Chapter 14 — The Inn at the End of the Pass

After the argument, Gia Binh moved to live in the garage in town, only occasionally coming home to get things when there were no people around, avoiding meeting Thao. The atmosphere in the inn became completely quiet, although business still took place regularly, but without Gia Binh's presence, the house seemed to be missing an important corner.

In the midst of those heavy days, the preparation work for the "heritage trail" project became the place where Thao found some peace and purpose to continue trying. Khai Dang, despite being busy with the official work of the survey team, still took advantage of all his free time to roam around the pass with her, taking notes, taking photos, and interviewing longtime residents about the history and culture of this land.

One afternoon, the two walked to a viewing point located about three kilometers from the inn, where they could see the entire valley stretching with green terraced fields, and in the distance was a stream winding like a silver silk strip in the late afternoon sunlight.

"This place is so beautiful." Khai Dang exclaimed, holding up his camera to take pictures from many different angles. "If this point can be included in the tourist route, it will definitely attract a lot of tourists."

"My father used to bring me here every time I was sad." Thao said, sitting down on a flat rock, looking far into the valley. "He said, looking at this beautiful scene, all sadness becomes smaller."

Khai Dang sat down next to her, temporarily putting the camera aside. "Do you still think about him often?"

"Think a lot, especially in difficult times like now." Thao replied, her voice lowered. "I often wonder, if he were still alive, what he would do in this situation. What way would he choose to keep the shop and keep the children without having to sacrifice too much?"

"I think he will be very proud of you." Khai Dang said, his eyes looking at her were full of sincerity. "Not because I found the perfect solution, but because I never stopped trying, never gave up, no matter how many difficulties I faced."

Those words made Thao's chest choke with emotion. She turned to look at him, their eyes met in the moment the afternoon sunlight dyed the surrounding space yellow.

"Thank you." She spoke softly. "For always being by my side, even though I know this is not simple with your job position."

"I don't do it out of obligation, Thao." Khai Dang said, his voice was low, something different from his usual calmness. "I do it because... because I care about you, about your family, more than I ever thought I would allow myself to feel in ten years of this wandering profession."

The space between the two became quiet, with only the sound of the wind blowing through the thatched grass and the sounds of wild birds calling each other in the distance. The afternoon sun poured warm orange-yellow streaks into the valley, stretching the silhouettes of two people on the flat rock floor, blending together into a single mass. Khai Dang raised his hand and gently pushed back a lock of hair that was flying in front of Thao's face because of the wind. The gesture was so gentle that it made her heart beat uncontrollably.

"Thao, can I..." He hesitated, his eyes fixed on her lips, the distance between them gradually narrowed.

At that moment, Thao's phone suddenly rang loudly, breaking the romantic moment that was gradually forming. She was startled, quickly took out her phone to look, saw the name Thuy Duong appear on the screen, accompanied by an uneasy premonition.

"Hello, what's wrong?" Thao asked, her voice returning to the usual worry of an eldest sister.

"Sister, someone is looking for you. He says he's from a real estate company and wants to meet you to talk about Mr. Binh's land sale." Thuy Duong's excited voice rang out through the phone. "I said you're not home, but they keep asking you to wait. Please come home quickly."

Thao hung up the phone, her face suddenly changed color. Khai Dang looked at her and immediately understood the not-so-good situation that was waiting for her.

"I'll take you home." He said, standing up immediately, without hesitation.

The budding romance between the two had to be put aside, giving way to the realistic worries that were coming. On the way back, Thao sat behind Khai Dang's car, the afternoon wind blew through, bringing with it both unfinished emotions that had not yet been fully expressed and new worries about the real estate broker waiting at home.

Returning to the restaurant, a well-dressed middle-aged man was waiting in the dining room, next to another stack of documents. Seeing Thao enter, he stood up and smiled politely.

"Hello, I am the company representative working with Mr. Gia Binh on the transfer of the inherited land. I want to discuss more with you, because according to research, most of the inn area is still under your name. If you also agree to sell, we can offer a very attractive price for the entire land."

Thao stood still for a moment, looking at the strange man sitting right in her family's dining room, the place that had witnessed so many reunion meals, so many happy and sad stories of the whole family, now turned into a cold negotiation table.

"Thank you for your interest, but I have no intention of selling." She replied, her voice decisive and without any hesitation. "You can leave now."

The man seemed dissatisfied with the blunt refusal, but still remained polite, leaving his business card before leaving, not forgetting to mention that "this opportunity will not last forever. When there is an official land recovery decision, the state compensation price will certainly be much lower."

After the broker left, Thao stood silently in the middle of the empty dining room, feeling both angry and worried. Khai Dang stood next to her, placing his hand on her shoulder, his eyes full of firm support.

"You did very well." He said softly. "Don't let those threats sway you. My project is progressing well, we will find a way, I believe."

Thao nodded, leaning her head lightly on his shoulder in a rare moment of weakness, letting his steady presence somewhat ease the tension she had just experienced, while outside, the sunset finally disappeared behind the mountain top, giving way to night falling on Vuc Suong pass, bringing with it both the unfinished hopes and insecurities of two people who were gradually getting closer together amid the storm of life.

That night, after Thuy Duong and Nhat Minh went to bed, Thao and Khai Dang sat on the porch and looked back at the photos he took during the afternoon. The table lamp cast a warm halo, enough to clearly illuminate the beautiful frames of the valley, the terraced fields, and Thao's face, which was engrossed in admiring the scenery without her even realizing she was being photographed.

"Since when did you secretly take pictures of me?" Thao asked, a bit embarrassed when she saw a photo of herself smiling naturally, her hair blowing in the wind.

"When you were passionately telling stories about your father." Khai Dang replied, the corner of his mouth slightly raised. "You were very beautiful at that time, the type of beauty that didn't require any effort."

Thao blushed and lightly punched his shoulder to hide her embarrassment, but inside she felt strangely warm at that sincere compliment. The two continued to look at all the remaining photos, occasionally stopping to discuss which angles should be included in the project dossier, and which angles should be taken at another time of the day for better lighting.

"That moment in the afternoon, before your phone rang—" Khai Dang suddenly repeated, his voice with a rare hesitation, "—I still owe you an unfinished sentence."

Thao looked up at him, her heart beating faster when she realized that the atmosphere between the two of them suddenly became different, tense but also full of excitement like that afternoon.

"What's the question?" She asked softly, her voice almost a whisper.

Khai Dang looked at her for a long time, his eyes contained so many things he wanted to say, but then he just smiled and shook his head slightly. "Save it for another, more appropriate time, without interruption. I don't want it to be rushed."

Thao laughed at that delicate expectation, although in her heart she could not hide a small regret. But she understands that there are beautiful things that need time to ripen, just like Vuc Suong Pass needs all four seasons of wind and frost to create its current, deep, quiet beauty.

Before leaving the porch to go to sleep, Khai Dang lingered a while longer, watching Thao clean up the empty tea cups. "Look, no matter what happens to the project, to Mr. Binh, to everything that's going wrong out there," he said, his voice serious but warm, "I hope you believe that I will always be here, not because I'm the project engineer, but because this is where I want to belong."

Thao stopped, looked up at him, her eyes shining with a gentle light that she rarely allowed herself to reveal to others. "I believe you." She said, her voice was firm even though it was very quiet. "And I also hope that, no matter what the road ahead is, you will find a place to call home, not just a temporary stop on your work journey."

Khai Dang smiled, his eyes sparkled under the yellow light, he didn't say another word, just nodded slightly before returning to the bedroom, leaving Thao standing there alone in the middle of the night, her heart filled with a warm feeling that she had not experienced fully for a long time.