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Chapter Text

“Jamkkanmanyo pyeha” Hae Soo calls out to Wang So, catching her breath under a cypress tree. She and the king had been playing a game of tag and catch and Hae Soo was the it.

It was one of those afternoons when the king takes the time off to see how his Hae Soo is doing. Wang So was busy the whole morning overseeing the royal assembly with his ministers and queen, up on their usual trick of making him sign decrees that would benefit their aristocratic clans. He was bored and couldn’t wait to get out of the Hoegyong hall and see Hae Soo.

He visits her quarters, adjacent to his and finds her busy with attempting embroidery. When he came in, Hae Soo brightens and rises to greet him. He holds her by the wrist and takes her away, not bothering with the formalities and evading their gungnyeo(s) in the process. He brings her to their little forest of cypress trees overlooking a river just outside the boundaries of the palace. Hae Soo had taken care to make those prayer towers of stone beside one of the cypress trees after this place became their usual meeting place.

Wang So was running ahead taking it easy for Hae Soo. In spite of him being slow, Hae Soo still couldn’t catch-up due to the problem with her knees that she had acquired after she was tortured for a crime she was wrongfully accused off.

At the sound of his name being called, a laughing Wang So stops and pivots to see how Hae Soo is doing. He finds her holding-on to a tree trunk, breathing hard and trying to hide the pain on her upper legs. The laugh on Wang So’s face instantly disappeared and is replaced with worry, how could he have forgotten that his lady couldn’t run, is not allowed to run. He sprints back to Hae Soo and pulls her to a desperate embrace, bringing a surprise gasp at Hae Soo’s lips.

“Mianhaeyo Soo-ya, mianhaeyo. Gwaenchanhayo? (Forgive me, are you alright?) How stupid of me to make you run.” Wang So apologizes, throwing away his authority as a king and humbling his self to her. In front of his Hae Soo, he is just a simple man.

Ever slowly and awkwardly, Hae Soo raises her arms to pat the king’s back, assuring him, “Gwaenchanhseubnikka pyeha, geokcheong haji maseyo. (I’m alright your highness, please don’t worry.)”

Wang So breaks their embrace, only for his arm to move to Hae Soo’s waist and the other hand to cup her cheek. With a tender voice and intense gaze he tells her, “I promise not to forget next time.”

He closes that inch of space between their lips, planting a chaste kiss beside her mouth. He would have advanced to her lips, deepening their kiss but he can feel Hae Soo still trying to catch her breath, trembling in his arms. He wouldn’t want to cut off her passage of air, unaware that the hitch on Hae Soo’s throat has nothing to do with running but everything to do with his presence and his touch.

Wang So releases a blushing Hae Soo, brushing her hair out of her shoulder and holding her hand. He leads her to a slow walk, enjoying the spring breeze and the lush scenery around them.

Even after some minutes rests, the unbalance on Hae Soo’s steps is noticeable no matter how hard she hides it. Considering this, Wang So looks around if anyone is present. The whole path is clear and no person can be seen for the next stretch of wide road. Wang So lowers his self in the ground in front of Hae Soo, signaling for her to get on his back.

Embarrassed, Hae Soo adamantly refuses, “Andwaeyo pyeha, a mere lady like myself should already be punished for touching his highness, I can not allow you to carry me. Please rise.”

Wang So crouches only to take Hae Soo’s arm and slings it over his shoulder, making Hae Soo lean over at his back and hoisting her easily. He gives her a piggyback ride, crossing her arms over his chest and carefully putting his own underneath her thighs.

“Pyeha! Please put me down,” Hae Soo protest, a pink blush quickly spreads in her cheeks as she tries to uncross her arms around the king.

“Kamanhi isseo. (Be still)” Wang So warns, “I command it”

Hae Soo automatically stills, letting her arms fall in front of his chest. Wang So abruptly jostles her, arranging her in his back, causing her to cross her arms around his neck once more and lean over his shoulders for balance.

“That’s better.”

The unexpected embrace brings a smirk on Wang So’s face as he feels Hae Soo’s cheek beside his. He turns to her, stealing a kiss on her lips. Hae Soo was too surprised to react and Wang So repeats it again. Hae Soo turns red, embarrassed.

In a small voice Hae Soo request, “Haji maseyo pyeha, someone might see us.”

“Nan sang-gwan eops-eub-ni-da. (I don’t care.) They can watch all they want.” Wang So confidently answers.

“Pyeha!” Hae Soo didn’t mean for her voice to have a rise for emphasis but it only made king chuckle amusedly.

“Araseo, araseo, Na-ui Soo-ya. (Alright, alright my Soo-ya.)” Wang So answers, still laughing, enjoying the blush he had put upon Hae Soo’s cheeks.

The warm morning rays play softly on Go Ha Jin’s face, waking her up on the familiar sight of her chick styled, sponged texture peach and yellow grunge colored room inside her cousin’s home. She had been adopted to this family since she became an orphan at her parent’s death on a car accident when she was five. Her cousin, Myung Hee Nam, the only child of this family, had treated her like a younger sister she had always wanted to have.

Go Ha Jin sits up on her bed, wiping the tears on her cheeks. Ever since she drowned and had been in a coma for a year, she keeps dreaming of the same boy and of a past life that she doesn't remember. The dream often comes in a random order and is often not sad but she always wakes-up with the same feeling of nostalgia, like she lost something but has no idea what it is.

“Ha Jin-ssi, il-reo-nass-eo-yo? (Are you wake?) Your parents and unnie are waiting for you downstairs to have breakfast.” A maid knocks on Ha Jin’s room, breaking in her reverie.

“Ne ajumma, I’ll go down in a few.” Ha Jin calls back not wanting to worry her family.

In the beginning, after she woke-up from the coma, her dreams kept her trapped in an unwakeable stupor, unable to function in long periods of time. She was diagnosed with clinical depression and severe anxiety and was prescribed to take Lexapro for the rest of her life and Alprazolan whenever she gets anxiety attacks.

Her adoptive family was in a state of panic. Ha Jin had always been sunny and carefree, the complete opposite of what she is now. They sent her to psych sessions and showered her with more love and attention but it only served to burden her rather than help her.

Ha Jin rises from her bed and goes to the bathroom, brushing her teeth and combing her hair.

She goes down at their dining room, a white and brown colored room that adheres to the overall contemporary modern style of their home.

She greets everyone good morning and takes her seat beside Myung Hee Nam. Their father sits at the head of the long table while their mother sits adjacent to her cousin.

“We were just talking about your unnie attending the welcoming party for her fiance’s and cousins tonight. Are you coming Ha Jin-ah?” Hyang Ha Na asks, their mother of 50 years old. Even at that age, she still looks beautiful and elegant. Dressed in a simple matching skirt and blouse with her hair tied in a simple bun.

She and her husband, Myung Sung Min are the biggest stockholder of Myung-Hyang University Hospital in Yongsan district, both practicing doctors in their respective fields.

“Na-ya? (Me?)” Ha Jin looks up from her food. Since her drowning more than a year ago, she had taken some time off from her work of creative management for skin care products. She live her days staring into space or getting lost under the rain, chasing the memory of a dream she can’t remember.

Myung Hee Nam reaches to Ha Jin’s hand on the table, answering for her, “Of course she will, right?”

“Ha Jin-ah, don’t forget your therapy session at the hospital today. Why don’t you ride with us after breakfast and your unnie will pick you up after?” Myung Sung Min, their father of 54 years old, suggests, always speaking at a tone of warmness.

“Ne appa,” Ha Jin answers mechanically, taking a bite of bread from her plate.

After her therapy, Myung Hee Nam picks up Ha Jin at the hospital and the two of them said their goodbye to their parents before leaving. Ha Jin was ready to go home but Myung Hee Nam had other plans in mind. She brings Ha Jin to a mall owned by the family of her fiance, picking up a dress for herself and for Ha Jin. Upon their arrival, they were welcomed to the VIP department on the top floor of the mall, with sales lady waiting upon them.

Three dresses into it and Ha Jin gives up not wanting to try another one. She sits at the comfortable couch, her head ready to fall anytime. She did this to please her unnie but she doesn’t think she could keep it up for the next hours hence when Myung Hee Nam excused herself to answer a call from her fiance, Ha Jin signals to her that she would go for a walk.

Outside the boutiques, Ha Jin keeps her head down, tired from this morning’s psyche session and shopping. She runs into a man, wearing tweed suit and tie, talking to someone on the phone.

“Ah Joesonghaeyo (I’m sorry)” Ha Jin apologizes without looking at the man. She bows a few times and leaves.

The man inclines his head and studies Ha Jin. His phone still on his ear, “Ne Myung Hee Nam, ji-geum iss-da-ga kal-ke-yo, (I’m coming in a bit.)”

He stops to turn and watch Ha Jin walk away, feeling as if he had seen her somewhere, “Go Ha Jin ssi?”

Ha Jin didn’t hear her name being called. She gets in the escalator and goes down.

The man shrugs and continues to walk to the boutique where Ha Jin just came from. As he enters the glass door, he sees Myung Hee Nam in another dress, waving at him. He walks towards her with all the sales lady bowing their heads to him, greeting him with respect. He beams at them and dismisses them.

“Hwang Dong Wook-ssi,” Myung Hee Nam exchange a chaste kiss in the cheeks with her fiance, Hwang Dong Wook, 8th grandson of Dir. Hwang Geon Hyun.-- tycoon conglomerate and owner of the biggest chain of malls and hotels around South Korea and China.

Hwang Dong Wook is in charge of their business in China and only came home for the 60th birthday of their grandfather, where he and his cousins would be presented as heirs. There’s a lot of talk that the director will be retiring soon and he plans to announce whose going to take over his business.

Myung Hee Nam met Hwang Dong Wook over a conference about business administration in China and had been in a relationship since then. They were engaged after a two year relationship overseas.

When Ha Jin went into a coma, Myung Hee Nam came home to help look after her and Hwang Dong Wook followed afterwards. Though he sometimes visit in Ha Jin’s room, Wang Dong Wook had never met an awake Ha Jin. When Ha Jin woke-up, Hwang Dong Wook was in China for official business and had just came home days ago. Myung Hee Nam is going to introduced Ha Jin later at the party.

Wandering around the mall, Ha Jin has no particular direction in mind. She takes the escalator to the 5th floor and then to the 4th. Drumming her fingers at the handrail, humming to a song she doesn’t know why she knows. Only that she had heard it being sung a lot of times in her dreams. It wasn’t particularly sad or joyous but it was melancholic, something about a friend.

Soon she finds herself in a open gallery exhibiting historical relics. She looks around, seeing only a handful people inside. She steps into the glass door and suddenly feels a strange familiarity with the ceramics and paintings surrounding her.

At the landing is a sign etched in brass explaining that the exhibit artifacts came from the 9th century goryeo, spanning from the first ruler, King Taejo to his 4th son, King Gwangjong. The gallery isn’t that big but it is neatly divided into three parts, the ceramics, the everyday life relics including real life royal hanboks and king’s possessions and the third part, which is still in progress and is off limits are paintings depicting scenes of everyday life in goryeo. Each room is divided only by a thin white wall that opens on both ends.

At once, Ha Jin got lost inside the feel of the gallery, nervous that somehow she keeps recognizing things she had never seen before. A sole dwikkoji with a design of small white magnolias captures Ha Jin’s attention on the the second part of the room. It is encased in a glass shelf pushed back in a wall and lighted with white small spotlight from the four corners inside it.

She comes nearer, extending her hand to rest on the glass shelf, as if by doing so, she would be able to grasp the fleeting memory at the back of her head. She had never owned a dwikkoji but this one looks familiar, like in a faraway time, it somehow belonged to her. Abruptly, she steps back, feeling light headed. Her breath comes in hitches, an anxiety attack about to come. She fumbles in her shoulder bag for her medicine, pushing some of her belongings inside and finding her pills at the bottom. She takes one pill first, unable to swallow two in one go without water. She holds to the wall, closing her eyes and counting from 10 to 1, timing her breathe with each number. As she does this, she unconsciously walks to the far end of the wall and turns to the next room, where she failed to notice the small sign outside that this part of the gallery is not open to the public.

It takes several cycles of counting backwards before Ha Jin could reign her anxiety and get a hold of herself. She opens her eyes and finds herself in the next dimly lit room of paintings depicting scenes during the early reigns of the first four kings of Goryeo. She looks up, face to face with the big portrait of the 4th king of Goryeo, Gwangjong.

Walking on the same floor, not far from the gallery are Choi Ji Mong, secretary general for the Hwang conglomerates, and is leading Hwang So Hyun, 4th grandson of Dir. Hwang Geon Hyun.

Hwang So Hyun is living in London with his mother since he was four and had been managing the expansion of their hotel business in Europe for six years now. He only came home at the request of his first cousin, Hwang Mu Jin. He wasn’t supposed to be out and about until their welcoming party tonight where he would be introduced as the 4th CEO of one of the company owned by their grandfather but he doesn’t think he could stand another minute of boredom in their empty home while his cousins are busy running their own business. He wanted to get acquainted with the management of their business and so he asks his grandfather to lend him his secretary general to show him around.

As they pass by the open gallery exhibiting the Goryeo relics, the two of them stop in it’s glass doors.

“Ah this was the gallery I have asked you to sponsor daepyonim (director),” Choi Biseo ushers Hwang So Hyun inside, opening the door for him. “Several of this artifacts came from the excavated site of Manwoldae palace, Goryeo’s official palace during the 9th century.”

Hwang So Hyun enters the obscenely cold clinical looking white gallery, spacing out the moment he gets surrounded by the relics that seemed warm to him. He wanders around dazed, lost in a different era that his soul recognizes.

Choi Biseo steps back, a thin smile fleets on his face as he shepherds the people loitering inside to come out of the gallery. He apologizes to them for untimely closing it for today, giving way for their director to look around. He checks in the prohibited third room just in case someone had entered it in spite of the sign at the door and to his surprise, finds a girl who is staring transfixed into a portrait of the 4th king. Inclining his head to observe, it somehow feels disrespectful to disturb the innocent girl standing in front of the portrait, so he lets her be, walking back to the glass doors to stand guard.

It isn’t Ha Jin’s first time to see a picture of the 4th king. Anyone who studied junior high in a Korean school would know his face but after Ha Jin’s accident, a lot of things about her old life became estranged while several of the things she doesn’t know became familiar to her, like the relics inside this gallery. She is sure it’s her first time seeing them yet they all feel like they were a part of her.

She shakes her head, clearing the dizziness away. Her heart beats erratically in her chest in spite of her taking the pill to calm herself down. The portrait in front of her is bringing out scenes from her dreams, making her remember pieces of it here and there.

A boat in a lake.

A poem of promise.

An arrow she was saved from.

A kiss under a cypress tree.

A king marrying someone else.

A girl being casted out of the palace.

Is it her in the dream?

Who is he?

Ha Jin turns around, shutting her eyes, suffocating from the flood of visions she’s getting. Her hand automatically clasp at her chest, starting to hyperventilate again. Every breathe a heavy heave on her frail body. She walks straight into whatever path that will take her away from the portrait. It was gazing at her intensely, willing her to remember. She refuses to.

“Soo-ya, in your next life, you will remember me won’t you?” The 14th prince embraces her, his arms warm and comforting, desperate to hold on to what little life she has.

“...I’m going to... forget you... I will... forget everything... Even in my dreams… I will forget.. all of you...” She whizzes through the last of her breathe on this day that they commemorate the day of her birth. No, not hers but the girl whom she had stolen this life from.

At the second part of the gallery, Hwang So Hyun meander around looking calm with one of his hand inside the pocket of his pants and the other swaying beside him. He stands in the middle, his eyes quivering. His free hand instinctively coming up to his left eye, wiping an invisible dust that is making his vision blurry. He then brushes his fringes that had fallen on that left side of his face.

From where he stands, the lone dwikkoji encased in a glass calls out to him, beckoning him to come. Entranced, he walks towards it. His heart wildly beating in his chest, hitching his breath on his throat. He swallows, opening the top button of his suite and pulling slightly his tie so he could better breathe.

Standing half a meter from it, the glass enclosure comes up to his chest. It’s height, designed so the viewer won’t have a problem studying the small material inside.

Bumping straight into the wall that separates this room from the other one, Ha Jin opens her eyes and steps back, her attention captured by the painting hanging in the wall. It is a depiction of the Manwoldae Palace in it’s glorious state. In the middle of it, a small figure of a king is walking in its path alone, dwarfed by the grandiosity of the palace in the background. His back is turned, looking all burdened and sad. The painting stirs a strong sadness and Ha Jin’s eyes brim with unwelcome tears that races to slide in her cheeks, down to her blouse, in the floor where it outlives its usefulness, seconds of life that carries all the emotion threatening to engulf her. She raises her hand reaching to the lone figure in the painting.

“I promised to forget… ”

Over at the adjacent room, Hwang So Hyun squints his eyes at the dwikkoji, remembering snippets of his dreams that plague his nights for the last 28 years. His body starts to tremble, the dwikkoji awakening a raw loneliness at his core, forcing him to remember something precious that he had lost. His sight swims in haze as tears form in his eyes, making a dashing escape to his cheeks, overwhelmed by the strong emotions that is gnawing at his chest. He takes out his hand from his pocket and instinctively reach out to the dwikkoji, mirroring Ha Jin’s action on the other side of the wall.

“I promised to find you…”

Two lost souls, separated by a thin line of white wall, trying to reach the other on the next side of the wall.

Chapter Text

Dressed in a ceremonial blue hwarot with phoenix intricately sewn on the red lines of her sleeves and hem, Hae Soo faces the full body rectangular mirror on her room. Her reflection, a bride of unhappy and heavy heart as she tries to smile through the painful heaving of her chest.

Somewhere a gong is being sounded, a signal for the groom arriving at the bride’s quarters to greet her parents. Wang So, now being addressed as King Gwangjong, steps upon the threshold of the queen’s gate, all formal and rigid, not even a hint of joy appearing on his lips or eyes. Behind him are his eunuch and gungnyeo(s) forming a long entourage.

The double doors to the queen’s quarters were slowly opened by the servants and out came Yeonhwa Gongju, dressed in a red hwarot with blue linings, much like the dress Hae Soo is wearing, only the colors are inverted. Her mother Queen Shinjeong and her brother Wook Wangja present her to the king as she steps out of the door, her arms stiffly raised and being supported by two other gungnyeo(s), holding a jade tablet.

On her room, far from the on-going ceremony, Hae Soo falls on the floor, the weight of her heart too heavy for her knees to support. She silently weeps as her sun marries another moon.

Knock…

Knock…

Knock…

Go Ha Jin is lying on her bed, already dressed on her gown, a one piece modern day hanbok of creamy white elegant ribbon tube on her chest that connects to a free flowing full white ombre midnight blue long skirt, hand sewn with moon and stars at the hems of the organza as if a sky had sprout at the end of it. Her hair wet and messily spread on her pillow. She managed to take a bath and dress herself before sitting down on her bed and her episode pulls her unto another trance.

Outside her room, Myung Hee Nam is starting to panic. She had been knocking for some time now and trying the knob but there is no answer on the other side.

“Ajumma,” The same one who woke Go Ha Jin this morning is being addressed by Myung Hee Nam, “Would you please run to father’s library and get the spare key.”

“Yii, Agassi,” The ajumma hurries to the ground floor of the house and comes back after some minutes with a bunch of keys strung in one holder.

Myung Hee Nam inserts Ha Jin’s room key to the knob, a practiced gesture. She opens her door, finding Go Ha Jin on her bed, staring lost on her ceilings. She gently approaches her, careful to consider her. Myung Hee Nam doesn't want to scare her cousin’s already precarious state.

Soo-ya...

Go Ha Jin comes back to her present state with Myung Hee Nam shaking her to wake. Her eyes are still slow to focus and she keeps blinking her stupor away.

“… Gwaenchanha? (Are you alright?)” Myung Hee Nam tries to keep her anxiety hidden.

“Unnie,” Go Ha Jin slowly rises to sit, her consciousness catching up with her. She feels something warm skids on her cheek, wiping it by the back of her hand. She turns her hand to see an unknown tear caught on her skin. She eyes Myung Hee Nam, her face confused, “Did you address me in a different name?”

Myung Hee Nam stares at her, a question also in her eyes, “What name should I be addressing you?”

“Mol-la-yo (I don’t know). I thought I heard you say Soo-ya.” Ha Jin quickly wipes her cheeks, putting herself in order, “Mianhaeyo, I must have fallen asleep.”

She straightens-up, attempting to be normal, “Are we late?”

Myung Hee Nam only watches her cousin, patiently waiting for Go Ha Jin to reach her calm state, “Ani, it’s a party. We can never be late. Shall I do your hair for you?”

Go Ha Jin paces in her room, hastily picking up her soiled clothes and throwing it to her laundry basket in her bathroom, “My hair?”

She touches her wet hair and that’s when she remembers her state, “Matda, mianhae unnie. (Right, I’m sorry.) How about you go ahead first and I promise I’ll follow you, eoh?”

In truth, Go Ha Jin doesn’t want to go to the party. After what happened to her this afternoon in the gallery at the mall. She feels tired and vulnerable to leave the confines of her room.

“Nonsense Ha Jin-ah,” Myung Hee Nam rises from the bed and catches Go Ha Jin’s arm as she passes, “How about you sit here,”

In front of her vanity cabinet, “And let unnie take care of you.”

Myung Hee Nam picks up the hair brush from the table and gently brushes Go Ha Jin’s hair. The ajumma, who had been standing by the door disappears inside the bathroom and came back with a blower in hand. Finding a socket, she helps Myung Hee Nam dries Go Ha Jin’s hair.

Shortly, Go Ha Jin’s hair is styled in a cleanly braided first layer while majority of her hair are hanging straight at her back, her make-up fresh and almost nude with a peach blush and pinkish lipstick. Myung Hee Nam finishes her look with a magnolia brooch on her hair and a white organza outer coat. She looks like a noble girl from Goryo Era.

“Kamsahabnida unnie.” Go Ha Jin thanks her cousin and hooks her hand over Myung Hee’s arm before she could change her mind and stay in her room and get lost in her thoughts.

They both come down the stairs, their parents still on their shift at the hospital. Hyang Ha Na's secretary, a girl of the same age as Go Ha Jin, looks up, greeting her boss, “You both look beautiful, Sajangnim (boss), Go Ha Jin Ssi.”

Myung Hee Nam is dressed in another modernized creamy white hanbok that starts as a tube and sewn together with a full skirt that touches the ground in spite of the three inches heels that she is wearing. A yellow organza long sleeves jeogori functions as an outer coat. Her hair done in a loose chignon.

“Ah, Chae Ryung-ah, you look pretty yourself.” Myung Hee Nam compliments her secretary.

Chae Ryung is dressed in a simple black high back long dress, with a semi sweetheart neckline, discreet and businesslike that will pass for a formal corporate party. She hands them their veils instead of masks, both an organza that covers the lower part of their faces rather than their eyes. Simple yellow that matches Myung Hee Nam’s joegori while white with an embroidered half crescent blue moon that matches her skirt for Go Ha Jin. She escorts the two to their car.

As their car cruise down the night streets of Seoul, taking the main road below the Namsan Mountain Park from Yongsan to Dongho-ro, Go Ha Jin watches the drizzle of rain starting to fall on a summer night. It’s almost autumn now and the winds are beginning to be cold. Far away, a sliver of lightning cuts upon the gloomy night sky and moments later, they hear the rumble of thunder.

No sooner, a massive geometrical fountain greets their car as it stops at the reception hall of Silla Hotel and they are fetch by the attendants and escorted to the elaborate hallway of the dynasty hall that opens to a massive courtyard, populated by hundreds of lantern in the ground and thousands of light bulbs strung together to create a tall ceiling of twinkling lights. All around are people in different masks and veil, enjoying the funfares that look like they came out straight of Goryeo. A group of musicians are playing gayaguem by the side, different theater companies are busily staging their small play on various parts of the courtyard and guests, both men and women are dancing around a merry go round poll where tassels of long different colorful fabric hang at it’s center. Originally, ganggangsullae is a dance performed by girls during a harvest night to thank the moon for bountiful harvest but on later era, ganggangsullae had developed into a mating court dance between men and women.

Though the drizzling had stopped, a thin fog had settled in the ground, giving off a dreamy and whimsical feel to the whole masquerade ball.

Hwang Dong Wook, in his three piece black tweed suit, excuses his self from the company of his colleagues upon noticing Myung Hee Nam, her secretary and Go Ha Jin at the door. Their veils are in place but Wang Dong Wook recognizes them when he spots the gown he bought for them this afternoon.

“The two of you are beautiful tonight.”Hwang Dong Wook greets his fiancée and turns to Go Ha Jin, “Ah this must be our sleeping beauty, the snobbish girl who passed me by this afternoon.”

“Eh?” Go Ha Jin eyes her cousin, instinctively stepping closer to Myung Hee Nam. The man looks awfully familiar to her but she can’t place where she had met him, “My apologies but I believe I have never met you.”

Wook smiles warmly, “Please don’t be offended, I am only kidding. We met this afternoon in front of the boutique but you seemed to be off somewhere so you passed me by.”

He extends his hand and Myung Hee Nam formally introduces them together, “This is Hwang Dong Wook Ssi, Ha Jin-ah. I know you’ve never met him before but he often visits you at the hospital when you were in a coma.”

Go Ha Jin bows her head in greeting but doesn’t leave Myung Hee Nam’s back, too scared of what memory the guy in front of her will bring out if she shakes his hand, “Let me apologize if I have caused you and my unnie a burden.”

“No need for apology,” Wook takes back his hanging hand smoothly when it was clear that Go Ha Jin won’t take it, “It’s my excuse to see your unnie as well.”

Lifting the mood by openly flirting with her cousin.

Myung Hee Nam feels Go Ha Jin's touch tightening upon her arm and she reaches to pat her hand assuringly. Addressing her fiance, “Joesonghabnida wangjanim… it seems our Hae Soo is not quite well yet…”

Go Ha Jin abruptly lets go of her cousin, mishearing her words as if she heard someone saying it a long time ago.

That name again?

In her anxiety, Go Ha Jin’s mind slips into a memory she firmly believes to be not hers. Her eyes go dark, looking like she is trap on a far away place.

“Ha Jin-ah, Ha Jin-ah, gwaenchanha?” Myung Hee discreetly pulls her back to present, anchoring Go Ha Jin to her with a warm touch on her face.

Go Ha Jin shakes her head, “Mianhaeyo unnie, I think the lights are making me dizzy, would you mind if I go to the powder room first.”

She walks off not waiting for her cousin to answer. Myung Hee Nam addresses her Chae Ryung, “Why don’t you go and check on our Ha Jin? Make sure that she is fine then you can enjoy the rest of the night.”

“Yii, Sajangnim.” Chae Ryung gives her greetings to her boss and to Myung Hee Nam’s fiancé before turning to find where Go Ha Jin is headed.

Inside the Dynasty Hall, conservative formal dinner tables of black and white where set-up. A sharp contrast from the whimsical affair outside. Large blooming variety of white stargazers and complimentary blooms are arranged as center piece on each table. The ceilings were so high that the twinkling lights it shared with the design in the garden is almost being swallowed by the darkness. It looks like a natural night sky.

As Go Ha Jin traipsed the many dinner tables scattered in an orderly fashion, she takes off her veil, seemingly suffocating from the massiveness of the hall. She passes by two men, both in formal suit, being escorted from the reception. They were just about to tie their columbina mask when one of the men, notices her.

“Go Ha Jin Ssi?” The guy in navy blue coat and tie asks.

At the sound of her name, Go Ha Jin unwantedly turns, “Yie?”

“Na-ya, Hwang Jung Nam-ibnida.” The guy in navy blue coat and tie approaches her, “We have classes together at the University. Do you not remember? We even became group mates in one of our projects.”

Go Ha Jin tries to place the familiar face of the guy called Hwang Jung Nam. Though she knows they’ve met before, it feels like her memory of him is of distant past.  

I will forget you. I will forget all of you…

“I heard you were in an accident. It’s good to see that you are alright.” Hwang Jung Nam warmly beams at her, “Do you remember my cousin. He is also our classmate in administration?” 

Hwang Baek-Ah finally catches up to them, “Oh, Go Ha Jin Ssi, it’s nice to see you again.” 

With too many people she kept meeting today, Go Ha Jin is starting to feel the anxiety rising on her chest, a cloud of unfathomable emptiness is settling upon her head. She confusedly returns the greetings, racking her brains of any memories from her university days but she comes-up empty. The doctor said she might be suffering from temporary amnesia and that all her memories will come back in time. She only has to be patient. 

Hwang Baek-Ah and Hwang Jung Nam exchange a discreet look, apologizing for bringing the lady a burden to remember, “Mianhaeyo, we mean you no confusion.”

Three rows down, near the bar set-up by the wall, a boy of the same age as Hwang Jung Nam and Go Ha Jin is showing his older cousin how to catch an ice by his mouth. He throws the ice high, stepping back and poised to catch the ice when he accidentally runs into Chae Ryung, who is making a beeline towards Go Ha Jin.

“Oh, Joesonghaeyo,” The boy apologizes, missing the ice cube that eventually falls to another older cousin, who is passing by to get a glass of scotch.

“Ya! Hwang Eun-Ja, how careless can you be?!” The guy in black tweed suit with purple inner polo and black ribbon for a tie, scolds his cousin. He turns to the other man that Hwang Eun-Ja is talking to, “I don’t understand how you can hang out with him? Are you still high school students?”

“Eiii, Hwang Yo Han hyung, we were only having fun. Let our dongsaeng slide for tonight.” The man in the same black tweed suit but with white polo inside tries to maintain peace among his cousins. Turning to Chae Ryung and giving a sweet smirk, he formally apologizes for Wang Eun Ja’s accidental conduct.

“Gwaenchanhseubnida.” Chae Ryung assures the guy, trying not to blush, “It was an accident.”

Go Ha Jin shakes her head, shutting her eyes, her mind full of voices and memories that belong in her dreams. She abruptly turns away, “Sil-rye-habnida, (Please excuse me.)”

She walks quickly out of the hall, looking for the corridor going to the bathroom. She turns to an empty almost dark corridor, unaware of her surroundings. Her sight is seeing but unseeing. She’s lost in a different time, maybe a different place. The modern hallway is no longer modern but a long corridor beside a hanok. The marble floor had become tiles of wood and the red wooden beams stands out in the dark. Colorful dancheong(s) of red, green, yellow, create beautiful tiles of flower at the ceiling of the roof.

Go Ha Jin continues to walk, dizzy of her visions. She holds upon the wall beside her, finding the black wonseo dong (traditional wooden doorknob) and holding upon it as if her sanity depends on it. She closes her eyes, her breathe laborious, her chest constricting. She fumbles to her side, an automatic muscle reaction when she reaches for her shoulder bag and is looking for her medicine but she doesn’t have a shoulder bag. She handed her purse to Chae Ryung a while ago when she helped her out of the car. All she has is her veil and she struggles not to panic. She feels the lightning lighting up her surroundings and she pushed the heavy double doors before she hears the loud sound of thunder reverberating everywhere.

Stumbling inside, the door closes behind her and when the next lightning came through the high glass windows, she finds herself back in a hall at the hotel. This one closed and unused for tonight. Go Ha Jin is about to settle on the floor when she hears someone

“Nugu seyo? (Who are you?)” 

Though the voice is rough and low, it strangely feels soothing, like a soft whisper of a distant light that sun reflects to the moon.

Silhouetted by occasional lighting, a man stands in front of an open glass doors, the soft light curtains freely swaying with the strong summer breeze blowing upon the mountains. At a far distance they share, Go Ha Jin makes an assumption that this man might be part of the party since he is dressed the part. The man is also in a formal coat and tie and a mask obscuring the left part of his face. He stands so still that if the occasional lightning doesn’t come, he easily dissolves into darkness.

Surprised, Go Ha Jin wills herself to calm down, there have been too many meetings and apology tonight, rethinking of her decision to leave this party early. Holding on to the cold knob of the door, she pulls herself up, embarrassed to be disturbing this man, “I’m sorry. I was looking for the powder room and lost my way. I didn’t mean to walk upon you here.”

The man didn’t answer and simply turned to gaze at her, waiting for the next lighting to come and illuminate the face of the lady, whose voice and presence feels melancholic to him, sharing the same distinct feeling of familiarity.

If you are not of this world, then I will find you. My Soo-ya…

The rumble of thunder finally comes. The lightning pierces through the glass, lighting the hall for several seconds but it’s enough for both of them to recognize a faint memory they both been trying to seize. Time slows down and seconds stretches into eternity, the man takes quick long strides but his feet can’t bring him any faster or any closer to the girl he had once promised to find.

Darkness…

Seconds…

Rumble of thunder…

And when the lightning comes one more time, the man is finally standing in front of Go Ha Jin. She gazes at him with that gentle longing, their eyes mirroring the same recognition.

“Nugu-sibnikka? (Who are you?)” She asks.

The man towers in front of her, his presence like a soft sunlight rising from the darkness of dawn, “Cheo i-reum-eun Hwang… So… Hyun-ibnida. (My name is Hwang So Hyun.)”

Every syllable in his name drawn out as if etching it in their alluding dreams of their past selves. 

Go Ha Jin’s eyes well in a silent yearning tears, “Cheo Go Ha Jin-ibnida. U-raen-man-ibnida… (It’s been so long…)”

“Yie, panggapseubnida... (It is nice to meet you…)” Hwang So Hyun slightly inclines his head to the side, a boyish smile reaching his eyes, both sharing that skipping beat in their chest.

Their words, though of the present and of first time meeting, holds a long time promise finally fulfilled.

Chapter Text

Dressed in a simple skinny black jeans tattered by the knees, fashionable over size long sleeves white sweatshirt and dainty white suede shoes, Go Ha Jin pulls her medium size silver luggage by her side. Her hair is in a ponytail and her mask is pulled down to her chin. She’s walking at Incheon’s international departure area, checking inn her luggage at the counter and looking for which gate she should go through. The phone on her hand vibrates and she turns it to see a kakao call from her former university classmate. Her forehead scrunch into puzzlement.

“Ne, yeoboseyo?” Ha Jin answers.

“Ha Jin Ssi,” Hwang Jung Nam greets on the other side of the phone. He is standing by the garden at the rooftop of their office, taking a break.

“Ne, Hwang Jung Nam Ssi?” Ha Jin asks, still searching for the right gate. She passes a convenience store and a skin regiment store, stopping by to grab a sunscreen from the shelf. It’s the one thing she forgot to pack.

“Ah… I…” Hwang Jung Nam stammers, biting his lower lip, “I just want to… to… ahm check on you…”

 Ha Jin finds the sunscreen she’s looking for.

“Because… you kind… a disappear the other night from the party.” Hwang Jung Nam scrunches his eyes shuts, making a fool of himself. His heart beats so fast it feels like it’s about to jump out of his throat.

Ha Jin nods absentmindedly, forgetting that she’s on the phone. She walks unto the cash registrar and hands the product to the cashier. Her card coming up from her mini bagpack next, “Ah… that… I’m fine… I was ill so I left early. Joesonghabnida, I wasn’t able to say goodbye.”

“Aniyo, gwaenchanhayo. (It’s alright.) I’m glad you’re doing good.” Hwang Jung Nam puts his other free hand inside his pocket, bracing his self for his next question. He racks back and forth on his heels, “So… ahm… what are you doing today? 

“Na? (Me?)” Ha Jin finishes her transaction, refusing the paper bag and putting the sunscreen directly unto her mini bagpack, thanking the cashier, “I’m getting on my flight.”

“Jinjjayo? Oedi ka? (Really? Where are you going?)” Jung Nam repeatedly smacks his forehead with the side of his fist.

“I’m flying to Florence.” Ha Jin resumes scouting for her gate, finding a line going inside the immigration, “I’m taking a vacation before coming back to work. My family thinks it would be good for my sanity.”

Ha Jin nervously laughs. Her family doesn’t approve of her going away alone but she insisted she need this time on her own and promises to come back better.

“That’s great!” Jung Nam exclaims on the other side of the phone, “I’m actually in Florence. My cousin and I are on a business trip.”

As if on cue, Hwang Baek-Ah on his coat and tie, mirroring Jung Nam’s, walks beside him and lightly smacks the back of his shoulder, “We’re on a business trip. Who is?”

“Shhh…” Jung Nam pushes Baek-Ah away and silences him. 

“Oh, you’re in Florence.” Ha Jin takes out her phone from her ears and checks the call, of course it doesn’t tell her if it’s a local or international call since it’s in kakao. She puts it back on her ears.

“Yeah, maybe…” Jung Nam swallows his nervousness, “I’d run into you here. How about a coffee later this week?”

“Ahm…” A gong sounds not far away, announcing the occasional parade of royalty in Joseon costume, “Yeah, okay. Coffee some time. How long are you going to stay?”

“A week I guess. The conference will last for a week.” Jung Nam answers, his nervousness subsiding a bit.

“Alright, I’ll see you then.” Ha Jin says her goodbye as their conversations begins to be drowned by the loud sound of the gong. She steps back, letting the parade go through. After the king and his queen in the open palanquin, the seja and sejabin comes next, walking on their own with servants following them. The seja and sejabin notices her and nod toward her direction. She automatically bows her head in greetings and catches herself a little dizzy after, a remembrance of a prince in a parade leading the ritual for rain dances at the back of her mind. 

Back in the building top where Jung Nam and Baek-Ah are standing together, Baek-Ah asks, “Whose on the other side of the call? You’re in Florence? Wah, I didn’t know the city of Florence has Hangang river also.”

“Shut up!” Jung Nam playfully tells his cousin, “I can easily remedy that.”

He dials another number on his phone, “Song Biseo (Secretary Song), get me to the next flight to Florence.”

“Neo mi-chyeoss-eo. (Have you gone nuts!)” Baek-Ah tries to wrestle the phone from Jung Nam, “We have a board meeting in an hour. Do you want haraboji to scold you again.”

 Jung Nam puts the phone down and turns smiling to Baek-Ah, “Then we’ll go after our meeting.”

He pulls his cousin by the arm, “Kaja. (Let’s go!)”

“Ya! Ya! Ya!” Baek-Ah tells of Jung Nam, “Na, an ka (I’m not tagging along.)”

It’s around 9:00 PM in Florence, 4:00PM in Seoul. Hwang So Hyun had just came back to his hotel panoramic suite at Piazza Della Republica, located in the heart of Florence. The hotel is a sophisticated stone building from the 19^th century with a 180-degree view of the Renaissance landmarks of the city. He had been here since the morning after the masquerade ball that his grandfather had thrown for him and his cousins. An emergency came up with one of their clients who wanted to withdraw from the contract they are about to sign, forcing him to fly here. His days had been series of brunch and coffee meetings and by night, it’s an exclusive gentlemen parties with the sons of their business partner. It feels like a never-ending business meetings that leave him exhausted but sleepless at night.

He picks up a short wide brim glass from the bar of his 2^nd floor suite and fills it with a scotch before turning to the window to watch the city coming to life for late dinner. The phone on the pocket of his black pants vibrates and when he takes it out, it’s a reminder of another social dinner. He sighs not wanting to leave the comfort of his suite. He makes a call, coughing a bit and sounding rough at the edge, he tells his assistant his coming down with a migraine and wouldn’t be able to leave. His assistant assures him, he’ll smoothen the arrangement with the clients. He thanks him and ends the call.

He sits at the balcony, watching the piazza from below. An inconspicuous merry go round at the side of plaza is in full display of lights. Some tourists had taken to try the ride. At the northern part of the piazza, the cafes are brimming with customers savoring the night breeze. A little drizzle is starting but no one is paying attention to it.

