AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart
Chapter 181
written by LoveCR2 -- 2005
edited by All-About-AAE -- 2018
"If Sun-Mi can believe in Cinderella, then why not Sleeping Beauty, too?" -- Yoon Hyung-Chul
MUN-YUNG HOSPITAL, SEOUL ...
In the warm dawn light filtering through the windows, Sun-Mi's face glows radiantly. Like an angel, Hyung-Chul muses, enraptured.
"Are you taking a picture of me with your eyes... again?" she asks self-consciously, her cheeks instantly flushing to a lovely shade of pink. "It's embarrassing."
"Why? Because you just woke up?"
"No... Because it's just the two of us, alone in my bedroom."
"Then... do you want me to leave? Is that what you came back to say?
"Actually... I need to make something clear," she explains. "I want you to know my mind is not made up... Would it be okay with you, if my dream was to be... If I never became� a famous celebrity?"
* * * * *
Hyung-Chul pauses his mental reflection, reconsidering the scene -- as vivid in his mind as when it happened that sunny morning, the day after Joo-Hee's wedding -- with a new perspective...
Sun-Mi had touched on a sore spot, his thoughtless words spoken in haste and disdain which ignited their months-long Cold War. At the time, he'd assumed she was asking for another apology, and taken offense. But now he realizes he was wrong...
... Sun-Mi was not asking for his apology, but for his approval ... to be who she is -- not who she thought he wanted her to be ...
If only he'd listened to what Sun-Mi was saying, instead of reacting reflexively, everything would be different now ...
With bitter remorse, Hyung-Chul gets up and goes over to the window. Staring out into the snowy night, he recalls Min-Cho's admonition...
... 'You may be the only one who can reach Sun-Mi now, to give her a reason to live... Redeem yourself... Don't fail her again..."
"Min-Cho was right," he berates himself relentlessly, "I've failed Sun-Mi again and again. What can I possibly do now, to redeem myself?"
... 'You make it too complicated.... you only need to think like she does, believe in the things she believes in. That's all' ...
Hyung-Chul ponders that advice again ... think like she does...
... Believing in telepathy is reasonable for Sun-Mi, because it's a connection to a person she loves ...
He turns away from the window, and looks at Sun-Mi again...
"Earlier tonight, I had this sudden feeling that you needed me right away, so I came," he tells her. "It was you, right? You called to me telepathically..."
Encouraged, he returns to the bedside chair and asks, "Why? What do you want me to do for you?"
... 'I'm happiest when I share good things with someone beside me. It's a double blessing of happiness' ... Her words from the night they talked in her garden pop into his mind, answering his question.
His eye lands on several unopened envelopes, which he hadn't noticed before, stacked on the bedside stand next to a vase of freshly cut flowers. Curious, he picks one to open...
"Kim Eun-Bi from Ilsan sent this card to you," he says to Sun-Mi. then reads it: "I always listened to you on 'Musical Postcards' before, and your words often touched me. I'm praying every day for your healing. God bless you..."
"She also drew a smiley face with the words, 'love your smile'..."
He puts that card down and opens the next, reading it aloud...
"... 'Dear Jin Sun-Mi... Do you remember me? I sent many postcards to your program, and you not only offered kind words, but helped raise the money for my brother's surgery. Now he is healthy and his cancer has not returned. Every day I thank you again in my heart -- you were truly our angel from heaven! I hope you can get better quickly.' ... It's signed, Jin Hye-Jung."
Hyung-Chul goes on to the next...
"Here's a card from a man... Lee Moon-Soo. He says he never sent a postcard, but by listening to your program, gained the courage to propose to his high school sweetheart when he came back from the army. They're married now, with a baby boy... He hopes you will know how many people are supporting you, and sends wishes for your full recovery."
He sets the card aside, and tells Sun-Mi, "There's more like these I can read, from people whose lives are better because of you, people who are standing by you now..."
Hyung-Chul takes her hand again...
"But first, I want to say that you're my angel from heaven, too," he confesses. "Because of you, my life is immeasurably better... I know I've made many mistakes and hurt you, for which I'm so sorry... I don't deserve it, but I hope you'll give me another chance."
He pauses to wipe a tear from his eye, and swallow the lump in his throat, before continuing...
"On your program, you always found the perfect song to accompany your words, that spoke to people's hearts," he commends her. "So I want to give you a song that expresses my feelings for the one special person in my life. I think you've heard it before...
Then Hyung-Chul quietly sings the words to Da Jurkoya (I'll Give You Everything)...
Geudae naege dagaoneun geu moseub
(I watch you as you walk slowly towards me)
Jakku dasi bol su, eobs-eul geosman gat-aseo
(It felt like I�d never again see your face coming closer to mine)
Gam-eun du nun tteuji moshan geoya
(I couldn�t open my closed eyes)
Neoleul naege bonaejun geol gamsahal ppun-ya gomaul ppun-ya
(I�m so thankful that you were sent to me)
Manh-i oelowossdeon geoni geudong-an
(Were you lonely all this time?)
