AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart

Chapter 65

written by LoveCR2 -- 2005

edited by All-About-AAE -- 2017

 

"Knowing someone well takes an entire lifetime; a few months is just skimming the surface." -- Jin Sun-Mi

 

 

OXO TOWER RESTAURANT, LONDON...

 

"Five years ago? ... The summer I came to England?"

 

Sun-Mi gives Min-Cho a dubious look, questioning what he'd just told her about when they'd first met.

 

"That's right," he confirms his previous statement.

 

"But my aunt told me that you were in Korea then, visiting your mother... that's why I never saw you at her house."

 

"The day before I left, I had dinner at the Arirang with my Uncle," he explains how it happened. "I remember like it was yesterday... you wore a light blue hooded sweater, your hair was in curls, and when you came to take our order, you greeted us with the sweetest smile I'd ever seen... and at that moment, I knew I'd met the girl of my dreams."

 

"How could you believe that?" Sun-Mi is incredulous. "You didn't know anything about me!"

 

"On the contrary, I knew everything about you," Min-Cho discloses. "For years, I'd listened to your aunt praise you incessantly to anyone who would listen."

 

Sun-Mi is instantly curious. "Really? What did she say about me?"

 

"Simply put, that her niece was the most charming and loveliest girl in all Korea. Of course, I was skeptical about the possibility, realizing that she might be just a bit biased, as your Auntie," he quips.

 

Sun-Mi laughs, knowing her aunt's expressive nature. "I know, Auntie always exaggerates, like Daddy..."

 

"I was also a skeptic that 'love at first sight' was real, too," Min-Cho recounts, now speaking more seriously. "But it took just one moment to change my mind about both possibilities... As you left with our order, I told Uncle that you were the girl I wanted to marry. And I decided to ask you out that night, right after we'd had dinner..."

 

"But you didn't. Why?" Sun-Mi asks.

 

"A few minutes later, a guy came in, and after you spoke with him for a few moments, you both left together. I never had the chance," Min-Cho relates the sequence of events. "When I came back from Korea and asked about you, your aunt said you'd already gone back to Seoul, and mentioned that you'd started dating someone, the guy you left with that night -- Yoon Hyung-Chul."

 

"But I wasn't really dating him... not seriously anyway, then," Sun-Mi remarks.

 

"I didn't know that. All I knew is that he stepped between you and me that night. Because I hesitated, I'd missed the opportunity," Min-Cho recalls. "So I swore if I ever had feelings for a woman, I wouldn't hold back... I wouldn't let it slip away from me again."

 

"And that's why you immediately asked me to be your girlfriend?"

 

"When I heard you were here, I felt that fate had given me another chance. So I grabbed for it... and you know the rest of the story..."

 

 

Still, Sun-Mi has questions. "Did Chief Kim and my Auntie know about how you felt? Su-Ji, too?"

 

"Yes, Uncle from the beginning, and I told your aunt just before you arrived," he confirms. "I think Su-Ji figured it out soon after that."

 

"Then why didn't you tell me this before? If others knew, why keep it a secret?" Sun-Mi complains, obviously irritated.

 

"If a guy you'd just met told you a story like this, you wouldn't give him half a chance," Min-Cho shares his reasoning. "I thought it'd be easier if we knew each other better first, before I mentioned it."

 

"So you really think you know me well now?" Sun-Mi scoffs dismissively. "Truly knowing someone takes an entire lifetime; a few months is just skimming the surface..."

 

"Okay, I should have told you earlier," he concedes his error. "But why make such a big deal out of it?"

 

"Maybe it's not a big deal to you, but it is for me," she answers. "You're not the one who was the last to know! You're not the one who looked totally clueless, like a laughingstock while everyone speculates behind your back, wondering if you'll ever figure it out!"

 

"No one is laughing; no one thinks you're clueless," Min-Cho tries to smooth her ruffled feathers.

 

But his words don't register with Sun-Mi, who continues to agonize. "No wonder Su-Ji despises me so much... she thinks I'm a total idiot! Why didn't you just put a sign on my forehead, display to all the world what a fool I am! Even dummies in store windows aren't as stupid as me! ... To have hopes that..."

 

She leaves the remaining words unsaid, pausing to swallow a sob and wipe away a tear.

 

"You're not a dummy, Sun-Mi. Why talk like this?"

 

 

Sun-Mi turns away, to look outside at the calm whiteness of the falling snow while she sorts out her jumbled thoughts. A minute later when she answers, the heated agitation in her voice is replaced by a measured detachment...

 

"Why am I talking like this? Because I was unsatisfied with what I was, and tried to be what I was not. But that was just a fool's errand. Now I'm trapped somewhere in between, with no way back to the past, and no certain path forward to the future... Right now, all I know for certain, is that I don't know who I really am at all..."

