Finding A Bridge: My Name Is Kim Sam Soon sequel

Disclaimer: I do not own My Name Is Kim Sam Soon nor am I affilated with the show in any way. I do not own any of the canon characters in this story.

Note: This story was completed in July 2006 but the dates have been changed for scrolling purposes.

I feel so guilty.

Yes, Dad, I feel guilty.

How sad is it that I don’t think of you as often as I used to?

I don’t think that I miss you less and I am sure I don’t love you less but I hate that I think of you less. Does that make any sense?

Is this what loving someone means? Does it mean I need you less? That I can’t be Daddy’s little girl anymore? That I don’t need you to feel safe anymore?

But I am happy, Dad. I am very happy. And I know that you’re happy for me. And that makes me even happier.

But yet I am sad. Because I get to see you less. And then I am I glad. Because I get to see him more. Am I crazy?

I really love him Daddy. Really! Like really, really, really! I just thought I’d throw that in.

And I love you too, so I hope you understand.



"You! Wake up,” Sam Soon said, shaking Jin Hun.

“Hey, leave me alone. You barely let me sleep last night,” he grumbled.

“And yet, I am up. Get up. The boss can’t keep getting late to work, you know.”

“I’m not the boss – only the boss’s son.”

“Excuse, excuses,” she teased. “Honey, it’s time to wake up,” she cooed, caressing his arm.

He groaned. “You keep doing that and you’re going to have to get in here with me,” he warned.
She smiled, getting off his bed.

---

In a bathrobe with his hair still wet, Jin Hun walked into the kitchen to see Sam Soon sitting at the island, drinking coffee. “So what’s for breakfast?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes. “You tell me.”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t that how you got me to spend an extra night? You promised to make me breakfast. If I’d gone home, do you think I’d be trying to fill my belly with coffee?”

Jin Hun walked past her and headed for the fridge. “Again, if you’d let me sleep, I’d have woken up earlier.”

She rolled her eyes. “So where’s my breakfast? And I don’t want leftovers.”

He gave her a sidelong glance. “Tomorrow?”

She looked up at him. “Huh?”

He smiled. “Spend one more night and I promise to make something for you tomorrow.”

She frowned at him, picked up her phone then dialed a number. “Hey Unnie, do you have any breakfast over there? What?” She slid off the stool. “We aren’t opening till 1 today, right? So I am not late. Relax, I’ll be there,” she said as she walked into the bedroom.

A few minutes later, she emerged with her overnight bag.

“Why are you taking that with you?” he asked, pointing at the bag. “What about breakfast?”

Sam Soon stood and leaned on one leg. “How long have you known me?”

“A little over two years…?” he asked, slightly confused.

“And do you think I am stupid?” she continued as she resumed walking to the door.

“What are you talking about now?” He followed her.

“Do you think I am going to fall for that breakfast line again?”

“You fell for it yesterday,” he said, laughing.

She turned around. “No, Honey, I didn’t fall for it – I wanted to stay. But I am sure my mother misses me. I want to go home today. Is that okay, Sam Shik?” she asked, as she reached for his face.

“Do I have a choice?” He was sulking.

“No,” she said then kissed him. “Talk to you later.”

***
2 years later...

“Unnie,” Sam Soon called as she mixed up some batter. “How do you break up with someone you love?”

2

“What do you mean, ‘break up?’” Yi Young asked from behind the computer.

“How many definitions do you know of?”

“I see.”

“What do you see?” Sam Soon asked.

“You really don’t want my help, right? 'Cos if you did, you wouldn’t be so rude, don’t you think?”

“Whatever.”

“So who are you trying to break up with?”

Sam Soon shook her head. “Who else?”

Still typing, her sister replied, “I know it can’t be Sam Shik so I honestly don’t know.”


“Unnie, I am serious.”
Yi Young stopped typing and turned to her. “Are we going back to this again?”

“Listen. I am 34 years old and I am not getting any closer to getting married. No matter how nice I am, his mother hates me and she isn’t going to change her mind.”

“So after all these years you are just going to give up?”

“Are you listening to me? I am 34 years old! Never married. No kids!”

“I don’t have any children either,” her sister pointed out.

“But by this time next month, you’d be on marriage number 2. And maybe this time next year you’d already have a child and I’ll still be here waiting for a miracle.”

Yi Young sighed. “Have you spoken to Sam Shik about this?” She got up and walked over to her sister.

“What do you think?”

“Well, if you’re sure you want to break up, I am sure the man on Table 7 will gladly take his place,” her sister teased.

Sam Soon rolled her eyes. “Is Mr. Lee here again?”

“What do you think? In the past year has your favorite customer failed to show up on any Monday, Wednesday or Friday?”

Sam Soon giggled. “Well, there’s always a first time.”

Yi Young stood next to her sister and stared at Mr. Lee from behind the counter. “He really isn’t bad looking for a man his age, you know…,” she said, stroking her chin. “In fact,” she reached for her sister’s phone that was laying on the counter. “Why don’t you call Sam Shik right now and break up with him? And while you do that, I’ll go and get Mr. Lee. What do you say?”

Sam Soon rolled her eyes but didn’t respond.

***
“Aunty! Aunty!” Mi Joo screamed as she ran into the store. Jin Hun walked in a few seconds later.

“What?” Sam Soon asked, coming out from behind the counter.

“Uncle says I can’t have any pastries today!”

Sam Soon hugged her. “Why would he say a ridiculous thing like that? I already have a piece of strawberry shortcake waiting for you.”

“That’s what I told him but he said I am getting fat.”

Sam Soon stepped back and made a huge show of looking her over. “I don’t see it. You are beautiful.”

“Aunty, I don’t even care if I get fat. I don’t mind being like you.”

Sam Soon burst out laughing. She turned to Jin Hun. “What have you been telling her?” she asked in a low voice, pulling him aside.

“Hey,” he said sheepishly. “I care about her health.”

“So are you saying that I am not healthy?”

“This is not about you. It’s about her.”

“But it’s about me too, since I am fat and you don’t want her to be. So are you saying that I am not healthy?”

“I like you the way you are.”

“But you don’t want her to be like me,” she said, trying her best to hide a smile. Sometimes, arguing with him was so much fun. And at that moment, looking into his eyes, she wondered how she could have even considered ending things with him.

“But Sam Soon, she’s not you,” he said earnestly. “I like her the way she is. Is that wrong?”

“But you think that if she gains weight she won’t be healthy. So do you think I am unhealthy?”

He groaned. “Listen, Soonie, I don’t want to fight.”

She chuckled. “Alright, just say you love me and I’ll forgive you.”

“What did I do wrong? Why should I be forgiven?”

“Just say you love me and I will forget that you called me unhealthy.” She ran her fingers on his left cheek.

“Just know that I am not saying this because I admit to any wrongdoing. I am saying it because it’s true.”

She put her hand down and stared at him for a few seconds. “I am waiting.”

He rolled his eyes then kissed her on the side of her mouth. “I love you,” he grumbled. “Happy now?”

Taking his arm, she pulled him back to Mi Joo. “Honey, Uncle and I had a talk and I think he’s right. How about you only have pastries about once a week? It’s really not healthy to eat so much sweet food.”


***
Later that evening…

“So you’re saying you’re not coming over tonight?” Jin Hun asked as they waited for the waitress to return with his credit card.

“Why would I? Do I live there?”

Jin Hun reached over and took her hand. “But my apartment misses you when you’re gone.”
“Really? Well, you know what to do to get me there permanently.”

He took his hand back and turned away.

“Cat caught your tongue?” she asked, standing up.

“Listen, Soonie.” He grabbed hand. “We just need to be patient.”

“Really?” She slapped his hand off. “How long are we waiting for, Jin Hun? Are we waiting till your mother dies? Because she’s as strong as an ox and I really don’t want to wait till I’m 70 to get married!” Without another glance, she turned around and walked out of the restaurant.

3

Jin Hun ran after her and caught her at the door. “Where do you think you are going?”

She turned around and eyed him up and down. “I know you aren’t trying that shit now.” She stepped out of the restaurant and started walking towards the bus stop.

Jin Hun looked at her and then back at the restaurant. “Where’s the freaking waitress!” he shouted at no one in particular. Just as he was deciding to leave his credit card behind, he heard the waitress call to him.

Shortly after, he caught up with Sam Soon and grabbed her hand. “Where are you going to? My car is in the parking lot.”

“So what?”

“So let’s go,” he said, pulling her.

“Let go of my hand.” She stopped and looked at him. “Listen, just let go of my hand. I don’t want a ride. I want to take the bus.”

He sighed. “Then I’ll take the bus with you.”

Not saying anything, Sam Soon turned back around and started walking.

Jin Hun hated feeling so helpless. Of course he wanted to marry Sam Soon. In fact, when he thought about it, even though he didn’t know it at the time, he felt that he wanted to marry her the day he heard her crying in the men’s bathroom. And if he could control his mother, he would make her accept Sam Soon. But he couldn’t. Even though Sam Soon said he was imagining things, he knew his mother was starting to come around. Even though she acted like she wasn’t affected, he could tell that she was starting to like her… well, he hoped she was.

He’d toyed around with just having a court wedding without her consent but he couldn’t do that to her. He was her only living son and he didn’t think he could break her heart that way. Even though he missed the restaurant, he’d returned to the hotel to please her and discovered that he really loved working there. He’d hoped that it would soften her heart but it was almost four years and nothing had changed. It was frustrating but there was nothing he could do about it.

When they arrived at the bus stop, they stood in silence for a few minutes.

“So do you think the buses are still running?” he asked her. When she didn’t reply he said, “Because if they aren’t, I think it would be better for me to take my car – that way, I can drop you off right at your door.”
When she still didn’t respond, he said, “I wonder if this is a good neighborhood. If I come back here tomorrow, do you think my car would still be here? I hope it doesn’t get stolen.”

“So why don’t you just go back?” she asked.

“Because I can’t leave you when you’re like this.”

She glanced at him. “I’m a big girl – I can take care of myself.”

“So?”
She looked back and stared at him.

“What?” he asked.

She sighed. “You know what? Let’s just go back. Can you drop me off at my] home?” she asked far too politely.

Jin Hun pretended that didn’t sting and nodded.

***
They’d driven in silence for about ten minutes when Sam Soon said, “You do realize that nothing’s going to change, right?”

“What do you mean?” Jin Hun asked reluctantly.

“Your mother hates me.”

“No, she doesn’t. And no, I am not waiting for her to die. I can’t believe you said that.”

Sam Soon didn’t respond. She knew it was a lousy thing to say but deep down inside, she really didn’t see any other way.

“Don’t worry, Soonie, things will change.”

“Yeah, right. You are never going to stand up to her. She’s never going to change her mind. And we are always going to be like this.”

“Stop saying that.”

“It’s true. Speaking of which… do you know who I ran into the other day?”

“Who?”

“Remember that nice man I was match made with? The one I went out with a few times?”
He grunted. “Yes. And?”

“I saw him at the mall with his wife and son– he looked about 2 years old. They seemed very happy.”

“So?”

“I’m just saying.”

“What are you saying?”

“You know…”

“What?”

“I don’t know…,” she started in a small voice, “that could have been me.”

Jin Hun slapped the dashboard, took a sharp right then pulled over.

“Are you crazy? Are you trying to kill us?” Sam Soon yelled as she slapped his shoulder.

“No, I think that’s what you’re trying to do. What do you mean, “That could have been you?” What is that supposed to mean? Tell me!”

Sam Soon turned away from him and looked out of the window. “Calm down for goodness sake.”

“How do you expect me to be calm when you say something like that? Look at me when I am talking to you!”

She spun around to face him. “You’d better stop yelling at me! And I am just being honest. Things would have been easier if things were different. I mean… I am sick of this.”

“Are things so bad with me?” His voice was shaking.

“Listen,” she could feel her eyes getting wet, “you know I love you. But I am just so tired.” She felt a tear fall down her right cheek. “I used to think that loving you would be enough, but I really don’t think it is.”

Jin Hun looked away from her and just stared at the stirring wheel.

“Are you still taking me home or should I get out and walk?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he replied then started the car.

When they finally pulled in front of her house, he said, “Are you still coming over tomorrow?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Sam Soon said as she opened the car door. “Mi Joo expects me, doesn’t she?”

4

It was 12:15pm and Jin Hun had been calling Sam Soon’s phone for almost two hours with no response. Fighting with her was hardly uncommon but last night’s fight just seemed different. He’d barely slept and almost felt like his life was a scratched CD because all he could hear was Sam Soon’s voice saying, “I used to think that loving you would be enough, but I really don’t think it is,” over and over.

What was that supposed to mean? She wasn’t giving up on them, was she? Not that he would even let that happen. But the thought of her feeling so miserable with him literally turned his stomach. He had been unable to keep any of his breakfast down and he just hoped that she’d show up smiling, kiss him and everything will be fine. But the fact that she hadn’t taken any of his calls and there were only 5 minutes left before she was officially very late scared him shitless. He really didn’t know what he would do if she walked out of his life.

“Have you finally ended it with her?” He heard his mother say from behind him.

“What?” He glanced at her.

“You and Sam Soon. She’s not here. Have you finally ended it with her?” his mother said right before she sat on the couch.

He turned around to face her. “No. Why would I do that?”

She scoffed. “How old is she now? Thirty-eight?”

He rolled his eyes. “She’s thirty-four.”

His mother shrugged. “What difference does that make? She’s still too old.”

“I’m thirty-one.”

“Exactly. Now is the time for you to seriously start looking for a suitable wife.”

He folded his arms. “Why would I look for something I have already found?”

His mother shook her head with mock pity. “Hasn’t this gone on long enough? You actually think I will ever let Sam Soon bear a son for this family?”

“Wh-Wh-What?”

“Do you honestly think she can raise the kind of son this family needs? Listen, do yourself a favor and break up with her because I am never going to accept her, okay? I thought that was quite clear but apparently I was wrong.”

“Mo--”

“Good afternoon, Mother,” Sam Soon’s voice interrupted him.

Jin Hun turned sharply around to look at her. There were beads of sweat on her forehead.

“I’m so sorry I am late,” she continued as she tried to catch her breath. “I took the train to get here faster but they started having signal problems. I’m sorry about that. I brought a few things from the shop,” she said, holding up the bag. “I’ll take them to the kitchen,” she finished, smiling.

Jin Hun studied her face to try to figure out if she’d overhead anything. He followed her. “How did you get in?”

Sam Soon looked at him suspiciously. “Didn’t you ask me to come? I should have waited outside?”

“No, that’s not what I meant... I was just wondering… you know, I mean like… since I didn’t hear the doorbell.”

She searched his eyes. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, yes,” he said dismissively. He tried his best to appear cool. “Was the door open?”

She looked back at the bag she brought with her. “I think Mi Joo was waiting for me because she opened the door before I could ring the bell.”

“Ah… I see,” he said, finally exhaling. “So why didn’t you answer your phone? You know I hate it when you don’t answer it.”

“Look, I’ve had a bad day, okay? I’m really not in the mood for this. I forgot my phone at home. I am sorry I didn’t call you to tell you I was running late. I didn’t realize I didn’t have it on me till I got on the train.”

“Okay. That’s fine… I’d thought… because you… yesterday… but yeah, it’s not a big deal.”

Sam Soon looked up at him. “Are you sure everything is alright?”

“Yes,” he replied, hoping his smile reached his eyes. “It is now that you’re here.”

“Good. Since I am here to celebrate Mi Joo’s birthday, could you scram so that I can get to work? I am sure there are quite a few things to do before her friends start arriving so… buh-bye!”


***

After the party, Sam Soon was helping to clear the kitchen when Jin Hun’s mother walked into the kitchen and signaled at the maid to leave.

“You need to stop bringing all these things around here,” she said when they were alone.

“What, Mother?” she asked cheerily.

“All these cookies and cakes. Maybe you’re not paying attention but Mi Joo has started to gain weight and it’s because you bring so much food with you.”

“But Mother, I only brought this much for the party.”

“So what?” She shook her head. “I don’t like the kind of influence you are having on my granddaughter. There are no fat people in my family and none on Jin Hun’s father’s side so I know it’s not genetic. Maybe you think it’s okay to be fat, but I don’t think so.”

“Mo—”

“Just stop it, okay?”

Not knowing what else to do, Sam Soon nodded.

“And you really don’t need to come around so much – it confuses things.”

Sam Soon’s eyes grew to the size saucers. In all the years she'd interracted with Jin Hun's mother, she'd never spoken to her in such a manner. “Pardon?”

“For example, you really didn’t need to come here today.”

Sam Soon struggled to keep the smile on her face. “But Mother, I came because it’s Mi Joo’s birthday.”

“I understand that but we could have done well without you. Don’t you think?”

Sam Soon lowered her eyes. “Yes, Mother.”

“And one more thing… don’t you think it’s time for you release Jin Hun?”

She'd mentally prepared herself for a confrontation like this but apparently, she hadn't prepared enough. “P-P-Pardon?”

“Look, I think you are a nice woman --I really do. But you are not right for my son. Jin Hun is sentimental and I can see that he won’t be the one to let you go, so you are going to have to do it. I know you say you love him, but I am sure you can love someone who is more suited for you. Wouldn’t it be better that way? And that way, everyone will be happy. The woman who marries my son is going to have to help him take over this hotel one day and I don’t think you can do it. It’s nothing against you, okay? So just let him go so that we can all move on with our lives.”

5

“Why are you so quiet?” Jin Hun asked on the drive to Sam Soon’s place.

“Do I always have to talk?” she said without looking at him.

Jin Hun sighed. It was turning out to be weirdest day in the history of their relationship. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

She scowled at him. “If I say ‘no’, what will you do?”

Jin Hun was silent for a minute as he tried to ignore the pound in his chest. Earlier on, he’d thought she didn’t overhear his mother but now he wasn’t so sure. “Tell me what the matter is.”

She just looked at him.

“Come on, tell me. How can we deal with this if you don’t tell me?”

“What if it’s not your problem?”

“If it’s your problem, it’s mine, too. I thought that was pretty obvious.”

She snickered. “Yeah right.”

“Did something happen?” Tell me you didn’t hear anything, please say you didn’t hear anything, he thought.

Sam Soon rested her elbows on her lap and put her head in her palms. “I’m just tired. Can you just drive?”

“Okay.” Jin Hun looked at her- her back sunken in as if in surrender- and just wanted to reach out and touch her. But in the few years they’d been together, he understood that there were some times she just needed some space. But lately, he’d begun to fear that she’d need so much space that she wouldn’t want to be with him anymore.

About ten minutes later, with her head leaning against the window, Sam Soon started, “Your mother…”

Jin Hun’s felt a lump in his throat. “What about her…?”

She let out a short laugh. “She…wow… she… ”

“She... what?”

“Ah… forget it.”

“No, I am not going to forget it. Just say it.” He put his foot on the brake and started to slow down.

“Hey, don’t pullover. I was just going to say that she looked nice.”

“Do you think I am stupid? Why are you lying?”

“Are you deaf? Don’t pullover! We are almost at my place.”

Jin Hun complied and kept driving. “Did you hear my Mom say anything?” he asked in the calmest of voices.

“No. Just drop it.” She reached for the radio dial. “I wonder what’s on the FM station now.”


***
“Thanks for the ride,” Sam Soon said as she stepped out of Jin Hun’s car. She’d wanted to tell him everything his mother had said, but wouldn’t that have been like admitting defeat? She’d unequivocally been told that she would never marry him but she was scared that vocalizing it would only make it true. Maybe after a good night’s rest, she’d be able to collect her thoughts.

Jin Hun stepped out of the car.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

He rolled his eyes. “Can’t I give my girlfriend a hug and kiss?”

She shook her head and smiled. She’d have a good night’s rest and figure out what to do the next day, so surely, a hug couldn’t hurt, right?

She watched him walk over from his side of the car and let herself feel his warm embrace. She nestled her head in his chest and allowed herself to drink in his scent. Was she really supposed to just give all this up? He was whispering something to her but she wasn’t paying attention –all she wanted to do was enjoy the feel of his breath on her nape.

He stepped back a little, and with one hand now resting on her hand, he used the other to lift her chin to make her look into his eyes. “You’re going to tell me what’s bothering you tomorrow. Okay?”

She chuckled. “Whatever.”

“I’m serious,” he said, sounding it.

After kissing her in such a way that would only make it more difficult for her to fall asleep later that night, he got back into his car and drove off.

Still smiling, Sam Soon walked into her living room to see it filled with all sorts of shopping bags and boxes.

“Hey, Sam Soon,” her mother said, gesturing for her to join her and Yi Young. “Come and see your sister’s dowry. Doesn’t everything look great?”

And just like that, her mood was killed.


***
Mi Joo grinned as she walked out of her school compound.

“Hey!” Sam Soon hugged her. Was it her imagination or had Mi Joo actually gained some weight? Either way, she was going to make sure she stopped getting blamed for it. She patted Mi Joo’s face. “How was school?”

“Fine. Oh, I am hungry,” she said, rubbing her belly. “I can’t wait till we get to your shop – I am going to eat so much.”

Sam Soon shook her head. “Well, you are going to have to wait because we are walking today.”

Mi Joo’s face fell. “Walking?”

Sam Soon nodded.

“The whole way?”

Sam Soon nodded again.

Mi Joo groaned. “Why? My legs are going to ache me.”

Sam Soon took her arm. “Don’t worry; I’ll massage them for you.”


***
“Where are you? Mi Joo needs to go home,” Sam Soon said into the phone.

“Yeah, that’s what I am calling about,” Jin Hun replied.

“So hurry up,” she said as she walked further behind the counter. “Come and take her. She’s hungry.”

“Is this some kind of joke? Don’t you have food over there?”

“Look, I’ve given her some fruit but she needs to go home for dinner.”

“Then give her something else. Anyway, something came up and I won’t be able to leave here till really late.” He sounded frustrated.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine – I’ll tell you all about it later. But could you take her home?”

“Ehm… why?” She’d decided not to tell him about her conversation with his mother but she was also trying to abide by her wishes. She was sure that seeing her there would only serve to further anger his mother.

“I just told you. I won’t be able to leave here till late.”

“Can’t you get your mother’s chauffeur to come and pick her?”

“No. Just do this for me, okay? I’ve been thinking about what you said and I think we need to show how important you are to the family.”

What more could she show? “Has your mother said anything to you?”

He hesitated. “No. I just think it’s time we show them what you mean to us.”

“Whatever.” She paused. “Is there really an emergency at the hotel?”

“What? Of course there is! You think I made this up?”

“I don’t know. You want to show that I am a good unpaid nanny, right?”

“Stop that. So will you please take her home?”

Sam Soon found herself agreeing to it. And when she dropped Mi Joo off, she was very relieved to discover that her grandmother wasn’t home.


***
Three Months Later

“Don’t you think the teacher sounds funny?” Sam Soon asked her classmate.

He laughed. “Doesn’t English always sound funny?”

She chuckled. “Yes, but he sounds worse. I think he doesn’t know what he’s teaching us. I’m sure they wouldn’t understand him in England.”

They were still laughing when she heard someone call her name. She turned around to see who it was.

“Mr. Lee.” It was odd seeing him outside of her shop. In fact, he looked different… less like a customer.

Her classmate excused himself and left them alone.

“What are you doing here?” she continued.

He smiled at her. “I am taking the Advanced English class,” he said, pointing at an emptying classroom.

“Cool. I’m taking the Level 2 class,” she replied, pointing at hers. “Why are you taking such a hard class?”

“My parents just moved to America so I’m just brushing up on my English for when I visit them.”

“I see.” They stood in awkward silence for a moment. “That’s great.”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Ehm… Miss Kim, you look really nice today.”

