AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart

Chapter 69

written by LoveCR2 -- 2005

edited by All-About-AAE -- 2017

 

"Don't give up on love easily... hold onto your hope, sometimes dreams really do come true." -- Min-Cho Atwater

 

 

HOTEL DU QUAI VOLTAIRE, PARIS ...

 

"No, Min-Cho... this is not a good time to talk! I'm dripping wet from the shower!"

 

Irritation clouds her freshly scrubbed face, still glowing pink from the steamy bathroom...

 

Sun-Mi sits on the edge of her hotel bed, head cocked to the side, telephone handset held against her ear with a raised shoulder. One hand grips the ends of the bath towel wrapped around her, while with a hand towel the other wipes at trickles of water dripping from her hair and dries off the glistening droplets from her bare skin.

 

"Hmm..." Min-Cho responds noncommittally.

 

"Why call and then say nothing?" she complains.

 

"Sorry... I was picturing what you'd just said," he replies with a chuckle. "Now that's a sight I'd be happy to see in person..."

 

"Well, it's not funny to me!" she snaps, conveying her annoyance. "I'm hanging up, now!"

 

"Don't hang up," he quickly speaks. "There's some things we need to discuss..."

 

"Is this about the other night, I told you not to contact me until after I've thought things through," she reminds him crossly.

 

 

"Tell me first, are you still planning to move from your aunt's place?"

 

"Yes... Why?" Sun-Mi asks, and then guesses the answer eagerly, "You found something?!"

 

"How does a fully furnished penthouse apartment, with a view of the Thames and Parliament from the balcony, sound to you?" Min-Cho replies proudly.

 

"Wow! That's fantastic!" she exclaims with a touch of irony. "That is, if I could afford anything larger than a closet in downtown London."

 

"Actually, it's not for hire," he clarifies. "The owner is looking for someone to live in, just for helping to take care of the place."

 

Sun-Mi sniffs. "Don't you mean, doing his housekeeping? ... Forget it!"

 

"It's not housekeeping, but house sitting," Min-Cho corrects her misunderstanding. "He travels a lot and doesn't want to leave it empty."

 

 

Still, Sun-Mi is wary. "Tell me... what else do you know about this man?"

 

"No need to worry; I can vouch for him," Min-Cho assures her. "Actually, there's not much to say. He's something of a enigmatic person, has a variety of business interests, and an eclectic taste in art. The apartment is like a gallery, displaying his collections from all over the world."

 

Since her university days, Sun-Mi had frequented art museums and galleries whenever she had the time. The opportunity to live amidst a unique collection is tempting, but...

 

"I don't know... being in someone else's home," Sun-Mi voices her doubts, "I'm more comfortable in a place that matches my own style..."

 

"Where will you get a better deal than this? Why not try it for a few months?" Min-Cho pushes her to agree.

 

She tries to buy time to think it over more, "Do I have to decide tonight?"

 

"He'll be leaving again in a few days, and wants to have this settled," he informs her of the situation, and encourages, "Do it."

 

"Fine, tell the owner I'll move in next week," Sun-Mi agrees with one eye on the LED alarm clock, then adds, "It's getting late, I've got to go now..."

 

 

"Can you hold on another minute... or two?" Min-Cho asks. "I have something more..."

 

"Okay, but be brief," she assents. "I have to be up at 6AM."

 

"About the other night... I want to say something..."

 

"Can't this wait until I'm back in London?"

 

"I'm leaving for Edinburgh tomorrow," he informs her. "Please..."

 

She sighs. "Go on..."

 

"I wanted to say that I misjudged the situation," he apologizes, "and acted inappropriately."

 

"Did I ask for an apology?" she retorts.

 

Min-Cho is surprised. "Then you weren't offended? But after I gave you back the card, you didn't say a word, just went right inside."

 

"It's because I was confused," Sun-Mi explains. "I didn't know how to respond, so I acted out of habit, and ran away."

 

"Usually things are clear in my own mind, and I forget others may see them differently... It wasn't meant to pressure you; just show that you're a very special person to me."

 

"I know that, Min-Cho, but one kiss is just that... a kiss," she states it simply, even though she's not so sure it's that simple.

 

"Agreed," he concurs readily, to Sun-Mi's wonderment. "Now, if you'll allow me to be presumptuous just once more -- I think what you need more right now is a best friend, not a boyfriend. So if it's okay with you, I'm fine with staying 'just friends' for now."

 

Sun-Mi finds this hard to believe. "What about me being the 'woman of your dreams' and your 'unrequited love'? It's not easy to change those kinds of feelings."

 

"I'm not," he declares. "You're still the woman of my dreams, but for now I want you to forget all that. If you can't love me, I'll accept it... Whatever you decide to do, I'll support you 100%."

 

 

As Sun-Mi listens, tears of gratefulness well up...

 

"I don't know why, but now I'm feeling guilty," she discloses, "that I've become a burden to you..."

 

"Don't think like that," he disagrees. "I'd say the same thing, even if you told me that you wanted to be my girlfriend. I just feel that right now you have other matters to deal with first."

 

"I really appreciate that, Min-Cho," she replies earnestly. "But how did you know? I did something impulsively, that I'm now regretting..."

 

"What is it?"

 

"Senior is here, in Paris... I let him know I wanted to meet tomorrow, but I'm having second thoughts...I have no idea what to say, or do, when I face him."

 

"I thought you two split up months ago. What's the harm in talking things over, settling up any loose ends?" he suggests.

 

Sun-Mi blurts out... "Because I just learned... he's officially engaged to Park So-Won... I thought I'd moved on, but I'm still totally in love with him... that's what!"

 

"When did you realize this?" Min-Cho probes.

 

"When I saw the ring on Park So-Won's finger, it struck me that this was really the end for Senior and me, and I couldn't breathe," she describes the moment...

 

"Since then, I can't get Senior out of my mind... I can't sleep, I can't eat, I always feel like I'm about to cry... I'm just going through the motions.. my heart isn't in my work... it's busy rehashing the past, trying to figure out why things happened this way, and wishing that ring was on my finger, not hers," Sun-Mi relates her condition with bitter remorse...

 

"Tomorrow, I know I'm going to make a fool of myself when I see him... I'm such an idiot!"

 

"It's not being an idiot to love someone. If you love him the same way that I love you, I understand exactly," Min-Cho empathizes. "You don't need to apologize for your feelings, just be honest to yourself about them. And don't give up on love easily... hold onto your hope, sometimes dreams really do come true..."

 

"So if I meet Senior, what should I do?"

 

"Just follow your heart. Say your true feelings, and let whatever happens, happen," he advises. "Otherwise you'll always have regrets. This way, whatever the outcome, you've made progress, and can take the next step with confidence."

 

She considers his words, then replies, "Do you honestly mean that? If I go back to him, won't you be disappointed?"

 

"It doesn't matter, as long as you're happy," Min-Cho claims. "Whether you are with me, or someone else, you have to be happy..."

 

 

 

LATER...

 

Unable to sleep, Sun-Mi stands at the window of her room, looking out at the Seine and Pont des Arts in the gray pre-dawn light, wondering what will happen later that day, when sunset comes...

 

... "Say your true feelings, and let whatever happens, happen" ... she recalls Min-Cho's advice ...

 

"The truth is, he needs Park So-Won, he doesn't need me, I'm just a burden to him," she tells herself. "Why should he come? ... He won't. Then I can move on, and take that next step..."