AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart

Chapter 131

written by LoveCR2 -- 2005

edited by All-About-AAE -- 2018

 

"Jin Sun-Mi... something's different about you today. What is it?" -- Min-Cho Atwater

 

 

KOLUMBO BEACH, SANTORINI ISLAND...

 

"Every day I listened to the waves from the terrace, I longed to go down to the water... so I can't wait to see the beach..."

 

Sun-Mi enthusiastically looks ahead to their destination as she sets a quick pace, the rubbery soles of her Speedo black mesh water shoes crunching on the rocky, unpaved pathway, the small Gucci pack containing their lunch bouncing on her back with each step.

 

A stiff breeze blowing seaward is chilly, despite the sun beating down from the azure late-morning sky. Buffeted by random gusts, Sun-Mi clamps her straw hat down on her head with one hand, while the other grips the front of her colorful, shoulders-to-knee viscose kaftan, to keep it from blowing open.

 

"Are you sure it's warm enough for swimming?" she worries.

 

Trudging along in her energetic wake, clad in black swim shorts and a red cotton T-shirt, Min-Cho lugs a large braided-straw beach bag and portable sunshade.

 

"They claim the sea here is warmer than at the other beaches," he assures her, explaining, "There's active underwater volcanic vents nearby."

 

 

Meandering through scrub brush from the small car park by the paved road, the path switch-backs down a steep, rocky bluff to a narrow beach of black sand and small gray pebbles.

 

Leaving her backpack and hat behind on the beach, Sun-Mi immediately runs out into the water. Min-Cho waits at the edge of the wet sand as a wave rolls in and immerses her in swirling froth almost to her knees.

 

"What are you standing there for?" she calls, waving to him. "Come on in!"

 

"The main beach is off that way," he motions to the right, where a high rock outcropping overshadows a much wider strip of the same black sand about 100 meters away.

 

 

Taking off at the same rapid pace as before, Sun-Mi splashes along in the shallow water. Min-Cho, with the backpack added to his burden, struggles to keep up beside her on the loose, dry sand.

 

Shortly, as they come closer to their destination, Sun-Mi's eyes pop wide in surprise...

 

"You didn't tell me this is a nude beach!" she exclaims when she sees that many of the women are topless, and a few men and women are completely unclothed.

 

Min-Cho chuckles, making fun of her startled reaction, "It's not official, so it varies day-to-day what you find here. Are you so old-fashioned that 'clothing optional' bothers you?"

 

"Of course not! I'm no prude," she retorts. "If people want to show it all, why should I care?"

 

 

They settle on an empty spot a distance away from the most populated part of the beach, back from the water in the lee of the bluff. Perspiring from his efforts, Min-Cho drops everything on the sand, strips off his shirt, and starts erecting the sunshade canopy.

 

While he works, Sun-Mi surreptitiously admires his muscular upper body and chocolate six-pack as she busies herself spreading their large towel out over the pebbly sand in the newly-created shade. Then she unsnaps the front of her kaftan, slips it off her shoulders, and lets it drop onto the towel.

 

Glancing over, Min-Cho is surprised to see Sun-Mi is wearing a tiny black bikini.

 

"When did you get that swimsuit?" he asks, knowing that she hadn't gone shopping since arriving on the island.

 

"Actually, this is Su-Ji's," Sun-Mi explains. "She left a note saying she'd never had a chance to wear it, so I should. What do you think?"

 

"It's not like you," he answers, recalling her embarrassment at first to even be seen in a full single-piece suit.

 

"Uh-huh..." she mumbles, giving him a sidelong glance as she lays front down on the towel, facing toward the water. "Before I'd have been too shy... But now I think, what's the big deal?"

 

"The big deal is how good you look in it," he asserts, making it clear he approved the view of her slender, toned figure...

 

 

Smiling to show her pleasure at his response, Sun-Mi reaches behind her back to unfasten the clasp of her top. "Be a friend, and help me with the sunscreen," she requests, sliding the straps off her shoulders and baring her back.

 

Happy to oblige, Min-Cho crouches down next to Sun-Mi and applies lotion liberally between her shoulder blades. Taking his time, he spreads it across her smooth-as-silk skin with firm, circular strokes as they talk...

 

"I'm glad that you and Su-Ji were able to resolve your differences," he mentions his observation since returning.

 

"Me too," Sun-Mi agrees. "I never thought Su-Ji would do something like this for me... she acted so resentful in London."