6

Jin Hun,” his mother said, walking into his office. “Let’s go out for lunch.”

He looked up from his computer. “I’m really busy today – I’m going to have something delivered.”

His mother stepped aside and let Eunsoo walk in. She was about 5’5, petite in build with long, dark hair that fell to the middle of her back. Her parents were long time family friends who owned a successful chain of clothing stores. When Jin Hun saw her on her first day of work, he had to admit that she’d really blossomed over the course of her studies in New York.

“Eunsoo has completed a very successful month here. Let’s go out and celebrate,” his mother said in the cheery tone she used when speaking to both of them.

Jin Hun glared at his mother and she stared back.

“Boss, I think he’s really busy – we can go out later.” Eunsoo said, observing the interraction between them.

Breaking from Jin Hun’s gaze, his mother turned to Eunsoo. “Yes, that’s a good idea,” she said, nodding slowly, “he can take you to dinner tonight.”

“I’ll be busy tonight,” Jin Hun said before looking back at his computer. He was used to his mother setting him up on dates and trying to push numerous women on him but hiring Eunsoo really took the cake. He’d tried his best to play it cool and just ignore them but it was getting increasingly more difficult with his mother always hovering and making suggestions. But the worst part was he had to be cold to Eunsoo who really didn’t deserve it especially as he’d realized that she was actually a smart girl who just got caught in their parents’ scheming. And it didn’t help that she was also generally pleasant… something that Sam Soon hadn’t been in the last couple of weeks.

“Oppa, don’t worry, we can reschedule. I still have to pick your brain about your experiences running your own restaurant.” She was smiling like she was oblivious to his rejection.

“Look at her – she’s always willing to learn new things,” his mother said proudly. “Aren’t you glad we hired her?”

He glanced at Eunsoo who had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Sure, Mom,” he said.

“Good. So why don’t you kids get together for dinner tomorrow?”

Jin Hun rolled his eyes. “I’ll be busy then. Eunsoo, I’ll let you know when I’m free. Now I have to get back to work -enjoy your lunch.”


***
“So what’s the story with the ring?” Mr. Lee asked Sam Soon as they walked to his car.

“What do you mean?” Ever since their initial meeting, he’d been giving her a ride home after every English class. It had been awkward at first but she’d begun to enjoy his company. He was an architect who worked a few blocks away from her pastry shop and he always loved to rave about how much he enjoyed her desserts. His wife had died of breast cancer a few years earlier and now that his parents had moved, he was raising his daughter alone. She couldn’t really put her finger on the reasons, but their conversations usually left her with a smile on her face. It wasn’t that he said particularly insightful or humorous things but he seemed really kind and mature. And she appreciated being around someone like that.

“It’s just that ever since I met you, you’ve had that on your finger. Is that supposed to be some sort of deterrent to keep men away?”

She smiled sadly. “You could say that.”

Mr. Lee opened her door. “You have something against men? Or just relationships?”

“No and No. I have a boyfriend – it’s a couple ring.”

Mr. Lee didn’t look the least bit surprised. “I thought so. So how come you haven’t mentioned him?”

She shrugged.

“Is everything fine?”

“I guess so.”

“You guess so? Any plans to get married?” He started the car.

“I don’t know.”

He furrowed his brows. “Meaning?”

She sighed. “How about I start from the beginning?” she said right before she shared all the gory details with him. When she finished, she said, “So what do you think?”

“Well… can I be honest?” he asked, watching the road.

Sam Soon’s heart raced. How come those words were usually followed by unpleasant ones? She braced herself. “Of course.”

“And you wouldn’t be offended?”

“No.”

“Didn’t you say your sister also had a problem getting married because it was your brother-in-law’s first marriage and his parents didn’t want him marrying a divorcee?”

“Yes?”

“And they got married a few months ago?”

“Yes.”

“So there you have it.”

Sam Soon was confused. “Have what? Are you are saying that I should wait?”

He smiled. “I am not going to tell you what to do with your life but… let me put it this way: your sister’s husband put his foot down and now they are married. If your boyfriend wants to marry you, he’d make it clear to his family and they’d have no choice but to accept you. And as you can see from what happened with your sister, there’s really no reason it should take four years.”

7

“Hey, ready to go?” Mr. Lee said the moment Sam Soon walked out of her class.

“Oh,” she smiled at him, “you were waiting? I’m not going home right now.” She walked up to him.

“No? Where are you going?”

“Oh, it’s my Dad’s birthday so I am taking my mother to dinner.”

They started walking out of the building. “Ah… no wonder you looked a little dressed up.”

Sam Soon shrugged and looked down at her clothes. “You think this is fine?”

“Of course. Where are you going? Is it an expensive place?”

“Yeah… I’ve never been there before. My mom picked it and said I should dress nicely.” She rolled her eyes. “Parents…”


***

Sam Soon walked into the restaurant to see her mother sitting at the bar. “Omma, you should have gotten a table.”

“Oh,” her mother said, smiling widely at her, “how are you doing today, my dearest daughter? You look pretty.”

Sam Soon raised her brow. “Huh?”

Her mother’s smile was still unusually wide. “I’d like you to meet Mr. Ha Jin Mo.” She took her daughter’s hand and pulled her to the man sitting next to her.

Sam Soon waved at him unsurely. “Nice to meet you.”

“Your daughter is even more beautiful than you described,” he said.

Her mother looked at her. “Alright, Sam Soon, I will see you at home.” She got off the stool.
At that moment, a waitress approached to inform them that their table was ready. “After you, Sam Soon,” Mr. Ha said.

She laughed nervously. “Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll meet you in a minute.” She rushed after her mother who was already heading towards the door. “Omma,” she said when she caught up with her. “What’s going on?”

Her mother stopped and looked at her. “Mr. Ha is a nice man. Why don’t you have dinner with him?” she brushed off some lint from her daughter’s skirt.

Sam Soon couldn’t believe what was happening. “Omma, what’s this?”

“I just want you to see what else is out there. You think I want you living with me forever?” she said seriously.

Sam Soon sighed and looked away. Damn. Now even her mother was getting fed up.

“So don’t keep him waiting. Jin Mo has just come back from living in China for five years. I think you two might have some things in common – tell him about your stay in France.”


***

“I’ll just have the chicken salad.” Sam Soon returned the menu to the waitress.

“That’s all you’re eating?” Jin Mo asked.

Sam Soon nodded.

“Oh, now you are making me feel bad for ordering all that food.”

She chuckled. “No… don’t feel bad at all. The salad will fill me up.”

He nodded knowingly. “I understand – that’s how you keep such a fantastic figure.”

She just smiled. If someone had told her that losing 12kg would also mean that she’d get unwarranted comments from strange men, she might have thought twice about it. Unwarranted compliments and constant hunger. God, she was hungry! And now she had to watch this man devour all that food while she pretended to be satisfied by what wouldn’t even fill up a bird.

She could feel his gaze on her so she looked at him. “My mother says you were in China.”

“Yes, I was running a manufacturing plant.” He kept leering at her.

“Oh. Are you an engineer?”

“Yes. Wow, you have really pretty eyes… a beautiful nose and such nice skin. How come a woman that looks like you isn’t married?”

Sam soon sighed and pretended she couldn’t feel her skin crawl. Crap, it was going to be a long night. “Well…”


***
Sam Soon got into the elevator at Sam Shik’s hotel and pressed the button for his floor. She realized that her impatience was putting a strain on their relationship so she’d decided that she was going to make an effort to be a good girlfriend. After all, the point was to push him towards getting his mother to agree and not to push him away from her.

She got off the elevator and headed to his office, smiling at the employees she recognized.

“Is Mr. Hyun in?” she asked his secretary.

“Yes. But he’s in with Miss Park Eunsoo.”

“Ah… I’ll wait here then,” she said, putting the lunchbox on the coffee table. “Isn’t it lunch time?”

“Yes, but I think the meeting will soon be over.”

Sam Soon got comfortable on the couch. For some reason, hearing that girl’s name really irritated her. Maybe if she didn’t know that his mother wanted her as a daughter-in-law, she would like her. Or maybe if she didn’t hang around so god-damn much. Or… maybe, just maybe if she didn’t smile all the damn time. Yeah, and it wouldn’t hurt if she was a lot less pretty. She knew it was going to be hard to play ‘great girlfriend’ because could already feel her conviction slipping.

“Yes, Oppa, I will look over the figures again but I think I am right. We really need to look at this seriously,” Eunsoo said, stepping out of the office.

Sam Soon stood up.

“I will. But right now let’s just have--” Jin Hun stopped speaking when he saw Sam Soon. “Hold on for a second,” he said to Eunsoo. “Hey Sam Soon, what are you doing here?”

Sam Soon lifted the bag. “I brought lunch.”

Jin Hun looked apologetically at Eunsoo. “I’m sorry; it looks like I am going to have to take a rain check. How about tomorrow? We can look over the figures again.”

Eunsoo smiled. “It’s not a problem at all. Hello, Sam Soon unnie.”

Sam Soon smiled back at her then walked towards them. “Hi. I’m sorry about this. I will be sure not to show up tomorrow. Take care.”

Jin Hun walked in to the office with Sam Soon then shut the door behind him. He loosened his tie. “You could have pretended that you cared I previously had plans,” he joked.

But Sam Soon wasn’t having it. “Sorry?”

“You know, you were supposed to say, ‘Oh, you had lunch plans? I’m sorry. You guys should go, I’ll see you later.’ Then Eunsoo would have said, ‘No, don’t worry…’ blah blah. You get the drift.”

“Whatever,” Sam Soon said, unpacking the lunch. “I am not in the mood to play games.”

Jin Hun looked at the food. “You brought fruit salad? Good… I am in the mood for something refreshing.”

“It’s not for you.”

“You only brought lunch for yourself?”

“No, Silly. The fruit is for me – everything else is for you.”

Jin Hun sighed then plopped on the couch. “When are you going to stop all this nonsense? Or are you trying to become a skeleton?”

“Stop it – everyone likes my new figure.” She swayed her hips.

“Not everyone. Mi Joo now hates going over to your shop. She says all you do is make her exercise and never give her anything good to eat. You’ve become ridiculous.”

“I’m ridiculous?” She laughed sarcastically. “You know what’s ridiculous? The fact that I have to literally starve myself so that your mother can accept me!”

“God, we are back to your favorite topic again. I’m surprised that wasn’t the first thing out of your mouth. Instead of saying, ‘Hello,’ why don’t you just say, ‘Marriage’?” That way we don’t have to waste our time on the small talk!”

“Shut the hell up!”

“And don’t blame my mother –she never told you to lose weight!”

“Well, I have to stop giving her reasons to hate me. And you know what? I don’t feel like fighting today so I am going back to the shop.” Then in English, she added, “Have a good day, Mister.”

“Stop,” Jin Hun grabbed her hand, “sit and eat. I don’t want to fight either. Let’s just have a pleasant lunch for once.”

Sam Soon looked at him hesitantly.

“Look, I am sorry. So can you please sit so we can eat?”



***

When Sam Soon was packing up the empty lunch bowls she said, “Just so you know, I went on a date.”

Jin Hun who’d been walking over to his desk stopped in his tracks. “What do you mean?”

“What did it sound like? I went on a date.”

“When? With who? Lee Tae Young?”

She looked at him incredulously. “Why would you say such a thing?”

“Then who?”

She could see his face getting redder so she looked away. “My mom set me up with an engineer.”

He looked shocked. “Your mother?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “She said she wanted me to meet other men.”

“Unbelievable,” he said under his breath. He leaned against his desk to steady himself.

Sam Soon put the lunchbox in her bag. She’d tried not to resort to theatrics like this but he really hadn’t left her with much choice. And Mr. Lee was right – if he really loved her, there’s no reason it should take so long. She looked at him. “So now you know,” she finished with a flourish.

“And how was it? How was your date?” he demanded.

She shrugged. “It was alright. But I did learn one thing.”

“What would that be?”

She gave him a tight smile. “You are not the only man in the world for me. If I am not engaged by my 35th birthday, we are through.”

8

“What did you say?” Jin Hun was sure his ears were playing tricks on him.

“You heard me.” Sam Soon walked to the door.

He quickly ran ahead and placed his back on the door, blocking her.

She stood back and watched him. “Are you going to let me through?”

“What’s the matter with you? What did you just say to me?” Were they on Candid Camera? It was some sort of joke, right? Did she just threaten him? Is this what four years of their relationship had boiled down to?

“Let me through,” she said, pushing him. “I need to get back to my shop.”

Jin Hun didn’t budge. “Not until we talk about this!” He could feel his blood pressure skyrocketing.

“There’s nothing to discuss. If we haven’t set a wedding date by my birthday, it’s over.”

He banged his head on the door. “So basically, you are giving me a few months to convince my mother?”

“I have given you years, Jin Hun, YEARS! How many more do you want?”

“Wow…. So you are willing to throw what we have away?”

“What do we have?” she replied spitefully. “What is it we have that you can’t even get this simple thing done? Four years ago you promised my mother that you’d convince your mom and we are exactly where we were back then. If you can’t do it, forget about us.” She shoved him. “Just let me get through! Sam Shik, I want to leave!”

He stepped aside. “You know something?”

She gave him a sidelong look. “What?”

“Why don’t we just end it now?”

“Wh-what did you just say?”

“I said, LET’S END THIS NOW!”.

She inhaled. “Are you serious?” she asked in a shaky voice.

“What do you think? How dare you give me an ultimatum, Sam Soon? How dare you?”
Nervously, she looked around the office. “This is interesting.” She looked back at the door. “Are you going to let me leave?”

“Am I in your way? Leave if you want. There’s obviously nothing keeping you here. You have so many men interested in you now, right? If all you care about is getting married then go and marry one of them!”

She narrowed her eyes. “So you’re serious about is?”

“Of course! Why should we wait a few months to break up? If you think you will be better off without me, go! GO NOW!”


***


“I’m leaving early. Reschedule all my appointments,” Jin Hun said to his secretary as left his office. Who was he fooling? He couldn’t get any work done when all he could think about was what had happened less than an hour earlier. What in the world had happened? What had he been thinking? Why did she have to say those things? And why had he?

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He had to call her and tell her he was only kidding. That there was no way he meant any of the things he’d said. Surely, she had to know that. He dialed her number but all he got was her voicemail.

Before he knew it, he found himself running to his car.


***
“I’m sorry, Sam Soon. I never meant what I said today. I was so hurt that you said such a thing that I didn’t even know what I was saying. Please, forgive me. I love you and I want to marry you. I am sure you know that. You know I will give everything up for you. Even if my mother doesn’t approve, we will get married,” Jin Hun said as he pulled to her store.

“I’m sorry, Sam Soon, I never…” He kept practicing his speech as he walked to her store.

He took a deep breath and opened the door. The waitress didn’t notice him enter so he kept walking. He was glad that Yi Young wasn’t around because he didn’t want to have to deal with any interruptions.

He was just a few steps from the counter when he heard a male voice say, “…so let’s go.”

Jin Hun tensed up but kept walking.

“But the shop isn’t closing yet,” he heard Sam Soon say.

In a split second, Jin Hun found himself behind the counter, staring at Sam Soon and Lee Tae Young. “Wow, it really didn’t take long, did it?”

Sam Soon looked up at him. “Sam Shik…” she started breathlessly, “what are you doing here?”

Jin Hun laughed. He’d never felt so stupid in all his life. “Exactly. What am I doing here? But a more important question is, what is he doing here?”

“He just came to buy something.”

Jin Hun laughed harder. “Isn’t he on the wrong side of the counter? When--”

“Hey,” Mr. Lee interrupted, “don’t talk to her like that.”

“This is getting funnier,” he said to the ceiling. Then he looked at Mr. Lee. “Who are you to tell me how I can talk to her? No, I really want to know. Who the hell are you?”

“Hun—”

“Calm down. I’m only back here because I could see that she was barely holding herself together,” Mr. Lee replied.

“And how is that any of yo--”

“Hun, please, stop it,” Sam Soon begged. “He was just being nice.”

“Nice? This is what you call nice? You know something? I’m out of here. I must have been crazy to come here,” he said shaking his head. He gave her a long, hard look then walked out of the store.


***
Sam Soon didn’t even understand what had just happened. Confused, she looked at Tae Young, begging him for answers.

“What… What...” She could feel herself hyperventilating. “Oh my God! What... I have to go after him,” she said before she sprinted out of her store.

“Sam Shik! Sam Shik!” she screamed. She caught up with him before he reached his car. “Are you just going to leave like that?”

He looked at her scornfully. She’d never seen him so angry.

She grabbed his hand. “Please, don’t go.”

He pulled her hand off his then folded his arms. “So is that your other option? Is that the reason you threatened me today? If we are not engaged by your 35th birthday, you are going to him?” he spat.

“Of course not. He has nothing to do with this.”

“No. So what are you saying? That you’ll really leave me if we don’t get engaged soon?”

What was she to do? Lie? “No…”

“So are you saying that what you said today was a mistake?”

She loved him but she couldn’t back down now. If she backed down, he’d keep dragging his feet and they’d never get anywhere. So she decided to stall. “Is that why you came over? To ask me that?”

“Actually, no. But I’ll blame that on temporary insanity.” He waved his hands for emphasis. “But now I am genuinely interested. What you said today, was that a mistake?”

She looked away. “No…”

“And you are trying to tell me that it’s not because of another man? If you didn’t think you could get better than me, you wouldn’t even think about giving up on us.”

She bit her lip. Could she tell him that she was only threatening him with the hope that it would give him an incentive to speed things up? Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose? She looked away.

He moved his head so that he was looking directly at her. “I am very disappointed in you, Sam Soon. I am really disappointed to know that you think you can live without me when I know that I can’t live without you.” With that, he got into his car and drove off.

9

Jin Hun stared at the documents on his desk. Since he had to answer to his mother, he really didn’t have the option of skipping work whenever it suited him. But it would probably have been better if he did because for the past week, he hadn’t been able to comprehend a word of anything he’d read.

He really didn’t know what to do. What options did he have? No matter what he did, he’d have to hurt someone. The question was, “Whose pain would be easier to live with?”

His mother barged into his office. “Is this what you call professionalism?”

He looked up from his desk at who, at that moment, was the last person in the world he wanted to see. “What?” He saw Eunsoo walk in then shut the door the behind her. He tried to communicate with her with his eyes but she looked away.

“Are you a professional? Are you a man? I thought you’d finally grown up but it looks like I was wrong!” his mother shouted.

He sighed. Damn, it was going to be one of those days. “Ms. President, what are you talking about?” He really could do without all this stress.

His mother threw some files on his desk. “Have you seen these?”

He picked up the folders and looked at them. They were the documents Eunsoo had spoken to him about in the previous week. He looked up at her and nodded.

“And?” his mother asked furiously.

“And I am still looking at them.”

His mother sat on his couch. “Really? Didn’t Eunsoo show them to you last week? She said that you said you were going to get back with her the next day but since it was taking you so long to ‘look at them’ she came to me.”

Jin Hun shot Eunsoo a look. What was she playing at? Once again, Eunsoo looked away. “Okay,” he said, flipping one of them open. “You want me to look at them now?”

“Why? There’s no need – she was right. Mr. Shim has been embezzling funds from this hotel and if Eunsoo hadn’t caught this so quickly, we would probably have ended up bankrupt. I can’t believe you were so careless!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!” His mother pointed at his desk. “If you had bothered to look at those files you’d see it all in there. Do you even take your job seriously?”

He sighed. “Is it my job to look over the books? Isn’t that what the accountant should do?” And considering his mother had personally recruited and supported Mr. Shim, shouldn’t she be taking some of the blame?

“But you are supposed to oversee everything that’s going on. And if you had been paying more attention to our accountant, he wouldn’t have been able to get away with it for this long.”

“Since you are the president, shouldn’t you be overseeing me?”

His mother got really furious. “Look here. It’s bad enough that you didn’t catch Mr. Shim, but after Eunsoo brought this up with you, you should have researched it.”

“I’ve been busy,” he grumbled. Her screams were already giving him a headache.

“Busy doing what? If Eunsoo wasn’t--”

Argh. He couldn’t take it anymore. “Mom, do you want to offer Eunsoo my job? Is that what all this is about? If so, let me know quickly so I can pack my things and leave.”

“How… How dare--”

“And since we are talking about me leaving, just so you know – I am going to marry Kim Sam Soon very soon – with or without your approval.”

It was the first time Jin Hun had seen his mother stunned into silence. He looked at his watch – it was 11:30. He got up and picked his jacket off the coat rack. “I’ll be taking a long lunch. See you later,” he said, leaving the two women in his office.


***
“Hey, it’s me. Can you come out now?” Jin Hun was sitting in his car which was parked outside Sam Soon’s shop.

“I’m busy – as you know, it gets really busy here at lunch time.”

“But haven’t you already baked what’s needed?”

He heard her sigh. “Yes. But I might need to help out. How about later this evening?”

“You don’t have English class?”

“Oh, shit. I forgot. Alright, I’ll come out for a little while. When will you be here?”

“I’m already here. Just come out.”

A few moments later, Sam Soon emerged with her phone still in her hand. Even though weight loss was supposed to make people look better, to his surprise, Jin Hun preferred her the way she used to be. Maybe it was because she just looked different… like a less happy version of her former self.

She gave him a half smile. “Long time, no see.”

He couldn’t return her smile. It hurt him to hear her utter such an emotionless line to him.

“I guess it’s only been a week so it’s really not that long,” she continued, obviously uncomfortable.

He tried his best to perk up. “I’ve got news for you.”

“Yeah?”

“I told my mother we were getting married.”

She rolled her eyes. “I thought you’d told her that many times before. What’s so different now?”

“I told her that I was getting married very soon, with or without her approval. So maybe after your class we can go to your mother and set a wedding date.”

She darted her eyes around and he could see tears welling up in her eyes.

“Is that so?” she asked. “You still want to marry me?”

He quickly moved closer to her and took her hands. “Of course. I want us to be a family.”

She looked directly into his eyes. “And what about all that stuff about being disappointed? When you didn’t call me…” She was visibly shaking.

He put his arms around her. “Forget about all that. I love you.”

By the time they separated, she was no longer hiding her tears.

“So what did you tell her?” She wiped her cheek with her apron.

“I just told her that we are going to get married whether she likes it or not.”

“And if she never approves?”

He caressed her upper arm. “Then too bad for her. We’ll get married anyway. Sam Soon, let’s get married really soon.”

She smiled widely but it slowly faded from her face. Then she nodded as if she'd just realized something. “So that’s all it took?” She shook his hand off her.

Jin Hun studied her face. What was she thinking? “What do you mean?”

“All you had to do was tell her you’re marrying me anyway? Which means that you could have done this last year? That you could have done it two years ago? You mean that we could have been holding our first child right now? And we’ve wasted all this time because…?” She looked at him expectantly.

“Sam Soon…”

She averted her eyes. “Gosh.” She stubbed the ground with her shoe.

Jin Hun’s heart started beating fast. This was not the reaction he’d expected. “What difference does it make? We are getting married now.”

“Funny. You know what I am thinking? It makes a hell of a lot of difference.”

“Calm down, Sam Soon.”

“I’m calm, Jin Hun. Very calm. But you know something? I don’t think I can marry you.”

“What?”

She sucked her teeth. “No. Actually, I am sure I cannot marry you.”

“What?!?”

“I did all I could for us. I haven’t had a good meal in about three months just because I wanted your mother to like me. I am taking bloody English lessons so that she can think I am worthy of the Hyun family!!” She looked at him in disgust. “‘It looks like it’s going to rain.’ ‘Can you tell me how to get to Trafalgar Square?’ ‘The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plane’,” she said in English. “Do you think that was fun for me?”

