AAE -- For Better For Worse

Part 3 -- Chapter 15

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

 

Early the next morning, Sun-Mi meets with Yoo Joo-Hee in a quiet Gangnam cafe, an arrangement  requested well in advance for the MBS President to carve a few minutes out of her busy schedule. As they are waiting for their coffee orders, involuntarily Sun-Mi yawns, quickly covering her gaping mouth as her cheeks blush red with embarrassment.

 

"Not much sleep last night?" Joo-Hee asks, amused.

 

"Yesterday Daddy came home from the hospital. I've been staying over in his hospital room every night, so I wasn't used to sleeping in my Auntie's house," Sun-Mi answers truthfully, without giving the real reason...

 

After receiving the priest's advice, she had gone to her aunt's home to be there when they arrived in a taxi from the hospital. At dinner with her father, her aunt had made no further mention of their earlier conversation. Nor had her father asked her plans. After dinner, with the elders both retiring early, Sun-Mi had sat in her room praying, trying to do what the priest had suggested -- listen to her inner voice. But having no idea exactly what that entailed or how she would even know if God was speaking to her or not, she still had no clear direction on what to do.

 

 

Sun-Mi looks across the table apprehensively at her former supervisor and mentor. With her ascension to the peak of MBS, Joo-Hee carries herself with a commanding presence of a corporate CEO, having upgraded her off-the-rack wardrobe with bespoke tailoring, fitted to a svelte figure that shows no traces of having recently borne her second child with Sun-Dal.

 

The last time they had met in person, Joo-Hee had declared her intentions to marry Hyung-Chul and advised Sun-Mi to go off to London, and Sun-Mi had defied her. Their only conversation since then, almost four years ago when Joo-Hee had called to let her know she had had a son with Hyung-Chul, had been more open and congenial. But Sun-Mi still wondered at Joo-Hee's long-term intentions, now that their lives were forever entwined.

 

"It's a gift from my husband, for his son," she explains, taking a small wrapped package from her tote and passing it to Joo-Hee, "Just tell him it's from a distant 'uncle' who was thinking of him."

 

"Thanks. I'll do that," Joo-Hee replies, immediately transferring the package to her handbag.

 

"How is Hyung-Chul? It's been a year since he was let go from the BBC, and we haven't heard anything. Sun-Dal has tried, but gotten no response. It's as if he dropped completely off the radar."

 

 

"He's still looking for a new job commensurate with his abilities," Sun-Mi puts the best light on their circumstances. "The right opportunity just hasn't come up yet."

 

"I see. At the time, I offered a position with MBS in London, but he declined to accept it," Joo-Hee recalls. "I'd just presumed he had gotten a better offer already, but I see I was misinformed."

 

"He didn't tell me about that," Sun-Mi expresses her surprise.

 

"I suppose it was his male pride, feeling he was taking charity from me," Joo-Hee surmises. "Me being the person who was sitting in his rightful position, and everyone in the Company knowing that."

 

She takes a sip of coffee, then continues, "I suppose I worry too much about him... like a younger sister, that is."

 

 

Catching the strain in Joo-Hee's voice, Sun-Mi replies, "You were very close, of course you should care."

 

"Thank you," Joo-Hee responds to Sun-Mi's graciousness. "I was afraid that you might have come to resent me."

 

"Actually, sometimes I did," Sun-Mi admits. "But only in those moments when I felt sorry for myself, and envious of you for having Senior's son."

 

"Honestly, at times I was envious of you, too," Joo-Hee discloses, "for having my son's father."

 

"Does that make us even then?" Sun-Mi quips, showing a smile as she extends her hand to Joo-Hee, indicating her willingness to try and rebuild their relationship toward the future.

 

Joo-Hee hesitates a moment, then returns the smile as she grasps Sun-Mi's hand. Though they may hold residual feelings, she also recognizes the need to move beyond the past.

 

 

"Now that your father is better, what are your plans?" Joo-Hee asks after they shake. "Will you be returning to London soon?"

 

"I'm not sure. Daddy still needs extensive physical therapy, and there's possible complications at his age," Sun-Mi shares her concerns. "So I'm thinking of staying and working here temporarily, until he fully recovers."

 

 

Having previously noted Sun-Mi's out-of-fashion dress, worn tote, and scuffed pumps, Joo-Hee ascertains that financial difficulties may be more reason for Sun-Mi staying than her father's health.

 

"If there is anything I can do... perhaps a contract job at MBS?" she offers.

 

"I appreciate that, but I'm not sure it would be wise," Sun-Mi declines. "People might reopen old incidents we'd both prefer to remain closed."

 

"You're right. Even five years probably isn’t enough," Joo-Hee acknowledges. "Anything else?"

 

"Just one," Sun-Mi requests. "If you can persuade your father to relent, and allow Senior to come back. He would still honor his non-contact agreement with you and his son."

