The Aegean sun was trying to wake me up earlier in the day, but feeling content with my wife in my arms, alone and quiet, made me fall back to sleep. For the second time, it woke me again, and this time I gave in to it. Staring at how my lovely actress-wife looked like a Greek goddess basking in the warmth of the sun, with nothing but just a duvet covering our bodies, I felt like the mighty Achilles after spending a night with Breseis, after professing their love for each other.
I smiled at the thought that after a few days of being away from her, I couldn't help myself but go after her especially when I knew there was something that was untoward going on. I know as a father I could have made my kids top priority, but when my parents told me to just go because this is more important, I immediately flew halfway across the Atlantic just to make sure she is safe and secured.
*****
'Tae Pyung, is Eon Jin okay?' Eomma said as soon as I answered her call. Apparently she heard of the news of the lost plane likewise and called me when she got the chance.
'Yes, Eomma. I just talked to her a few hours ago,' I replied, while watching over Pooh and Lilo playing in front of me. He was telling her a story of Blue, a puppy who helps his owner find the lost things in his home.
'Don't you want to go over there and be with her?' she asked, obviously luring me to say yes so she can have the kids at our home. My parents really love these kids.
I smiled. 'Eomma, I promised her to take a time off her motherly duties. Besides, I think it's time for me to re-acquaint how it is to be alone with my kids too,' I said. 'I also need to talk to you and Abeoji about my plans.'
'For what?' she asked. I smiled to myself as I looked at my kids, Lilo who by now was looking at her brother like she was looking at a tv screen.
'I'll tell you when Yejin is around Eomma,' I replied.
*****
Yejin moved a bit, with her face buried on my chest and her hand on my right ear. It felt ticklish again but I loved it. I know she is awake so I decided to nuzzle my face on her hair, smelling like the residue of last night's lavender shampoo she had brought which I so loved. Remembering what happened last night brought a smile to my face, and I couldn't help but tease her about it.
'Are you awake, baby?' I said. 'Aren't you tired?'
She was murmuring something before she gave me a smack. Lifting her head to face me, she squinted her eye before answering.
'Your fault, mister. Three hours?' she said, smiling as she did so. 'Or was it four? I couldn't keep count,' she said as she rested her head on my chest again.
I smiled as I kissed the top of her head. 'Good morning, baby,' I said as I bent down to meet her lips in mine.
'Good morning, baby,' she replied. 'Please, nothing naughty today,' she said. I looked at her and gave her a smile. Last night was enough. I guess.
'But can I do this?' I asked as I gave her a kiss once more. On her forehead, her nose, cheeks and her lips. Feeling those soft, supple cherry lips, I tried to travel south towards her scapula before she pulled away and squinted at me once more. That was enough, and I gave her my sweetest smile. I thought I could get away with it.
'Behave Mr. Kim,' she said as she gave me a soft kiss, before pulling out the duvet and covering herself with it. I shook my head before I stood up and followed her to the bathroom.
We ordered room service for breakfast and had a quiet time together, talking about the recent happenings she had encountered. I realized I never had the chance to ask her about it.
'Baby, who is that man really?' I asked her as I took a sip of my coffee. She was buttering the toast and gave it to me. She let out a sigh before she answered.
'Baby, I really don't know. All I know about him is that he is claiming to know me. You knew he came over right?' she said. I was surprised and so I asked her to go on talking.
'Well, he came over and asked me out. He was that guy whom I have told you. And one more thing, he was the pilot of our flight from Amsterdam. At that moment, I wanted to catch another flight coming here,' she said as she tightened her hold on me. I stood up and went near her.
'Baby, look,' I said. 'I don't know if I am thinking the right thing, but then maybe I am wrong too. Seems to me that he likes you and is in denial that you are married to me. The flight might be coincidental but then him coming over here is not. But I am here now, and that is actually the main reason why I followed you.'
She heaved another sigh and then I gave her a hug.