 

"I think some of that was posturing... when I told her I was going to New York to search for you, she insisted on coming along. You've become a role model for her," Min-Cho divulges his cousin's true feelings. "You should know that she admires you a lot."

 

"She had an odd way of expressing it, then," Sun-Mi reflects back. "But all that matters, is that we parted as friends."

 

"I'm curious... what were you two talking about on the veranda when I came back out?" Min-Cho recalls the scene to mind.

 

"That's Su-Ji's and my secret," Sun-Mi teases.

 

"So it was about me, then," he concludes.

 

"Do you think women have nothing more important to discuss except you? How arrogant!" she admonishes him.

 

"Actually Su-Ji gave it away when she said she hoped things work out for you, while giving me the eye," he reveals the source of his intel,

 

"Okay, we were discussing you," Sun-Mi admits. "I asked her what you really think about me."

 

"What did she say?"

 

"That, you'll have to get from Su-Ji directly," she withholds the details prudently.

 

"If you wanted to know what I think, you could've just asked me," he suggests. "You think I'd know, if anyone?"

 

"Except I wanted another woman's perspective," she spells out her reason.

 

 

Having no answer to that, and finished with the sunscreen, Min-Cho informs Sun-Mi simply, "You're done."

 

"Thanks," she turns her head to smile her appreciation, then requests, "Give me the bottle, so I can do the rest. Oh... can you get me some water, too, please?"

 

 

He hands the lotion to Sun-Mi and turns away to dig into the backpack for their water bottles.

 

When he turns back with the water in hand, Sun-Mi is sitting up, facing toward the bluff with her back toward him, applying sunscreen to her arms. Then he notices that her swimsuit top is still on the beach towel where she was lying just moments before...

 

"What are you doing?" he asks sharply, surprised by her unexpected action.

 

"What does it look like? Putting on sunscreen," she states the obvious nonchalantly.

 

"I mean... your swimsuit..." he clarifies, his tone displeased.

 

"Isn't the saying, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do?'..." she quotes the old proverb. "This may be my only time at a nude beach, so why not participate?" She caps and puts the bottle down. "I'm finished. Let's go..."

 

"Wait..." he stops her before she can get up. "You're not really going to do this, are you?"

 

"Are you so old-fashioned, that 'clothing optional' bothers you?" she mimics his earlier words sarcastically.

 

"In general, no..." he admits. "But..."

 

"You don't seem to have a 'but' with looking at those other women," she accuses him, irritated. "So what's the big deal now?"

 

"All right, I get it," Min-Cho acknowledges her point. "I'm a hypocrite. But that's because... it's you..."

 

 

A few seconds pass, as Sun-Mi makes up her mind about what to do. "Since you put it that way, okay," she relents, "but you're going too far again, you know..."

 

She picks up the top, slips the straps on over her shoulders and fastens the back clasp securely, then turns to face him with a big smile.

 

Seeing the look of amusement on Sun-Mi's face, Min-Cho belatedly realizes that he may have been had...

 

"You weren't serious about going 'au naturale', were you?" he calls her out, "It was all just a bluff, right?"

 

With an enigmatic sparkle in her eyes, Sun-Mi cocks her head, shrugs, and answers ambiguously, "I suppose we'll never know for sure now..."

 

Min-Cho chuckles, shaking his head with incredulity. "Jin Sun-Mi... something's different about you today. What is it?"

 

 

In response, Sun-Mi grabs his hand and pulls him along, toward the water...

 

"Come on," she insists. "Enough talk... Let's go in..."

 

 

 

MOUNT LYCABETTUS, ATHENS... THAT EVENING...

 

"Isn't it beautiful...?"

 

From their table on the cliff side terrace of the Orizontes Restaurant, Sun-Mi remarks at the vista spread out before them...

 

Below their vantage point, dramatically floodlit to showcase the ruins of the historic Parthenon, the Acropolis is surrounded by city lights that extend all the way to the Port of Pireas on the Sardonic Gulf near the horizon. Above, a fiery sunset paints a scattering of cottony clouds with edges of gold and streaks of burnt orange and dusky rose.

 

"Didn't I say that Mount Lycabettus has the best view in Athens?" Min-Cho boasts.

 

"It's definitely worth the walk," she agrees, commenting on the 300 meter path, rising 30 meters to the summit, from the parking lot where they'd left his yellow 2001 Alfa Romeo Spider 3.0 V6 roadster.

 

He finishes off the last bites of his karydopita before answering, "I wanted to do something special for our last night in Greece."

 

"I appreciate that, but you needn't have... You've already done too much," she tells him gratefully. "I don't know where I'd be without you."

