xx. the renaissance (I)
" — The Renaissance was a fervent period of cultural, artistic, political and economic rebirth following the Middle Ages. Generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th century, the Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art."
...
Villa Strassburger, 1975
Avenue Strassburger, 14800 Deauville, France
[ strauss ii - rosen aus dem süden (roses from the south) ]
CHAEYOUNG.
A pleasant smile plucking up the morning sunflowers to breathe over the newborn day has gestured a warm feeling from my heart. With the sweet tunes of the french birds singing the song of the sunrise, Jennie got out early to pick up some flowers to arrange from our hectare wide garden. Now, of course, as the nicest wife she ever has I drove myself out of bed and accompanied her, amidst the drowsiness of my body.
"Why can't we just hire a gardener to pluck fresh flowers for you to arrange?" I protested as I try to be present as I could. My stance was sloppy, I couldn't care less since the heaviness in my eyes were enough burden.
"A one hectare backyard with no chance of experiencing the wellness of picking flowers in the morning? Now where's the fun in that?" Jennie rejected my idea as she fondled her hand along her beloved flowering children.
"We're not actually on our teenage years now are we? You're still pretty vulnerable with your asthma. Too much work would trigger that." My voice emphasized concern.
"And we're not actually a hundred years old. For Pete's sake i just turned 30 and you're treating me like a grandma." She mocked my sincerity. Jennie Kim has always been a stubborn lady, even if you've put a ring on her finger her self-epitome would still be on her flesh.
"I'm your wife, what else should I treat you like?" I puffed sarcasm.
"We are not married." She deadpanned, with no mercy.
"I was trying to be sweet, Jennie Kim." I prompted with my lips pursing at the end of my sentence.
"Not when you're acting like a mom rather than a wife." She scoffed.
"I am a mom, and so are you." The tone I implied was more of a reminder.
"Oh. Right." As if it she just have known that we adopted a french child and that she wasn't so ecstatic to the point she haven't slept for a week before her arrival.
"In that case you should turn your concern more at that child of ours." Jennie stands adequately as her eyes looked at the direction of our house. Then I followed her gaze and saw a little girl in her night PJs squishing her dazed eyes as a pout appeared from her mouth. "She seems to have woken up." Jennie added as I continued to look at the angel who was guilelessly standing on our back porch.
I felt a squibble down my heart as I called her name. "Ella, come to mommy!" I bended my knees as I opened my arms to greet her with a hug. Then she ran, as the wind tangled her long ebony hair from the back then with a hazy smile, she reached for me out in the fields and gave me an embrace.
"Good morning baby, how's sleep?" I asked as I put her in my arms and raised her up to carry. "You two left me in bed." She said dearly. My wife and I looked at each other, pushing on who's fault was it. But Jennie drops her basket of flowers and moved closer to Ella as she cupped her face. "I'm sorry, baby. We didn't want to wake you up." Sweetly, my wife reasoned.
"Wanna pick up some flowers?" I gave an invite and with a smile tracting her dimple she nodded in agreement. And just like that we spent our early morning picking up sunflowers.
It's been five years since Jennie and I settled in Deauville, France. A little town that had greater liberty than itself, it was the perfect place to settle down. When Jennie turned 25 on a fluttering evening she landed one knee to the ground and asked me to settle in and build a family with her. Of course, I cried.
"So will you say yes or you'll just keep crying?"
I scoffed a chuckle at her words as I tried to control my tears from falling. "And you still wouldn't let me have my moment."
"I mean, I'm just making sure." She playfully shrugged.
"Then it's a yes."
"YES?!" She quickly stood up as her orbs were excitingly wide. "YES!" Then she threw a fist up in the air, as if she have just conquered the Roman empire. She was that happy.
Although we couldn't get married officially, just because this timeframe still has huge grudges for homosexuality to thrive, but still she had me as a wife. And that's for a lifetime.
After what we've been through, amidst of the universe's intervention to kill me and the love I had for Jennie, we managed to find ourselves back together regardless of the difference of our lifetime.
We now had the chance to grow old together.
...
