AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart

Chapter 133

written by LoveCR2 -- 2005

edited by All-About-AAE -- 2018

 

"You made a promise to me, too, Senior ... Was it for real, or was it all just a dream?" -- Jin Sun-Mi

 

 

JIN FAMILY HOME, SUBURBAN SEOUL...

 

"Daddy! Mom! ... I'm home! ..."

 

Sun-Mi's excited voice precedes her, so when she comes in the front door with Min-Cho, Kui-Sung is waiting...

 

"I missed you so much, Daddy," she tells him, tears of joy in her eyes.

 

"How much?" he hints as they embrace warmly.

 

"High as the sky and deep as the ocean!" she enthusiastically repeats the words of their customary greeting.

 

 

They both laugh, then Sun-Mi steps back to begin the introductions... "Daddy, this is Min-Cho."

 

"Pleased to meet you, Sir," Min-Cho bows formally.

 

"Ah...yes," Kui-Sung replies, extending his hand to firmly grasp Min-Cho's. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter. My wife and I are in your debt."

 

 

While they are talking, Jin-Suk has removed her apron and steps out of the kitchen...

 

"Sun-Mi!" she calls, her arms spread wide.

 

"Mom..." Sun-Mi gives her a warm hug.

 

"So this is the 'friend' you mentioned?" Jin-Suk asks, eyeing Min-Cho critically.

 

"Ummm..." Sun-Mi confirms, then sees a photograph on the wall that hadn't been there before, of her Daddy and Mom, together with Young-Mi and Hyung-Chul, taken amidst colorful autumn foliage.

 

"What's this?" she asks.

 

"We went mountain hiking a few weeks ago," Kui-Sung replies. "It was a gorgeous day, perfect for a family outing..."

 

"I see..." she says, remembering her father's similar words, just a little over a year ago... 'it's a gorgeous autumn day, so we're going on a family outing, the four of us' ...

 

That day, hiking the mountain with Senior and her parents, she'd found a rock which she had thought was a harbinger for her future... 'It's two hearts, entwined together at creation, and now fused into one for eternity' ...

 

"... it looks like you all were having a good time," she remarks, feeling sad and envious at being left out, while Young-Mi is included, "I didn't know Director Yoon is part of the family now."

 

"Uh... we became drinking buddies after working together on the orphanage hospital and school," Kui-Sung explains awkwardly. "Since he'd gone with us once before, I thought to ask him again..."

 

Sun-Mi notices in the photo, that Kui-Sung and Jin-Suk are wearing identical bright red wool sweaters, the same sweaters they are wearing now. "Couple's sweaters?" she chuckles. "How cute!"

 

"Young-Mi gave these to us as early gifts for our first anniversary," Jin-Suk explains.

 

"Yes, they're quite warm," Kui-Sung says proudly. "She's such a dutiful daughter, knitting them herself."

 

"Oh... that was nice of her," Sun-Mi responds enviously, aware now of one more talent to add to the list that Young-Mi was better at.

 

"I received a nice sweater, too, for my birthday," a familiar voice speaks up from the living room...

 

 

Sun-Mi had seen Hyung-Chul's car parked by the gate, so she knew he was present. She turns to look, expecting to see the blue William Lockie cashmere sweater she'd sent from New York. Instead, he is wearing a red sweater similar to her parents'...

 

"Welcome back, Correspondent Jin," he greets her formally.

 

Sun-Mi dips her head politely in response, replying just as formally, "Director Yoon..."

 

"Young-Mi made that one, too," Jin-Suk says when she sees Sun-Mi staring at Hyung-Chul's sweater. "She said she made these with all the love in her heart, so we'd always feel her warm affections surrounding us."

 

"Did Young-Mi really say that?!" Sun-Mi asks sharply, her suspicions aroused at hearing her own words repeated, almost verbatim.

 

"Yes, I did," Young-Mi answers as she comes down the staircase. "Because I'm grateful for everyone's kindness to me."

 

 

For Sun-Mi, it's like looking into a mirror and seeing her past... Young-Mi is wearing the light blue and silver Son Jung Wan dress, that Hyung-Chul bought from Madame Kim's boutique for Sun-Mi to wear at the MBS 40th Anniversary Gala...

 

Moving toward Sun-Mi, Young-Mi smiles warmly ...

