AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart

Chapter 156

written by LoveCR2 -- 2005

edited by All-About-AAE -- 2018

 

"Daddy... what am I going to do? It's Christmas, but I feel so sad today, and confused" -- Jin Sun-Mi

 

 

MBS NEWS CENTER, YEOUIDO STUDIOS...

 

Alone in the darkened control room, Sun-Mi sits down and takes out her mobile to make a call...

 

Kui-Sung picks up, "Hello?"

 

"It's me, Daddy."

 

"You were great tonight," he raves enthusiastically.

 

"You really think so?" she doubts, as he is always praising her work.

 

"Of course! I'm your biggest fan!" Kui-Sung replies jokingly, while meaning it.

 

Daughter and father both laugh together.

 

 

"How did you know I hadn't bought Christmas gifts yet?" he asks, a bit miffed, referring to the hint she'd made during the broadcast.

 

"It happens every year, Daddy," she reminds him, laughing again.

 

"Humph," he complains. "Did you call, just to make fun of me?"

 

"No... I called to tell you that... that... I love you, Daddy," she says, her voice choking. "You're the most important person in my life..."

 

She swallows the sudden lump in her throat, and wipes the tears from her eyes, before she goes on...

 

"... and I ... while I still have the chance ... felt I should say this to you, for Christmas..."

 

 

After a long moment, Kui-Sung asks gently, "Sun-Mi, are you crying?"

 

"Of course not, I'm a big girl now," she lies, wiping away another tear wetting her cheek.

 

"Oh... I thought maybe you were, because I'm crying," he confesses. "I love you, too. Life wouldn't be the same without you."

 

"It's because of you, that I'm such a crybaby, too," she complains, finally admitting to her tears.

 

"Like father, like daughter," he jokes...

 

 

She chuckles at the truth of that, and then asks, "How are things at home?"

 

"Director Yoon was here," he fills her in. "He stopped by for a drink, and left with Young-Mi."

 

At the mention of them being together right now, Sun-Mi tenses involuntarily, a pit gnawing in her gut.

 

"Of course, this is a couple's night, to celebrate," she replies, struggling to sound nonchalant. "They should go out together..."

 

"But her change in demeanor, though not visible to Kui-Sung, is easily detected...

 

 

"Sun-Mi, is there something else you wanted to tell me?" he opens the door for her.

 

"Er... it's really nothing," she holds back. "Maybe, another time..."

 

"Sun-Mi, I'm your father, I know when something's not right... You can tell me," he cajoles.

 

At his encouragement she speaks honestly. "Daddy... what am I going to do? It's Christmas, but I feel so sad today, and confused..."

 

 

Kui-Sung ponders for a moment, then asks, "How much do you miss me?"

 

Sun-Mi replies dubiously, "What does that have to do with anything?"

 

He repeats, "Just tell me, how much do you miss me?"

 

"As high as the sky, and as deep as the oceans," she grumbles, answering with their familiar ritual. "Why?"

 

"When I first dated your Mum, every time we met, she'd ask me that," he explains. "After we married, it became one of those things a couple does to make their relationship special... After she passed, whenever I felt sad and confused, I'd say it to myself again, and somehow, that made things feel better."

 

"Are you saying, this isn't a big deal?" she asks, recalling how she'd encouraged Woo-Jin when he was sad over Young-Mi...

 

"Not at all," he clarifies. "But drawing on fond memories can help give perspective."

 

She considers his advice, and with those memories, smiles...

 

"Thanks, Daddy... Already, just talking to you makes me feel better," she rewards him.

 

 

"Are you coming tomorrow, for dinner? Your Mom is cooking something special for the whole family."

 

"I'm sorry, I have to work," Sun-Mi gives her prepared excuse.

 

"You don't have any time, even for a little while?" he presses.

 

"Er... I'm filling in for some of the others all day," Sun-Mi explains.

 

"Oh... all right then," he accepts her decision with understanding. "I'll tell Mom, so she won�t be expecting you."

 

"And that I love her, too," Sun-Mi reminds him.

 

"Oh... and one more thing..."

 

"Yes?"