 

"It's nothing any good friend wouldn't do," he states. "If the situation were reversed, you'd do the same."

 

"Let's not dwell on that possibility tonight," Sun-Mi redirects the conversation to a lighter subject. "Su-Ji told me you were doing a lot of sailing recently."

 

"Yes, testing out some nautical software I'm developing," he explains. "I love the sense of freedom I get from skimming the waves, close-hauled on a stiff breeze. It's a feeling that being a CEO doesn't allow much opportunity to indulge, so I take every chance I get."

 

"Why not let others run your businesses, so you can do what you love?" she suggests.

 

"I see we think alike," he grins. "Actually, I'm planning to 'drop out' and take a long cruise on my new yacht next year."

 

"Solo?" she probes.

 

"I was hoping you might like to join me," he extends the invitation. "What do you think?"

 

"It sounds intriguing," Sun-Mi replies thoughtfully, resting her chin on her hand and contemplating the view as she ponders the possibility, "But first there's something I have to do, in Seoul..."

 

 

"So your reason to go back isn't just about your parents," he concludes, his suspicions confirmed. "Is it Director Yoon... again?"

 

"Yes," she answers unapologetically.

 

"I'm getting a feeling of d�j� vu..." he sighs. "This seems to be a recurring theme with us."

 

"You shouldn't be surprised. The first day, I clearly warned I'm not a very good girlfriend," she reminds him. "But you didn't listen, just like on the last day..."

 

 

His thoughts return to the last afternoon they were together in London, strolling the Queen's Walk by the Thames...

 

... 'I'm not a person that anyone should love, because it will only lead to disappointment' ...

 

... 'Having a part of your heart is better than having nothing ... My love, and my proposal, are still yours to accept.' ...

... 'Ican wait ... If something is right for a lifetime, it's just as right tomorrow as today ...It's yours to decide' ...

 

... 'If I return... if you can forgive me, and still feel the same, then ask me again' ...

 

 

"I still feel the same. And you? Have you decided? ... Will you accept my love, for a lifetime?" Min-Cho asks hopefully.

 

Instead of answering him, Sun-Mi says, "Let's go up to St. Georges Chapel again, before we leave."

 

 

They get up from the table and cross the terrace, then climb the flights of steps to the observation platform where the chapel's bell tower is located.

 

"Stop there a moment," she says, moving closer to the railing before turning to face him. "I'd like you to remember this scene, and how I look. Can you do that?"

 

"Yes," he answers readily. "But why?"

 

"I�d just like you to remember it for a long time," she asks again. "You can't forget it... Promise?"

 

"I promise," he replies, wondering uneasily if this is her answer to his question -- to give him one last look, before she walks out of his life forever...

 

 

While Sun-Mi stands at the railing, taking in the sweeping panorama, Min-Cho waits as directed, watching her intently, etching the moment into his heart...

 

The dying rays of sunlight cast a rose pink glow over Sun-Mi's ivory complexion, tint her brown tresses with auburn highlights, and reflect with brassy glimmers off the silver dangles on her ears.

 

Dressed for a day of sightseeing the historic sites of the city, she is wearing a light tan, knee-length belted Brunello Cucinelli cotton poplin shirtdress; strappy white, low block-heeled Valentino sandals; and a colorful, fringed shawl bought from a street vendor to respectfully cover her shoulders when entering churches.

 

The slight up-tilt of her chin, together with the far-away look of her eyes focused on the distant horizon, and the firm set to her ruby-red lips, project a solemn expression of determination, as if she is seeing into an uncertain future and resolving to face it head-on.

 

 

Sun-Mi holds this pose as minutes pass and the golden-orange sky turns scarlet, and finally violet.

 

Then she turns toward Min-Cho to say, "Thanks. I'm finished here. We can go now."

 

But Min-Cho steps forward with something to say first...

 

"Wait... there's still one more thing, before we finish," he states. "You haven't answered my question."

 

"Would an answer make any difference?" she asks. "Would mere words change how you feel?"

 

"No," he affirms his commitment. "But knowing your true feelings may make it easier."

 

Sun-Mi turns back to the railing, and looks over the city again...

 

"What are my true feelings?" she asks herself rhetorically. "That's a question I've wondered myself for a long time. Since I was a child, I wanted to bring encouragement to people. I became a newscaster hoping to spread good news to people all over the world. So I came to London, and then went to New York, pursuing that dream. But you know all that..."

 

"Yes."