From the view of Hwang So Hyun’s balcony, the city with all its glorious history filled cobblestone and walls, artfully preserve in the renaissance period, the city feels like haunted with its personal ghosts but to Hwang So Hyun, it's not as bad as walking down the streets of his home country and seeing it’s splendid history troubling his memory. Bits and pieces of his long forgotten past life still populates his dreams and after he came back to Korea, the memories of his dreams spills unto his everyday reality that everything feels distantly but strangely familiar to him even though he was too young to remember anything of Korea.

He was only four when his mother took him and made London their home. Since then, he rarely comes back. Maybe only thrice, once when he was in 5^th grade, second was when he was in University and third was just a few days ago, when his grandfather decided to have all his grandchildren come home. Though each of their families run their own business, mainly chains of hotels, malls and planes, their grandfather is getting old and is preparing to abdicate the leadership of his empire to one of his grandsons.

So Hyun turns from the piazza to his phone,

How many days has it been?

He says out loud, thinking of the strange yet familiar girl he met on the deserted hall of Silla Hotel. He had taken a walk with her after they’ve introduced themselves. No sooner, it was apparent that she’s very ill and dizzy so he had offered to take her home. Calling upon his grandfather’s secretary because he doesn’t have a local license yet, they fetch her home and out of worry he forgot to ask for her number.

He dials his grandfather’s secretary’s number again, “Choi Biseo,”

“Ne, Hwang So Hyun daepyonim” Choi Ji Mong answers on the 3^rd ring.

“Do you remember the lady we drove the other day?” So Hyun asks, taking a sip of his whiskey.

“You mean the lady with a night sky on her dress?” Ji Mong’s lips are drawn to a grin.

“Ne, kue yeoja (That lady). Her name is Go Ha Jin, do you happen to know her?” So Hyun turns to the plaza once more, watching the locals and tourist going through their usual routine. Some bikes had found their way from the alley and emerged to the piazza.

Ji Mong thinks for a bit, “I’m not quite sure but I think she’s a sister to your 8^th cousin’s fiancée, Myung Hee Nam. Their parents are board directors of the Myung-Hyang University Hospital at Yongsan District, where your family doctor does his tenure. I heard she was in a coma for a year and had just regain consciousness several months ago.”

“That explains why she’s ill.” So Hyun thought out loud, “Do you happen to know her number?”

Ji Mong stops, a teasing smile drawing on his lips, “Waeyo?”

So Hyun catches himself and backtracks, “I was wondering if she’s alright now.”

“I see,” Ji Mong doesn’t bother to hide his amusement, “I shall inquire how the lady is doing now but her personal number…”

Keeping his words hanging in the air.

“What?” So Hyun asks incredulous, seeing nothing wrong with him asking about the lady.

“It’s just highly unlikely of you to take interest of a girl.” Ji Mong muses playfully. He had serve Hwang Geon Hyeon for the last 30 years. He had seen all his grandchildren grow-up and although Hwang So Hyun had been the exemption since he was brought up in London, he had always been fond of him like his own son.

“Dwaesso. (Nevermind.)” The warmth spreads on his cheeks, feeling like a kid being thwarted from getting his cookie from the jar. He hangs up, sighing loudly. He turns back to the piazza and contends himself of the city’s own personal ghost that doesn’t haunt him.

Renting an apartment from AirBnB, Go Ha Jin finds herself walking the streets of Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, going to her apartment. She arrived at the Galileo Galilei International Airport at dawn and took Pisa Mover to Pisa Centralle where she boarded the train to Florence.

With a phone on one hand and her luggage and mini bagpack on the other, she scans her google map, following the instructions on her phone. She finds her mundane looking apartment in the middle of grey pavements and nude-color Tuscan two floor apartments. The owner, an old woman who speaks in that crisp charming accent, greets her by the door. Putting the key unto the ordinary heavy looking brown double doors, she lets Ha Jin in.

Inside is an exquisite Tuscan one-bedroom apartment, whose walls are immaculate white and the floor, a gleaming adobe red clay. The high ceiling is also white with beams that are a mix of wood in the living room and cemented navy blue in the kitchens. The whole place is littered with chic wooden furniture, a mix of traditional house and dashing modern look.

“It’s lovely.” Ha Jin tells the owner.

“It was my daughter’s but she’s living in a different city now.” The old lady hands her the keys, “If you need anything, I’ll be at the next door apartment. Have a wonderful time here in Florence.”

The lady says goodbye and leaves Ha Jin alone. Truthfully, her parents don’t want her to stay alone in an apartment from an AirBnb. They would have preferred that she stays on a hotel where they can easily reach her but the point of her taking this vacation is to acquire some time alone and maybe, just maybe, she’ll come back with better and sound mind.

Out of habit, Ha Jin takes off her shoes at the door and puts down her mini bagpack at the plaid checkered orange and peach classic round arm three-seater sofa then proceeds to walk to the rectangular double glass window. Bracing her hands to the windowsill, she leans outside. Closing her eyes and lifting her face to the bright sun, she smiles, excited to be in an ancient city whose ghost doesn’t haunt her.

The next time Ha Jin opens her eyes, it’s morning again and she had been asleep in her bedroom literally a whole day. It was a medium size bedroom with a king size bed and the softest white sheets for blankets. Her luggage is strewn open on the floor, her things unable to reach the wooden cabinet at the foot of her bed. Sunlight is streaming from her open window that has lace for curtains. It’s shadows gently playing on her face. She covers her eyes, seeing through the rays, she feels rested. A first time in several months that she had no dream or nightmare that made her feel tired in the morning.

Now in her simple cotton pajamas, she checks the time on her watch at her left wrist, it says it’s 8 am and as if on cue her phone on the wooden low bedside table rings. She brings it to her ears without looking at the caller, pretty sure that it would be her parents who would be calling.

“Yeoboseyo, Go Ha Jin Ssi.” Hwang Jung Nam is sitting on the balustrade of his balcony overlooking the Arno River. His suite, a room in an opulent luxury hotel known for it’s wall fresco and 15^th century style artworks and antiques.

Ha Jin takes off the phone on her ear and checks the caller, another Kakao call saying it’s her university classmate again, “Hwang Jung Nam Ssi?”

“I was wondering if you’re already awake. How was your flight yesterday?” Jung Nam smiles through the conversation even though the other person on the line can’t see him.

“Oh, my flight?” Ha Jin rises to sit on her bed, sleep still on her eyes, “It’s great. I think the jet lagged knock me off and had cancelled my whole day yesterday.”

Chuckling, Ha Jin feels light, her soft laughter floating through the line reaching Jung Nam on the other side and putting an amusement on his lips, “That’s a shame, the city of Florence is not something you miss out on but I’m happy you had a rest. What are you doing today?”

“Hmmmm…” Ha Jin stretches, “No idea.”

She chuckles, “Maybe walk through the piazza or visit the nearby town of San Gimignano. I heard it’s frozen in time.”

“Well, so is the city of Florence.” Jung Nam also chuckles.

His cousin, Hwang Baek-Ah, whom he had dragged here the other day without notice is watching him over their antique tea table, not far from the double glass doors leading unto the balcony. Their continental breakfast of waffles, bacon, cold cuts and freshly squeezed orange juice are left unattended. 

“How are you getting in San Gimignano?” Jung Nam slowly leads unto volunteering in accompanying Ha Jin, putting his other hand unto searching on the internet about the said city.

Ha Jin finishes her stretching and stands from her bed, looking over her luggage, “I don’t know, maybe by bus? Or by foot?”

She laughs again, “or bike? I have no plans. I wanted to get away, well now I’m free…”

Then stops at the middle of her sentence. She feels she have shared too much.

“Right,” Jung Nam felt the sudden shift on her mood. Not wanting to push her too much, he tells her, “I’m green with envy. I wish I could also go on a tour but the conference will be taking much of my day.”

He lies smoothly and shares information on how to get there by bus or train, “What time are you leaving, I can help you make the reservation.”

Hoping she’d share her itinerary.

“Maybe after my breakfast, around 10am?” Ha Jin feels guilty, her mood seemed to have dampened the mood of the other person on the line.

“Got it! I’ll help you out on it.” Jung Nam has to stop himself from jumping excitedly, “I’ve been in this city plenty of times.”

Which is not a lie. Jung Nam did live in London for 2 years with his mother and brother, Hwang So Hyun, after he graduated and then went on to his European tour with his cousin, Hwang Eunja and Hwang Baek-Ah during summer, “I can surely help you with anything.”

“That’s nice of you, Jung Nam Ssi.” Ha Jin is relieved to know she could ask someone for help.

“Kuereom, I’ll send you the details in a bit.” Jung Nam says his goodbye before Ha Jin can change her mind.

“Yes!” Jung Nam punches in the air out of excitement. 

“And what are you planning to do with her itinerary?” Baek-Ah takes a drink from his glass of juice, “Stalk her from a far?”

“I’m just going to follow her and make sure she’s safe.” Jung Nam shrugs, all innocent, “You know… She’s a girl. Alone in a city full of strangers. I just care about her safety.”

“Right, of course. You drag me thousands of miles to another country just to make sure that a girl is safe.” Baek-Ah rolls his eyes.

Shortly, Ha Jin receives a bus timetable and instructions on how to get to San Gimignano with a reminder for her to bring an umbrella since there might be a scattered rain and clouds for today.

True enough when she reaches the bus station at 10am, Jung Nam and Baek-Ah are inconspicuously blending in the crowd with their caps and casual jeans, hooded jackets and autumn coats. Ha Jin can easily be spotted with her black cap and mask hiding her face, in another slim jeans with tattered knees and white long sleeves v-neck white blouse and a warm long old rose tteokbokki button down cardigan and black mini backpack which if worn back at home would totally be normal but only makes her a standard Korean looking foreigner in a crowd of western people.

After she purchases her bus ticket, Jung Nam quickly drags Baek-Ah to the counter and orders the ticket for the same bus that Ha Jin got. When they sit, two seats apart from Ha Jin on the bus, Jung takes out his phone and messages Ha Jin,

“Where you able to get tickets to San Gimignano?” 

Ha Jin was just putting her earphones when her phone vibrated.

“Ne, komowoyo ^^ (Yes, thank you ^^) I got the window seat as you suggested.” 

She replies and then turns unto the big glass window, watching the rain clouds set in and feeling the bus engine starting.

“Wah it was just sunny this morning but the rain clouds are coming.” 

She sends another message.

Baek-Ah deems Jung as he reads the kakao message from Ha Jin, “Dang! You’re a creepy stalker, do you know that?”

And elbows Jung Nam on his side. Jung Nam returns the elbow, albeit busy with his reply and tells Baek-Ah playfully and quietly to shut up.

“We could have just rented a car and have her driven to the city.” Baek-Ah is annoyed.

“Right! Because two guys offering to drive her around a foreign city is not creepy at all.” Jung makes a face. 

“We’re not strangers. We’re her former classmates.” Baek-Ah is uncomfortable on his seat even though he got the one by the window, “This is stupid. When you said you wanted to have coffee with her and flew thousands of miles to do it, I wasn’t expecting you were going to do the date by approximate distance from her. Why are we doing an idol-kind of date?”

Baek-Ah keeps finding himself rolling his eyes over the absurdity of Jung Nam.

“Did you hear me complain through all your mad ramblings about the girls following you around the campus when you only want one girl?” Jung Nam gets back at Baek-Ah.

Baek-Ah happens to have a crush on Ha Jin’s older cousin. He is friends and classmates with Myung Hee Nam while they were in the University and by misfortune, had fallen out of touch with her after they graduated and he was sent to Europe to have his MA and Myung Hee Nam was sent in China to do hers. He was devastated the other night when he finally met her again but was surprised to be introduced by his cousin, Hwang Dong Wook, as his fiancée.

“And she’s not even aware that you set up a date for her.” Baek-Ah muses to himself, shutting up at the mention of Ha Jin’s older cousin. He takes out his phone and looks for Myung Hee Nam on his Kakao.

Getting on his black sedan that his secretary arranged for him, So Hyun in his casual old rose polo, black pants and khaki colored autumn coat, makes his way out of Florence to take some time off. His head had been full of those haunting dreams that seemed to have come back with cruel vengeance to haunt him. He keeps seeing Ha Jin on a Hanbok, looking like that girl who brings up loneliness and pain on his chest. Ever since meeting Ha Jin that night, he keeps associating her with that girl in his dreams whom they call Hae Soo . He never believed in reincarnation but if it’s real and that was him in the past then he never wants to see how it ended. He has a foreboding feeling that he did something wicked to merit such utter pain.

He sets his phone on a phone stand inside his car, putting it in a loud speaker and making a call,

“Ne, aduel-ui (Yes, my son?)” The lady in slick navy blue corporate suit, walking down the corridor of an office in London, answers on the other line.

This is Yoo Shin Young, mother to the three brothers, Hwang Yo Han, Hwang So Hyun and Hwang Jung Nam. Heiress to tycoon conglomerate of Korea’s giant telecommunications company. She had been living in London with So Hyun after the divorce with her now deceased husband.

In this present life, fate had been kind enough to let Hwang So Hyun not just have his mother’s love but he is his mother’s favorite son. The only son she was able to win custody after the ugly divorce that shook both the Hwang’s and Yoo’s conglomerate businesses.

Yoo Shin Young nods at the passing guard as he presses the elevator button for her, “How was Seoul? I wasn’t expecting you’d be back in Europe in just a matter of days.”

“Mol-layo, eomma. (I don’t know, Mom.) I think I’m better off with you in our home in London.” So Hyun navigates the old city with his GPS.

“Wae? Does my son miss his mother already?” This brings a soft smile to Yoo Shin Young’s face, stepping unto the elevator when it opens, “Your brother, Jung Nam, called me yesterday to say that he is in Florence. Why don’t you two meet and spend some time together.”

“He called me, too. Baek-Ah told me, he came on a whim.” So Hyun keeps his eyes on the road while the rain clouds are setting in, “He’ll be in trouble with Harabeoji if he finds out.”

“Your grandfather is stifling but you have to bear with him. Let’s be thankful that you didn’t grew up under his watchful eyes.” Yoo Shin Young checks her loose chignon hair on her reflection on the elevator’s door, “He’s getting too old and he’ll be acceding his control soon. You need to be there to take your inheritance.”

“Kuende eomma… do we really need harabeoji’s inheritance? We already have your family’s corporation to take care off. Isn’t it enough?”

Yoo Shin Shoung stills at her son’s suggestion, not liking it. A shadow of her once queen’s self passes on her face, darkening her expression, “It’s not a matter of needing it or not. It’s your birth right.”

Even with hundreds of miles in between them, So Hyun can feel the sudden shift on his mother’s mood. The finality and quietness in her voice signals that there will be no arguing with her about it. Yoo Shin Young can be scary even with her own sons, sometimes and since Hwang So Hyun is now his mother's new favorite son, the responsibility of taking over his father's business and indulging Yoo Shin Young's whim now presently falls on his shoulder.

“Ne, eomma.” Taking a breathe, So Hyun acquiesce. 

“Kuereom, I’ll be expecting you and your little brother before you come back to Seoul.” The elevator door opens and Yoo Shin Young comes out to a sunlit corridor going unto her office.

The two ends the call and So Hyun continues with his drive on a cloudy road.

By the time the bus arrives at San Gimignano, rain comes in drizzle and fog begins to settle around the city. Ha Jin enters by the main gate, Porta San Giovanni South Entrance, marvelling at the city’s 13^th century pavement and stonewalls. 

“Wah,” She exclaims. Her phone vibrating on her hand, she answers it by pushing a button on her earphones, putting her phone on the back pocket of her jeans, “Yeoboseyo.” 

“Ha Jin Ssi, have you arrived in the town already?” Jung Nam is on the other line.

“Ne, jeongmal arameumdaweoyo. (It’s beautiful here.)” Having the urge to share the beautiful scenery in front of her, Ha Jin stays on the line. Her earphones fastened on her ears the way Jung Nam’s are.

He and Baek-Ah follow her on a discreet distance.

On her right is a wine shop and on her left is a Café serving lunch and gelato.

“Signorina, would you want a taste?” A seller inside the gelato stand asks Ha Jin as she passes by.

“The best and famous gelato this town offers is at the Piazza Della Cisterna, you might want to hold off your sweet cravings first.” Jung Nam advices her, hearing the seller’s voice on the line.

“Ah kuereyo?” Ha Jin nods at the server and continues to walk.

Baek-Ah window shops at the wine shop on their left while Jung Nam doesn’t take his eyes off Ha Jin. It does feel like they are on an idol date, going on a sight seeing tour with distance in between them, experiencing the place together while talking over the phone as if they are walking side by side.

Ha Jin stops at a trinket shop next, looking over the silver accessories and remembers the dwikkoji at the Goryeo exhibit, “Oh, I went to that Goryeo Gallery at the mall the other day and saw this pretty dwikkoji inside the glass box.” 

“Goryo Exhibit?” Jung Nam asks, unmindful of the soft drizzle around him. It’s not enough to get them wet anyway but the rain must have passed the city this morning since the pavement are all wet with occasional puddles of water scattered everywhere, “I think you’d look great with a dwikkoji on your hair. You look pretty the other night with the sky painted on your Hanbok.” 

“I look--ED pretty?” She repeats, a warmth spreading on her cheeks. The sentence is in past tense.

“I mean…” Jung Nam nervously chuckles, shuffling on his feet and hitting his forehead with the side of his knuckles the way he always does when he is nervous, “You always look pretty anyway… Ah it’s lunch now, aren’t you hungry yet?”

He changes the subject.

Ha Jin shrugs, unconscious on the stammer on Jung’s part, “Jogeum. (A little.)”

“Well, if you go a little further and turn right before Piazza Della Cisterna, you’ll find a restaurant with a breathtaking view of town. They serve authentic Tuscan dish from their own farm.” Jung Nam suggests, “It’s a little steep walk but you’ll love the view.”

“Alright, I’ll check it.” Ha Jin continues with her sight seeing, slowly feeling the hunger on her stomach. She only had a toast this morning, “Are you still in your conference? Am I bothering you?” 

“Aniyo. I've decided not to attend the conference today because… ahm…” Jung Nam scouts the area, racking his brain for an excuse. Baek-Ah comes back to his side with a bottle of local white wine on a paper bag, “I’m having a head ache.”

“Oh, are you alright?” Ha Jin falters on her step, “You should eat and take a pill for your headache.”

“I’m fine.” Jung Nam stops on his track also, pulling Baek-Ah on the nearest arts and crafts store, “I’ll have lunch with you if you want.”

Ha Jin chuckles, “But I’m on a different city.”

“Over the phone, I mean. I’ll guide you to the restaurant. Maybe you can take a picture and send it to me.”

Baek-Ah rolls his eyes one more time.

“I’ll eat in a Tuscan restaurant too.” Jung Nam volunteers.

Ha Jin feels embarrassed and guilty to be occupying Jung Nam’s time so to make up for it, she says, “I have a better idea…”

She takes out her phone from her back pocket and opens her kakao, pointing her phone to the view, she clicks the video button, “Here, I’ll let you see the view. It’s amazing.”

Jung Nam doesn’t need to look at his phone to see what Ha Jin is seeing. He brightens through it and says, “Wah, it’s breathtaking. I heard majority of those houses were preserved from 13^th century and the fog is an added plus.”

Ha Jin nods absentmindedly. She pivots her arm and points her phone camera to the high towers beside her.

“The Torre Grossa is open for public, by the way. If you want to go up one of those towers.” Jung Nam had been here before so he knows, “It’s in Piazza del Duomo.”

“I will go up later, then.” Ha Jin ends her video call and continues with the phone call, reaching the doors of the restaurant and is greeted by a charming old man who asked her in a crisp English accent where she prefers to sit. A server shows her the way to a two-seater table away from the door.

Minutes after, Jung Nam and Baek-Ah silently enters the restaurant and is also welcomed by the same man who spoke to Ha Jin a minute ago, “Table for how many, senorinos?”

“Two.” Baek-Ah answers for the two of them.

Jung Nam mutes his conversation with Ha Jin and addresses the charming old man, “Also, there was a Korean signorina, who came a minute ago.”

“Ah, the signorina in lovely old rose coat. In black cap and mask?” The charming old man smiles, “Are you with her? We seated her over here…”

The old man is about to lead them when Jung Nam stops him, “It’s fine. The lady wants to be alone. If you could put her tab on our table instead, I would be glad to have it.”

“Ah…” A teasing smile spreads on the old man’s face, “Having a little spat with your girlfriend? I know the weather is a bit let down today but the town is the perfect place to smoothen any lover’s quarrel. Take her to the Collegiate Church or the top of Torre Grossa, I’m sure the lovely art and the view of the place will guaranty to make her forget the little transgression on your part.” 

“I’ll remember to do that, Senor.” Jung Nam assures the old man, “In the meantime, can we have a discreet table, not far from signorina.”

“Si. Si. Ovviamente! (Of course!)” The old man leads the two, “I know just the perfect table for you.”

Behind Torre Grossa, lies a 14^th century building that houses a small cozy restaurant with a seating capacity of 35 and serves ala carte menu freshly cooked on a patron’s order.

Hwang So Hyun had just finished his lunch and emerges at Piazza Duomo, resuming his sight seeing. By now, the fog had already draped over the town and the tourist had dispersed to take cover from the drizzle that is coming in bigger droplets. He puts out his clear umbrella and walks the piazza with a coffee on his free hand, reaching the unremarkable steps of Collegiate Church, a minor basilica in Romanesque style with the exception of two chapels done in Renaissance style. He finishes his coffee and enters the Church, throwing the paper cup on the nearest trash bin he could find.

Inside, the place transports you back to stunning 13^th century interior design fresco walls. It’s layout is in the shape of Latin Cross with black and white tile striped marble. The ceilings are vaulted recessed arcs of lapis lazuli with studded golden stars while the walls are populated with fresco paintings of Old and New Testament.

As So Hyun wanders around with tourist, He takes out his phone and put his earphones on, making a call to his younger brother, Hwang Jung Nam.

The call goes through since Ha Jin had ended the earlier kakao call so they could both have lunch, “Ne, Hyung?” 

“Eomma wants us to visit her in London before we go back to Seoul.” So Hyun tells his brother examining the paintings of the upper level on the left of the aisle, depicting images of Creation.

“Araseo. Are you done with your client meetings?” Jung Nam chews in between.

“Ne.” So Hyun answers, “The last of it is yesterday. I’m free to fly to London maybe tomorrow.”

“You could head to London first. I’ll follow at the end of the week.” Jung Nam suggests. 

“What are you doing here anyway?” So Hyun inquires, absentmindedly, stopping himself from thinking anything. He could feel the pressure points on the side of his eyes, throbbing.

“Kuenyang, hanging out with Baek-Ah hyung.”

Baek-Ah snatches the phone away from Jung, “Aniyo. He dragged me hear to have this ridiculous—“

“—Shut Up!” Jung Nam snatches the phone back and glares at Baek-Ah before coming back to his brother, “Wine tasting. Baek-Ah hyung thinks it’s ridiculous.”

It does sound ridiculous to So Hyun but his brothers and cousins have been known to waste their money with whatever they deemed worthy of their time. Setbacks and privileges of being chaebol kids.

So Hyun sighs on the other line, “Alright, just make sure harabeoji doesn’t wind up about it. I can’t bail you out again.”

“Keureomyo!” Jung Nam assures his brother.

So Hyun ends the call and moves to another fresco painting.

After her sumptuous lunch, Ha Jin walks back to the Piazza Della Cisterna with her yellow umbrella over her head. Her cap is in place and her mask is back in covering her mouth and nose. She makes the initiative to call Jung Nam this time.

“Did you enjoy your lunch?” Nam Jun takes cover underneath a black umbrella. Baek-Ah decides to go his way and meet him later on the bus station.

“Mas-iss-ge meoggo! (It’s delicious!)” Ha Jin exclaims happily, “The food is heaven. Their saffron ravioli literally melts in my mouth and the charming harabeoji didn’t let me pay even a single cent. He says it was a promo, like I was their 50^th customer or something. He explained it in Italian so I didn’t understand.”

She chuckles and Jung Nam smiles to himself, feeling proud. He takes a different route going to the Piazza della Cisterna, the one coming from Piazza Duomo and seeks the famous gelato stand, “Daebak! That harabeoji is actually the owner. He was the one who also served us the last time we ate there.”

He remembered to give a hefty tip to him after he paid the bills. 

“Ah on the north side of the piazza. The alley connecting it to Piazza Duomo, there is a famous gelato stall.” Jung Nam pays for his own and tells the ajeossi that a certain Korean girl in black cap and mask, in old rose cardigan will come by. He pays him to give her whatever she orders. 

“Gelateria Dondoli?” Ha Jin spots it easily when she reaches the piazza. Though it started to rain and the temperature had dropped low, tourist still flock the parlor.

“Yes, that one.” Jung Nam recedes back into a café adjacent the ice cream parlor, spotting Ha Jin easily in an almost empty rainy quadrangle.

Ha Jin slowly makes her way to the wishing well, discovering that it’s mouth is padlock for the safety of tourist gathering around it. Some steps down, she pulls out her phone and takes a photo of the well, sending it to her cousin with a message,

“Unnie, it’s wonderful here. I wish you came with me.” 

She walks to the ice cream parlor and as promised, the ajeossi tells her, the gelato is free. She profusely thanks the ajeossi before exiting.

“Wah daebak!” She tells Jung Nam on her earphones, “My gelato is also free!”

“It must be your lucky day.” Jung Nam watches her hop in happiness from the covers of the sun canopy of the café, “What flavor did you get?”

“Hmmm…” Ha Jin tastes her gelato in cones, “Michelle? The one made with almonds, orange zest, honey and saffron.”

And feels as if she’s in heaven, “Not too sweet with a hint of lime. At least that's what it says on the label.”

Jung Nam is glad to know she ordered the same thing as he did. There’s no surprise there seeing as the flavor is a crowd pleaser but he likes to think, it’s fate.

With a light skip on her steps, she strolls to the next piazza. Busy taking photos and eating her gelato at the same time, Ha Jin didn’t see it when she runs into a man, smacking right unto his chest.

Ha Jin bounces back and a hand out of nowhere reaches to her wrist to prevent her from falling…

So Hyun had just came out of the Duomo and is walking towards Piazza Della Cisterna with his eyes glued on his phone when he accidentally runs into a girl, her gelato, splaying on his old rose polo. The impact isn’t physically strong but it sends So Hyun in a spiral dizziness, as if falling unto a limitless void. He can’t discern whether it’s a memory from his old life or it was a memory from his dreams. Either way, it comes crushing unto his present sight.

He sees Go Ha Jin. No. Someone who looks like Go Ha Jin in a 10^th century hanbok being swept up in his arms while riding a horse. The girl who looks like Go Ha Jin, stares at him dumb-foundedly with a deer caught in the headlights expression. They ride until the end of the street in which he unceremoniously discarded her to the grounds.

Splash!

She hits the puddle of water in the cold pavement. Her phone call is cut off as her phone hits the pavement with her. Her umbrella thrown off.

So Hyun steps back, his consciousness still locked to the scene playing on his memories.

Did he hated her?

Jung Nam rises from his cover and is about to rush to Ha Jin when he recognizes his older brother.

“Yaish…” Ha Jin braces her hand to the grey, rough pavement, watching So Hyun turns his back and misunderstanding his actions. She shouts at his rudeness, “Ya, sae ki ya! (You jerk!)”

Her colorful language breaks unto So Hyun’s reverie, pulling him back to present times.

“Mwo rago?! (What did you say?!) sae kiya?!” So Hyun turns back to the girl who had just swear on him in Korean language and found the girl, all wet from the puddle of water in the pavement.

Ha Jin’s mask is pulled down on her chin as she is eating a gelato minutes back. So Hyun recognizes her and is instantly aghast of his actions. He immediately apologizes and lowers himself to ground, “Joesonghaeyo, I… I didn’t see you…”

“Eh?” Ha Jin is also surprised to recognize Hwang So Hyun from the party, who took her home “I…”

She stammers. He looked genuinely sorry. “Joesonghaeyo, nado an pweoyo. (I wasn’t also looking, I’m sorry.) I think I ruined your polo.” 

Jung Nam watches his brother hesitates to touch her. It didn’t escape So Hyun’s notice that it appears he is the only one bothered by the contact between them. Though Ha Jin looked angry a while ago, she seemed to have dropped it the moment she recognizes him. 

“It’s fine.” So Hyun didn’t even bother to check his clothes, his natural instinct to protect her comes out. “Are you hurt? Mianhaeyo.”

Pausing midway unto offering his hand, he breathes deeply as Ha Jin’s palm reaches to his, bracing himself if he will see another vision.

Nothing.

Thankfully it’s just Ha Jin’s soft grasp this time. He pulls her up, “Let me get you out of the rain.”

Chapter Text

Dressed in a white cottony polyester casual maxi dress with puff sleeves, Ha Jin dries her hair with a large towel in front of a mirror in a stone-wall bathroom of a historical medieval tower of the 13^th century. She had just finished showering and starts to hang her wet clothes from the side of the sink. Her face is bare and she only has a moisturizer and a sunscreen on her mini backpack. She slides the wooden door to the side, pausing to let her eyes do a sweeping of the floor. She finds herself in a small landing leading right to the next floor of a chic coffee table that sits only two people, maybe three max. Below the floor of the shower is a mezzanine floor looking over the dining area. An area she already saw when So Hyun led her to this medieval tower residence at Piazza Duomo.

A quick google in her phone tells her that the tower she’s in is the only historical tower that is open for hotel stay in the town of San Gimignano. Perfect for 2-3 people, it is rarely empty and that the minimum stay is three days and two nights. A very expensive accommodation for a quick shower that So Hyun insisted Ha Jin takes so she won’t catch a flu.

Looking up the stairs, Ha Jin begins to explore the ten floor stone tower, wondering where she could find So Hyun. 

So Hyun in his new black polo and jeans is at the rooftop terrace, eyeing the sky getting darker as the sun hiding behind the clouds begin to set. The rain had stopped and a thicker fog had settled around the town. So Hyun is in the phone with his younger brother.

“Hyung, jiguem oediya? (Where are you right now?)” Jung Nam is on the other line, still in a café in Piazza Della Cisterna. Baek-Ah is sitting across from him, sipping a hot cocoa. Jung Nam had brought him up to date a while ago. 

“Na? (Me?)” So Hyun is baffled by the tone Jung Nam is taking, detecting urgency and irritation on him, “On a town outside Florence, wae?”

“Where specifically?” Jung Nam’s expression is dark. He didn’t know his brother and Ha Jin knew each other.

For So Hyun, it’s unusual for his younger brother to inquire about what he is doing, “What is this all about?” 

“Kuenyang...” Jung Nan is itching to confirm if his brother is really staying in the tower he saw him brought Ha Jin a while back.

“Did you get yourself in trouble?” So Hyun is baffled, watching the tourist below who had begun to fill the piazza again after the rain had stopped.

Jung nervously chuckles, hiding his impatience, “Of course not. Baek-Ah Hyung and I are in a Tuscan winery. We’re wondering if you want to join us since you are near.”

So Hyun shrugs, “I think I’ll just come back in my hotel afterwards. My head is aching.”

“What hotel are you staying in Florence again?” Jung Nam tries again.

“Hotel Savoy, Piazza della Repubblica.” So Hyun gives out his hotel. He already told Jung about it the other day.

“Then Baek-Ah Hyung and I can drop on your hotel later. We can have a late dinner like the locals do.” Jung Nam discreetly asks about his brother’s itinerary.

“No need. I don’t know what time I will be back. I have some business to attend to.” So Hyun hears footsteps coming up the iron steps, “I need to go now. I’ll talk to you later.”

He ends the call and turns to welcome a newly showered Ha Jin, with her hair still uncombed and her bath towel drape around her shoulder to protect her from the cold. She appears innocently stunning to So Hyun that he had to stop for a second and remember to breathe. Have he ever saw her like this before? It feels strange to him. Remembering bits and pieces of memories that he didn’t know might be from their past lives.

“Your dress fits you perfectly.” So Hyun complements her and adds in a low voice, “Yeppuda. (You look pretty.) I’m sorry, it’s the first thing I saw on the clothes rack from the boutique.”

It’s not. He only thinks it would look great on her. 

Ha Jin smiles awkwardly, trying not to blush, “It’s alright. I could have just come back to the city on my clothes.”

And then coughs.

“See,” So Hyun is instantly worried, “You’ve caught a cold. Maybe we should go inside. I got you a new coat.”

He leads her one floor down to the kitchenette where another khaki colored trench coat is slung at the back of a chair. He hands it to her. 

“Thank you. You didn’t have to.” Ha Jin hesitates to take the coat but feels relief once the warm coat encloses her small frame. She studies the room, “If I could have a plastic with which I can put my wet clothes, I can be on my way.”

“You’re leaving?” So Hyun asks, “I mean… right of course… you were sight seeing and I troubled you.”

“No. No. No.” Ha Jin quickly rebuffs, “I’m the one who wasn’t looking on my way and had my ice cream ruined your clothes. You were so kind to let me shower here and even brought me this dress. I should be the one apologizing and thanking you.”

“You were cursing at me a while ago.” So Hyun amusedly chuckles, reminding her of her colorful expletives at the piazza.

“I…” Ha Jin awkwardly grimaces, “Mianhaeyo.”

“I take that we’re even now?” So Hyun charmingly smirks.

Ha Jin would like to stop the pink blush starting to spread on her cheeks. 

“We’re cool then.” So Hyun checks his watch, “Have you gone up the Torre Grossa?”

Ha Jin shakes her head, “Ajik. (Not yet.)”

“We still have an hour to do so. Ka-thi kaja? (Shall we?)” So Hyun didn’t wait for her answer and walks pass her to the stairs.

After insisting that she should be the one paying the tickets for them, Ha Jin and So Hyun proceeds to the entrance of the steep flight of stairs going up.

“Eh? How many steps are there again?” Ha Jin marvels at the original entrance of the tower. 

“218.” So Hyun answers, staying behind Ha Jin.

Ha Jin makes a show of stretching her arms, readying herself, “There were 150 steps in your tower, what is 118 more?”

The two find themselves chuckling over Ha Jin’s ridiculous joke. Falling easily into a conversation with Ha Jin as if they have known each other since eternity, So Hyun muses why he kept going back and forth whether he should see her again after meeting her on the party. It was a lapsed on his part to fail on getting her number and then afterwards, it was a game of nerves.

Truth be told, as much as he feels comfortable with Go Ha Jin, she brings out the worst of his dreams on him and he’s afraid that it will push him on the edge. But how can being with her be this painful on his chest and at the same time feeling like a thorn was taken out from his throat as if taking a breathe after holding it for so long. It’s exhilarating. The girl’s presence is a conundrum he can’t solve.

He closes his eyes, feeling his way around, remembering to count backwards to steady himself. When he opens his eyes next, they have reached the modern staircase and the tower is filled with music. A long LED installed at the ceiling accompanies them as they climb the iron stairs.

When they reached the landing at the top, Ha Jin is breathing hard while So Hyun is all good, thanks to the workout he does everyday. He offers her the bottle of water he is holding and before Ha Jin could even catch her breathe, the splendid medieval layout of the town and nearby vineyard and hills submerged below a thick fog takes their breathe away.

“Wah!” Ha Jin doesn’t know how many times had she exclaimed over the town’s beauty since arriving this afternoon.

So Hyun unnoticeably watches her instead. He had been here twice and though the town never stops enchanting him, the lady in front of him had it’s own spell casted on him, “They say a beauty like this should be shared to the person we love.”

“It should!” Ha Jin unconsciously pats the back of her hips for her phone when she remembers she’s on a new dress and her phone was probably left on the bathroom back at Torre Salvacci, “Oemo. My phone.”

Her face falls short, turning to So Hyun, “I think I left it in your place.”

So Hyun takes out his own phone, “It will still be there when we come back. Here, you can use my phone.”

He lights his phone and touches the camera button before handing it to her. Ha Jin tinkers at it for a bit, finding the right lens to use before taking a panoramic shot, “It’s wonderful. Can you send it to me later?”

“Sure. I’ll add you in my kakao.” Finding an excuse to get her number.

“Thanks.” Ha Jin turns the camera into a selca, “We should take a photo together. It would be a waste not to have a memory of this place.”

She turns her back and trains the camera on the two of them. So Hyun awkwardly scoots at her back, beaming softly. He is never known to smile. He rarely does and with an angular jaw and sharp eyes, people are prone to label him as snob and keeps a wide berth when they see him. Ha Jin doesn’t seem to have a problem drawing a smile from him though.

Ha Jin walks to the other side to see the hills and the vineyard next, giving So Hyun’s phone back. She settles in the low stonewall that serves to contain them at the top of the tower and rest her hands upon it, watching the absentee sunset, just grey clouds and dark settling in.

So Hyun settles beside her, enjoying the scenery, “What are you doing in Florence?”

“Sightseeing?” Ha Jin shrugs, as if it’s already obvious.

“You never mentioned it, so I was surprise to run into you.” So Hyun folds his hand together over the stonewall.

“I was surprise too.” Ha Jin crosses her arms, “Europe ha. What are you doing here?”

“Sightseeing?” So Hyun gives the same answer amusedly. He turns his back to rest it to the stonewall, feeling his lips getting dry. He suspects it doesn’t have anything to do with the cold weather but with the nervousness that he is expertly hiding. He takes out a lip balm from the back of his pants.

Ha Jin glances at him, seeing him hesitate whether he should use the tip of his little finger to put the balm on his lips or he should just run it directly on his lips. For hygiene’s purposes, he chooses the latter. 

“Do you want some?” So Hyun offers the stick, sensing her eyes on him.

Suddenly remembering that she is only wearing a moisturizer, Ha Jin thinks she should have at least put a lip-gloss on her dry lips, “Do you always carry a lip balm with you?”

“Is it illegal for men to do so?” So Hyun finds the question funny, “I’m sure it’s normal in Korea.”

Ha Jin giggles softly, “Yes it is.”

“It’s not poisoned.” So Hyun offers the stick again, “It will help with your dry lips.”

The comment made Ha Jin more conscious than she already is.

So Hyun gets a teasing idea, making a light joke, “Shall I put it for you?” 

He turns to her, stepping closer to Ha Jin’s personal space, taking off the cover of the lip balm. Without touching her, he readies to put the lip balm on her slightly open lips. Ha Jin is momentarily stunned by how abruptly close So Hyun is to her. The two of them stills and the air around them is filled with crackling intensity they both don’t understand and as So Hyun’s hand comes nearer to her lips, Ha Jin intercepts his hand midway.

“It’s fine.” Ha Jin blushes red this time, “I can put it on my own.”

She unceremoniously swipes the lip balm from his hand and steps away, putting it quickly and giving it back. Uncomfortable silence descends upon them and they have to remember how to draw a breathe to get through it. 

Ha Jin goes back into watching the faraway vineyard while So Hyun rest his back to the stonewall, looking the other way, sharing lip balm feels like sharing an indirect kiss between them.

“Do you always share your lip balm to strangers?” Ha Jin is antsy. Her first instinct is to be embarrassed so she hides it under a cold demeanor. 

So Hyun smirks to himself, if the girl knows how private he is with his life, she wouldn’t come close to him at all. Somehow hearing her say that they are still ‘stranger’ to each other feels like a low blow on his chest even though she is technically right and like her, he pretends to be cool about it, “Do you always shower on a stranger’s tower?”