 

"Welcome back," she greets Sun-Mi with a cursory hug, seeming as if she doesn't notice her sister's astonished stare. "I can knit one for you too."

 

"Thanks, but it's not exactly my style," Sun-Mi replies with a forced smile, expecting Young-Mi to insist...

 

 

But Young-Mi's attention has already moved on... as she turns to Min-Cho and extends her hand.

 

"You must be Min-Cho," she says, her voice dripping with honey, "I'm so very pleased to finally meet you."

 

Min-Cho takes her hand, replying, "The pleasure is mine, Miss Huh."

 

"Please, it's Young-Mi," she encourages informality, lingering after they shake, holding his hand.

 

 

"Young-Mi!" Sun-Mi speaks sharply to get her attention. "Why are you wearing this dress?"

 

She answers innocently... "I needed something nice to wear for tonight. Since you'd left it, I didn't think you'd mind."

 

Sun-Mi, making it clear she does mind, snaps back, "Shouldn't borrowers consider others' feelings before using their things?"

 

"Sun-Mi!" Jin-Suk admonishes. "Don't speak like that!"

 

"Yes, she's your sister now!" Kui-Sung chimes in, hoping to sooth his daughter's ruffled feathers, but only ruffling them more...

 

"It's only common courtesy!" Sun-Mi replies irately, upset that her parents are both taking Young-Mi's side. "Is it asking too much?"

 

Seeking an end to the escalating confrontation, Hyung-Chul quickly steps up to declare, "Young-Mi, let's go. It's after six, and the reservations are for seven."

 

But Young-Mi isn't ready to leave yet...

 

"Shouldn’t we tell Sun-Mi where we're going first?" she suggests, taking his hand as she looks at Sun-Mi and announces proudly, "Tonight, Oppa is formally introducing me to his father."

 

Her pronouncement catches Sun-Mi off-guard...

 

"When did this happen? Why hasn't anyone told me about this?" she demands an explanation.

 

As the memories of the night Hyung-Chul had bought the dress for her resurfaces...  'Just wear it... I want to introduce you to my father' ...  she shoots a frigid glare at him, communicating her feelings of betrayal, but he averts his eyes.

 

 

Kui-Sung, wanting to calm her, offers their rationalization, "We didn't say anything before, because your health was..."

 

"Does that matter now?" Young-Mi interrupts him, then says bluntly, "You may as well know everything, Sun-Mi... Oppa and I are going to marry soon... and..."

 

She places her hand over her belly, since she isn't showing yet, to emphasize the import of her announcement, "I'm carrying his child."

 

 

Staggered, Sun-Mi stares at Young-Mi in total disbelief, recalling Cho-Jeh's admonition ... you'd better come back quickly, or it may be too late... as the realization hits home ... she is too late ...

 

Hyung-Chul is about to speak up, but the dark expression on Sun-Mi's face gives him pause. She grabs Young-Mi's arm, insisting, "We need to talk, now!"

 

Appearing at a loss, Young-Mi looks to Hyung-Chul. "But our dinner...?"

 

"Go on, I'll call my father," he tells her.

 

Sun-Mi leads Young-Mi toward the stairway, pausing in front of Min-Cho to tell him. "I'm sorry, but this will take a while..."

 

 

 

SUN-MI'S BEDROOM, A MINUTE LATER...

 

Storming into her former bedroom with Young-Mi in tow, Sun-Mi is about to vent her ire. Then she stops, looking in amazement at the familiar room she hasn't seen in more than a year... a room that strangely, looks too familiar...

 

Dropping Young-Mi's hand, she walks closer to scrutinize the books and magazines on her desk and shelves. Puzzled, she examines the pictures on the walls one by one, her knickknacks and dolls, the jewelry boxes and hairpieces on the table. She goes to the wardrobe and pulls the doors open. All of her clothes are on the hangers, exactly as she left them...

 

Young-Mi hasn't added, or changed, a thing. Even the photographic portrait that Woo-Jin had taken of her at the MBS news desk is still hanging over the bed, instead of the one she'd seen hanging in Young-Mi's studio.

 

It's as if she'd never moved out, and is still living here...

 

"What's going on? Where is your own stuff? Why are you using all my things?" she accuses Young-Mi, who is waiting silently by the bed, eyes downcast.