The middle of the day came in a brief moment. Hence, to think, all days in Deauville has been fleeting too fast. Like an ever perfect daydream to be vanquished. I was murmuring these thoughts in the balcony as I was casually sightseeing the view with my silk pink robe taking comfort of my restless body while the english tea provided the strong and bruised taste that I needed to shake myself off my drowsiness. I've been in hectic nuisance this week since I have booked two concertos at the Toulon Opéra and I needed more rendering with the pieces I had to play. Thankfully they've given me this weekend off to go back home and rest with my family.
I was at the brink of these thoughts when familiar hands graced the surface of my waist as it locked me from behind. "Why is my lady drowning herself in deep thinking?" So dearly, she spoke underneath my ears with her chin resting on top of my shoulder. Her evident verbal caress took my heart into safety, into calmness, into a haven only she can provide. So I grimaced a smile. "I'm just trying to appreciate the reality we have right now, because this is too perfect to be true." I confessed as I tilted my head to her side meeting hers and rested it there. "Right. Who would've thought that going back in time would give the future life that we wanted." Jennie rectified.
"Did the universe have this planned? I mean, we weren't suppose to exist here."
"Well maybe we loved too much that it annoyed the universe and gave us a chance." Her voice was very spirited, it was more like a perky statement to be amused of.
"I'm glad that I love you too much." I uttered with honesty flowing.
"Hmm. I don't know about that." Jennie's skeptic phrase made my face crumple. "What?" I wondered.
"I mean, ever since Ella came along, you weren't as the same as before." A pout was thrown at me. Oh, she's trying something.
I scorned. I can't believe this thirty-year old is jealous. "Jennie, she is our child."
"Pssh. So what? Am I not allowed to be jealous anymore?" She shrugged as her lips pursed in annoyance. Jennie was so adamant.
"You big baby. Come here." I giggled at her cuteness as I planted soft kisses on her face. A smile formed between her lips, kiss after kiss after kiss.
"Are we good now, baby?" I halted as I grinned over her petulant gummy smile, her mushy cheeks rising over my hands that was cupping her face. "Nu-uh. More." She demanded and of course I complied and continued giving her kisses all over get munchy lips.
"Gah! Now that's more like it." Her voice groaned satisfaction as she wraps her arms around my nape. "Now it's my turn." Quickly, her vibe changed. A smack of mischief was in her eyes. Oh god, no. I'm too old to handle my wife's antics but she never retires. Fuck it.
Jennie then suddenly buried her face under my neck as she shoots me with ticklish kisses. I squealed as I continuously laughed. Wrinkling eyes and stretching my smile up to my cheeks. My body was in mayhem.
"Hey Jennie Kim stop! I'm ticklish!" I barely uttered it since I was drowning myself in laughter. Not a moment later we both collapsed on the floor, catching our breaths. Jennie was on top of me with that spazzing gummy smile throbbing my heart.
"I guess I'm good at this tickling game." Jennie said while she continues to giggle out of amusement. Then I realized I had the moment to stare at her in just a short distance. Her succulent lips that showed her two bunny like teeth when they're apart, her nose that feels like the inclination of a perfect line, her plump ravishing cheeks which was a favorite place of my lips since it always felt like i was kissing the softest cotton candy ever made, and of course, her eyes. Those salubrious orbs. That very versatile eyes that's hiding the soul that cost me a million constellations to understand, yet I could never love it any less.
Jennie Kim, the being that you are is timeless itself and my love will never fathom that vastness, but let me love you still, until the day my soul forgets, until my after lives get tired of finding you, and until the last dust of the galaxy fades. You shall remain mine.
And all of my adoration has boiled down to a phrase that casts down the purposes of all languages known to man. "I love you." I simply said as my eyes yearned hers.
"I love you, too." Her response swelled my heart even more. Isn't love too wonderful? Or is it just Jennie who's just so perfect to be loved?
...
It was dinner. Everyone gathered in the island kitchen as Ella and I watched her mother from across the counter cooking some Beef bourguignon and chocolate soufflé. The event was kind of a tradition, besides who wouldn't want to watch their sexy wives cook in front of them every night?
