"Trying to keep up with his genius girlfriend?" Dr. Lim winked.

She blushed. "We weren't in competition with one another," she insisted. "We were both just pursuing our interests."

He nodded before steering the conversation back on course. "How did you manage to escape wedding planning duties this weekend?"

"Yoon Hee's taking Yoon Cheol out tomorrow," she told him. "They're meeting with florists and caterers and then touring their venue."

Dr. Lim shook his head. "Back in the days when my wife and I got married, the bride and her family did all the planning. All the groom had to do was show up."

She smiled at him, touching his arm in a silent show of support. Dr. Lim didn't often speak of his wife, who'd died several years before Soo Ryeon started working at Korea University. "I think Yoon Cheol would be totally fine with that, but Yoon Hee is adamant that he be involved."

He laughed again. "Well, I'm glad, for your sake, that she feels that way. It'll give you some time to relax and unwind."

"Only for a day, though," Soo Ryeon sighed. "Now that we've confirmed a date for our high school reunion, Seo Jin sent me a couple hundred invitations to address on Sunday while Logan's at work."

He smiled sympathetically. "You're just too helpful for your own good. You need to learn to put yourself first and say 'no' once in awhile."

She whirled around suspiciously as they neared their cars. "Did Logan tell you to say that?" she accused.

Soo Ryeon's retort didn't faze the older man. He simply smiled. "Nope. Just my observation." He waited beside her car as she settled in, and then waved when her engine fired to life. She lowered her window to hear his final words. "Have a good weekend."

She waved back, sending him a genuine smile. "You too. See you Monday."

...~«ώ»~...

On Saturday morning, Logan rose to shower, and after pulling on jeans that slung low on his lean hips, he stood peering into the steamy mirror, the soft hum of his electric razor buzzing against his skin. He'd left the bathroom door open slightly to let out some of the steam from the shower, and as he leaned closer to the mirror, he felt small, warm hands slide across his bare back. He met his wife's eyes in the mirror and smiled as she stroked the firm planes of his back and shoulders.

"Why are you shaving on your day off?" Soo Ryeon asked softly.

He chuckled. "Well, I'm in love with a woman with beautiful soft, silky skin that I don't want to rough up with my stubble."

"Hmm," she pretended to consider, threading her arms around his waist and tickling lightly at his abs. "Do you think this woman you're referring to is interested in having your face rubbing on her skin?"

"Absolutely," he answered confidently. "I'm spending the whole day with her, just the two of us, doing all kinds of romantic things, and I'm sure she won't object to me kissing her." He winked at her reflection. "Everywhere."

He felt a small shudder jolt her body, and she tightened her arms around him, pressing her cheek against his back. "Sounds like a lucky girl," she murmured.

"I'm lucky to have her," he corrected, covering her hands with his and rubbing his thumb over her wedding ring. He cast an exaggerated glance around the bathroom as if to confirm that they were alone. "In fact," he whispered conspiratorially, "I'm trying to get her pregnant. I just hope she's as crazy about me as I am about her."

Her lips puckered against his skin in a light kiss. "I'm sure she is. And I'm guessing that she can't wait to have a baby with you."

He turned then, cupped her face, and kissed her tenderly. When he pulled back, he smiled down at her. "You seem to know this woman very well," he teased.

"Almost as well as I know myself," she returned with a giggle. Then she forced her smile away and made a serious face. "I should probably confess that I'm seeing someone too. In fact, I have a rendezvous with him today."

"Really?" he asked thoughtfully, leaning his hip against the vanity. "Anyone I know?"

"I think so," she answered earnestly. "He has a really hot, sexy body, and amazing eyes that I could drown in." She reached up to run her fingers through his damp hair, and his head naturally tilted towards her hand. "And he's sweet and romantic and funny, and he makes me feel really special whenever I'm with him…" She trailed off, biting her lip as she gazed up at him.

"That's because you are special, and any man who can't see that is a fool," he murmured, tracing his thumb against her cheek.

She resumed the game. "Yeah, that's what he always says," she teased. "Weird. Anyway, he plays basketball, and… ooh, he's a doctor!" She clapped her hands excitedly, and Logan couldn't help but laugh. "And when he sings to me, I fall in love with him all over again."

"Sounds like a great guy," he offered as his hands settled possessively on her hips, pulling her closer.

"He is," she murmured, molding her body into his. "The best. And I get to wake up next to him every day for the rest of my life."

