AAE -- For Better For Worse

Part 2 -- Chapter 10

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

 

After they both sit down, Eun-Ok observes, "I see why Hyung-Chul chose you over Yoo Joo-Hee. ... Idealistic, naive, unsophisticated, unconcerned about status and wealth. You must have seemed a refreshing oasis for a weary youth jaded by the burden of responsibility and fate."

 

Sun-Mi protests her presumptions. "You don't know anything about me, or my relationship to your step-son! How could you?"

 

The older woman regards Sun-Mi with a knowing smile.

 

"Once upon a time, there were two Cinderellas, each who loved a Royal Prince destined to marry someone he didn't love, so that he could become King of the realm. The difference is that one fairytale was filled with tragedy, while the other might end happily ever after."

 

"Fairytales? Princes? Cinderellas? If you have something to say, speak directly!" Sun-Mi demands, suspicious of the older woman's motives.

 

 

"Very well," Eun-Ok agrees. "Let me tell you my story. I met Yoon Hoe-Jang after I joined MBS. Like you, I had no inkling the man I loved was betrothed to a woman, Cha Mi-Ra. Although Ho-Jang did not return Mi-Ra's love, he was ambitious, choosing wealth and status over love, leaving me heartbroken, so he could become President of MBS."

 

"But I thought that ..." Sun-Mi blurts out.

 

"Hyung-Chul never told you this?" Eun-Ok interrupts gently. "To him, I was the wicked witch who stole his father from his mother. But the reality was not so simple ..."

 

"Chairman Cha, Mi-Ra's father, wanting a puppet on the throne, had chosen the wrong man. Humiliated, Hoe-Jang chafed under his father-in-law's thumb, and soon realized that his main role was to father an heir. Although she loved her husband, Mi-Rae as a dutiful daughter hewed to her father's dictates after Hyung-Chul was born, focusing all her attention and affections on her son, grooming him to lead the future of MBS."

 

"Locked in a troubled marriage, Hoe-Jang turned back to me for comfort, and I willingly consorted, accepting my place as the 'other woman'. But when the Chairman betrothed his grandson to Yoo Joo-Hee, with Mi-Rae's consent, usurping Hoe-Jang's authority, it was the last straw. He walked out on his wife and son, and returned to me.

 

"Eventually we had a child and wanted to marry. However, Mi-Ra would not consent to a divorce, exiling me to a miserable existence, still the 'other woman' despised and shunned by society, until she died."

 

"You must have hated her, then," Sun-Mi concludes.

 

"Actually, despite how difficult she made my life, I couldn't hate her," Eun-Ok reflects back. "Honestly, I was responsible in part for the pain she felt. She was a mother too, deserted by the man she loved, wanting the best for her child, her hope and dreams destroyed."

 

 

"I'm sorry for all your difficulties," Sun-Mi responds empathetically, "but how does that involve me?"

 

"I wanted to give you the truth," Eun-Ok clarifies her intentions. "You need to see with open eyes the reality that you're about to marry into. Although Hyung-Chul carries my husband's name, he is thoroughly a Cha like his mother and her father, next in line to continue the family dynasty. Willing or not, you will be dragged into the morass, and any children you have, affected for life."

 

"But Senior is not that kind of person!" Sun-Mi objects adamantly. "Wealth, power, and intrigue have no meaning to him. Our lives don't have to be dictated by his past."

 

"I hope you're right, for your sake," Eun-Ok cautions. "However, they say the man comes out of the boy, but the boy never leaves the man. The Cha's were brilliant and driven, exacting with high expectations. Yet Hyung-Chul carries all those traits, and by returning to MBS, seems to be following along in the same path. Can he resist the pull of destiny?"

 

Thinking back, Sun-Mi recalls his demands that presaged their Cold War ... "Why don't you try harder and become a celebrity? Why do you care about such untalented people?"

 

 

Eun-Ok notices the subtle change in Sun-Mi's expression, and remarks, "So you already experienced this?"

 

Sun-Mi nods solemnly, then displays a sanguine smile. "We've had our differences and spats, but always came to a mutual understanding," she discloses, her voice upbeat. "This will resolve itself in the same way. The Jin family are no pushovers either!"

 

Eun-Ok returns the smile. "If you truly love him, like I love his father, although Hyung-Chul won't ask it of me, you have my blessing."

 

"Thank you. It means a lot," Sun-Mi replies gratefully. "I hope that over time, we can become friends."

 

"I'd like that," Eun-Ok agrees.

 

 

One of the house staff, the man Sun-Mi recognizes who had met the limousine on entering the gate, steps onto the terrace.

 

"Madame, the Chairman's older son is in the courtyard," he announces Hyung-Chul's arrival. "He has asked for Announcer Jin to come out."

 

 

The two women stand up. Eun-Ok reaches out, and Sun-Mi grasps her hand.

 

"I'm so glad we had the chance to talk," Eun-Ok warmly sends Sun-Mi off.

 

"Me, too. Thank you."

 

"Let's stay in touch."

 

"Yes," Sun-Mi concurs. "Please excuse me."

 

 

"This way," the doorman motions to direct Sun-Mi, then leads the way.

 

 

After the door closes behind them, Eun-Ok's smile drops.

 

"I wish you success, Jin Sun-Mi," she voices her concern, "But you don't have a clue about the storm you're heading into ..."