AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart

Chapter 196

written by LoveCR2 -- 2005

edited by All-About-AAE -- 2018

 

"You must follow your own dreams, and trust your own heart, before you can truly love another." -- Chairman Yoon Jong-Ki

 

 

ANYANG METRO HOSPITAL ...

 

"You're so beautiful, Ha-Eun. A wonderful blessing to me. I'll miss you so much..."

 

Young-Mi speaks quietly as she gazes down wistfully into the crib through tear-filled eyes...

 

"Mommy's so sorry, but this way, you'll have a better life than I could ever give you."

 

She caresses the thin, downy hair on her sleeping daughter's head lovingly...

 

"Your new mommy and daddy will be good people, they'll love you and raise you to be a good person, too, and then you'll marry a good man, and have a happy life."

 

She stands up from the bed, feeling the weight of the electronic monitor shackled to her ankle. Leaning over the crib, picks up the newly-born baby and cradles her in her arms.

 

"Soon, you'll be someone's precious daughter and someday a beloved wife and a wonderful mother, too, not a wild weed like me," Young-Mi predicts. "You'll never know who I am, but I'll always love you and remember you. Every day, I'll pray for God to bless you..."

 

Footsteps in the corridor outside cause her to look toward the locked door...

 

Young-Mi kisses her baby for the last time, places her back into the crib, and sits on the bed again, facing the door.

 

 

A face peers into the room through the door lite, then the bolt turns and the door opens. A nurse enters, followed by a nun in habit. The nurse immediately goes to the crib to check on the baby, while the nun approaches Young-Mi.

 

"I'm Sister Rose," the nun introduces herself with a warm manner, "the new Director at the convent orphanage."

 

"I remember you," Young-Mi replies coldly. "Did you bring the papers?"

 

"Yes, but first I want to ask if you'll reconsider, Sister Rose appeals. "You'll be released in less than a year. We can keep her in the meantime for you..."

 

"I've made up my mind," Young-Mi answers brusquely.

 

"But you saw how the children long to know their birth parents," the nun argues. "Why give her up, when you don't have to?"

 

"Because I want to put everything behind me. Have a fresh start when I get out," Young-Mi retorts harshly. "I don't want to be burdened by a child of a man I hate."

 

Conceding to Young-Mi's determination, Sister Rose takes out the forms from her office tote and places them on a portable table beside the bed.

 

"Very well. I need your signature here, and here," she points out the places, then states the terms of agreement, "This certifies that you are voluntarily surrendering all parental rights, and stipulating that your daughter never be told who her birth mother is..."

 

"Yes, that's what I want," Young-Mi concurs, signing the papers without hesitation.

 

Sister Rose gathers the papers up as she explains, "Your child will be transferred to the convent orphanage later today. You may keep her with you until then."

 

"Why?" Young-Mi says emotionlessly. "This child is nothing to me now. Get it out of my sight!"

 

 

Giving Young-Mi a glare of contempt, the nurse replies, "With pleasure!"

 

She grasps the handles of the crib and turns to the nun. "Sister, there's a foul stench in here. Let's go now."

 

They walk out together. Behind them, the door slams closed and locks...

 

 

Now that she is alone, deep sobs well up in Young-Mi's throat, forcing tears to stream from her eyes -- tears which she had vowed not to cry in front of others...

 

Clasping empty hands over an aching heart, she wails in despair, "I'm sorry, Ha-Eun, so sorry... I only want you to be happy. You have to be happy..."

 

 

 

PYONGCHANG-DONG, SEOUL...

 

... 'It's time that we have a frank discussion about your relationship with my son' ...

 

Though she'd anticipated this to come up since arriving, Sun-Mi still finds herself at a loss of how to respond...

 

"I know it must be awkward for you," Jong-Ki affirms her discomfiture, "but with my son's position in the family and status in society, he is always at the center of rumors and gossip. So I wanted to hear directly from you first."

 

"Um... Sir.. Uh... Yes," she hesitantly fumbles for a reasonable answer. "About our relationship... Frankly, it's complicated."

 

He nods empathetically...

 

"With Hyung-Chul, relationships have always been complicated," he observes ruefully, "and for that, I accept much of the responsibility. I was the cause of a lot of pain and trouble in his life, and now by extension, also in yours. I owe you an apology."