...~«ώ»~...

After breakfast, Logan and Soo Ryeon enjoyed a leisurely morning at the Seoul Academy of Sciences, walking hand in hand through the exhibits, and then spread out a blanket and set up their noontime picnic in the Japanese Tea Garden. The rain that had relentlessly fallen for the past several days had finally stopped, and although there was a bit of a chill in the air, the sun fought through the scattered clouds to make for a nice afternoon. After they ate, Logan reclined back on his elbows, crossing his ankles casually. He watched in amusement as Soo Ryeon meticulously cleaned up the remains of their meal, wiping the empty containers and collecting even the most miniscule pieces of trash. When she worked her way towards Logan's area of the blanket, his fingers circled her arm, and he gently pulled her down to sit next to his hip.

"I was almost done," she protested lightly.

"Well, I missed you," he grinned. "I haven't touched you in at least…" He glanced at his wrist, checking a watch that wasn't there, "15 minutes. Way too long for my liking."

His hand circled the back of her neck and he pushed himself up to meet her lips in a sweet kiss. Instead of lying back down, he sat up and spread his legs apart, and she settled between them, her back to his front. His arms circled her and pulled her against his body, and her head rested against his chest. They sat in contented silence, taking in the beauty around them, as his fingers traced delicate patterns on her hands and arms. The gentle massage, accompanied by the soft, steady rhythm of Logan's heartbeat soothed Soo Ryeon into a state of deep relaxation, and she signed contentedly.

"You're not falling asleep on me, are you?" he asked softly, his warm breath tickling her ear.

"No," she told him. "Just thinking. I can't remember the last time I felt this relaxed. It's nice."

She couldn't see his frown, but she felt his shoulders tense slightly. "You're working too hard."

A little laugh bubbled up from her chest. "This from the man who works 50+ hours a week."

"That's out of my control," he argued. "And it'll ease up some once I finish my first phase of residency."

"What about the team physician rotation you have to do later this year?" she pushed. "Hours at the hospital, plus evenings and weekends with a high school athletic team."

"A lot will depend on where I'm assigned," he reminded her. "Some schools have longer athletic seasons than others." He dropped a light kiss in her hair, attempting to lighten the mood. "Besides, that's still months away… Way too early to be worrying about it."

"I suppose." She sounded unconvinced, and Logan swept her hair aside to nibble at her neck, hoping to distract her. The truth was, he'd worried about it quite a bit. He looked forward to applying his skills and doing what he loved, but he hated the idea of spending so much time away from Soo Ryeon, particularly if she was pregnant. Pushing his thoughts aside, he kissed her neck once more before pushing to his feet. He extended his hand to help her up, and when she was on her feet, he swept her into his arms, covering her mouth with his. They kissed for several minutes, hands roaming and tongues dueling, before he reluctantly pulled back.

He smiled apologetically at her. "We'd better stop before this goes any further. Getting arrested for public indecency would probably put a damper on our day together," he explained.

She giggled. "They'd never make it stick," she teased. "As an attorney, I could argue a very convincing case for my urgent need to kiss my husband, public park or not."

"Well, in that case…" He trailed off as mischief danced in his eyes, and Soo Ryeon squeaked in surprise when he dipped her backwards, just as he had when they'd learned to waltz, and kissed her soundly.

...~«ώ»~...

They spent the rest of the afternoon strolling through the park, touring the Conservatory of Flowers, and looking out over the Bay. Logan was mindful of the "15 minute rule" he'd implemented, and his hands never strayed far from his wife's body. He held her hand, guided her with his hand on the small of her back, slung his arm around her shoulders, and stopped to kiss her whenever he felt like it. She teased him for acting like a "horny teenager," but secretly she reveled in his loving attention.

After a nice dinner at Fisherman's Wharf, Soo Ryeon suggested that they go up to Telegraph Hill, overlooking the city, to watch the sunset.

"Now who's a horny teenager?" he laughed. During their college years, they'd gone to Telegraph Hill a number of times to watch the sunset, only to get so wrapped up in their desire for one another that they missed the sunset completely.

"Are you complaining?" she returned mischievously.

"Absolutely not," he replied with a grin.

Despite their teasing innuendos, they actually watched the sunset, wrapped together in their blanket to fend off the evening cold. They talked, laughed, and reminisced until the sun slipped into the ocean. Only then did their touches become caresses in anticipation of what awaited them at home.

