AAE -- For Better For Worse

Part 3 -- Chapter 02

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

 

Sun-Mi still being on probation, the newlyweds had only a one-day 'honeymoon' before returning to work and resuming the normal routines of daily life. Though in appearances not much differed from before their wedding day, qualitatively it was a sea change for Hyung-Chul and Sun-Mi to finally be together in the same home and sharing the same bed. But as with any couple living together for the first time, they soon discovered how little they knew about each other.

 

For Hyung-Chul, the pleasurable aspects of the marital bed that he had eagerly anticipated, were accompanied by the consequences of occupancy with a partner as capricious asleep as she was awake, whether hogging the covers or throwing them off, tossing and turning for no apparent reason, or emitting the occasional cacophony of nasal whistles, guttural moans, and unintelligible mutterings.

 

But the bigger surprise was Sun-Mi's extensive beauty regimen. What previously he had appreciated and taken for granted as a natural state, he now witnessed first-hand was the result of a significant expense of time, effort, and artistry -- requiring an extensive assemblage of devices, a potpourri of carefully curated sprays, creams, gels, liquids, and aromatics, and an entirely different assortment of combs, brushes, and applicators -- to create and maintain.

 

For Sun-Mi, cohabiting was less of an adjustment, having lived with her widowed father since childhood. She was accustomed to the instruments of male grooming and a mixed laundry hamper, and forewarned of the likelihood of being nightly barraged by baritone bouts of resonant snorts and rumbling snores.

 

More difficult to adapt to was the sudden suspension of much of her personal space. Her expansive bed, where previously she had full reign, was now shared with a far larger presence unconcerned about further invading her half. She could no longer use the entire bathroom as a drying rack for intimate wear, or expect that a closed door ensured privacy. And her morning bed hair, facial blemishes, under-eye circles, and bodily odors were embarrassingly impossible to conceal in such close quarters.

 

Yet what they both found amazing was that the idiosyncrasies and foibles they had no choice but to reveal, rather than irritants driving them apart, became part of the fabric twining them together into a new, unique entity formed by the mystery of 'two becoming one'.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

 

Rising first on most days, Hyung-Chul dressed and made their breakfasts while Sun-Mi slept in to the last minute. After eating together and discussing their plans for the day, she went to dress while he cleared the table and washed the dishes.

 

Usually Hyung-Chul left for work at 7:30am, taking a 15-minute taxi ride to his office located in BBC's cavernous Park Lane headquarters complex. Sun-Mi left an hour later, using public transit to arrive at MBS's small London Bureau office in Fitzrovia before nine. On nice days, it was a short but leisurely walk to the Marble Arch tube station where she took the Central line to Oxford Circus station. Another, longer walk brought her to the doors of MBS. However, during inclement weather, she instead took the longer bus commute, boarding at the nearby corner stop, and alighting a block from her office, just in time to be at her desk.

 

On the rare morning when their schedules coincided, they rode together in the taxi, stopping first at MBS where Sun-Mi got off. Hyung-Chul then continued on to his office located a dozen blocks away.

 

As Hyung-Chul had daily meetings with BBC's broadcast partners in East Asia, with the time differential his workday often extended late into the night. When Sun-Mi also needed to stay late to communicate with MBS in Seoul, schedules permitting, they met for dinner at the Arirang or another of the many restaurants nearby MBS.

 

But most days when Sun-Mi finished work at 5:30pm, she stopped at the Arirang on the way home for dinner carryout, the next day's lunch boxes, and a brief chat with her aunt. At home she then worked on her English until Hyung-Chul returned. Following a quick dinner together, he got a head start on the next day and retired alone at midnight, while Sun-Mi studied into the early morning until too tired to continue, joining him for a few hours of slumber. It was a grueling schedule, especially with an advancing pregnancy, but as her critical final assessment was coming up fast, she needed to take every available minute to prepare.

 

 

All to soon, the day of reckoning came. After a restless night with little sleep, Sun-Mi rose before Hyung-Chul to wash up and dress first. She needed to leave early, as the assessment was scheduled before her normal workday began, to avoid interference with her regular duties.

 

Hyung-Chul is in the bathroom, shaving, when Sun-Mi's voice comes shrilly from her dressing room, "Senior! Hurry! I need you!"

 

Within seconds he appears in the open doorway, dress shirt unbuttoned and face half-shaven, huffing heavily from his headlong rush.

 

Sun-Mi is standing in front of the full-length mirror, arms akimbo, observing herself critically.

