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?”