As they drove home, Soo Ryeon pulled out her phone, which had been silenced for the evening, and was concerned to see several missed calls and texts from Yoon Hee, all received within the past 45 minutes. Frowning, she scrolled through the texts, which offered little clue about what was going on. Then she dialed her voice mail, and Yoon Hee's tearful wail poured from her phone's speaker. She could barely understand what Yoon Hee was saying, and her imagination ran wild with frightening scenarios. Clutching Logan's hand nervously, she dialed Yoon Hee's number, groaning when the call went straight to voice mail. She called Yoon Cheol's phone and got the same result.

"What's going on?" She lamented. "Why aren't they answering?"

"I don't know," he answered, his mouth worried into a thin line. He turned onto their street, and spotted Yoon Hee's car in their driveway. Logan pulled in and parked, and Soo Ryeon barely made it out of the car before Yoon Hee flung herself into her friend's arms.

"Oh my gosh, Yoon Hee, what happened?" Soo Ryeon asked fearfully.

"Yoon Cheol and I had a fight," Yoon Hee sobbed. "A big one."

"Where is he?" Logan asked from behind them. "Are both of you okay? Nobody's hurt?"

"Nobody's hurt," Yoon Hee confirmed tearfully. "I don't know where he is now. He was still at our place when I left."

"Okay, let's go inside and you can tell me about it," Soo Ryeon told her. As she turned, Logan touched her arm. She stopped to look back at him as Yoon Hee climbed the steps of the porch.

"I'm going to go check on him and make sure he's all right," he told her quietly.

She nodded, disappointed that their plans had been derailed. His hand slid up her arm to circle her shoulders, and he kissed her forehead tenderly. "I'll be back in a little while," he assured her, lifting her chin with his fingers to see the conflict of emotions swirling in her eyes. "Don't worry, baby, it'll be okay."

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he answered, kissing each side of her mouth before his lips met hers. Far too soon for her liking, he stepped back and circled around to the driver's side of the car, blowing her one last kiss over the roof before settling into the seat and backing onto the street.

...~«ώ»~...

As soon as Soo Ryeon and Yoon Hee settled on the sofa in the Lees' living room, Yoon Hee launched into her tirade.

"Ha Yoon Cheol is such a petty, selfish jerk!" she announced angrily.

"Come on, Yoon Hee, you don't really mean that," Soo Ryeon argued softly. Her hands covered her friend's to still their wringing. "Tell me what happened."

"Well it all started when we went to meet with one of our prospective caterers," Yoon Hee began. "The owner turned out to be an old boyfriend of mine, which I didn't know when I set up the consultation, but Yoon Cheol said I did know. Rae Woo just started the business a few years ago, after we broke up, and one of the nurses at the hospital recommended his company. It was his assistant manager that I spoke to when I set up the appointment. Soo Ryeon, I swear I didn't know it was his business, or I never would have contacted them."

"It's okay," Soo Ryeon soothed. "It's an honest mistake. So then what happened?"

"Well, Rae Woo was really happy to see me—we ended our relationship on good terms—and Yoon Cheol got really mad," Yoon Hee continued. "Rae Woo offered to cater our reception at cost, which would be a huge savings, but Yoon Cheol said there was no way in hell we were using his company."

Soo Ryeon couldn't help but smile. That sounded just like Yoon Cheol. "You said you wanted Yoon Cheol's input in the wedding plans," she pointed out. "That means sometimes he's going to say 'no' when you want to say 'yes.'"

"But he's saying 'no' for a stupid reason," Yoon Hee argued. "He's just jealous, and he has no reason to be. I love him, not Rae Woo."

"Did you happen to mention that at any time during the discussion?" Soo Ryeon interrupted.

"No," Yoon Hee faltered. "But there's more. We agreed to let it go for the time being and finish our appointments. When we went to tour our wedding venue, Yoon Cheol blew up again and said that it was too snobby and he didn't want to get married there." More tears rolled down her cheeks. "Soo Ryeon, I've wanted to have my wedding at the Seoul Design Club's Galleria ever since I moved to this city. You've seen it; it's incredible. My mom put down a deposit as soon as we chose our wedding date. But now Yoon Cheol's mad because I decided without him, and he said our wedding should be a reflection of both of us, and he wants to get married on the beach."

"Your wedding should be a reflection of both of you," Soo Ryeon pointed out. "Logan and I got married at the Memorial Church at Seoul National University, and had our reception at the Faculty Club at Yonsei University."

