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.