 

Gradually, the misgivings that had begun when she first came home, are growing stronger in Sun-Mi's mind...

 

"You were always envious of me... but this... this is different," she ponders the situation, "So you copy my hairstyle and makeup... you wear my clothes, use my things..."

 

Then the pervasiveness of Young-Mi's scheme becomes clear, and the frightening significance shakes Sun-Mi, "It's not just copying... You...you're trying to... become me!"

 

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Young-Mi replies, avoiding her accuser's eyes. "Why would I do that?"

 

"You want to take Daddy and Mom from me... and Senior, just like you stole Woo-Jin!" Sun-Mi charges. "That's why you replaced the sweater I sent to Senior with your own, and even stole my words..."

 

"It's not true," Young-Mi protests. "I'd never do something like that!"

 

"Then what about this dress?" Sun-Mi argues. "Didn't you choose it, because you knew it's the one Senior bought specially to introduce me to his father!"

 

"How could I know that" Young-Mi argues. "My amnesia..."

 

"Do you really have amnesia, or is it another scam to fool everyone?" Sun-Mi scoffs. "I left a full closet of nice dresses... why pick this one?"

 

"Because of this..." Young-Mi answers as she goes to the desk, opens a drawer, and takes out a photograph and shows it to Sun-Mi, informing her, "It was in the box of Woo-Jin's things, that Mom gave me."

 

The photograph is a candid of Sun-Mi wearing the dress, taken by Woo-Jin at the MBS Anniversary celebration.

 

"You looked so beautiful," Young-Mi compliments her, gazing at the picture admiringly. "I'd hoped I could look as nice, too, for Oppa. I honestly didn't know anything else."

 

 

"You're lying!" Sun-Mi seethes, grabbing the photograph from Young-Mi's hand and throwing it down in anger. "I can see right through your devious scheme... you're not fooling me! I'm going to stop you... You're so... so evil!"

 

She throws her right arm back, intending to slap Young-Mi...

 

Young-Mi tenses, and for a split second, her eyes glance toward the door, as if considering escape. But instead of fleeing, she drops to her knees.

 

"Go ahead, hit me," she offers, raising her chin and turning her head, to give a clear shot to Sun-Mi. "I know l was evil before... I was wrong to wear the dress without your permission... I deserve to be punished."

 

"Cut the crap," Sun-Mi refuses, lowering her arm with disgust in her eyes. "You haven't changed a bit! ... This is just another trick ..."

 

"If you won't, I'll do it myself," Young-Mi declares, slapping herself hard on the left cheek ... then doing it again ... and a third time, the stinging impacts swelling her face and turning it bright red.

 

"What are you doing?" Sun-Mi looks on in bewilderment.

 

"Taking my punishment," Young-Mi replies, preparing to slap herself again.

 

Sun-Mi grabs her arm to stop her, but Young-Mi resists, trying to pull her hand free while loudly insisting, "Go ahead... punish me! Hit me until you're satisfied!"

 

 

The bedroom door flies open, and Hyung-Chul barges in, demanding, "What's going on in here!"

 

He immediately sees the two women struggling together, and rushes over as Young-Mi slumps to the floor, sobbing...

 

Before Sun-Mi realizes what is happening, Hyung-Chul roughly pushes her aside, and gets down on his knees to see if Young-Mi is hurt....

 

Sun-Mi gapes with surprise when she sees the trickle of blood from the left corner of Young-Mi's mouth...

 

Observing Young-Mi's raw, swollen cheek, her bleeding split lip, and the scratches on her body, Hyung-Chul asks anxiously, "Did Sun-Mi do this to you?"

 

Young-Mi opens tear-drenched eyes and whimpers, "Please... don't blame Sun-Mi, it was me... it was my fault, for wearing the dress... I was wrong and deserved this."

 

 

Astounded, Hyung-Chul stares up at Sun-Mi, accusing her anyway, "How could you do this, punish and humiliate Young-Mi like this, over a dress, for God's sake?"

 

"But, I... I didn't..." Sun-Mi, bewildered at the accusation, defends herself. "I don't know how this happened..."

 

Young-Mi touches her lip and looks at the blood on her fingers...

 

"Oppa, please... she's my sister," she pleads. "This is between us. Don't get involved."

 

But Hyung-Chul is still glaring at Sun-Mi...

