AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart

Chapter 135

written by LoveCR2 -- 2005

edited by All-About-AAE -- 2018

 

"The person I want to marry is someone I can trust my life and heart to, because he's proven his love" -- Jin Sun-Mi

 

 

SEOCHO-GU, SEOUL...

Sun-Mi opens her eyes...

 

When she sees where she is, she opens them wider...

 

Still half-asleep, she stays snuggled under the white duvet covering the king-sized bed, while she absorbs the unfamiliar surroundings, trying to get her bearings.

 

Overhead, golden sunlight pours in through a clear cerulean rectangle framed in pure white. To the right of the bed are two open doors. Beyond one, her luggage bags are arranged neatly in a row on the floor, waiting to be unpacked. The other, she assumes, leads out to a corridor, or a bathroom.

 

Across the room, above a low six-drawer ebony dresser, a large abstract painting hangs. To the left, a wall of glass reveals a sweeping view of the Han River, from Hannam Bridge all the way downriver to Hangang Bridge and beyond, to the 63 Building on Yeouido. Straight ahead, Namsan Mountain, topped by the Seoul Tower rises in the distance.

 

Set in the corner between the painting and the window, a white Clovis Cocoon chair with a crimson cushioned interior offers a cozy retreat for curling up with a book or contemplating the cityscape. A sleek, wood-topped writing desk with a metal frame and a chair on casters is situated in the opposite corner by the window.

 

 

The door opens, and Min-Cho comes in.

 

Sun-Mi sits up, to speak with him. "Where am I?" she asks.

 

"Back among the living," he jests.

 

"It's not funny... my head feels like I was run over by a truck," she grumbles.

 

 

"Welcome to my humble abode," Min-Cho answers her question. "The penthouse unit in my new building development."

 

"I don't remember coming here."

 

"That's because you were totally out of it when I carried you up last night."

 

"You undressed me and put me to bed in this?" she refers to the long-sleeve, white men's dress shirt she is wearing.

 

He eyes her with a hint of humor on his face. "Would you have preferred I left you naked?"

 

"Isn't that going too far?" she objects angrily. "Just being a little drunk doesn't give you the right to take advantage of the situation!"

 

"Relax, I didn’t see anything that I probably haven't already seen before," he teases her with ambiguity. "Besides, as I'm your fiancee now, we shouldn't have any secrets between us, right?"

 

"You knew I wasn't serious!"

 

"Did I? You put on a convincing show... But next time don't insist on joining every round," he tells her. "When you passed out, I had to make up a story about your being exhausted from jetlag."

 

"I don't remember that," she challenges his account of the events.

 

"Your present state should be proof enough, even if you don't recall anything," he contends. "Do you want me to fill you in?"

 

"Not right now," she puts him off as her face turns pale and her voice rises a pitch, sounding desperate,. "I... I'm feeling a bit queasy. Where's the bathroom?"

 

 

 

LATER...

 

Summoned by the tantalizing aroma of fresh-brew, Sun-Mi plods into the kitchen, freshly showered, sans makeup, with her damp hair still wrapped in a towel turban. Instead of his shirt, she is wearing a white Helmut Lang lace trimmed ribbed cotton tank top and black high-waist front-tie shorts, unpacked from her luggage.

 

Min-Cho is ready, waiting with a full cup of steaming black...

 

"Feeling better?" he greets her with a smile.

 

"Yes, thanks," she responds, immediately taking a sip, then grimacing at the unexpected acrid taste. "Ugh! What is this?" she demands an explanation of the bitter concoction.

 

"A remedy for your problem," he replies, "My special hangover tonic. One cup puts a stomach at ease and gets you feeling normal again in no time."

 

Sniffing the contents, she grimaces again as she sips, grumbling under her breath, "If it doesn't poison me first..."

 

 

Looking around, she remarks, "So this is your place..."

 

The penthouse apartment combines kitchen, dining, and sitting areas into one open space almost double the size of the London apartment's, and is similarly furnished in contemporary modern. Original artworks hang on the walls, mainly by up and coming Asian artists.

