Bangyo, 1998
"Deok Sun-ah!"
Deok Sun turned her head and saw her dad was waving at her. She ran to him, laughing. Her dad held her shoulders and led her to the car.
"Appa, you bought a car?" she asked him, surprised.
"No, it's Jung Bong abeoji's car," he answered, smiling. Deok Sun scoffed, she should knew better, really. They got on to the car and left the bus terminal. Deok Sun let the window open, soaking in the sunlight and the fresh wind. God, she missed Korea.
"Aigoo, it's been so long since I saw your face," her dad couldn't stop smiling. "It's been a year already!"
"Sorry I couldn't go home so often," she smiled apologetically.
She started working in a foreign airline two years ago and she moved to London for that. She never admitted it to anyone but she did it because she couldn't handle seeing Taek on a regular basis. She didn't want to ruin the mood each time their squad met. She didn't want to see them took his side and leave her alone. So she found an excuse to leave.
She only came to Korea two times during those two years, one time on Jung Bong and Mi Ok's wedding and the other time when Bo Ra and Sun Woo's first son was born. She met Taek both times and he was actually pretty fine about it. She even heard from Dong Ryong that Taek was enganged to a younger baduk player already. Good for him.
"Deok Sun-ah, you came home for good, right? Are you going back to your old company?" dad suddenly asked her, took her back from her wandering thoughts.
"Yes and I asked to be assigned in the domestic flights this time," she answered, grinning. "So I can see you anytime I want."
"Really?" dad laughed again happily. "But you'll live in Seoul, right?"
"I don't know yet, the company would tell me where I'll be assigned next week," she answered.
"As long as you still live in Korea," dad told her and it made her smiled.
They arrived at the house not long after that and she was welcomed by mountain of food her mother made. She had a meal right away, even though it was 3 in the afternoon. She told them about her life in London, places she went to, food she ate and friends she made. They only grinned, looked perfectly happy just sitting there and listening to her stories.
Her parents then visited the Kims' house for a go-stop game while Deok Sun washed up and change her clothes. She decided to go there too since she had nothing to do at home. She saw Jung Hwan's black jeep was parked outside, wondering if he was home too. He was reading a comic book while lying down in the sofa when she came in. He sat up when he saw her, surprised.
"Yah, when did you get back?" he asked.
"Annyeong," Deok Sun grinned. Jung Hwan was still speechless when she sat beside him. "I just got here this afternoon."
"What's the occasion? You never go home unless there's something happening," he asked, being sarcastic as usual. She scoffed at him.
"I'm home for good. I moved to back to my old company," she answered.
"Oh, really?" Jung Hwan smiled teasingly. "Why? Don't you like working there?"
"Augh, they worked me to death, really. It was pretty great on the first year. I did get to visit a lot of countries, but last year was pretty brutal," Deok Sun shook her head. "I rarely get a leave and I went on 12 hours flight once every three days. It was insane. I'd rather work here, at least I can see my parents often."
Jung Hwan couldn't take his eyes off her the whole time she was talking, grinning. She looked the other way awkwardly.
"Why?" she asked him.
"No, it's just... it's been a long time since we talked like this," he shrugged his shoulders.
"Why? Do you miss me?" she asked teasingly.
"Augh, sure I do," Jung Hwan messed with her hair and she laughed at that. He walked to the kitchen to fetch some water. She looked around his house and realized everything looked really similar with his house in Ssangmundong.
"Yah, did your parents moved your whole house here?" she turned around to look at him. He shrugged his shoulder.
"Well, the furniture is the same," he answered.
"Even the layout of the house is the same," she laughed in amazement. She pointed the door in front of the living room. "Isn't this your room?"
Jung Hwan nodded. She stood up and peeked inside his room. It was the exact copy of his room in Ssangmundong. It was pretty messy though. He left his luggage opened on the floor, filled with dirty clothes. It looked like he just stuffed the clothes inside the luggage without even folding them.
"Yah," Jung Hwan closed his door immediately, embarrassed.
"Aigoo, Second Lieutenant Kim, you still made your mom washing your dirty laundry?" she laughed when Jung Hwan snorted at her.
"I'm First Lieutenant now."
"Aigoo, really? Congratulation!" she patted his arms sarcastically.
"Oh, Deok Sun-ah!"
Both of them turned around and saw their parents walked out of his parents' room, looked like they finished playing go stop.
"Ahjussi, ahjumma, how are you doing?" she bowed at them.
"We're doing fine, of course," Jung Hwan's dad answered, smiling wide as usual. "You're back to Korea for good now?"