 

"Let's just forget this happened, okay?" Young-Mi urges. "Don't say anything to Dad and Mom, please..."

 

Reluctantly, he turns his back on Sun-Mi and helps Young-Mi to her feet, encouraging her, "Go clean yourself up. Don't cry anymore, I'll come to you soon, once I take care of things here..."

 

 

After Young-Mi goes out and into the bathroom by the stairs, Hyung-Chul closes the door, so he can talk privately with Sun-Mi.

 

"It's not like what it looked like," she blurts out before he can speak, "It wasn't my fault, like she said... I never hit her, she did it all to herself."

 

"Do you expect me to believe that?" he dismisses her side of what happened. "I know what I saw... And like any dutiful sister would, Young-Mi was protecting you."

 

"You don't get it," Sun-Mi tries again. "Can't you see what Young-Mi's doing? Are you blind?"

 

"Just be thankful your sister is so forgiving, and accept things as they are," he admonishes her. "If you keep at this, you'll go too far again."

 

"I'll go too far?" What about Young-Mi?" she sputters, spilling out her frustrations. "How could this happen? People don't get pregnant by accidental acquaintance. Did she trick you into it? She's lied about being pregnant before -- did you know that? What if she is just lying again?"

 

"Your mom told me everything, but I've no reason to doubt Young-Mi now," he answers. "With her amnesia, how could she know what she did in the past?"

 

"But is she really pregnant with your child?"

 

"It's a fact," he says evenly. "I've seen the ultrasound pictures. There is no doubt she's pregnant."

 

"No... She's faking it all, somehow," Sun-Mi insists desperately, grasping at straws. "What if the pictures are fakes? Did you go with her for the appointments? Talk with the doctor yourself?"

 

Hyung-Chul is surprised by her doggedness. "Why should I do that? Why would anyone go to all that work to create such a lie?"

 

"Because Young-Mi is that evil," Sun-Mi answers, "She will tell any lie, do anything she has to, for what she wants!"

 

"Why are you making these wild accusations?" Hyung-Chul stands firm in his defense of Young-Mi, "If you have any proof she's lying, show me! Besides, it's not just my impression of Young-Mi. Everyone says she's not the same person as before, even your parents, and they should know, if anyone does!"

 

Sun-Mi is astounded, "How can you doubt me, Senior? You... you know me!"

 

"Do I?" he retorts. "Didn't you tell me yourself, that I only saw what I wanted to see, that you're not the good person I thought you were, but someone who would do anything to get what she wants, like you are accusing Young-Mi of doing? ... Only in your case, that apparently includes beating up on defenseless sisters!"

 

Being falsely accused, again, because of Young-Mi, stuns Sun-Mi...

 

"You really think I'm lying," she gasps in utter disbelief, blinking back tears of indignation.

 

"I think you're acting like this because you're in shock," he makes his thoughts clear. "Your father was afraid that finding out everything so suddenly, might be harmful to your health after 9/11. That's what we were trying to prevent, by keeping it from you. At the time, I had doubts, but if your reaction today is any indicator, your father was right."

 

 

Seeing that she's making no headway in convincing him, Sun-Mi sits down on the bed tiredly. "If that's how you feel, there's nothing more I can say, only that we seem to have been here once before," she concedes dispiritedly.

 

"I have no excuse for what happened, but I never intended to hurt you," he apologizes. "You must believe me."

 

"It seems there are a lot of things I must believe now," Sun-Mi replies. Then she looks up at him and asks, hoping for answers to sustain her last grasp at hope... "Do you really want to marry Young-Mi? Do you love her?"

 

 

He walks over to the window, looking outside into the darkness, before he replies, "Love isn't the issue... I made a promise...."

 

"You made a promise to me, too, Senior," she reminds him, looking for confirmation, "Was it for real, or was it all just a dream?"

 

 

Then Hyung-Chul remembers his dream -- more a nightmare actually -- from the night he slept in Sun-Mi's bedroom. At the time dismissed as an impossible fantasy, now it seems eerily prescient... foretelling this moment of decision between two promises, between two women... Then it was only a dream he'd awakened from before having to make that decision, but this is the reality...

 

 

He turns from the window to look intensely at her. "At this point, does it matter? Would mere words change anything now?"

 

"No," she admits. "But knowing your true feelings may make it easier..."

