AAE -- For Better For Worse

Chapter 25

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

 

 

'The new President's office. 11PM. Be there'

 

Hyung-Chul had received the brief text from Joo-Hee just before the News At Nine went on air.

 

With the appointed time nearing, he boards a lift for the short trip up to F10. Exiting the lift, he turns to walk toward the executive office space, his footsteps echoing on a newly retiled floor in the eerie quiet of the empty corridor. The late shift work crews had cleaned up and left for the day, so the construction zone was devoid of activity.

 

Begun at the time Hyung-Chul joined MBS, the restructuring of MBS management had required a reconfiguration of Executive Row to accommodate the new order. The extensive project entailed both the fashioning of new offices and replacement of original furnishings installed when the building was completed in 1982, almost twenty years prior. To clear the area for refurbishing, the top company officers were dispersed to temporary quarters throughout the complex, including relocating the office of the Director of Planning and Programming to a small, windowless room previously used for file storage.

 

Now that the imminent selection of the new leader of MBS was at hand, the work was quickly wrapping up, with the new President's office suite being first on the list to complete. The suite consisted of a reception space, a separate office for his personal assistant, the President's own corner office which included an informal seating area for personal conferences, a private washroom and changing room, and a direct connection to the large executive conference room.

 

Arriving at the suite, before opening the door, Hyung-Chul pauses to contemplate the blank nameplate which soon will identify the new occupant.

 

It had been his mother's hope for him to take her father's place and shepherd the family company into a new century, propelling MBS into the premier Korean broadcaster. His purpose in life -- his actual existence, in fact -- was founded on the expected fulfillment of that dream, a marriage of two corporate heirs, born and raised for a common destiny. Certainly, part of Joo-Hee's purpose in bringing him here tonight was to make him confront the stark reality of that destiny and the ramifications of defying it.

 

As the door silently swings open on freshly lubricated hinges, the bright light from the reception office cascades across an expanse of plush carpeting. Inside, recessed ceiling fixtures cast spots of light that illuminate the office.

 

When Hyung-Chul steps in, he sees Joo-Hee spotlit amidst the informal conference area to his left. A low table in the center of the dark leather furnishings holds two empty flutes and an ice bucket containing a bottle of champagne. The smooth ivory skin of her bare shoulders, nape and decolletage glow in contrast to the deep wine red of a sleeveless gown that drapes her curves closely.

 

"You came," Joo-Hee greets him simply.

 

"Why the celebration?" he asks, referring to the champagne.

 

"I wanted to be the first to congratulate you, Mr. President."

 

 

Hyung-Chul walks over to Joo-Hee is waiting, but stops a few steps away.

 

"Isn't this a bit premature?" he questions her presumption. "Nothing is official until we're engaged."

 

"Is there any doubt about it, now?" she remarks casually, popping the cork herself and pouring the two flutes.

 

She hands one to him, holding the other.

 

"To MBS President Yoon Hyung-Chul," Joo-Hee toasts, touching her glass to his with a crystal ring.

 

 

As she sips the vintage champagne, Hyung-Chul studies Joo-Hee carefully, trying to deduce her next move. As at their previous rendezvous at the club, she is wearing his diamond pendant again, an in-your-face reminder of a shared past which he would prefer to forget.

 

Unexpectedly, Joo-Hee puts down her glass and steps closer. Leaning into him, she put her arms around Hyung-Chul and rests the side of her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

 

"Although neither of us wanted this, why not try to be happy together?" she pleads softly. "Can't you open your heart to me, just a little? Can't we revive even a little of what we once shared?"

 

Her intimate embrace -- the softness of her curves pressing on him, the familiar scent of her fragrance, the stimulation of her touch -- triggers dormant somatic memories as his body reflexively responds. Sensations not felt for years are coursing through Hyung-Chul again, awakening impulses to satisfy long-suppressed cravings.

 

Joo-Hee feels the tension building in his body, hears his heartbeat quicken, and makes her next move. "We have a future where anything is possible," she murmurs enticingly, "whatever you desire can be yours. Anything ... and everything ..."