 

She turns back to face Min-Cho, and speak directly to him, "You were someone I believed in and trusted, someone I could rely on to carry me through this confusion. But now I realize that you're not who I thought you were... that I don't know who you really are, either..."

 

 

MEANWHILE AT MBS HQ IN YEOUIDO, SEOUL...

 

Sun-Dal pokes his head inside Hyung-Chul's office. "Good morning. Miss Nam said that you wanted to see me first thing?"

 

"Come in," Hyung-Chul welcomes him. "Have a seat."

 

After Sun-Dal settles in, Hyung-Chul asks, "What do you think of Lee Sang-Joo's performance?"

 

Sun-Dal guesses, "Is this about the latest ratings for Eve's Morning? Why is it always the announcer's fault?"

 

"I was thinking more along the lines that it's the fault of the Assistant Director in charge of announcers," Hyung-Chul smiles. "What's your plan to fix this?"

 

"I'd say let's give her more time. It's not like we have anyone better waiting in line for the job, and she's had to fill some pretty big shoes," Sun-Dal recommends.

 

"What about the new training batch? Anyone promising?" Hyung-Chul asks.

 

"It's too early to tell. But the chance of us finding another Huh Young-Mi is pretty slim." Sun-Dal points out.

 

"I'll be travelling out of the country next week, to Paris. Before I get back I want you to make up a list of possible freelancers we can retain for the short term, and line up interviews," Hyung-Chul requests. "Only talk with the top talent. Regardless of the cost... we want only the best."

 

But Sun-Dal suggests with a grin, "I have a better idea... While you're in Paris, why not take a plane to London and persuade Sun-Mi to come back?. Propose marriage to her, if that's what it takes!"

 

"Actually, I was considering  the possibility myself. Unfortunately, I think we have a better chance of finding another Young-Mi, than of getting Sun-Mi back," Hyung-Chul remarks gloomily.

 

"As long as we're talking about Sun-Mi..." Sun-Dal shifts to another topic, "I retained an investigative agency to do a deep background check into Michael Atwater, like you wanted...

 

"I didn't ask you to do that," Hyung-Chul disputes the claim.

 

"Technically you're right, but I know how to read between the lines," Sun-Dal grins. "Do you want to know what I learned, or not?"

 

"All right then," Hyung-Chul agrees. "What is it?"

 

"It seems that Atwater's not just a wealthy playboy dabbling in research at Cambridge. He holds several key patents on cutting-edge AI technology, said to be worth billions, once applications start rolling out commercially in a few years. Microsoft, Apple, and Sina are all negotiating for rights to apply his work in their designs for the new 'intelligent personal assistants' they're developing."

 

"Why does that matter to me?" Hyung-Chul asks.

 

"Probably since you've been neck-deep in melodrama these past few months, you haven't noticed the unusually high market volume in our stock," Sun-Dal informs him. "An investment holding company called KAIROS is buying up all available shares. They've amassed enough of a stake to place a Director on the Board at the annual stockholders' meeting."

 

"Kairos? That's an unusual name," Hyung-Chul remarks. "I've never heard of them."

 

"I hadn't either... apparently the company primarily invests worldwide in luxury residential and five-star hotel properties."

 

Hyung-Chul ponders the information. "Why would a real estate company be buying into Korean media?"

 

"It wasn't clear to me either," Sun-Dal concurs, "until I learned that the majority owner of Kairos is... Michael Atwater. With funding from his patents, Atwater could more than double his investment, and team up with Director Kim to gain control of the Board."

 

"But if Atwater is just financing Kim's control, why his interest in Sun-Mi?" Hyung-Chul offers the question.

 

"Tell me, what is Sun-Mi worth to you?"

 

"Everything," Hyung-Chul instantly replies, "She's priceless to me."

 

"Exactly what Kim would like to hear," Sun-Dal predicts. "What if Atwater is acting as Kim's proxy to use Sun-Mi as a trump card of last resort... trading her future for control of MBS..."

 

"You're building another K-drama conspiracy now," Hyung-Chul casually dismisses the theory, and expounds his own: "Let's just assume the simplest explanation, that Atwater is only interested in Sun-Mi romantically, and wants to buy her some backing on the Board... Because that's what I'd do, if I were in his position."

 

"Whichever is right, we shouldn't underestimate the man, Sun-Dal warns. "He could become a serious rival for you... both in business, and love...

 

Hyung-Chul agrees. "I think it's time I take a closer look at Mr. Michael Atwater myself," he declares his next move, "I want to know just exactly what kind of man he is..."