 

 

Sun-Mi stands up and goes over to him, stopping a step away, close enough for them to touch if they choose...

 

"Senior, what do I mean to you? I want to know the truth." She looks deeply into his eyes, the confusion of hope and heartache written on her face, searching for the answer to her question...

 

The decision Hyung-Chul faced in his dream weighs heavy in his mind... should he follow duty and do the 'right' thing?... or follow his heart?...

 

"The truth is... that however I answer, there will be regrets," he replies, knowing that this non-answer will also bring its own regrets. "Sometimes, words are better left unsaid."

 

"How many words are like that between us?" she asks plaintively. "Are they so many now, that they can't be bridged?"

 

... they are only an arms-length apart, but it might as well have been the entire world between them ...

 

 

Hyung-Chul thinks back, recalling some of those words...

 

... 'I'm not sure my reality is something I can ever share with anyone. All I say now, Senior, is I need more time to figure things out... because of you, I feel so useless' ...

 

... 'My life is one of dreams, Senior, while yours is one of realities... we're like a meteorite from the heavens and a pearl from the sea, now come together. But being so different, can we ever truly know the other's heart and mind?' ...

 

... 'Is anyone really who they appear to be? Even the best of friends can betray you' ...

 

... 'Sometimes business has to come before love. Surely you, if anyone, can understand this, Senior' ...

 

... 'Let's end as we began, two strangers whose paths crossed by accident... We are now just two people who shared a beautiful moment on this bridge, watching the sunset together, before we part on our separate ways' ...

 

... 'I know now, without a doubt in my heart, that I can be happy... without you' ...

 

... 'Sometimes love comes second to responsibility... Someone else is in front of me who needs you, and I won't stand in her place' ...

 

... 'Senior, don't look back, only to the future... have no regrets as to what happened, and I'll do the same... that way, we can both be happy' ...

 

... 'Promise you won't contact me, or even think of me, as though I don't exist... You know in your heart, that it's the only way' ...

 

... 'I was wrong to think that you might actually love me! But you've made it clear that I'm just an idiot... I... I hate you! ... I never want to speak to your again!' ...

 

 

"Sun-Mi... I..." he begins, trying to find the right words to answer, but can't finish.

 

With tears filling in her eyes, Sun-Mi turns away, apologizing, "I'm sorry... I had no right to ask that of you..."

 

"No, I'm the one who owes the apology," he disagrees. "It's because of me this happened... I'll understand if forgiveness isn't possible..."

 

"Director Yoon, we don't have the kind of relationship now where forgiveness is needed," she replies, distancing him formally before the anguish of sending him away again breaks through...

 

"Someone is waiting for you... go to her..."

 

The words are what her mind is telling her to say, even as her heart is telling her something else... to throw all caution to the wind, to cross the gap between them, to believe in True Love again... their love...

 

But she can't... once again, he is beyond her reach... and she, beyond his...

 

 

The decision made for him, Hyung-Chul hesitates a few more seconds while, as is his habit, he takes a picture of Sun-Mi with his eyes. Then he walks out, pausing in the doorway for any last words...

 

"When you leave... please, close the door," she asks simply.

 

Hyung-Chul understands her meaning clearly... this is a door that once closed, cannot be opened again...

 

 

 

Alone now with her thoughts, Sun-Mi stares into the mirror on her wall at her reflection. Where a light of hope had burned just minutes before, she feels only a dark. bottomless void...

 

 

"Sun-Mi, where are you?!" Kui-Sung's voice barrels up the stairs, penetrating the closed door to Sun-Mi's bedroom like it was a thin sheet of paper, interrupting her brooding, rousing her to focus her mind before she goes down...

 

"Why did you come back, Jin Sun-Mi? For yourself, or for Senior?" she asks her reflection as if questioning another person. "Didn't you make a promise, too?"

 

... 'Up to now, I didn’t know why you and I always had to fight. But now I know, and I’m going to make you stop' ...

 

A sense of determination returns to Sun-Mi, the same resolve she had that night when confronting Young-Mi face-to-face...

 

... she has lost a round, but until they actually marry, she can still have hope ...

 

"If Young-Mi, can't stop, then neither can I," Sun-Mi renews her vow. "Senior, I promise you, whatever the cost, I won't stop!"