 

Hyung-Chul begins moving his arms up to embrace Joo-Hee. She raises her head, gazing up at him, her dark eyes drawing him closer, ruby lips parted slightly in invitation. Slowly he lowers his head, bringing his face closer to hers. Anticipating the sweetness of her kiss, of indulging himself again in the sensual pleasures she offers, he closes his eyes.

 

But as his eyes close to Joo-Hee's alluring beauty, his mind opens to other images. Pictures he had taken with his eyes, vague at first, appear in rapid succession, each growing more distinct, until ...

 

"Sun-Mi ..." he breathes out her name.

 

Suddenly, like being abruptly awakened from a bewitching spell, he comes to his senses. Instead of taking Joo-Hee into his arms, he brusquely pushes her away.

 

"I never truly loved you," he bluntly refutes Joo-Hee's entreaty. "And I never will."

 

 

Despite the failure of her attempted seduction, Joo-Hee persists, "But even knowing it was unrequited, I still loved you! If anyone has, I've earned the right for your love! What has Jin Sun-Mi ever done for that right?"

 

"Then jealousy was your motivation," Hyung-Chul confirms his suspicions. "How did you do it? Make Sun-Mi want to break up with me?!" he launches his accusation acrimoniously.

 

"I only said what you should have, if you were honest with her from the start," Joo-Hee answers, remaining calm in the face of his fury. "Naturally, Sun-Mi was shocked and indignant at being kept in the dark. I don't blame her for dumping you!"

 

"Did you really think that by breaking us up, I'd willingly come back to you instead?!"

 

"I'm under no such illusions," she counters. "If anything, I expect that you'll hate me even more."

 

"Then why?!"

 

"It was the best thing to do, for all of us," she defends her reasoning, "you, me, and Sun-Mi."

 

"Maybe for yourself," he rebuts her argument, "but you don't have the right to decide that for someone else!"

 

"Yet you believe it's your right to play with a naive girl's fantasies of True Love?" Joo-Hee punches back. "And then, when she's most vulnerable, to put the fabric of her life at risk, for your own selfish purposes?"

 

"I would never do anything to hurt Sun-Mi!" Hyung-Chul retorts, his usually level voice rising with umbrage. "I love her!"

 

 

Watching this atypical emotional outburst from a man who has never shown a hint of passion toward her, brings a sad smile to Joo-Hee's lips.

 

"If that is true, if you don't want to hurt her, then you must let her go," she tells him straightforwardly.

 

"Why? Give me one reason!" he demands.

 

"The Assistant Prosecutor's office is holding an indictment against Jin Gui-Sung for suspected fraud and tax evasion," Joo-Hee informs him. "The decision will be made soon, whether to serve the papers, or drop the charges."

 

"And that decision is tied to our engagement?!" he surmises caustically. "How convenient for you!"

 

"It's not what I like, either," she replies, refuting his supposition. "I had no part in this. It's just the facts."

 

"I won't bow to blackmail!" Hyung-Chul declares adamantly.

 

 

"Maybe you won't have to," Joo-Hee responds enigmatically. "If there's another, more essential, reason why you shouldn't hold Sun-Mi back..."

 

She stops there, leaving him dangling. Picking up her flute, she walks over to the broad expanse of floor-to-ceiling windows and stands with her back to him, looking out on the lights of Yeouido's skyscrapers.

 

"The view is beautiful from here," she invites him to join her. "So much better than that stuffy closet you have for an office now."

 

 

Hyung-Chul moves to stand next to Joo-Hee, also looking out.

 

"Given time, you'll come to appreciate it even more when shared, like now," she says empathetically. "With time, it gets easier."

 

 

"Stop beating around the bush!" he demands. "If you have something to say, then say it!"

 

"Very well. So ponder this," Joo-Hee challenges him. "If Sun-Mi believed that she actually had found the True Love she yearns for, would she have given it up so easily? Take your time, and think clearly, before you decide on your response."

 

She raises her flute and enjoys the taste of another sip of champagne, before giving her ultimatum...

 

"I expect your answer, in person. This Sunday, two o'clock, at the Mun-Yung Seoul Diamond Room ... Don't be late."