AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart

Chapter 141

written by LoveCR2 -- 2005

edited by All-About-AAE -- 2018

 

"Isn't it a saying... that things always appear at the moment they're destined for?" -- Yoon Hyung-Chul

 

 

MBS CHARITY GALA RED CARPET, MUN-YUNG DIAMOND HOTEL ...

 

"Isn't this exciting?"

 

Elatedly, Jo Cho-Jeh cranes her neck to see down the long red carpet, to where the black stretch limousines and passenger vans are dropping off a steady stream of celebrities dressed to the nines, arriving for one of Seoul's premier social events of the season.

 

But Choi Jin-Soo, standing next to her amid the crush of fervent onlookers crowding the barricades, seems bored. "Who cares? How long are we going to stand out here in the cold?" he whines.

 

"According to the tickets Sun-Mi got for me, we have another hour yet before the banquet starts," she informs him. "So we might as well watch."

 

"And you complain that baseball games are tiresome," he grouses. "At least there we can sit down!"

 

 

The next limo rolls up, and the attendants assist, opening door as a couple alights and immediately start off, headed for the first photo op marks on the carpet...

 

Even from a distance, Cho-Jeh immediately recognizes the man dressed in a sharp black tuxedo. "Ohmigod! That's Bae Yong-Joon," she exclaims. "He's so handsome!"

 

But Jin-Soo's eyes are locked on the woman.

 

"Is that Song Yoon-Ah? ... Wow! She's gorgeous!" he gushes, ogling the approaching actress garbed in a black sequined, skin-baring gown cut daringly low both front and back.

 

Irritated by her fianc�e's google-eyed fawning over another woman in her presence, Cho-Jeh complains, "Every year the dresses get skimpier! Don't these women have any self-respect?"

 

"I'd say they must have a lot of self-respect," Jin-Soo maintains, "to put themselves on public display like this..."

 

 

He raises his video camcorder and turns it on, remarking, "That's some fantastic S-line!"

 

"What are you think you're doing?" Cho-Jeh objects when she sees the focus of the camcorder's view screen.

 

"Zooming in for a closer look," he replies eagerly, his eyes glued to the video image. "That dress is a wardrobe malfunction just waiting to happen!"

 

 

"Choi Jin-Soo!" Cho-Jeh call his name loudly, as she knocks him on the side of the head to get his attention....

 

"Hey!" he protests, rubbing the sore spot as he looks at her, puzzled. "What did you do that for?"

 

"Just stop it," she demands. "What are you, some kind of pervert?"

 

"It's just looking, that's all," he justifies himself. "Isn't that why you said we're here?"

 

 

Cho-Jeh grabs the camcorder from his hand and turns it on the next arriving limo, announcing excitedly... "Look who's getting out! It's Lee Byung-Hun!"

 

Jin-Soo tries to see the view screen, but she shoulders him away as she drools on, "I saw his latest movie ... what a stud! ... Oh,my! Is his shirt open? ... I'll zoom in closer, and check out his six-pack..."

 

Jin-Soo abruptly reaches in and turns the camera off, ordering her, "That's enough, Cho-Jeh!"

 

"Hey! You can't do that!" she challenges his action. "I was about to get a really good shot!"

 

Instead of arguing, Jin-Soo grabs Cho-Jeh's wrist and drags her off...

 

 

She pulls back, reminding him,. "But Sun-Mi hasn't arrived. We can't leave yet..."

 

"We'll meet up with her later. Come on," he insists anyway.

 

"Where are we going?"

 

"Roofop..." he barks out their code word for a private place to snuggle up and make out...

 

Cho-Jeh stops resisting and smiles, a naughty gleam showing in her eyes. "Rooftop? With a whole hour to kill? ... Why not?..."

 

 

 

GRAND BALLROOM, MUN-YUNG DIAMOND HOTEL, AN HOUR LATER ...

 

"Of course I'm nervous... Couldn't this wait until another time?"

 

Young-Mi admits her uneasy feelings to Hyung-Chul as she enters the ballroom on his arm.

 

"Just be yourself," he encourages her. "I already told my father you were joining us at the table."

 

"Wait... how do I look?" she stops to ask, expressing concern.

 

Young-Mi is wearing Hyung-Chul's selection from Madame Kim's fashion boutique, a blush pink, floor-length, layered Elie Saab A-line gown, with a half-sleeved, ruched bodice and modest bateau neckline.