“Sam--”

“And all you had to do was put your foot down? So basically, in the future, the only way I can get you to do what is right is to threaten to leave? I have to basically go out of my mind for months before you do anything? And you call yourself a man?”

“Sam Soon, stop it!”

She kept nodding. “I see how it is. Yes… yes, I love you, but it’s no big deal. No, it’s really not. You’re only human after all – I can get over you,” she said more to herself than to him. Then she looked him dead in the eye. “But there’s one thing I am sure of and it’s that there’s no way I am going to marry a man like you!



A few months later…

“So should I give you your present now or later?” Lee Tae Young asked Sam Soon.

She looked up at her boyfriend. “It’s not naughty, right?” she asked coyly.

He frowned. “Of course not,” he replied, missing the joke. “Why would I get you something like that for your birthday?”

She shrugged. “Whatever. Then you can just give it to me now and I can open it with all the rest.”

“Hmm… well, the present comes with a question so it might be better for you to open it in private.”

Sam Soon’s heart jumped to her throat. “Wh--”

“Sam Soon,” her sister’s voice interrupted, “you’ve got a visitor.”

Sam Soon started to leave when Tae Young held her back.

“It’s a party so just let her in,” Tae Young shouted.

“Ehm, Sam Soon, could you please come?” her sister insisted.

Sam Soon smiled at him, hoping that the smile really did come off as apologetic. He’d spoken about marriage a few times so she knew what her present was but she hadn’t expected for it to come so soon so she hadn’t prepared a response to it. She caressed his cheek. “Why don’t you go and join everyone else? I’ll be right back.”

10

Sam Soon smoothed her skirt as she walked to the door. Marriage, she thought. As someone who’d just turned 35 and never been married, shouldn’t she be jumping at the prospect of finally tying the knot? And Tae Young really was a nice man so why was she hesitating?

She was still trying to gather her thoughts when she looked through the open door and saw Jin Hun standing on the other side of it.

She tried her best to not look surprised and plastered a smile on her face. “Hey, Sam – er, I mean, Jin Hun, come on in,” she said, gesturing for him to enter the house. “What are you doing out there? Come and join the party.” She chided herself for sounding unrealistically cheerful.

He frowned. “I didn’t come for a party, I came to see you. Why don’t you come out for a second?”

“Ehm….” Him and her alone? She needed to come up with a good excuse as soon as possible. She pointed at the living room. “I don’t want to leave my guests…”

“They’ll be fine. Please come?” he pleaded.

Sam Soon took a deep breath in and went to him. Other than one or two times after they’d broken up, she’d hardly seen him. Since they lived and worked in the same city, she’d expected to run into him from time to time but he seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. She’d even found excuses to walk by his hotel, telling herself that she wasn’t doing it to catch a glimpse of him and yet she never saw him. It had been difficult, but she fought the urge to call him just to make sure he was alright. But standing there, looking at her, he looked pretty damn good. His hair was a little shorter and his complexion looked healthy. His body even looked more toned. She didn’t know why but she was slightly upset that their break up had done such good things for his looks.

“So what do you want to talk about?” she asked, shutting the door behind her.

“You look good.”

She smiled. “Thanks,” she said, rubbing her hips self consciously. “I think I’ve gained a few kilos.”

“Well, that’s a good thing –you were getting too skinny.”

She looked around. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Oh,” he said, handing an envelope to her, “I got you something for your birthday. Happy Birthday, Sam Soon.”

“You didn’t have to.”

He nodded. “Well, I’m so used to getting you something… it felt weird not to.”

She opened the envelope and pulled some cards out. She looked up to him. “Two tickets to Hong Kong?”

“Yeah, I thought of you while I was there – I think you can finally get to practice your English on real people.”

She didn’t know how to feel. “I really can’t accept this, Jin Hun…”

“What’s this ‘Jin Hun’ business? Just call me Sam Shik.”

“What?”

“It just sounds wrong coming from you.”

She laughed. “But isn’t that your name?”

“Not when I am with you.”

She looked away. Why was her mouth getting dry? He was no longer part of her life so he had no right to affect her in any way. “This is ridiculous. Your name--”

“Please?”

“Okay, SAM SHIK. Happy now?” She held the envelope out to him. “I can’t accept this – it’s too much.”

He didn’t move an inch. “You don’t want all your English classes to go to waste, do you? You can’t truly understand a language if you’re not around it. So just go with your Mom.”

She smiled uncertainly. “I might be going to America to see Tae Young’s parents. I can practice English over there.”

“Oh,” he mouthed.

“Yeah….”

The entire mood had turned awkward with both of them looking at everything but each other.

“So,” she continued. “You were in Hong Kong?”

He looked at her. “Yeah,” he said, nodding. “I kind of went on a tour of Asia.”

“Really? How was it?”

“It was great… good, you know… it was nice.” He shrugged.

“For how long?”

“About five months.”

“Cool. But that’s a long time. Your mother was fine with it?”

He shrugged again. “I don’t know – I just left. I probably don’t have a job anymore.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding.

“When did you get back?”

“Yesterday.”

Interesting, she thought. She looked back at her house. “I think they’ll be looking for me now. Do you want to come in? I’m sure my sister and Mom would like to see you.”

“There’s no need -I already spoke to Noonim. So… Lee Tae Young is here?”

She nodded.

“You’re now with him?”

She nodded again. “He’s been there for me, you know?”

“Okay. I better leave now,” he said, slowly turning around.

“Wait.” She held the envelope up. “I really can’t accept this.”

He looked at it. “I can’t take that back,” he said expressionlessly. “It’s yours. Please keep it. Or you can give it to your sister and her husband. Or Lee Tae Young. Do whatever you want with it but I can’t take it back.”

“Ji—Sam Shik….”

“Please?”

She nodded. “Okay. Thank you so much for the gift. Have a nice day and welcome back.”


***

“Want to come out?” Tae Young asked from the other end of the phone line.

Sam Soon repositioned herself on the swing. “My mother wants me to help her with the garden. How about another day?”

“You’re always so busy these days – I never get to see you.”

“I’m sorry,” was all that she muster. Tae Young was really a nice man but lately, it hadn’t been comfortable being with him. She’d told him that she would think about his proposal and he’d promised to give her all the time she needed to answer him but every time they were together, that question seemed to hang over their heads. He wasn’t saying or doing anything but she couldn’t help but feel the pressure. Damn, she thought, why do these things always have to be so difficult?

“You said you are gardening, right?”

“Yes.”

“So you might need a man around. Why don’t I come over and help?”

“Why don’t I ask my Mom first?” She hated lying to him but she knew she’d be calling him back in a few minutes to say her mother refused his help.

“There’s no need to ask her –don’t you know that she loves me?” He chuckled.

That wasn’t exactly true but she didn’t mind playing along. “We--” The doorbell rang, interrupting her. “Hold on – let me see who’s at the door.”

She walked to the gate and looked through the peephole. “Hey, I’ll call you back,” she said, hanging up.

She took a deep breath in and opened the gate. “Good Afternoon, President Na.”

11

“Hello Auntie!” Mi Joo said, popping out from behind her grandmother.

“Mi Joo!” Sam Soon smiled. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed her till she saw her standing there. Was it her imagination or had Mi Joo’s breasts grown?

“You’re looking well,” President Na observed. “Can we come in?”

Sam Soon bowed to her. What exactly did this woman want? “Sure,” she said, nervously stepping aside. “Please come in.” She shut the gate behind her then led them to the house.

“Sam Soonie, who was that?” her mother called from her bedroom.

“Mom, we’ve got guests.”

“Oh? Who?” Her mother walked out of her room.

The two older women bowed to each other. “Good Afternoon, President Na.”

“Good Afternoon, Mrs. Park.”

Everyone stood in silence for about a minute.

“Please sit,” Sam Soon said. When they did, she offered some refreshments. President Na started to shake her head then stopped. “Okay. Water will be fine. What about you, Mi Joo? What would you like?” she asked, looking at her.

“Auntie, can I have orange juice?”

Sam Soon walked back to the kitchen to get the drinks. Her mother was close behind her.
“Did you know she was coming?” her mother whispered.

She shook her head then pulled out a tray.

“So what are they doing here?”

“I don’t know. Omma, go back – we can’t leave them alone.”

Her mother shook her head vehemently. “Why? What am I going to say to the woman that rejected my daughter?”

“I will join you in a minute,” she said, bringing out the drinks. “Please go back.”

Her mother reluctantly left the kitchen.

Okay, so what was going on? A million different thoughts were going through her mind so Sam Soon tried her best to calm down as she served the drinks.

“So is there something we could help you with?” her mother asked.

President Na chuckled nervously. “Mi Joo wanted to come.”

Sam Soon and her mother looked at each other. Huh?

“Mi Joo keeps talking about how much she misses her Auntie, always trying to bribe the driver to drop her at your shop after school so I finally had to give in.”

“Really?” Sam Soon’s mother asked.

President Na nodded. “Of course... You know what we do for the love of our children…. We try to protect them in every way. Sometimes we have to deny them things for their own benefit. But there are a few times we later determine that maybe this thing they want is actually not bad. So we give in.”

Sam Soon’s mother nodded. “That is true.”

President Na smiled. “But we are only human. What’s important is that our children realize that we only do these things because we care about them,” she said, patting Mi Joo’s hair. “That’s why I brought Mi Joo. I think she thinks I am too old,” she said, laughing. “It makes sense, you know… she’s known Sam Soon for a few years now so she’s grown attached to her. It’s good for young girls to be close to older women they can rely on. And I realize that Sam Soon really takes care of her,” she said, smiling at Mi Joo. Then she looked up at Sam Soon. “If you are not too busy and can spare some time, would it be alright for Mi Joo to visit you from time to time?”

Sam Soon was completely confused. She couldn’t digest what was going on. What exactly did this mean? She nodded at President Na. “Yes. I miss her too.”

Mi Joo jumped up and hugged her grandma. “Thank you, Harmoni.”

President Na stood up. “Okay then. Mi Joo, the driver will pick you up in a few hours.”

“Oh… she’s staying over now?” Sam Soon asked. What? She needed some time alone to go through what had just happened.

President Na looked at her. “Oh, do you have plans?”

“No… but--”

“Yes, let her stay,” Sam Soon’s mother said cheerfully.

“Good. I will see you sometime, Sam Soon.”

After President Na left, Sam Soon said, “So Mi Joo, you miss me? I thought you hated being with me because I made you exercise and didn’t give you good food.”

Mi Joo looked surprised. “No. No. Who told you that?”

Sam Soon frowned. “Who do you think?”

“Oh… well….” She started turning red. “Oh, did I forget to tell you? I like exercise now,” she said, obviously lying. “So, yeah, let’s go to the gym.”


***

“Sam Soon. Sam Soon unnie!”

Sam Soon came out from behind the counter to see Hee Jin and Henry beaming at her.

“Hey, what are you guys doing here?”

“I told you,” Hee Jin said to Henry. “I knew it was her shop when I saw ‘Samsuni’ written on it.”

“Wow. How have you guys been? What are you doing here?” Sam Soon was surprised by how pleased she was to see Hee Jin looking healthy. Whoever came up with the phrase that “time healed all wounds” wasn’t a complete idiot.

“I was feeling a little hungry so we decided to come here. Hi, Yi Young unnie,” Hee Jin said, waving at her. She waved back at them from behind the computer.

Hee Jin looked around the shop. “Jin Hun wasn’t exaggerating – you’re really doing well.”

Sam Soon felt herself stiffen. She hadn’t realized that they still kept in contact. “So what are you doing back in Seoul? Are you on vacation?”

Hee Jin and Henry looked at one another. “Have you forgotten about our wedding?” Henry asked in heavily-accented Korean. It was obvious he’d been taking lessons.

“What wedding?”

Their eyes expanded. “Ours. Who else’s?”

“You’re getting married?”

They nodded.

“To each other?”

Hee Jin cracked up. “How can you not know? I sent Jin Hun an invitation last month and when Henry spoke to him yesterday, he assured us he would be there. Didn’t he tell you?”

Sam Soon looked away. “Ehm, well….” She looked back to see Hee Jin starting at her finger.

“You guys are still together, right?” she asked slowly.

“Oh, forget about that,” she said with fake cheer. “What would you guys like to order? It’s on the house.”

Neither Henry nor Hee Jin looked impressed. “You’re going to come, aren’t you?” Henry asked.

Sam Soon thought about it for a second then looked at them and laughed. “Of course I’ll be there. I just knew you were going to end up together. Come, come, sit down and tell me how all of this happened.”


***
“Alright, let me get this straight,” Tae Young said from across the table. “Hee Jin is Jin Hun’s ex-girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

“And when she returned after many years, he dumped you for her?”

Sam Soon slapped him lightly on his hand. “No. He didn’t dump me, we weren’t really together.”

Tae Young rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Whatever. Then this very indecisive Jin Hun turned around and dumped her for you?”

“Jin Hun isn’t indecisive – he was young then. This was like five years ago!”

“Sure. So now you want us to go to her wedding?”

Sam Soon nodded. “Exactly. You want me to draw you a picture to explain this further?”

“Funny.” Then his expression turned serious. “So… have you given any more thought to my proposal?”

Sam Soon looked into his eyes. He’d been waiting patiently for over a week so she knew she had little time to come to a decision. Sam Soon reached into her bag and brought out the ring box.

He smiled. “You’ve been carrying it around?”

She shrugged. She didn’t want to tell him that it was just coincidental that she just happened to be using the bag that she’d initially kept the ring in. “It looks expensive – I wouldn’t want to lose it.”

“So?” he asked. “Have you thought about it?”

She breathed in. “You’re a nice man….”

“Okay….”

“You have a good job. You’re not bad looking. You have a child so I know you’re not impotent…”

“What?” He was taken aback.

“Hey, relax, I’m just kidding.”

“But I am not. This is a serious matter.”

“I know.” She looked at him. He was someone she could marry, wasn’t he? She handed him the box. “Why don’t you put it on my finger so that I can see how it feels?”

She watched him excitedly take the ring out and placed it on her finger. Why did she suddenly wish he’d made a crack about how fat her fingers were? Then she looked at her hands. I guess they are not as fat as they used to be, she thought.

But they are getting fatter. Maybe I should get on a diet. Oh Gosh, I am going to see Sam Shik on Saturday! Maybe he wouldn’t come. No, he won’t be there. But he promised Hee Jin. God! It’s over between us, why am I thinking of this when a nice man is proposing to me? She looked at Tae Young and thought about how great he’d been to her just after she’d broken up with Sam Shik. Besides, it was time for her to get married. Now that I have decided to be with you, I have to be with you and only you. I shall think of you and only you, Tae Young. You’re the most mature man I have ever been with. You’ll make a great husband. Yes, you’ll be a great husband.

“So what do you say?” he asked.

She looked at her fingers again. It really was a pretty ring – it was a diamond studded platinum band with a princess cut stone. “Why don’t you leave it there? It looks nice.” She’d always thought her answer to this question would be ‘Yes’ but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She smiled up at him, hoping he couldn’t see how nervous she was.

He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “Really?”

Have I done the right thing? “Really.”

12

“Hi,” Eunsoo said from the other side of the doorway.

“What are you doing here?” he asked her. He was getting dressed and wasn’t expecting any visitors.

“Aren’t you going to a wedding?” she asked. She followed him into his apartment.

“So?”

“So, don’t you need a date?”

He looked at her. Why wouldn’t his mother just give up? And why was Eunsoo playing along? “No, I don’t. I suppose my mother told you to come.”

She walked around and looked his apartment. “This is really nice. You have a great eye.”

“Thanks. But I hired an interior decorator,” he said, putting his jacket on.

“Well, you have a good eye for interior decorators,” she said, smiling.

He groaned. He really didn’t have time for this. “Look. I know you don’t want to be here so why don’t you just go home?”

She gave him a sidelong look. “Who says I don’t want to go? Can’t you see me dressed? I heard your ex-girlfriend was from a rich family so we’ll probably be able to make some good business contacts.”

“Not really - I’ll probably know all the people there.”

“Well, I won’t. Since I was out of the country for a while, I am sure there are quite a few people I haven’t met.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I should have known that this was just business for you.”

She chuckled. “Why would you think it’s anything else?”


***

Jin Hun walked out of the wedding hall to get some fresh air. Eunsoo hadn’t been kidding when she said she was attending the wedding for business because for most of the reception, she’d pretty much talked to everyone but him. Other than a few casual conversations, he really hadn’t said much to anyone outside of the bride and groom.

“Unnie, what’s your point?”

He looked to the left and saw Sam Soon with her back to him, talking on the phone. He started to turn around till he saw something gleam on her finger. Jin Hun legs immediately welded to the ground when he realized what it was. He was still staring at her finger when she hung up, turned around and saw him.

“Hey!” Sam Soon screamed, holding her chest. “Oh my God, you scared me!”

He snapped out of his daze and fought to find his composure. She was already engaged? She was ALREADY engaged?

“Hey, you, I am talking to you! Don’t stand behind a woman like that. My heart almost left my chest,” she continued, panting and laughing. She was about to playfully hit him when she stopped her hand midway. Then her expression turned serious and she looked away.

“I’m sorry about that,” Jin Hun said. “I just came out for some air.”

“Oh…I guess it’s a little stuffy in there.” They stood in silence for a few moments then she said, “I guess, I’d better get back in.”

She started to leave when Jin Hun held her hand. It was obvious that they’d keep running into each other and even though they’d broken up, it still hurt him to see how uncomfortable they had become around each other. But on the other hand, she’d just gotten engaged to someone else and he really didn’t want to be around her just then. What had their entire relationship meant to her that in a split second, she was already engaged to someone else? Did she ever love him? Was marriage all she’d ever wanted from him? Angry, he let go of her hand.

Sam Soon stared at him then stood back with her arms folded. “What the hell was that?”

Jin Hun looked at her. “What?”

“You grab me then leave me. Is everything okay up there?” She pointed at his head.

“Forget it. I made a mistake.”

“Yes, you did. You don’t go around grabbing women for no reason. You might get hit someday.”

He rolled his eyes. “You were leaving. Weren’t you about to leave?”

She looked him up and down. “Sam Shik, I think you need help.” Then she burst into a fit of hysterics.

He stared at her in a state of complete confusion. “What’s so funny?”

“You,” she said, still laughing. Then she pointed at something on his chest. “And what the hell is that?”

He picked it up. “You don’t know what a camera looks like?”

She laughed harder. “But what are you doing with it?”

“I started using it a lot on my trip. I’ve decided it’s a great way of capturing memories.”

“Is that so? So you’re now a photographer?” She was still laughing.

He was slightly offended that she wasn’t taking him seriously. “I’m actually quite good, you know. You should come over and take a look at my photographs sometime,” he blurted out before he realized what he was saying.

“Okay,” she said, clamming up.

What was wrong with him? Why did he say that? “Oh,” he said, desperately wanting to change the subject, “Mi Joo said my mother finally took her to your place.”

Sam Soon looked surprised. “You knew about that?”

He nodded. “Ever since I got back, my mom has been trying to make me take her to you but I refused.”

“You refused?”

“Yes. Why should I make things easy for her? If she wanted something from you, she should ask you herself.”

“Oh,” she said, sounding relieved.

Jin Hun decided not read anything into her reaction.

“So about the photographs,” she continued, “I’ll be seeing Mi Joo on Wednesday so maybe we can stop by and take a look at them?”

“Oh, you don’t have to.”

“No… I want to see these new amazing photos you’ve taken,” she said, chuckling again. “And I am sure Mi Joo would like to see them too… or has she seen them already?”

“No, not yet.”

“Good. So I’ll see you on Wednesday.”


***

“So what time are you guys coming? I’ve got the darkroom ready,” Jin Hun said the moment she answered the phone.

“Yes, about that – I was about to call you. I think there was a mix up or something, because when I went to her school, the driver was already there so won’t be able to make it.” She looked through the window of the moving bus.

“Oh,” he said, sounding disappointed.

“Is it okay for us to come another day?”

“Sure…” he replied unenthusiastically. “Or we can just forget about it.”

“No….” Now she felt bad. Was it her fault that the driver showed up? If she had known, she wouldn’t have wasted her time going to Mi Joo’s school in the first place. “I’m sure you’re busy today, we’ll just make sure we plan better next time.”

“Yes, of course,” he replied coldly.

God, why didn’t she just send the driver away? She cleared her throat. “I can come now, if you like. Mi Joo can take a look at them another time.”

“It’s not necessary – you can see them later.”

“No, if it’s not too much trouble, I’ll like to see them today. Is that fine?”

He hesitated then said, “Sure.”


***

Sam Soon stood in front of the door she hadn’t seen in months. As she rang the doorbell, she wondered if his access code was still the same as her ATM password. She looked at the cake and wine in her hands. What the hell was she thinking? When it finally hit her that she’d just agreed to be alone with him in his apartment, she’d panicked. But now, she wondered if she’d brought too much or too little. What message am I sending? she asked herself.

Jin Hun opened the door and let her in.

“Here,” she said, handing the cake and wine to him. “I didn’t know what to bring. I know you don’t like sweet things that much but I figured that it’ll be good to have something when Mi Joo is around.”

He thanked her then took them from her.

She stood and looked around, shuffling her weight from leg to leg. “It still looks the same,” she observed.

He raised a brow. “You were expecting it to be different?”

“Not really.” She was just making conversation – why did he have to be so difficult?

They stared at each other for a moment.

“So… the photos…” Sam Soon said.

“Okay, follow me,” he said, leading her to the spare bedroom.

It was the typical darkroom with hanging photos and photographic materials lying all around. He switched on the photo-safe light so that she could take a look at some of the photographs. Without touching anything, she walked around, looking at them.

A few minutes later, she said, “Sam Shik, I love you and all but I think you need to call your mother and get your job back,” she dead panned.

He blinked hard. “You what? W-What did you say?”

She laughed. “You honestly weren’t considering a career in photography, were you?” When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “No offence, but these aren’t really that good – they just look like average photographs. Okay, I don’t really have an eye for photography but these don’t really strike me as anything special. But they are good enough… I guess.”

He frowned. “You are right – you don’t have an eye for photography.”

She chuckled then looked around the room and shivered exaggeratedly. “Alright, I’ve had enough -this room is giving me the creeps. Why don’t we step out and you can show me all the already developed photographs you took on your trip?” Then she patted her stomach. “I am hungry – do you have anything to eat?”

13

“Looks like it was fun,” Sam Soon said, chewing on the last of the take-out that Jin Hun had ordered. “Nice photos… maybe you do have a career in photography,” she teased.

He got off the couch and headed for the kitchen, then turned around. “So I guess we are friends now, right?”
Friends. Were they ever friends? But she’d really enjoyed spending the evening with him so why not? She shrugged. “I suppose so.”

“Good. Mi Joo needs a dress for her end-of-term party and I’ve been given the task of buying it with her. I was thinking that it would be good to get a woman’s perspective on it.”

She pouted. “I see how it is… You are trying to use me.” She got off the couch. “I should have known.”
“No. But you know how sneaky Mi Joo has become. I’ll end up getting the wrong thing.”

She shook her head. “Aren’t you ashamed of being manipulated by someone who isn’t even half your age? As her uncle--”

She was interrupted mid-sentence by her ringing phone. She picked it up and looked at the caller id. After taking a deep breath in, she flipped it open.

“Hi… what’s going on?” she said into it. She readjusted herself so that she wasn’t facing the kitchen.

“Nothing,” Tae Young said from the other end of the line, “I just wanted to hear your voice… I haven’t heard from you all day. How was your day?”

