AAE -- For Better For Worse

Part 3 -- Chapter 07

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

 

Stunned at Sun-Dal's unanticipated announcement, Hyung-Chul gulps down the remainder of his drink, slamming the empty glass on the bar.

 

"A son?" he asks again, still incredulous at the idea. "Are you joking me?"

 

"It's no joke," Sun-Dal confirms. "I just learned about this yesterday, as did your father. You remember, soon after you left, Joo-Hee supposedly went to the US on a study abroad program?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Actually, she was sent to live with a relative outside Seoul, to avoid a scandal."

 

"I know. Joo-Hee wrote to me, but said she'd had a miscarriage. Why did she lie?"

 

"She didn't. She was told the baby died at birth. Her father had him placed in an orphanage, until you and Joo-Hee married and could acknowledge a legitimate heir," Sun-Dal relates what his wife had told him. "She only found out the truth herself right before your engagement party."

 

"Why not tell me then?"

 

"Against her father's wishes, Joo-Hee insisted to withhold the knowledge from you. She didn't want a marriage only out of obligation."

 

"But why bring this out now? To force my approval of their agreement?"

 

"It's to get your approval. Director Yoo and your father decided to follow through on the contract made by your grandfathers," Sun-Dal conveys their intentions. "Under the agreement, Joo-Hee and I will raise your son. You must give up all paternal rights and not attempt any contact. The boy will not be told you are his biological father until he is of age, when he can decide for himself to acknowledge you, or not."

 

 

Hyung-Chul is livid. "So this is Director Yoo's price for his cooperation to oust Kim? Denying me my own son?"

 

"He demanded that you have nothing to do with his grandson, or no agreement."

 

"My father went along with this?"

 

"He wasn't happy about it, but Joo-Hee's father holds all the cards," Sun-Dal points out.

 

"And Joo-Hee?"

 

"You know it's not what she ideally wanted. She had hopes up until the engagement party," Sun-Dal replies. "But she is accepting the way things turned out, and will make the best of it. Most important, she wants to do what is best for your son. It will be hard enough for the boy to cope as it is, without the additional complication of having two fathers and divided custody across two continents."

 

Mulling over Sun-Dal's reasoning, Hyung-Chul realizes he has no better option.

 

"I'll agree with everything, except that I want my son to know I did this out of love and not to abandon him," Hyung-Chul raises his only objection. "I'll write letters to him regularly. You and Joo-Hee must keep them, to pass on later."

 

"You have my word of honor," Sun-Dal consents, "and don't worry. I'll raise your son as if he were my own."

 

"I know that. There's no one I trust more than you."

 

 

They cement their agreement with a handshake, and Hyung-Chul moves on to clarify the agreement at hand...

 

"Who will be replacing Kim as President? My father, or Director Yoo?"

 

"Neither. It will be Joo-Hee."

 

The choice perplexes Hyung-Chul. "Joo-Hee? Who decided that?"

 

"Actually, after considerable back and forth, it was your father's idea," Sun-Dal recounts. "Because everyone knows she's taken an independent stance from her father, she won't be seen as beholden to any faction."

 

Hyung-Chul nods in concurrence. "That makes sense."

 

"Joo-Hee will hold the position until your son is ready to become head of MBS," Sun-Dal describes the intended plan of succession. "She will then transfer the trust to him, so he can continue your mother's family legacy in your place."

 

 

"Basically, as far as Director Yoo and MBS are concerned, it will be as if I never existed, right?" Hyung-Chul tersely concludes.

 

"As persona non grata, my advice is that you don't show your face in Seoul for a long time. You wanted to be free of your obligations," Sun-Dal reminds him, "Now you have your wish. So... will you accept the terms?"

 

"It appears that I don't have much choice," Hyung-Chul observes dryly, resigned to the situation forced on him.

 

"Good, I'll have the final papers delivered to your lawyer in Seoul tomorrow," Sun-Dal wraps up his mission. "After legal review and your signature, everything will be settled."

 

 

"Not quite. There's one more thing I have to do," Hyung-Chul declares, standing up to leave. "Sorry to cut our time short, but I need to go, right now..."

 

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Fifteen minutes after leaving Sun-Dal at the bar, Hyung-Chul alights from a taxi at the entrance to his building. The ride in the lift up to his apartment seems interminable.

 

He stews in trepidation, fretting over the best way to break the news to Sun-Mi. -- What am I going to say to her? She'll be furious, being the last to know.

 

 

As Hyung-Chul steps into the foyer, Sun-Mi calls to him, her voice unusually perky, "I'm in the kitchen, Senior."

 

He comes in to find Sun-Mi, apron over her dress and stirring spoon in hand, tending a simmering pot. Other dishes, plated and covered, sit beside the cook top, ready to serve.

 

Surprised, he wonders aloud, "What's all this?"

 

"I was tired of carryout every night," she answers simply. "Dinner will be ready soon. Could you help me finish putting away the groceries?"

 

She motions toward the shopping bags lined up across the countertop at various stages of unpacking.

 

"You went shopping?" he remarks, doubly surprised.

 

 

"Yes. But before I went to the market, I stopped at the church to meet with Father Kim about continuing my RCIA sessions," she details her day's activities. "I met Mrs. Oh there -- from the Rosary Confraternity? -- and she was so kind, telling me how all the ladies had been praying."

 

"That's nice to hear."

 

"Oh, I also went to Selfridge's, just to check out the latest fashions," Sun-Mi adds, almost as an afterthought. "It turns out that their designer sale is going on right now. The prices were so good, and my wardrobe is so desperately needing an update, that I just had to buy something. Well to be correct, several things. I hope you won't mind."

 

"Why?" he chuckles. "Because you splurged a little on a few new dresses?"