"Yes, ahjussi."
"So we can see you often now, right?" his mom asked her and she nodded her head, grinning. "Did you eat? We're having dinner here."
"I just ate, ahjumma," she answered.
"Why? You never had a problem eating two meals in a row before," Jung Hwan mocked her immediately and she glared at him.
Of course when the moms put the food in the dining table, she ate well just the same. They had their meal together in The Kims' dining room and it felt strange because she and the other kids usually ate in the living room back in Ssangmundong. Now she and Jung Hwan joined the adults in the dining table and she realized she came a long way since then.
"Jung Hwan-ah, I heard Taek's getting married soon?" Jung Hwan's mom asked him and he nodded. He glanced at Deok Sun who looked the other way at once. The parents never knew Deok Sun and Taek used to date. It was a good thing they didn't find out since they broke up in the end.
"Yes, probably at the end of this year," Jung Hwan answered.
"Even Dong Ryong has a girlfriend too," Deok Sun's mom smiled. "All the kids are getting married soon."
"Except these two, aigoo," Deok Sun's dad pointed Jung Hwan and Deok Sun. Both of them pretended to focus on their meal right away.
"Ah, I really like So Jung, though. It was a shame you two broke up," his dad sighed. Deok Sun looked at Jung Hwan, surprised. She didn't know they broke up. They were doing fine the last time she saw him.
"At least he brought a girl home. We never even met any of her boyfriend," her dad scoffed at her daughter.
"Appa, you said you won't meet a foreigner. Why would I bring him home?" Deok Sun scoffed back at him. He glared at her when she said it.
"Yah, you're still dating him?"
"I told you we broke up already!"
"Let's not talk about him again then!"
Deok Sun pouted and didn't say another word about it. The parents continued chatting away while she and Jung Hwan just ate silently. She stole a glance at him and surprised when their eyes met. They both looked away awkwardly and she bit back her smile. They were both single for the first time in four years. She couldn't help feeling happy at that fact. They even took a leave at the same time and met here. If it wasn't fate, she didn't know what is.
The parents brought out soju after dinner, but Deok Sun didn't feel like drinking with them. She decided to go out and get some fresh air. It was the first time she was here anyway, she wanted to look around.
The land was actually pretty big. Other than the two houses, they built a small pond with a small gazebo next to it. It looked perfect for lazing around in the summer. Other than that, they also set up a small garden in front of the house. They planted all kind of vegetables there and some fruits too. She picked a strawberry and ate it right away. It was sweet.
"Yah!" Deok Sun turned her head and saw Jung Hwan stood up in front of the house.
"Why?" she asked.
"I'm having some beer, do you want some?" he asked, showing her a pack of beers he was carrying. She noticed he carried a couple of comic books too.
"Ah, let's drink there," Deok Sun pointed the gazebo. Jung Hwan nodded and they both walked to the gazebo. He opened two bottles for two of them and they drank them together. The cold beer tasted really good in this summer heat.
"Jung Hwan-ah, why did you break up?" she asked him suddenly, couldn't help being curious.
"So Jung joined the UNHCR and she was stationed in Bosnia," he sighed and drank his beer again. "We decided to break up before she left."
So Jung was way too cool to handle, really. Deok Sun didn't feel too good about that. She glanced at him, he didn't look too sad even when he was talking about her.
"Are you okay though?" she asked, just to be sure.
"Of course. It was almost a year ago," he answered. "Yah, you really dated a foreigner?"
Deok Sun laughed and nodded. "He's an Irish."
"For how long?"
"Only a couple of months," she answered. He was an assistant pilot and they flew together a lot. They started dating naturally, no drama at all. It was the first time she felt she genuinely loved someone, but they were both too different and they fought a lot in the end. They still worked together even after they broke up. It was quite painful at first but she got over it in mere months, maybe because it wasn't her first heartbreak.
"Is that why you got back here?" he asked.
"Yah, am I a child? Why would I leave my job just because I broke up?" Deok Sun scoffed at him. Jung Hwan only shrugged his shoulders.
"What about Taek? Things are fine between you and him?" he asked. Deok Sun knew he would ask that.
"We're fine. We even talked on the phone a couple of times. I talked to him more often than I talked to you, really."
Jung Hwan laughed while Deok Sun snorted at him. "Who told you to work abroad? We can talk all the time if you live here."
"Thank God, I came home then," she agreed with him.
Deok Sun finished her beer and took a comic book. She lied down on her stomach and started reading. Jung Hwan lied down next to her, reading another book. An hour later, they finished most of the beers and stopped reading, only lying around drunkenly.