 

"Is this from Hyung-Chul?"

 

"No. I'm asking without his knowledge. I'm not sure he would."

 

"I see..." Joo-Hee's expression is conflicted. "I can't promise, but I'll do my best."

 

Sensing her hesitancy, Sun-Mi pulls back, "If it's asking too much..."

 

"No. My father's terms were overly punitive. It's time that is made right," Joo-Hee quickly corrects Sun-Mi's misunderstanding. "It's just when I think of Hyung-Chul and our son at the same time, I can get carried away by my emotions."

 

"I understand. And thank you."

 

 

Joo-Hee checks the time on her Cartier Tank wrist watch, then states, "I'm due for a conference call soon." She stands. "I'm glad we could meet like this."

 

"Me too," Sun-Mi echoes her sentiment, moving to stand up.

 

But Joo-Hee motions for her to remain seated. "I'll leave first. Please enjoy your coffee."

 

She picks up her Balmain handbag and walks away, the bright red soles of her black patent Christian Louboutin stiletto heels flashing with each stride.

 

 

As Sun-Mi watches Joo-Hee off, a twinge of envy clouds her heart.

 

"In giving up Senior, Joo-Hee got everything else -- career, children, wealth, societal esteem," she contemplates the comparison of their present lives. "At the time I thought I had won, but who benefited most in the end?"

 

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

That night, after Gwi-Sung is asleep, Auntie Jin presses Sun-Mi...

 

"Why won't you listen to reason?" she demands.

 

 

"I'll stay for a month or two, but only until Daddy is stronger," Sun-Mi reports her decision firmly. "I need to be with my husband."

 

"Yoon Hyung-Chul has only brought trouble and heartache into your life," Auntie Jin argues. "I never thought I'd say this, but I regret having match-made you that time in London."

 

Sun-Mi is stunned at her aunt's disclosure, "What do you mean, match-made?"

 

"I was only thinking about the best for you, when your father's friend, Kim Sun-Dal, approached me with the idea of matching you with Yoon Hyung-Chul," she reveals the long-held secret. "So I convinced your father to send you for a summer English course, intending that you to meet Hyung-Chul in London. For his part, Kim Sun-Dal used his influence in MBS to assure you had a job there when Hyung-Chul came back to Seoul."

 

Sun-Mi is stunned, disbelieving, "Why would you do that?"

 

"It seemed like a good opportunity for you, both personally and professionally. At the least you might get his backing in your career. At best you might marry into one of Korea's wealthiest families. And Kim Sun-Dal wanted to give Yoo Joo-Hee a reason to forget Hyung-Chul, so he could court her freely."

 

"Why didn't you tell me this before?!" Sun-Mi demands angrily. "Why wait until now?"

 

"We agreed to keep it a secret between us, forever," Auntie Jin explains, "But seeing how things have turned for the worse, you should know the truth. You were never fated to be with Yoon Hyung-Chul, like you believed! Your future, with or without him, is up to you, not Fate, to decide."

 

"It doesn't make any difference how we met. I married because I love him," Sun-Mi reflexively defends her decision. "I've mad my decision, and nothing can change that!"

 

"Things didn't turn out like either you or I expected," Auntie Jin contends. "The situation is different now than when you married. You can do better. Why waste the rest of your life, hanging on to a failure? You have to be honest with the facts. You're 30 years old now, it's time to stop indulging in childish dreams!"

 

"You're wrong," Sun-Mi rebuts her aunt. "It doesn't matter what you think, I'm not going to listen anymore!"

 

Turning her back, she flees for her bedroom.

 

 

Inside her room, Sun-Mi collapses on her bed, tears of anger and shame washing her face, her mind reeling with doubt and questions. Once again, she was humiliated in being the last to know. Her entire life, as she knew it, was based on deceptions, if not outright lies, by people she had trusted implicitly.

 

She had been blind to what Huh Young-Mi, and probably everyone else realized, that she was never qualified for MBS in the first place. She was a phony, which put even her successes at Musical Postcards and Art Club in question. Were they due to her own ability, or from a Cinderella's 'fairy godmother'?

 

Vexing her further was the possibility that if Kim Sun-Dal was involved, then Senior likely must have known, too!

 

He had withheld the truth from her before, more than once. Had he done it again? Was he complicit in getting her into MBS? Had he played on her belief in Fate and True Love to use her to thwart Joo-Hee? Was their entire relationship a phony, too?

 

 

Perhaps her aunt is right, and this is a wakeup call for her to face her situation with eyes open to reality, not dreams. But to do that, she needed answers, now. And those were in London, with Hyung-Chul.

 

 

Picking up the phone extension, Sun-Mi dials a number from her notebook.

 

"Korean Air. How may I direct your call?" the female customer service operator cheerfully asks.

 

Masking her anger, Sun-Mi replies with a level voice, "I have an open ticket, and want to book a flight to Seoul, tomorrow..."