AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart

Chapter 204

written by LoveCR2 -- 2005

edited by All-About-AAE -- 2019

 

"You chose Jin Sun-Mi over MBS, but the outcome was the same. It seems that fate can't be cheated, after all." -- Yoon Jong-Ki

 

 

CHAIRMAN'S OFFICE, MBS YEOUIDO ...

 

"Sorry, Chairman. I wasn't expecting you at this hour. I'll be out of your way in a moment," the maintenance worker indicates his task is almost completed...

 

"No hurry, Mr. Park," Hyung-Chul replies patiently as he watches the man meticulously fasten a brass nameplate to the heavy, mahogany paneled door. "The Board meeting ended earlier than expected."

 

After the last screw is placed, Park steps back to view his handiwork for a final check that the installation is perfectly level and centered.

 

Satisfied, he announces, "All finished."

 

"You worked hard," Hyung-Chul praises him. "May I bother you for the old one?"

 

"A memento, Chairman?" Park remarks with a knowing grin as he hands over the nameplate reading 'MBS Chairwoman Jin Sun-Mi'. "No disrespect intended, but the place feels different, now that she's left."

 

Hyung-Chul is curious. "Oh? In what way?"

 

"It's hard to put a finger on it, but with Chairwoman Jin, there was just this zest in the air, the sense that something unpredictable could happen at any time," Park surmises, "Honestly, whenever I saw her, regardless of how I felt that moment, I couldn't help but go on my way smiling."

 

"I know what you mean," Hyung-Chul agrees, then dismisses him, "Good night."

 

"I'll be leaving first, Chairman," Park gives his respects, collects his toolbox, and ambles off.

 

 

Hyung-Chul enters his new office with a hollow feeling inside. Sun-Mi's presence is palpable, except for the nameplate on the desk, identifying the current occupant as 'Chairman Yoon Hyung-Chul', everything is as she'd left it, so being here just deepens his despondency.

 

He looks over at the executive desk, drawing on his photo-perfect memory, picturing Sun-Mi as he'd last seen her there, reprising every detail precisely ... pastel pink Balmain double-breasted suit dress with wide, plunging V-neck, gold buttons, and mid-thigh hem ... white lace-trimmed cami ... sheer nude stockings ... white Giuseppe Zanotti platform pumps on 130mm tapered heels ... solitaire pearl drop earrings and a triple-strand of Mikimoto pearls ...

 

She had said in parting, as he was leaving ... 'Senior, I have something important to talk about with you ...

 

But the next day, she had left, without having that talk...

 

 

He lingers by the door until the mental image fades, the olfactory memory of her fragrance -- rose, jasmine and vanilla -- has dissipated, and the office is empty again.

 

Crossing to the desk, he lays the nameplate flat on the top and settles into the plush leather upholstered chair, surveying the office from this perspective for the first time, remembering Sun-Mi's final, written request...

 

... I hope you will see to continue my vision for the future of MBS ...

 

 

His mobile, set to vibrate, goes off in his pocket, and he flips it open. Seeing the caller, he smiles to himself, and answers...

 

"Hi, Joo-Hee..."

 

"My Hubby just called and said he was headed home, so I knew the meeting was over," she explains the timing of her call. "Congratulations. It's about time."

 

"I'm not so sure I agree," he airs his uncertainty.

 

"Why the down attitude?" Joo-Hee voices her concern, and guesses the answer herself, "Jin Sun-Mi?"

 

"Am I that transparent?" he chuckles. "Honestly, right now I want to walk out this door, leave MBS behind, and follow Sun-Mi to whatever dream she is pursuing now. But..."

 

"But you can't," she finishes his caveat. "Sun-Dal told me what Sun-Mi asked you to do for her."

 

"I can't refute her decision for me to stay, any more than I can deny her decision to leave," he sighs at his conundrum.

 

"So Sun-Mi flies away to find her dreams, while you're firmly stuck here," Joo-Hee draws the conclusion herself.

 

"More or less," he concurs glumly.

 

"Perhaps that's for the best," she tries to see the bright side. "This way you have closure. It's time to move on, Hyung-Chul, like I moved on. I found there was life after unrequited love... If not today, maybe tomorrow, or the next. But that day will come, when you can look back without regret."

 

"You're right, for yourself," he agrees. "But it's certainly not today for me..."

 

"I'll leave you to your misery, then," Joo-Hee replies sympathetically, "But any time you need a shoulder to lean on, call me... Okay?"

 

"Joo-Hee..." he cautions.