“It was fine.” She glanced at the Jin Hun and caught him staring at her.

“Have you had dinner?” Tae Young continued.

“Yes. Hey, I’ll call you back in a few minutes….”

“Wait, why? Where are you?”

“I’ll call you back.” Feeling Jin Hun’s eyes boring into her was making her squirm. “I’ll--”

“Kim Sam Soon, where are you?!” he demanded

“I’m at Sam Sh…, I mean, Jin Hun’s place.” When he didn’t say anything, she continued, “I’ll call you in a few minutes.”

“Why are you there? Oh, you went with Mi Joo, right?”

“Right.”

“Okay, okay,” he said in a calmer voice. “Before you leave, let me say hello to her…. Hello? Hello? Sam Soon, can you hear me? Let me say hello to Mi Joo.”

Sam Soon swallowed to clear her throat. “Tae Young, she isn’t here.”

“What?!?!”

“I’ll call you back,” she said, hanging up. She picked up her bag and started to leave. “Hey, Jin Hun, thanks so much for dinner. About the dress, I can come with you on Sunday. Is that okay?”

He stepped out of the kitchen. “I see. You talk to your boyfriend and suddenly, I’m “Jin Hun” again.”

She ignored his last statement. “So, I’ll see you on Sunday,” she said, walking to the door. She heard his footsteps behind her so she picked up her pace. When she got to the door and turned the knob, his hand shot out of nowhere and kept it shut. She turned around and was met his face a few inches from hers.

“Jin Hun, what are you doing?” she asked, looking away. Her heartbeats were going at double rate.

“I thought I told you not to call me that.”

Without turning around, she felt for the doorknob. “I have to go now –he’s waiting for my call.”

“Then let him wait,” he whispered in her ear.

She looked into his eyes. “What’s your problem?” And why was he still using the cologne she got him?

“I just have one question: what’s so special about him?”

“What?”

“Why marry him and not me?”

She rolled her eyes. Earlier in the day, if she’d known that this was how they would end the evening, she wouldn’t have come. “I thought we were friends. Is this a question you ask a friend?”

“Why will you marry him and not me? Just tell me. Do you love him?”

Sam Soon eyed him. What did love have to do with anything? He’d claimed to love her and yet for over four years had refused to fight for her. Irritated, she hissed, turned around and started struggling with the door but it wouldn’t budge. She didn’t know what he’d eaten on his travels but he appeared to have some newly acquired strength. She spun back to face him. “Look, let me get--” Her words were cut short by his lips.

Even though he wasn’t holding her, his body was pressed against hers, imprisoning her. His lips was all over hers, planting her with kisses that were almost entirely filled with anger and frustration. She struggled to escape but he wouldn’t let her move. Then he slowed his pace and started kissing her softly and when she felt herself closing her eyes and starting to respond, he stopped.

“You still love me – why are you with him?” he asked, breathless, his lips barely a few inches from hers.

What the hell did he think he was doing? She pushed him off her. “Don’t you ever do that to me again!” Her heart was beating so rapidly that she could almost feel it in her throat. “Don’t you ever do that to me again!” she screamed. What kind of woman would she be if she ran back to him? When she turned back to the door, his hand was still on it, keeping it shut. She didn’t have to say anything more before he took it off. She unlocked the door and without glancing back she said, “And forget about shopping with me on Sunday.”


***
“So how come you went to English class, today? I thought you were quitting?” Tae Young asked from across the table.

The waitress picked up their menus and left.

“I decided that I might as well get to Advanced Level, just like you did,” she said, smiling at him. And it made no sense to stop learning English just because she was no longer seeing Jin Hun. In fact, she was certain it had nothing to do with him; after all, she had still been taking English classes months after they broke up. Yes, it had nothing to do with him or his mother – that was all in the past.

He nodded in approval. “That’s good. Level IV is great but like I said, why not see it all the way through?”

“Exactly.”

A few minutes later, when they were having dessert, Tae Young cleared his throat and said, “I don’t how to bring this up, but I don’t think you should be seeing Hyun Jin Hun so much anymore.”

She groaned. “I already explained to you what happened last time.”

“I know. But I think the fact that you see Mi Joo so much might make things difficult for you.”

She put a forkful of her dessert in her mouth. “Don’t worry, it won’t.”

“I’m not so sure about that. I think you should stop seeing Mi Joo,” he said before he took a sip of his coffee.

“What?” Her fork fell and clanged on her plate. “You want me to stop seeing a child just because you are uncomfortable?”

He put his mug down. “This is not about me – it’s about you. I am thinking about you.”

“Really? Then how come I didn’t think of it first? Shouldn’t I be the person thinking of myself most?”

“Because you aren’t thinking clearly.”

“How do you know? Are you in my head? How do you know what I am thinking?”

“Please, calm down.”

Some of the other patrons at the restaurant had begun to look at them.

“I am calm. Don’t I look calm? I just don’t think this is fair on Mi Joo. For over 4 years, I’ve been the closest thing to a mother-figure that she’s had and you want me to just cut her off?”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with it till President Na visited you,” he said, matter-of-factly. “After the way she treated you, I don’t understand why you’re still seeking her approval.”

His tone was beginning to piss her off. It amazed her that no matter what he said, he didn’t seem to move one hair on his head. “What are you talking about? This is not about her – it’s about Mi Joo!”

“Really? Then why are you taking up English classes again?”

“Didn’t we just talk about it? Didn’t you just agree with my reasons? Or was that a dream?”

“It’s hard for me to believe you when you are mixed up with Hyun Jin Hun again. Have you forgotten that I know all about you two? And I saw how devastated you were when things ended with you? Sometimes, I wonder if you really care about me.”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“Why can’t you just stop seeing him?”

“I already told you that I am not. I only see Mi Joo. If you want to break our engagement, just say so. You don’t have to start accusing me of things.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m just so tired. Just tired of worrying,” he said, his face finally betraying a trace of emotion.

Sam Soon reached out and touched his hand “About me? Why are you worried about me? I already told—”

“Not about you. It’s my Mom…”

Oh. “She’s sick again?”

“Just a few aches and pains but my father is scared that she might be relapsing again.”

Sam Soon kept caressing his hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’s nothing.”


***

Jin Hun sat at his desk and looked around his office. It had been nice to get away but he’d really missed his job. When he asked to come back to work, his mother had told him that he’d been demoted because, “Vice Presidents can’t just leave when they want to,” but since his old office looked exactly as he’d left it, he was pretty sure she’d been bluffing.

He was logging on to his computer when his secretary buzzed him.

“Yes?”

“Miss Park Eunsoo is here to see you.”

Was she his new boss? “Let her in.”

A few minutes later, in a slim fitting but professional suit, she walked into his office. “Welcome back,” she said, beaming at him.

“Thank you,” he said, looking up at her. He noticed that her new haircut made her look even prettier. “So what did my mother send you here to do?”

She shook her head then sat down on his couch. “Why do you always think your Mom is behind everything?”

He chuckled. “Because she is.”

“I’m not some kind of puppet, you know? I control my own life and do what I want. Your mother doesn’t pull my strings and make me do whatever she likes.”

“You don’t say.”

“I am serious, Oppa. For instance, your mother didn’t ask me to be here.”

He folded his arms. “No? Then why are you here?”

She tucked her hair behind her ear. “You’ve been away for a while. I just wanted to update you on what’s been happening here. What’s the point of having a Vice President who isn’t up to speed?”

Jin Hun studied her. What was her deal?

***
When the doorbell rang, Sam Soon picked up her bag. “Mom, I’m leaving now, I’ll see you later,” she said as she walked out of the house.

Even though she’d told Jin Hun that she wouldn’t be going shopping with him, Mi Joo had called and begged her, assuring her that they’d go alone. She opened the gate and saw Mi Joo standing next to Jin Hun’s parked car.

“Hey,” she said, waving at Mi Joo to come to her. When she did, Sam Soon asked, “What’s he doing here?”

14

A/N: Mcleen, thanks for reading and commenting!!

“Is he just dropping you off?” Sam Soon asked.

Mi Joo shook her head. “No, he’s coming with us.”

“How come?” she asked, frowning.

“Auntie, I need someone to pay for the dress -that’s why he had to come,” she said innocently.

“I could have paid for it.”

“Why? It’s not like we are related or anything,” she said, pouting. “Why should you buy me a dress? If you mar--”

“You could have brought cash,” Sam Soon interrupted. Mi Joo was really turning into something else.

“I didn’t know how much it would cost. And I already asked him to come. I couldn’t just uninvite him.” she said, pouting.

“But you told me that we were going alone.”

“I know,” she said, looking downward. “Sorry. I really wanted you to come.”

Sam Soon grimaced at Mi Joo then asked, “Do you have some paper and a pen?”

Mi Joo looked around and said, “I don’t think so.”

“Okay, get into the car – I’ll be right back.” Sam Soon ran back to the house and came back with a folded piece of paper. She slipped into the back seat with Mi Joo.

“Someone should come and sit up here – I’m not your driver, you know?” Jin Hun said from the driver’s seat.
Mi Joo didn’t budge. Instead, she stared at Sam Soon.

Sam Soon looked back at her. “What are you looking at? You’d better go up there.”

“Isn’t it unsafe for kids to sit in the front seat?” she asked.

“Are you kidding me? Don’t you normally fight to sit in front? And you’re not a kid. So go!”

Mi Joo grudgingly opened the car door and switched seats. Shortly after Jin Hun turned the engine on, Sam Soon tapped Mi Joo’s shoulder. “Hey, give that to your uncle.” She handed her the sheet of paper.

“If you want to give something to me, give it to me yourself,” Jin Hun said without looking back.

“You’re driving, Mister; I don’t want you to look back and get into an accident,” she said in the sweetest of voices.

Jin Hun took the piece of paper from Mi Joo. “What’s this?” he asked, waving it around.

“Could you please stop by that address before we go to the mall?” Sam Soon replied.

“Why?”

She sighed. “We need to pick someone up.”

“Who?”

Why did she feel like a witness at a murder trial? “Soo Hyun.”

“Who’s that?” he asked.

Sam Soon looked at the rear view mirror and saw Jin Hun’s eyes staring back at her. “Tae Young’s daughter.”

For a few moments, the only sounds that could be heard in the car were coming from the engine.

“But I didn’t know she was coming with us!” Mi Joo said.

“I guess the day is just filled with surprises,” Sam Soon countered.


***

“Tae Young didn’t seem happy,” Jin Hun said to Sam Soon as they walked behind the two preteens. “I guess he didn’t expect to see me,” he said with a smirk.

“Hello? I didn’t expect to see you either.”

“I guess you have some explaining to do,” he mocked.

Sam Soon ignored his tone. If he was going to be annoying, she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that it was getting to her. “What is there to explain?”

“What do you think? If I were in his shoes and saw my fiancé going out with the guy she loves, I’d be pretty pissed.”

“G-G-Guy she what? What the hell are you saying?” she asked, turning to him.

He shrugged. “You’re the one that keeps going on and on about your age you’re the one delaying things. If you want to get married today, I’d go to the court with you.”

Sam Soon slowed her pace. “Why can’t you just shut up?” She glanced at Soo Hyun and continued in a lowered voice, “Why would I marry you? Are we engaged? Look at my finger- did you put this ring on it?”

“Of course not – I have better taste,” he said wryly.

“Is this what you have to say? Is that why you asked Mi Joo to lie to me?”

He groaned. “Sam Soon, this might be a huge surprise to you but the world doesn’t revolve around you. I didn’t tell Mi Joo anything –I’m simply here to buy a dress.”

“Even after I explicitly said I wasn’t going to come?”

“And you’re here anyway. You seem to be confused these days – can’t stick to a plan?”

“ARGH! Are you just trying to get on my nerves?”

“Why would I do that?”

Sam Soon scowled and just stared at him. One of these days she was going to have to stab him.

Chuckling to himself, Jin Hun grabbed her hand and pulled her. “Hurry up so that we can catch up with them.”


***

“Aunty,” Lee Soo Hyun said, pulling Sam Soon into a store, “do you like any of these?” she asked, pointing at some wedding gowns.

Sam Soon felt herself get red. She glanced at Jin Hun then started, “Uhm, actu--”

“We’re here to buy my dress,” Mi Joo rudely interrupted. “Why are we looking at those?”

“I love weddings, don’t you?” Soo Hyun said dreamily. “Aunty,” she said, clapping her hands, “let’s try some of these on!”

“Let’s find your dress first.” Sam Soon took her hand and tried to steer her out of the store.

But Soo Hyun resisted. “Aunty, just one! Okay two. Please! Please!”

“Soo Hyun, I’m sure your Aunty is already tired of trying on wedding gowns. Let’s get your dress first, okay?” Jin Hun offered.

Soo Hyun reluctantly complied.

About thirty minutes later, when the girls were trying on the dresses they’d picked, Jin Hun said to Sam Soon, “I bet this is your first time seeing a wedding gown since you got engaged. Right?”

“How is that your business?”

“You’re in such a rush to get married and now that you’re engaged, you haven’t even set a date? Haven’t tried on a dress? Haven’t sent out invitations? I thought that was all women dreamed about. Why is it different with you? Perhaps because it's the wrong man?”

“Will you be happy when you receive an invite?”

He laughed. “And when would that be? In the year 2024? It’s just odd that someone who was so obsessed with getting married hasn’t even started planning yet.”

“I haven’t met his parents yet. Have you forgotten that? Besides, life doesn’t always follow a certain path, Mr. Hyun Jin Hun. I dated you for over four years and never got engaged but in less than 6 months with Tae Young, I’m already engaged. See? Things don’t always happen a certain way. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she said shoving him aside, “I am sure the girls would like me to see what they’ve tried on.


***

“Tae Young is here,” Yi Young said, awaking Sam Soon from her daydream. She stepped out from behind the counter and smiled at him as he walked through the door. She’d expected him to say something about her going shopping with Jin Hun, but he hadn’t said a word. From the expression on his face that day, she knew he was pretty annoyed but she wondered if he’d gotten over it or was just being passive aggressive.
She stood by the counter, waiting for him to approach her but instead, he sat on a table with who she guessed was a co-worker.

Sam Soon stared at him, hoping to catch his eye but he appeared to be purposely avoiding her.

Sam Soon gestured for her sister to join her in the kitchen. “Do you think he’s still angry about Sunday?”

A bored Yi Young shrugged.

“Should I go over and say something?”

Yi Young shrugged again.

Sam Soon lightly slapped her shoulder. “Unnie, you are being of no help at all.”

“Sorry, but what do you want me to say?”

Sam Soon frowned. “Come on, you’re the married one here -I'll like to be like you soon. I need your advice. Should I apologize?”

Yi Young raised her brow. “For?”

“I don’t know. He must be pretty mad to come in and not say anything to me.” She picked up her phone. “Should I call him?”

“I don’t know why you’re so bothered. This might be the perfect opportunity for you to escape.”

“Escape what?”

Yi Young rolled her eyes. “What do you think?”

Sam Soon wasn’t about to have this conversation with her again. Yi Young always seemed to prefer the opposite of whatever was going on in her life. At the tail end of her relationship with Jin Hun, she’d encouraged her to stand her ground. When she was depressed about their break-up, she’d encouraged her to date someone new. Now she was saying sh.it about Tae Young.

“But he must be particularly cruel to come in here and not say a word, though,” Yi Young said, thoughtfully. “If he is trying to avoid you, why bother coming to the shop at all? Instead, he’s making it pretty obvious that he’s ignoring you. Doesn’t seem very mature to me.” She shook her head sadly.

Sam Soon looked at her. Yi Young sure knew how to be a bi.tch at the worst times.

“Anyway, I’m going back. I’ll see you whenever,” Yi Young finished gleefully.

About 15 minutes later, Sam Soon heard Tae Young call her. She turned the corner to see him beaming at her.

“Good afternoon, Miss Kim Sam Soon,” his friend said, bowing to her.

She bowed back.

“My name is Mr. Hwang Woon-kyu. Mr. Lee has been boasting about the pastries at this shop for such a long time that when I came into town, I just had to try some.” He handed her a card. Yi Young ran over to them.

Both sisters looked at the card – it had the name of a popular packaged food company on it. They looked at each other and then back to the man.

“My company has just created a new frozen desserts and snacks department and I am very interested in working with you. Tae Young said that you also sell over the internet? In that case, could I order some samples to be delivered to the main branch?”


***

A week after meeting Mr. Hwang, Sam Soon hadn’t heard from his company so she'd come down from her high and it was back to business as usual. In the past few months, a few customers had come to her shop specifically asking for a particular pastry they’d bought in Siheung so Sam Soon was going there to see what all the fuss was about. She was walking to the bus stop when her phone rang. She picked it up and looked at the caller id.

“Hello Honey, we’re not supposed to meet today, are we?”

“No,” Mi Joo said from the other end.

“Is everything okay?” She saw her bus approach. “Hey, I’ll call you back in a minute.”

“Wait!” Mi Joo shouted.

“What?”

“It’s Uncle!”

“What about him?” Was that panic she felt?

“He’s at the hospital.”

“What?” Sam Soon felt her knees shake.

“Aunty, he’s at the hospital!”

As soon as Sam Soon found out which hospital she was talking about, she hailed a cab

15

A/N: Thanks, mcleen.

Sam Soon ran to the front desk. “Where is he?” She asked the nurse.

The petite lady looked up from her computer. “Ma’am, who are you talking about?”

“Sam Shik!” She leaned over the desk and tried to catch her breath.

“Ma’am, please calm down. Sam Shik? Sam is his last name?”

“Of course not. His last name is Hyun.” Do they only hire morons these days?

The lady typed the name into the computer then looked up at Sam Soon. “Hyun Sam Shik? I don’t see the name here. How do you spell it?”

Oh goodness. “His name is not…”

“Sam Soon?” she heard Jin Hun’s voice from behind. She turned around.

She ran up to him and started feeling him all over. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? What’s the matter?”

A confused Jin Hun said, “Huh?”

“Mi Joo… Mi Joo called. She said you were here. What’s wrong with you? Why are you here?”

He scrunched his face. “I’m here for my annual check-up.”

“What?” Sam Soon let that sink in. “Your annual check up?” she repeated in a much smaller voice.

“Yes….” He searched her face then started laughing. “You ran here because of this?” He laughed harder.

Sam Soon rolled her hand into a fist and hit her palm. “I am going to get Mi Joo.”

Jin Hun broke down into a fit of laughter.

Sam Soon stared at him in disgust. “You! What’s so funny?”

He made a show of scratching his head and thinking. “What was it you were saying about being manipulated by someone half my age? Except in your case, it’s more like a third….”

“Shut up!” Mi Joo was due for some good talking-to. She honestly could not believe that she actually fell for this. She looked at her watch. “I think I can probably catch the next train,” she said to herself then rapidly walked out of the hospital.

Jin Hun ran up to catch up with her. “And you say you don’t love me. Give up already and just marry me," he said, looking pleased with himself.

“Drop dead,” she retorted without looking at him.

“So where are you going to?” The smirk appeared to be permanently planted on his face.

“None of your business.”

“Going to meet Tae Young?”

“If I say yes, will you get lost?” she said, picking up her pace.

“Maybe,” he said, putting his hands in his pocket and following her. Shortly after they arrived at the train station, he looked at his ticket and asked, “What’s in Siheung?”

Sam Soon eyed him. “Why are you asking me? You don’t know why you're going there?”


***


When they got on the train, Sam Soon sat at an unoccupied seat next to a fellow passenger while Sam Shik sat behind her.

About ten minutes after the train started moving, he tapped her shoulder. “There’s an empty seat next to me."

She ignored him.

He tapped her again. “I said there’s an empty seat next to me.”

Sam Soon turned around. “So what?”

“Come and sit here." He patted it.

“Why?”

“Because I want you to.”

“So what? Because you want me to? You must think you’re Zeus or something.” She hissed then turned back around.

“Sam Soon.”

“What?”

“Why don’t you come here? Are you scared?”

She turned around. “Of what?”

He shrugged. “If it’s nothing, come and sit here.”

She grunted and turned back around. The man sitting next to her rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Before she knew it, she felt familiar hands grab her. “What tha…” she exclaimed as Jin Hun pulled her up and dumped her in the window seat. Soon after, he sat next to her.

“Much better,” he said, nodding and looking satisfied.

She hid a smile. What a loser. How come he couldn't be so assertive when dealing with his mother?

A few minutes later, she glanced at him and said, “I’m not going anywhere – I prefer the window seat, anyway.”

“Good to know.”

“So you can let go of my hand now,” she said, tugging it away.

“I’d rather not.” He held on to her.


***


“Remember the first time we rode a train together?”

She didn’t look up from her magazine. “No.”

He nudged her. “You don’t remember the time we went to Pusan?”

She sighed. “Yes, I do. And you know what? I should have seen the signs then.”

He crinkled his forehead. “Which signs?”

“Signs you’re a conman,” she said, pointing at him. “You were supposed to say that you loved me but instead you spoke about my name.” She went back to reading her magazine.

“Do you want me to do it now?”

She laughed. “You couldn’t.”

“Are you sure about that?”

She didn’t even look up at him. “I triple dare you.”

“Alright.” He stood up and cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Hyun Jin Hun and the woman next to me is Kim Sam Soon.”

Sam Soon reached out to pull him down but instead, he pulled her up.

“Okay, you win,” she whispered. She felt weird; she was both frightened and excited about what he looked like he was about to do. “You can sit back down.”

He ignored her and instead, lifted her arm up. “Isn’t she beautiful?” he asked the rest of the passengers.


Yes. She’s alright. Keep quiet!


“We’ve been in love for about five years,” he continued, “but she doesn’t want to marry me. What do you guys think? Should she marry me?”


Yes. Of course. Who cares? Marry him. You're not getting any younger.


“Who said that?” Sam Soon yelled. She looked around for the culprit but was only met with stifled giggles.

“Thank you all,” he said, struggling to keep a straight face. Then he sat down and pulled Sam Soon down with him.

She smirked at him. “See? You’re still a conman.”



***

“So where are we going now?” Jin Hun asked shortly after they walked out of the bakery.

“Why do you keep asking me that?”

A few minutes later, Sam Soon darted into a shoe store. She went up to the sales lady and pointed at some red pumps. “Could I see those?”

The woman looked at her feet. “A size 245?”

Sam Soon shook her head. “They’re not for me – they’re for him,” she said just as Jin Hun joined her.

“W-What?” He looked at the shoes then at the sales lady. He shook his head in horror. “N-No, she’s only kidding.”

Sam Soon turned to him. “You need to stop being so shy. You begged me to come shoe shopping with you and now you’re backing out? I would gladly pretend the shoes were for me if we were the same size but your feet are obviously bigger than mine.”

Other customers had begun to stare at them.

Jin Hun frowned. “Stop it.”

Sam Soon chuckled. “You are so funny. I already told you that I am sick and tired of you stretching my shoes. Just let her get you something in your size, okay? Don’t be embarrassed - I am sure she’s used to seeing this kind of thing.” She turned to the lady. “Aren’t you, Miss?”

The lady smiled back. “Sure.”

“And Sam Shik, when we are done, we can go across the street and get you a bra.”

On hearing this, Jin Hun turned around and walked out of the store.



***


“You didn’t even get anything in the end.” Jin Hun fell in step with Sam Soon shortly after she walked out of the store.

“You’re still here?”

“You must be hungry.” He looked around the street. “What would you like to eat?”

“None of your business.”

Jin Hun’s response was interrupted by Sam Soon’s ringing phone.

She flipped it open. “Unnie, what’s up?”

“Guess?” her sister asked excitedly.

