~Chapter Song: IINFINTE 'Be Mine'~
~Chapter Song: Moon Hyung Seo 'Half'~
So-Hyun had a busy day today with her training drawing nearer to an end and with extra meetings related to her project she was practically a full employee. She couldn't complain too much though because as straining as it was, it was rewarding, and she liked the feeling of having accomplished something or even having the smallest impact on others' lives. After parking the car, she stretched slightly and made her way inside the house. She didn't think she would use the car as much as she does now, but she was going through the stage where driving to any location was enticing.
As soon as she got inside she greeted her mother and almost flew to her room collapsing on the bed. She patted her stomach satisfied. On her way home she noticed that the Burger joint opposite McDonalds was looking especially lonely, whilst McDonalds was being flooded with customers. Her stomach was grumbling and she couldn't stand the injustice she was witnessing before her very eyes. You could call it sympathy of some sort.
Long story short, she had stopped off at the burger joint before coming home.
Undoing her jacket she threw it across the room and fell back on the bed to close her eyes at the pleasant thought that tomorrow was Saturday and she could essentially do nothing. Just as she was drifting off, the vibration from her phone startled her. Roaming around for it she looked at the caller ID and saw Ms Lee's number appear.
"Hello, Eommonim?"
"Dear, are you busy?"
"No, Eommoni is everything okay?" She greeted, trying to sound like she wasn't surprised by the call.
"Oh, I'm not. I have a package that I need to pick up tomorrow morning, but I have an appointment that I can't miss with the oriental doctor, Ji-Sub is at a seminar and as you know Seung-Ho is still doing reports on his speech, so I was wondering..."
So-Hyun giggled at his mother's long explanation. "Eommonim! Where do I need to go?"
"Really? Oh, I was worried I didn't want to seem like the terrible mother-in-law that sends you on errands. I'll send you the directions as soon as I know how this map application on my app works." She said quizzically, and So-Hyun tried to stifle a laughter. His mother could be the cutest when she wanted to be.
"Just send me the address, I can do the rest from there Eommoni."
As soon as she wrote down the address So-Hyun laid back down, choosing to not lose any more possible sleeping time by removing her clothes. She fell asleep, happy that she had something t help Ms Lee with.
The next morning So-Hyun woke up to the sound of her alarm at 9am and she quickly rose to get ready. Since summer was scorching the citizens of Seoul, she decided to wear a pair of denim shorts and a white t-shirt that contrasted the slight tan that she had gotten. She was lucky because there was a bus every ten minutes that goes to Ganghwa Island from the Seoul city station so by the time she got there she was in time for the next departing one.
On the bus she sent a message to Seung-Ho bragging about how close she's gotten to his mother.
So-Hyun:
>I think your mother has completely fallen for me.
>She sends me on errands now! That's good right?
>Means that she trusts me hmm ^^
Satisfied with her boasting, she puts her phone in her bag and takes out her book that she prepared for the long journey.
Two and a half hours later the book is safely covering So-Hyun's face whilst she sleeps. There was always something about being in a coach that made her lose focus and drift off. The soft pressure on her arm wakes her up from her slumber and she opens her eyes to see the driver with a concerned look on his face. Immediately apologising she runs off the bus, slightly embarrassed that she was the last one remaining.
Scanning her phone, she read the reply from Seung-Ho with a heartfelt smile.
Seung-Ho Oppa:
>She fell for you a long time ago.
Being back here reminded her how weird it was that different parts of the country had different air. The air here was clearer and she took in a deep breath to fill her lungs before setting off for the post office. When she got to the small post office, the collection was simpler than she had expected and after signing for the parcel she made her way through the centre of the Island. It had been almost a year since she was last here and she was surprised to find it filled with more people than usual.
The sun was less harsh on the Island, so she basked in it as she walked along the stone walled bridge she once walked. She traced her fingers across the wall and reminisced on the last time that she was here. She took a deep breath and looked to the sky as if she wanted to scream out her name for all to hear. That would have been very out of character for the girl she knew five years ago, but this one has transformed and changed little by little.
She was tempted but was interrupted by the sound of her phone, she checked and saw a message from Ms Lee.
Eommonim:
>Dear, are you still there?
>I have another parcel that just arrived... Could you?
>Sorry to bother you, dear.
So-Hyun smiled, she was more than happy to do that. She made a turn thinking that it would be close to the post-office but when she typed in the new address Ms Lee sent she was surprised to find it close to her current location. Turning back around she followed the GPS.
Within five minutes she had arrived, but there was nothing there. It turned out that the bridge was longer than she had originally thought, but she had already reached the end of it. It was connected to a wooden platform, below that lead to a beach. She wondered if Seung-Ho's mother had sent the wrong address.
As she scanned the area she turned back to her phone to call Eommoni, but she paused, startled by the voice that she heard from behind her. When she turned around she saw Seung-Ho who had appeared from nowhere slowly walking towards her. She blinked several times just to make sure that she wasn't seeing things.
"I know you said I shouldn't propose here, but there was no other place that could express my sentiments better than this place." He steadily got down on one knee and amidst the shock So-Hyun couldn't help but feel sorry for his knees. The ground was quite gravelly and because it was summer, it must have been hot too.