 

"Moving on doesn't mean forgetting, or regretting. My heart hasn't changed, only grown wiser," she replies thoughtfully. "Accepting reality as it is, not how I want it to be. You can, too..."

 

... she has opened her heart to him, shown that though the longing never completely goes away, it is possible to push beyond it ...

 

"Thank you, Joo-Hee," he replies. "You're a true friend."

 

A brief pause follows, then she speaks quickly, her voice tremulous, "I... I have to go now, to get the kids in bed. Goodbye."

 

"Bye... Thanks for calling."

 

He closes his phone, thinking ... if Joo-Hee can do it, move on, maybe I can, too ...

 

 

 

"Ah... I thought I might find you here..."

 

The voice from the doorway interrupts his contemplation. Hyung-Chul looks up to see his father.

 

"Come in, have a seat. A drink?"

 

"I'm fine," Jong-Ki declines.

 

Hyung-Chul rises to join him in the conference seating area.

 

"Feeling ambivalent?" Jong-Ki asks.

 

Hyung-Chul chuckles. "How did you know?"

 

"My first thought, when I sat in the Chairman's seat, was that after all the hard work, I'd arrived at the top," Jong-Ki recalls, "My second thought was since I was ultimately responsible for the welfare of thousands of people, the hardest work was actually just beginning. It was a humbling moment."

 

"But you accomplished it on your own, without Mother's help," Hyung-Chul notes respectfully. "Unlike me. Already I'm hearing the snide remarks, whispered behind my back ... 'He only made Chairman because of his relationship with Jin Sun-Mi' ..."

 

"And that bothers you?"

 

"I know it shouldn't. I had plenty of that after you installed me as a Director from the get-go," Hyung-Chul replies. thinking of Sun-Mi's stinging criticism one night before she knew his true identity ...

 

... 'Even if his father is the President, he should have to start from the bottom. Everyone else has to work their way up, but he simply becomes the king of this company. That’s so arrogant!' ...

 

"But now I can understand what Jin Sun-Mi had to endure, vis-à-vis her relationship with me."

 

 

"The proverbial 'boot on the other foot', eh?" Jong-Ki chuckles.

 

"I don't think I'd be as bothered if it was anyone else," Hyung-Chul replies. "I didn't want this if it meant she had to give it up."

 

 

But Jong-Ki has a different perspective... "Look at it this way, Son... It was your mother's dream, that you take her father's place and continue the family heritage by leading MBS."

 

The reminder of his youthful struggle for independence, trying to escape a pre-defined destiny, rankles Hyung-Chul. "I didn't come back for Mother's sake, or the Company's future," he insists. "I came back to MBS for Sun-Mi's sake."

 

"I understand that, you made it clear before," Jong-Ki acknowledges, "how Jin Sun-Mi was the 'angel' who appeared in your life and changed it. But did you ever consider why this 'angel' was sent to you?"

 

"What are you getting at, Father?"

 

"Let me put it another way... If you only came back for Jin Sun-Mi, now that she's leaving Seoul, what are your intentions for MBS?"

 

"I'll do what Sun-Mi wished, stay on to lead MBS and see her dream accomplished, as best I can," Hyung-Chul vows, the irony of his statement dawning on him.

 

"You chose Jin Sun-Mi over MBS, but the outcome was the same. It seems that fate can't be cheated, after all," Jong-Ki remarks wryly. "I'll go first, and leave you to reflect on that."

 

 

After his father leaves, Hyung-Chul ponders the possibility ... could it be true? ... that the whole purpose of Sun-Mi coming into his life, was just to ensure a fate he was born into? ...

 

Returning to his desk, he opens the center drawer to put Sun-Mi's nameplate inside, and finds a sealed, white envelope with the words 'Chairman Yoon Hyung-Chul' written on it. Eagerly he rips open the envelope and takes out a single sheet of paper, unfolding the page to read the handwritten message...

 

Senior --

 

I'm sorry for saying goodbye as I did that night -- it was cowardly -- so I feel I owe you a final face-to-face before I fly off.

 

If you want to see me, text 'when and where?' to Yeom Soo-A tonight, and she will send the response I left with her. Otherwise I will know that our lives should never cross again.

 

-- Jin Sun-Mi

 

 

Hyung-Chul hurriedly takes out his mobile and texts the words as instructed. Then he waits with bated breath, watching the seconds tick off. Finally, his mobile beeps, signaling an incoming text...

 

... 'Come Saturday, and everyone will be there' ...