Sam Soon held the phone closer to her ear. “What? You won the lottery?”

“No. Better than that!”

“I won the lottery?”

“Mr. Hwang called and he wants to meet with us!”

Sam Soon screamed and started jumping. “You’re lying.”

“Nope. He’s set an appointment for Tuesday. He’s bringing a few of his colleagues with him and they’d like to take us out to lunch. And he said we should bring our lawyer along!”

“NOOOO!!!”

After getting a few more details from her sister, she hung up and told Jin Hun all about it.

“Congratulations! Let’s celebrate.” He hugged her.

“How?” she asked after he let go of her. She was so happy that she couldn’t even be bothered to analyze why it felt so good to be in his arms again.

He took her hand. “Let’s go in here.”


***

“Is this the kind of place you celebrate in?” Sam Soon said, looking around the fast-food joint.

“When did you become such a snob?”

“Are these together?” The boy at the counter asked after they placed their orders.

Jin Hun shook his head.

Sam Soon glared at him.

“What?” he asked innocently. “When it comes to me paying, we are suddenly together?” He chuckled. “Yes, they are together,” he said to the cashier.

Sam Soon shook her head. “No, you are right. Mister, they are separate.”

“No, together,” Jin Hun insisted.

Sam Soon took some money out of her purse, placed it on the counter, then took her food and went to find a table. Soon after, Jin Hun joined her. Then she got up and found the farthest table away. A few seconds later, he was sitting next to her. Then she got up again.

“Don’t you get tired of embarrassing yourself?”

“Ask yourself that question, Sam Shik. If you want to eat today, you’d better leave me alone.”

She walked away but this time, Jin Hun didn’t follow her.

About 5 minutes later, Sam Soon’s phone rang. She looked at her caller id then looked at him from across the room.

She sniggered. “You’ve become a stalker, haven’t you?” she said into the phone.

He looked back at her but spoke into the phone. He used his hand to hide his mouth and said, “I miss you. Come over here.”

“You are crazy. Leave me alone. I am hanging up now.”

“No! Wait.”

“What?”

“Nothing, really. I just didn’t want you to hang up.”

She snorted. “Okay. Bye now!”

“Wait… come over here,” he said, gesturing for her to join him.

She turned her whole body away so that she was backing him. “No-o. You haven’t gotten the hint yet?”

“Okay,” he said, relaxing into his chair. “So when are we going back to Seoul?”

She shrugged. “Did I ask you to come? I leave when I want to.”

“I might have things to do. Don’t you have to go to work?”

“It’s a half day today and I already baked everything this morning.” She glanced back at him and he waved in response. She turned back around.

“You might have some internet orders," he continued.

“Then I’ll do them later,” she said, in a sing-song voice. She relaxed into her seat.

“I’m ready to leave,” he groaned.

“Then leave!”

“Let’s go together.”

She laughed. “I don’t think so, Sam Shiki,” she said, still sing-songy. She took a bite out of her pizza. “And unless you want to keep listening to me like this,” she said with her mouth full, “hang up now! In fact, I am turning my phone off.”


***


“Alright, let’s go home,” Jin Hun said as soon as they stepped back on the street.

“No-o.”

“Ye-es.” He pulled her and started walking.

“No.” She pulled back at him and brought him to a halt.

She put her hands on her hips. “I haven’t celebrated enough. What else should we do?” She started dancing around again. “And your mother said I’m not the kind of woman that can run an important business.”

Jin Hun turned stiff. “When did she say that?”

Sam Soon turned red. How did she let that slip out? She looked away. “Forget about it.”

“Sam Soon, did my mother say anything to you?” he asked softly.

She smiled at him and looked everywhere but his eyes. “Yep. But that’s all in the past now. Let’s forget about it.”

“What do you mean by that? It’s not in the past. I am asking you right now.”

“Look, don’t ruin my day, okay? It’s all past tense now… time to forget about it.” She started to dance again, hoping that he’d just let it go.

“Look, Soonie, we can’t forget this,” he said, holding her still. “When was this? What did she say? Tell me!”

Sam Soon frowned at him. “Okay, the day’s been ruined. Happy now? Let’s go home.”


***
How was it possible that Sam Shik had the power to emotionally take her from an ultimate high to an ultimate low in a split second? He’d been very angry with her the entire train ride home because she refused to say anything more about what his mother had said. Why couldn’t’ he just leave her alone? She really didn’t want to have to relive all that anymore, after all, she’d moved on to Tae Young.

Tae Young. Her fiancé. That’s the only man she should be worried about? Right? She wasn’t using him? Right? He was the kind of man that she could marry. The kind of man she’d always hoped she could marry – someone who was always looking out for her. Someone dependable. Someone who didn’t get on her nerves. Someone who understood that no meant no. Someone who wasn’t a Mama’s boy. Someone who would stand up to his mother and fight for her. Someone won’t just let time pass by without fighting for them. She looked at her engagement ring. But, shouldn’t she be more excited about getting married? Why did she feel so ambivalent about it? Maybe he was right – seeing Jin Hun was messing with her head. It really had been easier while he was away... at least then, he only lived in her thoughts. Tae Young is the man for you. Tae Young is the man for you, she chanted as she walked up the hill to her house. Then it hit her – she hadn’t even shared her good news with 'the man for her'.

She reached into her bag and picked up her phone. She’d forgotten that she’d turned it off earlier and immediately switched it on. The display read that she’d missed 15 calls.

She was about to go through them when she heard Tae Young’s voice call her from a little ways ahead. She looked up as he jogged down to her.

“Where have you been?” he said, hugging her. “I’ve been so worried.”

When she disentangled from his embrace she said, “I went to Siheung. What’s up? Were you the one that called me so many times?”

He nodded. “I’ve got some news for you,” he said cautiously.

Sam Soon felt goose bumps popping all over her body. What could he possibly have to say to her? She wasn't being obvious, was she? Please, don’t be mad; I am sure I can love you if I try harder, she silently pleaded.

He held her hand. “I had to book our flight to New York for next Wednesday.”

Sam Soon blinked. “What?”

He ran his other hand through his hair. “I think my mother’s getting sick again. My father wouldn’t say anything definite so we have to go up there. Wednesday was the earliest I could get. Is that okay with you?”

16

Jin Hun barged into his mother’s house. He’d tried to keep calm but what the hell was wrong with Sam Soon? He couldn’t decide which was worse: the fact that she wouldn’t tell him what his mother had said or that she’d hidden it from him in the first place. He slammed the door behind him and headed towards the living room. The maid looked at his face and scurried away.

“Uncle,” an oblivious Mi Joo yelled, running to him.

“Go to your room,” he said, walking past her.

“Uncle?”

“Go to your room!” he repeated, not looking back.

Knowing when to back out, Mi Joo did what she’d been told.

On seeing that the living room was empty, Jin Hun headed towards her study and flung the door which had been slightly ajar wide open. His mother who’d been sitting at her desk poring over some files, looked up in surprise. “What’s with all the noise?”

“What did you say to Sam Soon?!”

His mother looked him over then raised a brow. “What?”

“President Na, what did you say to Sam Soon?” If Sam Soon wasn’t going to give him this information, his mother sure as hell would have to.

She stood up and put her fists on her hips. “Are you crazy? How dare you talk to me in the tone?”

“Mother,” he started venomously. It just wasn’t going to be one of those days. She could save her scolding for tomorrow but today, all he needed was an answer to his very simple question. “What did you say to Sam Soon?” he repeated.

His mother regarded him curiously and sat back down. She straightened her blouse and put on her ‘presidential’ face. “About what? I’m sure I’ve said many things to her.”

He folded his arms. “Something about not being good enough?”

“What?” His mother thought about it for the moment. “Oh, that was a long time ago.”

He moved further into the study. “Just tell me what you said,” he droned. He tried his hardest not to grit his teeth but her nonchalant attitude was grating his nerves.

“The same things I said to you – that I didn’t think she was right for the family and that the best thing she could do was give up on you,” she said dismissively.

“You said that?” He was a little surprised. Okay, maybe not entirely but he didn’t think she’d actually say that to her… at least not in his absence. He knew his mother didn’t approve of the match but he never really thought she'd go that far, especially after so many years. Had be really been stupid to believe that she’d slowly begun to come around? Maybe Sam Soon was right – he shouldn’t have waited for her approval. Dumb, dumb, dumb Jin Hun, he chided himself. He glowered at her. “President Na, if I’ve lost her forever, I will not forgive you. You had no right--”

“God. Don’t be so dramatic,” she said glibly.

“How can you sit there like that? I am your son – have you forgotten that? You had no right to say that to her.” He shook his head in disgust. “So what now? You’re happy? You’re ecstatic that we are not together anymore? You’re happy to see me like this?”

His mother rolled her eyes. “Relax. Be a man for chrissakes!”

At that moment, all Jin Hun could think was that the woman across from him was very lucky that she was his mother otherwise he might have said, or worse, done something he’d have later regretted.

“Besides, that’s your business,” she continued. “If you are together, not together, whatever happens is your business. You’re a grown man – what does it have to do with me? You need to take responsibility for yourself.”

Jin Hun burst out laughing. “Wow. I can’t believe you. You are truly something. You are one hell of an amazing woman.”

“Watch your mouth,” she warned.

He scoffed. “Now, it’s my business? When you went behind my back and spoke to her, whose business was it?”

He waited for a response but his mother didn’t say anything.

“And since it’s my business, stop throwing Eunsoo at me. I thought it was quite clear that I am not interested in her.”

“Eunsoo? I already gave up on that a long time ago. If you don’t want her, that’s fine. It’s clear that you don’t know a good thing when it’s standing in front of you.”

She’d given up on them? “What do you mean? About Eunsoo…?”

His mother shrugged. “As I said, do whatever you like. You’re already 32 years old. I would like to see my grandchildren you know. And if…”

His mother had begun to drone on and on about his marriage choices but Jin Hun was no longer listening. So if his mother didn’t care about Eunsoo, did it mean she approved of Sam Soon? He asked her just to be sure that he understood her correctly.

“I never said that I accept her,” she finally replied. “I just said that I will not interfere. If you are bent on marrying her and since Mi Joo likes her, who am I to interfere? If that’s what I have to do to get you married, I will.”

Jin Hun smirked. Now she tells him. He just loved how his mother only had that epiphany after Sam Soon had left him. Well, if this woman thought she was playing mind games, he hoped that she realized she was going to lose because when he got Sam Soon back, he could care less if she kept her word.

He cleared his throat. “So Mother, would you be willing to say this to Sam Soon?”

“I already have.”


***


“So what do you think about a trip to Hong Kong?” Sam Soon asked, pulling two tickets out of her bag. It was funny how she hadn’t even thought of them till the second after Tae Young had dropped the bomb about their trip to the U.S.

“God, you are greedy. One trip abroad isn’t enough, so now you want to go on another one? Do you even care about the shop?” her sister teased. They were sitting at Yi Young’s dinning table drinking some coffee.

Sam Soon groaned. “Stop it. You know that’s not what I meant.”

Her sister caressed her hand. “Sam Soon, is it really that difficult to make a decision? You're making this far more difficult than it has to be.”

She made a face. “I just don’t want to make the wrong one – this is something I am going to have to live with forever.”

“As you know, it doesn’t have to be forever,” her sister said matter-of-factly.

“Like divorce is even an option. See how hard it is for me to get married in the first place. Who wants a 45 year old divorced woman?” There was no way in hell she was going to go through this a second time.

“Then don’t get divorced.”

“I wish it were that simple. This doesn’t make any sense. I am Kim Sam Soon! I know what I want and I go for it!” She placed head on the table in surrender. “God, send me a sign!”

Her sister regarded her closely. “You want to know the difference between my first husband and this one?”

With her head still on the table, Sam Soon turned to look at her. “He cheated on you?”

“Well, other than that…”

“What other reason? Didn’t you leave because he cheated?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was the last straw. But even if he hadn’t cheated, it would just have been me being married to someone because I didn’t want to get divorced.”

Sam Soon sat back up.” So what’s different?”

“It was simply the wrong man.”

Sam Soon thought about it. “So you’re saying that you didn’t love him?”

“Well…,” Yi Young paused for a second, “Yeah, I definitely loved him. But love isn’t all you need in a marriage.”

“You loved him and you love brother-in-law. How can you tell the difference?”

“Compatibility. Can you live with this man with all his flaws, and trust me, there are hundreds, forever? Can this man be the father of your children? Is he dependable? Will he always be there for you? Things like that.”

“So Dr. Yi Young, to cut to the chase, are you saying I should marry Tae Young? Or you’re talking about Sam Shik?”

Yi Young smiled apologetically. “You know I’ve loved Sam Shik as a brother-in-law for quite a long time so I don’t think I can answer that question. But you know who you should be with. In there.” She pointed at Sam Soon’s heart.

Sam Soon shook her head. “This conversation isn’t going like I expected. I thought you hated Tae Young – I was getting ready to defend him.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, dongsaeng, but right now, I love Tae Young. He’s about to make us rich women,” she said grinning.

Sam Soon rolled her eyes.

“But in all seriousness, it's really not that difficult. Just follow your heart… with a little help from your head.”

“Now, if only both of them could give me a clear message!” She hit her head on the table.

They sat at the table for a while longer and when they started to drift to other topics, Yi Young began, “Ehm, Sam Soon, I don’t know if this is the right time to bring this up….”

“What?”

“You’re about to become an auntie.”


***

Jin Hun needed a day to let everything sink in. Not only had his mother asked Sam Soon to break up with him, apparently, she’d later on told her that she accepted them. So what was going on in Sam Soon’s head? He drove up to her house and called her out. To his surprise, she didn’t make any excuses and agreed to meet with him.

“Do you mind if we sit? I’m a little tired,” she asked, shutting the gate behind her. She was already in her pajamas and didn’t even bother to cover it up with a robe.

“Is everything okay?” Jin Hun noticed how tired she looked.

She gave him a small smile. “It’s just one of those days. Can we sit in your car?”

Jin Hun led the way and opened the door for her. Then he went over to the driver’s side and sat in the seat.

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

“So what do you want to say?” She was looking ahead.

“I spoke to my mother about what she said.” He, too, didn’t turn his face.

“Okay.”

That was her only reaction? “So why didn’t you tell me?”

She shrugged. “What difference would it have made?”

He turned to her. “Why would you say that? Of course it would have made a difference.”

She looked at him. “Really? It would? It’s not like she told me something that I didn’t already know.”

“So why did you listen to her? You broke up with me because she asked you to, didn’t you?”

“Hmm… yeah, sure. That’s it,” she said sarcastically.

“Sam Soon, why are you acting like this?” He wanted to shake her back to the woman he’d spent so many years loving. Why was she acting defeated? Why had she given up?

She looked at him. “How am I acting? This is all in the past, right? For four years you didn’t do anything about it, so what’s all this?”

“But that’s all over now.”

“It is?” she scoffed.

“My mother accepts us now. Didn’t she tell you?”

“Is that what she told me? She kept going around in circles and said a lot without saying much. God, why are we even talking about this? Is there even a point? It will never be the same. Look at how my mother loves you – your mother will never love me like that.”

“So what? What matters is how we feel about each other. I can’t control the way she acts, Sam Soon.”

“Of course you can’t. How could you possibly do that?” She said spitefully. “But what difference does it make? We’re not together anymore.”

Jin Hun was getting increasingly frustrated. Did she no longer love him? A week earlier, he was sure she did but right then, with the way she was speaking, he wasn’t sure. And he wanted to smash something.

She put her hand on the door handle. “Is that all you wanted to say? I am sick of going around in circles with you about this. It’s all in the past. I am tired of thinking about this. I am tired of feeling this way. I think it’s time for us to really move on. I really want to move on.”

She was sick of it? So was he. What the fu.ck? It wasn’t supposed to be this hard. Jin Hun watched her open the door and step out. When she was at the front of the car, he got out of it. How dare she think that they were really over? “So are you saying that you don’t love me anymore?”

She sighed. “Of course I love you. You don’t wake up one morning and just stop loving someone.”

Encouraged by her response, he bridged the distance between them in seconds. “So why are you doing this?”

“What did I read the other day? It takes 6 months for every year of the relationship to get over someone,” she continued to herself. “I guess I have about a year and some months left, I suppose.”

What was she saying? How in the world had they got to this point? He wanted to punch himself for not nipping this at the bud. He should never have left after she broke up with him. He should never have given in. He should have forced her to take him back. He looked at her down turned eyes and reached out and cupped her face. “Answer me. Why are you doing this?” When she didn’t react, he got more agitated. “It can’t be because of that Tae Young character. If you love me, you can’t love him!”

“He doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

Was she completely insane? “Are you for real? You’re engaged to him. You’re wearing his ring on your finger! And you say this has nothing to do with him?”

“That’s right!” she screamed, pushing his hands off her face. “He has nothing to do with us!” Tears had begun to well up in her eyes. “We aren’t together anymore not because of any other man but because of you! I am too scared to be with you!”

What? “Why can’t you be with me?”

“I am sick of always having to do everything. If not for me, we would never have had a relationship. I kissed you first. I was the first person to say I liked you. Remember that? And then you went back to Hee Jin. And then the only reason you ever came back to me was because you hated seeing me with other men.”

“That’s not true. And why are you bringing all this up?!”

“And even after all that, it took you a while to break up with Hee Jin. Remember that? Remember that?”

“So the whole time we’ve been together, you’ve been harboring all this?” His blood had begun to boil. Had their entire relationship been a lie?

“Of course not,” she said at a lowered pitch. “But it’s just that I can see the pattern – your pattern of inactivity. I don’t want to feel like I am the only one holding our relationship together. You know how to be bold and brash when it comes to me – see how you’ve been acting the last couple of days. Sam Soon, don’t do this. Sam Soon, come here,” she mimicked him. “I’m not stupid – I know what you’re trying to do. But when it comes to us, you can’t do anything. Your mother wouldn’t have accepted us if I never left you. Do you understand what I am saying? You even,” she paused for a second.” Do you remember how you wanted me to get pregnant so that your mother would accept us? Even then, it had to be me doing things to convince your own mother!”

“How was it only you? Can you get pregnant alone?”

“No. But does that sound rational? Can’t you be a man for once?! Maybe it’s an age thing – is that what it is? Do I have to wait for you to grow up?”

Jin Hun was damn near speechless. “Are you just saying these things to hurt me?”

“And then this whole time… these four years, you got so comfortable with our relationship that you were satisfied with everything. Oh, I could come over to your apartment, spend the night a few days a week and you were happy, going around, skipping along like character in a CF,” she said sarcastically.

Jin Hun just stood back and watched her diatribe.

“Did you ever once, just once think about me? Did you ever think about what I was going through? You know I wanted to get married. You’ve always known I wanted to get married and you didn’t even care for one minute about it! You were happy not doing anything. Doing nothing! How can I marry a man like that?”

“How come you never said any of this before?”

“Because I never realized it. Or maybe I just didn’t want to.”

He was still speechless. And hurt. So very hurt.

Still looked at him, she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. She glared at him for a few more seconds and started to leave.

Jin Hun grabbed her hand. “You can’t leave. We have to resolve this. If you want me to change, I will.”

“But you see, I can’t believe you. This is exactly how you were when we first started dating. But I’m scared that two years down the road, you’ll get comfortable with our relationship again and it’ll be back to square one.”

“Don’t forget that you love me. Never forget that you love me.”

“How can I forget that? It would be so much easier if I didn't love you,” she said, her voice cracking. She bent her head and started sobbing again. Jin Hun took her in his arms and let her cry. God, what had he done? And how in the world could he prove to her that he would be the man she wanted?

17

Jin Hun sat at his desk then threw his keys into the drawer. Just like every other Monday, he began his day by logging on to his computer and reviewing his calendar for the week. Except it wasn’t just any Monday. After all, he didn’t normally show up to work with bags under his eyes, or spend most of the earliest hours of the morning trying to figure out a way of fixing the mess his love life had become.

He looked at an entry in his calendar and buzzed his secretary.

“What’s this lunch appointment for tomorrow?” he asked.

“Ms. Park asked me to add it to your calendar last Thursday.”

Soon after he hung up, he called Eunsoo and she explained that there’d been a last minute lunch request made by some of their investors.


***
The waitress led Jin Hun to one of the tables next to the windows overlooking the street beneath. Eunsoo was sitting with her back to the entrance and when he arrived, she stood up and greeted him. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Jin Hun sat next to her, leaving the empty seats across them for their clients.

After a few minutes of small talk, Jin Hun looked at his watch and commented, “I guess they should be arriving in a few minutes.”

“Well”, she began, hitting the table and sitting up straight. “Actually, no one else is joining us.” She glanced at him.

Jin Hun blinked then looked at her from the corner of his eye. “Pardon?”

“I wanted to speak to you outside of your office and I didn’t know how else to do it. You’re always refusing or postponing our lunch dates so I guess I was forced to do it this way,” she said, grinning uncertainly.

Jin Hun leaned back in his chair. Knowing that this little meeting most likely hadn’t been arranged by his mother shed a different light on it. “Okay, what do you want to talk to me about?”

She tucked her hair behind her ear and took a deep breath. “How exactly do I put this…?” she began. “Well… I think that we should start dating.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me?”

She played with the napkin on the table then stopped and put her hands on her lap. She turned her entire body to him. “It makes sense, don’t you think? You’re not dating anyone, I’m not dating anyone.” She started talking with her hands. “I know you’re attracted to me – I’ve seen the way you look at me sometimes and you’re not exactly a bad-looking guy.”

“Ah-ha.” He noticed that she was attractive but outside of the office, outside of his mother's scheming, he never really thought about her.

“And it makes perfect sense; I already understand your business,” she said, counting it off on her fingers, “your mother likes me; I’ve built a relationship with all your partners and major clients; we probably want the same things and I think our personalities match. In a nutshell, I think we are compatible.”

“I see.”

“And in a few months… if things go well, we should get married.”

"Married?" Jin Hun chuckled. "We should get married,” he repeated, letting the words roll off his tongue. “You and I should get married?”

“Yes, it makes perfect sense. I’m sure you can already see all the changes I’ve made to the hotel – imagine how great it would be if we became a team.”

“What about your father’s business? I always thought you’d be going back there."

“Why would you think that?” she said dismissively. “My brothers are going to be running it.”

***
Sam Soon tried to keep a smile planted on her face as she sat across from Mr. Hwang and his two colleagues. She sipped her drink without actually tasting it.

We should get married.

The phrase had been playing in Sam Soon’s head ever since she walked into the restaurant. Even though she could only see his back, she’d immediately recognized Jin Hun the second she saw him. She’d been telling herself to clear her mind of him and everything she felt in preparation for what could be the most important lunch of her life when she heard him say those words. On any other day, she’d have walked up to Jin Hun and confronted him. How dare he propose to another woman shortly after proposing to her?

And to think that she’d been so close to asking Tae Young to go to New York alone. In fact, she’d pretty much decided to call him later that evening. She’d been so tired of battling with her feelings that she felt she needed a break from it all… a little time to be free of all the pressure that both he and she had been putting on her. On thing she’d learned after the confrontation the past Sunday was that she wasn’t close to forgetting Sam Shik. But sitting right there, she couldn’t pretend that she wasn’t heartbroken to see that he really hadn’t changed. Maybe she thought, or at least hoped, that this time, just this time, he’d fight for them but instead he was spending his lunch proposing to another woman. She still couldn't believe it though. How could he say he loved her and propose to someone else? Sam Shik? Her Sam Shik? That was definitely the last thing she'd expected. Had she misheard him?