"Kim So-Hyun. Would you do me the honour of spending the rest of your life with me? I know that I may not be the perfect man and well, I have a lot of flaws, but I'm trying to work on them.
Before I met you, I didn't think that there was a woman that could bring warmth to this heart of mine but when I first laid my eyes on you the feelings I had couldn't be contained. Being with you made me realise that the heart wasn't created to be a container of hate, but for love and beautiful things." Taking in a deep breath he continued, "We've been through a lot together and you've become somebody that I consider family... I want to make that official so, would you like to marry me?"
So-Hyun stood in the same position throughout his proposal, she should have known. He had said that he wanted to propose here before and now that she thinks about it was quite suspicious for the parcel pick up to be in Ganghwa, the exact place he said that he would propose to her. To think that he had initiated his mother into his plan was even more shocking. As he was on one knee, his words were confident and strong, but his eyes were quivering, and she couldn't help and let her heartbeat uncontrollably for him.
She took a step closer towards him, "Are you nervous?"
"Yes, very much." He replied immediately, trying to keep his balance. So-Hyun's smile widened as she approached him.
"Good." Because, I am too. "And are you sure you want to marry me?"
"Yes. I'm not quite sure when it happened, but you've become everything to me. I know we can't always be everything to each other, but I want us to spend the rest of our lives together, supporting and caring for each oth-"
So-Hyun cut him off by lowering herself to his height so that her knees were bent, and their eyes were levelled. She looked like she was contemplating for a few seconds, before lifting up the corner of her mouth, "You say too much... Yes, I'll marry you." She nodded, placing her hands on his elbows and helping him stand up as she accepted the diamond on her finger.
He heaved a sigh of reliefm, a huge smile broke out on his face as he embraced her into his arms and lifting her off her feet. "Oppa!" She called, taken by surprise.
"I love you." He affirmed, bringing their lips into a soft collision. She held onto him, returning his kiss but paused when she heard a few familiar voices from behind him. Opening her eyes she saw her mother, Seung-Ho's mother and her brother along with Ji-Sub appearing one by one. Soon her cheeks flushed red and she hid in his neck at the realisation that they had just witnessed them being intimate.
Something she had to scold him about later.
"What are you all doing here?" She asked, her words coming out muffled in his neck.
"Congratulations." They all cheered, gathering around the two of them.
So-Hyun didn't have any expectations of what her proposal would be like. Yes, she had thought about getting married, but she didn't go to the stage of imagining and dreaming about the exact process she wanted things to go in. Seung-Ho's proposal wasn't extravagant, but it was everything that she could have ever asked for.
Watching him on his knees, shaking from nervousness in the blazing heat, she could feel his sincerity.
^^^^
Whilst some were in a celebrating mood, others were currently trying to find their way out of one. Jin-Goo was currently filling in for his grandfather at a charity event that would supposedly make their company look good. It was a charity foundation that his mother had started out but never had the opportunity to complete, due to obvious reasons.
Yawning, he slid out his phone to glance at the time and when he realised that he had only been there for an hour of the three he had promised his grandfather he felt dejected. The room was a concoction of old men with ulterior motives and gossiping ladies. If his mother was to see what her plans had come to how disappointed would she be?
Moving to one corner of the room with Min-Jae they both sat quietly, hoping that time would speed by. The crowd suddenly drew quieter and he lifted his head to see what had happened only to be met with his halmeoni and her human handbag – aka her secretary. He swiftly closed his eyes again, choosing not to make eye-contact or any contact at all for that matter.
From the scattered applause in the room he could tell that she had gotten on the stage. According to Min-Jae, she gave a short speech each year.
"Thank you all for making it here tonight. I'm sure that my wonderful son and beloved daughter-in-law would be proud of what has been accomplished so far with this organisation. I strongly believe that charity work should be something that we should all be active in, and as an organisation with the ability to do so I'm incredibly proud."
Jin-Goo who still had his eyes closed, scoffed. The same organisation that he remembers his halmeoni opposing is the same one she is praising now? He wondered just how many people she has managed to deceive.
After just about managing to tune out her final words, he checked the time again and was eager to leave with an hour left of his promised time. Deciding it was the time to go around and act like the face of the company that he was, he stood up and greeted those around him.
His phone buzzed inside his jacket pocket and he took it out to see a message from So-Hyun.
So-Hyun:
>Oppa?
>When are you free? I have something to tell you.
He furrowed his eyebrows in curiosity and his heart may have stopped beating for a second. His first thought was to question if anything had happened to her. He had become more cautious and more protective of her recently especially after they had managed to resolve his past mistakes.
Excusing himself, he stepped out of the room to give her a call. She didn't answer the first time, so he was about to try again when he saw his halmeoni appear. He didn't want to acknowledge her presence, so he turned the other way, but she wouldn't allow that would she?
"You. Won't you greet me?"
Jin-Goo still didn't respond, he simply toyed with his recent calls list.
