Chapter 19 — Cartographer of Lost Roads

In the midst of stressful days due to pressure from many sides, Duy Khanh suggested that the group take an evening to "breathe", as he called it, completely away from strategy meetings, legal warning emails, and judgmental eyes from colleagues. He invited Van Khue to take a walk along the Kim Xuyen River on a Friday afternoon, where the city lights turned on earlier than usual because the gloomy sky signaled an upcoming rain.

They walked along the stone path along the river, where rows of ancient almond trees radiated cool shade, in the distance was a suspension bridge across the river, golden lights shimmering on the gently rippling water surface. This is a stretch of river located in the west of the city, far from the old Van Dang area, a neutral place, not a direct reminder of the tensions they are facing.

On the way, they stopped by a cart selling hot bean curd, sat and ate on the sidewalk like two children, laughing about trivial things that had nothing to do with Van Dang or Hai Nguyen Group — about the comedy Duy Khanh had just watched last night, about Bao Nghi almost burning down the office kettle because he was engrossed in video editing, about Van Khue's strange hobby of collecting colored pencils that Duy Khanh only now knew about. Just like that, the two of them strolled through each small street, passing by an old movie theater that had been closed for a long time, an old bookstore where Duy Khanh said he had once searched for many valuable documents about the city's history, and a small corner of the park where a few old people were doing yoga exercises under the yellow streetlights.

"Have you ever thought, if this job wasn't about disappearing neighborhoods, but something lighter, what else would you do?" Van Khue asked, eating tea and looking at him curiously.

Duy Khanh smiled, scratched his head, thinking. "Maybe I'll open a used bookstore like the one I just passed by. Being able to sit all day among yellowed pages, not having to worry too much, sounds appealing."

"Sounds really good for you," Van Khue smiled, her eyes sparkling. "But I think, no matter what job you do, you will always be the person who searches forgotten things. That seems to be your nature."

That sentence made Duy Khanh stay silent for a moment, looking at her with an indescribably affectionate look, as if she had just said something about himself that he himself had never realized so clearly.

"Thank you for this idea," Van Khue said, taking a deep breath of the fresh afternoon air. "These past few weeks I've been so stressed out, both at work and in this matter, that sometimes I forget to rest."

"Me too," Duy Khanh replied, smiling. "But I learned one thing, if I'm exhausted, I won't be alert enough to make the right decisions when necessary. Sometimes, stopping for a moment is not weakness, but a way to go further."

They stopped at a stone bench near the riverbank, sat down, silently watching the water flow gently in the fading sunset. The cool afternoon wind blew, carrying the gentle scent of milk flowers in full bloom somewhere nearby.

"I think a lot about the fact that if I hadn't discovered the anomaly on the map that day, my life would be very different now," Van Khue said, her voice thoughtful. "I won't know about Van Dang, I won't know about my grandfather's secret, I won't have a chance to meet Mrs. Nhai again, and I certainly won't meet you either."

"Do you regret it?" Duy Khanh asked, turning to look at her, his eyes gentle in the sunset.

"No," Van Khue replied immediately, without any hesitation. "Even though there were difficulties, pressure, and sleepless nights due to worry, I still have no regrets. I think this is the right thing I've ever done in my life, and I'm very happy that I didn't choose to stay silent."

Duy Khanh was silent for a moment, his eyes looked out at the river, then he turned to her, his voice becoming more serious. "Van Khue, there is something I wanted to tell you for a long time, but I kept procrastinating for fear of making things more complicated while we are focusing on this important thing."

Van Khue's heart beat faster, she turned to look at him, waiting.

"I like you," Duy Khanh said, his voice soft but sincere. "Not just because of what we're going through together, but because I like you, in a very private, very personal way. I like the way you're meticulous with every little detail, like the way you're steadfast even when you're scared, like the way you often bite the tip of your pen every time you think about something important."

Van Khue felt her face heat up, her heart pounding so loudly that she could hear her own heartbeat ringing in her ears. "Me... me too," she replied, her voice trembling with emotion and a hint of sweet confusion. "I like you too, for a long time, I just didn't dare say it, afraid it would affect our work together."

A smile of relief and happiness appeared on Duy Khanh's lips. He gently reached out and touched her cheek, his eyes filled with tenderness. "So from now on, I don't have to hide it anymore, okay?"

Van Khue nodded, smiled, letting him pull her closer. The first kiss between them was gentle and simple, amidst the sound of waves lapping gently on the embankment, amidst the city lights beginning to shine brightly in the distance, amidst the faint scent of milk flowers in the afternoon breeze. It was not a dramatic, loud moment, but a peaceful confirmation of the feelings that had been quietly growing for weeks, amid the worries, the heartbreaking revelations, and the warm moments they had spent together.

"I didn't expect that in the midst of all this, I would find such a beautiful thing," Van Khue whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Perhaps, because we have to face difficult things together, we understand each other better, much faster than in a normal relationship," Duy Khanh said, his hand gently stroking her hair. "But I promise, no matter what happens next, I will always be here, not only as your work partner, but also as someone who will always stand by your side."

They sat together like that for a long time, until the first drops of rain began to fall, signaling the rain that the gloomy sky had promised since the afternoon. The two quickly stood up and ran to the porch of a nearby cafe to shelter from the rain. Their laughter rang out amidst the rain, light and clear, as if in that moment, all worries about Hai Nguyen Group, about legal threats, about pressure from all sides, temporarily receded, making way for a simple happiness that they both deserved to enjoy.

But as soon as they sat down in the small cafe, Van Khue's phone vibrated with a text message from Bao Nghi, the urgent tone was clear from the first line: "Brothers and sisters, I just saw an announcement on the information page of Hai Nguyen Group that they will push the construction progress of the Kim Xuyen Riverside project three months earlier than expected, the groundbreaking ceremony will take place early next month!"

Van Khue and Duy Khanh looked at each other, their happy smiles gradually giving way to a new seriousness. They know that the peaceful time they have just had, no matter how short, has come to give way to a race against time, when their opponents have clearly shown their determination to complete everything before the truth can come to light.

"Three months," Duy Khanh muttered, opening his phone to read the notification Bao Nghi had just sent. "They pushed the schedule forward by three months, which means we're less than four weeks away from groundbreaking. It can't be a normal business decision, it's certainly directly related to what we're doing."

"What about the old banyan tree in that land?" Van Khue asked, her voice filled with worry. "If they start construction, it will definitely be the first to be cut down, it will be the last physical trace left of the entire neighborhood."

Duy Khanh nodded, his face became serious. "We need to move faster. I think it's time to seriously consider bringing this story to a formal public consultation, or at least petitioning the city to hold a public dialogue before the final building permit is issued. That's probably our only legitimate opportunity to present all the evidence before it's too late."

Van Khue nodded, held his hand tightly, feeling more clearly than ever that the small moment of happiness they had just had, even though it was short, had given her the strength needed to face the difficult journey that lay ahead. The rain was still falling outside, tapping steadily on the cafe's awning, like background music for the growing determination in both of their hearts.