 

"After 9/11, when I woke up, I saw things differently," she continues, "and I realized that my life-long dream was a futile fantasy, impossible to achieve... that there isn't enough good news in this world to make up for all the bad..."

 

She looks back at him, explaining, "I felt I had nothing left to offer, and that it didn't matter anyway... Do you understand?"

 

"I think so," he replies, "But what changed that thinking?"

 

"They say with every dark cloud, there is a silver lining," she quotes the idiom. "Losing that dream left a huge hole... until I understood that it's not about how great our dreams are, but about the people we're with as we strive for them... People like you, and Su-Ji, my Daddy and Ms. Song, and so many others..."

 

"That's what you spoke of, before, right?" he makes the connection to their previous conversation.

 

"That dream was what I depended on to avoid harsh reality, to protect myself from the truth about myself. But now... I'm going to face those things."

 

"So you decided to go back..."

 

"Yes... I want to find out if what I left behind is still there, if the person I was then still exists."

 

"Do you want to marry Director Yoon?" he forces himself to say the words aloud.

 

"Maybe I'm a fool, on a fool's errand," she shares her hopes. "But for once my heart and my mind are both saying the same thing... so I have to listen."

 

"Hearing that, I'm glad for you," he replies, trying to sound convincing.

 

"Even if it is the end of your hopes for us?" she doubts his veracity.

 

"If you love him as much as I love you, then I have no choice," he replies. "But I'll still be waiting for you, just in case."

 

Sun-Mi eyes him disdainfully... "Why laze around, waiting uselessly, when there's something you can do?" she belittles his declaration.

 

"And what would that be?" he shoots back testily.

 

"Come with me to Seoul," she asks earnestly. "Help me. This is probably the hardest thing I've ever attempted, and I can't do it alone."

 

"You're asking me to help send you into the arms of another man?" he scoffs, indignant. "I may be a fool for loving you, but I still have some self-respect."

 

"I know it must look like I'll do anything to get what I want... and you're right," she acknowledges the imperativeness of her demand. "It's that important to me. But if you truly love me as much as I love Senior, then you have no choice..."

 

Although her statement is brash, Min-Cho concedes it's true... "Since you put it that way, what can I say?" he relents with an exaggerated sigh, then smirks, mimicking her. "But you're going too far again, you know..."

 

 

Seeing the look of amusement on Min-Cho's face, Sun-Mi realizes that she may have been had...

 

"Meong-meong," he barks, giving her an engaging grin. "Didn't you say I was your 'Toto'? How could I not come along?"

 

Her eyes glimmering with gratitude, Sun-Mi embraces him in a spontaneous hug. "Thank you so much," she says happily. "I knew I could count on you..."

 

 

"But there is one small thing," he stipulates when she releases her arm lock from around his neck.

 

"What is it now?" she wonders warily, having learned to be suspicious.

 

"I refuse to travel cooped up in a little basket," he declares, making a reference to the manner Dorothy used to carry Toto. "So yesterday I booked tickets for two, first class, Athens to Seoul."

 

Sun-Mi's mouth drops open... "You'd already planned to come, all along?" she says incredulously. "How did you know?"

 

"I had this gut feeling there was something I had to do in Korea, right now, or I wouldn't have another chance," he replies vaguely, keeping his cards close.

 

Sun-Mi eyes him dubiously, "Why am I always the last to know?"

 

Declining to reveal any more, he instead asks in English, "Shall we be off, then?"

 

"Off to where?" she puzzles at his odd response to her grumbling.

 

"To the Emerald City, of course!" he clarifies drolly in English, as he links his arm with hers, quoting the musical, "We're off to see the Wizard..."

 

Although Sun-Mi smiles at his light-hearted attitude, her own thoughts are weightier... as Cho-Jeh's harsh pronouncements still ring sharp...

 

... 'The people who listened to you, finding hope to believe there's good in this life, you're just going to let them down?' ...

... 'All that talk about sincerity, and loyalty, and True Love... was it just crap?' ...

... 'Where is the Jin Sun-Mi I knew before? What have you done with her?' ...

... 'You're a bigger phony than Young-Mi!... I'm so disappointed' ...

 

 

Sun-Mi ponders those words again, wondering if she can live up to people's expectations, or even her own. But it's Cho-Jeh's singular demand that looms like a dark spectre...

 

... 'Wake up and listen! ...You're the only one who can stop Young-Mi, and save Director Yoon' ...

 

A chill courses down Sun-Mi's spine, as she recalls Woo-Jin's fate, and considers the consequences for another man she loves, should she fail again...

 

 

End of Part 4