Ha Chae-yoon had a comical expression on her face as she stared at Min Tae Gu's outfit. They decided to meet up in the place where they were have lunch instead of him having to pick her up at her place.
He was handsome, as usual, in his jeans and casual white t-shirt. However, he had an eye-catching horseshoe charm around his neck, a four-leaf clover pin and his sneakers had lady bug decorations on the shoelaces. Of course, his tiger eye bracelet ever present.
"Was there a sale of talismans at the market and were you the only customer they had?" Ha Chae-yoon couldn't help but ask.
Min Tae Gu's eyes widened. "I need loads of luck, Inspector. My clock broke! A broken clock! You know what that means, right?"
"You're... probably going to be late for an appointment?"
"They say it means I'm going to be stuck. I can't move forward. And there are worse interpretations!" he explained, agitated.
Stepping forward, Ha Chae-yoon took his face in her hands. "The clock broke yesterday?"
"I think so," he answered.
"That means, if you're stuck... then you're probably stuck with me, yes?" she asked.
The frown on his forehead started to disappear. "I guess."
"Would it be so bad to be stuck with me, Mr. Min?"
Min Tae Gu's face broke into a wide smile. "I guess not." Pulling her close, he kissed her forehead. "Can I keep my charms? Only for today? Just to be sure."
Ha Chae-yoon laughed. "Sure. Now, shall we eat?"
They presented quite a view to anyone watching them for afar. After all, they were quite a handsome couple. Ha Chae-yoon looked impeccable and elegant in her all white ensemble -- matching white shirt and jeans and strappy sandals that gave a peek of her red polished toenails, Min Tae Gu looked equally handsome, just don't look too close at the different good luck charms scattered across his body.
No, Ha Chae-yoon didn't seem to mind. She still stared at Min Tae Gu with eyes that conveyed how much she adored him and laughed at everything he said. Even just him puffing out a breath made her laugh. "You're so cute."
"I'm serious! I don't want you kissing me if you won't let me kiss you back," he protested, crossing his arms and pouting at her across the table. When their food arrived, he made sure to set the table so that Chae-yoon could easily reach the side dishes she loved and pushed the steak he ordered closer to her before they started eating.
Watching him do that, she took a break from laughing at his being an adorable baby complaining about kissing and patted his hand. "Thank you. You're very sweet to me."
Min Tae Gu actually blushed at the compliment. "Eat."
Midway through their meal, someone called out, "Oppa!"
Min Tae Gu and Ha Chae-yoon turned to the voice and saw Min Hyun Ju making her way to them. "Hyun Ju-ah!" Tae Gu greeted happily. Standing to greet her, he put an arm around her as soon as she was close. "What are you doing in this area?"
"I was going makeup shopping after lunch -- WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?" Hyun Ju asked, making a face as she took in all the charms on her brother.
Ha Chae-yoon couldn't help but laugh. "His clock broke so he needed an extra dose of luck."
"Inspector! Hi!" After saying their greetings, Hyun Ju slid on the seat beside Ha Chae-yoon. "I'm so glad you're still seeing him! My brother is a bit strange but he's a good person."
"Hey! I'm here and can hear you, you know?" Min Tae Gu complained.
Ha Chae-yoon gave him a quick smile before replying to his sister. "He is a good person. I'm glad you thought he and I would be a good match."
"The longer you know him, the less annoying he gets, I promise," Hyun Ju continued. "Please give him a chance."
"Hey!" Tae Gu protested again, which made Chae-yoon laugh more.
Ha Chae-yoon patted Hyun Ju's hand. "We're together."
Hyun Ju's eyes widened. "Really?!" She looked from Ha Chae-yoon's smiling face with eyes in crescent shapes to her brother's smug smile. "Oh my! A sister! I finally have a sister!"
"Hey, don't scare her off."
It was the first time that Ha Chae-yoon detected a real tension between the siblings as Hyun Ju immediately retracted what she said. "Sorry. I just really like her. You used to date so many women you just liked because they were pretty then they would dump you as soon as they found out you're poor."
Min Tae Gu groaned and put his head on his hands to hide his face from the embarrassment, while Hyun Ju guffawed. "Sorry, Oppa. I'll behave now."
"No, no," Ha Chae-yoon interjected. "Tell me more about these exes."
"No!" Tae Gu said. "This is the bad luck my broken clock brought. All my secrets are going to come out and the love of my life will leave me."
Hyun Ju made a face. "So corny!"
While Ha Chae-yoon smiled at him reassuringly. "I won't leave you. I just want to know about these pretty women you dated. Maybe check their credit score or if they've committed white collar crimes."
The three of them laughed.
Ha Chae-yoon did not pursue the topic. In truth, his exes did not matter much to her as long as they remained in the past. They were together now and that was most important.
Since it was a nice day, they decided to lounge around at a nearby park before they parted. A little boy caught Tae Gu's eyes and they ended up running around the park, with Tae Gu helping the young boy in the slides and bars.
"He's always loved children," Hyun Ju said. "Even when we were in the orphanage. He was the older brother of everyone."