She pinched herself under the table. God, she was a fool. On hell of a foolish idiot who’d veered off her course. Five years earlier, her one and only desire had been to get married and start a family but somewhere along the way, she’d allowed herself to be distracted by the stupid concept called love. What had love ever done for her other than bring unnecessary heartache?

Sam Soon felt an elbow nudging her. She turned in its direction to see her sister signaling for her to pay attention to the conversation that they were all sharing.

After a few more comments about the weather and that days news, Mr. Chu, the shorter of Mr. Hwang’s colleagues said, “So let’s get down to business, shall we? Ms. Kim, thank you so much for the samples you sent to us a few weeks ago. The office was full of smiles shortly after they arrived.”

“Thank you,” she said gracefully.

“But the thing is,” he said, glancing at the other men at his side of the table, “we’ve decided that we want to develop our own pastries and desserts.”

“Excuse me?”

“What you have at Samsuni is great, but we want something that is different from that – something that is unique, something that you can’t get anywhere else.”

“I don’t understand.” Sam Soon looked at her lawyer who remained expressionless. She looked back at Mr. Chu. “Are you saying that you don’t want to work with us?” And if so, why did they waste their time?

“No. What we would like you to do is come and work for us.”

“What?” Yi Young blurted out.

“What we want is someone who’d spend some time developing and fine tuning our products. We don’t want to just distribute another company’s line of pastries." He paused. "We want our own line -one that will bare our logo and ours alone.”

After a moment of silence, Sam Soon’s lawyer jumped in with questions.

Sam Soon sat back in her seat and glanced at Mr. Hwang. How could he just sit there and act like he and his company hadn’t previously misrepresented themselves? Or had she just made the wrong assumptions?

“Are you finished?” The waitress asked, reaching out for her plate. Sam Soon shook her head. It sure as hell was turning into such a shi.tty day that even the waitress didn’t want to allow her to finish her meal. As she picked up chopsticks, a ray of sunlight reflected on her diamond. She dropped the sticks and played with her ring. She sure did waste a lot of time dreaming of impossible things, didn’t she? Stupid things like a 35 year old woman marrying the perfect man and running a nationally renowned business. Sam Soon, time to refocus, she told herself.

18

“But will she have ownership of any of the recipes?” Sam Soon’s lawyer asked Mr. Chu. For the past ten minutes, they’d been battling about the job offer and as time went by, all Sam Soon wanted to do was punch Mr. Hwang for stepping into her shop. After all, if he’d just left her alone, she wouldn’t have wasted her time on the pointless lunch, nor would she have heard Jin Hun proposing to who ever that had been.

Having had enough of the stupid restaurant, Sam Soon dropped her glass on the table. It fell so hard that she was surprised that it didn't break. She looked up from it to find everyone staring at her. She stood up. “Look, I am not going to close my shop, okay? So why are we even discussing this?”

Mr. Chu raised his head at her. “It will be a great opportunity for you and besides, I am sure we could come up with some kind of compromise….” He glanced at her lawyer.

She looked around the restaurant and saw that a small group of professionals had taken Jin Hun's former table. She turned back to Mr. Hwang and his colleagues. “Well, I’m leaving. It was nice meeting you all,” she said, sounding like she meant the exact opposite.

She heard Yi Young and her lawyer trying to stop her but she just ignored them and followed her feet out of the restaurant. The second she stepped out of the building, she hailed a cab and gave the driver Jin Hun’s address. Who the fu.ck did he think he was? How dare he propose to someone else so soon? Did he ever love her? Had their years together meant nothing? All she wanted was an explanation, and to wring his foolish neck. They were about 15 minutes away from his apartment complex when her phone rang. She looked at the caller id – it was Tae Young. She’d actually forgotten about him for a moment. For a split second she contemplated not answering it but decided that he’d never done anything to deserve being treated like that.

“Hi, Honey,” he said cheerfully.

“Hi.”

“So how did the meeting go?”

“Why don’t you call your friend to find out?”

“Er…” He seemed to be at a loss for words.

It wasn’t exactly his fault that Mr. Hwang has deceived them so she decided not to take it out on him. “Let’s not talk about it, okay?”

“But…” He paused. “Well, you can tell me all about it on the looong plane ride. Have you packed yet?”

“No.”

“Why not? Remember that our flight leaves really early. Make sure you’re ready when I come over to pick you up.”

“Well....”

“Is anything the matter? What happened at the meeting?” When she didn’t respond, he said, “Well cheer up. After you meet my parents, we’ll set a date and get married then we can worry about whatever it is together. I really can’t wait for you to be part of our family.”

A few minutes later, Sam Soon hung up the phone. She sighed. She knew a nice man who dreamt of marrying her and there she was about to go and talk to someone who'd forgotten her so quickly. Focus, Sam Soon, focus, she reminded herself.

“Hey, Mister,” she said to the cab driver, “can you turn around?”




***
Arriving in New York had been uneventful except for the fact that they’d arrived at Newark International Airport. At first, Sam Soon had wondered if she’d been spelling New York wrong for all these years but then when Tae Young explained it, she wondered why he’d said they were flying to New York when in fact, they arrived in New Jersey. Or did he just say that because their final destination was New York? Not that the city really mattered because apparently, she couldn’t understand much English. How come they sounded so nasal and absolutely nothing like her English teacher? Her suspicions had been realized – yup, her teacher sucked. Although she had to admit that even Tae Young seemed to be having a bit of a problem communicating with the locals because he had to repeat every single thing he said to them. It was a bit amusing watching him get frustrated.

And as these thoughts went through her mind, she wondered if that was what she was supposed to think about on the way to meet her in-laws for the first time. Growing up, she’d never pictured herself sitting next to her fiancé in a cab riding on the streets of New York about to meet her parents-in-law for the first time at a hospital. Something just didn’t feel right about it. And as she thought about it, she remembered the first time she’d met President Na at Jin Hun’s apartment. No, she’d certainly never dreamed of that, but for some reason, it hadn't felt odd. And as she giggled at the memory, she looked out of the window and saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time. Then she wondered if that was exactly the spot on the bridge Jin Hun had been the first time he’d seen it.


***

“Tae Young, you really came?” His mother was sitting up in her hospital bed holding a book.

“Of course I did, Omma,” he said, going up to her and hugging her.

She was a slightly built woman who looked nothing like him. However, Sam Soon could see the resemblance to Soo Hyun, with both of them having the same snub nose and round eyes. She was dressed in her hospital gown but with her bright complexion and demeanor, Sam Soon wondered if she was really sick.

“Where’s Appa?” Tae Young asked.

“He just went out to get something to eat. Did you come straight from the airport?”

Tae Young nodded.

“But why did you rush here? Didn’t your father tell you that it was only the flu and they were just keeping me for some tests?”

He nodded again. “But I didn’t believe him.”

His mother shook her head disapprovingly. “Why wouldn’t you believe him? When has he ever lied?”

After a moment, his mother’s eyes drifted from him and settled on Sam Soon. She grinned at her. “This must be the woman making my son so happy these days.”

Sam Soon smiled and looked down humbly.

“You do look chubbier than in the picture he sent,” she observed. “Was that an old photo?”

Tae Young shook his head. “No. The last one I sent was from about two months ago.”

His mother’s eyes widened. “You gained so much weight in two months? Are you pregnant?”

Sam Soon chuckled. She sort of liked this blunt woman. “No, Eomeoni….” She paused. It was weird calling anyone other than President Na by that name. In fact, it sounded wrong. She cleared her throat. “I am not pregnant -I just eat a lot.”

“Then you should watch what you eat. It’s not good for a woman to be fat.” She gestured for Sam Soon to move closer. “I hope the rumor I heard about you staying at a hotel is not true,” she said to them.


***

The next day, Tae Young’s mother had come back from the hospital and after dinner, Sam Soon and Tae Young decided to take a stroll around Manhattan to look at some of the sights she’d read about. They’d just finished taking pictures at Grand Central Station when Sam Soon came face to face with the Grand Hyatt hotel.

“Hey, let’s go there.” She started walking towards it.

Tae Young followed her. “What’s so special about it? It’s just a hotel.”

They walked in and roamed about the lobby, feeling the golden pillars and walking over the marbled floors. The idiot really did waste a lot of money, she thought, noticing how expensive everything looked. They walked to the restaurant and then took a peek at the ballroom after which Sam Soon turned to Tae Young and said, “Do you think we could get a room?”

He looked surprised. “What?”

She smiled. “I want to see what the view is like.” Her smile faded when she looked at his face of confusion. What the hell was she thinking? She ran out the hotel and kept running and running till she ran out of breath. Then she staggered a few feet further till she got to an empty bus stop and sat down. She could hear Tae Young’s voice behind her as she tried to readjust herself on the cold, plastic seat but right then, there was one thing she was sure of; she could never forget Sam Shik. But even worse, she didn’t ever want to.


***

Jin Hun opened his car door when he saw Yi Young’s husband’s car pull into their driveway. “Noonim,” he called as soon as they stepped out.

Yi Young was surprised. “Sam Shiki?”

Jin Hun greeted them and after he refused to go into the house, her husband left them.

“What are you doing here?” Yi Young asked him.

“Where have you been?” For four days, Jin Hun had staked both of the houses, wondering where all three women had disappeared to. He’d called Sam Soon’s phone but it seemed to be permanently off and he’d been going out of his mind. He’d barely slept an hour each night.

“I went to spend some time with my husband’s family. Why are you looking for me?”

“Where’s Sam Soon?” he blurted out.

“She’s gone to see Tae Young’s family in America.” Yi Young watched him carefully.

His heart stopped. What? She actually had the guts to take it that far? Even when she still loved him? Was she crazy?

“Do you have an address?” If he had to go over there and bring her back, he would. He was sick of trying to convince her. If he had to force her, well, that's what he'd do.

“I have the phone number and name of the hotel she’s staying at. Why don’t you come in so that I can give them to you?”

***

Tae Young walked into the spare bedroom to find Sam Soon packing up her suitcase. “Hey, what are you doing?”

Sam Soon glanced at him. "I'm packing my things."

"Why?"

She looked at him but tried to avoid his eyes. “Tae Young, I don’t know how to say this but I don’t think I can do this," she said apologetically.

He went up to her and took her hands. “What do you mean?”

She shook her head vigorously. “I am so sorry. I am so sorry I took it this far. I never should have said yes to you. I never should have accepted your proposal.”

“What happened? Is it my family? Did my mother say anything?”

“No. Your mother’s great.”

“Then what is it?” he asked desperately.

Sam Soon looked away from the confusion in his eyes. There was absolutely nothing she could say to justify what she was doing so she decided to just tell the truth. “I’m still in love with Jin Hun.”

He shook his head. “No, you’re not."

She gave him a sidelong look.

“You’re in a new country – everything is different. You’re just confused.”

“I’m not confused. It’s because I am in a different country that I know I can’t be without him. I don’t feel right here,” she said, pointing to her heart.

He hissed. “That's a load of crap. And if you love him, so what?”

She raised her brow. “What?”

“You decided he wasn’t good enough for you, didn’t you?”

She shook her head. “He’s good enough for me – what’s so great about me? Why wouldn't he be good enough?”

“He’s a weak man, remember?”

“No, he’s not. And even if he is, I can be strong for both of us. I just can’t get him out of my mind – I’m sorry. I belong with him - with all his flaws. Even if I have to be the one that does everything in our relationship, I’ll do it. What’s the big deal? I won't die if I keep doing it, would I?”

He folded his arms. “And this isn’t something you could have told me in Seoul before I went and spent millions of Won on your ticket?”

She exhaled. “I’m sorry. I’ll give you a refund when we get back.”

He grabbed her by the shoulders. “It’s not about the money. Can't you see that you're making a fool of me?”

Sam Soon struggled to get out of his grip then pushed him off her. “How dare you hold me like that? Have you lost your mind?”

He glared at her then sat on the bed. “Well, I just can’t let you leave like this," he said calmly.

“How can you stop me?”

“Do you want my mother to die? I know you don’t care about me but do you want to stress her so much? If you’d never come it would have been different. But to just leave in the middle of the trip, how is she going to take it?”

Not that she wanted to hurt his mother, but she didn't exactly look like she was on her last legs. However, he had a point. “So you want me to pretend?”

“No. But if you have any decency at all, even just a little, you’ll complete the trip. Is this fair to my parents? Some of my father’s friends are coming over tomorrow to see you. What do you want me to tell them? All this could have been avoided if you'd never gotten on the plane. But you did and that's your fault. Don't disrespect my family and just stay for the rest of the days."


***
Jin Hun stood in line at the airport to check-in for his flight. His mother had screamed at him and said that he wasn’t thinking clearly, that it made no sense for him to run after someone who was marrying another man but he didn’t care. Calling the hotel had turned out futile as he'd been told that they'd never checked in. He’d already asked some friends to do some digging around the Korean community over in New York so that at least he’d have a reasonable place to start once he arrived, but with a name like Lee, he knew the search was going to prove difficult. But he didn’t care – he was up to the challenge. As he dragged his feet and moved towards the counter, all he could do was pray that Sam Soon wouldn't do anything rash like choosing to get married before returning to Korea.

The person in front of him got out of the line.

“May I have your passport and ticket?” the chubby lady at the ticket counter asked him.

The End.

“Thank you so much,” Jin Hun said into the phone then hung up. In the hour he’d spent waiting for his flight, he’d spoken to a private investigator a friend in New York had recommended and even he had questioned his sanity for flying to a city of 8 million people to find one. But once Jin Hun had explained to him that he would spare no expense in finding Sam Soon, the investigator quickly came around.

“Korean Airlines Flight number 203 is ready for boarding. Could the First Class passengers please approach the gate?”

Jin Hun got off his seat and pulled his hand luggage. How odd was it the last non-business trip he’d taken to New York was to say good bye to a girlfriend and now he was taking the same flight to find another?

***

“I wish you didn’t have to leave so soon,” Tae Young’s mother said, hugging Sam Soon. “Make sure you plan the next one better.” She caressed Sam Soon’s upper arm.

Sam Soon smiled and nodded, hoping that her guilt wasn’t seeping from her skin. “Goodbye, Mother and feel better,” she said. When she turned around, she shot an angry glance at her so-called fiancé and slid into the waiting cab.

It wasn’t that she thought she was entirely blameless. In fact, she knew she was very much at fault. Because if she’d never accepted his proposal in the first place, none of this would had happened. If she hadn’t been foolish enough to get on the plane and meet his parents, she wouldn’t have put him in such a difficult position. Which was why she hadn’t stormed out of his house that fateful evening. She knew that his parents deserved some respect so she agreed to spend two more days so he could come up with a reasonable explanation for why she was cutting their trip short.

Although it wasn’t her first time of pretending to be in love with someone for show, it was so different that she kept comparing it to the previous 'contract' and that kept Jin Hun constantly in her mind. Not that she'd have forgotten him otherwise. She’d picked up the phone a few times to call him and even gotten through once but it had gone straight to voicemail. Since then, she’d found herself regretting not saying anything after hearing that click but what she had to say was better said in person. Surely, it’s not that easy to wring someone’s neck for proposing to someone else over the phone now, is it?

“Call us when you set a date,” his mother said as the driver started the engine.

“We will,” Tae Young promised cheerfully.

Back in the moment, Sam Soon frowned at him in disgust and the moment the car sped away, she slid so far from him that was touching the door.

“Is it that difficult to be around me?” he asked with a pained voice.

Oh, not again. “What do you mean?”

“You can’t wait to get away from me? You’re acting like I have a disease. Did I ever mean anything to you?

Sam Soon groaned. She was getting really sick of the madness. For the last two days, he’d been sending her on a long guilt trip trying to make her feel bad about what she’d done, like she wasn’t feeling bad enough as it was.

“I wish you hadn’t led me on," he continued. "You know, maybe I would have found someone else, someone who’d have been happy to become part of my family. You know, someone I wouldn't have wasted an engagement ring on.”

“Haven’t I already returned it to you?”

“I really regret meeting you, Sam Soon,” he continued, ignoring her question. “What will I tell Soo Hyun? She’s already lived through the death of her mother, how will she live through this?”

“Sir,” Sam Soon said to the cab driver, “could you please increase the volume of the radio?”


***
Sam Soon dropped her phone in her purse. For the fourth time since she’d arrived back in Seoul, her call to Jin Hun had gone straight to voicemail. Surely, he wasn’t avoiding her calls, was he?

Feeling Tae Young’s eyes boring into her back, she moved closer to the conveyor belt and looked out for her luggage. After sitting next to him for what seemed like a million hours on the plane, she’d hoped he’d have taken the hint and left her once they arrived back in Korea but apparently, he hadn’t.

“Will you at least come and see Soo Hyun?” Tae Young asked from behind her.

Sam Soon turned around. “What?”

“You owe her an explanation. She loves you like a mother. Do you think it’s fair for you to just leave her like that?”

She stretched out her arm to him. “Okay, take it. Is this what you want? Grab a knife and cut it off.” She gritted her teeth. In fact, she was ready to cut off her own damn arm if it meant she wouldn’t have to listen to his lectures anymore. “I know what I did was wrong. I’ve already apologized. What more do you want?”

He shrugged and shook his head then walked to the other side of the conveyor belt.

Sam Soon watched him and wondered how she’d been blind the whole time they were together. Why did she ever think that he was so mature? One thing this whole mess had made her realize was that all men were the same: they wanted what they wanted when they wanted it and if they didn’t get, they threw a tantrum. Perhaps her theory that men only grew up after having children was flawed. Maybe they only got better at putting up a facade.

She was still lost in her thoughts when he returned with her luggage and dropped it in front of her. He looked at her through sad eyes and started to walk back for his bags.

Sam Soon grabbed his arm. “I really am sorry about all this. I hope you know that.”

“But not sorry enough to come back to me, right?” he asked, not turning around.

Sam Soon let go of him. “I’m sorry.”

***

Jin Hun leaned against the railing and he let his head hang down for a minute. How stupid was he? Her flight wasn’t arriving for another fifty or so minutes and factoring in Customs, he knew he wouldn’t see her in at least an hour and a half but he’d been standing there for hours like a fool. A loud growl escaped his belly and he reflexively touched it. He’d tried to have breakfast but he’d barely tasted it because all he could think about was the unavoidable public confrontation he was about to partake in.

He looked up at the new arrivals as they strolled past him. He’d seen so many people in the past day that their faces were beginning to blend into one another. He’d even begun to put them into categories. There were those who had no one to pick them up so they headed straight for the taxi stands. There were those who weren’t expecting to be picked up and broke a smile filled with joy when a loved one surprised them. There were those who walked up, down and all around waiting for someone who’d obviously disappointed them. Then there were those who searched for a familiar face then smiled on seeing them. He looked at all those faces as they moved past him when his eyes unexpectedly fell on a familiar one in the fourth category.

He glanced at his watch then back at her. Then he wiped his eyes and peered at her again – he really wasn’t imagining things. As he couldn’t go past the barricade, he walked to the receiving area, took a deep breath and waved as she walked towards him.

Sam Soon stopped in her tracks when she spotted him. He saw the barrage of emotions cross her face; from shock, to anger and to confusion before she resumed walking, but this time, with calculated steps.

“Did Unnie have a sex change?” she asked when he was within ear shot.

He jogged the few yards between them. “What?”

She looked around the airport. “Where’s my sister?”

She looked beautiful even though he could tell that she was tired. He wanted to reach out and touch her face but instead, reached for her luggage. She slapped his hand away.

“What are you doing here?”

He looked at her and pursed his lips. “I’m here to get you.”

“What?”

He grabbed her hand. “This has gone on long enough. I’m taking you home with me tonight.”

She pulled back from him but his grip was ironclad. “Are you crazy?”

He stepped closer to her so that they were only inches apart. “You’re coming back with me. Do you understand that? I’m not letting you go.”

She scrunched her nose and pushed him away. “Did you forget to shower this morning? You stink!”

He stepped away but didn’t let go of her. “Well, you are going to have to get used to that smell because I am not leaving you.”

“Really? And what does your fiancé think about this?”

Huh? He was about to ask what the hell she was talking about when he saw Tae Young’s face amongst the sea of new arrivals. He released Sam Soon then walked to him so that he was blocking his path. Tae Young tried to walk past him but Jin Hun wouldn’t let him so instead, Tae Young stood and glared at him.

“What do you want?” he snarled.

“Look, I think we need to talk,” Jin Hun said.

Tae Young glanced at Sam Soon who was a few feet to the side of them then looked back at the man standing in front of him. “I’m sure there’s absolutely nothing for us to talk about.”

“Listen, I have nothing against you but I can’t let you marry Sam Soon.”

Tae Young released his grip on his bag so that it fell to the floor in a loud thud. “You can’t let me? Who do you think you are?”

“I’m sure you’re a nice guy but you need to go and find someone else. I won’t tolerate you interfering with us anymore. So just go and find someone else and leave her alone.”

Tae Young laughed sarcastically. “Are you some kind of comedian? What makes you think you can tell me what to do? You won’t tolerate?” Then the smile disappeared. “Do yourself a favor and get the fu.ck out of my face.”

“Hey, buddy, I’m not looking for a fight, okay?”

“Don’t ‘buddy’ me. What the hell? Just get the fu.ck out of my face. You’re the last person I want to see at this moment.”

But Jin Hun didn’t oblige, he just couldn’t. Things were better for everyone this way. “I will leave as soon as I can see that we are all on the same page.”

Tae Young’s demeanor changed as he became more agitated. “Look, Mister. Just go away. Trust me; you don’t want me to repeat myself – just step aside.”

As if on cue, Sam Soon jumped in between them so that her back was to Tae Young. She put her hand on Jin Hun’s chest and pushed him back. “Hey, what the hell do you think you are doing? You have no right to talk to him like that.”

Jin Hun tore his eyes away from Tae Young’s reddening face and trained them on Sam Soon’s hand. Surprised, he studied it then quickly looked at the other one and then on to her face and searched it. “Where’s your ring?”

Sam Soon struggled to free herself from his grip and this time he let her. Then she folded her arms and looked away.

His mind was racing at a million miles per hour. What had happened in America? He was still waiting for a reply to his question when Tae Young picked up his bag and said, “Are you coming?”

“I thought I already told you that I wasn’t,” Sam Soon said without looking at him.

Jin Hun looked at both of them and said nothing.

“What about Soo Hyun?” He glanced at his watch. “We are a little early so they should be arriving in a few minutes. Don’t you think you owe her an explanation?”

Sam Soon looked at Jin Hun then slowly turned to Tae Young. “I’ll come over and talk to her tomorrow.”

“If you don’t do it now, don't bother,” he said. With that, he walked away.


***

Sam Soon picked up her bag and moved to a less crowded area so that they weren’t blocking any of the other passengers. She dropped it then waited for Jin Hun to join her.

Looking far more relaxed than he had when she found him waiting for her, he repeated, “Where’s your ring?”

Sam Soon shook her head and rolled her eyes. She figured that the airport was as good a place as any. “Where’s your fiancé?” She waited for the question to sink in then looked back at him.

“What are you talking about?”

She told him what she’d overheard at the restaurant. “What do you have to say to that?”

Exasperated, he folded his arms and slowly paced around the space in front of her. He nodded. “It’s official – I’m in love with a crazy woman.”

“Just answer the question.”

“Are you kidding me? Why would I get engaged to someone else when there’s only one person I want to marry? Do you think I am you?”

Was this where she was supposed to say, “Touché”? She frowned. “Whatever, Sam Shik.”

“That was Eunsoo. I don’t think she’s going to get much from her father’s company so she decided to find a new one. That’s was it. If you’d even bothered to ask me, I would have told you.”

“Yeah, right. So why have you been avoiding my calls?”

“You—You’ve been calling me? Since when?”