 

"You and Young-Mi... I know it's hard, but try to forgive and get along," he requests. "We love both our daughters, and with a grandchild coming, you need to think about long-term harmony in the family."

 

"I know, I'll try harder," she promises.

 

"Take care of yourself, Sun-Mi," he cautions.

 

"I will. Bye, Daddy..."

 

 

Sun-Mi closes her phone and is pondering her father's request, when her mobile rings...

 

"Hello, Senior Lee?" she answers.

 

"Can we meet?" Lee Kyung-Hee asks. "I have something to talk about with you."

 

"Can't it wait? Shouldn't you be with Senior Shin right now? ... It's Christmas Eve."

 

Ki-Jong decided to travel to Busan for a few days, to see his father," Kyung-Hee explains the situation. "And someone has to be here, to watch over the new recruits."

 

Sun-Mi accepts the reasoning. "Where?"

 

"You haven't eaten yet, right?" Kyung-Hee guesses. "Let's meet in the canteen... I brought carryout..."

 

 

 

MBS CANTEEN, A FEW MINUTES LATER ...

 

"You aren't eating," Kyung-Hee observes that Sun-Mi has hardly touched her food.

 

"I guess I'm not that hungry," Sun-Mi makes the excuse, putting down her chopsticks to take a sip of vending coffee from the paper cup.

 

Kyung-Hee looks at Sun-Mi with concern. "These past weeks, you haven't looked well, and you're becoming so thin now..."

 

"It only seems that way, because I gained weight lazing around on Santorini," Sun-Mi jokes to divert the issue. "Really I'm fine... what is it you wanted to tell me?"

 

 

"The reason Director Kim brought us back... it's because of you, right?" Kyung-Hee accuses her. "I want to know the truth."

 

Sun-Mi avoids a straight answer. "Why do you think that?"

 

"What else could it be?" she reasons. "I know how you felt before, when people's jobs were threatened by hiring outside celebrities. You even broke up with Director Yoon over that... so tell me I'm not right, that you weren't feeling guilty over it?"

 

"Yes, I was, back then... Very guilty, when I realized I had wronged Senior," Sun-Mi admits. "And foolish, too, for my immature behavior in front of everyone, and thinking that our managers didn't care about the people who worked for them... Sometimes there's no good choice to make, and someone suffers. But the alternative could be much worse."

 

"Are you saying, you agreed with Director Kim retrenching people to bring you on?"

 

"I'm saying he made the best decision at that time," Sun-Mi states. "Later, after circumstances changed, he made a different decision."

 

"Then you had nothing to do with it?"

 

"Just that I told Director Kim I needed two experienced people to administer the new recruiting and training program, people who could recognize the kind of talent needed for the future," Sun-Mi explains. "It was up to Director Kim to decide who to hire."

 

"Nothing else? "

 

Sun-Mi smiles, "I reminded him who were the only two who believed in me, when no one else would. And how I was always grateful for what they did for a clumsy, rookie announcer who caused all kinds of trouble before she found her way..."

 

"Yes, you were a lot of trouble," Kyung-Hee agrees with a wistful chuckle. "But you were much more than that, too. You were someone I believed could make a difference. Thanks for having confidence in me, too..."

 

 

 

MBS COMPLEX MAIN GATE, MIDNIGHT ...

 

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Park..."

 

Sun-Mi greets the night guard at the main entrance as she leaves by the pedestrian gate...

 

He cracks open the window of the guard shack and looks out at the woman bundled up in a long, fur-trimmed Fendi blue wool overcoat, wide-legged black slacks, and red leather DKNY square toe ankle booties with 80mm block heels...

 

"It's almost midnight," he observes "You work too hard, Correspondent Jin. Be careful of your health."

 

She chuckles. "I seem to getting that advice a lot lately."

 

"Then you should listen to it!" he reproves her with an air of fatherly concern.

 

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine," Sun-Mi replies cheerfully and gifts him with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

 

"Good night, and Merry Christmas," he sends her off...

 

 

Sun-Mi exits the gate and steps into a brisk wintry breeze. Pulling the coat collar up to protect her face from the wind, she walks to the curb to wait for a passing cab, knowing that it being Christmas Eve, she might have a long, cold wait.