Ha Chae-yoon smiled, not taking her eyes off Min Tae Gu. She knew this much, that the siblings were brought to the orphanage when their grandmother could no longer support them because their parents had stopped sending over money. Later on, they found out that their grandmother passed on and shortly thereafter they lost both parents for reasons they were not told.
Hyun Ju was now chuckling. "Those lady bug charms on his laces... do you know when we were young, he brought to our bed so many lady bugs because he needed good luck?!"
"Even then?!" Ha Chae-yoon asked.
"Yes. He always blamed himself for the bad luck we got dealt with. He said he broke my grandmother's mirror and a few days later we were left at the orphanage," Hyun Ju told her sadly. "He was so guilty that he would eat less of his food so he could give me more of his portions."
Ha Chae-yoon nodded, her heart breaking for the little boy who grew up to be the man she adored, recalling that he once told her that he may not be able to give her riches but he promises her that he would never let her go hungry. Now she understood why.
Hyun Ju continued. "After our lessons, we would be running around the gardens looking for lady bugs and four leaf clovers because we read a book that those were good luck. I think we picked so many plans that had four leaves but weren't actually clovers! But we believed it."
"And it worked?"
"It did! We were adopted and luckily we were taken together," Hyun Ju shared. "Father was a bit tough on Tae Gu though. He wasn't mean but he was quite cold. Our inheritance was even stricter with Tae Gu. I got my share when Father died, but his is still tied to a trust." Suddenly shy, Hyun Ju stopped. "I'll let him tell you the rest. He is quite sensitive about sharing the story. I'm sorry I said too much."
"Don't worry about it," Ha Chae-yoon assured. "I'm sure he'd let me know when he's ready. And, thanks for telling me the story. Now I know better why he's obsessed with his superstitions."
"Thank you for understanding them. You're the first one who has accepted it. I have to admit it is weird but... it's his guilt. I do hope one day he realizes that those lucky bracelets don't really work," Hyun Ju lamented.
Chae-yoon stared at her rose quartz bracelet. "I don't know about that. He believed that this will make me accept love and look where we are," Chae-yoon said, with her eyes twinkling.
Hyun Ju rolled her eyes. "He's rubbing off on you."
Chae-yoon sighed, happily. "That's alright with me."
That night was the first time they hang out in Min Tae Gu's apartment. It was a little smaller than hers, had a bedroom, a bathroom a small kitchen and dining room and then the living room. Because he kept everything neat, it didn't feel cramped at all. Ha Chae-yoon was also happy to discover that one of the first things you'd find when you enter the home was a picture of her. "Where did you get that?" she asked.
"Social media," he confessed. "We don't have a photo together yet."
Chae-yoon leaned in to hug him. "Then we should take one tonight."
He made her sit while he prepared a homemade charcuterie tray and some wine. "Surprise! I wasn't sure which cheeses you prefer but let me know if you like these."
"These are wonderful!" Chae-yoon assured. Taking one bite, she patted the seat beside her motioning for him to join her. "Here, take a bite."
After the chat with Hyun Ju, Chae-yoon was now more conscious of making sure she fed Tae Gu, too. He had suffered enough and it was time that he was shown that he deserved the best as well. "Hyun Ju told me about your time in the orphanage."
"She did? Did she tell you how mad she was about the lady bugs? Some crept on her and she screamed so loudly one night," he shared, chuckling.
"I'm with her on this. You know I'll support your lucky charms but no dead animals and no live bugs," Chae-yoon reminded him.
Tae Gu chuckled. Staring at her beautiful face, he played with her hair. "Thank you for understanding my quirks. I know it's annoying --
She stopped him with a kiss. "Don't apologise. It was strange at first, then it became adorable. Now, I understand better. I'll let you know if you go overboard but otherwise... don't apologise. I understand you."
Min Tae Gu's heart soared. He knew his superstitions were borderline silly but an unreasonable part of him worried that if he didn't do what the chain letter said or avoided a black cat or many other unlucky symbols, bad things might happen. No matter how many times he rationalised the fear, he couldn't shake it off. And there were some things in life that he did not want to risk. But, for the first time in his life, he felt supported and acknowledged.
He felt loved.
He even took off the horseshoe from his neck... but he didn't put it far. It was still within arms reach.
"Thank you, Chae-yoon. That means a lot."
Rubbing her nose on his, Ha Chae-yoon whispered. "Kiss me?"
Min Tae Gu exhaled nervously. Cupping her face in his hands, he dipped his head. He rubbed his nose on hers, then he inched downward where they could feel each other's nervous breath. Angling his head better, their lips touched ever so slightly. Teasing each other with the touch but not quite meeting fully.
Tae Gu pecked her upper lip, licked it then kissed it again before moving to do the same to her lower lip.
The sensations were driving Ha Chae-yoon crazy but she didn't dare move. Exhaling, she tried to steady her breath. When she received another light peck, she groaned to complain, "Tae Gu, please..."
Smiling, he leaned back to stare at her before finally meeting her eager lips. For the first time since they met, Min Tae Gu was now able to return Chae-yoon's kisses.
The lady bugs worked their magic again.