The question begs a raise on Ha Jin’s left brow. That was offensive.

So Hyun realizes his mistake as soon as the words escape his mouth.

Ha Jin rethinks her decision of accepting this man’s generosity, wondering if she made a mistake to trust him quickly. It’s not yet late to change her mind, “Well, you’re right. It is improper for a lady to take a shower on a stranger’s tower. Thank you for your generosity. I should leave.”

“No, wait.” So Hyun blocks her way. Though it amuses him that she can utter an understatement and he can’t, he lets it go, “That was a jerk thing to say. Let’s agree that both of our questions are rude.”

So Hyun has a point, unapologetically confident and Ha Jin is not unreasonable, “Okay.”

She returns to the scenery, it’s too beautiful to waste on a moment of nuisance.

“I heard your parents own the hospital, where our family doctor does his tenure.” So Hyun changes topic.

“Ah, you mean the Myung-Hyang University Hospital?” Ha Jin asks, hesitating to share information about her family, “They are share holders. Yes.”

“And your sister is engage to my cousin?”

Ha Jin stops and turns to So Hyun, her expression baffled, “Right. You’re a Hwang?”

The Hwang family headed by Hwang Geon Hyeon belongs to the top one percent of Asia. One of the richest and most powerful family, whose business literally runs the economy of Korea. Forbes magazine labels the Hwangs, an empire of its own. It would be hard not to know the name if you grew up in Korea and Hwang Geon Hyeon’s grand kids were raised under their grandfather’s media spotlight except for So Hyun.

“It’s alright, not many people knew me since I grew up in London with my mother.”

“Eh?” Ha Jin is confused, “But you speak Korean just fine?”

“Thank you.” So Hyun smirks, “My mother made sure I speak our native tongue.”

“So you don’t reside in Seoul like your cousins.” Ha Jin inquires, “You’re cousins with Hwang Jung Nam and Hwang Baek-ah also?”

“How do you know them?” So Hyun is starting to connect a lot of dots in between them but doesn’t bother to correct that Jung Nam is a brother to him instead of a cousin.

“We were classmates in the university.” Ha Jin volunteers the information easily this time, it’s something So Hyun can easily ask from Jung Nam anyway, “Wah, it is a small world. Are you with them? I heard they are in also Florence. I was in a phone call with Hwang Jung Nam when I bumped into you in the Piazza.”

“You are?” So Hyun detects a little attachment on Ha Jin’s voice. “Are you closed to them?” 

“Hmmm…” Ha Jin thinks about it. They used to hang out together in the university but after they graduated, the two flew to Europe to complete their MAs and she left their house and lived with her best friend. Through the years, she had fallen out of contact with her university classmates and when she undergone the drowning accident that left her in coma for a year, her family got custody over her once more. Thanks to her selective amnesia and clinical depression, her family was relieved to have her moved back in their house so they could take care of her.

“We used to hang out together during our university years.” Ha Jin tells him, “We were classmates on some general subjects.”

“I see.” So Hyun is starting to suspect that there might be more behind his younger brother’s spontaneous little trip other than the wine adventure he is claiming. He hopes it’s not what he thinks it is.

Ha Jin’s eyes wanders to the greying clouds slowly falling to night “I think I should really go now. It’s getting dark and the last bus going back to the city will soon leave. It was nice running into you here. May I have my things back on your tower?” 

As she turns for the door going down, So Hyun reaches unto her arm, stilling her. He’s not letting her leave easily this time. He raises his left arm to look at his watch, “Wait.”

Ha Jin halts, waiting for him as he stares at the bigger hand of the clock move to 12 and he says, “Ding!”

He makes a big gesture of incredulously sighing, “I’m afraid you won’t be able to leave this time Ms. Cinderella. The last bus for Florence had just left.”

“Eh?” Ha Jin turns to her own watch on her left wrist and discovers that it’s a minute pass after five and the buses leave on time, “Oh, no.”

There’s an urgency on her shuffling feet, “How will I go back to the city?”

The question is more to herself. Again reaching at the back of her hips for her non-existing pocket and phone so she could search the internet. 

“You don’t.” So Hyun releases her arm, satisfied with himself and catches himself from smirking, “You’re welcome to join me in my tower. I can play Rapunzel? You can be the knight in a cute dress.”

The joke makes Ha Jin brightens even though she is embarrassed.

“Or you can check-in in one of the hotels in the piazza but I assure you they are all fully booked. I already tried this morning.” So Hyun lies smoothly, “That’s why I was left with the tower as the only option.”

“Will that be alright with you?” Ha Jin doesn’t want to intrude more on his hospitality, “Let me pay for the night. I saw in the internet that the tower is very expensive and the minimum leasing is 3 days and 2 night.” 

“How about you take me to dinner and we’ll call it even?” So Hyun offers slyly. Of course he won’t let her pay but if it makes her feel better, he’s down with anything.

“Call!” Ha Jin shyly agrees.

“I know just the perfect expensive restaurant!” So Hyun quips to lessen her embarrassment, “Will that be okay?”

“It can’t be as expensive as your tower.” Ha Jin quips, lightly joking. She has her own black credit card that her parents gave her but she’d rather not use it if she can help it.

He leads her through the iron gates of the exit down the iron stairs where they entered a while ago. He lightly puts his hand over her head, as she pass through the low iron railings, making sure she doesn’t bump her head into it, “Jusimhaeyo. (Be careful)”

Only for him to stupidly bump his head into it, “Ouch!”

Two more trips to a museum on the 2^nd floor of the tower and another one in piazza Duomo, a quick phone call reservation and a dash back to the Torre Salvucci to get her dead phone, Ha Jin finds herself at the outdoor terrace of an expensive restaurant nestled below the ruins of Rocca, a fortress built in the 13^th century to protect the town. Many of the tourist are inside due to the rain that had just passed hence Ha Jin have asked for a table outside, over looking the Tuscan town draped over by clouds.

“Are you sure you want to stay outside?” So Hyun would have preferred a table inside where it would be warm for both of them.

Ha Jin nods, making herself comfortable in her low back chair. The waiter hands them both a menu in Italian language, explaining it in English. So Hyun orders for the two of them, Cheese and pistachio dumplings; Tuscan appetizer, pastas in salami, truffle and saffron; beef with rosemary; Tuscan Rabbit stuffed with cabbage and a local white wine.

“Is it really a rabbit?” Ha Jin asked after the waiter left.

So Hyun chuckles, “Yes, it is. It taste like chicken but if you don’t like it, you can just leave it be.”

Ha Jin shyly giggles, “I had lunch at this other restaurant owned by a charming old man, near the Piazza Della Cisterna a while ago. Their pasta is superb and the best part of it, he says it’s free.” 

“It’s free?” So Hyun asks with discreet unbelievable tone. There is nothing free in this town, especially the kind of restaurant Ha Jin is talking about.

“Yes.” Ha Jin regales him of her free lunch and gelato this afternoon, “It was recommended by your cousin, Hwang Jung Nam.”

“By my brother?” So Hyun unconsciously corrects her this time, his eyes scrunching into an almost thin line, studying Ha Jin and examining his brother’s intention.

“Wait, what?” Ha Jin is confused. “Hwang Jung Nam is your brother? I thought you said he was your cousin?”

“No, you ask if I was cousins with Hwang Jung Nam and Hwang Baek-Ah and I answered with a question how do you know them?” So Hyun repeats their conversation at the Tower Grossa, “I’m cousins with Hwang Baek-Ah but I’m Hwang Jung Nam is my dongsaeng.”

Ha Jin inclines her head to the side, “I see. You're older than I am then?”

"Yes," and then goes back to the matter at hand, “Where do you say my brother is right now?” 

“He says he is attending a conference in Florence.” Ha Jin shrugs, “Oh, but he says his head is aching so he skipped the conference and stayed in his hotel.”

So Hyun nods slowly knowing it’s a lie, wondering what his brother is really doing in Florence. He did invite him on a Tuscan winery tour this afternoon and even offered to drop by his hotel. He keeps it to himself. Whatever his brother is doing is not his business for as long as he keeps out of trouble. He takes Ha Jin up to her words when she said, they were university classmates and they used to hang out together.

For lack of nothing to do and her eyes still awestruck by the beauty of the place, Ha Jin takes out her dead phone, musing if she could turn it back on already. It’s only been a few hours since it was soaked in the puddle, maybe it’s already dry but she knows that with this kind of weather and the shallow depth it swam, chances are, her phone can’t be turned on for the next several days. Her family will be worried. 

“Do you want to use my phone?” So Hyun offers, seeing her tinkering with hers.

“I need to call my unnie, will that be alright?” Ha Jin embarrassingly asked, “Our parents would panic if they don’t hear from me every few hours.”

“No worries.” So Hyun opens his kakao and hands his phone to her, “Do you know your sister’s id? Or I can get it from my cousin, Hwang Dong Wook, if you want.”

“It’s fine. I know her number.” Ha Jin answers, taking the phone, “Do you mind if I save her number?”

“Not at all.” So Hyun assures her.

Ha Jin proceeds to save Myung Hee Nam’s number unto So Hyun’s phone. Her ID automatically appearing when she searched for it in Kakao. Ha Jin rises and excuses herself to make a call.

It’s past 1am in Seoul and Myung Hee Nam is looking at the papers of hospital records, her nurse had handed to her. Like her parents, she is a resident pediatric doctor in their University Hospital and will one day take over as board director. She’s in the middle of her rounds and just left a patient’s room when a kakao call from a familiar name but unfamiliar person gets through. The kakao call displays Hwang So Hyun’s name.

“Ne, yeoboseyo?” Myung Hee Nam answers the call unsurely.

“Unni, Na ya. Ha Jin-ah.” Ha Jin speaks on the other line.

“Ha Jin-ah?” Myung Hee Nam is baffled to be receiving a call from Ha Jin on So Hyun’s ID, “Oe di ya? (Where are you?) Gwaenchanhna? (Are you alright?) Why are you using someone else’s phone?”

“Ah, my phone fell into a paddle of water a while ago so I turned it off.” Ha Jin explains what happened to her in the piazza and how she come to be with Hwang So Hyun.

“I see. I’m glad you run into someone you know.” But Myung Hee Nam only knew Hwang So Hyun by virtue of being cousins with her fiancé. She had never actually met him yet. Ha Jin only told them they met in the party and that he took her home after she became ill. It didn’t bode well with their parents or her but they kept quiet about it, “Are you still in San Gimignano? Maybe you should get a new phone. Eomma will be worried sick if she can’t get a hold of you.”

“I know that’s why I called you first so you can explain to our parents what happened. I will get a new phone tomorrow when I get back to Florence. I’m still in San Gimignano.” Ha Jin left out the information that she’ll be staying in So Hyun’s accommodations tonight. Her parents will never approved of it even if she’s perfectly on legal age to do whatever she wants.

“Alright. Thank Hwang So Hyun Ssi for me and take care of yourself. If you can make another call later when you get to your hotel so I won’t worry too much.” Myung Hee Nam reminds her. 

“Ne, unnie. I will try.” Ha Jin ends the call, walking back to their table.

Myung Hee Nam dials Hwang Dong Wook’s number next, asking some things about Hwang So Hyun. As much as she is thankful that Ha Jin run into someone she knows, she is worried that Ha Jin is alone with a stranger. Even if that stranger is a cousin to her fiancé. Hwang So Hyun had been known as aloof and snob among his cousins. He’s not someone they are fond of.

Shortly, So Hyun’s phone rang again. This time it’s his 8^th cousin, Hwang Dong Wook. He checks the screen and turns it off. He seems to be popular among his cousins today and he is not used to the attention. He unconsciously rubs his forehead and Ha Jin notices it, “Does it still hurt?”

“Huh?”

“You bumped your forehead at the railings a while ago. Does it still hurt?” There is a noticeable worry on Ha Jin’s eyes as she observes So Hyun. 

“I-geo? (This?) A-peu-ji anh-a (No, it doesn’t hurt anymore.)” So Hyun assures her.

Their waiter arrives and serves their Tuscan appetizer and white wine first, pouring for their glass and leaving the bottle of wine to it’s chilled bucket of ice.

“What are your plans tomorrow?” So Hyun takes a hold of his wine glass, expertly examining and smelling it before touching the glass to his lips. “This one is good.”

“Hmmm…” Ha Jin inspects her own wine, seeing that So Hyun liked it,“I’m supposed to only do a day tour on this town.”

“This town is famous for their grape vineyards. They also have olive and saffron fields. Have you seen them?” So Hyun holds his glass down, “Why not experience it before coming back to the city. You’re already here.”

“I heard about that.” Ha Jin muses, unconsciously drawing her trench coat around her to protect her from the cold. The chilled fruit wine slides smoothly on her throat, “But I didn’t make a reservation on a tour bus.”

“I can drive us there.” So Hyun offers and then back tracks, “or you…”

Offering Ha Jin an option, “… If you want to do it alone.”

Ha Jin is a little stunned to answer right away, “It might be excessive to ask. You’ve already offered me an accommodation and now you’re offering to drive me around. I might be taking too much of your time.” 

“I came here to take some time off and see the vineyards. It would be better to see it with someone but I don’t mind if you have other plans. I can just drive you back to the city.” So Hyun doesn’t want to appear a push over, offering Ha Jin choices but every option he offers subtly involves him. He’s not wasting his chance of accidentally running unto her half way across the world. This is his chance to get to know her.

“I do want to experience the wine and olive tasting.” Ha Jin shyly admits.

“Well then, it’s a date!” So Hyun exclaims and then chews his tongue, making a mistake of being too straightforward but he hides his apprehension on a joke, “I’ll be the chauffeur, who drives the pretty signorina around.”

Making a bowing gesture.

Ha Jin giggles softly, “I thought you’re Rapunzel and I’m the knight in a dress?”

So Hyun laughs good heartedly at the mention of his joke a while ago, “Right. I’m the princess that needs to be saved in the tower.”

And then Ha Jin remembers she doesn’t have a change of clothes, “I’ll be needing to drop by a clothes store. Do you think the shops would still be open?”

“I think they’ll be closed by the time we finish our dinner. Let’s get you one of those I ❤ Italy shirt in the morning. I’ve seen plenty of it on our way.” So Hyun teases. Though he would prefer her on her cute maxi white dress.

“If I get those, you should get one too.” Ha Jin chuckles, “I can’t be the only one who looks like a tourist.”

“Araseo.” So Hyun would let her have anything for as long as she lets him stay on her side.

Grabbing a table outside a wine bar near Hotel La Cisterna, Hwang Jung Nam and Hwang Baek-Ah, sit overlooking the same view of the restaurant they had lunch a while ago. Their table is laden with bruschetta, cold cuts and cheese.

Jung Nam is still dialling on his kakao, his message on Ha Jin's left unread. Ha Jin is still unreachable since she run into So Hyun this afternoon.

“Ne, I’m in Florence.^^” 

Baek-Ah replies to Myung Hee Nam’s message asking if he really is in Italy. 

“My sister, Ha Jin. Do you remember her? She’s also in Florence.

In San Gimignano, travelling alone. She told me she run into your cousin,

Hwang So Hyun Ssi, awhile ago.” 

Baek-Ah looks up from his phone to tell Jung Nam, “Your date is still with your brother. Myung Hee Nam had just told me, Ha Jin called her from his phone. Her phone got wet and couldn’t be turned on.”

“I didn’t know So Hyun hyung and Ha Jin knew each other. Have you known about it?” Jung Nam is confused, not liking the idea that Ha Jin is alone with his brother. A little jealousy is starting to color his tone.

“I don’t think any of us knew about it. Myung Hee Nam says they met at the party the other night and that So Hyun hyung took her home after.” Baek-Ah explains what Myung Hee Nam just told him through kakao message.

Jung Nam holds his glass of wine and drinks unceremoniously, “Do you think my brother likes her?”

“Hold that thought.” Baek- Ah bites into a cheese, “Let’s not jump into conclusions. I’m sure your brother didn’t plan to run into Ha Jin.”

Making a joke about it to make the mood light, “You’re the only one who has a plan out of all of us here.”

Jung Nam sighs, “Maybe I should have just asked her out directly.”

Baek-Ah nods, stuffing his mouth with another cold cuts, “Yeah. You should have.”

“You’re not helping.” Jung Nam looks at Baek-Ah with annoyance.

“Wah, you dragged me thousands of miles here to watch you go on a ridiculous date. Am I not cheering you on?” Baek-Ah looks incredulous over Jung Nam’s absurdity. “What else do you want me to do? Call hyung and ask him if he took Ha Jin in his hotel?”

Jung Nam only looks at Baek-ah.

“You’re not serious?” Baek-Ah swallows everything in his mouth, “His your brother! Even you were afraid of him and you’re asking me to call him?!”

Jung Nam shoves Baek-Ah’s phone to him, “Just try.”

He dials So Hyun’s number on Baek-Ah’s kakao and pushes it to his ears afterwards. Baek-Ah looks at him as if he lost his mind, staying on the line and wishing So Hyun will not answer on the other line. 

“Oh, Baek-Ah-ya?” Touch luck, So Hyun answers on the other line in an annoyed voice.

“Hy..Hyung… I… am…” Baek-Ah stammers, glaring at Jung Nam, “…ahm you know Myung Hee Nam?”

“Eong? What about her?” So Hyun and Ha Jin are walking back to his tower when Ha Jin dashed into one of the craft store that is still open, leaving him outside.

“Ahm… I was classmates with her in… the university…” Baek-Ah doesn’t know how to ask So Hyun his next question, stalling.

So Hyun remains silent on the other line.

“Ahm… she called me to ask you if her cousin… I mean her sister is still with you.” Baek-Ah tries not to sound panicky, “Go Ha Jin Ssi… She says Ha Jin Ssi called her through your phone a while ago.”

“I’ll call Myung Hee Nam Ssi to assure her.” With that So Hyun ends the call, wondering why it’s Baek-Ah whose calling him and not Myung Hee Nam, herself. She already has his contact on her phone. 

Baek-Ah puts down the phone, looking murderous at Jung Nam, “I told you I don’t want to call! He says he’ll call Myung Hee Nam on his own!”

“Are they still together?” Jung Nam looks at his watch, it’s almost midnight.

“I don’t know. Maybe. That’s all he said.” Baek-Ah reaches to his wine.

Jung Nam can’t help but fidget on his seat.

With all the shops closed, Ha Jin and So Hyun make their way to the tower at Piazza Duomo. Their pathway lighted from lampposts and stonewall-hotels and bed breakfast, whose inside light spills into the street. The streets, almost disappearing through a thick fog that had settled around town. It feels as if they really are walking on a deserted street during medieval period. It’s eerily beautiful. Ha Jin unconsciously strides closer to So Hyun, their hands occasionally touching and So Hyun had to put his hands together at his back so he wouldn’t be tempted to hold her hand.

When they reached the kitchenette at the first floor of the tower, the two unconsciously lets out their breathe that they didn’t know they were holding back. The walk from the restaurant to the tower is only 250 meters but it felt like forever to reach the tower under the crackling atmosphere the two of them shared. Ha Jin reaches to the glasses from the shelves and gets a water to drink, filling two glasses for her and So Hyun.

“So… which room do you want to take?” So Hyun asked while he receives the glass from Ha Jin.

“Maybe the one with less stairs?” Ha Jin awkwardly makes a joke.

“It’s 12 stairs less from the main bedroom.” So Hyun answers amusedly.

When Ha Jin went up to the terrace this late afternoon, she had seen that every room has curtains for doors, open to anyone passing by the stairs. If you try to get to the terrace, you won’t have a choice but to pass through the main bedroom on the 6^th floor or if you want to go down the kitchenette, you’ll have to pass through the bedroom on the 5^th floor. Either way, she already saw So Hyun’s things on the main bedroom so she opted for the 2^nd bedroom on the 5^th floor.

The two of them walks up the stairs together and So Hyun deposits Ha Jin on the 5^th floor bedroom, “Chal jumuseyo. (Goodnight.)”

“Ne, chal ja. (Goodnight, too.)” Ha Jin sees So Hyun off to the stairs going to the next floor.

Just before dawn. Ha Jin awakes from her sleep, her heart is palpitating fast, her throat too dry. She’s been dreaming of a girl who looks like her but with very pale complexion. The rims under her eyes are sunken and almost black. It is apparent that the girl is very ill and is having a hard time sitting on her own that a boy, she heard him being called the 14^th prince, was supporting her back as she carries a pretty baby girl on her arms. She was promising him that she will forget all of then in her next life.

Ha Jin sits up on an unfamiliar bed, recalling that she is on someone else’s accommodation. With her clothes still hanging dry on the terrace, she fell asleep on her bathrobe after a quick shower. She looks at her watch, it’s almost four in the morning. She grabs her mini backpack at bedside table, looking for her anxiety pills. She was doing good this past few days but with her dreams coming back to haunt her, she is reminded that her state of mind is not as well as she think she is. She stands up, putting on her maxi dress to go down and get some water from the kitchenette.

King Gwangjong takes the several flights of steps up to the 2^nd floor balcony of Damiwon, finding his Hae Soo at the middle of the stairs, looking paper white and ill. He stops in front of her, sighing, “You’re not even feeling well, so why are you here? Let’s go back.”

He softly smiles at her, offering his hand, “I’ve waited the whole day to talk to you.”

Hae Soo only looks at his hand with sadness, “I cannot go back to that room again.”

King Gwangjong takes back his hand, hurt by Hae Soo’s refusal, “Do not do this to me because of your servant. She fooled you. She’s never been sincere with you, not even once.”

But his reasoning falls to a deaf ear, “Chae Ryung is sincere to me. I don’t care what you say to me.”

“Kuereso? Are you going to trust her over me?” King Gwanjong’s face darkens.

“I want to leave the palace.” Hae Soo turns her eyes somewhere else, unable to withstand the pain on her beloved’s eyes, “I cannot bear this any longer.”

“Then what about me? Do you think I’ll let you go?” King Gwangjong holds back his disappointment. His pleading mask by his command, “You can never leave me.”

The dream changes from the Damiwon to Hae Soo’s empty bedroom, her bed is made as if it has never been slept on for a long time. Her hwarot, lying folded on top of her cabinet.

So Hyun sees King Gwangjong next on the throne hall of Hoegyeong Hall being painted by a scholar. Ji Mong is facilitating the painting when the 14^th prince barges in the throne hall.

“You must have a dying wish for you to defy my command and come here.” King Gwangjong stands calmly at his chair to face his rebellious 14^th brother.

Jung unceremoniously hands him a decree from the late King Jeongjong stating that he, 14^th prince Wang Jung is being allowed to marry Hae Soo.

King Gwangjong discards the decree to the floor, “There is no one in this palace that doesn’t know my relationship with the lady. Marry Hae Soo? Enough with the nonsense.”

“Hae Soo is not a queen nor a royal concubine. She is not your wife.” Jung reasons undeterred, “There is no reason she can not marry me. I’ve also informed the ministers that I am awaiting your response…”

King Gwangjong cannot conceal his anger this time, his hands balling into a fist at his side, “Ji Mong, punish the 14^th prince ---

“Hae Soo wants it.” Jung cuts his sentence with a fact that stuns him.

“Mwo?” King Gwangjong asks with rage held back.  

“You can check with Hae Soo. She really wants to marry me…”

The next scene, the dream dissolves to his majesty hiding at a tree near the newly married couple’s house of 14^th Prince Wang Jung and Lady Hae Soo. Jung is at the middle of training when Hae Soo stood up and tells Jung that he should rest. Jung agrees by playfully leaning towards her, waiting for her to wipe the sweat at his forehead. King Gwangjong closes his eyes in misery and leaves.

So Hyun sees King Gwangjong next walking alone at the vast empty courtyard of the Songak Palace. Everyone had left him. Baek-Ah is off somewhere far away. Jung is living in their hometown and Hae Soo had long been dead, their daughter’s existence still a secret to him. He enters his king’s chambers, falling at the floor by the weight of loneliness on his shoulder. Only at this time, when he is all alone on his chambers does he let his misery eat him all up.

“So Hyun Ssi… So Hyun Ssi…” Ha Jin gently shakes So Hyun awake, not wanting to startle.

She is about to go back to her room when she hears a soft sound of lament coming somewhere in the tower. She looks around, there is no one there except So Hyun who is on the upper bedroom, next to hers. She walks to the landing of the stairs, staring up as if she would see where the soft lament is coming from. Out of curiosity she goes up to inspect if So Hyun is still asleep.

So Hyun awakes with a wide eye for a start, reaching to Ha Jin automatically. He puts his arms around her, trembling with a dry sob on his chest, “Soo-ya… Soo-ya…”

He calls her name, breathing hard, “You’re here… 

With a surprise start, Ha Jin doesn’t know what to do. So Hyun holds her tightly as if making sure she is real, terrified of every second that passes that she is not by his side, “Soo-ya… Please don’t ever leave again…”

Awkwardly, Ha Jin pats So Hyun’s back assuring, “It’s… It’s alright… I’m here… I’m here…” 

It takes a few minutes for So Hyun to settle, the dread deeply imbedded on his veins, on his heart hammering on his chest. He rests his cheek on her shoulder, his arms wrapped around her, locked in a tight embrace, “Soo-ya…”

Repeating her name over and over. His eyes are empty of tears but his chest is full of dry heaves he can’t control. At a loss, Ha Jin continues to stroke So Hyun’s back and no sooner, So Hyun draws her to the bed, laying her down. 

“So Hyun Ssi… Jamkkanmanyo… (Wait.)” She tries hard not to panic. She had just taken her anxiety pills to calm herself down and though So Hyun’s touch is borderline possessive and needy, it is not perverted in anyway. Still, it is frightening for her to be suddenly pulled down on a stranger’s bed. 

But So Hyun is not So Hyun at the moment. His old soul is taking hold of him and turning him to the lonely King Gwangjong who was left miserably alone on his palace, yearning to see his Hae Soo again. With his arms still locked around her body, he settles his head on her arm as if being cradled, curling his body around her. The two of them lie together on their side facing each other. His legs, intertwining with hers causing her maxi dress to hitch up on her knees, Ha Jin had to remember to take a lungful of air, counting backwards to composed herself so she could calm So Hyun too. Closing her eyes, she hums a tune, the same song the girl who looks like her was singing on what appears to be that girl’s birthday.

“Soo-ya…” So Hyun speaks upon her chest, “I dreamt that you left me. That you married my 14^th brother. Please tell me, you would never do that. Please…”

He begs, a fit his king self would not do on his waking hours. But here in the quietness and privacy of his room he trembles and gives in to pleading. There is nothing he wouldn’t do to escape the misery he had trapped himself into. His hair falls on the left side of his face, hiding his eye. If he could tighten his already tight embrace, he would, just to make sure his Hae Soo will never leave again.

For not knowing what to do, Ha Jin continues with stroking So Hyun’s hair, repeatedly telling him, “Shhhh… I’m here. I will never leave again. Go back to sleep, my So-ya…”

Mishearing her So Hyun-ah with So-ya, the two of them falls asleep like that, with Ha Jin guarding him from his nightmares of his past self.

So Hyun’s consciousness awakes under layers of his blanket, his sheets supple-skin soft and not the cotton polyester soft kind that he remembers sleeping into. He inhales a lungful of air, smelling that sweet vanilla lime with zest before slowly opening his eyes to a bright morning and soft bosom of where his sleepy cheek is resting. With a start, So Hyun tenses, still buried on Ha Jin’s embrace, recalling waking up in the middle of the night from his nightmare and reaching to the person who shook him to rouse.

Ha Jin is still deeply asleep as So Hyun slowly raises his head from her chest, observing her innocent expression while she sleeps. Her hair is splayed out on her pillow, her mouth slightly open, breathing softly in and out. He feels apologetic towards her, having to calm him down and keeping him inside her embrace must have been straining on her part but sleeping on her arms is the best night So Hyun had so far.

Ever gentle, he disentangles himself from her, sitting on the bed and watching her for a minute, thanking her reverently for not running away when his nightmares caught them both. He leans over her, tempted to taste that slightly open mouth of hers. Midway, he changes his course and brushes the stray hair out of her face and plants a chaste kiss at her neck, just below her ear, “Soo-ya…”

He repeats the name of the girl who looks like her in his dream, “Is it really you?”

Ha Jin sighs on her sleep, a comforting assurance.

By the time Ha Jin awakes on So Hyun’s bed, the sun is high in the sky and So Hyun had drawn the drapes on his room wide to let the sunshine in. She is alone and So Hyun probably must be in one of the kitchens, preparing breakfast. She can smell toast and bacon wafting on his room. Blushing, she too remembers how she ends up on his bed last night.

With careful steps, praying that So Hyun is in the kitchenette at the 9^th floor instead of the one in the 1^st floor, she goes back to her room, too embarrassed to face him at the moment.

After her shower and now dressed on her dry clothes from yesterday except for the blouse which was replaced with I ❤ Italy shirt tied on the side to shape it on her slim midriff, her mini backpack already slung on her shoulders, her black cup and mask covering her face, she quietly comes down to the kitchenette at the first floor. To her unfortunate luck, So Hyun is sitting at the balcony of the 2^nd floor of the kitchenette, about to sip his fragrant cup of coffee.

“Chal achim. (Good morning).” So Hyun greets.

Ha Jin watch him with deliberate observation; musing only to herself, “you have to give it to this guy…” 

So Hyun appears to have that unshakeable steadiness that he-can’t-do-anything-wrong vibe. A stark different from the terrified boy she met at his room last night. 

“Chal achim. (Good morning.)” She greets back. She doesn’t know why she’s the one who feels embarrassed by last night’s turn of events but she’s glad that her mask and cap is hiding her blushing face. 

“I made toast and cheese.” So Hyun draws her to the small feast of toast, egg, cheese, and freshly squeezed juice, “Coffee or juice?”

The cheese toast looks divine to her hungry stomach, “Have a sit. It’s still early.”

It’s around eight in the morning according to So Hyun’s watch, “We have plenty of time to drive to the Tuscan winery.”

Ha Jin composes herself and sits adjacent to So Hyun. If he’s pretending that last night did not happen then two can play that part. Ha Jin coolly pours herself a freshly squeezed orange juice. 

So Hyun reaches to take off her mask and cap and Ha Jin stops his hand midway, “It’s table manners not to wear cap and mask on meals.”

Ha Jin takes off her cap and mask on her own and drinks her juice. So Hyun would have preferred her on her long maxi dress she slept on last night but it would be far reaching for him to tell her what to wear. She looks like a delinquent teenager on her clothes as opposed to the very feminine girl on an immaculate dress yesterday.

“We matched.” So Hyun observes, wearing the same I ❤ Italy shirt and blue jeans beneath his trench coat. 

Ha Jin amusedly smiles.

After they finished their breakfast, So Hyun walks them to his car on the west parking lot outside the walled town of San Gimignano, a black sedan parked among the tourist cars. Though So Hyun walk her to the passenger door and was about to open it for her, Ha Jin got to it first and let herself in.

As the two of them drive to the Tuscan winery halfway in between San Gimignano and Florence, their eyes are blessed with luscious green landscape of suburban Italy. It’s the beginning of fall and all around them, the grape vineyards are being harvested.

Ha Jin lowers her window, savoring the smell of dewy morning. The sun came out today and everything look vividly green from the rain that washed the place last night.

“Thank you.” So Hyun breaks the silence, his eyes trained on the road.

“Hmmm?” Ha Jin is leaning her head on her folded arms on the windowsill, watching the beautiful scenery.

“For staying last night.” So Hyun anxiously explains, “I’m sure it is scary for you to be suddenly held by a stranger.”

Ha Jin tenses but trains her eyes outside, “It would be odd to say that I wasn’t afraid at the beginning but you look more terrified than I am. It must have been a really bad nightmare for you to reached out to a stranger like that.”

So Hyun glances at Ha Jin, wishing she would turn a little his way so he could read her face, “It’s not always that bad. You just happen to walk in to one of those worst nights. There are nights when the dreams are good. When you lived with the same dream every night for the last 24 years. Somehow, your mind builds wall to protect you from going insane.” 

“You’ve been having the same dream for the last 24 years?” Ha Jin repeats. Her recurring dreams for the last two years is enough to make her clinically depressed. She can’t imagine what it’s like to have to deal with it for all of her life.

“Yes, since I was four, I think.” So Hyun hesitates, wondering how much should he let her know. He wouldn’t want to scare her away but her listening presence feels comforting to him. He had never shared this particular aspect of his life to anyone except for his Psychologist that he’s been seeing after he graduated from the university and his insomnia got bad, “It’s not the same dream per se but something like a continuing story of someone else’s life. Like seeing your past life being played in front of you. Have you ever experienced that?”

Ha Jin slowly turns to So Hyun, she does understand what he’s saying but unlike him, her dreams are full of blurred faces she couldn’t quite remember after waking-up, “Do you sometimes feel that things are so familiar to you even though you’ve never seen or met them before?”

So Hyun falls in silence for a bit, “Not as bad as when I’m back to Seoul. Maybe I’m lucky that I lived in London, majority of my life. What is it like to be asleep for a year? I heard you were in a coma?”

Falling silent this time, Ha Jin has a minute to think if she wants to answer or not and So Hyun takes this as him being overtly stepping a line, “You don't have to answer if it’s uncomfortable for you.” 

Ha Jin turns to watch the scenery in front of them. Ruins of nearby castle can be seen in a faraway hill, “Nothing, it’s all dark until I opened my eyes in my hospital room but I had that feeling that I was trapped in someone else’s body, living a life on a different period but I can’t remember.”

She shakes her head, slowly feeling the anxiety and migraine creeping in whenever she tries to see past the darkness, “It hurts my head to think.” 

She hides her anxiety through a shrug, keeping it light. She doesn’t want people to think that she isn’t still well, diverting the conversation away from her, she asks, “So who is she? Soo-ya, you called me her name repeatedly last night?”

So Hyun tenses, gauging Ha Jin, “It’s the name of the girl who left King Gwangjong.”

Ha Jin’s eyebrows lift in a surprise, “King Gwangjong? Hmmm… Tae (Taejo) Jeo (Jeongjong) Tae (Taejong) Se (Sejong) Mun (Munjong) Dan (Danjong)…”

She recites the acronyms of the kings in Joseon, the way they put it in a rhythmic beat back in their elementary days to memorize them, “There’s no Gwangjong in Joseon?” 

“He is the 4^th king of Goryeo” So Hyun leads her. As someone who went to school in English School, So Hyun is not familiar with Goryeo or Joseon monarchs but when his dreams gradually become vivid and he starts remembering details, he tried to search for their names and come across Goryeo’s Monarch tree, seeing familiar names he’d never read before.

“Ah Tae (Taejo) Hye (HyeJong) Jeong (Jeongjong) Gwang… Gwangjong of Goryeo? The emperor who married his half sister, queen Daemok to consolidate the monarch’s power?” After recognizing the name, Ha Jin’s recollection of Goryeo history suddenly opens up. She had never been good in history but she somehow remembers King Gwangjong’s life, “I’ve never read of Hae Soo’s name in history though.”

But the name is familiar to her.

“Because the lady is never written in any history books.” So Hyun researched King Gwangjong’s life thoroughly that sometimes he wonders if what he is seeing in his dreams are really memories of King Gwangjong’s life or it’s the information he read from the book that had taken shape on his dreams.

“Ah, you’re a history buff?” Ha Jin absentmindedly comments and this brings a chuckle on So Hyun.

“I guess so.” He admits, “If my mother wasn’t so against me majoring in Korean history and literature, I might have fared well in that field.”

“So Hyun Seonsaengnim.” Ha Jin quips, teasing, “It does have a good ring into it.”

Only Ha Jin can change his mood from nostalgic nonchalance to joking stance easily. He lets her though, not wanting to scare her away.

Baek-Ah just had a shower and is putting on his clothes when Jung Nam enters his room without knocking. They took a hotel room at one of the inns in Piazza Della Cisterna after missing the last bus going back to the city, “I called our secretary to arrange a car for both us. I am not going to be stuck in another city again without an option of being able to leave anytime.”

“Ha Jin’s phone is still off.” Jung Nam lazily throws himself on Baek-Ah’s bed, “So Hyun hyung’s phone is out of coverage area. Where do you think they went today?” 

“Probably back to the city?” Baek-Ah snatches his tourist shirt from the table and puts it on. They hurriedly shop for change of clothes last night, “Quit whining there. We are in a Tuscan town, we should visit the vineyards so we could better lie.”

Jung Nam is tinkering on Baek-Ah’s phone when his kakao call gets through So Hyun’s phone.

“Oh Baek-Ah-ya?”

Jung Nam immediately shoves Baek-Ah’s phone to his ears again. Baek-Ah mouths “Mwo ya?! Jukuel-le? (Do you want to die?)”

“Baek-Ah-ya?” So Hyun is in speaker phone inside his car.

“I…” Baek-Ah stammers again, “What are you doing today, Hyung?”

“Na? I’m going to visit a vineyard with Ha Jin Ssi.” So Hyun answers on the other line, easily navigating the almost empty road. 

“Baek-Ah Ssi, annyeong!” Ha Jin speaks.

“Oh, Ha Jin Ssi?” Baek-Ah repeats in amusement while Jung Nam presses his ear on the other side of Baek-Ah’s phone.

“Your cousin offered to drive me back to the city.” Ha Jin explains, “Is everyone in your family here in Florence? I seem to be running to your lot.” 

“Nah, just the three of us.” Baek-Ah tells her while Jung Nam mouths to ask them which vineyard are they going, “Which vineyard are you visiting?”

Ha Jin turns to So Hyun. She doesn’t know where they are going.

“I haven’t decided yet, maybe the vineyard on our way back to Florence.” It’s a lie. So Hyun already has a destination in mind and even made a reservation last night. He just doesn’t want to share it, hoping to spend this day alone with Ha Jin.

“Maybe we can join you later?” Baek-Ah suggests, “Jung Nam and I are driving outside the city.”

“I’ll let you know.” So Hyung hangs up, ending the call before they enter the iron fences of the Vineyard they will explore. Their sight were met with thousands of vines of ripe graves in neat rows, ready for picking. There are a few workers and a group of tourist that already started their tour and Ha Jin can’t wait to walk the vineyard and see the succulent grapes up close. 

No sooner, they arrived at a parking lot in front of a stone wall mansion that is used as bed and breakfast for visitors. To their left is the truffle woods, with towering cypress tree and several steps into the garden, they are welcomed by a girl who lead them to the spiral vineyard, where an airy pavilion with a canopy fabric for ceiling stands in the middle. 

“Benvenuto a casa nostra. (Welcome to our home.)” An exquisite old man with a charm of classic Italian connoisseur welcomes Ha Jin and So Hyun, “ Buon giorno. Il mio nome e Luigi Russo. I will be in charge of your wine tasting and tour for today.”

He hands Ha Jin a flower of Garden mums in hue of orange, red, gold and bronze “May I favor the lovely signorina with a flower. You came in a perfect time, our vineyards our ripe of grapes for picking. May I drive you to our hill?”

Ha Jin reaches to accept the flower, “Grazie, senor.”

He leads them to a small ranch cart that will take them to the vineyards, sitting both of them at the back. Luigi carefully drives them in the midst of rolling hills, dotted with oak trees every now and then. They come into a bump in the gravel road causing Ha Jin to hold upon So Hyun’s arm, their eyes automatically meeting when their skin touched. Their heart both jumped in their chest. So Hyun braces his arm to the headrest of the front seat, turning his other palm up so he could support Ha Jin’s hand. 

Luigi watches everything with a teasing beam on his rearview mirror, observing the couple shirt that two are wearing, “Ah the sight of young love. I take that our couple is in a honeymoon?” 