“Yes, I’ve been calling you! I called you at least ten times today.”

He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone and handed it to her. “Look at it,” he said, pointing to it. “My batteries are dead.”

“What kind of grown man doesn’t carry his charger around?”

“I forgot it yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

“Yeah. I was about to get on a flight to New York--”

She felt a lump in her throat. “New York?” she interjected.

“Yes,” he said matter-of-factly. “As I was saying, I was about to get on the plane when your sister called me to say that you’ll be returning today. So I waited for you.”

She felt her eyes sting. Wow. She smiled. “So this is why you stink.” She remembered how much of a clean freak he was and that made her smile even harder.

Jin Hun lifted his arm and sniffed himself. “It’s not that bad.”

She laughed. She hadn’t felt so happy in months. “Trust me, it is. Why didn’t you just go home or at least go to a hotel?”

“I didn’t want to take the risk of missing you. Look, didn’t you guys arrive early? What if you’d decided to go straight to get a marriage license or something like that? I couldn’t let that happen. Besides, it was urgent – I had to tell you immediately.”

“Tell me what?”

“That regardless of what you say, I refuse to let you marry someone else.”

Sam Soon quickly looked away to hide a smile then they stood in uncomfortable silence for a few moments.

Jin Hun moved so close to her that she could feel his breath on her nose. “So where is the ring?” he whispered.

Sam Soon stepped back from him. “Why do you keep asking that? It should be obvious by now that I’m not marrying Tae Young.” Dummy.

He breathed a sigh of relief. “So, what about us?”

“What about us?”

Once again, Jin Hun shortened the distance between their faces to a few inches. Sam Soon pushed him away. “Which part of, “you smell,” don’t you understand?” she asked, scowling.

“You’re going to have to get used to this smell if you become my wife.”

“I don’t think so. If this ever happens again, I’ll drag you into the bathroom and pour ice cold water on you – that’ll teach you.”

He took her waist and pulled her close to him again. “So you’ve finally agreed that you can’t live without me?” he whispered.

“I can live without you, but I don’t want to.” She put her arms around his waist. “I missed you so much that it literally hurt.”

He cracked a smile. “So you know what it’s been like for me this past year, except I really don’t think I can live without you.”

Yeah, Yeah. She looked at her reflection inside his eyes. “What about your mom?”

“What about her? She approves and she should be getting here any minute from now.”

Sam Soon tried to break away from his embrace but he wouldn’t let her. She didn’t mind that much because she’d missed the feel of his body around hers. So she just moved her head back and looked at him curiously. “Here?”

He nodded. “Yes. I’m fighting for this relationship too. I made her understand that if she had to kneel and beg you to come back to us, she’d have to.”

She let out a boisterous laugh of disbelief. “Yeah, right.”

“Okay, okay, maybe not kneel. But she’s here to show you that she approves.”

Sam Soon put her head back on his shoulder. “I wonder what you had to do to make her agree to that.”

“You’ll never know. Just know that your husband can be very persuasive.”

Her husband. She loved the sound of that. She separated from him and said, “You can’t put me through this hell again. Do you understand that? If something happens in the future, you have to know that we’re both in this together. I can try to do it for the both of us, but it's better if we both take action.”

He nodded. “I know and I’m sorry. And the same goes for you. You just can’t run away whenever you get scared. Or when you’re disappointed in me.”

It was her time to nod. “I know and I’m sorry too. Just try not to make me disappointed.”

He smiled. “I’ll try my best. And if I’m bad, you can always punish me,” he said seductively.

She shook her head. “You’re such a pervert.”

Laughing, he picked up her bag and held her with his other arm. They walked in silence for a few minutes when she stopped and looked at him. “So to sum it up, what we’re saying is; I love you…”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“… and you love me…”

“Of course.”

“… and we’re getting married?!”

“Definitely.”

Suddenly elated, she jumped into his arms, causing him to drop her bag. “We’re getting married!”

“Oof. How come you gained all that weight back?” he asked, still holding her up.

“Don’t spoil the moment,” she warned, looking down to him.

“Aunty!” a voice screamed from the exit.

Sam Soon looked at the direction of the voice to see Mi Joo standing next to her grandmother. Smiling, Sam Soon got off her Sam Shik and spread her arms apart to let the young girl run into them.



The END.




Epilogue

“ See? I told you I’d fit into my wedding dress,” Sam Soon said, rubbing the bodice of her white silk gown.

“Yeah, I’m quite surprised. But you look beautiful.” He was sitting next to her in the moving car with his jacket lying next to him.

“Didn’t the hall look beautiful? Yep, the perfect place for a wedding. I’m going to have all my weddings there,” she said dreamily.

“All your weddings?” He frowned. “How many do you plan on having?”

“At least one every year. Surely, there has to be some benefit to marrying a rich hotelier.”

Jin Hun nodded knowingly. “I see how it is. Besides, if you had let me in on this plan sooner, I would have insisted on my location.”

Sam Soon rolled her eyes. “Not again. I am sick of hearing about the men’s bathroom, okay?”

“You keep saying that I am not sentimental enough but think about it. That was the place we first met…”

“… and that was where you first admitted to liking me. Yes. Yes. As funny as it would have been to see President Na in the men’s bathroom, please shut up.”

Jin Hun laughed. He really loved teasing her like that. He sighed then cleared his throat. “Aren’t you going to start calling her ‘mother’ again?”

She sighed. “I will, I will. I just forget sometimes, okay? Mama’s boy.”

He laughed again then looked at the nape of her dress. “A mama’s boy wouldn’t have the kind of thoughts I’m having right now.”

“Pervert.”

“I’m not a pervert but you did insist that we wait till our wedding night to make it more 'special'. Time’s up, honey.”

Sam Soon looked through the tinted window. “Does this look like nighttime to you?”

He looked around the limo. “Since it’s dark in here, I’m going to say yes.” He leaned over and kissed his wife deeply.

When he came up for air, he opened his eyes to see her looking impish at him. “What?”

“We're married now.”

“So?” he asked, leaning in for another kiss.

“Guess what the next step is.”

“What?”

She laughed. “Baby!”

Bonus Chapter: Part 1 of 4

“Oh my God!” Sam Soon exclaimed.

Her outcry was so sudden and unexpected that Jin Hun immediately stopped walking and jerked his head in her direction. “What? What?!”

But instead of looking frazzled or distressed, Sam Soon was smiling and pointing at the tall man frantically waving at them from across the barricade. She glanced at Jin Hun then turned back to look at him. “Oh goodness. He gets better looking every single time I see him. How is that humanly possible? Aren’t you supposed to get uglier with age?”

Jin Hun sighed then started walking again. “Need I remind you that you’re married or is that ring not big enough?” He lifted the hand he’d been holding since they cleared customs to show it to her.

“Oh, shut up about the ring, okay? It’s big. I can see that. Even a blind man can see it from ten miles away. Do you need to keep bringing it up?”

“Yes, I do. Especially at times like this when you forget that you’re married.”

“Please give me a break, okay? I’m married but I’m not dead.” She straightened her back and put on a regal air. “Do you want me to pretend that I can’t see that Henry is a beautiful man?” she asked dramatically. She knew that he wasn't really jealous but it was fun to tease him.

Jin Hun looked her up and down then shook his head. “What would you say if I started going on and on about Hee Jin’s looks?"

“Oh… I see. You’re trying to annoy me, huh?”

He smiled and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Yep, whenever she started playing her little games he always knew the right buttons to push. And he just loved seeing her reaction.

Sam Soon instinctively put her hand on her cheek. “What’s that for? Is that supposed to make me forget what you just said? We both know that there’s a difference between me commenting on Henry’s looks and you talking about Hee Jin’s.”

“There is? Really?” It was his turn to be overdramatic. “Please explain it to me, Honey,” he said as they approached their excited friend.

Henry practically ran over and hugged them. Over the past year or so, especially after they were married, any tension that they’d previously pretended didn’t exist suddenly disappeared. Sam Soon’s cynical side attributed it to both couples being secure in their relationships while her more romantic side liked to think that with age came wisdom and they’d somehow learned to appreciate one another. Their occasional emails turned into bi-weekly phone calls and before they knew it, they’d become quite immersed in one another’s lives. And even though she’d never met their little Soo Jin, she already felt like her Godmother.

Henry stepped back for a moment then looked his friends over. “Wow, marriage really does agree with you, Sam Soon. You’re looking great.”

Sam Soon went back into Meryl Streep mode and suddenly started shaking her head and waving her finger. “No. No… you can’t say that. A married person should never say such things!” she warned.

Jin Hun groaned.

A completely confused Henry looked at both of them and asked, “Sorry, what? Why?”

Sam Soon burst out laughing.

“Just ignore her,” Jin Hun said, picking up their bags. “So where are you parked?”


***

“Oh, she’s so cute,” Sam Soon said, bouncing little Soo Jin on her lap. “She’s so cute! Just like her mother,” she continued, emphasizing the last word. She hit the seat in front of her, “Did you hear that, Sam Shik? I didn't say father. I said mmmmmmother!”

“What’s she on about?” Henry asked from the driver’s seat.

Jin Hun shook his head. “Trust me, it’s nothing important.” He reached across to the stereo knob and turned the dial. “I forgot how many commercials they played on American radio.”

Hee Jin turned to watch Sam Soon as she played with her child. After a few minutes she said, “You really look good with her.”

Sam Soon blushed. “Really?”

Hee Jin nodded. “Yes. You look like you were born to be a mother.”

A suddenly shy Sam Soon bent her head and covered her mouth with her hand. “Really? You think so?”

“Yes. Of course. I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true. You’re born to take care of kids.”

Sam Soon scrunched her face. “Hey, wait a minute. Are you trying to rope me into babysitting?”

Henry chuckled from the driver’s seat. “And it almost worked,” he said, still laughing.

Hee Jin kicked his seat. “Hey, you. Shush.” Then she turned to Sam Soon. “No, of course not. I can see that you’re great with her so if you want to come over and spend some time with her, just let me know. But tell me in advance so that I can schedule a hair appointment for that time – I need a trim ASAP,” she said as she ran her fingers through the ends of her hair.

“Funny,” Sam Soon said as she handed Soo Jin back to her mother as it seemed that even the little girl had joined in what had become quite raucous laughter.


***

“So you really don’t want to stay with us? I think I’m offended,” Henry joked as he drove them through Manhattan.

“With all your packing, I’m sure we’ll be in the way. When are you moving again?” Jin Hun asked.

“The movers are coming on Tuesday,” Hee Jin said from behind Soo Jin’s palm. She sat her daughter on her lap and continued, “but we won’t be getting there till two Sundays from now.”

“You haven’t even been in New York for a year and you’re already moving somewhere else? What exactly are you running away from?” Sam Soon joked.

“No. No. I am not running away from anything – it’s all that woman’s fault,” Henry said, pointing to the seat behind his.

“How is it my fault that you got offered a fantastic job at John Hopkins? In fact, yeah, it’s my fault.”

“No… but it’s because of you I didn’t go to Africa.”

“Oh… Oh. It’s my fault you can't live without me, huh?” she teased.

Henry laughed. “Yes... kinda. But when I wanted to go, you asked me to stay till you graduated. Then when you graduated, you wanted to do your residency, then you wanted to get married, then you wanted to have a baby.”

“Yes. Yes. I got pregnant all on my own. I completely forgot about that.”

Sam Soon laughed. “Really? I’m sure you could make millions selling your secret.”

“But yeah, Jin Hun, I’ve got a great opportunity to do some great things at John Hopkins so we couldn’t pass it up. Plus she got a great offer from George Washington so I guess it’s our destiny or something.”

“And is your mother-in-law going with you?” Jin Hun asked.

“Well she says she’s not coming, but she is,” Hee Jin said confidently. “My Dad keeps complaining that we’ve kept her for too long but too bad. Soo Jin needs her Nana. Don’t you, Sweetie? Don’t you?” she finished, switching to a baby voice as she talked to her daughter.

“So why don’t you take your Dad along?” Sam Soon asked.

“I don’t think so,” Henry boomed.

After a moment of mildly shocked silence, they all burst out laughing.

“Why not?” Sam Soon asked. “Besides, I can see that your Korean has improved a lot since you started staying with your mother-in-law.”

“Yeah. She insists that we only speak Korean at home. That way, Soo Jin won’t lose her identity blah blah blah.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Sam Soon said, turning her attention back to Soo Jin. She reached for her hand and started playing with it. “My God, Hee Jin, she’s so well behaved. We’ve been in this car for what - 25 minutes? And she hasn’t cried once.”

Hee Jin rolled her eyes. “You should have heard her this morning – she’s just taking a break. Trust me.”

“No… she’s ado-”

“Hey, Soonie, look out the window,” Jin Hun interrupted.

Sam Soon complied but only barely so. “Oh, Times Square… it kinda looks the same, I guess,” she said dismissively then turned her attention back to Soo Jin. “Oh, you’re so cute. So cute… awww. Aren’t you? Yes, you are. Yes, you are,” she cooed.

Noticing the blank expression that had suddenly clouded Jin Hun's face, Henry turned to him and said, “So you’re staying at the Courtyard? I thought you’d be at the Waldorf or some fancy hotel like that.”

“Why?” Sam Soon said, finally letting go of Soo Jin’s hand. She straightened her blouse and continued, “All we need is a nice place to rest our heads. What’s the point in spending all that money just to sleep?”

“And this is coming from the wife of the future owner of a 5-star hotel? Is this what you say to your guests when they check in and 'spend all that money just to sleep"?” Hee Jin asked.

After unsuccessfully spending a minute trying to come up with a reasonable rebuttal, Sam Soon gave up and said, “Oh, shut up.”

They all burst out laughing.


***

“Not bad,” Sam Soon commented as they walked into their hotel room. “It looks just like the photos on the internet.” She dropped her handbag on the bed and walked into the bathroom.

After handing the concierge his tip, Jin Hun dropped their luggage next to the closet then plopped on the bed. He bounced on it a few times and said, “Feels good.”

With a freshly rinsed face, Sam Soon walked back into the room and filled the little fridge with the drinks she’d purchased at the airport then grabbed the remote control and sat next to him. “I guess it feels okay,” she said as she put her head on his shoulder. Then she switched on the television.

She was flicking through channels when she felt Jin Hun’s fingers on her other hand. She turned to him and smiled lazily. “Hey, what are you doing?”

He picked up her hand and softly caressed her palms with his fingers. It was weird; weren’t you supposed to get bored with being with the same person all the time? But with her, he seemed to discover new things everyday. Like surely, that bump wasn't on her palm yesterday, was it? He looked up at the eyes that were staring at him. “What does it look like I am doing? I am playing with your hand.”

“Why?”

He pulled her hand closer to him and softly kissed it. “Because it’s cute. I like playing with cute things.”

“Really? My hands are cute? I remember you comparing them to pigs.”

“So what?” he said in between kissing her fingers. “Pigs are cute.”

Sam Soon laughed then hit him before pushing him away. Bastard. “I hate you!” She started to get up.

“No, you don’t,” he said as he grabbed her hand.”

She looked down at him. “What are you doing?”

“What does this look like?” he asked before forcefully pulling her on top of him.

Still laughing, she grabbed his face and softly kissed his chin. She really couldn’t ever get tired of kissing him. She kissed the side of his mouth then looked directly into his eyes. “You’ve got such a one track mind. You know that, right?”

“Only when it comes to you,” he said then kissed her full on the lips.

After a few minutes of making out, Jin Hun suddenly stopped.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Sam Soon asked.

“I think it’s time for me to take a shower,” he said, getting off the bed.

“Are you crazy? Come back here." She pulled him. What the hell? After getting her all hot and bothered he just wanted to leave like that?

He pulled her fingers off him and placed her hand on the bed. “Trust me, I want to but isn’t it like almost the middle of the month?”

“And?”

“You know… so we can’t.”

“What are you talking about? Of course we can.” She stretched her hands out to him. “Come here.”

Jin Hun looked a little disgusted. “Honey, I love you but I don’t think so.”

“Why not?" Sam Soon stared at him in confusion till it finally dawned on her. She giggled. “No,” she said, “it’s fine. Come here. My ‘visitor’ isn’t here.”

“Really?” He thought about it for a moment. “Well, today is the 11th so I guess it’s not quite the middle yet.”

She looked at him in disbelief. “I can’t believe you actually have a calendar for this. Gosh!”

Jin Hun laughed but made no attempt to get back on the bed.

“So are you coming here or not?”

He scratched his neck. “Well, it was a long flight… I think I really need to take a shower,” he said turning around and walking towards the bathroom.

“Are you kidding me?”

Then he turned around and gave her a sly look. “But didn’t you promise to always keep me clean?”

Sam Soon raised her brow. That was more like it.

“Now what are you waiting for?” he asked as he stretched his hand to her. “Come here!”

Part 2 of 4

Thanks for the comments, ellasam and bunnykaye. ellasam, I certainly wasn't trying to imply that Jin Hun didn't like kids but that Sam Soon had baby fever... I'll attribute that to bad writing on my part.

Now on to Part 2...

After having breakfast in Koreatown with Henry and Hee Jin, Jin Hun and Sam Soon decided to take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.

“What?” Jin Hun asked as he noticed a somewhat pleased expression on her face. Even though they were in a large crowd of fellow tourists, they’d managed to find a nice spot overlooking the water. Sam Soon was leaning against the barrier while Jin Hun was behind her with his arms placed protectively around her.

“I thought I was going to be sick but I’m feeling pretty okay,” she said more to herself than him.

His brows furrowed in worry. “Why would you be sick?” He placed his hand on her forehead to feel her temperature.

She slapped it off her face and said, “That’s not it.”

“Then what?”

She glanced at him and said, “Oh, you know… sea sickness and all that. But,” she continued, inhaling the sea air, “I’m pretty okay.” She nodded satisfactorily, “I kinda like this.”

He looked down at the water. “Yeah, it’s pretty great. We should go sailing sometime.”

Sam Soon laughed. “Sailing? Or you mean you want to go on a cruise?”

“No. I mean, sailing,” he said, holding her tighter as he put his chin on her shoulder.

She turned to look at him. “Like you’ll get a boat and sail it yourself?”

“Yes.”

“And do you know how to sail?”

“I can learn… or better still, we can learn together.”

She laughed. “I probably won’t have time for that.”

“Why not? Every weekend, we can take classes together.”

She chuckled sarcastically. “Yeah, right. If you want to learn to sail, do it by yourself.”

“Alright. Whenever I suggest something you don’t want to do it then later on you’ll be complaining that I spend too much time at the hotel.”

She laughed and patted his face apologetically. “Okay, Honey. You learn to sail and I’ll come with you… but you’ll be bringing a sailor or someone like that along, right?”

He shook his head. “Why would I do that?"

She shrugged exaggeratedly.

"What are you saying? You don’t trust me?”

“I trust you, but just you and me sailing together? That’s how we’d get lost and it’ll be the Island of Dr. Moreau all over again.”


***

When they got to the bottom level of the Statue of Liberty, Sam Soon noticed some people getting turned away. Jin Hun asked some people around them if they knew what was going on and was told that those tourists didn’t have their Time Passes.

Sam Soon tapped his hand. “Time Pass? Do you have one?”

“Yep,” he said, confidently.

“What are they?”

“Basically, you have to sign up ahead of time so they can do a background check and all other stuff.”

“Wow… how did you know to do that?” She pointed at some of the tourists that had been turned away. “Those people didn’t even know and I think they live here.”

“Exactly,” he said, nudging her to move along with the line. “Which is why you should always trust me.”

***


“Okay…" she started, shortly after admiring the view from the top of the Statue. "So this is what we have to do. Everywhere we go, since you decided you’re a photographer…”

Jin Hun groaned. “Gosh. Yes, at a point in my life, I was interested in photography. But do you have to keep talking about this all the time?”

Sam Soon giggled and then in mock seriousness, said, “Well, you’re pretty good. So don’t you think our holiday photos will benefit from your expertise?”

He rolled his eyes. “So you want me to take all the photographs?” She always tried to flatter him whenever she wanted him to do all the work.

“Well, here’s my idea,” she said excitedly. “We have to take a picture of us kissing at every major tourist spot we visit.”

“What?”

She smiled to herself. “When we are old, we can show the pictures to our grandkids and say, ‘Hey look! Grandpa and Grandma have fun before our teeth fell out and our hair went grey.'”

“And they need to see us kissing to know this? In fact, I don’t even want to show them pictures of us doing that,” he said, shuddering as he imagined looking at photographs of his grandparents kissing.

“Well I do. And I think it will make this trip special.”

He didn’t like the sound of that. “So the fact that we’re here together doesn’t make it special enough?” He studied her intently to gauge her reaction to the question.

She rolled her eyes. “Why are you trying to take it the wrong way? Let’s just do it, okay?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. When we get home, Mi Joo and Mom would want to look at the photographs and I really don’t want them seeing that.”

“We can always hide these ones.”

Jin Hun still wasn’t convinced. What was up with Sam Soon and wanting to do embarrassing things in public? “What about all the other people here,” he said, looking around them. “I really doubt that they want to see that.”

Sam Soon glared at him for a few moments before shrugging her shoulders then walking over to the only free binoculars on the deck. She put some coins in then bent over and looked through them.

Sensing that she was a little annoyed, Jin Hun walked over and stood beside her. “Wow, look at the view! What do you think? Doesn’t it look pretty great from over here? The water looks so fresh and clean.” He turned to her and waited for a response. When no sound came from her end, he continued. “Isn’t it funny how when we were over there,” he said, pointing afar, “we were looking up here. But now that we’re here, we’re looking back there. It’s funny how we keep looking everywhere but where we are. I’m sure there’s a psychological explanation for this. Something about the grass always greener and all that.”

When she still didn’t respond, he nudged her and said, “Hey, I want to take a look too. Move over.”

Sam Soon stepped aside without saying a word. Then without looking at him, she walked over to another side of the deck.

About a minute later, while Sam Soon was wondering if her ploy was working, she felt him slide his arms around her from behind. She hid a smile but didn't move a muscle.

“Do you plan to be in this mood all day?” he whispered into her ear.

She showed her camera to him. “You know how to fix it.”

“So if I don’t agree to this you’re not going to stop?”

She sent him a pleading look. “Our grandchildren’s happiness is at stake here.”

Jin Hun shook his head. “Okay, how about this? I can kiss you on the cheek, that way I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable showing the pictures to the whole world.”

Sam Soon sighed. She could work with that. So it wasn’t going to be a scene out a romantic movie but it’ll work for the real world. “Okay. Here,” she said, handing him the camera, “put your skills to good use.”

Jin Hun disentangled from her so that they could find a good spot with Manhattan and the ocean behind them. Then when they were ready, similar to how they were earlier, he put one arm around her from behind so that her back was resting on his chest then he put his head right over her right shoulder so that their cheeks were almost touching. When he was satisfied with their pose, he stretched his other arm around them and took some test shots. After a few moments, he found a good angle and told her to get ready.

“Yes, I am ready. Goodness, this is taking forever… take the picture.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Just take it, okay? Remember we still have to go to the Empire State Building today.”

“So are you ready?”

“Ya!” she growled as she turned her face to him. Before she could notice the smile on his face, he quickly kissed her on the lips as he snapped their photo.

Bonus Chapter: Part 3 of 4

Not to Sam Soon’s surprise, Jin Hun didn’t actually kiss her on the lips at every site they visited. In fact, he'd only done it the first time but she was happy anyway. Even though it was nothing new or particularly special, she did look forward to ending each visit with a peck on the cheek. The Empire State building was closed by the time they’d arrived on the first day so the next time they managed to get there, they’d done the same old thing of climbing to the top and looking at the view (which had begun to get old) and were getting ready to take their photo.