'Everything's going to be fine, Yejinah,' I said. We stayed that way, looking out to the deep blue Aegean sea. 'What are we doing after breaky?' I asked her after a few minutes.
She leaned on me and answered. 'I don't know. I wanted to take you to Mykonos, where my first CF was filmed. But then we may run out of time, we need to fly back by 5pm right? Let's just go to Fira,' she replied with a smile.
That's it. That's my girl, ready to smile even when she has a lot of things on her mind.
'But first can we call the kids? I miss them,' she asked. I nodded and took out my phone so we could call my parents. It's around 4pm in Seoul. As soon as it rang, Eomma picked up and asked how we were. Yejin told her we're fine and thanked her for taking care of the kids.
'Eommoni, how could this man be over here and follow me?' she asked. I had to stifle a laugh as my mother went talking.
'Well, he said that you need him over there. I was actually pushing him to follow you but he was very firm on his decision not to, but there he is,' she replied. She looked at me and I only had to give her a smile. 'You don't need to worry about the kids, you know how much we love them.'
'Halmeoni, is that my Eomma?' Pooh's cute voice was heard and it melted our hearts right away. Eomma nodded and asked him to come over and talk to us.
'Hi babylove, I miss you,' Yejin said. I smiled at Pooh and he returned us that eye smile he totally got from his mother.
'Eomma, Appa!' he said as he hugged the phone and gave us a flying kiss. Seriously, how can this kid be so sweet? He has definitely changed from that no-kid to a sweet one. I just hope he won't return to that, as I have read somewhere that kids definitely hit that time in their toddler years.
'Hey buddy! How are you?' I asked him.
'I'm okay Appa. I helped Halmeoni in the kitchen, but she said I will just watch her. So I watched her and Lilo too,' he replied. Oh Pooh, please don't grow up too fast, bud.
'And where's Lilo?' Yejin asked. Suddenly, our little girl came into view with her halmeoni and was looking at us, wondering where we were.
'Hi, princess. I miss you,' Yejin said, while having a little tear in her eye. I held her hand and talked to our baby.
'Oh Appa and Eomma miss you both already,' I said. 'Hey, bud. We will go to a party this weekend. It's Joo Joo noona's party.'
Hearing his noona's name made him jump and he was actually very happy about it. Oh boy, these kids. We went on talking about their costumes and someone was really excited about the party. We then ended the call, as Lilo became a bit fussy and wanted her milk. Ending the call, my wife wiped a tear and smiled at me.
'Binssi, we made two beautiful kids. I can't imagine my life without them,' she said. I smiled.
'What about we make another one?' I teased her, only to earn myself a smack. We both laughed so hard as we finished our breakfast.
Noona and Hyung didn't come with us, as they were also celebrating her birthday. They had other plans together, and we agreed to meet at the hotel prior to going home. Since Yejin and I had time in our hands, we explored the streets of Fira, the largest town in Santorini. Since we came from another town which is Oia, the hotel arranged a ride for us. When we got off the old port, we had to either walk or ride a donkey going up to the town of Fira. Since we both wanted to feel the vibe of the place, we walked and explored the island together.
Fira is like a city floating, since it is situated on a caldera cliff. Walking up made us laugh as we were both panting, but it was too late to go down and ride a donkey. We slowly walked our way up, but it gave us a panoramic view of the caldera, somewhat giving us an uninterrupted view of the vast ocean. Finally after 30 minutes of steep walking, we arrived at the town center, where we were greeted with dominantly white structures.
There were other colors though, but mostly it's blue and white. We learned that there were different shades of blue representing each island. Santorini blue is the color of the ocean, at least what a local pointed out. We went walking more and found a cafe where we took a rest. Overlooking the volcanic crater, which is visible as the ocean, it gave us a breather from all the walking we did. We clearly enjoyed the view, and I could see my model enjoying what she does whenever we travel. Posing for the camera.
'How beautiful is this place,' I quipped, amazed at the view in front of us, placing the A6500 mirrorless camera on the table after I took some shots. It was something I could only picture out in books, and I truly thanked my mother that she pushed me to come over.