Ha Jin reddens and lowers her eyes while So Hyun confidently smiles but stays silent, intertwining his hand with Ha Jin before she could even take it away. He whispers in Korean, “Maybe we’ll get something for free if we act like a couple. Na-ui Ae-in (My Sweetheart)” 

Ha Jin cringes from So Hyun’s old fashion endearment, bringing a chuckle on both of them, “Malhaji-ma. (Don’t say that.)”

“Ae-in? kuereom, yeobo (Darling)?” So Hyun teases, putting Ha Jin at ease, “Ja-gi-ya! (Honey)!”

“Kuemanhaeyo! (Enough!)” Ha Jin tries to cover So Hyun’s mouth out of embarrassment though only the two of them can understand their language. 

“May I temp the signorina with truffle hunt activity after your vineyard tour?” Luigi offers them while driving, “This part of the Tuscan plane is not only renowned for our Chardonnay and Chianti wine but also for truffles. You can participate in our cooking classes after the hunt. Have your own truffle cooked and serve for dinner.”

“What do you say?” So Hyun asks Ha Jin, “Kuereul kayo? (Shall we?)” 

“Will you be alright driving at night?” Ha Jin doesn’t want to impose on So Hyun’s time, “I think I’ve taken too much of your time already.” 

“Not at all.” So Hyun assures her and turns to Luigi, “We’ll participate in the hunt, senor.”

“Wonderful!” Luigi exclaims, “I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. We have the most adorable dog to accompany you in your hunt.”

They were taken at the top of a sun-drenched hill, where every row of vines is separated 2 meters wide. Luigi explains that the space is needed to make sure that every vine gets its own fare share of sunlight. 

Ha Jin excitedly walks down the aisle, inhaling the subtle sweet aroma of grapes and dewy leaves. All around them are workers in their wide brimmed hat, making a careful deliberation in cutting the grape clusters from their vines. So Hyun comes after her, getting his phone out of his pocket and tactfully taking a photo of Ha Jin, framed against the sunlight, in the middle of discovering grapes underneath a saucer size leaf. Ha Jin glances at him at the perfect moment and he was able to capture her cheery expression.

With a shear in hand, Luigi demonstrate to Ha Jin which grape to pick and how to cut the light green grapes from the vines, handing the shear to her after so she could experience it.

Ha Jin puts her intense gaze to the light green grapes, gently parting it from it’s vine. She finds the lit stem connecting the grapes and the vines and positions her shear to cut. She looks at Luigi for approval and when he nods, she makes the cut.

“Wah! So Hyun Ssi, look!”

So Hyun is still at the middle of taking her pictures.

“I’ve harvested the grapes!” Ha Jin happily exclaims.

So Hyun puts down his phone and walks over to take a closer look at the grapes, “You’ve murdered one of them.”

“Eh?” Ha Jin turns the grapes to her way and sees a lone grape, mangled. Her face falls short.

“It’s okay, signorina. It happens all the time.” Luigi assures her, his smile still on his face. He takes the grapes from her and puts it at the wooden barrel.

“You do it!” Ha Jin disappointedly shoves the shears to So Hyun and walks away.

“Ya! You could have cut me!” So Hyun playfully shouts after her, catching up with her on the next aisle.

“Signorino, Signorina, the sprinklers will go off in 30 minutes.” Luigi reminds them, “Please be back at the patio before that time or you’ll get soaked.”

Carrying the wooden barrel out of the vineyard. The workers are starting to shift their own containers out of the vineyard also.

“I was just teasing, mianhaeyo.” So Hyun apologizes, “Shall we pick another grape?”

Ha Jin makes face and saunters on a different direction.

Driving on the same road lined with cypress trees, Jung Nam is behind the wheel while Baek-Ah is busy with his phone, “Did hyung sent you the address already?”

“Nope.” Against Baek-Ah’s better judgment, he is searching for vineyard between Florence and San Gimignano, “I think it’s futile to do this. There are three vineyards showing on the internet. I’m sure there are others not showing on the map.” 

“There are only three. That’s not many.” Jung Nam plans to visit each one of them if he has to, “Start calling each, it will save us time.”

“Because the receptionist would be glad to give us that information.” Baek-Ah rolls his eyes once more, “I don’t know why were doing this. Let’s just go back to the city and wait for your brother in his hotel. Or better yet, let’s go some place else. There are other things to see.” 

“Just try.” Jung Nam argues, “I promise I’ll owe you a favor.” 

“I don’t think So Hyun Hyung will appreciate if he finds out we’re tailing them.” Though Baek-Ah keeps arguing with Jung Nam, he dials the number of the next vineyard he found. 

“We’re not following him. Ha Jin is supposed to meet me if hyung didn’t showed up out of nowhere. He said he’s going to London today. Why is he still here?” Jung Nam is now annoyed. He planned to surprise Ha Jin at the end of their one way date but his brother foiled it all by accidentally running unto Ha Jin. 

“If you would have just ask her directly then we wouldn’t be searching for them now like stalkers. Aauggghh.” Baek-Ah shakes his head, “Forget it. I’ll ask her directly myself, next time we see her. So I don’t have to be dragged everywhere.”

“I can do it.” Jung Nam assures his cousin, listening on the other line as the reception on one of the vineyards answers Baek-Ah’s call.

Ha Jin and So Hyun were at the middle of picking grapes on their own when the sprinkles go off once, splashing on their clothes and faces.

“Omo!” 

The two of them weren’t really listening when their tour guide told them about the sprinkles, too focused on competing who would be able to harvest the best grapes.

Ha Jin wipes the water on her cheeks with the back of her hand while So Hyun brushes his wet hair out of his face, “What’s wrong with the sprinklers?” 

Then the sprinklers start to shower over the vines, making an arc of rain in between aisles. The two were caught of guard, abandoning their shears on the ground. So Hyun looks around for Ha Jin and sees her getting soak at the other aisle. He hurries behind her and puts his trench coat up for the both of them. 

“Mwo ya?! Did they forgot to tell us about the sprinklers?” Ha Jin takes cover under So Hyun’s coat.

So Hyun stills for a moment, a shadow of memory dancing at the back of his head. The two of them getting soak under the rain while he holds out his cape over Hae Soo. 

“So Hyun Ssi…” Ha Jin looks up to So Hyun under the covers of his coat, his hands towering above them, “So Hyun Ssi…”

She repeats. So Hyun had closed his eyes for a second. 

“Are you okay?” She reaches to touch his shoulder, drawing him back to the present. 

So Hyun opens his eyes, his expression tightened as he struggles to remain to present, watching Ha Jin give off that inviting warmth, “Let’s run together?”

He nods absentmindedly as Ha Jin’s hand closes to one of his arm and the two of them run under the rain of sprinklers. 

When they reached the open patio that overlooks the stretch of miles of vineyard, Luigi was there to offer bath towels to dry themselves, “Did our lovely couple had fun under the sprinklers? I would hate for both of you to catch a flu.” 

“It’s nothing. We seemed to have forgotten about the time.” Ha Jin takes the towels and hands one to So Hyun, “Oh no, I ruined your coat.”

So Hyun slings his soaked coat on the back of the seat on their table for two, already laden with their sumptuous lunch of pasta made in olive oil, prosciutto, bread and cheese and lamb chops. A nearby rectangular table is lined with different bottles of wines, at least 16 different kinds, for wine tasting.

“You can help me dry my hair if you feel guilty.” A smirk appearing on So Hyun’s face while he stoops his back, his head hanging in front of Ha Jin, waiting to be dried.

Ha Jin spreads the towel on her arms. Except for a few smear on her coat and pants, she’s dry. So Hyun’s wet hair indicates he took all the water while providing cover for her. 

He waddles his head wildly, splattering some droplets into Ha Jin and starting a playful laugh between them. Ha Jin wraps the towel on his head and proceeds to wring it, his hair getting tangled in all directions, their laughter making the notes that are pleasant to So Hyun’s ears.

It feels forever since the last time Ha Jin actually laughed like this. She can’t remember the last time. Here, in the company of a boy who was just stranger days ago, Ha Jin revels in the warmth and spontaneity of the moment. Lost in the lightness and comfort of So Hyun’s company.

It was never this easy before, was it?

So Hyun thinks to himself, thanking the fates at the back of his mind without actually knowing why he feels that way.

Preview:

The two goes on a truffle hunt, continuing their date. Will Jung Nam gets his chance? Maybe. We should end it in the airport.

Chapter Text

Eight glasses into wine tasting and Ha Jin is slightly inhibited and tipsy. So Hyun only tasted three glasses, all a forth only of their wine glass, and refrained himself from drinking since he will need to drive tonight. The other eight kinds of wines were reserved for their dinner, finishing their lunch just before 2pm. In time for the truffle hunt So Hyun had signed them up for.

Luigi drives them to the truffle forest located at the west part of the estate, just before the sun drenched hill, near the spiral vineyard where they parked their car this morning. The forest is full of tall oak and hazelnut trees, whose branches of leaves make a roof for the whole forest. Only a stray of sunlight gets through the thick leaves. The forest floor is covered with dewy foliage of round, double serrate margin and spiral leaves. Nuts and acorns from both kinds of trees also abundant. 

A boy, the same age as So Hyun, welcomes them at the entrance of the forest.

“Ah, let me introduce to you my son, Antoni…” Luigi crouches to the ground to pat their beagle dog, “And this is Tata.”

Antoni extends his hand to So Hyun and Ha Jin and then Ha Jin lowers herself to the ground to pat Tata’s ears, his tail wagging excitedly, “Wah, gyi-yeo! (It’s so cute!)”

Tata hops around Ha Jin’s hands, used to being pet even by strangers. It’s long tongue dangling just outside of it’s mouth, it’s long brown ears hanging on both side of it’s tan head.

“I hope the senorina is fit enough to run because we’ll be doing a great deal of it today.” Luigi happily observes Ha Jin before turning them over to his son, “Make sure to not tire them.”

And then playfully whispers to his son’s ear, his voice still audible to Ha Jin and So Hyun, “Our couple is in their honeymoon. I’m sure our senorino would like to spend his energy on other things tonight.”

Hinting something.

Ha Jin and So Hyun look at each other and then nervously laugh after getting the joke. Both flustered. The father and son joining their laughter afterwards. So Hyun naturally takes Ha Jin’s hand as they walk and when Ha Jin stopped to deem So Hyun with a question on her eyes. So Hyun’s answers,

“What? We’re a couple in a honeymoon.” Saying it in their local tongue that only the two of them can understand.

Antoni leads them to the forest, “In the beginning, every family uses a pig for truffle hunt but since the late 80s, the pigs were replaced with hunting dogs because the pigs have a tendency to eat the truffle once they find it.” 

“Oh!” Ha Jin thinks it’s cute though.

When they reached yards into the forest, Tata playfully skips, waiting for his signal to run. Antoni is now explaining the different kinds of truffle found their country, “But here in our forest, we mostly have black truffles. Later on, when we are done, I will show you how to add it on your food.”

On cue, Tata launches into running wildly, sure footed on the forest floor, his hunting ground since he was a baby. Ha Jin releases So Hyun’s hand, puts her hair in a ponytail and run after Tata.

“Josimhae! (Be careful!)” So Hyun felt a pang of coldness as his hand is left dangling on it’s own. He watches her run with her back to him, happily chasing Tata.

“You have a lovely wife.” Antoni tells him.

So Hyun smirks, “I sure do!”

And then happily runs after her, sure footed like Tata is.

Tata finds them their first truffle after playing for an hour in the forest. Though it’s cold, So Hyun had started sweating but Ha Jin is only out of breathe, with her cheeks in constant pinkish blush since drinking glasses of wine this afternoon.

Tata digs into the grounds, producing a black soil-filled mushroom. 

“Wah, so this is what it looks like?” Ha Jin wonders in amazement and then turns to So Hyun, holding her palm up with the mushroom in it, “It doesn’t look edible though.”

Bringing out laughter in So Hyun. 

Antoni takes the truffle from Ha Jin, trying not to laugh, “Senorina, an ounce of this mushroom cost about a $100.”

“Eh?!” Ha Jin’s face falls in surprise, “An ounce?” 

So Hyun never disclosed to her that their truffle hunt cost around 150 euros. If she knew, Ha Jin wouldn’t have said yes to it.

Myung Hee Nam’s family are rich, owner and board directors of Myung-Hyang University hospital, but Ha Jin is only an adopted daughter, not even registered under the Myung registry. Though her parents and Myung Hee Nam had always treated her as a second daughter in their family. She never went hungry, never had to ask for anything because Hyang Ha Na and Myung Sung Min have always provided everything for her.

When she entered college, Hyang Ha Na and Myung Sung Min were expecting her to follow on their footsteps, another doctor in their family. Hence, she took BS Chemistry as her pre-med. She was supposed to take the six year med course, where two years of it is intro med, the rest of the four year course is proper medicine. The way Myung Hee Nam did.

No sooner did she realized she doesn’t want to become a doctor but was afraid to tell it to her adopted parents for fear that they might get disappointed with her and ended up finishing her course for their sake. When it was time for her to take the qualifying test for med course, Ha Jin finally told her adopted parents that she doesn't want to follow their path. S he left their house after a heated argument with them, ending in an apartment that she shared with her best friend. She was living on her parents’ inheritance  for a good two years and got a job on skin care business when her best friend dupe her and run away with her inheritance.

When she drowned in a quarry more a than a year ago, the on-lookers and witnesses said she was trying to kill herself but she doesn't remember that. She was depressed when she went to visit the valley but she isn’t suicidal. The psych doctors in Myung-Hyang University Hospital ruled it as suicide so Ha Jin was put back on her adopted parents’ custody with no memory of why she left in the first place and her adopted family is only happy for her to forget. But instinctively, Ha Jin doesn’t like taking money from her adopted parents even though they insist on making her keep her black credit card. It felt heavy on her purse and she feels embarrassed to still be given her allowance when she can earn on her own.

Tata speeds off to another part of the forest, happily nibbling here and there, barking on some beetles and digging on acorns and hazelnut. Ha Jin comes after him, leaving So Hyun and Antoni. So Hyun’s phone rings as he watch Antoni run after Ha Jin. Taking it out, he answers his phone, “Ne, eomma?”

“What flight did you get on?” Yoo Shin Young is on the other line, coming from a meeting on their board room, “Where do you want to have dinner tonight?”

So Hyun squints his eyes shut, he forgot about his promise to his mother, “Eomma, mianhae. Nan ajik Florence isseo (I’m still in Florence.)” 

Yoo Shin Young checks the watch on her wrist. It’s 2pm in London, 3pm in Florence, “I thought you flew this morning.”

“I know eomma but something came up and I was stuck at San Gimignano yesterday.” So Hyun tells his mother, “Mianhae. Perhaps I’ll come with Jung Nam, later this week.”

“Wae?” Yoo Shin Young is baffled. Her son never breaks his promise to her, “Are you alright? Did one of the kids of your harabeoji’s client got into trouble again?”

“Nothing like that.” So Hyun assures her and at that moment, Tata and Ha Jin are coming his way.

“Mwo haeyo? Kaja! (What are you doing? Let’s go?)” Ha Jin passes him, shouting happily and beckoning him to come, “I think Tata found another one.”

Ha Jin’s voice is loud and audible on Yoo Shin Young's other line, “You’re with someone?”

“I run into a friend while I was in San Gimignano.” There’s no point in hiding it from his mother. She clearly heard it.

“A friend? A girl?” Yoo Shin Young repeats, “A Korean girl? Is she the reason why you were stuck in San Gimignano yesterday.” 

“Ani, eomma.” So Hyun denies it, “I was taking some time off when I run into her."

Yoo Shin Young doesn’t like the sound of it. Her son doesn’t have any Korean friend, let alone a girl but she lets it go for the time being, “Alright. You take care. By the way your brother, Jung Nam is also in San Gimignano yesterday too, is he with you?”

“He’s where?” So Hyun isn’t expecting that, “He told me he was in a winery outside Florence.”

“Yes, isn’t San Gimignano outside Florence?” Yoo Shin Young asks.

“It is, yes. I just… never mind.” There’s an inkling at the back of So Hyun’s head that he doesn’t want to acknowledge, “I’ll see him tomorrow.”

“Tonight.” There’s that authoritative voice of her mother again, “Have dinner with your brother and check him for me, alright?”

“Ne, eomma.” So Hyun answers, left with no choice.

“Okay, call me later.” Yoo Shin Young ends their call.

Not far, Luigi escorts another tourist their way, reaching So Hyun while his back is still turned from the newcomers. Ha Jin sees the guests first.

“Ha Jin Ssi.” Jung Nam waves to her. 

“My wife found your friends at our reception area,” Luigi explains. So Hyun disappointedly turns to see his brother and cousin, “They said, they knew you and wanted to join you so I brought them here.”

“Hyung!” Baek-Ah greets his cousin with a bow and Jung Nam follows through.

“Jung Nam Ssi. Baek-Ah Ssi.” Ha Jin returns their greeting looking all surprised, “You’re both here. It’s nice to finally see you. Have you been to the vineyard? They have the most beautiful vineyard I’ve ever seen.”

And then shyly takes back her words, giggling “I mean, the only vineyard I ever saw. Still, it's wonderful.”

Under the influence of wine that produced a pretty pink blush on her cheeks, Jung Nam can’t help but stare at Ha Jin for a second, forgetting his brother and cousin around them, “Yes, it sure looks pretty.”

Tata hops and nibbles on Ha Jin’s pants, wanting her to come with him. The four boys watch as Ha Jin playfully pats Tata’s head before Tata speeds to another tree, hopping here and there so he won’t loose Ha Jin on his tail.

Jung Nam leaves the company of So Hyun and Baek-Ah to follow Tata and Ha Jin, helping them both to dig into the dewy soil, unmindful of his brother’s watchful eye behind them.

“Were you and my brother at San Gimignano yesterday?” So Hyun asks Baek-Ah, gone were the playful smiles Ha Jin had drawn from him and in it’s place is the serious hyung Baek-Ah only knew about.

“Yie?” Baek-Ah tenses, wondering if he could lie and blurts out the first vineyard that they went to today “Aniyo, hyung. We were at Podere La Marronaia, north, outside San Gimignano.”

So Hyun considers Baek-Ah for the telltale signs of lie. Technically, Podere La Marronaia is still part of San Gimignano but Baek-Ah leaves it up to them being tourist in this part of the world so whether he and Jung Nam are ignorant of the geography of the places mentioned, it won’t matter.

“And you both knew Ha Jin from your university days?” So Hyun probes.

Baek-Ah nods, “GE classes. Ha Jin’s major is Chemistry and she is a year younger than I am so I have more classes with her cousin, Myung Hee Nam, rather than with her. Jung Nam and Eun Ja are in, I think five classes with her.”

All along So Hyun thought Ha Jin majors in Econ Management or Advertising, the way his cousins are, “Cousin? I’m confused, Choi Biseo says Myung Hee Nam Ssi is her older sister.”

“Cousin technically.” Baek-Ah clarifies, “Ha Jin is adopted to Myung Hee Nam’s household after she was orphaned at five and is treated as the youngest daughter of the family since then.”

So Hyun and Baek-Ah start walking to the place where Jung Nam and Ha Jin are still digging with Tata. 

“Was it your first time meeting her at our grand father’s party last weekend?” Baek-Ah hesitatingly throws a question.

“Did she told you that?” So Hyun answers with a question, evading answer and it doesn’t escape Baek-Ah’s notice.

“Myung Hee Nam did. She says Ha Jin called her through your phone.”

Over at the tree where Tata is, Ha Jin and Jung Nam started digging, Jung Nam successfully uproots the mushroom and shows it to Ha Jin, their hands are all dirty and soiled. He carefully places it on Ha Jin’s hand.

Ha Jin beams and turns to where Baek-Ah and So Hyun are walking over, “We found another!”

“Gracious! We might just go out of business with your luck!” Antoni calls jokingly, settling beside the three to inspect the mushroom, “Sorry love, this one is really just a mushroom. Try another one?"

By the time the sun is dipping to the nearby hills, Antoni tells them it’s time for them to wash their hands and rest so they could start with their cooking classes. Antoni leads them to the back kitchen where a long sink with three faucets is designed for visitors to wash-up. It is an open space with domesticated chickens and dogs running around.

So Hyun, who had stopped with the activity the moment Jung Nam and Baek-Ah arrived, only had a bit of dirt to wash off while Ha JIn and Jung Nam have soil all over their arms, shirt and jeans. Good thing Ha Jin left her coat at the cart and Jung Nam left his with Baek-Ah, who didn’t participated in the hunt and kept So Hyun’s company all throughout, nervously.

Ha Jin occupied the first faucet while Jung Nam occupied the next one with Jung Nam still regaling her stories of their university days that Ha Jin can’t quite remember. 

“You promised to come to our booth but you didn’t.” Jung Nam recalls, his hands are under the water, reaching to the liquid soap in between them.

“I must have been busy with our own booth.” Ha Jin lathers her hands and arms with soap when she turns to Baek-Ah and So Hyun who are standing not far from them just watching, “Aren’t you going to wash your hands?” 

So Hyun looks at the empty space on the right side of Jung Nam, seeing a small paddle of water far from where he would stand if he decides to use the sink, “I’m not stepping on that puddle of water to wash.”

Ha Jin and Jung Nam both turn to the paddle of water that So Hyun is talking about and find that it’s too far to be a nuisance to him. The two gives So Hyun a strange look.

“Mwo?!” So Hyun sounds like a boy throwing a tantrum, “Mwo?! Mwo?!”

Ha Jin steps to her side to give So Hyun a space, “Come here, you can wash beside me.”

“Silheo. (I don't want to.)” So Hyun crosses his arms against his chest.

“Don’t!” Ha Jin reaches to his arms to uncross it and pulls him beside her, forcing his hands under the streaming water, “You’ll soil your shirt.”

“Says the girl whose clothes are all soiled.” So Hyun comments looking all annoyed but let Ha Jin wash his hands under the water, lathering it with liquid soap. Gently scrubbing in between his fingers.

Jung Nam exchanges a glance with Baek-Ah. They both had never seen this particular side of So Hyun. He is always quiet and a voice of logic whenever he opens his mouth, very unlike the boy they are witnessing at the moment. 

Pushing the unwelcomed mistrustfulness blossoming at the sight of his brother and Ha Jin innocently holding hands under the water, Jung Nam takes a hold of his brother’s other hand and forces himself into their sink to share their space, ruining So Hyun’s subsiding irritated mood.

“Ya! The sink is too small for the three of us.” So Hyun pulls his hand from Jung Nam, “Go to your sink. I can wash my own hand.”

“Eiii hyung! Don’t be a difficult baby.” Jung Nam teases his older brother, “Kamanhi isseo. (Stay still.)”

“Yaishh! Dwaesso. (Forget it.)” So Hyun withdraws his hands from both Ha Jin and Jung Nam, stressed. He wrings his hand off water and walks away.

“Oedi kayo? (Where are you going?)” Ha Jin calls after him and turns to Jung Nam before bursting to a soft laughter, “What’s wrong with your brother?”

“Mol-layo. (No idea.)” And then joins Ha Jin laughing.

So Hyun finds Ha Jin after all of them dry their hands with towels provided by Antoni inside the bed and breakfast inn and leads her into the souvenir shop at the reception so he and Ha Jin can change their dirty wet clothes. Ha Jin is about to argue that she can just buy another shirt when she sees her reflection in the mirror, her shirt is full of dirt while her jeans has a mixed of rain from the vineyard and mud from the truffle forest where they hunted. Embarrassed, she hurriedly fumbles at the limited display of shirt and dresses for ladies on the rack while So Hyun and Jung Nam search for a change of shirt. 

For lack of pants or shorts on her size, Ha Jin ends up on another maxi dress, this time yellow, a gauzy woven rayon draping into a sultry bodice, framed by a fluttering short sleeves and overlapping v-neck, tied by a string on the waist, her mahogany hair loose and flowing on her back. Jung Nam stops at his track, paying at the cashier, getting a glimpse of Ha Jin coming out of the dressing room.

“Aren’t you cold?” So Hyun, who recovers faster than Jung Nam, pulls a white lose shirt from the rack and annoyingly pushes it to Ha Jin. He doesn’t like how flowy and thin Ha Jin’s dress is even though it’s almost the same dress she wore yesterday, with which he doesn’t mind staring at when it was just the two of them, “Put this over your dress.”

“Eh?” Ha Jin looks at the shirt.

“Ib-eo-ra. (Try it on.)” So Hyun insists.

Ha Jin unfolds the white shirt and wears it over her dress, not bothering to go inside the dressing room. So Hyun steps in front of her after she puts the shirt on, “Waeyo?”

Ha Jin is puzzled with So Hyun’s lingering stare.

So Hyun takes a hold of the hem of her oversize shirt. Ha Jin steps back to maintain distance, her heart skipping a beat but So Hyun holds her in place, tying the side of her shirt into a knot, shaping the shirt on her midriff before turning her to the mirror, his hands holding her by her small waist, “There. Better.”

And then leaves before Ha Jin could feel the trembling on his hands brought about by their closeness. Ha Jin is left with her breath hitched upon her throat, taking a second to recover from their sudden intimate touch. 

Jung Nam watches the exchange in silence, starting to feel a gnawing resentment against his brother, who seemed to think he could just waltz in their life and claim what he had first.

Skipping the cooking classes because they were tired from running this afternoon, Baek-Ah orders the menu for their dinner, served at the middle of the spiral garden, beneath a small pavilion made up of canopy chiffon fabrics draped against rose gold frame. Airy and cool, the night sky is devoid of clouds and littered with thousands of stars. If the rolling sun drenched hills of the vineyard is amazing by day, it is spectacular by nightfall. Their wine bottles for tasting is set on another table while their dinner is at the middle of the pavilion. Luigi discusses the wines being served for the benefit of Jung Nam and Baek-Ah as the waiter serves their four-course meal.

Unaware of the strain starting to bubble between the brothers, Ha Jin seats between Jung Nam and So Hyun regaling Baek-Ah and Jung Nam about her dinner with So Hyun last night and how she and So Hyun ended up pretending to be a couple on this tour.

“That explains why the attendees kept addressing you as a honeymooners.” Baek-Ah repeats the conclusion to calm Jung Nam’s darkening mood, adding a little bit of chuckle at the end and to his relief, Jung Nam takes the cue and goes along with the joke.

“We can always remedy that,” Jung Nam suggests. 

To his great composure, So Hyun looks unshaken, “No need. A thing that is not broken doesn’t need mending. How is the conference coming along? It appears you also did not attend today. I haven’t heard any business conference that has this kind of free time for it’s delegates.”

“I decided to skip this conference entirely.” Jung Nam shrugs, “Isn’t our mother waiting for you in London tonight? She told me you were flying this morning.”

“I told her I would fly with you at the end of the week.” So Hyun sips from his glass of wine, “She worries you might fall into trouble again.”

“Hyung, I’m not a child anymore.” Jung Nam says it with emphasis.

“Ha Jin-ah,” Baek-Ah blurts out in banmal, “Kanpei! (Cheers!)” 

Breaking the strain that is fast settling in their table, “How long are you staying here in Florence?”

“Five days and then I’m taking the train to Rome and then to Naples.” Ha Jin eats a spoonful of sun dried tomato pasta with sprinkles of truffle.

“Alone?!” So Hyun and Jung Nam asks in unison

Ha Jin nods, “Hmmm… I’ve never tasted a pasta this good. Are all pasta here in Italy this mouth watering?”

“Andwaeyo, Rome isn’t the safest city for a girl to go alone.” So Hyun argues

“The city has one of the highest crime rate in Europe.” Jung Nam adds, their glasses of wine forgotten.

“I’ll be fine.” Ha Jin assures them.

“No, you won’t.” Even Baek-Ah doesn’t agree with Ha Jin's plan.

“But I want to see Naples and then fly to Vienna and then Prague.” Ha Jin tells them her complete itinerary, "My train tickets and flight are all set."

“I’ll come with you.” So Hyun and Jung Nam volunteers at the same time they both look at each other.

“Mother is waiting for you in London and you have a conference to attend.” So Hyun reminds Jung Nam.

“I am told that we both need to come to London, not just me.” Jung Nam argues with So Hyun, “Besides, aren’t you supposed to be back in Seoul after a week? You have a month long schedule with Harabeoji and the board of directors. You’re busy.”

In all this, Ha Jin’s focus ping-pongs in between So Hyun and Jung Nam, “It’s alright!”

She raises her voice on top of their argument, “I… don’t need anyone to accompany me.”

“I am free.” Baek-Ah raises his glass of wine, though that isn’t exactly true. He has work back in Seoul but he’d gladly take a vacation for some weeks since he is already outside the country.

So Hyun and Jung Nam diverts their gaze to Baek-Ah, who seemed neutral in all of these.

“I will free my schedule.” So Hyun insists. 

“So will I.” Jung Nam won’t concede.

Ha Jin eyes the brothers confused, “And I need to go to the bathroom. Excuse me.”

She doesn’t know how her soul wondering trip ends up with three more people coming with her. She wasn’t expecting it and now she has to include three of them in her itinerary.

“Maybe it won't be so bad…” She tells herself, trying to find her way to the bathroom inside the bed and breakfast inn.

Close to 10 pm, the group finally finishes their dinner with Jung Nam and Ha Jin the only people who kept drinking the different set of wines since the other two will be driving back to the city. Luigi fetches them to the near empty parking lot of the bed and breakfast inn and is impressed to find two-luxury cars. Luigi can’t take his eyes off the cars, unable to choose which one he would have prefer if he ever had extra money to indulge his self.

The red convertible Porsche belongs to Baek-Ah and Jung Nam while the black Jaguar XE belongs to So Hyun. Ha Jin is not the type who pays attention over cars so it seemed nothing to her when she first rode it this morning. She only knows So Hyun’s car is expensive by the icon of jaguar in front of the hood.

Jung Nam had parked beside So Hyun’s knowing his brother would be the only one driving an ostentatious car while trying to make it blend in the crowd by choosing a black one. Meanwhile Baek-Ah chose a red one for the two of them, unmindful of how flashy their expensive cars are. What is Italy without Porsche coursing through it's streets that are frozen in time.

“It was a pleasure having your group in our home. I hope to have all of you again.” Luigi says his pleasant goodbye, turning to Ha Jin who is walking with Jung Nam while So Hyun and Baek-Ah follow behind them.

For a second, Luigi is confused seeing Ha Jin and Jung Nam chuckling about something they were talking about. The two are both tipsy and clearly look closed. He heard Jung Nam is a brother to So Hyun who is married to Ha Jin and yet ever since Baek-Ah and Jung Nam joined the two this afternoon, Jung Nam had been hogging all of Ha Jin’s attention and So Hyun had recede in the background watching behind them. It almost feels like Ha Jin and Jung Nam are the ones dating and not the couple he met this morning. 

“Your vineyard is wonderful, I hope to stay in your bed and breakfast next time.” Ha Jin extends her hand to shake with Luigi.

“Ha Jin-ah, why don’t you ride with us back to the city?” Between the hours spent this afternoon and dinner, Jung Nam quickly reverted back to his close friendship with Ha Jin, using banmal with addressing her.

So Hyun had just said his goodbye to Luigi and is opening the door to his car when he hears his brother asking Ha Jin to ride back with them. All of them tensing as they wait for Ha Jin’s answer. 

“I should probably ride with your brother,” Ha Jin as always is still unaware of the tension among the three boys, “He took a few sips and it would be unkind to let him drive alone. Someone has to look after him.”

So Hyun pretends not to hear what Ha Jin had just said, secretly smirking as he sits on his car and closes his door after him. He lights his engine and lowers the window on the passenger seat of his car, addressing Ha Jin, “Are you coming?”

“Kuerom, I’ll see you in the city.” Ha Jin waves Jung Nam and Baek-Ah goodbye, sitting at So Hyun’s passenger seat with So Hyun getting the paper bag of wine on her hands and replacing it with a bottle of water. 

Jung Nam had to hold back the disappointment on his face while Baek-Ah is quick to shove him inside the car, “We’ll see you in the city.”

As the passengers fill their seats inside the car, So Hyun calls over Baek-Ah in the driver’s seat, “You should take the lead, we’ll follow behind you.”

“Ne, hyung.” Baek-Ah maneuvers out of the parking lot with a sullen Jung Nam on his side.

“Do you think the two became close that easily?” Jung Nam watches his brother’s car at the side mirror, coming out of the parking lot and following them. 

Baek-Ah gauges Jung Nam’s mood, not wanting to fuel is disappointment but even he is surprised to observe how comfortable Ha Jin and So Hyun had become to each other in just a span of two days, “Ha Jin is probably being polite. You know her. She’s always nice to every one.”

“Maybe but my brother doesn’t welcome a stranger’s company that easily.” Jung Nam tries to sober up, drinking water in a bottle. He doesn’t like how Ha Jin and his brother had become so close.

No sooner, So Hyun slows down his car enough to lose Baek-Ah’s Porsche in sight. He intended for his cousin to take the lead so he could easily get rid of them on the road. He lowers the window on Ha Jin’s side, “Are you okay?”

Ha Jin breathes in a lungful of cold air from the countryside, their eyes blessed with a peaceful scenery of faraway vineyards and occasional bed and breakfast inn, “The air is helping.”

She giggles, “I’m sorry, I think I drunk a lot.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed our trip.” So Hyun stops their car on the next lamppost and parks off the road.

Ha Jin’s forehead scrunches in confusion, “Why are we stopping?”

“Keunyang…” So Hyun gets his bottle of water and goes down the car, keeping the engine on. He walks to Ha Jin’s side and opens her door, “Nae-ryeo-u. (Come out.)”

Lowering his speech into banmal.

The two stands by the side of the car, the light of a tall lamppost and the car’s headlight is enough to brighten the space where So Hyun parked their car. He drinks from his bottle, looking at the far away rolling hills, the waning moon rising in the sky, “I told you I grew-up in London, right?”

Ha Jin nods, resting her back to the car, the way So Hyun is doing, “What is it like?”

“Busy,” So Hyun answers, “Noisy, crowded and expensive. It’s like New York, a giant that never sleeps. I like it that way though. I can’t see myself living in a province as quiet as this…” 

Referring to the picturesque and peaceful scenery around them before turning to Ha Jin on his side, “But there are moments like this that I do appreciate the beauty of simplicity and silence.”

Ha Jin abruptly halts breathing, So Hyun's stare is boring unto her already redden face, flustering her and sobering her quickly, “Yes… it’s pretty…”

“Ha Jin…” So Hyun hesitates how to address her, “Can I call you Ha Jin-ah?”

Somehow, Ha Jin couldn’t find her words, being quickly suck-in in a vacuum of blankness, where only she and So Hyun are existing, the attraction that had been steadily building from the time of their first meeting drowns out the occasional cars passing by and the quaint scenery at the background. She watches him take his resting back from the car so he could fully turn to her, his height casting a shadow on her face as it covers the light from the lamppost above them.

“I was begrudgingly envious of how my brother addresses you so casually.” 

Ha Jin swallows, her throat becoming dry, her mouth empty of words.

So Hyun steps closer, putting his bottle of water at the roof of the car and then casually bracing his hand beside Ha Jin, trapping her on one side, before hunching over her, “Ha Jin-ah, I tend to be possessive of what is mine.”

Ha Jin’s back is already pressed in the car, there’s no space to move back. So Hyun’s straight up confession is throwing her mind into blanks “I’m… not… yours…”

“Yet…” Though So Hyun is already inside her personal space, he is discreetly maintaining a inch of space from her, “Make me leave then.” 

Slowly, So Hyun lowers his lips unto hers, almost touching but not quite, stirring a thousand year longing deeply concealed upon their soul. Ha Jin can’t fairly understand it but her chest heaves up and down, her heart racing in anticipation, “Don't…”

So Hyun stills his action, closing his eyes and breathing her in before moving to step away but Ha Jin reaches to his polo and stops him “Don't… move away.” 

She bridges the inch of space separating their lips, a second of light kiss before she lets go of So Hyun’s polo and embarrassingly looks away, surprising So Hyun.

“You can’t kiss me and feel embarrassed afterwards.” So Hyun breaks into a light smirk, confidently capturing her lips and continuing the kiss she abruptly started and ended. 

Ha Jin can feel her cheeks getting warm as So Hyun cups her face while his other hand settles on her waist, trapping her between his pressed body and the car. Though the kiss started with him smirking, the two of them ends up heaving and light headed when Ha Jin opens her lips and let So Hyun’s tongue explore the taste of fruity wine she last drunk, more intoxicated of the moment rather than the wine.

“Neo-reul manh-i joh-a-hae. (I like you a lot.) Neo-ddae-mun-e mi-chi-gess-eo (It’s driving me crazy.) Since I met you, I feel like a void had been lifted of my chest and I’m finally breathing for the first time.”

He steps back, giving her enough space, “I know I’m diving into this fast and I’m probably scaring you right now but please trust me when I say, my feelings towards you are sincere.”

I’ve waited thousands of years to find you, when will you recognize me, Soo-ya?

Beneath the cool façade that So Hyun projects is a heartbroken king who had been searching for his lost love.

“I hope you give us a chance to get to know each other more.”

Ding dong…

Ding dong…

Dress in a dark blue high waist jeans, black see through organdie high neck long sleeves ankle dress layered underneath a white square neck crop top, Ha Jin is completing her five-step morning skin care routine when her doorbell rang. She checks her watch, it’s only eight in the morning, who could possibly be ringing her doorbell this early. She leaves her room and walks to the door, calling outside in English language, “Hello? Who is there?”

Ding dong…

The light ring of a doorbell comes as answer.

Ha Jin opens her door and is surprise to find Baek-Ah and Jung Nam on her doorstep.

“Chal ajim! (Goodmorning!)” Baek-Ah greets with a big paper bag in hand, “We thought you haven’t had breakfast so we brought over a food.”

Jung Nam holds a thermos on both hands, “We weren’t sure which would you prefer so we have coffee and milkshake.”

Ha Jin lets them in, leading them to her small dinning table that seats four, “How did you find my apartment?”

“We had convo last night, remember?” Jung Nam's lies are becoming natural as he keeps doing it. 

Though it is true that they had convo last night, their car was on the front and So Hyun made sure to lose them on the way. Jung Nam ordered Baek-Ah to wait at the entry point of the highway where So Hyun’s car would pass. After half an hour, they spot So Hyun’s car and followed it to Ha Jin’s apartment where they saw the two came out. 

“Right.” Ha Jin isn’t quite not sure of Jung Nam’s explanation but she lets it go. 

Baek-Ah laden the table with their breakfast consisting of waffles, bagel, peppered chicken breast, prosciutto, a variety of fruits and hand tossed salad of apple, walnuts, roasted grape vinaigrette with beef and spinach, “Dig in!”

“You didn’t have to bring me breakfast but thank you.” Ha Jin settles in a seat while Baek-Ah and Jung Nam find their places. 

“It’s nothing.” Baek-Ah helps himself to a salad. If he doesn’t do this for Jung Nam, chances are he will be dragged into a pointless one-way date again so he made the initiative this time, “What are your plans for today?” 

“Go see some renaissance art?” Ha Jin bites into her blueberry waffle that Jung Nam made for her.

“Great! We’ll drive you.” Jung Nam volunteers.

“Right, because you ditch the conference?” Ha Jin taste the fresh blueberry melting with the waffle in her mouth, “This is really good. I feel like I would gain weight on this trip. All I do is eat.”

“Good. You’re too skinny after your accident.” Jung Nam slices a prosciutto and puts it on her plate.

Ha Jin stills, “How do you know I was in accident?”