Jin Hun had taken a few test shots but none of them have come out right. It seemed that every time he looked away, he moved his hand and their faces got out of focus.

“Don’t you think you should be an expert by now? Haven’t you done this enough times?” Sam Soon complained.

Jin Hun put his arm down and looked at her. “Do you want to do this instead?”

She raised her palm to him. “Yeah, give it to me. I’m sure I can do better.”

Jin Hun scoffed but didn't comply. Instead, once again, he wrapped his free arm around her then raised the camera.

“Do you need some help?” a female voice asked from behind.

They both turned around to find a blonde woman smiling at them.

“No, it’s alright, thank you,” Jin Hun said.

“No, no, give to me. It’s okay; it’s not a bother. I’ll help you. I can see you’re struggling. O.K?”

He nodded and thanked her.

Sam Soon smiled and also thanked the woman as Jin Hun handed her the camera. Then in Korean, she said, “Seeing how eager she is to help us, I hope she doesn’t run off with our camera. Wasn’t it expensive?”

The woman shook her head and in slightly accented Korean, said, “You don’t have to worry about that – I have mine at home.”


***

“Gosh, I’m so hungry,” Sam Soon said rubbing her stomach.

Jin Hun shook his head. “So that’s your reaction to embarrassing yourself? Food?”

She rolled her eyes. “How was I to know that she’d lived in Seoul for 10 years?”

“Exactly. That’s why you shouldn’t say things like that in the first place.”

She rolled her eyes again. “Thanks for the lecture, Professor Hyun. Are we going to get food or not?”

“Well, I guess I could eat. What do you want? Better not say hamburgers because I am not eating any of that junk.”

She frowned. “You’re such a snob. But why would I want to eat something so processed?” She pulled out her tourist map. “I know there’s a Chinese restaurant close by. I remember that it was across Madison Square Garden. You could get a huge bowl of food for like $4.00,” she said, using her hands for emphasis.

“It’s real Chinese food? Because I can see that the food we’ve been eating here hasn’t been agreeing with you,” he said, referring to her increased visits to the restroom.

She looked at him curiously then went back to looking at her map. “Found it!” Sam Soon exclaimed, pointing at the location on the map. She looked up at the street signs. “Actually, it’s only about two blocks from here.” She grabbed him. “Okay, let’s go.”

Following her, he asked, “How do you know about this place?”

“Use this,” she said, poking her finger on his head, “how do you think I know it? I’ve been here before, remember?”

“Oh, so you came here with whatever-his-name-is?”

Sam Soon sensed that his mood was beginning to change. She didn’t quite understand how two years wasn’t long enough for him to stop getting sensitive about her past relationship with Tae Young. She wanted to scream at him about it but her mother and sister had both advised her to just give him time. “So what are you going to order? I think I’m getting some Lo Mein,” she said, trying to change the subject.

They were about to turn onto 7th Avenue when Sam Soon heard someone call her name. She turned around to see Tae Young’s mother smiling at her.

“Good afternoon, Mother,” Sam Soon said, bowing to her. Oddly enough, she’d thought about her when Jin Hun had initially suggested that they visit New York. She knew that she couldn’t visit her on the trip but she was glad to see her and even more so because she was looking healthy.

Jin Hun hoped that neither of the women noticed him wince when he heard her call her ‘mother’. Not that he thought that she should have called her something less personal like ‘Ajumma’ but that word was reserved for his mother and hearing that just made him realize, yet again, how close he’d come to losing her.

“What are you doing here?”

Sam Soon took Jin Hun’s hand and walked closer to her. “My husband and I here on vacation.”

“Oh! So this is your husband?” After she and Jin Hun had exchanged pleasantries, she said, “So how do you find our city the second time around?”

Sam Soon looked up to the sky then at some of the buildings. “It’s the same in some ways and different in others. I guess we are creating new memories,” she said, smiling at her very straight-faced husband. “So Mother, how’s your health? Has everything been going well?”

She smiled and nodded. “Yes. Very well. Thank you for asking. Ah… you know it’s so good to see you. I've been wondering about you.”

After a few more minutes of small talk, they said their goodbyes and parted ways.

“Phew!” Sam Soon exclaimed. “Now, let’s go get some food.”

“Yes, I see you’re so eager to revisit the restaurant you and whatever-his-name-is went to.”

***

After the lunch that Jin Hun barely touched, they did some shopping in Chinatown, went to SoHo then rode the subway to Central Park.

The sun had already begun to set when they started walking through the park. To Sam Soon surprise, even though it was already getting dark, it was still filled with people.

“Argh!” Jin Hun growled. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” He’d had it all planned out; a carriage ride through Central Park would create a memory of New York that she’d never forget but now he was no longer in the mood. Gosh! If Sam Soon hadn’t wanted to go to that cheap restaurant, he’d never had run into Tae Young’s mother.

Sam Soon eyed him carefully. “Whatever your problem is, don’t you think you’re taking this a bit too far?”

“What?”

“Your mood. If you knew you were going to be like this you should have just stayed at the hotel! Who spends all this money to go on vacation then acts like this? I wonder about you sometimes.”

Was she kidding him? He pointed at a park bench. “Just go and sit over there.”

“What? Who are you ordering around?”

“Please, just go and sit there, okay?”

Sam Soon looked him up and down. “Are you crazy?” she asked, scowling.

He grabbed her then pulled her to the bench and sat her down. “Please just sit down, okay? I have something to say.”

Confused but intrigued, Sam Soon sat as she watched him pace in front of her. “It’s nothing bad, right?” she asked, slightly frightened.

“No. But… argh! Why? Maybe I should do it tomorrow? But it won’t be the same.” He looked at her uncertainly then reached into his pocket and handed her a small box. “Here. Take it.”

She grasped it but he wouldn’t let go. “Ya! Are you giving it to me or not?”

Jin Hun frowned. “No. Forget it. I’ll give it to you later tonight.”

“What? I want it now!”

They struggled for a few minutes before he let go of it.

“Sam Shik, have you lost your mind? What’s your problem?” she screamed between pants. If she’d known she was going to get so much exercise she’d have worn her tracksuit.

She opened the box and found a silver necklace inside.

“Noonim!” he shouted.

Sam Soon snapped her head up at him. “What did you just call me?”

Jin Hun chuckled. “I feel better already,” he said, nodding and smiling satisfactorily.

She shook her head then refocused her attention on the necklace. She picked up the locket and read the inscription. “The Best Mother.”

She could feel the moisture forming in her eyes when she looked up to him. He simply smiled then sat next to her.

He took her hands, letting the necklace fall to her lap. “What’s today?”

Sam Soon shook her head in ignorance.

He laughed. “I knew you’d forget. It’s exactly 2 years since you finally agreed to be my wife.”

She smiled. She remembered that day at the airport very clearly but had never thought to remember the date… which was funny because she still remembered the date of their first kiss. Maybe it was because buried deep in heart, despite all the difficulties they’d been through, she’d always known they’d end up together. So in some ways, that fateful day was no different than any other.

“So,” he continued, “even though it’s taken us a little while to expand our family, even though we’ve had our disappointment in the past, I know that we’ll be great parents and I’m willing to do whatever it takes – even if it means we have to adopt. As far as we raise them they are our kids, right?”

She nodded.

Still holding her hands, he continued, “I know you've been anxious and I know you’ve been trying to hide your worry, but you don’t have to because I can see it anyway. If I remember correctly, you said you wished I was a scarf around your neck, well,” he said, caressing her neck and collarbone area, “I am. So always remember that. Even though it seems like a big deal, we’ll find away. It’s really not been that long since we started trying, has it?”

She shook her head. By this point, the tears were falling freely down her cheeks. Jin Hun pulled out his handkerchief and wiped her face dry. When he was done, he looked into her eyes and said, “So don’t worry about it too much.”

She nodded then covered her mouth and mumbled something.

“Huh?”

She mumbled again then just kept mumbling.

What kind of reaction was this? “What the hell are you saying?” Jin Hun pulled her hand off her mouth. “Say it again."

Sam Soon giggled. “Promise not to get mad when he get home.”

He raised his brow. “About what?”

“Just promise, okay?”

“How can I make a promise without knowing what it's for?”

“Just say yes so that we can move on. You are ruining a precious moment here.”

“I’m ruining it?”

She sighed then stood up. “Okay, let’s go back to the hotel.”

Jin Hun pulled her back to the bench. “Okay, okay, I promise. I hope I’m not going to regret it.”

She laughed mischievously. “Don’t worry, you will. Anyway, back to this,” she said, picking up the locket, “I guess this means we’ll only have two children since it can only take two photos.” She snapped it open.

“No,” he said, taking it from her to examine it, “I’ll just get you more. I’m sure we can fit at least 5 of them on this chain.”

Sam Soon laughed. “I see you’re dreaming again. Okay, I want to try it on.” She turned around to back him, “Put it on.”

When he was done, he caressed her shoulders and gave her a peck on her neck. “What do you think? You like?”

“It’s beautiful.” She turned around to kiss him the way the romantic scene demanded.

When they broke apart, Jin Hun reached into his bag. “I guess we need to do that again for this, huh?” he said, pulling out the camera.

“No, we don’t,” she said, certain that she wouldn’t need a photograph to remind her of the day her Sam Shik kissed her on a bench in Central Park.

Bonus Chapter: The End

It was the night before Sam Soon and Jin Hun had to go back to Korea so they planned to have dinner with Henry and Hee Jin. They’d expected to have a quiet dinner at their place but Hee Jin changed her mind because all their furniture had already been sent to Baltimore. Sam Soon and Jin Hun were waiting outside the restaurant when they heard someone call them from behind. They turned around and hugged the rest of their slightly late party.

After raising a brow at the sight of Soo Jin, Sam Soon dryly said, “I thought doctors were expected to be punctual.”

“Just because people expect it doesn’t mean that we always are,” Hee Jin said, leading the way into the restaurant.

“Exactly,” Henry piped in. “We only have to be on time when someone’s life depends on it.”

Sam Soon rubbed her belly. “Trust me; someone’s life does.”


***
“Hmm,” Jin Hun said as they walked into their private room. He looked at the exquisitely handcrafted furniture and commented on the extravagance.

“Wow. You’ve really changed, Jin Hun. It’s not like you were frivolous with money before but you were never like this.”

Sam Soon reached across and patted his thigh. “I’ve trained him well,” she joked.

“Yeah, it’s kind of expensive but this was the only way I could bring Trish with us and also have a really nice meal,” Henry explained.

“Trish?” Sam Soon repeated.

He smiled and nodded. “Yeah, that’s her American name.”

“Oh.”

“She is American, after all,” he went on, “even though my mother-in-law likes to remind me that she’s three-quarters Korean. I’m not arguing with that but she is American and she needs to also learn to respond to her American name.”

Sensing the slight tension that had suddenly permeated the air, Jin Hun decided to change the subject. “You said you had to bring So— I mean, Trish along. You couldn’t find a babysitter?”

Henry shook his head. “She’s too young to be left with a stranger and my mother-in-law refused to baby-sit.”

“I see,” Jin Hun said, realizing that the subject he’d picked wasn’t so different after all.

“Yes, she’s complaining that she has her own life and that she doesn’t see why we should go out and have fun and leave her home alone with a baby she didn’t give birth to. Not that I blame her -she’s already done with raising kids.”

“She’s only venting because she’s moving away with us,” Hee Jin said dismissively. “She secretly loves taking care of Soo Jin and trust me, I didn’t really have to convince her that much.” She turned to Jin Hun who was sitting next to her. “Could you hold her for a minute? I need to go to the restroom.”

When she left, Henry said to them conspiratorially. “Am I wrong for wanting Hee Jin to stay home till Soo Jin is old enough to go to school?”

Jin Hun and Sam Soon nervously glanced at each other while Henry continued.

“Throughout history, that’s always been the best option. And we can certainly afford to live on my income. In fact, studies have shown….” He ranted on about the benefits of a non-working parent for a few more minutes.

When Hee Jin walked back in, he stopped talking.

Noticing the instant change in his behavior, she studied his face for a few moments then shook her head and turned to Sam Soon and Jin Hun. “You’re shocked, right?” she signaled for Jin Hun to give Soo Jin back to her but he refused.

“She likes it here,” he said as he moved her to a more comfortable spot on his lap.

“Back to him,” Hee Jin said, pointing at Henry. “You didn’t think he was such a caveman, did you? Suddenly he thinks a woman should be in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant.”

Henry shook his head. “You know that’s not what I mean.”

At that moment, the waitress came in and took their orders. When she was gone, Hee Jin continued. “I really don’t understand why we need to keep having this conversation, Oppa. After all the years you spent in Medical School, after all the years you spent as a resident, are you willing to give it up to stay home with our daughter?”

“Doesn’t family come first?” he countered.

Sam Soon and Jin Hun silently watched the exchange as if it were a tennis match.

“Of course it does. But why aren’t you willing to make the sacrifice you’re asking of me?”

Henry’s response was a sigh of fatigue. She had a point but it didn't really change the way he felt. After glaring at her for a few moments, he reached over and covered her hand with his. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry this keeps coming up but I guess I’m just a little frustrated. I wish we didn’t have to ask your mother to live with us. As much as I love her, it’d be great if I only had to live with my two favorite girls. I’m not used to this whole communal living thing.”

“How is it communal living if it’s only my Mom staying with us? And it’s not forever.”

“I know. I know,” he said, softly stroking her hand.

As if he’d only just remembered that they weren’t alone, he turned to look at their friends. Slightly embarrassed, he said, “It’s funny, isn’t it? I always thought I was this liberal man, even a feminist, maybe. I always supported a woman’s right to live her life as she saw fit but when it comes down to it, I’m just like so many other guys. Imagine that! I can’t believe that on some level I’d love to have a housewife who’d stay home and took care of the kids. Isn’t that sad?”

"It's not sad... it's valid," Jin Hun said.

Sam Soon eyed him. "What?"

Jin Hun shrugged then looked back at Henry who was still sulking about his self-discovery.

Hee Jin could see that it was her turn to do the comforting. She stood up and reached across and put her arms around her husband. “You’re lucky I love my caveman,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “There are actually some parts I like about it… like when you throw me over your shoulder and carry me,” she teased.

After dinner, shortly after they’d waved Hee Jin and Henry off, Sam Soon turned to Jin Hun and said, “You have to promise me something.”

Jin Hun groaned. “Another promise?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“What now?”

“Promise me that that’s not going to be us when we have kids.”

“What?”

“You’re not going to change on me and start pressuring me to quit Samsuni.”

“We’ll talk about it when the time comes.” He put his arm around her waist and started walking.

But Sam Soon stayed put. “No! You have to promise me now. I worked so hard to get my business to where it is and I don’t want you to start making me feel guilty for continuing to work. If I choose to take a break, it should be because I want to and not because you suddenly want a stay-at-home wife.”

Jin Hun looked her in the eyes. “I promise that we’ll make the best decision for our family,” he said, nodding, “with the emphasis on “we”. Okay?”


***

They were walking back to the hotel when Sam Soon suddenly stopped.

“What?” Jin Hun asked, looking at her worriedly.

“Where are we?” She asked.

He pointed at the street sign. “You can’t see it?”

She frowned. “No, I mean, which city are we in?” She wrapped her arms around herself to prevent any body heat from escaping. They’d only been out for a few minutes but she could already feel the cold in her bones.

Noticing this, Jin Hun took his jacket off and put it around her. “You’re so stubborn. Why didn’t you bring your jacket along like I suggested? I told you that the weather forecast said the temperature was going to drop this evening.”

Sam Soon rolled her eyes and took the jacket off her shoulders and handed it back to him. “Did I tell you I needed this? Take it back,” she said handing it to him.

Jin Hun sent her a dirty look but made no move to take it back from her.

“Anyway,” she continued, as she dropped her arm, “it’s not going to be cold where we are going.” She took his hand and pulled him away from the road.

“Where are we going?”

She waved her hands in the air. “Take your pick.”

Confused, Jin Hun said, “What are you talking about now?”

“We are in the city that never sleeps and we haven’t even experienced the nightlife yet. I see a little line forming over there,” she said, pointing at a building across the street. As expected, Jin Hun protested but in the end, Sam Soon won and they walked into it.


***
“I don’t know what I expected from a club called The Bed-Room,” he said as they sat at a table, “but I’m not sure this is it.”

The club was decorated to look like it was a bedroom with couches that looked like beds and tables that looked like drawer chests. They even had a good number of bedside lamps and tables as well as vanity mirrors. One would have called it tasteful if it didn’t have that slight undertone of sleaze and all around debauchery.

A waitress dressed in what looked like a nightgown came over to take their order. When Sam Soon ordered orange juice, Jin Hun looked at her curiously. “If you were Catholic, I’d have said you were giving up alcohol for Lent.”

“Very funny,” Sam Soon replied dryly.

“No, but what’s going on? You’ve barely drunk any alcohol since we’ve been here.”

“So?”

“So… what?”

“I don’t know,” she said, shrugging as she glanced at the patient waitress. “Are you going to order something or should she leave?”

Jin Hun ordered a beer and when she left to get their drinks, he continued. “Soonie, I am not letting you off the hook. You’ve been acting strangely. What’s going on?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re going to make a federal case out of me ordering orange juice?”

“No. But you normally like to drink… especially at a place like this. What’s different about today?”

Sam Soon thought about it for a quick second. “They don’t have soju,” was the best response she could come up with.

“You don’t only drink soju,” he countered.

Seeing that she’d been cornered, she got on her feet. She wasn’t about to get into an unplanned conversation. She smiled at him. “Let’s go and dance. I like this song,” she said, moving to Beyonce’s latest hit.

He shook his head. “I don’t want to. Sit down.”

She refused. “Be that way. I’m going to dance,” she said as she backed towards the dance floor.

After a few minutes of dancing by herself, a tall, handsome man came to dance with her. She shook her head and turned around. But instead of taking the hint, the man moved closer and danced with her from behind.

Irritated that he hadn’t budged, she turned back to him and said, “Me. Marry.” She pointed at herself. “Marry… me. Marry. Marry. Me.”

The man laughed and said, “Okay, if you insist.”

Before she could reply, Jin Hun interrupted them and told the man that she was his wife before dragging her back to the table with him.

“I thought you were supposed to be good in English. You just asked that man to marry you.”

Sam Soon laughed. “I would have been a lot better if someone hadn’t made me stop taking those classes.”

“I just said that you shouldn’t go back to that school and not that you should give it up completely.”

“Whatever.” Sam Soon glanced back at the man that had danced with her and grinned. “I think I’m cute in America.”

Jin Hun frowned. “You’re cute to me. Isn’t that all that should matter?”

Sam Soon scowled and stuck her tongue out at him.


***

Sam Soon clapped her hands in glee. “Okay, I have something to tell you.” They were on their return flight back home. Instead of watching the air stewardess demonstrate the safety procedures, Jin Hun was reading a magazine.

“What?” he asked, not looking up.

She tapped his shoulder. “This is big so look at me.”

He did. “What?”

She covered her mouth with both hands and laughed.

He dropped the magazine on his lap and gave her his full attention. “What?”

She laughed again, but this time, far more mischievously as she clapped her hands and looked at him impishly.

“Sam Soon!”

She laughed again. “So how am I going to say this?” she asked herself. “Okay, here goes… come here.” She enveloped her mouth with her hands then whispered into his ears.

“What did you say?”

Sam Soon whispered a little louder.

“You’re—what? Permanent… huh?”

“My God, you’re such a dummy.” She sat back in her seat and frowned at him. “I’m pregnant, you loser.”

His eyes grew to thrice their normal size. “What?”

She smirked. “You heard me!”

“OH MY GOD!” he screamed. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Yes. A doctor confirmed it.”

He jumped off his seat. At that moment, a stewardess walked over to him and reminded him to remain seated as they were getting ready for take-off. Jin Hun used the opportunity to ask her for an extra pillow for his ‘pregnant wife.’

Jin Hun sat back down and stared at Sam Soon. Pleased with his reaction, she smiled back at him. He couldn’t believe that sitting right next to him was not one person but in fact, two people. He immediately reached across and hugged her and his unborn child.

He was still hugging her when a steward walked over and reminded him to remain in his seat with his seatbelt fastened. He obliged then picked her hand up and kissed it. He didn’t say anything but instead, reflected on how his life was about to change; how he was going to be the father that he’d always wished for; how he was now living for three people; and how he suddenly felt like he understood his role on earth a little better. At that moment, he vowed to always love his wife and child like they were the only two people in the world.

“Honey, are you okay?”

He turned around and smiled at her. He hadn’t realized that his love for her could grow exponentially in a matter of seconds. Millions of people experienced it everyday but looking into her eyes and realizing that at that moment, she had another living being inside of her made her appear somewhat mythical - like a magical, angelic being that had been created just for him. With a chest he suspected would burst in any moment, he reached across to kiss her. As their lips met, he promised to worship her for the rest of his life and for long after.

A few moments later, the stewardess came along with the pillow, thus interrupting them.

“When did you find out?” he asked her. He couldn’t think of when she’d have had the opportunity to sneak out and see a doctor.

“You promised not to get mad, remember?” It was pretty much a pointless question because she could tell that he was on a high that would take a few days to get down from. She knew exactly how he was feeling because she’d remained in a dream state for a few days after getting the good news from Dr. Kang. But finally sharing it with Sam Shik gave her joy a whole other facet. “You’re not going to get mad, right?”

“Just answer the question.”

“A few days before we left Seoul.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Because of this,” she said, pointing at the additional pillow on her back. “You’d have made a fuss and we wouldn’t have been able to come.”

“That’s not true,” he lied. “But how come you didn’t even tell me you thought you were pregnant?”

She shrugged. “I figured you’d had enough false alarms to last a lifetime.”

“Well, that’s bullsh.it. I’m here for both the good and the bad news so never hide anything from me again.”

“Anyway, as I said, I knew you’d have cancelled the trip. And I knew how important coming to New York was to you. I think it had something with you wanting to erase my memories of Tae Young or some other nonsense like that.”

He blushed. It was annoying that she could read him so well “So was it special?”

She leaned her head against his shoulder. “Everything we do is special… and this trip was particularly special because there were three of us on it.”

He reflexively put his hand on her stomach. “You think he’ll remember it?”

She put her hand on his and felt their child with him. “She’s only seven and a half weeks old so I’m sure she won’t.”

Seven and a half weeks. He had a seven and a half week old child. Wow. He was so fixated on those words that he almost forgot to counter her. “Don’t you mean 'he'?”

“No. I mean 'she'.”

He shook his head. “That’s impossible. It’s a boy.”

“In your dreams. Trust me; it’s a girl. A mother always knows.”

“And a father always knows when he’s created a boy.”

“Yeah, right,” she scoffed. My great-grandmother’s first child was a girl and the same with my grandma. My mother, as you know, had three girls and not only was my eldest sister’s first child a girl, I believe you were at Yi Young Unnie’s daughter’s birthday party a few months ago.”

He rolled his eyes. “What’s your point? The second son of my family always has a boy first.”

Sam Soon laughed. “We both know that’s bullsh.it.”

“Really?” he asked as he moved closer to her. Could she possibly get any more beautiful? “Prove it,” he dared just before he kissed her one more time.

When they broke apart, he glanced at her before jumping off his seat and sharing the news with the rest of the passengers.

“Yes, he’s going to be a dad!” Sam Soon repeated. She laughed as she mentally visualized the wonderful journey she was about to embark on with the crazy guy standing next to her.

THE END

A/N: Thanks for reading and alodia, you have to tell me what the other thing you were thinking was :)