'And nobody knows us even,' she continued. We smiled, as we both wanted to feel like ordinary people who can walk around like this casually.
We were talking as we had our coolers, enjoying the view and the weather, while checking out authentic Greek food Fava (locally grown peas,) Souvlaki (Greek kebab) and Grilled Lobster, which they say is fairly different from anywhere. I would definitely agree with them. It was really good food.
'You know, their food is really great, but I think we need to be exercising to burn them all out,' Yejin said after we had our food.
'Well, all the walking would definitely burn it all. And maybe some,' I teased once more, then we both laughed at it.
'Why are you sure you can still do it after everything today?' she responded, which made me laugh so hard after. As we were talking, a Korean woman came up to us, followed by a Korean man. I realized that they were the same people whom Yejin and I saw last night, looking at us. From what I knew, this was the guy who had been giving my wife some hard time.
'Eon Jin?' he asked. The woman was looking at both of us, clearly astonished. My attention was turned to the man and I was getting ready to listen to him.
'Can we sit with you?' he casually said. Yejin, on the other hand, started to get pissed off by the action of the guy, so I decided to join in.
'Excuse me,' I said as I stood up to get his attention. He looked at me and talked to him man to man, I told him once and for all my thoughts.
'I know you,' I said. 'But it seems that my wife is not comfortable with you around. I know everything you have been doing, and I am asking you now to leave her alone.'
He smiled at me lopsidedly. The woman came to him and said, as I could hear her.
'Min Woo, let's stop this. You have been going way too far already. Give them peace.'
The man named Min Woo stared at her and heaved out a sigh.
'You gotta accept that fact that it's not gonna be anymore,' she continued. I stood beside Yejin and took her hand. Turning to the woman, I told her we will be going ahead.
'I'm really sorry about what happened. He is my brother, and he had been waiting to see Eon Jin for the longest time. I'm sorry if he sounded like a stalker, but he never is. He is a pilot, and I am just glad to come with him on this trip. I know there was something he wanted to do, so I urged him to take me with him. I'm really sorry,' she said as she bowed, leaving her brother out of the eavesdrop. I found it hard to believe, but then I knew I had to.
'Maybe I have to tell him to take time off. Please do not worry, I will make sure he will not come near you anymore, maam,' she said.
I don't have time to deal with something like this, especially now. I nodded at her and we both left. I noticed her silent, so I just allowed her to be so. After a few minutes, we decided to head back to the town proper so we could be at the hotel on time.
'Binssi, let's just forget about that,' she said while we were in the car. I looked at her and nodded.
'I think he is dealing with something. I hope he will be fine soon,' I replied. My thoughts were fast paced and I actually considered getting a close-in for her when we got back to Seoul. Who knows what would happen. Yejin is not just an ordinary person in Korea. I didn't want what happened before with her stalker happening again.
'Why don't you take a rest first?' I asked her and she nodded, resting her head on my shoulder. We went on admiring the scenic view of the caldera cliffs and the crater on the warm afternoon sun.
We arrived at the hotel just in time. Since Yejin had already organized our stuff, all we needed to do was to just check-out and go to the airport hangar where the plane was waiting for us to take us back to Seoul. Noona kept on teasing me about why I went to follow them here, bringing her husband with me. We shared a good laugh until we were all ready to depart back to where we came from, where our kids are waiting for us.
Then I remembered something that I needed to talk to Yejin about.
'Baby,' I called as the plane flew over the Atlantic waters. She hummed in reply, resting her head once more on my shoulder.
'I have something to tell you,' I said. She lifted her head to look at me and asked me to go on. I took a deep breath before I continued talking.
'I am considering taking a break for the time being.'
---
A/N:
Hi everyone! It's good to be back! Had to take a week off from writing. There were too many things on my plate so I just gotta address them one by one, first.
Will this be the end of Min Woo following Yejin?