“Our family doctor does tenure in your hospital so when my grandfather was hospitalised last year, I run into Myung Hee Nam Noona in the hospital.” Jung Nam explains, “That was right after we got our MA in London.”

A shadow of a memory of a boy whisking her into his hometown to live out their pretend married life dances at the back of Ha Jin’s mind. She suddenly feels cold, the anxiety creeping unto her spine.

Abruptly, she stands up, “I… ahm… I’ll come back in a bit…”

She walks to her room quickly, looking for her anxiety pills on her mini backpack. She takes two, closing her eyes to calm herself. She counts ten to one, kneading her chest.

“Gwaenchanhayo? (Are you alright?)” Baek-Ah calls after her.

Ha Jin checks her phone, dead as always. It would be middle of the night in Seoul. She puts it back inside the drawer then comes out of her room.

After their breakfast, Baek-ah drives the three of them to their hotel by the Arno River, ditching their Porche at the valet, they ask Ha Jin if she wants to go biking or do motorcycles. There are many road detours in Florence that can only be accessible to bikes and motorcycles.

Since Ha Jin isn’t dressed for biking and she has no international license, "Motorcycles? But I don't know how to drive?"

Jung Nam and Baek-ah got them a GTS 300 vespa, one in pale blue and one in red. Baek-ah hands her a matte black helmet, “You can ride with me or you can ride with Jung Nam but between the two of us, Jung Nam is a better rider and he is more familiar with the roads here.”

Smooth and tacky, Baek-Ah leads Ha Jin to Jung Nam so they could spent more time together. 

“Alright,” Ha Jin walks over the red Vespa where Jung Nam is waiting, “Do you mind giving me a ride? I must warn you though, I’ve put on some weight because of the breakfast you brought over this morning.” 

“Hahaha.” Jung Nam laughs it off while casually hiding his nervousness, “You weigh like a paper, don’t worry.”

Ha Jin swings her leg to the other side and settles behind Jung Nam, hesitating where she should put her arms.

Sensing Ha Jin’s apprehension, Jung Nam jokes, “Don’t worry, there won’t be any girlfriend who would get angry for putting your arms around me.”

Jung Nam pulls Ha Jin’s arms around his waist, “Kaja! (Let’s go.)”

They cruise the radius of Arno river for a time, stopping to get Ha Jin another gelato before crossing the bridge to the side, passed the neighbourhood of San Niccolo to Piazzale Michelangelo to bask under the autumn sky and watch the spectacular view of Florence. The view would have been better on sunset but Jung Nam got them a reservation on a museum this afternoon so he decided to explorer the other side of Florence, far from where he knows, So Hyun would be hanging around.

They go down next to Garden Bardini, an off the beaten path garden that houses beautiful baroque staircase and arc of wisteria that can be see from Arno River.

By lunch, Baek-Ah wanted to eat in the four-star Michelin restaurant he found on the internet but Ha Jin insisted they experience the market place so Jung Nam drove them back to the other side of the bridge, to Mercato centralle, a 19^th century building with stalls run by 3^rd and 4^th generation original owners. They sell all kinds of produce from all over Italy in the first floor while the second floor serves as a food court.

The two park their bikes and walk over the entrance of the market. 

Ha Jin’s eyes feast on the different variety of produce being sold, walking from one stall to another, she’s busy wondering around the fruits and vegetables stalls. Jung Nam follows beside her, checking his phone and seeing three missed calls from So Hyun and one missed call from his mother. He was busy driving round to check his phone. Baek-Ah is also just getting to his phone when it ranged for the 4^th time.

Unable to cancel the call, he answers, “Ne, hyung?”

Falling behind the two as he takes the call.

“Oedi ya? (Where are you?) Is Ha Jin with you?” So Hyun asks on the other line. His voice is level and neutral, his annoyance tightly kept to his self. He came to Ha Jin’s apartment around nine in the morning and missed the three by several minutes. He’s been trying to contact Baek-Ah and Jung Nam the whole morning but the two is busy navigating the streets of Florence.

Jung Nam glances at Baek-Ah and asks in gesture who is he talking to.

“So Hyun hyung.” Baek-Ah mouths to Jung Nam.

“Put it down.” Jung Nam mouths back.

“Ha Jin-ah? She’s with us.” Baek-Ah couldn’t lie, knowing So Hyun would find out about it once he is able to get a hold of Ha Jin.

“Oedi ya? (Where are you?) So Hyun repeats. 

“Ahm..” Baek-Ah is struggling to keep his head straight, “Hyung… I can’t hear you… Yeoboseyo?... yeoboseyo?...”

And then ends the call, gesturing at Jung Nam with annoyance, “I’m dead.”

Jung Nam chuckles behind Ha Jin, “For as long as he doesn’t finds us.”

Baek-ah joins Jung Nam in the stall, “He will. I’m sure. Damn it! You owe me a lot.”

Outside Hotel Savoy, at the courtyard of Piazza della Repubblica, So Hyun sits alone on a shaded eight-seater table on Irene Firenze’s terrace, having ordered octopus salad and coloured chicory, Saffron Risotto, Sea Asparagus, Raw Prawn Tartare and Fresh Lemon Juice.

His mind elsewhere, looking for where his brother might have brought Ha Jin. Sure that they are on one of the museums, viewing art pieces but it would be futile to go after them knowing there are several museums around the city and any of it would be on their list. 

Clickity… clack…

Clickity… clack…

A black high heel open lita shoes makes it clackity sound in the cobblestone as a lady in black lacy shorts and grey blouse clad in trench coat, walks over So Hyun’s table, her jet black short hair hanging freely on her shoulders, her shades up in her nose. She puts down her Lana Marks Cleopatra clutch in the table and sits herself opposite So Hyun. 

“How did you find me?” So Hyun sips his warm lemon juice.

“My step brother’s fiancé is in a state of panic when she couldn’t contact her little sister.” 

This is Kim Yeon Hwa, daughter to korea’s number one search portal site. Her father is a genius business magnate in the IT world while her mother is the second generation CEO of a South Korean internet company that dominates the market with it’s free instant app messaging. Her parents got divorced when she was five and her father remarried Lim Shin Jeong, making her a step-sister to Hwang Dong Wook. Her father sent her to London to get her university degree and ended up in the same university as So Hyun.

“And since you’re not answering Dong Wook oppa’s call, I was tasked to trace your Kakao account.” Kim Yeon Hwa sighs, “Futile. It’s a waste of resources if you ask me. Everyone knows you’re in Florence but the GPS in your phone allows us to triangulate your exact location.”

“Kuere?” So Hyun is unperturbed, “Can you trace Jung Nam’s phone for me?”

“Do I look like a GPS locator to you?” Yeon Hwa raises her hand and a waiter approaches her with a menu, “Soft Lime Yogurt, Green Apple & Celery with Green, please.”

“Just hedging my bets,” So Hyun shrugs, “Who knows, you might do me a favor.”

“Because one day you might return it?” Yeon Hwa makes herself comfortable on her seat, putting away her shades.

“I always pay my debts.” So Hyun makes an eye contact with Yeon Hwa, an understanding passing between them. 

Yeon Hwa takes out her phone from her clutch and logs in in their company’s security site, encoding some cryptic codes. Minutes later Jung Nam’s location pings on her phone. She shows it to So Hyun, “Mercato Centralle.”

And then coldly smirks, “Very tourist of your brother.”

The waiter serves her dessert, “So what’s this trace-your-cousin-game everyone seems to be interested at? Let me guess, Jung Nam is with that girl, your cousins are talking about?”

“What do you mean?” So Hyun asks, his cool façade showing nothing.

Yeon Hwa’s left eye brow naturally rises in her curiosity, “Oppa, jjinja mol-la? (Do you really not know?) You didn’t even so much as grace everyone with your brooding presence in the party and then you left early. Not to mention with a girl. Imagine... Hwang So Hyun goes home with a girl. The kmedia loves a chaebol scandal. Harabeoji is angry.”

“It’s just a party. What’s the deal?” So Hyun pays no attention to it.

“If you do that in London it won’t merit you a single glance but since we were in Seoul and it’s a conservative party for traditional people, fetching a girl home is considered a scandal. Especially to chaebol kids like us.” Yeon Hwa explains, “Of course you wouldn’t know because you grew-up in London.”

“It’s a scandal? You make it sound like I did something so ostentatious.” So Hyun glances at Yeon Hwa, “Will I be forced to marry the girl?”

He jokes but doesn’t voice,

That would greatly play to my advantage. Why not?

“Hahahaha.” Yeon Hwa sarcastically laughs, “Maybe. If the girl has money on her but everyone knows the girl is only a chaebol by name. She’s not even registered under her adopted family. I doubt harabeoji or your mother would approve. She can’t bring anything to the table.” 

“And you know this, how? I can’t believe you’re telling me that.” So Hyun finds Yeon Hwa’s explanation outrageous, “What are we, stuck in the period of Joseon? Is getting married still a strategic move to merge a business? This is ridiculous.”

Yeon Hwa indulges So Hyun, “Maybe... You’ll soon find out that you can’t just decide for yourself. Thousands of your employees depend on every single decision you make.”

She takes a spoon of yogurt on her mouth, clean and classy, “Make a wise one.”

The three spends their late afternoon inside Galleria degli Uffizi, one of the famous art galleries in Florence that houses the masterpieces from Rembrandt, to Raphael, to Da Vinci, to Michelangelo and Botticelli.

“Our hotel is a stone throw away from here.” Jung Nam explains as they walked into the entrance, having made a reservation at this time of the day to avoid the crowd.

“You showed me a while ago.” Ha Jin marvels at the beauty of Boticelli’s The Birth of Venus inside the gallery.

Baek-Ah takes a photo of her against the background of eye worthy Medici collections and sends it to Myung Hee Nam with a caption,

“Everything’s good. No need to worry.

We have her well taken cared off ^^”

To which Myung Hee Nam instantly replies:

“Komaweoyo, Baek-Ah-ya!

Please ask her to call us later.”

By dinnertime, Ha Jin insist that they go back to her apartment to cook the produce they bought from the market this afternoon. Though she feels tired, she’s excited to cook the fresh vegetables and steak they got. 

Baek-Ah is the first to arrive at Ha Jin’s doorsteps and finds So Hyun’s car parked in the street. It would be too late to warn Jung Nam as So Hyun comes down from his car, together with YeonHwa, “Hyung! YeonHwa noona, weon-il-i u-syeoss-eo-yo? (What are you doing here?)”

Jung Nam appears from behind, stopping at the doorstep and failing to notice his brother and cousin, too occupied talking with Ha Jin about a painting his grandfather keeps in his mansion. It didn’t escape So Hyun’s observation that Ha Jin’s arm is around Jung Nam’s waist, “Oh hyung! Noona!”

Unaware of the brewing awkwardness and tension, Ha Jin comes down at the back of Jung Nam’s vespa and waves at So Hyun, “So Hyun… “

And changes from banmal to cheondemal when she notice the lady beside him, “Ssi.. annyeong hase…yo…”

“Did you had a good time today?” So Hyun’s voice is dangerously quiet and low, Baek-Ah, Jung Nam and Yeon Hwa knew, he’s holding himself back.

Ha Jin nods, oblivious, “Jung Nam-i and Baek-Ah oppa took me around the city in a vespa. How Italian?!"

"How touristy..." Kim Yeon Hwa mutters to herself but Ha Jin didn't hear.

Ha Jin raises the paper bags she's holding, "It’s so cute! We brought steak and fresh vegetables from the market. We’ll cook it for dinner.”

“Baek-Ah oppa…” So Hyun repeats in a placating tone, “Jung Nam-i... will not be able to join us for dinner tonight.”

“Hyung?” Jung Nam asks.

“Because it’s my turn to be shown around.” Yeon Hwa touches Jung Nam’s arm as a warning, “Didn’t you promise to take me to that bar to drink?”

“Right. There is this seasonal garden that appears between Via degli Speziali and Via dei Calzaiuoli. We should go.” Baek-Ah adds in, trying to diffuse the apprehension growing in the air, “You’re welcome to join us later.”

“You’re leaving? Wae?” Ha Jin is baffled, still slow on taking a cue, wondering who the lady is, who seemed to be closed to the three boys.

Yeon Hwa pulls Jung Nam away with the help of Baek-Ah but turns to Ha Jin before walking away.

“Cheo, Kim Yeon Hwa-ibnida. I was looking forward to meeting you.” Yeon Hwa extends her hand, polite.

“Ah yie, Cheo Go Ha Jin-ibnida, panggabseubnida.” Ha Jin introduces herself and takes Yeon Hwa’s handshake then watches Yeon Hwa favor So Hyun with a light peck on both cheeks before taking her place behind Jung Nam’s vespa.

“Kaja!” Yeon Hwa tells Jung Nam, forcing him to drive and then turns to Ha Jin, “I’m So Hyun’s ex-girlfriend by the way. See you later.”

“Eh?” Ha Jin’s mouth gapes open in surprise, watching Jung Nam, Baek-Ah and that girl who just introduced herself as So Hyun’s ex-girlfriend, drive away.

Inside the apartment, Ha Jin puts down her paper bag with a thud in the wooden table while So Hyun quietly stands by the windowsill across the table, holding back his annoyance, “I would appreciate it if my girlfriend would tell me if she plans to disappear with by brother again.” 

“Girlfriend? Wah!” Ha Jin’s ear perk irritated, “So I’m your girlfriend now yet you shamelessly spend a day with your ex?”

“Yeon Hwa is…” So Hyun doesn’t know how to explain his connection with her, “… complicated. It’s not what you think.”

“It’s not what I think?” Ha Jin lifts considers So Hyun, “And yet she gives you a kiss on both cheeks.”

So Hyun doesn’t understand how he ended up in a position where he’s the one who has to defend himself when it’s Ha Jin who disappeared with a boy. He’s the one who had been angry all day, “We both studied in a university back in London, it’s a way of greeting between us. Are you jealous?”

“Jil-thu? (Jealous?)” Ha Jin halts, holding herself back and asking herself if she really is jealous, “Aniya, naega wae jil-thu-hal-kka? (Why would I be jealous?)”

She turns her back and carries the vegetables in the sink to wash, opening the faucet and letting the water run, “Nan neo yeo-ja chin-gu-ga a-ni-ya. (I’m not your girlfriend.)” 

So Hyun takes himself from the windowsill and walks behind Ha Jin. Abruptly but gently, he put his arms around her and laces his fingers with hers, helping her with washing the vegetables “Mianhae, can we stop arguing about this. Yeon Hwa was just trying to get a rise from you because she finds you…

For lack of a better word "...innocent.”

Ha Jin tries to get out of So Hyun’s embrace, “Mwo haeyo? (What are you doing?)” 

But So Hyun stills her, “Yeon Hwa is Dong Wook-ah’s step sister. That makes her a step-cousin to me and a step-sister in law to your unnie soon. She’s a practically a family so don’t let her frustrate you.”

It does sound complicated to Ha Jin, too many ‘steps’ between So Hyun and Yeon Hwa. Had their world always been this small?

“I’d like to taste my girlfriend’s cooking then.” So Hyun changes topic when he felt Ha Jin relaxes inside his arms, “I would have been disappointed if my brother and my cousin were the first one to enjoy my girlfriend’s cooking.” 

“I’m not your girlfriend.” Ha Jin repeats but this time in a weak voice, her cheeks reddening once more. She feels So Hyun’s smirk upon her neck.

“You kissed me last night.” So Hyun reminds her, “You made the move first and then I told you I like you, what are we then if we’re not dating?” 

Ha Jin puts the vegetables down and So Hyun steps back, allowing Ha Jin to turn towards him, “I don’t know…”

And chews her lower lip. She has no idea how adorable she looks to So Hyun right at that moment. So Hyun takes another step, approaching closer and breeching her personal space. He reaches to her chin to free her lower lips, turning serious, “Neon nae keo-ya. (You’re mine Ha Jin-ah) Unless I say otherwise. Neon… nae… keo-ya. (You… are… mine…)” 

Ha Jin braces her wet hands upon the sink, slipping a little, her bones turning to jelly as the cycle of scrumptious tension springs in the air again. So Hyun hunches over her, lowering his lidded eyes, his lips an inch closer. Ha Jin naturally lifts her chin to meet his lips yet So Hyun moves back, “Ha Jin-ah…”

She breathes in, inhaling that slightly sweet intoxicating musk on So Hyun, tempting her to have a taste of his lips. So Hyun keeps Ha Jin on a stand still, withholding until he hears what he wants, “Tell me you’re mine.”

Ha Jin swallows, she can hear heart beating strongly, achingly, drowning everything else and when she couldn’t take the drumming anticipation anymore, she reaches to So Hyun’s nape and pulls him to meet her lips, “Always." 

And again… 

So Hyun adds in his head.

To love always and again, a thousand year promise that binds their souls together.

Their kiss is careful and gentle but soon turns to a steamy and hungry kind. He presses her body against her, getting rid of spaces between them. He couldn't come closer enough, couldn’t taste her enough, needing to feel every skin he could touch. His hand slides upon her waist, steadying her as her head is filled with raging blood and all she can hear is the pounding of her heart on her ears, making her dizzy.

Soo-ya…

“I must tell you. I won’t stand back if you ever disappear with my brother again.” So Hyun breaks their kiss to let her breathe, warning her in a low quiet voice, “I don’t take kindly to jealousy, Ha Jin-ah. I am very possessive of what is mine.”

Ha Jin feels her knees going weak, swallowing her heart that keeps jumping out of her chest. There’s that foreboding impression that tells her she should be afraid but all she can feel is the warm giddiness taking over her. The thrills of new beginning.

Chapter Text

Sitting at a hidden garden, made for summer hang-outs, Baek-Ah and Jung Nam sip their beer while Yeon Hwa have an amaretto cocktail. It’s a clearing in a small alleyway at the middle of Tuscan old buildings. Real vines cover a wall on one part while occasional bushes and cypress trees line the entry hallway. Wooden picnic tables and white iron garden set populates the courtyard. Visitors are welcomed with series of light bulbs strung together in neat rows that serves as roof for this newest makeshift outdoor bar that is only known to locals. Opened on late afternoons and well into the night, the place holds art and music exhibition occasionally.

“When you brood like that, I see the resemblance to your brothers.” Yeon Hwa bites into her crostino mozzarella e acciughe that Baek-Ah thoughtfully made for her.

Baek-Ah prepares another one for Jung Nam, seeming to be the only one whose thinking of dinner among the three of them.

“Meog-go. (Eat.)” He tells Jung Nam and then takes the toast back, “On a second thought, I don’t want to take care of you when your stomach starts heaving and you decide to vomit later.” 

Yeon Hwa smirks and says in a placating voice “You don’t need to be so cruel to your cousin here. He’s heartbroken.”

Teasing Jung Nam, “You’ll get over it.”

“Kkeojyeo! (Go away.)” Jung Nam swipes the toast out of Baek-Ah’s hand and bites it.

“What are you doing here, noona?” Baek-Ah takes a slice of Panini and shoves a part of it to his mouth, famished. The roasted pork dripping it’s oil on his mouth.

“I flew in Venice after Harabeoji’s party. I have a meeting with a potential investor for my father’s company the other day, when my step-brother asked me to trace Go Ha Jin Ssi’s phone because her sister can’t get a hold of her.” Yeon Hwa picks into her panini with fork, setting aside the onion, “Imagine my surprise when her location pinged beside So Hyun oppa and not far from them, your locations. By any chance, are you two following them?”

“You traced us?” Jung Nam puts down his bottle of beer at the table.

“Not my hobby. Believe me.” Yeon Hwa casually tells them.

Baek-Ah and Jung Nam can’t tell when Yeon Hwa is serious or just making fun of them. She, So Hyun and Dong Wook have that solid neutral façade that no one can read. Yeon Hwa feels more like their harabeoji’s grandkid than them, cunning and cold.

“Can you trace So Hyun hyung now?” Jung Nam asks. 

“You really are brothers, do you know that?” Yeon Hwa finds Jung Nam and So Hyun’s similarities amusing, “Forget it. You don’t need a tracker to know that your brother will be staying beside Go Ha Jin Ssi for the foreseeable future.”

“Did hyung told you he likes her?” Baek-Ah casually asks, munching on his second Panini. 

“Like her?” Yeon Hwa laughs, “I dragged So Hyun oppa to my favorite jewelry place this afternoon while waiting for you and Go Ha Jin Ssi to finish your tour.”

The third floor atelier is located two blocks away from the Galleria degli Uffizi. A workshop run by the grandson of the founder, the jewelry shop only sees client by utmost exclusivity. Their name is never found in any magazine, tv or high class museum. It is often only whispered in parties befitting the top billionaires of the world.

They were ushered in a room done in a lavish 16^th century baroque style, white walls with gold trimmings. An opulent gold candelabra chandelier hanging on the frescoed high ceiling. The room commands the view of Arno River outside and would have look well at home in the Versailles palace instead of an unassuming old building from the outside.

The owner, a man no more than the age of their mothers greets them with that charming craftsman attitude. There was a small talk and wine served before the actual sales happen. Clearly, Yeon Hwa had been acquainted with the man and is a one of the preselected customers he serves.

He leads them to the next room, this one empty of any furniture save for the glass drawer at the middle of the room, exhibited like an art in a museum. There were different kinds of jewelry ranging from over the top tiara’s to simple promise rings that are carefully crafted and only one in the world.

Two rings caught So Hyun’s eye, an 18 carat rose gold eight point star dream-catcher vintage adjustable ring with three feathers hanging at it’s side. Simple and reserved at first glance but when you look closer, a diamond is set at the middle of the star and an even smaller diamonds are adorning the sides of each tale. Only a keen eye would know it’s worth. Sitting next to is an adjustable white gold ring with a crescent moon on one end and a sun on another end with the sun fitting perfectly on the crescent moon’s concave mouth. The sun has a diamond adorning it’s center while the moon has little blue Swarovski crystal lining it’s shape.

“He bought her a ring.” Yeon Hwa shakes her head in a mocking hurt tone.

“He bough her what?!” Jung Nam exclaims.

“Never seen your brother that invested with a girl even during our university days.” Yeon Hwa dubs her lips with a paper towel before picking a cheese from their platter, “So if you like that girl, forget it. Your brother had beaten you to it already.”

Jung Nam suddenly rises, causing his chair to fall to the ground and catching everyone’s attention, “He can’t do that.”

Baek-Ah automatically reaches to Jung Nam’s wrist, calming him down.

“There‘s no use getting angry here.” Yeon Hwa deems Jung Nam with levity, “Let him be, I’m sure he’ll tire of her soon and if he doesn’t…”

She picks up her cocktail drink and swirls it, “I doubt your mother or harabeoji will let it go deeper than necessary.”

“What does that mean?” Jung Nam’s hands ball into a fist. He can’t choose what makes him angrier, the idea that his brother will take Ha Jin away or that his brother might just be playing with her. 

“You, brothers, really have no idea, do you?” Yeon Hwa makes that Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. sound, feigning concern, “Our family only marries for convenience. Don’t be naïve.”

“Dong Wook hyung and Myung Hee Nam are marrying of their own choice.” Baek-Ah searches for loopholes on Yeon Hwa’s logic, like So Hyun, he can’t believe their family is that conservative.

“They got lucky. They fell with their own.” Yeon Hwa says it matter of factly like nothing about it bothers her, “Can’t really say the same for Go Ha Jin Ssi. She will never inherit anything.” 

“Stop it, noona.” It’s getting harder for Baek-ah to hold Jung Nam back when Yeon Hwa keeps inciting him, finally remembering why they never like hanging out with Yeon Hwa even as kids. Her straightforwardness shutters their bubble all the time.

“You’re hateful, do you know that?” Jung Nam naively tells her.

“Hmmm…” Yeon Hwa agrees, “Better than being naïve like you and your brother. Sit down, you’re making a scene.”

She rummages into her pouch, searching for her cigarettes and when she found one, she holds it out to Jung Nam, “Do you want one?” 

Jung Nam eyes her with loathing. 

“Aigooo… Don’t hate me, Jung Nam-i.” Yeon Hwa lights her cigarette, “I’m not the one who made the rules.”

Tossing the pack of cigarettes and the lighter to the table, “Grow up.”

At exactly seven in the morning, So Hyun parks his car at the street outside Ha Jin's aoartment and rings the doorbell.

Ding dong…

Ding dong…

Ha Jin opens her door with the bath towel still wrap on her head. She just got out of the shower and is in the middle of getting dress when So Hyun rings her doorbell, “You’re early.”

She is wearing a checkered violet and blue knitted over sized sweater and a lace black short matching it. Appearing cute to So Hyun but he would have preferred her in her long dress that doesn’t show too much of her legs, “Aren’t you cold?”

Ha Jin lets him in, “I’ll put a trench coat over it.”

“Good. Let’s have breakfast in my hotel or get a coffee in a baked shop that I know.” 

She walks back to her room, So Hyun following her, “You can’t come here.”

Barring So Hyun from entering, all nervous. It’s too early to play this push and pull with him.

“Why not?” So Hyun is already peeking inside, “Are you hiding a boy in there?”

“Stop it.” Ha Jin chuckles and closes the door behind her back, “I need to get ready. Please go back to the living room.”

Playfully disappointed, So Hyun cups her face and kisses her cheek, “You don’t need a make-up. You're pretty already.”

Ha Jin chuckles and pushes him away, that pink blush spreading on her cheeks, “Go away.” 

“Araseo.”

So Hyun goes back in the living room, seeing Ha Jin’s sling clutch bag and her passport strewn on her table. He inspects it for a bit, smiling at Ha Jin’s passport photo before putting it back on her bag.

A few minutes later, Ha Jin comes out ready, her make-up is light, wearing only a lip balm on her lips, she puts her high cut plateau pumps at the door and step out into a cold morning street. The street is almost deserted and a thinning fog is starting to disappear. They enter So Hyun’s car, the cold quickly chilling Ha Jin’s hands. She rubs it together, breathing warmth into her hands.

“See, you’re cold.” So Hyun tugs her hands into his palm, continuing what she had been doing with her hands, rubbing their hands together and breathing into it. His heart beats fast on his chest, nervous of what he is about to do next.

Ha Jin’s mouth gapes open, So Hyun's concerned gesture is endearing.

“Better?” So Hyun asks her, taking something from his pocket and discreetly putting the ring on her ring finger. He pretends to be warming her hands, grinning widely and proudly as he uncovers her hands and inspects it, “It looks good on you.”

“Eh?” Ha Jin eyes the rose gold ring on her left hand, “So Hyun Ssi…”

“So Hyun-ah…” So Hyun corrects her again, “It’s a dream catcher… You make my nightmares go away.”

He brings her hand to his lips, sealing the ring with a kiss, “And you’re a dream that I caught. I’ll never let you go again.”

Ha Jin is speechless, they really are diving into this fast, it’s starting to scare her. Her chest heaves for a breath that is caught in her throat. She doesn’t know what to say.

“You don’t have to say anything.” As if So Hyun can read the confusion in her eyes, “Don’t worry, it’s just a promise ring. I’m not asking you to marry me…”

Ha Jin holds her breath.

“Yet.” So Hyun smirks that trademark smile that Ha Jin is starting to find as boyish adorable, “What do you think?”

Ha Jin is still lost for words. 

“Or we can run away… “ So Hyun hurries into his words. He didn’t prepare a speech. He only wanted to give her something that will make her his, “….and get married---”

“Stop!” Ha Jin tells him, “Stop…”

The warm temperature inside the car drops instantly into a low level.

“I mean…” Ha Jin is trying to find the right words to say, “I like you So Hyun… ah and the promise ring is wonderful… just… let’s not get ahead of ourselves… I like what we have right now.” 

“Okay.” So Hyun accedes easily, “I like what we have right now, too.”

He lays a kiss on her palm before interlacing his fingers with her, coolly maneuvering and driving with only his left hand, showing off with his skills.

Ha Jin fumbles inside her small black clutch sling bag, searching for her bottle of pills. She hesitates taking back her hand from So Hyun so she could drink her medicine but she’s not ready to show that side of her to him.

So Hyun drives them to his hotel, handing his car to the valet. He walks them to the Irene Firenze restaurant, where he had lunch with Yeon Hwa yesterday.

“Do you want to sit in the terrace or at the bar inside or we can go up in my room. I have a really good view of the piazza?” So Hyun asks.

Ha Jin isn’t listening. She’s busy watching the people at Piazza della Republica, turning around and seeing the tops of the nearby church, “Is that the Duomo?” 

Though her accommodations had only been four blocks away and that she has been in Florence since the beginning of the week, Ha Jin had been touring outside Florence or like yesterday, Jung Nam showed her the other side of the Arno river. She had never really explored the center of Florence.

“Terrace then.” So Hyun leads her to the terrace where a waiter lead him to his usual spot, already acquainted with his preference. Only a family and a couple of business looking people are sitting at the terrace, “Shall we walk to the Duomo later?” 

Checking his watch, the reservation he made for that place for Ha Jin is at 2:00 pm. It’s only 8:00 in the morning. They have plenty of time to walk by Duomo after breakfast. He orders for them, a light croissant, cheese, fruits and cold cuts, “Do you want a coffee or a hot chocolate? There’s a good coffee place two blocks from here. We can walk there and circle back to the Duomo after.”

“It’s okay. I’ll have hot chocolate here.” Ha Jin answers, her eyes still sweeping the street, finding the Michael Corrs boutique beside the restaurant. She puts her bag on her lap, wondering if So Hyun would ever rise and leave her for a minute so she could drink her pills. She excuses herself instead and left for the washroom.

So Hyun’s phone vibrates on his pocket. He takes it out to see his cousin, Hwang Mu Jin’s name displayed. 

“Eoh hyung?” So Hyun answers.

“How’s Florence shaping? I heard you’ve been busy.” Mu Jin greets on the other line. He’s standing at the glass windows of his office, sipping an afternoon coffee.

“Not in a meeting?” So Hyun counts the disparity of time between Florence and Seoul, five hours. Meaning it’s two in the afternoon in Seoul.

“The office is quiet for now.” Mu Jin simply answers, “Been spending a lot of time with that lady from Myung family?”

“Does everyone know?” So Hyun asks, his voice devoid of any telltale signs as always.

“Ne.” Mu Jin shrugs, “Chuk-ha-hae! (Congrats!)…”

And then changes his tone, “Is what I should be saying but I have to warn you to be careful of your affairs. Harabeoji asked me and Choi Biseo about it. You know how the media likes to spin stories about our family. It directly translates to the worth of our stocks in the market.” 

“What was the headline published in the business world after our family’s party?” So Hyun haven’t seen the news since he left Seoul last week.

“You mean the one about you?” Mu Jin asks.

“Yeon Hwa said something about an article being published about us.” So Hyun asks for a warm water from the waiter.

“Youngest COO from the Hwang Empire takes over the franchise of Westin Excelsior in South Korea.” Mu Jin reads the first line from a business news site on his desktop, “Hwang So Hyun, branded by Forbes as one of the top billed hoteliers hailed from Europe, was officially presented at his grandfather’s exclusive 60^th birthday party last Saturday night. With an undergrad degree in Economics and Management from University of Oxford and an MBA degree from Cambridge … blah… blah... blah… The new COO is expected to take over at the end of this month… blah… blah… blah… Interestingly, the pictures are not doing justice to the face of this enigmatic and quiet young man…”

“Mwo?!” So Hyun did not understand the last sentence his cousin uttered.

“Yes, the writer had just described you as enigmatic. Wait, let me see…” Mu Jin scrolls up to the writer of the article, it’s the editor of the top business online newspaper, “I’d say, if this isn’t a business section, the writer would have spent two more sentences describing how handsome you are. Hahahaha.”

And laughs heartily over his inside joke, "Here’s a photo of you on the stage and then leaving in your car… hmmm… with a mysterious girl beside you… Amazing… the pictures this lens can take from afar.”

“There’s a photo of Go Ha Jin Ssi in the article?” So Hyun is worried now.

Mu Jin glosses over it, Ha Jin is inside the car already and only a shadow of her can be seen from the tinted mirror of the car, “Nope, just a shadow and thank heavens it’s just a shadow or the Myung-Hyang board of directors would have thrown in a warning. You know how private those doctors are. They don’t like being published unless it’s about their work. Myung Hee Nam Ssi had ask Dong Wook-ah if he could do something about the articles on their family.” 

“So nothing is written about Go Ha Jin Ssi?” So Hyun clarifies, suspecting that if Ha Jin’s phone isn’t broken, it would have been bombarded of calls by now.

“Yeon Hwa’s father took care of it.” Mu Jin explains, “Isn’t she there now?”

“I saw her yesterday but she never told me the clean-up she did.” So Hyun answers, seeing Ha Jin come out of the bathroom, “I have to go now. I’ll thank Yeon Hwa later.”

“You do that.” Mu Jin turns from his desktop, getting off his chair, “Say hi to Go Ha Jin Ssi for me. I can’t wait to meet her.”

“Later.” So Hyun ends the call.

Standing outside the Duomo, already being crowded by people, Ha Jin marvels at the gothic outside structure of the Dome. So Hyun intertwines his hands with her as he explains that the Duomo is the 4^th largest cathedral in the world. It’s dome is the first of renaissance structure ever designed in Europe but remain unfinished until, “In the 13^th century Filippo Brunelleschi, that guy in the statue…” 

So Hyun points to the statue of a man in early Florentine clothes admiring their work for whole eternity, “He won the bid to built the dome that inspired and started the architectural renaissance. He was a gold smith with no knowledge of architecture and attempted what no technology of that time can ever do.”

“By any chance, you don’t major in archi, do you?” Ha Jin asks amusedly.

“No, not even close.” So Hyun chuckles and tugs her inside the church.

The insides of the cathedral is by contrast simpler and plain but massive and ginormous in size,

“And that clock,” So Hyun refers to the one above the door of the entrance, turning them both so Ha Jin can see what he is pointing, “Was designed in the 15^th century and is still working until now. It’s 24^th hour of the day ends at sunset.” 

“Why do you know all of these?” Ha Jin’s eyes wonder everywhere. People are taking photos of every artwork they see inside.

“I’m good at history.” So Hyun winks at her, “Joking. It’s not my first time here.”

Ha Jin abruptly stops to glance at So Hyun with suspicion, “Who did you come here with?”

“Do you know that if it’s your first time inside a church, you can make a wish.” So Hyun quickly changes the subject, “Let’s light a candle there.”

Pulling her into the part of the candle stand where you can light your own candle, Ha Jin says, “I’m a Buddhist.”

“And I’m a non-practicing catholic.” So Hyun grins boyishly, “I’m sure our God wouldn’t mind if a non-baptized person prays to him. The church was made to reach out to non-believers." 

He lights a candle and gives it to Ha Jin, “Here.”

Ha Jin closes her eyes and makes a wish, praying for her family's happiness and her health.

“What did you wish for?” So Hyun asks after Ha Jin opens her eyes.

“Hmmm… health?” Ha Jin hesitates, “will my wish happen if I tell it to you?”

So Hyun reaches to feels Ha Jin’s forehead, “Do you feel unwell?”

“Aniyo.” Ha Jin is quick to refute it, “Keunyang… You know when I woke up in the hospital, I feel like I needed to remember something but it’s been almost a year now and I still get bad headaches when I try to remember it.” 

“Mianhae,” So Hyun pulls Ha Jin on his chest, enveloping her into an embrace, “I wish you’d remember too.”

It's alright, I’ll remember for both us.

Ha Jin holds upon the hem of his tucked black polo inside his trench coat, “What do you mean?” 

“Nothing.” So Hyun swallows the words in his mouth, hugging her tight, laying a kiss at the top of her head.

A flash snaps at a nearby camera that abruptly surprises Ha Jin, making her let go of So Hyun. 

“Wae?” So Hyun asks, worried, searching where the snap of flash came and finding it on an unsuspecting tourist. 

“I’m fine. Shall we walk up the duomo?” Ha Jin turns her back to him, focusing on the enormity of the ceiling before her anxiety attacks again.

So Hyun checks his watch, 10 AM, “Alright, but it would be 463 steps up with no elevator. Can you do that?”

“Eh? 463 steps! Wah.” Ha Jin couldn’t believe it, “Is it worth it?”

“The sight of the city of Florence is remarkable, yes.” So Hyun explains.

“I already saw part of Florence at the Piazzale Michelangelo yesterday. Will it be the same?” They start walking towards the staircases going down the crypt. 

So Hyun’s face darkens at the reminder that she spent the whole day with his brother yesterday, “It’s not the same.” 

All the more persuaded to see the city with her this time in the hopes of replacing her memory of Jung Nam with their own memory.

Jung Nam, why do we have to be born again on this same life together? Isn’t it enough you had her on her last breathe? You even took my child from me?

So Hyun wonders if he is the only one who remembers in this lifetime. Even if Jung Nam doesn’t remember anything, So Hyun knows his brother is still drawn to Ha Jin the way he was drawn to Hae Soo a thousand years ago. It was hard enough to forgive him while So Hyun was living as King Gwanjong, this life would have become easier if all eight of them brothers weren’t born as cousins and brothers, still. Fate wouldn’t give them the reprieve. They all have sinned against each other on their last lifetime. No one is unpunished on this new lifetime as well. To So Hyun, it feels like they are trapped in an endless loop and he is cursed for being the only one who remembers.

Nearing the entrance to the tower, they see a long line of people even at this early morning and So Hyun remembers they need a reservation with a private tour guide to get an access to the tops of the Duomo or to restricted areas. 

“Ha Jin-ah, do you mind if we just go up in the Duomo tom?” So Hyun explains, “I’ll make a call. There is no point going up the steep, narrow staircase if we won’t be able to go to the terrace.” 

“I see.” Ha Jin nods, “Where shall we go next?”

“I got us a reservation at 2PM somewhere, in the meantime. What do you want to do?” So Hyun leads her back to the main door of the Cathedral.

Ha Jin checks her watch, it’s 11AM, “Where did you get us a reservation?”

So Hyun grins, “You’ll know when we get there. You’ll like it.”

“Hmmm… alright.” Ha Jin agrees, walking the steps down the cathedral, “But is it a secret? Why can’t I know?”

“You’ve always been an impatient one, my moon.” So Hyun chuckles lightly.

“My moon?” Ha Jin repeats, not comprehending where the endearment came from. She had heard that endearment before but she can’t remember when or who called her that, just she knows she’d been addressed like that. She suddenly stops walking, trying to recapture the voice who had been calling her that.

“Yes, you’re my moon.” So Hyun stops walking too, watching the confusion on Ha Jin’s eyes.

Had I gone too far?

“Say it again.” Ha Jin asks him.

“My moon.” So Hyun repeats, “My beautiful moon in the darkest of night.”

“Aagghhhh.” Ha Jin can’t help but grimace, her fingers balling into tight cringe She finds it too sweetly of a gesture.

“Wae? Why can’t I call you with a term of endearment?” So Hyun chuckles lively, “Shall I use Babe? Baby? Isn’t it cringer? 

Ha Jin shakes her head, her hands held up in a gesture of no, “Please don’t.”

“Hahahahha.” So Hyun heartily laughs, “Na-iu dal. (My moon.)”

“Mal haji maseyo. (Please don’t say that.)” Ha Jin covers her ears playfully, “I can’t!”

Turning left of the Campanille di Giotto, the two walks the street at the back of Hotel Savoy, strolling at Via de Cazaiuoli. High end shops populate the street and at one corner, a musician plays a sweet tune with a lively violin.

So Hyun pulls Ha Jin unto his arms, coming around her waist, “Will my lady grant me this dance?” 

