AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart

Chapter 13

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

"You just have to ask, and give me the chance to say, 'Yes'. That's all it takes." -- Jin Sun-Mi

 

 

MBS HQ AND STUDIOS, YEOUIDO ...

 

Hyung-Chul pushes open the door of his office, and heads directly to his desk to get the papers he came for. Coming in behind him, Sun-Mi has a bag of carryout from the Thai restaurant. She sits down on the upholstered chair nearest the door in the conference area and opens containers of curry and rice. A spicy aroma quickly permeates the office.

 

She declares hungrily: "I'm famished!"

 

"Go ahead," Hyung-Chul replies. "I'll be another minute."

 

Sorting through some folders on his desk, he puts them into a single stack. Meanwhile Sun-Mi arranges two place settings on the coffee table.

 

"Dinner is ready!" she announces cheerily, looking to see if she got his attention.

 

Hyung-Chul doesn't seem to have heard. He takes out a slim red binder from the center desk drawer and places it on top of the pile.

 

"Senior?" Sun-Mi prompts again.

 

Before he answers, his cell phone buzzes. Hyung-Chul looks at Sun-Mi apologetically, then flips the phone open and glances at the screen.

 

"It's PD Shin; I'll call him back later."

 

"PD Shin wouldn't call you on a Sunday night, unless it's important," she urges.

 

Hyung-Chul takes the call reluctantly: "Yes?" He looks at Sun-Mi gravely as he speaks into the phone: "Where? … No, I'll be right down."

 

The sudden change in his expression concerns Sun-Mi. "What is it, Senior?"

 

"Announcer Lee Sang-Joo was in a car accident today," he explains. "She's in the hospital now, recovering from surgery."

 

At the shock on Sun-Mi's face, he elaborates: "It's not serious. But we need someone to fill in on Eve's Morning the next few weeks."

 

"Who do you have in mind?" she asks.

 

"I'll figure that out with PD Shin," he answers. "Sorry, but I've gotta go right now."

 

"What about your dinner?"

 

Hyung-Chul is already out the door as he calls back: "Go ahead, I'll eat later."

 

 

After Hyung-Chul's leaves, Sun-Mi picks up her chopsticks and takes a bite, then puts them down with a sigh.

 

"Eating alone takes away all the flavor," she laments.

 

With nothing to do but wait, and feeling a bit abandoned, though knowing it was not his fault, she decides to sit in Hyung-Chul's desk chair. Pivoting slowly back and forth, she speculates what it would be like to have the power and authority he wields from this desk, and also the responsibility for the livelihoods of all the people of the company.

 

"He works so hard, trying to do the right thing for everyone," she concludes, feeling proud of him.

 

The VCR remote is on the desk. Hoping for something interesting to watch and help pass the time, she flicks it on. A scene from the movie Pretty Woman appears on the TV monitor.

 

After watching Richard Gere's dramatic proposal to Julia Roberts concluding the film, Sun-Mi shuts off the VCR. Idly looking over Hyung-Chul's desk, she notices the red binder right and opens it. Inside on the cover page, a name is printed: Park So-Won. Age 33.

 

"Why would he have a file on her?" Sun-Mi wonders, turning the page to find a stunning, full page PR photograph of So-Won.

 

A handwritten note is stuck to the photograph: Need your decision ASAP -- Director Park Jun-Ho.

 

Sun-Mi flips quickly through the successive pages of photographs, comparing herself unfavorably to the famous model / actress, renowned for her flawless, natural face and perfect S-line figure. "Is this what he does all day?" she grumbles enviously. "Watching movies with pretty actresses and looking at beautiful models?" She snaps the binder shut. "And I thought he worked so hard."

 

She puts down the binder in a huff, but then the Peter Rabbit music box catches her eye. She recalls Hyung-Chul's reply the day she'd gifted it to him at London City Airport, after she asked if he'd gotten her a gift:

 

"Isn't it a big present just to have known me?"

 

At the time she'd thought he was being arrogant to joke like that, but now, the words bring tears to her eyes. She leans back in his chair against the padded upholstery, recalling the times she had his strong, broad shoulders to lean on. The thought of leaving him gives her an empty ache.

 

Glancing down at the floor, she notices a wad of paper next to the waste bin. She picks it up, intending to toss it into the bin, but sees handwriting on the crumpled sheet. Curious, Sun-Mi smoothes the paper out on the desk. The handwriting is Hyung-Chul's. The words are crossed out with pen strokes, but still legible: Want to get married?

 

Her curiosity piqued, Sun-Mi looks into the waste bin, and fishes out two similar crumpled papers

 

Eagerly, she smoothes out another sheet and sees: Stay with me every day. Marry me!

 

On the third one, she finds written: Let's join our lives together. Will you marry me?

 

Stunned, Sun-Mi mentally puts the pieces together: Hyung-Chul's hints at the wedding; the look on his face when she caught the bouquet; the special song requested at the restaurant; the suggestive banter with her father; their day together on the mountain..."

 

"I knew he wanted to say something to me," she confirms her suspicions. "But why didn't he?"

 

She answers her own question, thinking of the time he confessed on the MBS rooftop:

 

... "I like you, Sun-Mi... But I'm not good at saying things like this... It's hard. Real hard" ...

 

She reads the words again, hearing them as if Hyung-Chul was present and speaking them to her. Utter joy floods her heart, as her tears overflow...

 

"Yes!" she declares softly. "I will marry you, Senior! ... I won't go. I'll never turn my back to you again..."

 

Sun-Mi ponders what to say and do when he finally pops the question, concluding... He mustn't know I know, it'd spoil the moment...

 

She crumples up the papers again, to put back into the waste bin, but then chooses one to keep... for sentiment's sake. Her stomach growls, and she hungrily looks over at their untouched meal.

 

Clinching her decision, she goes back to the chair where she left her bag and drops the paper in it, then takes out her cell phone. She pictures Hyung-Chul's face, smiling happily when he answers her call.

 

But Hyung-Chul's voice is stressed, not happy: "I'm very busy. Can this wait?"

 

"That depends on if we want to eat dinner together tonight," she says warmly, hoping to entice him back to join her.

 

"Sorry, it'll be a while yet," Hyung-Chul tells her the bad news. "This is turning out harder than I thought."

 

"It's not so hard, Senior, really," she replies. "You just have to ask, and give me the chance to say, 'Yes'. That's all it takes..."