"I still remember the time you first cooked for me." I asked.
"Yeah? When was that?"
"In 2018. When we had plans for dinner at the Eleven Madison Park but your parents were there so we just ended up at your apartment and you cooked us pasta." She reminisced a thought.
"Oh, right. That was a buzzkill. I needed to avoid them since New York wanted to get my reaction after publicly humiliating me when I decided to turn down my heir rights."
"NEW YORK?" A squeal from Ella suddenly distracted our little conversation, she suddenly got up from her seat with eyes of excitement. "Mommy, are we going to New York?" The toddler mumbled and both of my eyes winced at my daughter's words. She seem shockingly enthusiastic about it like she knew much about the place.
"New York? What makes you think of New York dear?" I asked in curiosity.
"Well, aunt Jisoo promised me that we'll go there together someday. She said there'll be tall tall buildings with many many people. je veux les rencontrer, mère!" My daughter was so frolic and enticed at the idea that she ended her sentence in french.
"Oooh, seems aunt Jisoo has been telling you a lot of stories lately." I eyed Jennie as she tried to avoid my eye contact. That best friend of hers couldn't keep her mouth shut at things that shouldn't suppose to be discussed.
"Yes! And she said New York is wonderful! Can we go visit, s'il vous plaît?" Her insistence got me nervous. What on earth are the stories Jisoo told her? ugh.
"New York is a bit far from here sweetie. We need a long time to prepare for the trip." Jennie explained with a short smile as her hands were busy attending the cooking pan.
"Aunt Jisoo also said that there's a big giant lady there with a crown on her head and with a stick on her hand that protects the place. I wanna be friends with her!"
"Aww baby you will meet her soon." Jennie assured like I was going to let that happen.
To be frank, we've left that place behind us. For 10 years. After what happened to Lisa, we became the biggest scandal in the high society. Everyone have despised us of what happened. And of course, Chanyeol didn't go to prison, i mean why would the son of a sports business empire go behind bars, right? They had defamed us from our inner social circles. Our parents couldn't do anything much to shut them up since their co-millionaires and billionaires were the ones against us.
The NYU Board made a decision to transfer us abroad to deduce the fuming tension between the owner of the university who wanted us kicked out. They worked with their connections and had us transferred into an exclusive International University in Paris which was still directly related to NYU. It was the fastest way to avoid the attention that we were getting, we needed to basically be out of the city before our issue comes out to the public media. Since Lisa's family has control of almost every press media in New York, we knew we had no choice but to go abroad and leave our American life.
That's why we ended up living in Paris since 1966 and have been in no contact with the people we used to live with back in Greenwich. Except for a few close associates and family of course.
Jennie and I mostly have been together throughout college. Our elite lifestyle didn't go away though, our parents didn't allow us to, they send us way too much money than we couldn't aimlessly spend it all in a month. We had too much in our bank accounts. So we tried investing them in the activities we were passionate about, excluding shopping, well we tried building our own art school for kids, just a vacational thing that we did to productively spend our summer. It was a brief experience.
Instead of keeping our profiles low, we couldn't help but get into the French spotlight. Our youth was still full luxury and bliss. Just like what happened when we were still in our lives back in 2018. Jennie pursued her career after graduation and her array of contemporary art galas had been a hit throughout the city and she's been working on establishing her name in the French Art Industry. Anonymously, she's been painting artworks for high-end art collectors, and has successfully kept her identity hidden among the art-selling industry. While I became, again, the youngest piano prodigy holding weekly concertos in the locale.
We were hustling in the streets of Paris and made our upbringing as youths worthwhile. Ironically, I was with the same class with Augustin, the same person who was renowned as a modern classical musician that has been my inspiration and motivation as an artist. I can't believe I've come to meet him at the development of his craft. Seeing him as young, raw and uncertain as me was incredible to see, mind blowing to say the least. We were in the same fucking league, imagine that! And we were about the same age when we were in the same technique class, I gushed over his brilliance as he just swept away all the hand techniques the teacher had taught the class.