 

But Sun-Mi's attention focuses on one wall in the dining area, where Min-Cho has put up a collection of photographs -- PR releases from her earliest appearances as an MBS rookie announcer through her stint as Special Correspondent for GNN -- as well as pictures taken while they were together in England.

 

Baffled, she asks, "What is all this?"

 

"You know that I've carried feelings for you for years. Why is it a surprise that I followed your career, like any other fan?"

 

"It's a bit unnerving that anyone puts up pictures of me," she admits honestly. "But why here? You didn't in London."

 

"Because, when I come to Seoul, I usually don't have the live person with me," he replies simply. "Do you want them taken down?"

 

After a few moments of consideration, she answers with a playful grin, "At the risk of appearing vain, you can leave them up."

 

 

Sun-Mi sits down at the dining table, facing another wall of windows that look out onto a roof garden terrace. Here the view extends from Hannam Bridge upriver to Seongsu Bridge, where the Han River bends. Still holding the cup in her right hand, she rests her chin on her left palm as she gazes out over the buildings of Sinsa and Apgujeong.

 

Min-Cho joins her at the table.

 

"Nice shirt," he quips, referring to his long-sleeved, full-tailed dress shirt that she'd appropriated.

 

"All my stuff is still packed," she justifies borrowing. "I didn't think you'd mind."

 

"You're right, I don't," he confirms her supposition. "But I am concerned about last night. A 'pretend' boyfriend is one thing, but a 'pretend' fiancée is something completely different. Why are you doing this?"

 

"Why do YOU think?" she counters.

 

That you're jealous because Young-Mi is getting all the attention," he deduces. "So you did something dramatic, to even the score."

 

"What? ... I'm not jealous!" she stiffly contradicts his conclusion.

 

"Then, you gave a good impression of it," he observes. "For the record, I'm not interested in a woman like Huh Young-Mi, and I doubt that Director Yoon is either, if that's what is worrying you. He acted more like a trapped animal than a doting fiancee."

 

"Actually, I want you give Young-Mi more attention, not less," Sun-Mi responds quixotically. "Egg her on, even."

 

"Now you're making no sense. If I'm supposed to be your fiancee, why would I look at another woman?"

 

"Because compared to plain, clumsy Sun-Mi, you find Young-Mi irresistibly beautiful and enticing," Sun-Mi explains her strategy. "Since it's what Young-Mi believes, she won't question that you've fallen for her."

 

"Then, you're using me as bait?"

 

"Yes... Whatever it is I have, Young-Mi will give up what she has and try to take it away from me," she explains. "It's who she is."

 

"I never took you as someone so Machiavellian," Min-Cho is amazed. "Wanting me to lie for you and break up your sister's engagement, because you want her man for yourself."

 

"Didn't I tell you I'd do anything to get what I want?" she reminds him.

 

"You did," he agrees, "but I also said I still have some self-respect. Pretending to be your boyfriend, even your fiancee, is one thing, but isn't this going too far?"

 

 

Sun-Mi is quiet after that, absorbed in thought...

 

"Then... are you going to back out on me now?" she asks hesitantly, disturbed at the prospect.

 

He grins to put her concerns at ease, answering self-deprecatingly, "I should... but as I came to help, I have to let you do what you want, don't I?"

 

She glances at him momentarily, showing a smile that contradicts her words as she chided mildly, "You really are a fool."

 

 

He doesn't disagree. "Now that we have that settled, what's next?"

 

"I'm still working on it," she confesses, expressing her indecision. "Right now, I could use one of those 'remedies' to my problems."

 

"First, I want to know... what if things don't work out like you hope?" he raises the possibility. "Suppose whether or not Huh Young-Mi takes the bait, Yoon Hyung-Chul doesn't go back to you? What will you do if you lose?"

 

"As I see it, whatever the outcome, I can't lose," she replies philosophically.

 

"Didn't you come back with the dream of marrying Yoon Hyung-Chul?" he presses. "How can you win, if you lose him?"

 

"Because in trying for that dream I discovered a reality... that someone loves me, and proved it by a willingness to be a total fool for me," she explains her thinking, looking directly at Min-Cho so there is no misunderstanding her meaning.

 

"The person I want to marry is someone I can trust my life and heart to, because he's proven his love... that's all I need to be happy ..."