AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart
Chapter 244
written by LoveCR2 -- 2005
edited by All-About-AAE -- 2019
'Do dreams foretell the future, or are they just the wishes of the heart?' -- Jin Sun-Mi
APGUJEONG-RO, CHEONGDAM-DONG ...
"I have something to say to you, too ... I hope they're the same thing ..."
Hearing Hyung-Chul's reply, Sun-Mi's heart leaps...
Ahead of her, the traffic light cycles to yellow, then red. She brakes the SUV, coming to a halt at the crosswalk.
The WALK signal flashes, but she doesn't notice, gripping the wheel tightly, staring down at the white stripes, her mind racing with expectations ...
"Can we meet somewhere?" she asks excitedly, "Where are you?"
"Right here," he states succinctly.
"Where?"
"Look to your left ... I'm hanging up now."
The call cuts off, leaving Sun-Mi puzzled.
Then she looks left, as instructed...
In the curb lane across the street, a black BMW slows to a stop, its emergency flashers coming on.
"Senior?" she gasps with surprise, realizing joyfully that as they'd talked, he had been coming back for her, too ...
The driver's door opens and Hyung-Chul appears...
"Sun-Mi!" he calls out loudly, waving to get her attention.
In a daze, fighting back sudden tears, she methodically puts the SUV in Park, turns on the flashers, unfastens her seatbelt, opens the door, and gets down -- her entire body abuzz with anticipation -- as she steps into the pedestrian crossing to wait.
Watching Hyung-Chul start off at a jog, approaching as if in slow motion, Sun-Mi has a strong feeling of deja vue ...
Then it dawns on her ... This is the same place where, in a vividly real dream, Hyung-Chul had proposed on the eve of her departure to London ...
They had been here once before -- like in the dream, she'd hoped -- but reality had dashed those hopes, and she had instead gone on to London, to follow a different dream ...
Now Fate may be giving them another chance, with a twist ... he is the one going to London, while she is staying behind ...
Sun-Mi closes her eyes, revisiting the memory, as clear now as on the morning when she awoke, wondering if it had really happened -- hearing again the words that still make her heart melt ...
... 'Don't go... marry me... Sun-Mi, I love you' ...
But while her heart has hope, her mind has doubts ...
... 'You and I keep going round in circles, like we're stuck on a merry-go-round that never stops' ...
They had met before like this, in other places, too, and then gone on their separate ways, with only their parting words to hold on to...
... at the Pont des Arts, over the Seine ... 'Don't look back, only to the future... have no regrets ... That way, we can both be happy' ...
... at the South Bank of the Thames ... 'Don't be sorry. Everything happens for a reason ... even the scars have meaning' ...
... at the orphanage, by the lake ... 'This is our fate. So let's both accept it, and find a way to be happy' ...
... at ON River Station, beside the Han River ... 'Moving on doesn't mean forgetting, or regretting... Because it's you' ...
Why should she believe that the past won't repeat itself, that this time will be different? Hadn't she claimed they weren't suitable for each other? Declared that even Fate was against them?
... 'My life is one of dreams, Senior, while yours is one of realities ... like a meteorite from the heavens and a pearl from the sea ... being so different, can we ever truly know the other's heart and mind, and remain together?' ...
... 'Although Fate may have made us for each other, Senior, it also ordained that we'd never be together' ...
... 'You have a new life to make, Senior, and I'd only be in the way. I have a new life now ... a chance to find my own happiness' ...
Why risk the pain and heartache again? Hasn't she suffered enough?
Then, from the deepest well of her heart, another voice quells the raucous debate in her head ...
... 'Why do I never give up? ... Because I'm an idiot who still believes in True Love ... a real idiot' ...
Sun-Mi opens her eyes. Through a haze of tears, she can see Hyung-Chul is just a few steps away.
She smiles at him, confidently now, her heart and mind in agreement.
When he sees her smile, he slows to a walk, smiling back.
The crossing timer counts down the remaining seconds ... In a moment he'll be standing in front of her. They will say what they came to say ... and then ...
Before the traffic light changes again, Sun-Mi will have the answer to her question ...
... 'Do dreams foretell the future, or are they just the wishes of the heart?' ...