Discovering Passion-adapted by Messenger

Yun Hyun Chul moved quickly. Within two weeks contracts had been signed, and the shooting schedule had been set to begin on a morning in early October. The first image to be portrayed was one of youthful innocence and unspoiled simplicity.

Sun Mi met Woo Jin in a small park selected by Hyun Chul. The park was deserted even though the morning was bright and brisk. Sun Mi's designated costume was a pair of blue boot cut jeans and a long-sleeved V-neck skinny rib top in scarlet. She had bound her shining hair in braids, tied them with red ribbons, and had kept her makeup light, relying on the natural, healthy skin. She was the essence of honest, vibrant youth, dark brown eyes bright with the anticipation.

"Perfect!" Woo Jin commented as she ran across the grass to meet him. "Young and innocent. How do you manage it?"

She wrinkled her nose. "I am young and innocent, old man."

"O.K. See that?" He pointed to a swing set complete with bars and a slide. "Go play, little girl, and let this old man take some pictures."

Sun Mi rolled into action very quickly, moving from the swing to the slide and playing out her role while Woo Jin clicked his camera from various angles allowing Sun Mi to direct the mood.

"You looked twelve years old," his laugh was muffled, his face still concealed behind the camera.

"I am twelve years old." Sun Mi proclaimed, scurrying onto the crossbars. "Betcha can't do this." She hung up her knees on the bar, her pigtails brushing the ground.

"Amazing." The answer did not come from Woo Jin, and she turned her head and looked directly into a pair of well-tailored navy blue slacks. Her eyes roamed slowly until her gaze met with a smiling mouth and mocking eyes. "Hello child, does your mother know where you are?"

"What are you doing here?" Sun Mi demanded.

"Supervising my pet project." He continued to regard her, his grin growing wider. "How long do you intend to hang there? The blood must be rushing to your head."

Grabbing the bar with her hands, she swung her legs over in a neat somersault and stood facing him. He patted her head, told her she was a good girl, and turned his attention to Woo Jin.

The two men discussed the technicalities of the morning's shooting while Sun Mi wondered around the park. She had met with Hyun Chul a handful of times in the past 2 weeks and each time she felt uneasy and intimidated in his presence. Her life was well ordered now, running smoothly along the lines she designated and she wanted no complications. There was something in this man whose masculine power spelled complications and she wasn't ready to be closely associated with him.

"All right." Hyun Chul's voice broke into her musings. "Setup at the club at one o'clock. Everything's been arranged." Sun Mi walked towards Woo Jin. "No need for you to go now, little girl - you've an hour or so to spare."

"I don't want to play in the park anymore, Daddy," she retorted. Picking up her shoulder bag, she managed to take two steps before he reached out and took command of her wrist. She rounded on him with blazing dark brown eyes.

"Spoiled little brat, aren't you?" he murmured in a mild tone. "Perhaps I should turn you over my knee."

"That would be more difficult than you think, Mr. Yun," she returned. "I'm twenty-four, not twelve, and am really quite strong."

"Are you now?" He inspected her slim form dubiously. "I suppose it's possible." He spoke soberly, but she recognized the mockery in his eyes.

"Come on, I want some coffee." His hand slipped from her wrist, and his fingers interlocked with hers. She jerked away, surprised and disconcerted by the warmth. "Sun Mi," he began in a tone of strained patience. "I would like to buy you coffee." It was more a command than a request.

He moved across the grass with long, easy strides dragging an unwilling Sun Mi after him. Woo Jin watched their progress and automatically took the pictures of the tall man in an expensive business suits pulling a slim woman-child behind him.

Sun Mi's face was flushed with a mixture of indignation and the brisk walk. He took in her pink cheeks and bright eyes, and his mouth lifted at one corner.

"Maybe I should buy a dish of ice cream to cool you off." The waitress appeared and Hyun Chul ordered two coffees.

"Tea," Sun Mi stated flatly, pleased to contradict him on some level.

"I beg your pardon?" he returned coolly.

"I'll have tea, if you don't mind. I don't drink coffee; it makes me nervous."

"One coffee and one tea," he amended before he turned back to her. "How do you wake up in the morning without the inevitable cup of coffee?"

"Clean living." She flicked a pigtail over her shoulder and folded her arms.

"You certainly look like an ad for clean living now." Sitting back he took out his cigarette case and lighted one.