She sneered and called for her secretary. "What is the meaning of this?" She asked. In front of Jin-Goo's eyes appeared a USB stick and he couldn't help but smirk at the object.
"I'm sure you had your secretary to take a look at it, why do you ask?"
"What do you think you're doing? What has gotten into you?"
"Halmeoni, you know there's no age limit to jail right?" He questioned. The recording didn't just have her confessions to his parents deaths, but there was also information about the illegal activities she had instigated within the company without his harabeoji's awareness.
"You wouldn't... I'm family." She spluttered, and this was it. This was exactly what Jin-Goo wanted, he has her in a corner with no way out, but there was something in him telling him to wait just a little bit longer. He was going to trust his gut and hold out in hopes of an even bigger catch.
"How does it feel? Being betrayed by someone you thought was supposed to care for you, sucks doesn't it?" He swiveled on his heels. "Don't try anymore tricks, I'll continuously be one step ahead and as for this..." Jin-Goo raised the USB stick from her secretary's fingers, examining it, "I'll keep you updated on what I do with it."
^^^^
The next day, So-Hyun made her way over to Ga-Young's house. She had called her early this morning for brunch and So-Hyun was more than happy to go, not only would she be able to see her Unnie's face in God knows how long, but she could tell her about her engagement with Seung-Ho.
"Unnie, I have something to tell-"
"I'm pregnant." Ga-Young revealed, her face blank, a look that So-Hyun hadn't seen before.
"What? What did you say?"
"I said I'm pregnant." She repeated, her tone still low.
So-Hyun took a few seconds to compose herself, thinking that this wouldn't be the best time to speak about her engagement to Seung-Ho. "When? How, wait why? Didn't you use protection?" She bit her lip at the last question, realising it probably wasn't the best time to be asking that.
"I- Hyunnie... I don't know!" Ga-Young suddenly broke down in So-Hyun's arms. "Ji-Soo Oppa, he knows. His family knows too, I- I just wasn't expecting this. I had plans you know? Being a mother isn't easy, look at our mother's they practically raised us by themselves their whole lives and it wasn't easy. I don't know if I'm ready." That was true. So-Hyun understood the difficulty of being a parent just by looking at her own mother, but Ga-Young wasn't alone like their mothers were.
"Unnie..." So-Hyun didn't know what to say. She didn't have experience in areas like this and she questioned whether regular comforting would even work in a situation like this. "You're not going to be alone. Your mother raised you all by herself and look how you turned out... What are you going to do now? Do you want to keep it?"
"I'm going to keep it, I- I just ugh!" Ga-Young fell back into So-Hyun's arms. "Am I even ready? Can I even be a mother? I'm going to be an ahjumma this early. What if Ji-Soo leaves me? Hyunnie!" She continued to cry, and So-Hyun could only hold her friend and let her express her concerns and worries.
After a while of Ga-Young pouring out her heart So-Hyun took hold of the situation. It turned out that Ji-Soo and his family after a few disagreements had come to terms with it, it was only Ga-Young that was having difficulty in adjusting. Her mother was upset at first because she had been through the same thing which brought Ga-Young into this world, but in her case, Ga-Young's father didn't stay.
"His family want us to get married after we have the baby... I don't want to though. Not yet anyway. I don't think I should run and get married just because of the baby, it wouldn't be fair to either of us. Look at my dad, God knows where he is... Ji-Soo won't do the same, right?"
So-Hyun nodded sympathetically, "Hey, Unnie. I'll support whatever decision you make and I'm sure Ji-Soo Oppa will too. You both really need to sit down and talk everything out, you can't hide things from each other and pretend to be happy when you're not. Don't pretend to be strong when you're not. If it means you crying in front of him do it, and if he does that too, you should try and understand. You both have to be honest and understanding with each other." As disorganised as Ji-Soo was, So-Hyun knew that he was a responsible man and his love for Ga-Young was commendable.
"I know it's not an easy fate to accept, but both of your actions brought you here and the next step that you take won't just be impacting you. You're a strong person, you can get through this, okay Unnie?"
Ga-Young nodded softly, the tears on her face had slowly dried up and she was left sniffling now. "Thank you Hyunnie. What was it that you wanted to tell me? Sorry, I was so emotional I couldn't control myself. I'll listen to you now."
So-Hyun stared wide-eyed at her best friend, opening her mouth and closing it again. The more she thought about it, the more she couldn't bring herself to say it just yet. She balled up her fists to try and cover the ring on her finger.
"Ah, nothing. I just wanted to let you know that I missed you. We haven't had a lot of time together recently."
Ga-Young acknowledge that they had both been busy, So-Hyun more so though. "Are you sure? How's work? I hope that scruffy guy is treating you better."
So-Hyun smiled when she realised that Ga-Young was talking about Jin-Goo. "Don't worry, everything's fine." She comforted. She'll tell her about the proposal another time.
AN: As some of you may know, I've had another story in the works for a few months, but I wanted to wait till I was done with MPP. You can find the info () if you want. I had a semi-free day this week and I just kind of sat down and went through the remaining chapters of this story seeing as it is coming to an end. There are 2 OR 3 chapters left I'm still undecided on that. Have a good week. :)