"Deok Sun-ah..."
She turned her head to look at him. He lied down facing her, looking at her so intensely, she found it hard to look back at him. The last time they were this close was almost ten years ago. He looked at her the same way back then.
"Why?"
"Do you remember when we lied down like this and you asked me to go to the Lee Moon Sae's concert?"
"Yes."
"I really wanted to kiss you that night," he whispered to her. He wouldn't be so honest if he wasn't fueled by beers, she was sure of it.
Her heart started to beat really fast and she even felt her hands trembled from nervousness. She gulped before telling him, "You can kiss me now."
She swore he saw him smirked before he shifted closer and swooped her in for a kiss. The ten years overdue kiss. He held her tight, closing the distance between them. Their bodies pressed against each other and she knew it was the only thing their bodies should do together from now on.
She touched his cheek, his neck, while he tilted his head to kiss her deeper. Their tongues intertwined, sending shiver all over her body. She pulled away slightly to take a breath and he bit her lips gently.
They were both panting and they didn't do anything for a while to catch their breath. They only look at each other, soaked in the intimacy of being so close together. She could feel his breath against her skin and she leaned her forehead to his.
"I should've kissed you ten years ago," he whispered to her.
"No, now is the right time. Now is perfect," she barely breathed it to him when he brushed his lips against hers one more time.
A kiss never felt so right before. Maybe because they've been waiting so long for this, or maybe they suffered so much just to get to this point. Although deep down she knew because it was Jung Hwan, because it was always him for her and nothing in the world would change her mind now. Not even Jung Hwan himself.
...
Deok Sun woke up and her head hurt a little from the hangover. She got out from her room and her parents were nowhere to be found. She couldn't find any food in the kitchen, so she washed her face and put on some more decent clothes before she walked to Jung Hwan's house.
"Ahjumma? Ahjussi?" she called out the second she was inside. No one answered. She checked the kitchen and found a bowl of spicy stir chicken from last night. She mixed it with a bowl of rice and some vegetables. She was eating it when Jung Hwan came out of his room. They both looked away awkwardly. Jung Hwan walked to the kitchen and drank a glass of water while she tried to finish her meal right away.
"Yah, why are you eating in other people's house?" Jung Hwan started to nag at her and she scoffed. This guy would never change his awkward way with her.
"There's no food in my house, okay?" she answered.
"Where's everyone?" he asked her and she shrugged her shoulders. He peeked into his parents' room and found no one there.
"My parents already left when I woke up too," she told him. Jung Hwan finally sat in front of her, although still too embarrassed to look at her directly. She tried to look into his eyes but he avoided her stare.
"Yah, you never kissed a girl before? Why are you so awkward?" she finally asked him, annoyed.
"I'm not," Jung Hwan quickly dismissed her question and she rolled her eyes at him. He sighed when he saw that. "Don't you get it? Because it was you. I would never get this awkward for someone else."
It made her laughed, half happy, half embarrassed. He laughed with her and they just stare at each other for a while like a pair of fools in love they were.
"Yah, do you think our parents saw us last night? Why else would they leave us alone like this?" she asked him. Jung Hwan looked horrified by that thought and shook his head.
"Don't say that, okay?" he shivered just thinking about it. "And if they did see us, they wouldn't leave us alone instead."
"You're right," she nodded. She pushed her bowl to Jung Hwan. "Yah, finished this, I'm full."
Jung Hwan took her bowl and did so. She stretched her arms and lounged on the sofa. He joined her after turned on the television.
"What do you usually do on your break?" she asked him.
"Just lazing around. Watching films, reading comics," he answered. "If I go to Seoul, I met the guys."
"Where do you stay if you go to Seoul?"
"Hyung's apartment or Taek's."
"Taek lived alone now?" she asked, laughing just imagining it. "Can he survive?"
"He's doing fine, don't worry about him," he scoffed at her and she laughed at his jealousy.
"Aigoo, he's getting married soon, what are you jealous about?" she messed with his hair and he pushed her face away to get back at her.
"Yah!" She smacked his arm right away. He didn't saw it coming the first time, but ready to shield his body when she raised her hand again. "How could you hit your girlfriend, you bastard!"
"Girlfriend? Really?" Jung Hwan grinned, caught both of her arms.
"Am I not? You kissed me like that last night and we're not dating now?" she glared at him. He only laughed and held her shoulders.
"Of course we are."
Deok Sun still snorted at him and he pulled her in for a hug. She turned her head and pushed him away.
"Yah, you stink of beer. Go take a shower first," Deok Sun shifted away from him.