 

"Actually..." she hesitates, poking out her tongue as she ponders, before flashing a disarming smile. "I splurged a lot. Don't be surprised when you see the credit card bill!"

 

 

Sun-Mi expects his usual tedious remarks about her already bulging dressing room. Instead Hyung-Chul knits his brow, puzzling at her sudden change of behavior, "But you haven't gone out in weeks. Why today?"

 

 

"It was because..." Sun-Mi stops stirring and lowers the heat on the burner, before continuing, "I decided that I needed to get on with life."

 

"That's great!" he enthuses. "I'm happy to hear it."

 

"I should've listened to you, and gone for counseling a long time ago," she admits, giving the pot an occasional stir as she speaks. "I don't know why I was so stubborn! Talking about it today gave me a different perspective to consider."

 

"You spoke with Father Kim?"

 

She shakes her head. "No, with Yoo Joo-Hee."

 

 

Hyung-Chul gulps. "Joo-Hee? When?"

 

"This morning," Sun-Mi replies. "She said there was something important that I needed to hear."

 

"That was ... about my son?" Hyung-Chul cautiously ventures into the potential minefield.

 

"Yes."

 

"Are you upset?"

 

"Should I be? What you and Joo-Hee did happened long before we met. It's not like you cheated on me."

 

He exhales with relief. "Then, you're okay?"

 

 

Putting the spoon down, Sun-Mi shuts off the gas burner and turns to face Hyung-Chul, her lips pressed firmly together.

 

"I didn't say that."

 

"Then, how do you really feel?"

 

"How did I feel? After Joo-Hee told me everything, I was overwhelmed," she relates her reaction. "My mind was spinning with guilt and doubts -- Because of me, you had already lost your daughter, and now your son, too. -- Did you now love Joo-Hee more than me? Would you leave me and go to her, for your son's sake?"

 

She looks up at him, her pain showing in her eyes. "In my mind, my whole life had fallen apart. How did you think I felt?"

 

 

"I'm sorry. I should've been forthcoming about my relationship with Joo-Hee, not let you hear it first from her," Hyung-Chul heaps the blame on himself. "We shouldn't have involved you in our problems like this."

 

"I don't blame you. It was out of your control," Sun-Mi rationalizes the outcome.

 

Hyung-Chul suspects her ready forgiveness. "Do you really see it that way? I'll understand if you don't."

 

"But I do," she assures him. "Joo-Hee's father put business before his daughter and grandson. I see it that you were all victims of his manipulations."

 

"Then, you're not angry with Joo-Hee, either?"

 

"No. Actually, she turned out to be a blessing to me."

 

 

"Oh?" Sun-Mi's reply is the last thing Hyung-Chul expected to hear. "How?"

 

"Joo-Hee stayed on the phone, talking me through my shock and tears. She assured me that it was her father, not me, who kept your son from you. And she understood my doubts, and fears, and struggles. As mothers who had lost their child at birth, we spoke heart-to-heart for the first time. Because of her, I've realized there could be a way forward for me, too."

 

"Then, do you still blame yourself for losing the baby?" Hyung-Chul probes the sensitive issue.

 

"Honestly, I'm still struggling," Sun-Mi admits. "I'll always wonder what might have been, if I'd done things differently. I know that I'll never get back my child like Joo-Hee has now, but perhaps -- with God's blessing -- I'll be able to have another."

 

 

Hearing this, Hyung-Chul is delighted. "You want to try for another baby?"

 

Sun-Mi nods. "What I said before, about not having more children, was because of my fears. Now I have the courage to have hope."

 

He looks at her questioningly. "Did Joo-Hee have anything to do with this, too?"

 

"Didn't Sun-Dal tell you? Joo-Hee is pregnant three months," Sun-Mi informs him, then jokes, laughing, "I don't want her to get too far ahead of me!"

 

 

Hearing Sun-Mi's sparkling laughter, for the first time in the six months since their tragic loss, is music to Hyung-Chul's ears. He joyfully circles her sylphlike waist, holding her in his arms.

 

"Senior, my apron!" she warns, too late. "Your suit will get soiled."

 

"I don't care," Hyung-Chul blithely replies. "I just want to hold you for five minutes."

 

 

But Sun-Mi has more practical things on her mind. "What about our dinner? It's getting cold!"

 

Hyung-Chul isn't easily put off, and ignores her protestations. Tightening� his arms, he deeply inhales her fragrance as he murmurs huskily in her ear, "You smell utterly delicious. Why don't we indulge in some 'dessert' first, before dinner?"

 

Preempting possible objections, he immediately plants a string of stimulating kisses across the sensitive skin of her nape, sending a stream of sparks skittering down her spine.

 

Sun-Mi shudders from the electrifying sensations, but isn't swayed. Pushing Hyung-Chul back, she makes enough space to catch her breath and quench the crackling tinder before it bursts into a consuming flame.

 

"Not now," she coolly dampens his rising fervor. "Everything will be soggy and spoiled. I worked hard to make the taste just right. So we're going eat now, while we can enjoy it!"

 

Faced with her adamance, Hyung-Chul grudging releases her from his grasp. "If that's what you prefer, dinner first, then," he concedes with a reluctant sigh. "While you finish up here, I'll go and set the table."

 

 

But Sun-Mi wants to remedy his disappointment first. "Look at it this way, Senior," she proffers, "You'll need a lot of energy to build up your stamina for later..."

 

Rising on tiptoe, she kisses him aggressively, giving a taste of her ardent intentions. Then smiling impishly, she arches a coquettish eyebrow.

 

 "So eat heartily," she urges, purring playfully, "You know, we have six months to make up for. And that could take all night!"