AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart
Chapter 205
written by LoveCR2 -- 2005
edited by All-About-AAE -- 2019
"Regardless of what happens tomorrow, I'll remember this moment and cherish it forever." -- Jin Sun-Mi
ON RIVER STATION, JAMWON HANGANG PARK, GANGNAM ...
"Jin Sun-Mi? Follow me, Sir..."
The dining room Captain leads him across the crowded deck, but Hyung-Chul would have needed no assistance. He instantly spots the woman seated alone at the center table by the railing, dressed in a soft lilac, one-shoulder Michelle Mason cocktail frock, embellished with shimmery sprays of tiny crystals and sequins and decorated with a bias ruffle detail across the front.
"Thank you," he tells the Captain, releasing the man to go back to his station, and saunters the remaining distance to the table alone.
Sun-Mi's attention had been captured by the Han River waterscape surrounding the floating restaurant, but she turns to greet Hyung-Chul as he approaches, removing her black-framed Giorgio Armani cat-eye sunglasses -- worn, he surmises, to deter being recognized as much as to suppress the glare of the late afternoon sun.
She looks up at him with an impish glint in her eyes and a simple greeting, "Senior..."
"Sun-Mi, you look amazing," Hyung-Chul delivers the compliment as he slips onto the chair opposite her.
"You're quite dapper, yourself, Chairman," she returns the compliment along with recognition of his new position, remarking on his handsome presence in a solid charcoal gray Tom Ford suit, striped blue and gray silk tie, and polished black Versace cap toe derbies.
"It's like a spy movie..." he jokingly riffs on her similar remark about the efforts they'd once taken to avoid being seen together when they'd first dated, and she was an aspiring rookie announcer susceptible to the threat of rumors derailing her career. "Why the intrigue? You could've just called me directly."
"Like I said, I'm a coward. I wasn't sure you'd even talk to me," Sun-Mi answers, belying the excuse as her dark eyes and rose-tinted lips curve into a brilliant smile that out-glitters her dangling diamond earrings and solitaire square-cut pendant ...
... jewelry gifted to her by Michael Atwater ...Hyung-Chul notes to himself with a twinge of jealousy that she'd chosen to wear another man's gifts on this special day, even as he admires how the sparkly baubles draw attention to and compliment her appearance...
Yet despite his surge of envy, and the note of melancholy it leaves with him, just the chance to be with Sun-Mi after days of agonizing that he'd never see her again, cheers Hyung-Chul's heart...
... like the maintenance man had claimed, regardless of his mood, he can't see Sun-Mi without smiling, too ...
"I wasn't sure you wanted to talk with me again, either," he expresses a similar concern.
"But despite our qualms, it turns out that 'everyone' is here," she happily refers back to her text message...
Meanwhile, looking over her shoulder, Hyung-Chul notices, three tables away, a familiar face discretely glancing their way.
"Since when did 'everyone' include Ha Jin-Woo?" he grumbles sullenly, unhappy that his anticipated moment alone with Sun-Mi is unexpectedly being intruded by a potential rival.
"I could hardly ask Jin-Woo to stay outside, while we ate," Sun-Mi replies innocently.
Her reply doesn't sooth his pique...
"But, what is that guy even doing here?" he grouses, still irritated at sharing the space with a competitor.
Sun-Mi smiles at this fit of jealousy, explaining, "After I returned my company car, it didn't make sense to acquire my own for so brief a period, so Jin-Woo volunteered his, as long as he did the driving."
The picture he'd snapped of Jin-Woo bearing the imprint of Sun-Mi's lips on his cheek, flares up in his mind, and Hyung-Chul wants to ask facetiously ... is it only driving that he wants to do for you? ... but he restrains the urge for a more essential question...
"Before we go further, I'd like to clarify something," he raises the matter most on his mind, "What exactly happened after you brought me back to my villa that night?"
"You don't remember?" she queries first before saying anything, to test what he already knows. "Nothing at all?"
"Just bits and pieces, mixed together like the remnants of a dream," he mentions the jumble of sketchy memories he retained.
"Oh? So it's not clear then?" she probes.
"Some parts are vague, but others quite vivid..." he replies nebulously, hoping to prompt her to fill in the gaps.
But Sun-Mi doesn't want to go back there...
"You asked me to stay the night and take care of you," she states truthfully, "So I did as I thought best..."
She pauses and averts her eyes from his... "and I apologize again for acting so shamefully," she repeats her regrets, "but at that moment, I didn't know if I could say what I needed to..."
When she looks back at him, the expression in Sun-Mi's eyes tells Hyung-Chul that there is more she's not revealing, while sending the warning that it's pointless for him to pry further...