Ha Jin blushes, mindful of the people around them who are busy with their own businesses. “So Hyun-ah, this isn’t a place to do this.”

“Wae? It’s a pleasant music and no one cares.” So Hyun can’t wipe the boyish grin on his face. The laughter coming out of him so easily.

“I feel embarrassed.” Ha Jin buries her face on her palms on So Hyun’s chest.

“Ay gyiyeo, na-ui dal-i (You’re so cute, my moon)” So Hyun takes her hands off her face and put it around his shoulder. He then spun them around, leading Ha Jin into a slow waltz in place, easing her slowly.

Ha Jin’s heart beat spikes up, so does So Hyun but there are no traces of nervousness on So Hyun’s face only on his chest that Ha Jin can feel beating erratically against her.

“They say Paris is the city of love. The most romantic city in the world” So Hyun whispers in her ear, “I disagree. Anywhere with you is a city of love... Saranghae, nae Ha Jin-ah. (I love you, my moon.)”

He spans them around, letting the music fill his heart with happiness. Here, in a city so very unlike the city where they met a thousand years ago, So Hyun captures the memory of them that can only be found in his dreams.

Tapping his copy of hotel card at the door, Baek-Ah enters Jung Nam’s room, freshly showered. He had taken a run at the gym at their hotel and is now starving for breakfast, carrying his laptop with him.

“Il-eo-na! (Get-up!) It’s eleven already.” Baek-Ah opens the drapes wide and casting the blanket out of Jung Nam’s face.

“Silheo… Go away!” Jung Nam’s head hurts from a hang over.

“Ya! Am I your nanny! Why do I always have to take care of you?” Though he is lecturing his cousin, he goes through the fridge to get a bottle of water for him. 

“I will never awake again.” Jung Nam pulls the cover on his head, “I’m dying.”

Baek-Ah walks back to the bed, twist the bottle cap and pours it directly on Jung Nam’s face.

“Ya!” Jung Nam doubles over, the cold water is startling but it feels good on his throbbing head.

“Ileona! (Get-up!) Before I dragged you to the shower myself.” Baek-ah warns him.

Jung Nam wipes his face with the back of his hand, “There’s nothing to do, why do I have to get up?”

“You dragged me thousands of miles to get a coffee with a girl and when it doesn’t work out, you’ll just ditch me? I've put my ass on the line here.” Baek-Ah calls from the living room where he had opened the tv and scans for a movie and put it in the lowest volume, “Choie Biseo called me this morning to say that Harabeoji is angry. There are tons of papers that needed our attention.”

He opens his laptop and reads his email, five are labeled urgent. Proposals for the upcoming tie up event for their hotel and mall are glowing in yellow stars.

Jung Nam walks over his bathroom to take a shower while Baek-Ah works on his laptop. He makes some call to his own secretary and holds a video call to his marketing team. The proposals he got is outdated and orders them to research on the latest trend on augmented reality and upcoming 2020 Olympics in Japan. 

By the time Jung Nam is done with his shower and dressed, his phone rings, a call from his 10^th cousin.

“Ya! oediya!” A screaming Hwang Eun Ja is on the other line, “How could you both leave me here!”

Jung Nam distance his phone from his ear and waits for Eun Ja to calm down before putting it back on his ears, “We weren’t planning on leaving.”

“You’re in Florence!” Eun Ja is sitting alone in a coffee shop, waiting for his secretary who got him his order “I saw it in your IG post. Why didn’t you invite me?!”

“Who is that?” Baek-Ah mouths to Jung Nam?

“Eun ja.” Jung Nam answers in a normal voice.

“Who are you talking to?” Eun Ja is fuming. 

“Baek-Ah hyung.” Jung Nam gets back to Eun Ja, apologizing, “Mianhae, it was really not planned. You can join us if you want but I think the four of us, cousins, here in Florence is enough. I hear Harabeoji is livid.”

“You bet he is.” Eun Ja closes his laptop in front of him, “When are you coming back?”

Jung Nam thinks about it, he hasn’t made up his mind about what Yeon Hwa told them last night. He doesn’t want to resent his brother, So Hyun, but he needs to have things cleared among the three of them, “Maybe in two weeks.”

“Two weeks?!” Eun Ja’s face falls in disappointment, “I doubt harabeoji would let you. What’s in Florence? Was that Ha Jin with you in the motorcycle?”

“Yes, we run into her here.” Jung Nam lies.

“Geo-jit-mal. (You’re lying.)” Eun Ja doesn’t believe it. The three of them had fallen out of contact with her some years back but he and Jung Nam still harbors a crush on Ha Jin ‘till now. 

“Whatever.” Jung Nam shrugs it, “We’ll see you when we get back.” 

“You better bring me a good wine.” Eun Ja asks on the other line before hanging-up.

Just above Jung Nam and Baek-Ah’s floor is Yeon Hwa’s suite overlooking the panoramic view of Arno River. Yeon Hwa sits by her balcony on her high neck, long sleeves side ribbon neck blouse paired with a pencil cut purple skirt, her lunch laden behind her laptop, checking the daily stocks of her father’s business. She then proceeds to track next the stocks on her mother’s side, seeing as her father’s search engine site is down by .04% from yesterday’s trading but still dominating the market while her mother’s instant app is the most sought after IM in South Korea, her day is shaping to be normal. Checking their stocks usually takes up her whole morning.

She clicks her tongue, satisfied so far. She opens her emails and works on some files sent to her yesterday. One of her two phones rings beside her laptop, displaying the name of 3^rd grandson of Hwang, “Yo Han oppa, chal achim-e.”

“It’s almost evening here already.” Yo Han answers on the other line. 

“Right,” Yeon Hwa checks the time on her laptop, “To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”

“Very formal of my favorite cousin, don’t be like that.” Yo Han is shutting his laptop off, sitting behind his table inside his glass office on the 25^th floor of Hwang Building.

Yeon Hwa chuckles, “Mianhae oppa, just, I’m very popular among the Hwang cousins lately.”

“I hear it’s because of my brother, let me apologize for him. You know he didn’t grew up with us in Korea so he had adapted so well in London, his manners are that of the west.” Yo Han indulges Yeon Hwa, making a small talk.

“Actually for someone who grew up in London, your brother is quite conservative.” Recalling her university days with So Hyun in Oxford, Yeon Hwa is more liberated in dating compared to So Hyun. 

“Ah, are you disappointed he didn’t fall for your charm?” Yo Han smirks, the same smirk So Hyun has.

“On the contrary, I believe you know your brother and I had something in the past.” Yeon Hwa plays along, resting her back at her chair.

“Hahahaha and he disappointed you.” Yo Han laughs, flirting with his step cousin “I, on the other hand will never break your heart.”

“Too bad, we’re cousins.” Yeon Hwa returns the flirting.

“Step-cousins, we’re not related by blood.” Yo Han corrects her, “How come my brother is allowed to date you and I can’t?”

“One Hwang is enough.” Yeon Hwa chuckles, “I can’t be a serial dater of Hwangs. I can imagine now what the press would publish about me and it would be bad for our family stocks.”

The two shares a laugh over their jokes. 

“Well, if you change your mind, I can prove you I’m the better Hwang brother...” Yo Han casually offers, “in a lot of ways…”

“Ne, oppa,” Yeon Hwa shrugs his offer, “Whatever you say.”

“Ah, I called to tell you that I have approved your request of tie-up event with our mall. I’ll ask Baek-Ah to include it on our upcoming event this December. Can you send me the proposed artists you’ll invite so I can review it?” Yo Han slowly changes into business talk.

“I had our PR team send me the list of brand ambassadors, I’ll choose the top ones and then send it to you.” Yeon Hwa turns back to her laptop, “Dong Wook oppa also agreed in our tie-up with Hwang mall in China so maybe you and him can come up with a uniform for our activation or if both of you wants it to be localized according to the country, up to you. You guys can talk.”

“I’ll drop him a call.” Yo Han nods, “When are you returning?”

“I have to detour in Shanghai first.” Yeon Hwa answers, reaching to her juice.

“But Dong Wook-ah is here in Seoul.” Yo Han finishes putting his things in order. 

“I’m meeting our legal team in China for the approval of our license to operate.” 

“I see.” Yo Han loosens his tie, “I’ll see you soon. I’m flying to London at the end of the week to visit eomma.” 

“So Hyun oppa and Jung Nam-i said that too.” Yeon Hwa is easing to her flirty mode once again now that the business part is over, “Say hello to your mom for me.”

“Eong. See you. ” Yo Han breaks into a grin too before ending the call.

Late in the afternoon, So Hyun parks his car at the south entrance of Basilica Santa Maria, leading Ha Jin in front of the Church.

“Oh, I know this place!” Ha Jin exclaims, sweeping her eyes all over the Cisterian Gothic Church, “I walked here the first time I’ve arrived. Isn’t this near their train station.

“Maj-a. (That’s correct.) The station is on the other side, behind the church.” So Hyun agrees, holding her hand and walking her under the gothic vaulted ceiling, entering the church.

“Is’t church day today?” Ha Jin giggles, “You keep bringing me to churches.”

So Hyun grins, “We’re only passing by. I have somewhere else I want you to see. You’ll love it.”

So Hyun navigates them to the exit, into the maze of inner gardens, both small and big, hallways that belongs to the 14^th century decorated with almost fading frescos, depicting lives of St. John the Evangelist and St. Philip. The inside of this churches are otherworldly to Ha Jin who grew up in a Buddhist-Confucianist society.

They emerged into a busy and very normal looking street on the other side, the smell of baking bread in the nearby bakery wafts here, “Are we eating another lunch?”

So Hyun chuckles, “No, my moon.” 

He stops beside the baking café, facing a heavy double glass door. The sign at the top of the entrance says: Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.

Two old men in a butler uniform open the door and a strong sweet fragrance of fresh flowers engulfs Ha Jin as they step inside. Ha Jin closes her eyes and lets herself breathe in the wonderful scent in the white hallway, “Where are we?” 

So Hyun opens the door at the end of the hallway for her, “Welcome to the oldest apothecary in Italy.”

Ha Jin’s eyes takes in the beauty confections surrounding her. Huge walnut antique cabinets are vaulted in the walls, containing glass-stoppered decanters full of colorful potions. Bronze statues stand beside each vaulted cabinets holding a small round lanterns. The high immense frescoed ceiling holds an eight-tier glass chandelier at the middle while the floor is checkered marble. Old grotesque potteries are displayed together with their produces. Beside the door is a statue holding a tablet where customers can search their products.

A lady in black tweed suit approaches them, “Singore So Hyun Hwang?”

“Si, buongiorno.” So Hyun greets the lady. 

“Si, buogiorno. Sono e Lucia Amelia. I will be your guide today.” The lady introduces herself for Ha Jin’s benefit and extends her hand to her before turning to So Hyun, “I hope your mother enjoyed the gift we sent for her birthday.”

“I’m sure she did.” So Hyun cordially answers, putting his arm around Ha Jin’s waist.

Santa Maria Novella is an off the grid luxury brand for beauty essentials that thrives by word of mouth. Their product includes luxury perfumes, soaps, beauty products, scented candles, aromatic oils and home scented potpourris. Started by Dominican Friars in 1221, to defeat the plague of “Black Death”. Their earliest produce is Distilled Rose Water, having thought that petals of roses combats pestilence. Today, Their Distilled Rose Water is a favorite among their customers as aromatic water.

“Shall we?” Lucia Amelia, walks them to the center of the room, “Please help yourself, you have the whole room for yourselves.” 

She makes an eye contact with So Hyun, knowing that this particular client of them likes being left alone. Yoo Shin Young, So Hyun’s mother is one of their exclusive customers who do her shopping here in quiet and utmost privacy. On a normal day, the shop is open to everyone. Tourist abound their doors, strolling in the halls of their museum and teashop. 

With delight, Ha Jin walks to one of the walnut cabinets and examine the glass-stoppered decanters. In front of her is a half moon table where she can sample the scents of the perfume and colognes.

“I heard you're a chemist major.” So Hyun follows behind her, watching Ha Jin’s eyes light up with the produces she can test.

“Ne, it was my premed.” Ha Jin picks up a stick of paper, “But I never wanted to become a doctor. I stayed in my major because I was comfortable doing labs.” 

BUt whenever she thinks about why she doesn't want to become a doctor, she can't really remember. Ha Jin turns to So Hyun, “I sound strange, don’t I? I mean who likes mixing formulas?” 

“I’m good at Math.” So Hyun tells her so she doesn’t feel bad about her geekiness. He doesn’t find it strange. Hae Soo loved making her soaps and essentials on their original lifetime. What better course to continue her craftsmanship, “So I majored in economics and management.”

“Here,” So Hyun picks up a classy glass frosted perfume. Holds it at arms length and sprays it at the paper, “It’s their oldest fragrance. The most expensive but also the most sought after. A perfume for a queen.”

Ha Jin receives the stick of paper and smells the scent, a base note of Bergamot, citrus, white flowers and spice. She fans it out, letting it dry before inhaling it again. This time the scent settles to a nice citrus-floral with lots of orange blossom.

“Eau dela Reine. This perfume was commissioned by Catherine de Medici in 1533 before coming to France and marrying King Henry II.” So Hyun explains, “Today, the pharmacy still uses the same formula, the original scent was created with.”

Ha Jin nods her head, taking her time with smelling. It has that clean, floral scent that isn’t overwhelming. She puts the paper down and wrinkles her nose before trying to smell the crook of her elbow.

So Hyun passes her coffee beans in a shot glass, “Here, smell this.”

“Coffee bean doesn’t really cleanse your olfactory nerves. It’s another strong smell that overpowers your nose so the other scent goes away.” Ha Jin declines the glass of coffee beans, “If you want to restart your sense of smell, you need to inhale your body’s natural scent. Like the insides of your elbow or your wrist or your neck, or your chest.”

“Here,” Ha Jin extends her wrist to So Hyun, “I don’t wear perfume and I use natural hand made soaps of my own doing.”

So Hyun takes a hold of her hand and slowly breathes in her wrist. Ha Jin had that natural smell of faint baked apple and hint of orange blossom that reminds So Hyun of their long ago lifetime. How she manages to still appear and smell the same after a thousand years is comforting to So Hyun. He’s inclined to favor her writs with a light kiss when Ha Jin withdraws her hand.

“Better?” She smiles, unaware of the effect she had on So Hyun. She moves to the other moon table, examining the other colognes.

So Hyun swallows the cravings on his tongue, his mind wandering to the silkiness of her skin, the whiteness of her inner wrist. What would it feel like to run his lips on her neck. He is busy imagining the touch of her skin when Ha Jin exclaims, 

“Oh!” She’s in front of the colognes, already testing a scent in a stick of paper.

So Hyun walks to stand behind her and she suddenly turns to him, to close to So Hyun that So Hyun suddenly holds his breath, trying not to move as Ha Jin let’s her nose get that waft of scent from his bare neck. His chiseled jaw tensing, “Ha Jin-ah…”

Still unconscious of her effect on So Hyun, Ha Jin just kept smelling him, catching that warm rich exotic musky scent that is slightly intoxicating.

“Ha Jin-ah…” So Hyun repeats, as silent as he can, while hiding the spike on his heartbeat, all casual at the outside. He lowers his lips on her ears, whispering a steaming caution, “If you want to make out with me, just say so… Don’t temp me like this.”

“Eh?” Ha Jin steps away, nervously chuckling to avoid the sudden tension in the air, “What are you talking about? I was just checking this scent…”

She raises the stick of paper from the cologne in brown almost orange shade. “It says here Patchouli. I’ve never been a fan of Patchouli scent. It’s too... how do I describe it?... red. Animalistic. Overpowering. You know what I mean?”

So Hyun nods, “Not anyone appreciates the scent, yes.”

“Are you using one?” Ha Jin asks, curiously, “You must be. It smells like you but different.”

She hesitates. Her eyes appraising his neck where the scent is most strong, wanting to smell that scent on him again but is cautious after So Hyun’s warning.

So Hyun playfully grins advancing a step on her space, “You can smell me again if you want.” 

“No, thank you. It’s fine. I know the scent.” Ha Jin embarrassingly declines, still getting used to So Hyun’s playful teasing.

“I have it as an aftershave.” So Hyun tells her, “You’re right, it has that overpowering musky earthy scent on your first inhale but I don’t know. I’m comfortable with the smell. It dissolves to mint and greenness after an hour or so.”

“Must be that the chemical compound is compatible with your body chemistry. It smells different in you.” Ha Jin nods thoughtfully.

As someone who used to work as a consultant in naturalist-oriented beauty and cosmetics conglomerate, Ha Jin is well versed with this natural products and how they impact on people’s health, believing that true beauty comes from a healthy body.

“Did you find a perfume you like?” So Hyun asks, staring over the papers she tested. 

“I like the smell of the Eau dela Reine and Acqua di Colonia Melograno.” Ha Jin walks over to the next room, this one being called the Green Room and contains their soaps, home fragrances and candles, “But I don’t really used perfume. It’s too strong.”

“Good!” So Hyun is relieved, “My mom is using Eau dela Reine and I don’t want you to smell like my mother.”

Ha Jin shakes her head and chuckles.

“I like how you smell now, something like of home, a baked apple and orange blossom.” So Hyun catches the scent on her hair, “They have other products that I’m sure you’ll find interesting. Like their soaps…”

So Hyun brings her to a table with box of glasses stack in pyramid, each one containing a pure, immaculate, luxury soaps inside, “Each one is handmade and aged for a month.”

Ha Jin examines each of the soap, most of them milk based in fragrance of rosa, gardenia, garofano, gelsomino, iris, verbena and violetta. Not one brings out a memory in mind the way So Hyun was hoping it would. Hae Soo love making those soaps. Baek-Ah even gifted her rose oil and essences for her birthday but being in the middle of this workshop doesn’t really bring out anything on Ha Jin’s mind. Maybe because it’s too different of a setting from their original lifetime.

Ha Jin picks up a box of glass, “Do they sell it in this packaging?”

“It’s their display.” So Hyun signals to Lucia Amelia and she quietly walks over, waiting for Ha Jin’s order, “Did you find anything to your liking?”

“I want this one.” Pertaining to the almond soap. She puts back the box of glass and examines another soap, this time a milky one. Her eyes tries to search for the prices, “How much do you think this is? They aren’t displaying the prices." 

The prices are usually displayed on their electronic tablet situated beside the door.

“It doesn’t matter.” So Hyun assures her, “Which ones do you like?”

Ha Jin thinks about it, the prices out of her mind at the moment. She points to the milky soaps scented with Rose and Iris for her mother and sister.

So Hyun discreetly signals to Lucia Amelia and she nods in response, taking note of Ha Jin’s choices.

Moving along, Ha Jin gets an almond cream to pair with her soap. So Hyun points to a melograno shampoo, hair conditioner and honey cream hair mask in addition without Ha Jin’s knowledge. He also ordered for relaxing gel for legs, menthol talcum dusting powder, body milk for men and a bottle of his aftershave for his self. 

Ha Jin discovers their wax product next. In different shapes and sizes, the rectangular wax for closet fragrance catches Ha Jin’s eyes, handcrafted and decorated by hand with real herbs such as lavanda, melograno, pot pouri, lemon and rosa.

Lucia Amelia, diligently takes note of every choices Ha Jin makes, even taking a closer look on her body shape and size.

They explore the small museum behind the store, displaying the pharmacy’s ancient production workshop. Vases from 16^th and 17th century are being displayed here. Ha Jin takes interest over ancient books offering an alchemist view on how to combat the bubonic plague. Of course, everything is in Italian that Ha Jin doesn’t understand.

“Shall we have tea? We can sample their food specialties on their Herbal Tea Room.” So Hyun tells her, after noticing that Ha Jin is leaning all her weight in one foot, starting to get tired.

“Alright.” Ha Jin agrees. 

So Hyun makes another gesture to Lucia Amelia, signaling that they are done with shopping and that the shop can now open to other guests. Lucia Amelia guides them to the Herbal Tea Room and leaves afterwards.

In contrast to the artist frescoed walls of the Green Room and Sales Room, The Herbal tea Room thrives in simplicity. The walls are white and wooden tables of classic elegance populate the room. A mahogany counter top sits at the middle of the room and from behind the desk is another wooden cabinet that displays tea, liquors and other products.

So Hyun opts for a table outside the café, wanting to smell the clean fresh air from the garden after all the heavy scents their nose were filled with. Little by little the shop starts to get customers inside and only did Ha Jin realized that there were no other people inside the shop while they were looking around awhile ago.

“Did the shop just opened?” Ha Jin asks, finding it odd.

“Yes,” So Hyun answers casually as if he didn’t had the shop closed for them, “What are you having?”

“Hmmm…” Ha Jin examines the printed menu on a paper, bound by a ribbon, “I should try their tea right?”

“You can try their elixirs too or their pies.” So Hyun suggests, “or I can order for both of us.”

“Alright, please do so.” Ha Jin agrees. Her phone vibrates inside her clutch sling bag, the sound of it feels foreign to her after not using a phone for days.

She takes out her phone to So Hyun’s surprise, “Yebeoseyo?” 

“Ha Jin-ah!” Jung Nam was tinkering on his phone and decided to try Ha Jin’s phone when his call got through, “You’re phone is finally ringing.” 

“Yeah, it is. Just this morning.” Ha Jin explains. She tried turning her phone on this morning and to her surprise, it lighted. She charged it for an hour before So Hyun fetched her. 

“Where are you, today?” Jung Nam ask on the other line, standing at the top of the Duomo, over looking the city, watching as if he could somehow see Ha Jin anywhere, “I went to your apartment this afternoon but you were gone. I thought we were going up the Duomo today.”

“Ah mat-da, mianhaeyo. I didn’t thought you were serious yesterday when you said you’d come with me in the Duomo since you’ve already seen it.” Ha Jin apologizes. It really was out of her mind this morning and after her argument with So Hyun last night, So Hyun had made her agreed to spent the day with only him.

“It’s alright.” Jung Nam carefully hides his disappointment.

 Baek-Ah is taking a photo beside him when he heard Jung Nam’s call getting through Ha Jin’s phone.

“Do you want to have dinner, later.” Jung Nam asks.

“I’m having tea with your brother at Santa Maria Novella.” Ha Jin explains tactlessly, unconscious of the trouble she brings between the two brothers.

So Hyun is cautiously watching Ha Jin over the menu while ordering for the two of them, not liking the idea that Ha Jin has a phone again and his brother is not wasting a moment to call her.

“Where are we going to have dinner later?” Ha Jin turns to him, covering her phone, “Jung Nam and Baek-Ah want to join.” 

“A-jik mol-la (I don’t know yet.)” So Hyun planned the dinner for the two of them only. 

“I’ll let you know later.” Ha Jin goes back to Jung Nam on the other line.

“Alright.” Jung Nam concedes, “I’ll see you later.”

The two ends the call and So Hyun tells Ha Jin, “You didn’t tell me your phone is working again.”

“Oh, I only tried this morning and then it opened. Amazing right?!” Ha Jin smiles innocently through it, “I forgot about it too. I should have taken photos of the pharmacy. Eomma and unnie would love this shop.” 

“I’m sure they would.” So Hyun swallows his jealousy down. When Ha Jin smiles at him like that, he can’t stay mad at her, “Can I finally have the number of my moon?” 

“Of course!” Ha Jin hands over her phone to So Hyun and So Hyun dials his number. When her call gets through, he cancels it and saves his number on her phone with the name of ‘Na-ui hae’ (My sun). Then saves Ha Jin’s number on his phone under the name of ‘Na-ui dal’ (My moon).

He passes the phone back to Ha Jin and Ha Jin inspects the name, giggling softly, “I thought you were going to put ‘na-ui dal-gwa byeol’ (My moon and star)”

Pertaining to a term of endearment from a well-known period tv show, “Are you a fan of Game of Thrones?” 

So Hyun finds her comment funny, “I did watch it.”

But no, my moon, we played our own game of thrones once and it cost me you…

Holding himself back before his moods turn dark, “Did you?”

“Who doesn’t?” Ha Jin chuckles. 

“Sly girl.” So Hyun comments.

“What does that mean?” Ha Jin didn’t understand So Hyun’s comment.

“Nothing…” So Hyun makes himself comfortable on his chair. “Don’t temp me, my moon… 

Blushing, Ha Jin is reminded of So Hyun’s words a while ago, when they were in the sales room.

By the time the two leaves the premise of the apothecary, Lucia Amelia hands them their shopping bags, six, including the chocolate and tea So Hyun ordered for them.

“Why are there so many? I only bought a hand cream and soaps?” Ha Jin inspect the shopping bags, there’s even what appears as soft silk fabric on one of the bags “How do I pay for this? Is't not expensive?” 

“It’s been taken cared off.” So Hyun takes the shopping bags before Ha Jin could give it back to Lucia Amelia, “It’s not just women who know how to shop.” 

He greets Lucia Amelia and the other sales rep, goodbye, lacing his fingers with Ha Jin once more. They walked back to the parking lot where So Hyun puts the shopping bags at the trunk of his car. 

So Hyun makes a stop over at another luxury hotel at the northern part of Arno River where they were welcomed by staff and managers, who seemed familiar with So Hyun. The building was a 12^th century mansion converted into a hotel, a branch of Windsor Excelsior. Ha Jin was led into the rooftop lounge, where she waited for So Hyun for 30 minutes. Perusing her phone for the first time since losing it at San Gimignano, she takes photo of the stunning 360 degree view of the Arno River and the city of Florence, watching the magic hour settle in the city. It is one of the best experience she had here in Florence.

The crowd is starting to trickle-in when So Hyun comes back. He drives them back to the Piazza of Santa Maria Novella, where two blocks from it, a restaurant loved by both local and tourist is found. Perch unassumingly in a quiet intersection that comes to life at night, the restaurant is popular for it’s Florentine Steak and wine produce from all over the country. Normally, the restaurant doesn’t take a reservation and every table seats eight. You either fill it with your companion or the servers seat you with strangers and you win a friend.

Tonight though, they make an exception for So Hyun. He happens to be university classmate with the 4th generation son of the owner. After making a call, he gladly reserved their wine cellar table just for the two of them. Upstairs, the wine cellar is a stone brick room inhabited by stocks of wines on different sizes of bottles and barrel. Slab of ham hangs on the ceiling as decorations. One bottle draws Ha Jin’s attention as it’s almost as big as a wooden barrel. A glass table that sits ten, three on the both of the longer sides and two on shorter sides, waits for So Hyun and Ha Jin at the middle. 

The two settles down on the longer side that sits three and So Hyun explains the menu. Though they wouldn’t be needing it since So Hyun’s friend already prepared a feast for them.

“I’m sorry you had to wait in the hotel a while ago. I had to take care of some things first.” So Hyun apologizes again as Ha Jin settles beside him after taking photos of the wine cellar. 

“It’s alright.” Ha Jin assures him, her eyes busily inspecting the wines on the floor beside them, “Were you staying there? I thought you were staying at the hotel where we had breakfast this morning?”

“No…I…” So Hyun doesn’t really like talking about his work, “I stay on Hotel Savoy and the hotel we went to is a branch of a hotel that my family acquired in Korea.” 

Not mentioning that he had just been declared a CEO of such hotel.

“Right, you’re a Hwang.” Ha Jin keeps forgetting or more like she chooses to not mind So Hyun’s status because a reminder of it makes her nervous. Though her adopted family is also rich and she grew-up privileged, her status is nowhere near the Hwangs and the disparity in their classes is gaping wide, “So Hyun Ssi…” 

She chews her lower lip, a habit she carried over from her previous life, “The things you bought me this afternoon…”

“What about it?” So Hyun picks up his red wine. An antipasti of cold cuts and cheese were served first, “Have you forgotten something? Do you want to go back?” 

“No, it’s just…” Ha Jin is embarrassed for herself, twisting her fingers together. The feathers of her dream catcher ring catches on her finger, “You don’t have to buy me those things next time. I’d gladly appreciate it if you let me pay for my things.”

“Nonsense, Ha Jin-ah.” So Hyun assures her, “I want you to have everything you ever want.”

A left over desire from their past lives, So Hyun would give everything and anything for Ha Jin. 

“So Hyun Ssi…” Ha Jin tries to explain that she doesn’t want to seem like she has an underlying motive for So Hyun. She has her own money. Maybe little and nowhere near So Hyun but she’d rather buy things for herself. 

“Stop addressing me so formally. How many times shall I have to say it?” So Hyun dismisses her worry, covering her left hand with his, he plays with the ring he gave to her, “I want everything to be perfect for both of us.”

“We have a reservation!” a familiar voice floats upstairs and disrupts Ha Jin and So Hyun’s conversation, effectively putting an end to Ha Jin’s insistence. 

“I’m sorry, Signorina but we do not take in reservation. If you could please walk back to our dining area and wait, we could sit you in another room, please.” A server is trying to herd an insistent tourist away from the wine cellar.

One of the customer, a lady, shunts the server away and manages to reach the landing of the wine cellar revealing Yeon Hwa, dressed in her casual classy v-neck blouse over a leather skirt, underneath her coat, “So Hyun oppa!”

She makes a beeline for So Hyun and gives him a peck on both cheeks, inciting Ha Jin’s ire again. Ha Jin quickly takes back her hand from So Hyun.

“Could you please tell this server that we are with you.” Behind Yeon Hwa, Jung Nam and Baek-Ah wave at Ha Jin.

So Hyun was going to tell the server to send them away but Ha Jin says, “Oh, hey! Come and join us.” 

Yeon Hwa turns to the server triumphantly smirking and So Hyun sighs, not in the mood to share their table to any of his cousins.

Jung Nam and Baek-Ah sit opposite of So Hyun and Ha Jin while Yeon Hwa inserts herself beside So Hyun.

“How did you find us? I was just about to text you.” Ha Jin chooses to turn her attention to Baek-Ah and Jung Nam.

“So Hyun oppa and I have a special bond so I can easily find him.” Yeon Hwa answers for the two boys, trying to get a rise out of Ha Jin. 

For some reason, she doesn’t like Ha Jin from the get go. She finds her annoyingly naïve and doesn't understand why So Hyun had set his eyes on her. Jung Nam is comprehensible. They’ve been university classmates, maybe somewhere along the friendship Jung Nam developed feelings for her but So Hyun, they've only met each other last weekend and he already bought her a ring. It’s highly unlikely of him to show such affection to a girl and to top it all, Ha Jin seemed like she has no idea that the brothers are vying for her attention. 

So Hyun quietly sits in between Yeon Hwa and Ha Jin, starring at Yeon Hwa with a warning against whatever she planned for the evening.

Yeon Hwa, with her straight back and carefree sarcastic mouth stares back at So Hyun, “What?”

Not bothering to lower her voice, “If you wanted privacy, you shouldn’t have dined in a restaurant where crowds gather to meet friends.” 

“Where did you go today?” Baek-Ah changes topic, “Are you really leaving for Rome tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Ha Jin had her clothes and things arranged in her luggage.

“Or we can go straight to Naples instead.” So Hyun cuts in, "Why Rome, it's not safe for you."

He reiterates.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in London this weekend? Yo Han oppa called me this morning and told me your mother is expecting the three of you.” Yeon Hwa asks So Hyun.

The server comes in to add another plate of appetizer and fruits to their table, giving So Hyun a few precious minutes to think it over.

“I can just fly from Naples.” So Hyun shrugs, “The flight only takes two hours. I could be home in time for dinner.”

“But you promised eomma, you’d be staying for the weekend.” Jung Nam adds.

“And you did, too.” So Hyun reminds his brother and then turns to Ha Jin, “Have you been in London?”

Surprising Jung Nam, Baek-Ah and Yeon Hwa. The three couldn’t believe where this line of question is leading.

“Oppa!” Yeon Hwa cuts in before Jung Nam could even utter a disagreement, “You’re not serious, right?”

Catching with everyone’s train of thought, Ha Jin answers, “I… ahm… should probably just follow my itinerary.”

Nervous on how fast everything is going between her and So Hyun.

“Come with me in London this weekend and then we can continue with your itinerary. Prague, right? After Naples?” So Hyun casually offers, seeing nothing wrong with bringing Ha Jin with him to a family gathering, “We’ll fly to Prague straight.”

Ha Jin sports her nervousness on her face, unable to hide her uneasiness. She didn’t bother to say, she’s going to Venice first before Prague.

“Hyung, maybe it’s too early to let Ha Jin meet your mother,” Baek-Ah voices everyone’s worry.

“Why not!” Yeon Hwa recovers fast from her surprise, changing her course easily, “Can I come too? It’s been a while since I saw Shin Young imo.”

And then adds with a sarcastic grin, “I’d like to see her reaction when you bring Go Ha Jin Ssi. It would be interesting.”

Intimidating Ha Jin further.

“I shouldn’t go.” Ha Jin makes up her mind, awkwardly chuckling and reaching for her glass of wine to drink.

“It would be fine.” So Hyun dismisses it confidently. Growing-up in a western culture, bringing a girl home is not so much frowned upon. Though So Hyun had never brought a girl home before. He seldom dates after university and when he does, it’s usually all business, just currying a favor. 

“Hyung, you might have grown up in London but the rest of us didn’t. Specially, Ha Jin-ah.” Jung Nam tries to explain, coming in between Ha Jin and So Hyun, “Koreans don’t just bring home anyone to meet their parents. It’s a big deal.”

“Ara. (I know.)” So Hyun doesn’t care, “I’m not just bringing any girl home. I’m bringing my girlfriend home to meet our mother. What’s wrong with that?” 

“Yeoja chinggu?!!! (Girlfriend?!!!)” The three exclaims together. They weren’t expecting So Hyun and Ha Jin’s relationship will be on the next level already. It is apparent So Hyun is very much interested with Ha Jin but they never thought Ha Jin would be too careless to say yes. 

“Hyung!” Jung Nam straightens from shock, unable to contain his disappointment, “You’ve only just met this weekend! What are you talking about?!”

Ha Jin glances away, uncomfortable of So Hyun’s directness. 

“Is this true?” Jung Nam asks Ha Jin. 

Ha Jin couldn’t meet Jung Nam’s eyes, chewing her lower lip. 

“Anjh-a-ra! (Sit down!)” So Hyun commands, shrugging it, “Sa-gwi-go iss-nuen-de wae gue-rae? (What’s wrong with us, dating?)”

“Casually…” Ha Jin blurts out. It’s not that she isn’t serious with So Hyun but she feels pressured of their relationship when So Hyun unknowingly puts her in this kind of situations.

Disappointed, So Hyun didn’t like what Ha Jin just uttered. He falls silence while his face darkens and as always when he tenses, he becomes cold and devoid of emotion. He stands up, every movement of his is precise and calculated, “Enjoy your dinner.”

And walks out.

The cold uncomfortable air quickly settles among them and Ha Jin looks around lost, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

“Congratulations!” Yeon Hwa mockingly remarks, holding her wine glass up, “I think you’ve just broken up.”

She takes a sip, appreciating the taste, “That was fast.”

Ha Jin anxiously walks after So Hyun, saying her goodbye to the three.

Jung Nam is about to follow them when Yeon Hwa stops him with her not so kind words, “I wouldn’t follow them if I were you. Let them break-up in peace. Isn't that what you want?”

Outside, So Hyun navigates the next block where he parked his car. Though he isn’t walking fast, Ha Jin has a hard time catching up with him, unable to approach him. Ha Jin had never seen this side of So Hyun. He isn't angry but he seemed cold.

“So Hyun Ssi!” Ha Jin calls after him. The street away from the restaurant is empty of people even though it’s still early in the evening. This part of the city is a quiet residential block with only a few lamppost lighting the street every several meters.

So Hyun reaches the car, unlocking it with a button on his automatic keys.

“So Hyun-ah!” Ha Jin drops the formality, trying to appease So Hyun, “Jam-kkan-man gi-dari-jwo (Please, wait)”

Ha Jin catches his arm, “Mianhaeyo.”

So Hyun turns to face her, his cold eyes holding contempt, “Casual?”

Silence descends upon them, stretching for what feels like a long time, Ha Jin releases So Hyun’s arm.

“Do you know what casual means?” He advances a step on her, the glaring difference in their height made obvious by the shadow he’s casting over her. At the moment, every ounce of warmth in So Hyun has evaporated in the atmosphere, leaving an icy So Hyun behind.

“So Hyun… ah…” Her words caught in her throat, “I don’t know what to do in that kind of situation. I mean, they were right. We’ve only met each other last weekend … and… then suddenly I ran into you here… and then you say… you like me… and then… we’re dating… and you want to introduce me… to your mother…”

She stammers through her words as So Hyun braces his arm against the car and she finds herself trap again “It’s so sudden… I need time to process what we are…”

So Hyun wanted to say that he had waited a thousand years to meet her but foregoes it and settles for a command, “Kiss me.”

Against all the drowning mixed emotion Ha Jin is feeling, her heart quickly races on her chest, “What?” 

“Kiss me.” So Hyun repeats,

Ha Jin is confused, “What if someone sees us—“

So Hyun cuts her sentence with an aggressive kiss, “You think too much.”

He catches her wrist and wraps her arms around his neck, quickly closing the space in between them. He presses his body against her, his hands wandering to the curve of her waist. His tongue darts inside her lips uninvited, tasting the red wine she just drunk. He leans his head to the right before leaving her lips to nuzzle on her chin, down to her neck. 

Caught at the moment, Ha Jin’s heart rate spikes up, letting So Hyun bring delicious goose bumps on her nape. Her hands tighten on So Hyun’s shoulder while his hands slide to her hips, pulling her away from the door of the car and opening it. So Hyun tugs Ha Jin inside, removing his own coat. He sits her on his lap, her knees straddling his waist. He closes the door after her and resumes their making out at the backseat of his car.

A wide expanse of space, Ha Jin never really paid attention to a car’s backseat and before she could even make sense of how they ended up here while they were arguing, she felt that rush of blood on her head, dizzying, making her yield to So Hyun’s intoxicating lips. She sensed her coat being taken off her shoulder and the hem of her skirt hitching up her legs. She’s red all over, the warmth spreading from her cheeks down to every nerve of her body. 

When So Hyun’s hands fall upon her legs, Ha Jin uses every ounce of self-control to stop his hands, “Wait…Stop…”

Ha Jin catches her breathe, trying not to succumbed at the moment, “What are we doing?”

So Hyun clutches on her arm, pulling her back. Slowly this time, he presses his lips on her neck, gliding on the throbbing pulse of a vein, Ha Jin’s heart skips a beat, “You wanted casual…” 

“What?!” Ha Jin pushes So Hyun away, as if douse with a cold water, anger quickly replacing the craving on her nerves. She extricates herself from him. 

“You’re the one who said we were casual.” There’s a held back anger on So Hyun’s eyes, his voice dropping low as if betrayed, “I’m inclined to give you whatever you want for as long as you stay.”

Demonstrating what "casual" is to him.

Ha Jin deems So Hyun incredulously, his words are confusing. It sounds vicious and cutting and yet he is saying he’ll do anything for her to not leave him.

“Ha Jin-ah… tell me what you want me to do to convince you that what I feel for you is genuine?” A plead trickles on So Hyun’s words, his voice dropping soft. Something he never does. He had never begged before but he will beg her, threaten her, whatever needs to be done to make her stay. He’s so scared of losing her again.

Ha Jin moves back, the door of the car touching her hind, “I need time… to process this things.” 

“Then spend it with me.” So Hyun argues.

“You don’t want to meet my mother. Okay.” So Hyun ticks their checklist, “You want to go to Venice instead. Okay. You want us to appear casual around people…” 

So Hyun doesn’t want to agree but “Okay. Whatever you want.”