 

"This makes me look fat, doesn't it?" she accosts him for an opinion, referring to her light gray Giorgio Armani peplum skirt suit.

 

To Hyung-Chul, her slight baby bump is barely noticeable. "You look fine," he replies dismissively, relieved that the summons was not for a real emergency.

 

"Humph! That's what you always say!" she retorts, then muses to herself, "Maybe, if I'm taller..."

 

 

She turns hopefully to peruse the array of Jimmy Choos, Ferragamos, Guccis, Chanels, and other designer brands that line shoe shelves along one wall of the dressing room. After a few moments of deliberation, she steps into a new pair of shiny black patent Christian Louboutin pumps and marches back to the mirror for another appraisal.

 

"Better, right?" she concludes, sounding not that persuaded herself, then prompting him again for a second opinion. "Well...?"

 

"Er..." he hesitates, distracted by the pair of slender stems that stretch a mile between her short skirt and stratospheric stilettos.

 

 

Impatient, Sun-Mi doesn't wait for him to speak. "You don't have to say it. I still look fat!" she grumbles, her lips turning down in a sullen frown.

 

"You're not fat, you're five months pregnant," he points out the obvious. "You're supposed to be like this."

 

"But nobody knows that, except me and you. They already say I'm stupid behind my back, because of my mistakes and poor English skills. Now they'll say I'm fat, too!" she presages.

 

 

Realizing now that the root cause of the morning's drama is not her appearance, but anxiety over the English assessment, Hyung-Chul moves in to offer reassurance.

 

He steps up behind Sun-Mi and places his hands on her trim waist. In stocking feet, he is barely taller than Sun-Mi in her high heels, and his larger body by comparison puts her svelte figure into perspective.

 

Letting the visual speak for itself, he addresses the office gossip. "Anyone who knows you, knows you're not stupid. It doesn't matter what people say."

 

"If I'm not stupid, why hasn't it gotten much better?" she airs her doubts. "This is my last chance. What if I fail?"

 

"Believe in yourself, and everything will be all right," he states confidently. "I believe in you."

 

 

Grateful for the morale boost, she turns to reply, "Thank you, Senior," then rewards him with a quick peck on the lips before she announces, "I have to go now."

 

"But you haven't eaten breakfast. You need to look out for your health -- and the baby's -- so at least have a bite first," he nags, expressing his larger concern, "The doctor thinks you're not gaining enough, as it is."

 

"As it is, I'm running late!" she parries to avoid the issue, squirming to convey her meaning. "I have a bus to catch!"

 

Taking the hint, Hyung-Chul removes his hands from her waist, releasing Sun-Mi.

 

Picking up her handbag, she trots out and down the hallway, heels click-clacking on the hard floor. They suddenly stop, then head back. Coming in, Sun-Mi goes directly for her jewelry box. She takes out the four-leaf clover brooch that Hyung-Chul had gifted her as a good luck charm for the MBS training class entrance exam.

 

"It worked before," she states optimistically. "So it can't hurt, right?"

 

"Of course," he agrees, holding back the truth that she had actually passed only because her 'Uncle' Kim Sun-Dal had fixed the scores. "Let me pin it on you."

 

 

Fastening it to her suit jacket earns him another brief kiss.

 

"Let's have dinner, to celebrate," he anticipates a successful outcome.

 

"I have a segment to tape, and need to help with the edits for the morning news in Seoul, so I won't have time tonight," she declines, offering an alternative, "Let's go out Saturday, instead?"

 

Then she is off again. Hyung-Chul hears the door open, Sun-Mi step out, then the latch as the door closes.

 

 

He ambles over to the window, pushes the curtain aside, and looks down on the street below. Outside, a steady drizzle falls from low gray clouds. Shortly, he sees Sun-Mi appear, umbrella up, running for the bus as it pulls away. She stops, checks her watch, then raises her arm to attract the attention of an approaching cab.

 

The driver pulls over to the curb. Sun-Mi gets in and the taxi speeds off.

 

 

A few seconds later, his mobile buzzes, announcing an incoming message. He smiles at the text from Sun-Mi...

 

"^3^ ^3^ Thanks for the cute card! *^.^*"

 

Chuckling to himself, Hyung-Chul closes his phone. Then his brow creases as he calculates her realistic chances of success.

 

He sighs deeply, predicting the unfortunate, but likely, outcome, "Sun-Mi, where will you hide this time to cry?"