 

Then she notices the cab idling at the curb a short distance down the street. Quickly, she trots up and taps on the rear passenger window to get the driver's attention...

 

"Unh?" she hears a response from inside.

 

Sun-Mi opens the door and gets in, placing her bulky work tote on the seat beside her.

 

The driver is hunched down in the seat, bundled up for the cold. All she can make out of his face between the turned-up collar of his brown leather bomber jacket and the jammed-down brim of his wool-lined winter hat, is the glint from a pair of dark eyes peering into the rearview mirror.

 

"Mapo-gu, please," she tells him.

 

"Yes," he acknowledges in a rasping voice, and accelerates the cab into the empty street.

 

A few blocks later, he turns left onto Yeouidong-ro, but instead of exiting onto Yeoui-daero to the Mapo Bridge, continues past...

 

"Sir, I said I'm going to Mapo," she reminds him, irritated at the miscommunication.

 

"Heard you," he growls gutturally, but doesn't change course...

 

 

As the cab exits into Yeouido Hangang Park, Sun-Mi senses that something is very wrong... Belatedly, she realizes her error...

 

On every other late night, she had never seen a cab waiting where this one was parked. Nor had she noticed the cab's license number on the side -- she'd been in too much of a hurry to get out of the cold wind to pay attention...

 

... this isn't a casual, random mugging ... he had been intentionally waiting for her...

 

Suddenly frightened, she feels the hair rise on the back of her neck.

 

But she steadies her voice, and orders boldly, "Take me back to MBS, now!"

 

"Sorry," he gruffly denies her request.

 

"I... I'll call the police," she threatens, taking her mobile out of her bag and flipping it open.

 

He shrugs off her threat, crossing an empty car park and turning past barricades onto a rough construction road under Seogang Bridge.

 

Sun-Mi looks at her phone, and sees that she has no signal...

 

The driver points to a device affixed to the dash and grunts a single word, "Jammer."

 

 

The single word sends a chill down her spine... she is truly alone in a circumstance she has no control over...

 

"Stop the car!" she demands.

 

In response, he presses the accelerator down, and the cab gains speed...

 

"If you don't stop... I'll... I'll jump out!" she threatens illogically, as jumping at this speed would lead to certain injury, and no chance of escape.

 

The driver ignores her, passing under the bridge, heading toward an area near the river with shadowy parked equipment and boxy steel shipping containers.

 

Sun-Mi pulls on the door handle, but it doesn't open. She presses the window control, but nothing happens.

 

Trapped, she feels her gut winding into a tense coil, and sits stiffly, clasping her cold, clammy hands together to keep them from shaking.

 

The cab slows as it enters the deserted construction site -- Sun-Mi can hear crushed rock crunching under the tires. The driver steers alongside a container, eases the cab to a stop, and turns off the headlights and engine.

 

On their right side, a dark steel wall rises up, blocking the view of the bridge -- and any potential observer's view of their car. Straight ahead, the dark waters of the River Han are only a few meters away. The city lights on the far bank provide a faint glow that dimly illuminates the interior of the car.

 

With the cab stopped, in a final attempt at escape, Sun-Mi desperately tries the door again, shoving on it with her shoulder, but as before, it doesn't budge. The man sits unmoving, biding his time in silence, watching the futile efforts to save herself in the rearview mirror...

 

Giving up the effort, she sits in despair -- alone with no way of summoning help -- aware that for anyone who might search later, she has effectively vanished from the face of the earth...

 

"Please, Sir.... it's Christmas," she pleads, hoping to appeal to his better nature, if he has one...

 

The driver doesn't respond, but she can see his eyes staring -- menacingly, in her mind -- in the rear-view mirror. Knowing intuitively that further appeals are useless, she looks away so he won't see the growing, visceral dread in her eyes...

 

At the mercy of a man who is vaguely threatening, and of whose intent she has no clue, with no other options left, Sun-Mi resigns herself to an uncertain fate, praying that if things come to the worst, the end will be swift, and not too painful...

 

 

... 'Don't hesitate to let the people in your life know how much you love them, while you have the opportunity' ...

 

Her own words give Sun-Mi consolation. At least, while she had the chance, she'd told her Daddy that she loved him...