AAE -- For Better For Worse

Part 3 -- Chapter 41

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

 

Leaning against soft pillows in her pink robe, Sun-Mi sits upright in her bed, her day-old infant son nestled in her arms. Through the window, she watches as butterflies flit from blossom to blossom across the pink and white lotus flowers in the mandang pool.

 

"He's finished feeding," she says to the nurse standing nearby.

 

"I'll take him then, Ma'am," the nurse replies, gently receiving the swaddled child.

 

 

Kim Eun-Ok enters, carrying a bed tray with a steaming bowl of miyeok-guk (seaweed soup).

 

"I prepared it myself," she says, setting the tray across Sun-Mi's legs.

 

Sun-Mi smiles. "Thank you, Mother." She lifts a spoonful of soup to her mouth.

 

"Your father called. He'll be coming this afternoon with his sister and Ms. Song. I've notified the staff to add three more places for dinner, and to prepare rooms for them to stay overnight."

 

"That's very thoughtful of you. It'll be nice to have everyone together."

 

 

Yoon Ji-Hoon, Eun-Ok's son, appears in the doorway, Jun-Ae squirming in his arms.

 

"She's fussing," he explains. "Wants to see her Mum."

 

Eun-Ok clucks her tongue. "I'll take her... Come to Halmi," she says, reaching for the one-year-old. Adopting a sing-song voice, she jiggles the child lightly. "Does Jun-Ae want to see the pretty flowers?" She makes a comical face.

 

Jun-Ae stops struggling and giggles.

 

"Let's go with Uncle. Okay?"

 

At the door, Eun-Ok pauses and turns back. "After you've finished your soup, Sun-Mi, I'll bring her to you for feeding."

 

Sun-Mi looks up and nods, smiling.

 

Eun-Ok and Ji-Hoon walk off together. He hides his face behind his hands, then drops them with a flourish, saying, "Peekaboo!"

 

Jun-Ae squeals with laughter.

 

 

Sun-Mi sips her soup, listening to the men's voices drifting in from the adjacent sitting room through the open doors.

 

"We decided to name him Min-Young," Hyung-Chul says. "On his very first day, he was already aspiring to take his place in the President's office."

 

"I knew he'd be a clever one!" Yoon Hoe-Jang slaps his knee, roaring with laughter. "More whiskey?"

 

"I'll get it, Grandfather." Seung-Hyun jumps to his feet.

 

"Joo-Hee tells me the plans for the new digital division are shaping up nicely," Hoe-Jang says.

 

"We've made good progress, faster than I expected," Hyung-Chul replies. "It's helped that we've had some adept assistance from our summer intern."

 

"You speak too highly of me, Father," Seung-Hyun says, returning with a full decanter of Glenfiddich 30 Year Old Single Malt.

 

"When are you going back to Harvard?" Hoe-Jang asks.

 

"Classes start on September second, but I want to leave early -- do some sightseeing first. I've always wanted to see the Las Vegas Strip in person, since watching 'All In'."

 

 

The door to the suite opens with a whoosh of chilled air. Joo-Hee strolls in, dressed casually in a white linen Badgley Mischka ankle-skimming pantsuit, a Hermes So Black Birkin 30 hooked over her forearm. Sun-Dal follows her in, hefting a shopping bag stamped with the distinctive Shinsegae logo. Bypassing the nursery and sitting room, they head straight to the bedroom.

 

Sun-Mi nods politely. "President Yoo, you've traveled a long way."

 

Joo-Hee sets the shopping bag on the bedside table. "I'm President of MBS. Of course I'll come to see my top talent when she's on bed rest."

 

"A twenty-minute delivery! I heard how the baby practically dropped into Hyung-Chul's hands just as the nurse rushed in. If it'd been me, I'd have fainted on the spot," Sun-Dal says with a jokey laugh.

 

"Senior was completely calm -- he knew exactly what to do before the nurse came up," Sun-Mi replies proudly. "Thank God, he arrived just in time."

 

"And where is the little one?" he asks.

 

"The nurse just took Min-Young to the nursery, to sleep."

 

"I'll join the men, then," Sun-Dal says. "I'll tell Seung-Hyun his mother wants to speak with him, Dear."

 

"There's no rush," Joo-Hee replies. "I want a moment with Sun-Mi first."

 

 

After he leaves, Joo-Hee pulls up a nearby chair to the bed. "You were very brave yesterday, Sun-Mi."

 

"Brave? I was terrified. All I could think of was the miscarriage and Jun-Ae's premature birth. That I might lose this child, too." She draws a breath. "But God gave me a word from Psalms to remind me of His love and care -- for He will charge His angels to protect you."

 

"What angels?"

 

"When I was paralyzed with worry and pain, you took charge. You made sure I was ready. And then you held my hand and gave me your strength, protecting me from my own fears."

 

Her eyes mist. "That's what I'd wished for the most when I birthed my other children -- having my mother beside me, an angel to remind me that everything would be all right."

 

Joo-Hee looks away. "I can hardly claim to hold that place of honor, after all I've done to hurt you."

 

"I see it differently -- because of all you've done to help me."

 

Sun-Mi smiles.

 

"Since the first day I watched you give the Seven O'clock News with Uncle Sun-Dal, I've looked up to you as a woman, a role model, and then a mentor," she recalls. "You were my idol, my inspiration -- someone who brought the best out of me. But now, I consider you as someone even more important than that..."

 

She reaches out to grasp Joo-Hee's hand.

 

"You're a... true friend."