“Stop!” Ha Jin refutes So Hyun’s last statement, “It’s not that I want us, casual, just…” 

She doesn’t know how to explain it.

“In time you’ll know my words are genuine and trust will come easily but you’ll never get to know me if you don't give us a chance.” So Hyun reaches to her hand instead of offering his, afraid that she might not take it if he offers. Laying her hand in his palms, his fingers automatically seek the ring he gave her, an assurance of her being his, “For now, stay with me...”

Soo-ya… The way you promised me on our last lifetime…

Ha Jin hasn’t made up her mind yet but for the sake of this argument ending, she answers, “Okay.”

This is their second argument in the course of their short present relationship, Ha Jin wonders if this is normal. Everything about their relationship feels utterly thrilling and passionately dysfunctional like a raging fire consuming everything in it's path. It's pushing her at the edge and yet she can't seem to say no to him. She's terrified of it. 

So Hyun picks up Ha Jin’s discarded bag at the floor, “Is your passport here?”

“Wae? (Why?)” Ha Jin nods, unable to follow where So Hyun’s line of thinking is going. It’s another change on his mood but thankfully he isn't angry anymore.

So Hyun opens her bag without permission and gets her keys. He puts his clothes in order and gives Ha Jin her coat. He comes out of his car, transferring behind the wheel. Ha Jin sits in front, too, “Where are we going?”

“Home.” So Hyun takes out his phone, “What’s your apartment address?”

“But you know where I live?” Ha Jin doesn’t follow.

“I don’t know your exact address.” So Hyun shrugs and hands his phone to Ha Jin to type her address.

Ha Jin types in her address and gives the phone back to So Hyun.

So Hyun sends Ha Jin’s address to his assistant, typing a message to take care of Ha Jin’s things. He drops off Ha Jin’s key in his hotel where his assistant will pick it up and his things.

Half an hour later, Ha Jin finds herself in Peretola Airport, standing in front of a flight gate, boarding a small private jet. So Hyun doesn’t tell her anything in spite of all her questions. He handles everything smoothly and quietly through calls on his phone. She has no idea that when So Hyun said ‘home’, he means his flat in London.

Chapter Text

A black sleek Mercedes Maybach Exelero, the only one of the two ever produced in the world, parks in front of a 41 storey glass tower in a prominent site on the river Thames in Central London. Two bell boys in black uniform approaches the car and greets So Hyun when he comes out of his car, “Good evening Mr. Hwang, did you had a pleasant trip?”

The other one opens the door for Ha Jin, “Good evening, my lady.”

He takes care of the paper bags from behind the car seat once Ha Jin comes out of the car, her eyes holding a nervous glimmer as she surveys the new city So Hyun had flown her in.

So Hyun reaches to Ha Jin’s trembling hand and interlaces it with his, holding out for the shopping bags once the second bell boy got them out, “Are you tired? We're almost home."

“You live in a hotel?” Ha Jin can’t help but ask.

“No but we have the best concierge in London.”

He gives her a reassuring smile and leads her inside, the guards and the front desk ladies welcome So Hyun by his last name, all too familiar with their residents. One of the ladies behind the marble desk tells So Hyun, “Mr. Hwang, your chef had arranged a light dinner in your flat. Please have a pleasant evening.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Tailed by another bellboy who inputs a password in the lift for So Hyun’s flat, he waits the lift with them until it arrives and lets them in, making sure they're the only ones inside.

The lift shoots up to the 41^st floor and opens to a state of the art luxury penthouse, one of the four in the building. Done in hues of muted gray, black and pristine white, So Hyun’s flat is an expansive two floor unit that has floor to ceiling glass wall on one part that leads to a manicured garden and a rectangular pool on the outside with a view of Central London. There’s a bar on the far right, a glass dining table that sits eight, full of what appears to be the food that So Hyun’s chef had arranged for them. A gas lit fireplace is carved to the wall at the dining area. To the far left of the room is the living room with curved L-shaped white couch that faces the view outside. Low marble center table complements the square carpet of gray while a low back one-sitter leather black chair accents the living room. A glass chandelier hangs from the tall ceiling that extends from the second floor. Passed the living room is the stairs going to the second floor balcony that also shares the floor to glass ceiling view of the city.

So Hyun steps out of the lift and the lights automatically come into life but Ha Jin, who stays rooted on her spot held him back, “What’s wrong?” 

Ha Jin releases So Hyun’s hand, “What am I doing here?”

Her face full of confusion and nervousness. She’s starting to feel her anxiety settling above her head and she breathes discreetly in her mouth, her chest constricting. 

“My moon,” So Hyun puts the shopping bag down on the floor and steps in the lift, pushing the button that holds the lift in place while Ha Jin steps back from him, feeling trap.

“Why did you bring me here?” Ha Jin is starting to panic, “You said you’d take me home.”

So Hyun approaches her with deliberate care, not wanting to scare her away, “This is home. My home. I wanted to show it to you so I brought you here. 

“You said, I don’t need to meet your mother if I don’t want to.” Ha Jin clasps at her chest, her other hand trying to hold upon the glass walls of the lift to no avail.

“Shhhh… It’s okay, my moon.” Still speaking in a soothing voice, “My mother lives in a penthouse across the river. She’s not here. Will you please trust me?” 

Taking a step back to the door of the lift to give Ha Jin some space, “Let’s talk inside. You’re probably hungry and tired. You didn’t even touch your food in the plane. Although, I can understand that. Airplane food is no good.”

So Hyun grin his boyish grin to assure her. He holds out his hand, “Please, my moon.”

Ha Jin considers So Hyun’s hand, quiet for a long time, angry at him for flying her countries without even asking her. Deliberating her choices. She’s in London and has not the slightest idea of how to navigate the unfamiliar city and not to mention it’s the middle of the night. She slowly comes out of the lift, still trembling on her feet. The comforting familiar smell of potpourri line from Santa Maria Novella welcomes Ha Jin.

“Good girl.” So Hyun releases the lift once Ha Jin steps inside. He takes the ipad from the wall and tinkers with the light and glass wall, inputting his preferences. He clicks a button that turns the tint of the glass wall into transparent so they could see the view of the city. He also adjusts the temperature inside the flat into a comfortable degree.

Standing lost in the middle of the spacious flat, Ha Jin doesn’t move. Though the view from the outside appears really tempting, she’s too angry and anxious to do anything.

So Hyun takes off his coat and proceeds to approach Ha Jin, “May I take your coat?”

“So Hyun Ssi—“

“Let’s talk after we’ve settled.” So Hyun insists and Ha Jin is left with no say on it again, letting her coat and bag be taken away and ushered to the dining table where their food of Korean cuisine is waiting for them, “I thought you’d want to eat something from home so I asked my assistant to get a Korean chef to prepare this for us.”

There’s Spicy braised haretail, Soft Tofu Stew, Samgyeupsal, Tteokbokki, Pajeon and twenty banchans (side dishes) laid on the table. So Hyun puts a red rice on one side of his plate, cut a samgyeupsal, and completes it with kimchi and Sigeumchi namu (Lightly parboiled spinach dressed with sesame oil, garlic, and soy sauce), plating it as if it’s a western cuisine. He exchanges Ha Jin’s empty plate with his, “Meog-go. (Eat.)”

Ha Jin clutches at her skirt, “Can I have a glass of water?”

So Hyun gets up to walk to the kitchen and calls out, “Do you want warm or cold?”

“Warm please.” Ha Jin keeps her voice from shaking.

After So Hyun fetches her warm water, Ha Jin quietly eats in peace barely touching any of her food.

“Mianhae, Ha Jin-ah.” So Hyun breaks their silence, “Please understand that I don’t want to be away from you even for a day so I flew you here. Don’t worry. I won’t force you to come to my family dinner if you don’t want to go. I only want you stay here where I can look after you.” 

“So Hyun Ssi, you can’t make all these decisions without consulting me.” Thankfully her voice is not trembling, “You flew me in between countries just to keep me for a weekend. Don’t you think something is wrong with this?"

“No, I find nothing wrong with it.” So Hyun states matter of factly, “If I didn’t flew you here, you’d be taking the train to Rome tomorrow. I told you, Rome is one of the most dangerous cities for tourist in Europe. I don’t want you to be alone there.”

“But that’s what’s in my itinerary.” Ha Jin reasons out, “And Baek-Ah oppa volunteered to accompany me.”

“What’s in Rome? It’s just another European city. It’s not so different from London.” So Hyun rebuts, “I’ll fly you to Naples or Prague after the weekend if you want. There are also things to see here in London. I can drive you to a castle or a play in west end. Eat in a food market or shop in the most expensive streets that royalties of England come to.”

“That’s not the point.” Ha Jin argues.

“What is the point?” So Hyun asks patiently.

Ha Jin stops for a second, thinking thoroughly why she is angry, “My point is that I need time to process us but you’re whisking me away from one place to another… I mean, I like you So Hyun Ssi. I like us but something is wrong with me not being able to make a choice for myself once you make up your mind. Haven’t we just argued about this?”

“No, we argued about you saying to my brother and cousins that we are casual.” So Hyun reaches to Ha Jin’s hand, speaking on his soothing voice, “I only want what’s best for you. Can you not trust me on this? I want to shower you with everything you want, go to places with you, experience things with you, spend time with you.”

The way he wasn't able to on their original lifetime. It pains him that Ha Jin keeps pushing him away when all he wants is to do everything for her.

Ha Jin sighs, when So Hyun speaks like a needy child, she can’t seem to turn him away.

“Then it’s set.” So Hyun takes her hand into his, “Ha Jin-ah, I don’t want to be away from you even for a minute. It drives me crazy. I don't understand it myself. I’ve never been involved with a girl like this before. Please… You promised you would stay.”

He brings her hand to his lips, “My moon, there’s nothing to be scared of. Saranghae.”

So Hyun seems to have an excuse for every reason Ha Jin states. She’s tired and her head aches so she stops and keeps her tongue to herself.

“Your things will be delivered here by my assistant tomorrow morning.” So Hyun assures her, “You have a change of clothes from the shopping bags we brought from Santa Maria Novella this afternoon. Lucia Amelia picked a dress and night clothes for you.”

“Is that the silk fabric I saw in one of the paper bags?” Ha Jin asks. 

“Yes,” So Hyun puts down her hand.

“Where will I sleep?” Ha Jin's eyes does a sweep of the second floor balcony, as if trying to gauge how many rooms are up there.

“In my room.”

“And where will you sleep?” Ha Jin turns to him.

“In my room.” So Hyun shrugs, casually explaining, “There’s only one bedroom in my flat. It would be strange if there are two bedrooms when I’m the only one who lives here. Don't you think so?”

Ha Jin have no words. Of course, So Hyun’s explanation makes sense but what doesn’t make sense is the idea that So Hyun didn’t consider again if it was okay for her to share his room.

And as if reading her thoughts, “Should I not sleep in my own room?”

Ha Jin doesn’t answer. 

“You’re kidding, right?” So Hyun doesn’t understand what’s wrong with his proposal, “But haven’t we shared a bed in Italy?”

“So Hyun Ssi!” Ha Jin had to remind herself that So Hyun grew up in a western culture and that his mores might be different from the traditional society Ha Jin had grown up into.

“Alright. Alright. I was joking.” So Hyun relents, chuckling “I’m going to sleep at the spare bedroom.”

Ha Jin rolls her eyes. She can’t seem to gauge when So Hyun is joking and when he is serious, “No, let me sleep in the guest room.”

After dinner, So Hyun takes her to the second floor, which half of it functions as his home office. Series of bookshelves rising up in the ceilings make up one part of the wall and at the middle of it is a mahogany table where his files and laptop are piled.

They come to the far side of the floor, 

“Your room is made up of glass walls?” Ha Jin marvels as So Hyun lights his room in a warm soft glow with a command on his ipad.

It’s a modern design, minimalist room done in hues of muted brown and white. Encased in floor length glasses. One third of it is opens to the city, the other one third glass opens to the view of the house from the second floor and the other one third is the only solid wall with a wooden door carved by the side, leading to a walk in closet, similar to a high end boutique store. Another bathroom is also found on the other side of the walk in closet.

At the side of the room that has the view of the city, stands a free-shaped oval, high angled bathtub with a top rain shower installed directly above it. It’s inside is immaculately white while the outside is painted with matte dark brown. Isolated like a center piece art on top of wooden floor, carved with smooth medium size stones.

Pushed back into the solid wall is a double cabinet with white granite as countertop and glass bowl for a sink.

A king size customized bed done in the softest white sheets accented by dark brown pillows lie near the door of the room.

“Who needs walls, when I live alone.” So Hyun shrugs. He puts the paper bags by the Cleopatra couch at the end of his bed, “Besides, all the glasses are tinted from the outside. You can see the city but no one can see the inside of the flat from the outside.”

Not to mention that his penthouse is located at the top of one of tallest buildings within the vicinity. The privacy of the residents is the utmost priority on this tower. 

“Here,” He hands the ipad to Ha Jin, “You can control everything on this ipad. The curtains, the lights, the security, the temperature, the smell of the room and even the glasses.”

“The glass wall enclosing us?” Ha Jin asks.

So Hyun nods, “You can turn the walls transparent for the outside city to see us inside, if you prefers so.”

“Eh?”

So Hyun chuckles, “Of course, I never tried that option but you know, there’s always an odd resident who doesn’t mind exposing their lifestyle to the outsiders. So they left that option there. Shall I draw you a bath?”

Walking to the center piece bathtub, So Hyun opens the faucets, mixing cold and hot at the same time. He takes one of the bath bomb from the shopping bags and drops it to the tub. He then opens the cabinet next and gets a shower towel for Ha Jin, putting it at the counter top. Then he takes out the silky long flowy overlapping white night dress with colorful spring flowers and spreads it to his bed. The dress would perfectly be a casual maxi dress on daylight rather than a nightdress for sleeping.

Ha Jin is left standing in the middle of the room watching So Hyun. She blushes pink, when So Hyun spreads the new dress, the assistant had shopped for her. So Hyun approaches her and hands her the paper bag. 

“Here, I would love to see you on this but I don’t think you’d let me.” So Hyun hides the delicious tingling sensation of his skipping heart beat, appearing all cool and casual, “I’ll leave you to take a shower. You can close the curtains if you’re still uncomfortable of the glass walls.” 

And exits the room.

Ha Jin chews on her lower lips, opening the paper bag and sees undies in creamy laces, “oh” 

She felt the rush of blood on her face, remembering So Hyun’s words.

Back in Seoul, a white Cadillac CTS-V is cruising along the road of Ilsan-ro and turning to the drop off point of Myung-Hyang University Hospital. On the outside, the hospital is like an ordinary building but stepping inside will make you doubt whether you are in a hospital or state of the art modern hotel. The white marble floors and capacious pristine white lobby welcomes the patients and visitors. Nurses and staff, in what appears as a first class concierge uniforms, abound the place, busy with accommodating guests.

Hwang Dong Wook turns to the entrance of the Hospital, “It’s still early, we could grab breakfast at the nearby coffee shop if you want.”

“Joesonghaeyo, Dong Wook Ssi, I have to study some of the cases given to me last night.” Myung Hee Nam is dressed on her classy high waist long skirt and v-neck button up blouse and high heels, “How about I see you at dinner later?”

“Will you be able to leave early?” Dong Wook asks, dressed in his 3-piece suit for office.

Myung Hee Nam thinks back to her schedule for today, lectures, rounds and an assist in one of the pediatric surgery, her 16 hours easily filled already.

“Right,” Dong Wook keeps the disappointment from his voice, always wearing that gentle smile, “How about I come tonight and bring dinner in your office. .. if you are out of surgery already?”

“I’m sor---“

“And stop apologizing Myung Hee Nam, I understand.” Dong Wook assures her, “How’s your dongsaeng? Are you able to contact her already?”

“Your cousins keep me updated.” Myung Hee Nam arranges her white lab coat and bag on her lap, “So Hyun Ssi sent me a photo of her shopping in an old boutique. I think he says it’s the oldest apothecary in Italy.”

“Ah, you mean Santa Maria Novella? My cousin and his mother are exclusive patrons of that shop. Which reminds me, I think you’ll love the smell of their perfume.” Dong Wook explains, “We’ve been trying to get a franchise of them to open in our mall in Gangnam but So Hyun got them an exclusive spot at the ground floor of his hotel. Shall we visit it one of these days.”

“Alright, Ha Jin seemed excited in the photos.” Myung Hee Nam mutters, “So Hyun Ssi says she’s doing good. Our parents are thinking of making her come back to the university to pursue her med degree. It seemed she has no qualms against it this time. Thank God.”

And then lowers her voice guiltily, “Is it wrong but my family is relieved that Ha Jin had sustained  her selective amnesia. It feels like she is back to her old self before she started rebelling against our parents. She was a sweet girl before.”

“I’m sure you only want what’s best for her.” Dong Wook agrees with her, “Is she still staying with So Hyun? Does your parents know?”

“Baek-Ah says Ha Jin is staying on her own apartment.” Myung Hee Nam grimaces, “Thank you for cleaning up the articles about So Hyun Ssi and Ha Jin. My parents would have gone berserk if they found those articles. You know how strict my parents are when it comes to news being published about our family.”

“I know. Your family’s reputation directly corresponds to their credibility as top doctors in their respective fields.”

Even Myung Hee Nam dating Hwang Dong Wook did not come easy. Myung Sung Min and Hyang Hana are very particular with the privacy of their family. Myung Hee Nam got away with it because they were in China at that time and the two of them are very careful with their relationship that there is only one article about them ever published in the lifestyle section of a newspaper. Their engagement. Even then, Hyang Hana and Myung Sung Min only allowed it under the condition that Myung Hee Nam’s name is only mentioned once and all the succeeding articles about her will never contain her name. She will be marked as the doctor that a Hwang married, fading into anonymity afterwards.

“Though I think it would be best for Ha Jin to stay away from my cousin, So Hyun.” A warning in Dong Wook’s voice that he is trying to hide, “There’s a reason why his mother was sent to London after her divorce with my uncle.”

Myung Hee Nam turns to Dong Wook, “Why is that?”

“Let’s just say, his mother is too ambitious for her own good and harabeoji does not approve of it.” Dong Wook shrugs, “I don’t really remember the divorce issue. So Hyun and I were only four at that time but So Hyun is Harabeoji’s favorite grand son and if Mu Jin Hyung is not the eldest and Yoo Shin Young imo didn’t take So Hyun away to hurt Harabeoji, he would be inheriting majority of Harabeoji’s stocks, which I think he still would, given it’s due time.”

“But your grandfather has plenty of business to distribute to each of his grandson. Is there still a fight over whose going to be the heir?” Myung Hee Nam asks.

“There’s always a sole heir, Myung Hee Nam.” Dong Wook smiles bitterly, “Each of our families might have been given a position to take over but the sole heir will be controlling Harabeoji’s empire after he is gone.”

“But we don’t need it, do we?” Myung Hee Nam softly brightens at Dong Wook, “Once we get married, your side of business and my family’s hospital is enough for us.”

“Of course.” Dong Wook agrees.

Myung Hee’s family owns the number one most sought after luxury hospital in Asia. Their fellows, professors and doctors all came from top universities around the world. Different government and private institution fund their extensive research departments and so a high price is put on their credibility and skills.

So Hyun takes a shower on his guest room, an ordinary looking room for his standards but nonetheless takes a page from a hotel’s design, feeling a little bit off. No one uses this room except when one of his brothers come to visit. Yo Han and Jung Nam mostly stays with their mother at Kensington. He had been living on this flat for five years now and it’s only his first time to use this guest room.

After showering and getting dress, So Hyun comes out of the guest room about to check on Ha Jin. The glass walls of his room are still set on opaque so he can’t see anything. He takes out his phone and calls Ha Jin.

Four rings into it and Ha Jin answers, “So Hyun Ssi?”

“I was wondering if you’re done showering.” So Hyun towels off his hair, dressed on a modern looking grey hanbok turned sleep wear, “Are you going to sleep already?”

“I’ve just finished showering.” Ha Jin is standing by the glass window over looking the city, waiting for the water to drain from the tub, “What is the name of this river in front of your building. It reminds me of Han river in Seoul.”

“It’s Thames river.” So Hyun puts his phone in speaker, accessing the controls of his house on his phone. What he did not tell Ha Jin is that, aside from the ipad, he can also control his house from his phone. He goes through the glass options on his room, turning the glass wall on his side transparent.

Inside his room, Ha Jin is standing by the glass windows, now dressed on her night clothes bought by his assistant this afternoon. It is perfect on her, swaying and flowing with her every move. It hugs her body in the right places, curving on her chest and then her hips. So Hyun had to stop for a second, staring at his moon. He dims the light in his room so Ha Jin would be softly silhouetted by the warm glow, like a dreamy picture So Hyun never thought of until now.

Ha Jin studies her surroundings when the lights suddenly fades, wondering if she had done something but she’s not even holding the ipad, “The lights in your room suddenly dimmed.”

“It’s normal, my moon.” So Hyun lies, watching her from the outside, “The lights are sensitive to body temperature. Stay still.”

Ha Jin does as she was told, her back to So Hyun, unaware that she is being watched “Oh, alright.”

“You are perfect.” So Hyun unconsciously utters as he takes a photo of her on his phone. 

“What?” Ha Jin is dumbfounded.

“I mean, I would love to see you before you sleep.” So Hyun back tracks, “Can I say goodnight.”

“Okay. It does feel weird talking to you on the phone when we are on the same house” Ha Jin answers, “Where are you anyway?”

“I’ll come to your room now.” So Hyun ends the call and watches Ha Jin some more before walking to his room and calls. The smart double glass doors slides to reveal a newly showered Ha Jin, her hair is still hanging wet on her chest, soaking the front of her thin long dress. Good thing there’s a print of colorful flowers on her dress, covering her chest. Otherwise, it would be translucent. So Hyun had to hold his breathe, swallowing the delicious cravings that suddenly skids on his spine, “I think the attendant had done too good of a job in appraising your size. It is lovely on you.”

Ha Jin blushes tomato red, awkward of So Hyun’s compliment, unconscious of how revealing her thin night dress is, “Thank you.”

“You're beautiful, my moon.” So Hyun reaches into the stray of hair on her shoulder, caressing it carefully and with a precise movement so his skin won’t glide to any part of her, not even with her dress. He advances a step and Ha Jin freezes on her feet. So Hyun gently brings her hair to his nose to smell, his eyes fluttering to a close.

There is something sensual with the way So Hyun caresses her hair even though he is careful not to touch her and Ha Jin holds her breathe, imagining his hands sliding softly upon her shoulder, leaning towards So Hyun and lifting her chin as if waiting for a kiss. A smell of that intoxicating patchouli aftershave wafts upon her nose, tickling and tempting.

“You shouldn’t open your door so easily next time.” He warns, “Goodnight.”

So Hyun opens his eyes, choosing to break the spell before he loses every ounce of self-control left on his brain. He turns his back, leaving, drunk of Ha Jin’s faded orange blossom scent.

Baek-Ah and Jung Nam are locked in a UFC game in their PS4 at Jung Nam’s living room at their hotel. Jung Nam’s head is not on the game and Baek-Ah finishes his character with a lethal kick, knocking off Jung Nam’s character, out cold.

“Ya!” Jung Nam tosses his console to the ground.

“Yes!!! I get to take a spin of your Corvette when we get home.” Baek-Ah raises his arms in triumph.

Though Baek-Ah is also another grandson who benefits from their grandfather’s vast empire of business, his family is considered to be at the bottom in terms of stock shareholders in the company. If their harabeoji's empire  is compared to a monarchy, Yoo Shin Young is the queen that controls half of it. Baek-Ah’s family lives in luxury but not as luxurious as Jung Nam’s.

“You can have it if you want.” Jung Nam is not in the mood. It was his idea to come back and stay in their hotel room after their unsuccessful dinner a while ago.

Baek-Ah whips his phone out, “Say it again. I need to record it so I have evidence.” 

“Go away!” Jung Nam walks over the balcony, swiping his phone from the table on his way out.

“You’re no fun.” Baek-Ah rolls his eyes, knowing that his cousin is brooding over his endless unproductive effort of trying to win his way to Ha Jin’s heart, “Fine. I’ll call Ha Jin myself. He goes through his kakao and searches for Ha Jin’s name, dialing it.

“Baek-Ah oppa!” Ha Jin answers on the 4^th ring, back into standing at the glass windows and staring at the city below.

“Are you okay?” Baek-Ah asks with concern, “Did you and So Hyun hyung fought after you left?”

“It’s fine.” Ha Jin frugally answers. 

Sensing that Ha Jin doesn’t want to talk about it, Baek-Ah couldn’t ask any further, “I see. Why are you still awake? What time is your train to Rome tomorrow?”

“That…” Ha Jin shuffles on her feet, crossing her arms against her chest, “I’m not going to Rome anymore.” 

“Wae?” Baek-Ah walks over the balcony, seeing as Jung Nam is interested in him again.

“I’m… in London.” She hesitates.

“What?!” Baek-Ah exclaims, making Jung Nam turn on him. He mouths that Ha Jin is in London, “Let me change to video call.”

And in a few clicks, Baek-Ah and Jung Nam appears in Ha Jin’s screen, “Gwaenchanhna? Wae London-e iss-ni?  (Are you okay? Why are you in London?)”

Ha Jin changes camera so she could show the city view from So Hyun’s room, the London eye visible from afar.”

“What are you doing there? How did…”

“Did my brother do that?” Jung Nam cuts in, “Damn it! He can be infuriating at times.”

Ha Jin changes from video call to phone call, “It’s… it’s not like that.”

Not wanting to bother both Jung Nam and Baek-Ah.

“Please tell me, he didn’t flew you against your will.” Jung Nam pushes the speaker button on Baek-Ah’s phone.

Ha Jin is not really good at telling lies so she keeps her words to herself.

Jung Nam curses.

“It’s alright.” Ha Jin quickly assures him, “I’m fine. We ahm… talked about it already.”

Jung Nam recognizes his brother’s flat from the video Ha Jin showed a while ago, “He brought you in his flat, didn’t he? He’s really going to bring you to our family dinner.”

“No. no. It’s not like that.” Ha Jin quickly refutes, “He says I don’t have to come if I don’t want to.”

“And yet he flew you to London without your consent.” Jung Nam argues.

“I…” Ha Jin has no answer for that, “Anyways, it’s late. The two of you should rest.”

“You don’t have to worry about us.” Baek-Ah answers this time, “We’re more worried about you. Please tell me So Hyun hyung is not in the same room with you right now.”

“No. No. Of course not.” Ha Jin answers, “He’s sleeping on the guest room and gave me his room. He says I’ll be more comfortable here.”

“And are you comfortable there?” Jung Nam asks.

Truth be told, Ha Jin is not comfortable being in London at all but she doesn’t say that, “I’m fine.”

“We’ll take the first flight in London in the morning.” Jung Nam tells her.

“What?!” Baek-Ah couldn’t help but exclaim and mouths, “Are you crazy?”

“It’s the weekend, it’s not as if you have anything to do.” Jung Nam mouths back.

“You don’t have to. Please take your time.” Ha Jin tries to assure them, “I think I will like London.”

“I’m sure you will.” Baek-Ah takes over the phone, “Call us, if you need anything.” 

“Eong…” Ha Jin ends the call.

Jung Nam dials his secretary’s number in Seoul. It’s around eight in the morning and his secretary is still in bed, sleeping in late. 

“Damn it! Why is she not answering?” Jung Nam is annoyed.

“Because she probably is asleep. It’s the weekend. Give her a break.” Baek-Ah walks back to the living room, “Your brother is really crazing sometimes.”

“We need to fly to London.”

“And we will, just not the first flight.” Baek-Ah is too tired being dragged all over Europe, “I’m also worried about Ha Jin but can we please sleep. I think your brother is insane and so are you but he will never hurt Ha Jin.” 

“He flew her in London, brought her in his flat. They are alone right now.” Jung Nam is really angry.

“And I don’t want to picture it!” Baek-Ah stops Jung Nam from creating more images in his head, “Again, you’re brother is crazy. Maybe possessive but I doubt he would force Ha Jin into anything she doesn’t want.”

“He already forced her into London!” Jung Nam frustratingly argues.

Baek-Ah sighs, “I know but she’s fine. She said it herself. What else can we do?”

“You don’t understand!”

“I do!” Baek-Ah cuts him, staying level headed about this, “You’re frustrated that the girl you like is in your brother’s arms. I get it. Okay. Maybe… it’s just not meant to be.”

“I can’t believe you!” Jung Nam balls his fists beside him, “I’m not you. I’m not going to lose her against my brother. I won’t let her go the way you let Myung Hee Nam go without letting her know.” 

At the mention of Myung Hee Nam, Baek-Ah’s face darkens, his patience shortening, “I will forget you said that.”

Then leaves the room before he throws words they both will regret later.

Asleep deep within her chambers, Queen Yoo has no idea that someone had entered her chambers. Her guards at the door were terrified by the appearance of the 4th prince, whose eyes hold that delirious mad gleam that people had learned to be afraid of.

Queen Yoo doubles over from a dream, waking up from the slight footfall his 3^rd son makes up on her warm wooden floor. Her eyes are a round of surprise as she becomes aware of another presence in her room, “Nugu nya? (Who’s there?)”

“Naya eommeoni. (It’s me, your son.)” So is shrouded in the darkness from the corners of Queen Yoo’s room.

“How dare you come here!” Queen Yoo tries to hide her fear underneath her loud angry voice.

Unmindful of his mother's anger, So takes a step forward, approaching his mother’s bed until a nearby lantern cast it’s cold light upon his hideous state. His clothes are n disarray, has slashes everywhere, his sleeves torn, his cheeks smeared with something and the sword he’s holding is dripping with what appears to be blood, yet he is compose and when he speaks, his voice is level, “Do you know what I’ve done for you eommeoni? I made sure no one could kill you. I erased all traces of you.”

“What are you saying? I cannot understand you?” Queen Yoo stills, watching So smirk coldly.

“I burned it all down. Nothing will come back to you.”  

“Did you had them all killed?” Queen Yoo keeps the shock out of her face.  

“They only live because of you. They won’t hold it against you if they die for you.” So proudly states, lacking any remorse on his façade and yet, it’s eating him inside that this is the only way he can think of to save his older brother, who had asked for his help to save their mother.

“Did you think, I’d tell you, you did a good job? Did you want me to ask if you were injured?”” Queen Yoo starts to recover from her shock of her son’s appearance and feels repulsive of the 4^th prince’ lack of remorse, thinking how much of a monster his son had turned out after growing up with his adopted family, “You’re like an animal. Leave! You stink of blood and I can’t sleep”

“It was for you eommeoni---”

“Eommeoni, eommeoni, eommeoni!” Queen Yoo cuts So’s sentence cruelly. Her words sharper than a blade, “Hearing you call me mother, makes my skin crawl. I do not wish to see you. Leave now!”

So Hyun awakes on his guest room, soak in sweat and fear. His mother’s shrill voice of hatred still ringing in his ears. He sits up, holding his head on his palm. Those were the moments on his past life that he hates the most. Thankful that in this present life of his, his mother loves him more than anyone in this world, more than his brothers, who used to be her favourites. 

Once he catches his breath and his heart rate slows down, he gets out of his bed, a sliver of blue light is trying to get in from the heavy drapes of his sliding windows. It’s almost six in the morning and he doesn’t think he can go back to sleep again. He walks out of the guestroom, straight into his room where his moon is lying fast asleep. Brushing the stray hair from Ha Jin’s cheeks, So Hyun stares at Ha Jin until he feels better, tempted to crawl on her arms but is afraid that he might wake her so he contents himself with just watching.

By eight in the morning, So Hyun had completed his training in their building’s gym, took a shower and started making breakfast for the two of them. He is in the middle of slicing fruits when Ha Jin comes down, all freshen up but still on her night clothes. So Hyun catches his breathe as his eyes falls upon her enticing dress that emphasises the curves of her body. Her robe is open and is flowing hauntingly behind her, her long mahogany hair, hanging straight behind her back. She comes down in the stairs with a sunny beam, like a deity that doesn’t belong in this lifetime.

“Morning, my moon.” So Hyun greets her, his hands tightening on the bowl of fruits he’s holding, “Did you sleep well?”

Ha Jin approaches the table with no idea of how alluring she in in So Hyun’s eyes, “Waffles! You know how to cook?”

“I’m pretty sure I’m the one who made our breakfast in San Gimignano so yes, I can cook.” So Hyun makes a light joke, “Have a sit. The blueberry jam is fresh.”

Appraising the nearby island of kitchen, full of used plates and pan, it does appear like it was So Hyun who made everything in their table. So Hyun puts down a plate of waffles with blueberry jam in front of her, “There’s also bacon, eggs, ham and bagel. Take your pick.”

Ha Jin uses the tip of her finger to wipe the sole blueberry that had fallen on her otherwise pristine plate and puts it in her mouth, tasting it, “Hmm… mass-iss-eo-yo. (It’s delicious.)”

So Hyun’s mouth gapes open at Ha Jin’s in innocent gesture, “Don't do that.”

“Huh? Don’t what?” Ha Jin is confused.

“Nothing. Let’s sit.” So Hyun sits at the head of the long table while Ha Jin sits on her left, the view of the city is spread in front of them through the glass walls, the sky overcast, “What do you want to do today?”

Ha Jin thinks about it, slicing a waffle and putting it in her mouth, chewing before speaking, “I don’t know. It’s your home, show me around.”

“Okay.” So Hyun only watches her, too aware of every little movement on Ha Jin’s body, “Your things should have arrived by now. I think my assistant is being late.”

“You’re not eating?” Ha Jin points out.

So Hyun brightens softly, “I don’t want to miss anything about you.”

Instantly making Ha Jin blush.

“I love it when you blush for me like now.” Reaching to straighten the stray of hair that had fallen into Ha Jin’s shoulder, reminiscent of his gesture last night.

Ha Jin swallow, conscious of So Hyun’s stare. 

“Go ahead, eat.” So Hyun lightly chuckles and reaches for his fresh fruit shake and drinks, “I’m sorry, did I make you uncomfortable? Please, don’t mind me.”

“How can I not?” Ha Jin erupts to an awkward grimace, “You keep staring at me.”

So Hyun leans closer to her, “I really want to kiss ---“

Ha Jin bridges the space between them, easy and fast, laying a quick smack on So Hyun’s lips and then moves back to her chair.

“Eoh?!” So Hyun stills, surprised of Ha Jin’s brazenness. It’s his turn to feel his cheeks aflame. He grabs Ha Jin on both of her arms, kissing her with so much want, their mouth taste of waffles and fruits.

It was supposed to be a joke on Ha Jin’s part to rid them of awkwardness but she didn’t anticipate it would unlock So Hyun’s self control that he had been mastering since last night. He pulls her into his lap and Ha Jin is swept in the tide of his dangerous cravings. It’s not helping that her hands naturally reaches on his shoulder, returning the kiss with as much passion, she did not expect she had. Her fingers freely exploring his nape up his black hair. When So Hyun breaks their kiss, both of them are out of breath. 

“Ha Jin-ah…” He sighs her name, resting his cheeks on her clavicle, “You shouldn’t temp me like this. It's too early in the morning.”

Ha Jin catches her breath, “Mianhaeyo… then I shouldn’t be sitting… here…”

She tries to get up but So Hyun holds her down, “No.”

He reaches to her nape, pulling her lips back to his and they resume where they left off with So Hyun tugging her thin robes out of her shoulder and discarding it in the floor. Pushing all the plates away from them, So Hyun rises to lay Ha Jin by the glass table and when Ha Jin’s back hits the cold glass, she says, “Wai… wait… stop.”

So Hyun naturally stills, bracing one of his arms beside Ha Jin’s head, her hair dipping into the blueberry jam So Hyun made, “Ha Jin…ah…”

Ha Jin keeps So Hyun at an arm’s length, “So Hyun Ssi—“

“I don't want to stop." So Hyun captures her wrist and pulls it up her head, crawling up the table so he could be on top of Ha Jin. He kisses her again,

“So Hyun Ssi, stop.”

 And against the drowning craving, he pulls back.

“What if the table breaks?” Ha Jin keeps awkwardly stills, her senses all focused on the glass table underneath her.

“It won’t, trust me.” and comes back to nuzzling her neck, producing goosebumps on her spine.

There’s a thrill in the way So Hyun lays her on the cold glass table as if she’s a delectable cuisine ready to be ravished. The hemline of her long dress sliding up to her legs as So Hyun settles above her and his hand is dangerously wondering up her shoulders, down to the mounds of her chest. 

Ring...

Ring...

The intercom on his flat shrills loudly, breaking unto their focus. 

"I think... you... should get that." Ha Jin says breathily in between kisses.

So Hyun is about to slide the strap of her dress on her shoulder when Ha Jin halts him again and pushes him away from her neck.

"Whoever it is can wait." And captures her lips again.

Ring...

Ring...

The intercom insistently shrills, pulling Ha Jin out of their bubble, "Stop."

Mustering her self control, she pushes So Hyun up and holds him at an arm's length, "It might be important."

"Damn it!" So hyun curses, closing his heavy lidded eyes in the bid to take control of his sanity. Taking deep breaths before sighing, "Mianhae."

He gets off Ha Jin and pulls her up. On her way up, her tactless movement hits a glass of juice that spills on her dress. So Hyun quickly tried to save it but it’s too late, her dress already caught the purple juice. She sits at the edge of the table, surveying the chaos they made. The tips of her hair are full of blueberry while the sides of her dress have butter and sugar in it.

No sooner, a playful laugh bubbles out of Ha Jin’s chest and the two of them end up laughing over the mess and the intercom finally stops ringing.

“God, I’m so in love with you, my moon.” So Hyun tips her chin to lay a chaste kiss on her lips, “My beautiful mess.”

Ring…

Ring…

The intercom rings again, stopping So Hyun from going any further.

"We heard it the first time." So Hyun annoyingly mutters to no one in particular, "This better be good."

Pulling over the underground parking lot of a grade II Neo-Georgian apartment complex in the affluent district of West End London, Jung Nam comes out of his car with Baek-Ah in tow. Both still silent from their last night’s argument.

“Hyung…” Jung Nam hesitatingly talks to Baek-Ah, “Mianhaeyo. It was a jerk thing of me to say those words last night.”

“Ara. (I know.)” Baek-Ah quietly answers as Jung Nam walks beside him.

“I wasn’t thinking right in my head.” Jung Nam embarrassingly apologizes, “I won't act like that again.” 

“Joha. (Good.)” Baek-Ah claps his back, “I won't tolerate it next time."

“Thank you for coming with me.” Jung Nam grimaces.

“Of course.” Baek-Ah shrugs, his anger already faded through last night’s sleep, “I can’t be the only one who will receive Harabeoji’s scolding.”

If he comes home alone now, he would earn an earful from their grandfather for abandoning their workload for a week. It wasn’t even his idea in the first place.

Jung Nam pushes the button for his mother’s penthouse, riding the lift and no sooner they walked upon the heavy wooden door of So Hyun’s childhood home. He stands by the retina scanner and lets it read his eyes. The door opens after the scanning and they enter the duplex penthouse that Yoon Shin Young maintains. A cross between a traditional English home and modern luxurious penthouse, featuring an open layout that boasts oak wooden floors, heated walls and under floor heating, very much like a modern version of an ondol floor. The living area is an expansive double room with a brick double-faced fireplace warming both areas. On the wall, opposite the dining area is a carved open bar filled with glass stoppered decanters of liqueurs. The sliding windows lead to the view of the manicured expensive quadrangle that the tenants of the building share. Like So Hyun’s flat across the city, the penthouse also has a full AMX home control system and has CCTV cameras in common spaces.