"You did nothing to apologize for," he downplays the matter, though frustrated she hadn't been more forthcoming. "I'm just thankful to be here with you today."
In the west, a glorious sunset is painting the cerulean sky with a wash of yellow-orange-red, gilding the edges of wispy clouds, and casting a lush glow over the al fresco dining space. A steady breeze, moving unencumbered over the wide river, gives welcome relief from the late June afternoon's sultry heat.
The string quartet coming off their break tunes up quickly, then opens the set with a mellow instrumental cover of James Taylor's 1960's ballad 'You've Got a Friend'.
As if on cue, the wait staff arrive with an ice bucket on a stand holding a bottle of champagne and a small white-frosted birthday cake decorated with lit candles, two tall and seven short.
With the lighted dessert between them, they listen to the melody of the song which Sun-Mi had often played on her radio program, recalling the familiar, meaningful lyrics...
Close your eyes and think of me ...
And soon I will be there ...
To brighten up even your darkest night ...
You just call out my name ...
And, you know, wherever I am ...
I'll come running (Oh yeah, baby) ...
To see you again ...
Winter, spring, summer or fall ...
All you've got to do is call ...
And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah ...
You've got a friend ...
"This is all so nice, isn't it? Gorgeous sunset, golden clouds, cool breezes, music, champagne, and cake... and good friends, too," Sun-Mi expresses her gratefulness. "Senior, I'm glad that you're here to share this day with me."
"My hope is that I'll be able to share every birthday with you," he suggests the possibility.
... 'After 1 year, 2 years, 10 years, 20 years, I want to be there for your birthdays' ... his desire echoes in their memories...
"We'll have to see about that," she offers no hope to him. "But regardless of what happens tomorrow, I'll remember this moment and cherish it forever," she vows solemnly.
Disappointed, rather than dwell on the uncertain future, Hyung-Chul instead chooses to move on with the present...
"Come, make a wish," he urges.
After a few seconds of thought, with a puff of breath Sun-Mi blows out the candles.
Hyung-Chul queries, "What did you wish for?"
If I tell, then it won't come true," she keeps her secret close.
"Can I guess?"
"If you want," she teases mischievously, "but I still won't tell..."
"How about ... a gift?" he conjectures, watching for a sign that he'd hit home..
Her eyes sparkle with curiosity... "Ummm... what could it be?"
Hyung-Chul passes a wrapped jeweler's box across the table. Sun-Mi looks down at the box but doesn't move to take it, assuming his intentions...
Hyung-Chul leans forward, grasps her hand in his, and turns it palm up. Then he picks up the box, and places it onto her open palm.
"It's not a ring, if that's what is holding you back," he tells her, insisting, "Go on... open it."
Sun-Mi smiles sheepishly ... is she that transparent? ...
Removing the top, inside she finds the anklet he'd gifted to her two years before. She takes it out, gazing at it fondly, remembering...
... 'Your pearl is from the bottom of the ocean and this is from outer space. But they're together now ... If you give it to your sweet-heart, the two of you can meet in the next life. Let's see each other in the next life' ...
"I had it repaired, for you to wear again," Hyung-Chul explains. "May I?"
Blinking back sudden tears, Sun-Mi nods.
He takes the anklet from her hand and stands up from his chair, circling the table. As he goes down on one knee in front of Sun-Mi, diners at the nearby tables turn to watch, anticipating a marriage proposal...
"Senior!" Sun-Mi whispers, suddenly self-conscious. "People are watching!"
"Good!" he replies with a rakish wink, ignoring her protest.
With the quartet's music for accompaniment, he makes a show of fastening the silver wire around her right ankle, just above the strap of her metallic silver Rene Caovilla crystal-embellished slingback sandal, and turning it so the pearl and peridot stones face forward.
"Whatever happens in this life, let's see each other in the next," he restates his former hope, "to forever share our lives together."
"Senior..." Sun-Mi murmurs as tears roll in her eyes.
Hyung-Chul stands up and retakes his seat. Their curiosity disappointed, the other diners return to their own interests.
He gives his white, monogrammed handkerchief to Sun-Mi. She wipes her eyes dry while he pops the cork on the champagne bottle and pours the 1999 DEUTZ Amour de Deutz liberally...
The quartet enters the final stanza of the song. Raising her flute, Sun-Mi's thoughts follow the melody with the poetic words from her memory as she considers a toast...
Winter, spring, summer or fall ...
All you've got to do is call ...
Lord I'll be there, yes I will ...
You've got a friend ...
Ain't it good to know, you've got a friend? ...
"To friendship," she states in keeping with the mood of her thoughts.
Their eyes meet as the flutes connect with the resonating ring of crystal...
Hyung-Chul in turn toasts, "To friendship, and to better days... Happy birthday, Sun-Mi."