"I'm afraid you'll never pass for twenty-four in pigtails. It's not often one sees hair that silky, eyes that round & expressive, the classic bone structure, and not forgetting the million-dollar smile. Tell me," he asked suddenly, "where did you get the marvelous look of yours?"

Hyun Chul's words nonplussed her and Sun Mi spoke with detached interest, "I'm told I'm a throwback to my great grandmother."

"Including those big dark brown eyes?"

"No" she struggled to meet his penetrating gaze coolly. "They belong to me."

"To you," he acknowledged with a nod, "and for the next six months to me. I believe I'll enjoy the joint ownership." The focus of his study shifted to the mouth that moved in a frown at his words. "Where are you from, Sun Mi? You're not native."

"That obvious? I thought I had acquired a marvelous Seoul vanish." She gave a wry shrug. "Hmm.....where should I begin?" Sun Mi noticed the puzzled look on Hyun Chul's face. "My dad is a South Korea Diplomat and it seemed I led the life of a gypsy since I was 10 years old. We moved from Tokyo to Toronto, then Chicago and finally to Los Angeles. Dad is now the Counsel General for the Korean Consulate in Los Angeles. But he planned to retire when his tenure is up next year and move the family back to Seoul for good."

He inclined his head, and his brows lifted as he raised his cup. "Why did you return to Seoul alone?"

"I felt like a lost soul growing up in different countries and needed to reconnect to my Korean roots and to pursue my modeling career since I probably won't stand a chance in Los Angeles. So..... my parents gave me their blessings when I turned 21"

"You appeared to have made the transition from being a diplomat's daughter to a super model in Seoul very smoothly. No battle scars?"

"A few, but they are healed over" she added quickly.

"It's very easy to picture you as a diplomat's daughter adhering to the protocol or a sophisticated model from Seoul. You have a remarkable ability to suit your surroundings."

Sun Mi's mouth moved in a doubtful pout. "That makes me sound like I'm no person on my own, sort of .......inconspicuous."

"Inconspicuous?" Hyun Chul's laughter caused several heads to turn, and Sun Mi stared at him in dumb amazement. "Inconspicuous," he said again, shaking his head as if she had just uttered something sublimely ridiculous. "That is a beautiful statement. No, I think you're a very complex woman with a remarkable affinity with her surroundings. I don't believe it's an acquired talent, but an intrinsic ability."

His words pleased Sun Mi out of proportion, but she couldn't understand why a simple, impersonal compliment could wrap around her tongue like a twenty-pound chain.

"You do play tennis, don't you?"

"I manage to hit the ball over the net once in a while." Annoyed by his somewhat condescending tone, she answered with uncharacteristic meekness.

"Good. The shots will be more impressive if you have the stance and moves down properly." He glanced at his watch and drew out his wallet. "I've got some things to clear up at the office." Standing, he drew her from the booth, again holding her hand in his oddly family manner, ignoring her efforts to withdraw from his grip. "I'll put you in a cab. It'll take you some time to change from little girl to female athlete." He looked down at her, making her feel unaccustomedly small at five feet seven in her sneakers. "Your tennis outfits are ready at the club, and I assume you have all the tricks to your trade in that undersized suitcase?" He indicated the large shoulder bag she heaved over her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Mr. Yun."

"Hyun Chul," he interrupted, suddenly engrossed with running his hand down her left pigtail. "I don't intend to stop using your name."

"Don't worry," she began again, evading his invitation. "Changing images is my profession."

"It should prove interesting," he murmured, tugging the braid he held. "The court is reserved for one. I'll see you then."

"You're going to be there?" Her question was accompanied by a frown as she was uncomfortable with his presence.

"My pet project, remember?" He nudged her into a cab, either unaware or unconcerned by her scowl. "I intend to supervise it very carefully."

As the cab merged with traffic, Sun Mi's emotions were in turmoil. Hyun Chul was an incredible attractive and distracting man, but there was something about him that disturbed her. I don't like him, she decided with a firm nod. He's too self-assured, too arrogant, too..... her mind searched for a word, "Physical". Yes, she admitted, albeit unwillingly, he was a very sexual man, and he unnerved her. There was something about the way he looked at her, something about the way her body reacted whenever she came into contact with him. She decided to shove those thoughts aside and just think of him as an employer and to deal with him strictly on business terms only.



Note from Messenger:

Can't believe summer was over yesterday, here is to the first day of Fall............Enjoy!
Have a good weekend everybody! For the few lucky gals who are going on vacation, "bon voyage" and don't forget to "shop till you drop". Thanks for reading!