Yoon Hee forced a small smile. "I have trouble picturing Logan being forceful about having the reception at his alma mater."

"He wasn't," Soo Ryeon clarified. "He suggested the church at Seoul National University because he knew it was a special place for me, but it was my idea to have the reception at Yonsei University. That's my point. We attended rival schools, but our wedding showed that our commitment to each other was… is… far more important than our allegiance to the schools we attended. To be honest, though, I would've been happy marrying Logan on a barge in the middle of Seoul Bay. More than anything, I just wanted to marry the man I loved." She leaned closer. "Which is more important? Where you're getting married, or who you're marrying?"

"But Yoon Cheol's just arguing about the wedding venue because I wanted to use Rae Woo's catering company," Yoon Hee protested.

Soo Ryeon sighed. "Okay, what if you guys went to pick out, say, a florist, and came across one of Yoon Cheol's ex-girlfriends, and she was all giggly and flirty and eager to work with him. Would you be comfortable with that?"

Yoon Hee's eyes dropped to her lap, where her hands were wringing nervously. "Probably not," she admitted quietly.

"And is the Galleria so important to you that you'd be okay with Yoon Cheol feeling uncomfortable on your wedding day?" Soo Ryeon continued.

"No," Yoon Hee muttered. "But I…"

"Do you love Yoon Cheol?" Soo Ryeon interrupted. "Do you want to marry him?"

Yoon Hee looked up, meeting her friend's eyes. "You know I do."

"Then that's what you need to focus on, instead of all this other stuff that doesn't really matter," Soo Ryeon concluded.

Yoon Hee sat silently for several minutes, occasionally wiping stray tears from her cheeks, until she finally nodded decisively. "I think I'm going to go home now and talk to Yoon Cheol."

"That sounds like a great idea," Soo Ryeon agreed as she pushed to her feet.

At the front door, Yoon Hee pulled her friend into a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Soo Ryeon. You're a lifesaver."

"You're welcome," Soo Ryeon answered. "Sometimes we just need to be reminded about what's important."

"Yeah," Yoon Hee sighed. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay," Soo Ryeon answered. "Good luck."

...~«ώ»~...

Twenty minutes later, Logan was back home. He'd settled Yoon Cheol down and talked some sense into him, and by the time Yoon Hee had returned home, they'd both been calmer and ready to talk. When Logan slid his key into the lock and opened the front door, he smiled as he caught sight of Soo Ryeon stretched out on the couch, asleep. On the coffee table in front of her, their wedding album laid open. He stepped forward to see what she'd been looking at, and grinned when he saw one of his favorite photos from their wedding day. In it, he and Soo Ryeon stood in front of the tree at Seoul National University that they'd waltzed around on prom night their senior year. "Their" tree.

Logan settled into the armchair and pulled the album into his lap, reminiscing about the significance that part of Seoul National University's campus held for them. That was the night that had changed everything for them. By coming after her, Logan had declared his intentions and staked his claim on her heart. They'd sat there, under that tree, talking about their future, a future that Soo Ryeon had tried to give up on when she'd left Daegu. That was where Logan had first told her that he was considering Hanyang University, although she hadn't known his final decision until he announced it onstage the night of Daegu high school's musical. It was also where Logan had told her for the first time that he loved her. Countless times throughout their college days, they'd returned to their tree to talk, reconnect, and even a few times, to dance.

Logan leaned forward to look more closely at the photo. Soo Ryeon was stunningly beautiful in her wedding dress, and he stood beside her, clad in a black tuxedo. His arm circled her waist as he held her against his chest, and just above their heads, on the tree behind them, was a carved heart that simply said "L + S." It was a detail that had been digitally added by the photographer; they hadn't actually carved their initials in the tree. But it added to the magic of that photo, made their blissful smiles seem a little wider, and hinted at the special history they shared.

He glanced from the album to his sleeping wife, and his heart flooded with love. Setting the book back on the coffee table, he bent, kissed her forehead, and then lifted her into his arms. She stirred as he carried her towards their bedroom, and her eyes finally slid open as he gently laid her on the bed and pulled off her shoes.

Her drowsy smile delighted him. "You're home," she murmured sleepily.

He kicked off his shoes, settled beside her, and pulled the covers over them, not caring that they were both still fully clothed. He pulled her close and kissed her neck, inhaling her sweet scent. "Yeah," he agreed. "I'm home."