Dr. Peter Park’s PTSD seminar was held at Southeast University’s College of Medicine in Ireland.
Lola, dressed in a voluminous black blouse and jeans, from her shoulders to her wrists, was exiting the university’s main gate, caught in the throng of people pouring out after the lecture.
Suddenly, the surroundings became noisy. Sounds of admiration leaked out here and there, and the women’s eyes sparkled like stars.
Wondering why the women were acting like that, she turned her head to follow their gaze and saw a man in casual clothes, looking incredibly handsome and stylish, leaning against a sports open car with sunglasses on.
But that man.
He looked familiar somehow.
‘He looks a lot like Dylan Eve.’
But there was no way busy Dylan would have come all the way to Ireland.
So, it must be someone who just looks like him.
Goodness!
Thinking that there really were people who looked that similar, she slowly moved her feet, but the man took off his sunglasses and waved at her.
Lola’s steps came to a sudden halt. Her heart pounded incessantly.
She couldn’t believe it.
She wondered how Dylan had come all the way here.
Unable to believe what she was seeing, Lola only started moving her feet again after a long while. At first, slowly, then faster and faster, almost running, until she was right in front of Dylan.
“O, dear. Dear.”
She had never imagined that he would come all the way to Ireland, and it was so unexpected that Lola couldn’t find the words to say.
Dylan spoke first.
“Is it over now?”
“Yes.”
“Get in quickly.”
Dylan opened the passenger door for her.
The faces of the women passing by them were filled with envy and jealousy towards Lola.
“How did you get all the way here, dear?”
Soon after sitting in the passenger seat, Lola fastened her seatbelt and glanced at Dylan’s profile as he gripped the steering wheel, asking cautiously.
‘I wanted to see you.’
He had come all the way to Ireland because he wanted to see her, but Dylan made an excuse, afraid of seeming frivolous if he said it too honestly.
“The seminar isn’t running 24 hours a day, is it?”
“That’s true.”
“I came to play with you because I thought you’d be bored alone.”
“Ah, yes.”
Lola nodded slowly. Dylan asked, as if confirming.
“You don’t have any other schedules in the afternoon, do you?”
Actually, he had found out the details of the seminar schedule from Gia before leaving, but Dylan checked again just in case.
“No. Dear.”
“Then let’s go see the autumn foliage.”
“Now?”
“You must be hungry. Shouldn’t we have lunch first?”
“I guess we should.”
“Is your seatbelt fastened properly?”
“Yes.”
As Lola nodded, Dylan immediately started the car.
A pleasant breeze blew gently. The hair that had strayed from beside her ear fluttered in the wind.
A beautiful and healthy smile flitted across her face as she gently closed her eyes and surrendered herself to nature.
Lola couldn’t have felt better.
It was probably because of Dylan, this man who had come all the way to a distant place for her.
*****
Dylan first took Lola to a famous seafood restaurant in Ireland.
After finding a seat by the window, the waitress handed them the menu and then left them alone for a moment.
“I’ll order.”
“Yes, Dear.”
Dylan carefully scanned the menu, and Lola began to steal glances at Dylan.
She had been feeling inexplicably good since earlier, so Lola couldn’t help but let out little giggles without realizing it.
Taking her phone out of her bag, Lola quietly pressed the camera shutter, capturing Dylan’s image, click, click.
Just then.
“Mr. Dylan…?”
Lola abruptly stopped moving at the sound of a voice filled with doubt and surprise that suddenly came from nearby. Dylan also lifted his gaze from the menu.
“Wow! It really is Dylan. What brings you to Ireland?”
It was a familiar voice that she had heard a few times before.
At the end of Lola’s gaze, as she turned her head, was Andy Porter, smiling with delight as if surprised.
“Hello. It’s nice to see you again here.”
Lola stood up from her seat and greeted him politely. The smile on Andy’s face deepened even more.
“You came with your sister-in-law too.”
It didn’t matter to her that she had run into Andy in a place like this, even if it was a coincidence.
However, the smile instantly disappeared from Lola’s face as she saw Nia standing next to Andy.
They say that if a coincidence happens several times, it becomes inevitable, and seeing her run into this woman even in a place like this, it was clear that she had a terrible karmic relationship with her.
“It’s even nicer to see you here, sister-in-law.”
Lola barely managed to raise the corners of her lips and force a smile at Andy’s affable greeting.
“Would you mind if we joined you?”
Actually, she was uncomfortable.
However, because he was Dylan’s friend, Lola couldn’t refuse outright.
Dylan felt the same way, but he couldn’t coldly refuse because Andy was with him.
As Dylan moved to sit next to Lola, Andy and Nia went to sit across from them as if they had been waiting for it.
Handing the menu to Andy,
“Are you two dating?”
Andy chuckled at Dylan’s casual question, but Nia frowned as if she felt bad and strongly denied it.
“What do you take me for? I have high standards. I don’t just date any man.”
“I don’t think Andy is just any man.”
The owner of the voice quietly defending Andy was Lola.
“Isn’t he quite a capable man, being handsome and a successful lawyer in the legal profession?”
The expressions on the three people’s faces were all different as Lola sided with Andy.