Jakku yawieoganeun neoleul bomyeon neukkil su iss-eo
(I could feel it as I passed you)
Neomu him-i deul ttaen silkeos ul-eo
(When it's too hard for you, cry it all out)
Nunmul sog-e apeun gieog tteonabonaege
(Wash away your pain with your tears)
Nae pum-eseo...
(in my arms...)
Seogeulpeun uliui jinan naldeul-eul
(The sad days we shared together)
Seologa jogeumssig gamssajwoya hae
(We have to help each other through the unhappy memories)
Nannege neomunado bujoghagessjiman
(Even though I�m not good enough for you)
Da julgeoya...
(I�ll give you everything...)
Nae nam-eunmo deun sarang-eul
�(All of my love)
While singing to Sun-Mi, Hyung-Chul is watching for the slightest reaction, even a miniscule twitch of her eyelids, that shows he is connecting with her.
... 'Just believe like she does' ... he mentally reiterates Min-Cho's instruction... 'Dreams... True Love... Cinderella... Angels in this world without wings... these are some things she believes in' ...
Gazing on Sun-Mi's serene face, engrossed in the vision of loveliness before him, a thought strikes... Sleeping Beauty ...
The simple idea grows into a possibility... "If Sun-Mi can believe in Cinderella, then why not Sleeping Beauty?" he indulges the intriguing prospect of a 'magical' kiss being the instrument that awakens her.
Still, he hesitates. Sun-Mi had kissed him before, on the Pont des Arts in Paris, in what was truly a magical moment. But with her being unconscious, he wonders if it can still be the same...
"There's only one way to find out," he concludes.
He raises himself up, off the chair, and leans forward, hovering over Sun-Mi, unsure of what constitutes an appropriate 'magic' kiss.
With no precedent to go by, after taking a deep breath, he touches her lips with a feathery lightness, holding that position to give the kiss what should be plenty of time to work its magic...
The effect for Sun-Mi is underwhelming... with no visible response. Her vital tracks on the equipment monitor maintain their regular rhythms, not missing a beat.
Sitting down again, Hyung-Chul still maintains the possibility that Sun-Mi may awaken, like in the fairytale...
The seconds tick off slowly. A minute passes, then another, before he concedes the kiss didn't work.
But the failure doesn't dampen his determination, or his good spirits... after all, he'd just kissed Sun-Mi, and it will be a while before he feels solid ground under his feet...
"You're a Princess, but it seems I'm just not cut out of the right 'Prince' material," he jokes lightheartedly to Sun-Mi, although wondering how he'd ever thought it was remotely possible...
"Whatever happens, Sun-Mi, I'll hold on to hope. This isn't the end for us. I'll always be waiting for you," he declares his resolve.
He reaches into his pocket, and takes out the small, special stone. Holding it between his fingers, he remembers how he'd come to reacquire it...
He had returned the stone to Sun-Mi so she could �-- 'give to the person who can make you truly happy' -- but while carrying her from the lake to her limo, she had surreptitiously slipped it back into his pocket, which he didn't discover until later, to his surprise.
He presses the stone into her palm so she can feel it, then closes her fingers over it, holding her hand securely.
"It's two hearts, entwined together at creation, and now fused for eternity, remember?" he quotes Sun-Mi's words, and promises with his own, "Nothing will come between us again. Call out to me, and wherever I am, I'll come to you."
The sound of footsteps in the corridor alerts him, and a second later Kui-Sung comes into the room.
"Any change, Director?" Kui-Sung's voice is hopeful...
"No, but I had a good chat with Sun-Mi," Hyung-Chul sounds deliberately positive. "There's still hope."
Kui-Sung nods, and holds out his hand...
"I appreciate your coming. Don't be a stranger," he says sincerely. "You're like family now."
"Thank you, Mr. Jin, I'll remember that," Hyung-Chul replies.
They grasp hands, cementing their bond...
After their handshake, Hyung-Chul looks back to take one last picture of Sun-Mi with his eyes.
"I have to go now," he says when he finishes. "I'll be back again, soon."
He leaves, trudging slowly to the lifts, his mind on Sun-Mi and what to do next...
A few steps later, he pauses and looks back, prompted by a fleeting thought to return and stay with Sun-Mi through the night. But he dismisses the impulse, reasoning that if Kui-Sung had wanted him to stay, he'd have invited him.
Arriving at the lift lobby, he presses the call button for the next car down. While waiting, he reaches into his pocket for their special stone, to find it missing...
Then he remembers, being interrupted by Kui-Sung's return, he'd left the stone in Sun-Mi's hand.
The lift arrives and the doors open, but he doesn't get on... Instead, fearing the stone may be lost if the staff moves Sun-Mi, he turns to backtrack his steps.
At that instant, his mobile rings...
Grabbing the phone, he checks the caller's number before he answers. "Hello? Mr. Jin? What is it?"
Kui-Sung's voice is tense... "You'd better come right now, Director... it's Sun-Mi..."
Before Hyung-Chul can speak, the call cuts off. Stunned, for a moment he freezes, as the possibilities --� none of them good -- race through his mind...
Then he takes off in a desperate run, headed back to Sun-Mi's room...