AAE -- For Better For Worse

Chapter 18

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

 

Hyung-Chul opens his eyes to the unmistakable odors of frying bacon and brewing coffee. Dawn light streams in the ceiling skylight over his head. He is lying on Sun-Mi's un-turned down bed, with Gui-Sung's pajamas still folded neatly at his feet. Sometime during the early morning, he had dozed off. His stomach growls from hunger pangs, prompting him to get up and wash his face in the bathroom.

 

Minutes later, Hyung-Chul comes downstairs. Sun-Mi is cooking at the stove and Gui-Sung sits at the kitchen table, reading the morning newspaper, with a plate of some unidentifiable food and a cup of coffee in front of him.

 

"Good morning, Sir," Hyung-Chul greets Gui-Sung politely as he enters the kitchen.

 

"Good morning, Director," Gui-Sung returns the greeting. "Did you sleep well?"

 

"Yes. And you?"

 

"I hardly slept a wink," Gui-Sung replies with a chuckle, "Sun-Mi was tossing and turning the whole time. It will be hard for any guy who has to sleep with her every night."

 

Sun-Mi ignores her father's goad and quickly changes the subject. "Daddy insisted I cook a Western breakfast," she explains. "He says if I'm going to London, I need to start learning now."

 

She scrapes a shapeless white and yellow mass, charred on one side, from the skillet and plops it onto a plate that already holds several blackened strips that vaguely resemble bacon.

 

"Sorry," she apologizes to Hyung-Chul, red-faced as she hands him the plate along with a cup of coffee. "It's supposed to be an omelet, but didn't turn out very appetizing."

 

"It's not the appearance," he smiles to alleviate her awkwardness, "Only the taste counts, right?"

 

"Try it first, and then give me your opinion," she requests, unconvinced of his sincerity.

 

 

Hyung-Chul sits down at the table and digs in with hopeful expectations as Sun-Mi starts washing the cooking implements at the sink. But after a few bites, he has to work to keep a grimace off his face as he chews into another mouthful.

 

Noticing his guest's efforts, Gui-Sung surreptitiously passes a bottle of hot sauce to Hyung-Chul. "Use this," he whispers, keeping his voice below the noise of the running water. "And don't drink the coffee!"

 

Whenever Sun-Mi's back is turned, the two men trade off using the hot sauce. So by the time Sun-Mi finishes and joins them at the table, neither had made much progress, their plates only half-cleared.

 

 

Standing, Gui-Sung excuses himself, "I'm going out now."

 

"But you haven't finished your breakfast," Sun-Mi chides, miffed at having made the effort for nothing.

 

"I'll pick up something later, at the store."

 

Sun-Mi smiles teasingly, "Going to see Ms. Song, Daddy?"

 

"Eh... Um... Gotta go, or I'll be late," her father replies, immediately heading for the door. "Sorry to run off, Director Yoon. We'll have to chat another time."

 

"Of course," Hyung-Chul concurs, standing to dip his head politely.

 

 

After her father leaves, Sun-Mi bluntly asks, "Is my cooking that bad?"

 

"What should I say?" Hyung-Chul avoids a direct answer. "That it doesn't matter, because it's you?"

 

"You're patronizing me," she complains, hiding her smile behind her hand.

 

 

Changing the subject, Hyung-Chul asks, "What happened to the roses I sent that morning? There's none in your house."

 

"I gave them away, one container to each woman in the neighborhood."

 

"But I intended them to bring you happiness."

 

"They did. And then I was able to share some of that happiness with dozens of other women, some of them lonely shut-ins and widows," she explains further. "I don't need dozens of roses to be happy. Just one is enough, if I know it's from you."

 

"Just one?" he grins deviously. "I'll have to remember that."

 

But Sun-Mi puts her foot down, "Now, don't think this means that you should never give me more!"

 

They share a laugh together.

 

"Senior, do you have any plans for today?" she asks, hinting that she does.

 

"My whole day is free," he happily clears his schedule for time with her.

 

"Good! Because I have a whole day's agenda planned for us!"

 

 

Standing, Sun-Mi unties her apron and hands it to him. "Take this."

 

"Why?"

 

"While I change, Senior, you clear the table and finish the dishes," she instructs him firmly.

 

Hyung-Chul is surprised, and a bit affronted, by her presumptive attitude. "You expect me to clean up? Just like that?!"

 

"You heard what Daddy said. He wasn't joking, I'm hard to live with," she retorts. "Now, get to work!"