AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart
Chapter 56
written by LoveCR2 -- 2005
edited by All-About-AAE -- 2017
"Knowing something, and judging on it, are two different things. I'm not judging you." -- Min-Cho Atwater
SOHO, LONDON...
Sun-Mi is already waiting at the bus stop on Oxford Street, two blocks from the MBS London Bureau office, when Min-Cho drives up in his Sprite.
"Let me help you," he tells her, starting to take off his seatbelt...
"Don't bother, I'm fine," she preempts his usual courtesy, deftly slipping into the low cockpit seat with nimble ease.
"No more short skirts?" he quips with his usual rakish grin, referring to her navy DKNY pantsuit.
She pokes a finger hard into his arm to show her irritation. "You'd rather I freeze while you're a half-hour late, just so you can gawk at my goose-bumps?"
"I'm sorry. Traffic today is terrible. Why not go back to meeting up at your office?" he suggests. "Wouldn't it be more convenient, and warmer?"
"I can't. Since you're related to Chief, tongues are wagging," she informs him.
"Great!" he exclaims cheerfully, "So it's not just me who thinks we look good together..."
"You don't get it, do you?" she grumbles. "I had to deal with this in Seoul. I don't want to repeat that same mistake again."
"You mean those stories in the tabloids?" he asks.
Sun-Mi sighs dejectedly. "You read them, too? I suppose there's no one who doesn't know, and judge me because of it."
"Knowing something, and judging on it, are two different things," he replies. "I'm not judging you."
"You're one of the few exceptions, then," she replies glumly. "Lately at the office, the rumor mills are churning overtime, and I've gone from being coffee girl to pariah."
"Look at it this way: now you know who your true friends are. Not everyone's so lucky," he jokes, trying to cheer her up.
"For some reason, I don't feel lucky by this," she sighs.
"Didn't you say your luck changed with me?" he reminds her with a wink.
Sun-Mi chuckles at that, and banters back, "If you're wining and dining me at the best restaurants, where are you taking me for dinner tonight?
"Tonight, I'm the chef," he announces with a flair, then in response to her surprised expression, adds, "Don't laugh. I'm a GREAT cook!"
She laughs anyway.
"Isn't there anything that you're NOT good at?" she jests.
Min-Cho considers that for a moment, then admits: "For one, I'm not that great at swimming."
"Swimming? Why mention that, now?" Sun-Mi asks, knowing that nothing is by chance with him...
"Because after your English lesson, and dinner, that's next on the agenda for today."
Expecting their usual tennis practice session, Sun-Mi is curious as to the change, "What about our court time?"
"No courts this week, they're resurfacing the floors," he explains. "So I thought we could swim some laps instead for exercise."
She frowns, "Aren't you doing it again? Assuming things for me?"
"You do swim, right?" he raises a doubtful eyebrow.
"Who doesn't know how to swim?" she replies stiffly. "It's just that I don't have a suit, so I'll have to take a rain check."
He is about to speak, but she goes first... "I know. You have a solution for my 'problem', right? What is it this time, skinny dipping?"
With a straight face, Min-Cho acts as if he's considering her suggestion seriously. "That could be arranged, I suppose..." Then he lowers his focus, grinning roguishly...
Sun-Mi immediately guesses at what he's thinking. "Don't you go there!" she warns.
"I don't need to, since you're already there," he quips. "It wasn't me who brought up the subject, right?"
She glares at him, embarrassed, with nothing to say...
"Actually, I was thinking about a certain swimwear shop on the way," he smiles, "do you want to stop?"
With no reasonable argument left, she admits, "I just don't like to swim, okay? But I'll go to the pool, if you do something for me," she proposes a trade.
"Anything, within reason," he accepts, then wary of her sudden change of mind, adds, "But you have to get into the water, too."
"It's a deal," she nods and smiles happily, "if you teach me how to drive..."