"Go in with me, then," Jung Hwan's suggestion earned him another smack in his head.
"Why would I take a shower with you? Huh? Huh? You haven't even told me you love me, you bastard!" Deok Sun slapped his arm a couple more times before he finally shifted away, shocked.
"Yah, I did tell you I love you!" he shouted at her.
"It was four years ago and you dated another girl after that!"
"Yah, you dated two guys after that! Do you have any right to be mad right now?"
They were glaring at each other for a second before Deok Sun burst out laughing. He wasn't sure what to do, so he crossed his arms and didn't say anything.
"Aigoo, we both would never change, really. We managed to bicker one second after we started dating," she sighed and laughed again.
"Deok Sun-ah," Jung Hwan called her name and it took her back to his first confession. She turned her head to look at him and he cupped both of her cheek, before telling her, "I love you. I always have, be it ten years ago, four years ago, or now."
"You know how many time I imagined this to happen between us? I thought our chance would never come again," he looked sad when he reminisced the time he gave up on her.
"I love you too, Jung Hwan-ah. I just never had the courage to tell you first," she touched his hands on her face. "I'm sorry it took so long for me."
Jung Hwan smiled and shook his head. "No, we both did."
He leaned closer to kiss her and she smiled when their lips touched again. It was short and sweet, different from last night. His face lighted up when he pulled away, grinning ear to ear, the happiest she's ever seen him.
"Aigoo, do you like me that much?" she asked, jokingly.
"Yes," he answered as he pulled her into his arms. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning on him.
"You still stink of beer," she whispered. He laughed and finally stood up to take a shower. Deok Sun kept watching television. She was about to fall asleep when Jung Hwan called her from the bathroom.
"Why?"
"Pass me a towel."
"You didn't bring one?"
Deok Sun got up and took one from his drawer. She knocked the bathroom door and he opened it slightly. She couldn't help staring at his bare abs. His body was still wet too and she almost drooled from the sight.
"Why? You want to go in with me after all?" he grinned when he saw her expression. She blinked a couple of times, debating with herself whether to go in with him or not. He chuckled and said, "Aigoo, alright, I'm just kidding."
Jung Hwan took the towel and closed the door again. She freaked out by herself and needed to slap her own head to clear her mind. She sat down again on the sofa, looking at the television without even watching it. By the time he got out of the bathroom and sat beside her, she was too restless to sit still. Jung Hwan kept glancing at her, wondering what was wrong. He turned to face her, couldn't take it anymore.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked her.
She looked back at him, hoping he would understand without her saying it. Jung Hwan stroked her hair and leaned a little bit closer. She pulled his shirt slightly and he finally understood.
He tilted his head and covered her lips with his. God, his lips. If there were any lips made for kissing, they were Jung Hwan's. They were soft and full and nothing sort of amazing. He didn't even need to use his tongue to make her weak in the knees. His lips were already enough.
He held her waist to pull her closer and she linked her arms behind his neck. He kissed his way down to her neck, his lips felt so hot against her skin. She moaned when he bit her neck gently. He suddenly pulled away, stood up and lifted her.
"Yah!" she exclaimed in surprise, held on to his shoulder right away. He carried her to his room and laid her down gently on his bed. He closed the door and locked it. She gulped nervously when he turned around to see her.
"What if your parents come home?" she asked.
"That's why I locked the door," he answered.
Jung Hwan wasted no more time to climb on top of her, closing the distance between them. Their lips found each other right away, their hands were already inside each other shirts and he pulled away so both of them can take them off. She couldn't wait to touch him so she straddled him and he laughed at her aggressiveness.
He looked even sexier up close and she touched his chest to see if it was rock hard like all the heroes in the romance novels she read in high school. Of course it was and she giggled at the fact. She drew a line from his chest, all the way down to his abs and he gasped when she stopped at the waist of his pants.
She grinned teasingly. "You don't want me to stop?"
Jung Hwan used all his willpower not to jump her right then. He took a deep breath before he asked her, "You're okay with this, right? We're not moving too fast?"
"Yah, we waited so many years already and you want us to go slow?" Deok Sun scoffed at him. "Shut up and kiss me."
He gladly did so, pulling her closer. She could feel his temperature rose when he touched her bare skin. She grinded her hips against him and they both moaned in pleasure.
"Don't stop," he groaned into her mouth, so she didn't. His fingers climbed up her back and unclasped her bra. She smiled and took it off for him to see. He couldn't take his eyes off her and she enjoyed his stare so much, she got down from his lap and leaned on the wall to give him a better view. Her smile widened when he crawled closer.