 

"Don't worry, you look great. The dress suits you well," he assures her, impatient with her concern, that seems unnecessary in his eyes.

 

"Really?" she smiles happily at the compliment from him. "You think so?"

 

"Of course," he replies matter-of-factly, speaking confidently, "I chose it myself."

 

 

He leads the way to the head table, where his father is seated with wife Kim Eun-Hee, President Kim Eun-Ki, and their invited guests.

 

Jong-Ki notices Hyung-Chul as he walks up, chiding him lightly, "So you finally made it? I thought punctuality was a broadcaster's forte."

 

"I think half of Seoul is jamming the streets to here," Hyung-Chul chuckles.

 

He takes Young-Mi's hand and pulls her gently forward, introducing her, "Father, this is the woman I plan to marry..."

 

Young-Mi dips her head in respect as she waits for Jong-Ki to speak first....

 

"Ah... Miss Huh, we finally have the chance to meet," he greets Young-Mi warmly. "Please join us."

 

Young-Mi smiles back, "Thank you."

 

"This is my wife, Kim Eun-Hee, and Kim Jun-Ho, President of Mun-Yung Heavy Industries, and his wife, Ryu Seong-Ja," Jong-Ki completes the introductions.

 

"I'm very pleased to meet all of you tonight," Young-Mi replies, bowing formally.

 

"Please don't stand on ceremony, have a seat," Jong-Ki directs her and Hyung-Chul to take their places, just as the wait staff start arriving with the first course of the banquet.

 

 

As they move to their seats, Young-Mi sneaks a glance over at the nearby table headed by Sun-Dal and Joo-Hee, noting with pleasure the stunned, envious faces seeing her being publicly escorted by Hyung-Chul for the first time...

 

Then she notices that two of the seats are still empty, and remarks to Hyung-Chul, "It looks like Sun-Mi and Min-Cho haven't arrived yet."

 

"Is that so?" he replies flatly, showing no interest.

 

"I can't blame Sun-Mi if she decides to skip it," she confides. "Personally, I don't care for these type of events, either. Aren't they a bit too stuffy?""

 

"It's a burden that some have a duty to perform," he shares his own perspective. "That's how society is."

 

 

After Hyung-Chul assists Young-Mi into her chair, and then takes his own, Jun-Ho inquires, "You're Announcer Huh Young-Mi, the new host for 'Right Foot and Left Foot' ?"

 

"Yes," Young-Mi nods. "but I'm only temporarily filling in while the regular announcer is on leave. Once we marry, I believe a wife's first priority is caring for her husband, and keeping a full-time career won't allow me to do that."

 

"Such a pity! My two children just love your program! Since you came on, they insist on watching every day," Seong-Ja remarks effusively. "You have quite a gift for engaging the children's attention while communicating a positive, moral message, not just empty entertainment."

 

"All gifts are from God, so the praise is His alone," Young-Mi states modestly, "I simply have the privilege of sharing those blessings with others."

 

"I understand you were studying to become a nun, Announcer Huh," Eun-Hee says. "This is quite a remarkable change for you then."

 

"That's true," Young-Mi affirms. "But the purpose of formation is to determine a person's true calling. Through it I discovered my calling was to a different life of service..." She looks lovingly at Hyung-Chul to convey her meaning.

 

"Your fianc�e is as modest as she is intelligent and beautiful, Director Yoon," Jun-Ho praises Young-Mi. "These days, that's a rare combination to find... It seems that God's loss is your gain..." He chuckles at his joke.

 

Eun-Hee and Eun-Ki exchange a brief, knowing glance, which only Young-Mi notices.

 

"Umm... I suppose one could consider it that way," Hyung-Chul answers ambivalently, as if disinterested in the topic of discussion...

 

"Wasn't Announcer Huh your personal caregiver during the months you were recovering in the convent hospital? This sudden decision to marry strikes rather odd for a man of your usual prudence," Eun-Ki attempts to draw Hyung-Chul into defending himself against the rumors circulating MBS.

 

When Hyung-Chul doesn't answer, he prompts again, "Director Yoon, what do you have to say?"

 

But Hyung-Chul's mind is occupied elsewhere, and he instead states enigmatically: "Isn't it a saying... that things always appear at the moment they're destined for?"

 

Wondering at his unusual reply, Young-Mi follows the direction of his intent gaze. Then the smile on her face tightens, when she sees the reason for his rapt attention...

 

 

Sun-Mi has just arrived at the Gala...