 

"Everyone has troubles and scars," Sun-Mi maintains, now feeling more at ease with the turn of conversation, "But what has happened between your son and me is solely our responsibility, not yours. You owe nothing for that."

 

"Even so, there is something you should know," he tells her. "It's quite a long story, so I hope you can bear with me...

 

"Please go on," she allows, her curiosity piqued.

 

"Since Hyung-Chul's mother and I separated when he was a young boy, my relationship with him was always acrimonious," Jong-Ki begins. "Perhaps you know this already..."

 

"Yes, he told me a few things," Sun-Mi acknowledges.

 

"After his mother died in early 1995, Hyung-Chul completely broke off all communications, and I feared I'd lost my son forever. But the next year, after I had a heart attack, he returned to Seoul for several weeks to visit me. I was amazed at how he'd changed, and for the first time in years we had a civil conversation. It was the beginning of a new relationship for us, as father and son."

 

"I knew that you'd reconciled, but not the circumstances," she says, "When a person feels betrayed, sometimes it takes a crisis to bring a change of heart."

 

 

Jong-Ki thoughtfully sips from his drink as he listens...

 

"It wasn't the heart attack," he informs her. "Hyung-Chul told me it was something that happened in London, which caused him to reconsider his direction and focus in life."

 

"Did he tell you what it was?" Sun-Mi asks, now very curious.

 

"He only hinted at it. I thought you might know, since you'd met him in London about that time."

 

"I was only there a few weeks, and we just got to know each other," she pleads ignorance. "So he's never said?"

 

"I had to wait three-and-a-half years to find out. It wasn't until the company's 20th anniversary celebration, that he finally let me know," Jong-Ki reveals.

 

As she hears this, Sun-Mi recalls Hyung-Chul's first words to his father at the event ... 'this is the woman I plan to marry' ...

 

She looks at Jong-Ki, wide-eyed... "Are you saying that... our meeting in London is what happened to change your son?"

 

"Exactly," he confirms.

 

"But... what he said, it was just a joke," Sun-Mi replies, confused. "He was teasing me, because of what I said to him earlier."

 

"I know my son; I can vouch that he was completely sincere. And after meeting you in person, I could see why... you're a most remarkable young woman."

 

"But there's nothing exceptional about me," Sun-Mi plays down his praise.

 

"I respectfully disagree," he counters. "You've a gift to touch people's hearts and change their lives for the better. The fact that I have my son back is proof enough to me. Beyond that, you're a gracious, talented, and intelligent woman. Few have accomplished so much as you have in so little time. I don't say this lightly, that I'd be proud to call you my daughter-in-law."

 

"Talking like this, Sir, it's embarrassing," she replies humbly. "I'm not this great person you make me out to be."

 

"As far as I'm concerned, whether you choose to accept and marry my son, or not is solely up to you," Jong-Ki clarifies his position. "But before you make this decision, I have a word of caution, from personal experience, having traveled this path before you..."

 

 

He stops to down the remainder of his drink.

 

The waiter approaches discreetly and switches the empty glass with another full one.

 

"Although he bears my family name, Hyung-Chul is thoroughly a Cha, like his mother and grandfather before him," Jong-Ki explains. "Theirs is a long, proud family tradition of brilliance and overachievement, finding success in every endeavor... but with consequences to anyone close to them."

 

... 'Why don�t you try harder and become a celebrity that any broadcast company would want to hire?' ... the words pop into Sun-Mi's mind as confirmation of what he is saying.

 

"The saying at the time was, 'all you need is love', and as a young man, na�vely romantic and brimming with confidence, I truly believed that the ideal of True Love was enough to conquer any obstacle," he attests. "I think you understand."

 

"Yes," she nods, "I do."

 

"But when I married into the Cha family, I discovered that 'love' alone wasn't enough. I wasn't prepared for the reality of personal expectations, family ties, and social traditions... Eventually it was clear that I would never be the person that could meet those standards."

 

He sighs as he thinks back, then confesses, "What had started with such promise ended with disaster. In my wounded pride I lashed out with words and actions that were unforgivable. Finally, I walked away... but only after a severe cost to my wife and son."

 

Jong-Ki pauses and looks at Sun-Mi gravely to emphasize what he is about to say...

 

"Don't make the mistakes I made, trying to be someone I wasn't intended to be, believing that is love. True Love demands honesty, first to yourself, then to the one you love. You must follow your own dreams, and trust your own heart, before you can truly love another..."