Everything that's happening to us in France was like a reoccurring reality, the difference was I didn't die that one night. I had continued the life I was supposed to live. We had a future in this reality. And that's all thanks to Lisa. Our fate could've been exactly the same, Jennie could've died, and I end up living my life in wishful thinking, and it will occur over and over again. But she broke the loop, overcame the curse and conquered the inevitable. Somehow, at that moment, she managed to be bigger than the universe.
Lisa gave me the future that I wanted and i would do anything to keep that future as beautiful as it is right now. So the idea of going back to New York and face the demeaning air that poisoned the people there makes me worry for my child and my wife.
JENNIE.
"Aww baby you'll gonna meet her soon." While plastering those words i could see my wife's huge sigh at the corner of my eye like it was the biggest mistake I've ever done.
I know she dislikes mentioning New York to Ella she doesn't want to give a wonderful impression to her daughter about the place because apparently, New York will never be the same for Chaeyoung. It changed her too much. And she doesn't want our daughter to know the kind of past that we had back at that place. Even though it was everything of who we are.
It upsets me sometimes but I understand where she's coming from.
I was disturbed from my thoughts when a loud ring resonated the room. Krrrrng. The sound was poking my eardrums. "I'll get it." Chaeng quickly mediated and rushed to the living room where the telephone stood. "Love, it's for you." My wife's voice echoed through the kitchen that I quickly turned off the stove and prompted Ella to stay put as I rushed down to the living room.
"Who is it?" I asked as I approach Chaeng who was already handing me the telephone. "It's Jisoo. She's in New York." Her tone was already skeptic about my bestfriend calling but I'd rather not overthink and grabbed the phone to talk with Jisoo whom I've never seen for months.
"Jisoo?"
"Jennie, finally! I've been trying to reach you." The ever exhilarating voice of the most forthright ambiguous woman I've known pampered my ear with familiarity.
"Heard you're in New York, how have you been?" I gestured a greeting.
"Uhm. Not actually that great even though I'm so rich, which is disappointing."
I rolled my eyes at her petty excuse. "What do you need?"
"Haven't you heard?"
"About what?"
"The greatest city in America is in huge fiscal crisis."
"Are you sure?" A confused eyebrow was sketched in my forehead.
"All the Elite investors in the city have been holding meetings with the Mayor all week. New York is in huge debt and everyone are pulling out their investments, no one has any interest in helping them."
"And?"
"Your Railway Empire and my family's dynasty will go out of business if this continues. Since our services only functions for New York. And the banks and foreign companies wouldn't lend any more money to them. Everyone's rejecting to help New York. "
"So?"
"Duh? We obviously need you!"
"What do you expect me to do? Buy New York and salvage what's left?"
"Can you? I mean if you have 150 million dollars on hand w-"
"Shut up, Jisoo. I'm not that filthy rich." I intervened her false belief.
"Excuse me, but you're French Billionaires now, for fuck's sake your net worth is in pounds." Now she's mocking my wealth. Gosh, i miss this best friend of mine.
"We know it's mostly Chaeyoung's money that covers that billions of cash."
"You've just sold a million dollar painting to my Uncle last week, don't deceive me you sly of an artist." She hissed as if I've underestimated her so much.
"It was a sideline." I jolted my words.
"Why not let the city of New York lend some of that?" Jisoo was tenacious.
"Can't you just ask some investments from my mother? She's way richer than you and me combined." I diverted my stance to other options.
"As much as she wants to give money to the city, sweetie. Your company couldn't afford to lose their shares since the railway travels have been mitigated over by the city officials. They couldn't produce more income." She informed which got me more worried. How can a large city be so irresponsible?
"And give me one good reason Jisoo on why should I care about the city that kicked us out for a crime we didn't commit?" I poked a question.
"Because it's still your home." Her words snapped a mortifying feeling in my bones, looks like she just hit my guilt. "However shitty it is, it's still the city where we came from. The people we care about. The life we grew up in. Is still here." Jisoo continued.
That gave me a second to think it through. "Is everyone affected?"
"Surely. The Elites are in chaos. The mayor said that if they don't cut operating and reproduction ties of all government and private companies the city will be at the verge of bankruptcy, since they're still unable to bridge the deficit between the city's expenditures and tax revenues."
"How about Lisa's conglomerate? Is Taehyung still good?"
"NO. I'm fucking exhausted. The government mandated us to reduce the reproduction of Times and of our local newspapers, I mean, how could they defame the greatest magazine in New York?! UGH! I-"
"You hear that? That's Taehyung going insane. He's been living in our mansion since his Father was going to kill him because he haven't gotten any resolution left."
"Oh, So it's that serious, huh?"
"A city is going bankrupt, Jennie. How more serious would you like it to be?" A deadpanning tone was aggravated on the other line.
"I'm sorry, okay? I've quit business school for a reason!" I excused myself.
"So? Can you fly over here?" She called an invite.
"I need to talk to my wife about it. You know how she feels about New York."
"Of course, i'm just asking you to reconsider it strongly. And oh, say hi to Ella for me. I'm going to send her some of that liberty snowball that she wanted."
"Yeah, send her one when you have the money, okay?" I intended to be playful.
"Whatever, Kim. Just call me back." She shuts my sarcasm off.
"I'll talk to you soon. Bye, Jisoo."
I came back to the kitchen with worry and confusion just circulating in my head. I kept stealing meaningful looks at Chaeyoung, debating whether I needed to open the idea of going back to New York and help our families realign the city again.
...
"When Hugh assumed office in 1975, the City of New York was on the verge of declaring bankruptcy, due primarily to overspending. In an attempt to save New York from the worst fiscal crisis it had ever faced, Hugh first reached out to the federal government. Ford and his administration refused to bail out New York City on the grounds that if the federal government provided one big city with financial aid, they would have to provide money for thousands of others cities asking for aid as well. Realizing that the federal government would be no help, Hugh has to think of other ways to save New York City, as well as the troubled Yonkers, Buffalo and the rest of New York State from financial ruin and come up with a plan that ensured that a similar fiscal crisis would not occur in the future."
— The Daily News, 1975
"Are you seriously considering to fly back there?" Chaeyoung parted a vexed expression. "Look at this. Even the United States President refused them support, they have nowhere else to run." I tried convincing as let Chaeng read the Yorker newspapers that I requested to be shipped here. I've been trying to persuade her for days and her stubborn appeal of not going back to the past that broke us was still strongly being raised by her pride.
"I really don't get your motive on helping them with this. We barely have money, Jennie." She made an open palm gesture as she walks all over the room while I was sitting in bed looking at her all agitated.
"Babe, our combined revenue goes up to a billion pounds." I reminded her directly, scoffing off her poor excuse. "Besides, we have family there. And friends. They've helped us a lot when we were still studying. And think about how our future souls will live their lives? If we don't intervene the history that's happening now, the future city will face a more crucial consequence. If we don't make New York the greatest city in the world now, then we can't help the lives of our future souls anymore." I added, hoping she would finally have a heart to reconsider.
"Well it doesn't mean that we're obliged to solve their own dilemma!"
"We owe it to them, Chaeng. You know that... We both know that." I adamantly injected as I looked at her in the eyes, trying to get into her heart that was still in confliction.
It took a minute of silence before my wife heaved out a sigh of hope. "How much does the city own?" She asks with an eyebrow raised.
"A hundred fifty million dollars."
"We can arrange our desired debt interest, right?"
"I'm sure that we could discuss that with the Mayor."
"I'm just worried. What if they can't pay back? We'll be the ones in bankruptcy."
"God, Chaeng. You've seen 2018 New York. They'd be the Big Apple soon. And they'll have Wall Street when they reach the 80s we just need to let them survive this year." I stated.
She nodded in agreement. "Okay. We can schedule an early flight to New York tomorrow, that's if you're ready?"
"I could definitely ring my secretary to book us right away." A smile has finally mild my lips.
Chaeyoung retorted the same smile back, "I couldn't believe Ella will meet her tall tall lady friend so soon." then a concourse of laughs echoed the room. We finally were on the same page, and I couldn't wait to tell Jisoo about the good news we're bringing.
...
a/n: just a heads up. there are only a few chapters left for this book. love you to death.