A maid greets them by the door and led them to sit in the living room, telling them to wait as she let’s the madam know that her son has arrived.

Yoo Shin Young walks down the iron wrought staircase with her heels, clacking in the marble floor, appearing as the powerful CEO that she is rather than a homey mother but when she speaks, her voice if full of warmth her employees seldom hears her uses, “Jung Nam-i, nae aduel-i. (my son,) You’re home early.”

Upon hearing his name called, Jung Nam rises from the couch and meets his mother halfway down the stairs, “Eomma!”

He gives his mother a hug, a longer and full of longing, “Eomma, pogo sipeoseo. (I miss you.)

“Na do.” Yoo Shin Young returns the embrace, “If your brother, So Hyun wasn’t called in Italy in business, I wouldn’t even see you. Why do you let your old mother miss you this much?”

“Mianhae, eomma.” Jung Nam sweetly apologizes, “It’s the end of the year, you know how busy it gets with Grandfather’s events.”

“Shin Young imo.” Baek-Ah greets her.

“Oh, Baek-Ah, you came.” Yoo Shin Young leads them back to the couch, “I hope my son did not put you in any trouble again.”

Baek-Ah peers at Jung, who took a sit beside his mother, smiling sweetly, “Not that I can think of.”

“Good. Your room is ready.” Yoo Shin Young offers before turning to Jung Nam, “I thought you were going to stay in your brother’s flat but I’m glad you decided to come home.”

“Kuereomyo! (Of course!)” Jung Nam assures her and then asks, “Are So Hyun hyung and Yo Han hyung arrived already?” 

“Your brother, Yo Han will arrived after lunch while So Hyun,” Yoo Shin Young thinks for a second, “I haven’t heard from him. When I called him yesterday, he said he is going to fly this morning. Maybe he went straight to his flat.”

“I heard he flew last night.” Jung Nam tattles on So Hyun.

“Jinjja? (Really?) I should call him, hold on.” Yoo Shin Young picks up her phone and dials her son’s number.

Three rings into it and So Hyun answers, “Ne, eomma.”

So Hyun is driving with Ha Jin on a highway going out of the city. Ha Jin keeps herself quiet as she reads ‘eomma’ on the LED monitor. So Hyun’s phone is connected in Bluetooth and the call is in speaker mode. 

“Oe di ya? Your brother, Jung Nam is here already.” Yoo Shin Young inquires, “He told me you flew last night.” 

“Eong.” So Hyun glances at Ha Jin, it must be her who told her friends since he hasn’t spoken to any of his family, “I’m taking care of something before coming to our dinner later.”

“I see.” Yoo Shin Young covers her phone and speaks to Jung Nam, “You’re brother is still working.”

And then comes back to So Hyun, “Be sure to finish it early, okay? I had our chef prepared a thanksgiving dinner. Chukhahae, na-ui adeuli. I saw the news articles written after your grandfather’s party. I think the media are in love with my son. I’m starting to be jealous.”

“Eomma, you’re embarrassing me.” Though So Hyun says he is embarrassed, he is cool and level headed to Ha Jin.

“It does pay to have the media on your side, I saw our stocks go up by three percent this week but it would be modest to get out of the spotlight.” Yoo Shin Young reminds him, “You know how publicity could easily turn into a negative one once these press finds something to feast on. Maybe you should have done your military services right after your university days. Your brother, Yo Han and your cousin Mu Jin, Dong Wook and Seok Won are done with theirs. Now, it's in your way of managing your new hotel.”

“I am always careful, eomma. Don’t worry about it.” So Hyun assures her, "Choi Biseo is considering when can I quietly leave for the military service. We'll just settle the new managing team for our hotel." 

“Alright. Make sure you do that. ” Yoo Shin Young asks, “I’ll see you in a bit. Please come early. I miss all of my sons.”

“Ne, kuereom….” So Hyun clicks the button in the touch screen to end the call. 

“You're driving me out of the city. Will you be able to get back on time?” Ha Jin asks after the call ended.

“The place I want you to see is only an hour away, we have plenty of time.” So Hyun assures her.

Soon, they reach the grounds of Highclere, a village and civil parish in the North Wessex Downs in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. A Victorian-fashioned black iron gates welcome them.

Ha Jin is awestruck of the sprawling acres of land and the Jacobean style architecture of the enormous manor, “Is that a castle?”

So Hyun drives to the pathway leading to the back parking lot and walks Ha Jin to the castle grounds, “Yes, famously known as the castle in that English tv series, Downton Abbey.”

"Downton Abbey?" Ha Jin asks, "I've never seen it."

"Na do. (Me, too.) but it's popular here." So Hyun mutters.

A charming old man in a butler uniform greets them by the door, “Welcome to Highclere castle, my lady, my lord.” 

Ha Jin gapes at the majestic and beautiful castle, “Wah, a European castle is definitely different from our palace back home.”

Unlike palaces in Asia that serves as residence for the monarch, castles in Europe are fortified in structure, meaning they were made not only as a residence to the royal bloods but also to protect it’s inhabitants from outside attacks.

“May I walk you inside?” The butler offers, “Lady Carnarvon is waiting by the saloon.

Remarkably, the insides of the mansion is of course as opulent as how it appears outside, with walls covered in leather brought back from Cordoba, Spain by the 3^rd Earl from 1631.

“My mother is acquainted with Lady Fiona, the wife of the 8^th Earl of Carnarvon.” So Hyun explains, “My brothers and I used to play Polo on the Highclere grounds when they visit. Have you ever tried horse back riding?”

Ha Jin deems her vintage blue chiffon maxi dress that falls upon her ankle, her blue grey coat matching it well, “Please tell me, we’re not going on horse back riding today because I am not dressed for it.”

So Hyun appraises her clothes, “On the contrary, you look at home here in your long vintage dress. I can take you side saddling.”

“You should have told me what we’re going to do today. I would have come in my pants.” Ha Jin grimaces, her heels falling softly on the carpeted floor. 

Ever since meeting So Hyun at San Gimignano, Ha Jin’s wardrobes had been gradually changed and replace by pieces of long vintage dresses So Hyun had selected for her. From the white maxi dress So Hyun picked for her to her new dress that Lucia Amelia bought for her yesterday, Ha Jin hasn’t notice it yet but So Hyun always find an excuse to dress her in his preference. Like her luggage being left behind.

“No, my moon.” So Hyun assures her, “You seem like a lady of the house with your dress. I wouldn’t want you in any other clothes.”

“Ah So Hyun, you came.” Fiona, dressed on her casual knee length dress over black stockings, welcomes them, “It’s been a while since I saw you. You’ve grown quite tall.” 

She favors him a warm kiss on both cheeks, “Imagine my surprise when I heard you wanted to visit, I was clamoring for my stable boys to arrange our horses and you know how it has been so busy around here, with all the on going shoots for that tv series but you came in perfect season. The production had finished their shoot at the end of summer.” 

“I’m sorry if I made a call on such short notice.” So Hyun good-naturedly responds with warmth, “Don’t worry, I’m not playing Polo today.” 

“No. No. No. I’m glad you visited.” Fiona turns to Ha Jin, “And the lady would be?” 

“My girlfriend, Go Ha Jin.” So Hyun introduces Ha Jin casually, his arm settling at Ha Jin’s back, 

“It’s nice to meet you.” Ha Jin blushingly extends her hand, not quite fluent with speaking in English yet but she can carry a conversation.

Fiona contains her surprise, discreetly appraising Ha Jin from head to foot. She exchanges looks with So Hyun and reaches to give Ha Jin a hug, “I like your impeccable taste in clothes.”

“Thank you.” Ha Jin tries not to stiffen, “You have a lovely home.” 

“Please, let me show you around.” Fiona extends her hand in front of her and starts explaining the architecture of the house and how it was renovated through the years. The vaulted ceiling has the middle part done in glass so the sun naturally lights the room. The columns and plasters were painted with creamy off white, easily unifying with the opulent Victorian furniture. "This is our Saloon. The walls are constructed with what we call Ashlar Masonry, coated in Lime and sand mix.

Ha Jin nods, studying the arches. She approaches one of the stone walls and let her hand glide on it, answering in Korean, "The Lime mortar has more porous than the normal cement. It draws out the dampness from the walls into the surface where it evaporates."

So Hyun translates for Ha Jin.

"Yes, correct." Fiona smiles, can't help but be intrigue with Ha Jin. She inclines her head towards So Hyun, whispering, "Interesting lady you have here."

She then joins Ha Jin by the stone arch, now absentmindedly studying the plastered walls. She leads her into the staircase, up to the second floor balcony that overlooks the Saloon below them, "May I ask how you are so acquainted with the process of architectural restoration?"

Ha Jin stops in her tracks. So Hyun now beside her again, minutely watching her. Her next words are in simple english, "My love for ceramics, I guess. Learned a thing or two about baking clays and stones."

"If you do have a collection," Fiona leans in, homely towards her, "I hope you would allow me to see it one day. I hear Ancient Korea is known for that particular ceramic. I forgot it's name."

"Celadon. Celadon Ceramics and no", Ha Jin embarrassingly reddens, apologetic, "No, I don't have one. I'm sorry. I'm just an admirer."

"It's fine." Fiona reaches to Ha Jin's clasps hands, warmly, "I'm sure I would enjoy visiting an exhibit with you. Will you invite me into one?"

"Yes, of course." Ha Jin readily answers. The two ladies, seeming to get along well brings a smile on So Hyun's face.

They enter the double library next, where the red couches and red Persian carpet mix well with the wooden walled shelves. A massive floor to ceiling glass windows functions as source of natural light for the whole room.

She shows them the music room, a sun-drenched south facing room with high ceiling painted by Francis Hayman in the 1730s while the walls are decorated with 16^th century Italian Embroidery.

Ha Jin is busy with trying to catch the English words with British accent of Fiona when her phone rings and she sees her mother’s name being displayed on her kakao. She excuses herself to answer her phone, making sure to stay away from the presence of both Fiona and So Hyun. 

“Eomma, annyeong!” She waves at her mother through her phone’s camera, “Pogo sipoeseo!  Ba-ppu-ji anh-a (You’re not busy today?)”

“Ha Jin-ah, it’s nice to see my daughter all cheery.” Hyang Ha Na is sitting on her black swivel chair inside her office, with her back to her sunny window, “I think Italy is doing good with your complexion. How are you? How come you only call your sister and not us? Your phone is unreachable.”

Ha Jin explains what Myung Hee Nam had already told their parents, that her phone got soak so it couldn’t be turned on for several days. She also tells them, she had run into some friends but is careful not to mention that she also run unto the boy who fetched her home the other week. She hasn't told her mother nor her sister that she’s in a relationship with that same boy, “I bought you and unnie gifts, I’m sure you’ll love it.”

“You didn’t forget your father, right? He’s going to throw a tantrum.” Hyang Ha Na lightly tells her.

“Of course, I bought appa the cheese he requested.” Ha Jin assuringly beams.

Though Ha Jin had walked to the corner of the room and she converses in Korean, So Hyun keeps his ears out, listening to her phone call while carrying a soft conversation with Fiona.

“Where are you today?” Hyang Ha Na asks, trying to see the painted walls behind Ha Jin.

“Ahm… in some castle.” Ha Jin is nervous with lying so she omitted the part that she isn’t in Italy. Thank the heavens, the walls behind her would pass as any frescoed wall in Italy, “It’s hard to pronounce.”

“I see. The paintings behind you are of renaissance?” Hyang Ha Na observes.

“Ah ne, ne,” Ha Jin nods quickly, “Anyway, eomma, let me call you later. Our group is moving on another room. I’ll see you. Bye!”

She ends the call before her mother observes more than she should.

Hyang Ha Na arranges the papers on her table before exiting and finding her husband on the west wing of their building where research on advance medicine is being conducted. She takes a peak on one of the rooms, searching for Myung Sung Min and when she didn’t find him, she proceeds to their glass house. A well lit garden with a controlled based temperature that maintains a comfortable low temp for relaxation.

“You do know this room is made for our doctors to rest, right?” She mutters to her husband who is sitting on a couch surrounded by stacks of papers. 

Myung Sung Min looks up from his papers, his eye glasses have made a characteristical indent on his nose’ bridge, a mark of being used for a long time, “Ah, yeobo, I feel so much better now that I’ve seen you.”

He puts down the papers he is reading and greets his wife.

Hyang Ha Na sits on the other couch, picking up a paper and scanning it, it’s a clinical study of the use of engineered cardiovascular tissues on their patients being conducted by her husband, “I was just on a video call with our daughter, Ha Jin-ah.”

“Her phone is finally reachable again?” Myung Sung Min asks, gleeful, “How is she? Can we make a call again?” 

“She’s on a tour at some castle at the moment.” Hyang Ha Na brings her husband up to date with her phone call with Ha Jin, “I think her trip out of the country is doing good for her."

Myung Sung Min relaxes his back on the head rest of his couch, ‘We should have sent her sooner.”

A comfortable silence settles upon them as they both let the room relieved their tired bodies. Myung Sung Min takes out his glasses.

“Shall I bring you a cup of tea?” Hyang Ha Na asks, a gracious wife as ever.

“No, no need. I just had one.” An empty cup of tea can be seen sitting on top of one of the stacks of paper around Myung Sung Min, “I had a call with the director from the R&D department of the Blue House, they say the grant for my research is on it’s last review. They will be ready to release the results in a month.”

“Congratulations!” Hyang Ha Na’s eyes lights up from the good news, “We should celebrate when Ha Jin comes back.”

Being modest, Myung Sung Min declines but the smile stays on his face, “Let's wait for the results first but I’m glad there is something to look forward to other than this stacks of paper.”

“I’m sure you do.” Hyang Ha Na delightfully agrees, “Our Myung Hee Nam is on her 2^nd year intern residence already and is preparing to take additional administrative courses but I don’t think she could do more. Her lab works, rounds and surgery hours are increasing and now she’s getting married, can you believe how fast our daughter had grown.”

“I know. If only our Ha Jin would consider following her sister’s footsteps, it’s not yet late for her to come back and do her med course.” Myung Sung Min sighs, glancing at his wife, “Do you think she would think it over?”

Hyang Ha Na ponders upon it for a moment, “We should talk to her when she comes back. It’s been more than a year since her accident and her doctor doesn’t see any signs that her selective amnesia is getting any better or worse. It’s a blessing, she doesn’t remember.”

“Let’s hope for that.” Myung Sung Min wistfully answers, “It would lift some of the responsibilities from our Myung Hee Nam. The medical admission test in Stanford had already passed but she can still take the exam next year. She can do refresher course in the mean time. Maybe we ought to send her in California soon.”

“That’s a good idea.” Hyang Ha Na agrees, “Let her take English courses too. I should make a call to the director of Stanford.”

“Please do.” Myung Seong Min brightens.

After Fiona shows them around the Egyptian exhibition, the three retires to the drawing room, a pretty south facing room with walls done in green French Silk. The room is commonly used by the lady of the house. An antique piano from early 1900s sits by the window. 

The three rest at the high back single state couches by the fireplace, served with English tea and biscuits baked by the mansion’s kitchen staff. The conversation is mostly between So Hyun and Fiona now, their British accent quite hard for Ha Jin to understand so So Hyun mostly translates for her.

At 4pm, the drizzle from the afternoon had developed into a heavy rain thereby hindering So Hyun’s plans of riding the horse at the stable. Fiona sees them to the main door instead, saying her goodbye.

“We would really love to stay but I have a family dinner to attend later.” So Hyun gives Fiona a warm embrace. His car driven and parked by the butler in front of the door so they won’t have to walk to the parking lot.

“Thank you for opening your home to us.” Ha Jin extends her hand for a handshake.

But Fiona hugs her instead, “Please, I would love for you to comeback. You should have come a little later, when we host medieval stately dinner. I’m sure you will find it to your liking."

She turns to So HYun, "Well then, if you are in London this Christmas, why don’t you and your family spend it here with us.” Fiona extends the invitation, “and of course bring this lovely lady with you.”

She leans over to Ha Jin’s ears and whispers, “You know, he had never brought any girl before.”

And softly laughs, with that impeccable class of an old English royalty, “So Hyun, my dear, if you two ever decide to marry, I would love to host your wedding here.”

Ha Jin nervously and awkwardly chuckles, “Oh.”

“Thank you. I would keep that in mind,” So Hyun grins, putting his hand around Ha Jin’s waist, “Then, I shall see you again…”

Two maids in dark blue uniforms, raises an umbrella over each of So Hyun and Ha Jin’s head, fetching them to the door of the car. The two of them settles inside with So Hyun concernly reaching to Ha Jin’s cheek and wiping a drop of rain. He fastens her seatbelt for her and lowers his window to say goodbye to Fiona before driving away.

Fiona takes out her phone from the inside pocket of her dress and dials Yoo Shin Young’s number.

“Ha Jin-ah,” So Hyun breaks the comfortable silence inside his car, cruising down the country road, “Did you like the castle? I wish we could have gone horse back riding, there’s a sprawling 500 acres of land to explore.”

“It’s alright,” Pertaining to their missed horseback riding activity, “The Egyptian exhibit is scary but fascinating. I think I’ve read somewhere that, that particular mummy is cursed, isn’t it?”

“Ah the Tutankhamun Pharaoh.” So Hyun expounds, “It is true that the 5^th Earl of Carnarvon died after discovering the tomb of Tutankhamun but there is a scientific explanation for his death. He died of blood poisoning after his mosquito wound got infected by accidentally slicing it open while shaving. Interestingly, there are no curses inscribed inside the pharaoh’s tomb. The curses were only made by imaginative minds.” 

“I see.” Ha Jin nods wistfully, “Where are we going next? It’s almost six now.”

The sky outside has turned darker due to the heavy clouds that brought rain.

“Are you sure you don't want to come with me in our family dinner?” So Hyun asks again even when he knows the answer already. 

“Don’t. Please.” Ha Jin answers uneasily, “We've gone through this already, let’s not argue again.”

“Alright” So Hyun concedes.

“If you could drive me in your tower, I’ll find my way around.” Ha Jin suggests, “I’d love to explore the city. Can I go to the London bridge?” 

So Hyun easily navigates the inside of Central London, getting to Southbank through Kensington, stopping over the South Bank tower to point it to Ha Jin and then driving towards the London bridge, the nearest Tube, then circling back to Borough Market, “Give me your phone.”

Ha Jin hands over her phone.

So Hyun inputs the number of the concierge and his assistant number to Ha Jin’s phone, “I want you to call this number or my number if you are lost or if you need anything. I will tell my assistant to come pick you up around 8PM. Are you sure you don’t want to be driven around?”

“So Hyun Ssi, stop treating me like a kid.” Ha Jin softly smiles, “I’ll be fine. I was able to get to Italy on my own. I’m sure with the internet you’ve provided for me, I’ll be able to navigate London just fine.”

So Hyun put a wifi egg on her bag this morning even though the two of them will be spending the day together. 

“Okay, just… I don’t want to leave my moon alone.” So Hyun anxiously gives back her phone and reaches to pull her and give a kiss on her forehead, “I’m worried.”

“Don’t be.” Ha Jin assures her, “Enjoy your dinner with your family.”

She steps out of the car and into the light drizzle, opening her clear umbrella, standing out in a sea of black umbrellas.

Chapter Text

A quick search in google shows that Ha Jin is tucked away in London’s most beloved food mecca, the Borough Market. Situated under railway bridges and little corners, the Borough Market is home to cafes, shops, pubs and restaurants catering to locals and foreigners who want to sample great produces from all over the country. Ha Jin steps into the busy market and folds her umbrella, wishing she had changed into a more casual clothes first before exploring the city. She buttons her trench coat and puts her long hair on one side of her shoulder, hiding her hands on her pocket.

As it's the season of autumn, shops of fruits and vegetables on both sides are in full earth hues, selling mostly pumpkins in all shapes and sizes. She gets a quick fruit juice on the next stall that she carries around while walking. Delectable smell of fresh bread, fat olives and brownies fill Ha Jin’s nose on the next block, taking out her phone and attaching her earphones to make a call to her sister.

“Oh, Ha Jin-ah?” Myung Hee Nam almost missed the phone call, coming out of her four hour assisted surgery, “How is Rome? Eomma said you were at some castle a while ago.”

“That? ahm…” Ha Jin clicks the google map on her phone, looking for the exit road leading to the London bridge, “unnie… I… need to tell you something.”

Myung Hee Nam walks the hallways of their hospital going to the wing where the intern resident room is located. On her way, she smiles at the nurses and doctors she runs into, “What is it? Is there something wrong?”

Ha Jin reaches the exit of the Borouch Market at Bedale St. Thankfully the rain had stopped and the lights all over the city had turned on, welcoming the sunset, the city almost darkening. She reaches the glass building of Borough’s market and starts walking towards the direction of London Bridge, “No, nothing is wrong, just… I don’t know what to say. Let me show you instead.”

She crosses the street in front of the Borrowboy and Banker and on to the waiting shed in front of the GMOUK LTD building, “Kuende unnie, bu-mo-nim-han-te mal an-hae. Chom yak-suk-hae. Jebal. (Promise me you won’t tell our parents. Please.)”

Entering the empty intern residence room, Myung Hee Nam puts the phone on her other ear before sitting down on their couch, her legs aching from the long surgery. Scraps of what appears to be a take out from a fine dinning restaurant litters the nearby table, “Are you in trouble. What happened?”

“Promise me first.” Ha Jin repeats, taking out her phone from her pocket.

“Okay, I promise, what is it?” Myung Hee Nam is starting to be anxious.

Ha Jin switches the kakao call to a video call, showing the sign ‘No.1 London Bridge’ etched in Brass against the brown marble façade of GMOUK LTD building. She turns her phone to the street, showing the night scene of men and women hurrying in the cold, London’s signature red double decker buses cruising the streets. She walks a little further into the bridge and tunes her phone next to the London Tower Bridge not far, glammed and dolled in shimmering blue lights.

“You’re in London!” Myung Hee Nam exclaims, her eyes going round in surprise, her voice rising by an octave, “Aren’t you supposed to be in Rome? What are you doing there? When did you go there?”

“I… fl… flew last night.” Ha Jin stammers, grimacing uneasily, “Please, please don’t tell our parents.”

“Gwaenchanha? (Are you okay?)” Myung Hee Nam asks in worry.

“Ne…. ne…  Unnie, (I’m… I’m fine.) Nothing to worry about.” Ha Jin doesn’t know how to tell her sister that she somehow ended up in a relationship with another Hwang. She changes the camera into front camera, “Remember I told you I’ve run into Hwang So Hyun Ssi and his cousins in Italy?”

“Ne, they were updating me with photos of you while your phone is unreachable.” Myung Hee Nam tries to recall something about London and Hwang Dong Wook’s cousin, “Ah matda (oh, right!) Hwang So Hyun Ssi lives in London, doesn’t he?”

“Ne.” Ha Jin swallows, “He… ahm… flew me to London… last night.”

“What?! Why?” Myung Hee Nam is starting to be worried, “I’ll give him a call after we talk.”

“No, no, no. It’s fine. Ahm…” Ha Jin quickly assures her sister, “He doesn’t want me to go alone in Rome since it’s not the safest city for tourists. So he offered to accompany me in Prague instead.”

“I’m still not getting why he flew you to London,” Myung Hee Nam suspects that there is more to Ha Jin’s story than she isn’t saying, “Wait, are you… have you… are you two dating?”

Ha Jin chews her lower lip and hesitantly nods.

“What?!” Myung Hee Nam’s phone almost slip out of her hand, “Since when? But you’ve only known each other for a week. Please tell me he’s not forcing you into anything.”

“No, of course not!” Ha Jin vehemently refutes it, “So Hyun Ssi had only been nice to me since meeting him and I think… I like him…”

“You think you like him?” Myung Hee Nam repeats.

“I mean I like him unnie,” Ha Jin assures her but looks away tentatively, “Just, it’s too early to say how much.”

“Okay and what did he say to you?” Myung Hee Nam probes.

“He actually says… he… ahm… he loves me…” Ha Jin hurries into her words, knowing it sounds incredulous even to her own ears, “That what he feels for me is sincere.”

“Ha Jin-ah,” As an older sister, Myung Hee Nam is just protective of her doengsaeng, “Who falls in love for a person in a week?”

“Every feeling starts somewhere, doesn’t it?” Ha Jin becomes defensive, “I know it sounds ridiculous but he is sincere and that’s what’s scaring me right now.”

Myung Hee Nam thoughtfully thinks about it for a while, observing her sister whose having a hard time telling her about how she feels. Whether So Hyun’s feeling is sincere or not, Myung Hee Nam can see how much her sister is struggling to stay afloat of her anxiety. A fit she shouldn’t be subjected to but she’s bearing it well, “You’re scared of what you feel for him?”

Ha Jin nods, unable to say it out loud, “I feel like I am constantly being swept away by him and that I couldn’t take a hold of myself. I like him, unnie. I really do but everything is going fast. Look.”

She raises her promise ring in front of the camera, “He gave me this and yesterday, he wanted to take me to their family dinner and introduce me to his mother. I had to argue against it. I said I’m not ready yet.”

“Okay, first let’s breathe Ha Jin-Ah,” Myung Hee Nam closes her eyes with Ha Jin and breathes, counting one to ten with her, unmindful of the many passerby oblivious to the view of River Thames, “Better?”

And when Ha Jin opens her eyes next, she feels calmer now that she had confided everything to her sister.

“If you say you like this boy, then you like this boy. I’m supposed to argue about it because I’m your unnie and I want to protect you and I know nothing about So Hyun Ssi except he is gracious enough to keep me updated about you this past week. He looks kind to me and…” Myung Hee Nam smiles softly and whispers, “and handsome if you asks me. I think it runs in the Hwang family.”

Then turns serious, “But I want you to take your time and not be pressured to do anything. You’re young and you’ve only just met. Yes, you have to start somewhere and this might be your beginning. Still, it won’t hurt to be cautious.”

Unable to say the warnings Hwang Dong Wook had uttered this morning. Hwang So Hyun appears to be very different from the way Myung Hee Nam’s fiancé described him and she would like to give him the benefit of the doubt. Speaking in a soothing manner, “So if you need anything or you need to talk about some things, you know I’m always here for you, right?”

“Unnie, I wish you wouldn’t sound like my psyche doctor right now.” Ha Jin tries to turn the situation light.

“I can’t help it. I’m a doctor.” A soft smile breaks into Myung Hee Nam’s lips, “So how is London?”

Ha Jin feels better, as if a load has been taken from her shoulders. Her senses coming back, the cold air of autumn finally feels fresh on her face, “Fast. Everyone seems to be in a hurry.”

Wrinkling her nose and laughing lightly, “But so is Seoul. How is Hwang Dong Wook Ssi?”

“He brought me dinner a while ago before I left for my assisted surgery.” The leftovers are still in their table. It seems their janitress hasn’t come to clear it yet, “Where are you staying?”

“Ahm… “ Ha Jin contemplates whether she would lie or not, but this is her sister. They don't keep secrets from each other, “On So Hyun’s flat. He… ahm… lives in a glass penthouse on South Bank Towers.”

“Please tell me---“

“No, I ahm… He sleeps on the guest room.” Ha Jin quickly refutes it before Myung Hee Nam can ask some more.

Hwang Yo Han is slump on their couch at the second living room when So Hyun enters their mother’s penthouse in Academy Gardens at Duchess Bedford. His arms around a throw pillow, eyes closed. A nearby incense of peppermint and eucalyptus is burning by the side table. The house lights were also dimmed on this part of the living room with the fireplace spouting crackling fire and warmth.

Yoo Shin Young gives So Hyun a hug and a peck on the cheek, “How is my son? I’m glad to see all of you in our home.”

“Na, do. (Me, too.)” So Hyun returns the warmth, “What happened to Yo Han Hyung?”

“Jet lag.” Yo han answers from his couch, “Unlike the three of you, I had to endure 11 hours of flight to get here. By the way…”

Yo Han rises from the couch, “Harabeoji is livid.”

“To Jung Nam and Baek-Ah, not you.” Yoo Shin Young assures So Hyun. She orders a water from the maid and the maid hands it to Yo Han.

“He wants all of you back to the office by Monday.” Yo Han receives the glass of water and drinks it, “Meaning, you also.”

He points at So Hyun.

“He was the one who sent me to Italy last Sunday.” So Hyun reasons out.

“Ah-huh, and now he wants you back on your office and start orienting your staff.” Yo Han puts the glass down at the side table, “I, on the other hand will take a few days break before flying to China to join Yeon Hwa. So don’t call me, okay.”

Yo Han is the Chief of Operations for their malls in Korea while So Hyun is made Chief of Operations for their hotel divisions, handling their chains of hotel, “You take care of the problems in your end.”

“Arasseo, hyung.” So Hyun shrugs.

The long dinning table is filled with what appears to be a small feast for thanksgiving, with an herb roasted stuffed turkey sharing with a lavish pumpkin forest centerpiece. There are two types of salad, three types of casseroles, a pecan pie, a corn bread stuffing, poach salmon, honey ribs, mashed potatoes and a creamy soup. Italian linens are folded crisply in a golden ring, placed decoratively on fine Chinaware.

Baek-Ah and Jung Nam are perusing the liquors in the bar, holding it up like a toast when So Hyun strolls to them.

“You and you.” So Hyun points at them, “I had a conference call with Mu Jin Hyung this morning. While you were frolicking in Italy and getting drunk every night, the marketing team and media team are working endless overtime because their heads decided to take a break. How could you be irresponsible?”

“I’ve replied to every emails and is asking for further research from my staff about the year end events for our mall. I was working.” Baek-Ah reasons out, trying to smile his way out, “I can’t say the same for, Jung Nam, here.”

“Ya!” Jung Nam elbows Baek-Ah, “How can you throw me under the bus?”

“You were mean to me last night.” Baek-Ah shrugs.

“And I’ve apologized for it!” Jung Nam glares grudgingly at Baek-Ah, “I’ve already replied to every emails this afternoon. Just waiting for Yo Han Hyung to come out of his jet lagged.”

“Ya! Don’t make me your excuse.” Yo Han shouts from his end of living room, his eyes still closed, “If you didn’t decide to take a vacation on your whim, the back logs on your end will not pile up.”

“Boys! Boys!” Yoo Shin Young meddles while fixing their dinner table, “We are here to have thanksgiving dinner. As much as I love you all for working hard, let’s have a quiet family affair, Alright?”

So Hyun shakes his head towards Jung Nam, “I can’t fly tomorrow yet but the two of you should go back already.”

“Wae? Because you promised Ha Jin to accompany her in Prague?” Jung Nam asks, lowering his voice and keeping it level headed. His anger tightly hidden, “Why did you bring her here? Are you out of your mind?”

“I am simply protecting her.” So Hyun says it matter of factly, finding no reason why he should explain his action to his brother.

“Where is she now?” Baek-Ah intervenes in between the two.

“London Bridge.” So Hyun just received a kakao message from Ha Jin while he was parking at the basement of the penthouse, “I had my assistant pick her up later. She says she wants to walk the city.”

“Boys.” Yoo Shin Young calls from the dining, “Dinner is ready. Shall we eat?”

Baek-Ah, Jung Nam, So Hyun and Yo Han take their place on the table with Yoo Shin Young at the head, So Hyun at her right. Next to him is Baek-Ah. Yo Han sits on their mother’s left. Next to him is Jung Nam.

“Let's say grace?” Yoo Shin Young leads the prayer, linking their hands together. The family observes catholic traditions when they stay in London to keep up with western customs.

And the boys say ‘Amen.’ At the end of the prayer.

“Meog-go. (Eat.)”

The boys fill their plates with the dishes made by a Michellin chef that Yoo Shin Young hired for tonight. They commence eating and except for Yo Han who is nursing a jet lagged, everyone digs in for the turkey and mashed potato.

“Yo han, my son, are the incense helping? Shall I ask for our family physician to come?” Yoo Shin Young turns to Yo han’s almost empty plate.

“Aniyo, eomma. Na gwaenchanha.” Yo Han starts with soup and water, “I just need fluids to hydrate myself. It was a long flight but can we dim the lights in here, it’s too bright. I’m dizzy.”

Yoo Shin Young fills a glass of water for Yo Han and calls for the maid to adjust the lights, “I’m glad you're staying for several days. I had the maid clean your room.”

She fills her plate with hand toss pomegranate salad in apple cider vinaigrette, taking a bite of the leafy lettuce before turning to So Hyun on her right, “Lady Carnarvon called me this afternoon. She says you’ve visited their mansions.”

So Hyun braces himself for this line of questioning, knowing full well, where it is going. Getting straight to the point before his brother tattles on him or their mother interrogates him, “I was showing my girlfriend around.”

“Girlfriend?” Yoo Shin Young maintains the graceful smile on her face, not giving away anything, “And how come I’ve never heard about this girl? How long have you been seeing her?”

“You did, eomma.” Jung Nam answers this time, catching So Hyun’s eyes before continuing, “Remember the lady I used to talk about back in my university days? I was classmates with her during my first and second year.”

Yoo Shin Young did remember about it but she is confused, “You’re university classmates with your brother’s girlfriend?”

Turning to So Hyun, “Where did you meet this girl? I don’t recall having her as our guest.”

“I met her at Harabeoji’s party last weekend.” So Hyun is unperturbed, slicing the meat from it’s ribs, “And I’ve run into her in Italy these past few days.”

“The owner of the voice in your background when you were talking to me at the vineyard?” Yoo Shin Young carefully deliberates about this girl, whom she had been hearing as of late. When Lady Carnarvon called her in the late afternoon, she was surprise to hear that her son brought a girl into a family friend’s estate and the girl seemed to be quiet but lovely according to Lady Carnarvon.

So Hyun nods, “Ne.”

“If you’ve met her at your grandfather’s party does that mean her family belongs to another line of business tycoons? What is her family’s business?” Yoo Shin Young excitedly probes. She seldom hears her sons dating and if they do, it’s always discreet and never that serious for them to bring to any family gatherings or introduce to a family friend.

“Hospital.” Jung Nam answers, “Her parents came from a long line of family doctors. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Myung Hyang University Hospital.”

“Ah, the top research facility and most expensive luxury hospital in Korea?” Yoo Shin Young stills for a moment, her fork and knife hanging mid way, calculating what it means for their family to be tied to these doctors, “Impressive. What’s her specialization?”

“She’s not a doctor.” So Hyun and Jung Nam mutters together.

“Then what does she do?” Yoo Shin Young asks, "Is she a med student?"

A maid comes in to replenish the soup and salads that were eaten first.

“She’s taking some time off.” So Hyun explains, “She majored in Chemistry as her premed and went to work as a consultant in a giant cosmetic conglomerate in Korea.”

“So she’s returning to finish her medical degree?” Yoo Shin Young puts her fork and knife down and reaches for her wine.

“I don’t think so.” So Hyun shrugs, “I think she’ll get an MA degree for Applied Chemistry but she hasn’t made up her mind yet.”

“She doesn’t want to become a doctor.” Jung Nams sputters, trying prove that he is more knowledgeable about her than his older brother.

“And her parents approve of it?” Yoo Shin Young doubts it, “But wait, you say she came from Myung-Hyang household? Isn’t that the same household where your 8^th cousin’s fiancé came from?”

“Her parents want her to come back and finish her medical degree.” Jung Nam answers again.

“Yes, she is sisters with Myung Hee Nam Ssi.” Baek-Ah chimes in, “Adopted sister. Her mother is a sister to Myung Hee Nam’s mother and when Ha Jin’s parents died in a car crash when she was five, they had adopted her.”

Coming from a long line of famous doctors, Yoo Shin Young thinks it's a good match if only the girl would come into her senses and finish her medical degree. One day she could inherit that hospital. It’s a good investment for their image, “I see. I can’t wait to meet this lady. How come you brought her to meet a family friend but not your mother, eomona. Now, I feel disappointed.”

So Hyun beams and reaches to his mother’s hand, “Eomma, I can’t wait for you to meet her, just that, I’m waiting for her to be ready. I don’t want her to feel pressured.”

“And where is she staying now?”

“In my flat?” So Hyun cooly admits.

“Ya!” Jung Nam, Baek-Ah and Yo Han all exclaimed together but they have different concerns.

“Are you crazy?” Yo Han speaks this time, “What if the media winds up about your affair? You haven’t finished your military service yet. Imagine how the media will blow this out of proportion and say that you are using harabeoji’s power to get special treatment and escape your enlistment while being cooped up in your lover’s nest. It’s bad enough that you’ve delayed your enlistment because you were finishing your MBA here in London.”

“I know I should have finished my enlistment right after my undergrad degree. It just doesn’t feel right at that time. I was busy with learning the ropes in our business,” So Hyun concedes, “Anyway, I’ve talked about it with Harabeoji and Choi Biseo, I will be enlisting quietly after three months, right after the turnover in our hotel is completed and the management is stable.”

“Alright, you do that.” Yoo Shin Young worries, “In the meantime, it would be better if you keep your affair as quietly as possible. It will negatively affect our stocks if it becomes a scandal.”

“Please don’t call it an affair.” So Hyun implores, “I am serious with this girl and I am seeing her with marriage in mind.”

“Hyung! You hardly know her.” Jung Nam disagrees, holding back his anger.

“And you do?” So Hyun raises his eyes to meet his brother’s, a low tone in his voice indicating a warning.

You had her a thousand years ago. It’s my time now.

“Enough.” Yoo Shin Young meddles, detecting the undercurrent between his two sons but fails to understand it though having a daughter-in-law coming from this renowned family of doctors will do wonders for their image as a company. It is a good deal for them, “So Hyun, my son, if you really love this girl and you intend to marry her, please, move her to a hotel. I’m sure her parents wouldn’t want to know their daughter is living together with a boy. You know how these Asian parents are still conservative when it comes to their children, I bet their image and credibility takes high precedence over anything else.”

“It’s only for the weekend while she is vacationing.” So Hyun explains, “Besides, my tower has the best security policy in the country. No media would be able to access any inch of that place.”

“Okay.” Yoo Shin Young drops the matter for now, back into her gracious smile, “Kindly bring her these pecan pies when you go home. I’m sure she’ll love the taste of it. Our Michelin chef had it made with deliberate care.”

“Ne, kamsahae eomma.”

At 9PM, So Hyun is back to the lobby of his tower, his car being park by another bellboy. He tinkers with his phone, accessing the insides of his flat through video cameras installed. He finds Ha Jin by the gardens, leaning over the glass railings, holding a glass of wine. Her back to the CCTV camera. She appears to be in her night clothes already, another long flowy white silky dress with spring flowers that overlaps by her chest and held together by a taper on her waist. One of those dresses, Lucia Amelia shopped for her. So Hyun feels the familiar quickening on his blood and the skip on his chest.

He shoots up in his lift, out to his flat, hanging his coat at the back of his single state couch and putting down his phone and the pie his mother made him take home at the low center table by his living room. He sees a wine bottle opened at his bar counter and proceeds into the garden, the automatic glass door opening for him, his footsteps never making a sound, a trait he brought from his past life.

“My moon,” He mutters unto Ha Jin’s ears, giving a light peck at her cheek, her hair still wet from the shower, his arms encircling her small waist. Sighing at the feel of her back against his chest.

Ha Jin jumps for a start but the surprise did not last long as she settles on his arms, him holding her for a while before she speaks, “You’re early.”

“I couldn’t wait to come home.” So Hyun buries his nose to the smell of melograno shampoo he bought for her the other day, “How is your walk in the city?”

Ha Jin observes the city shimmering against the night lights below them, “Hmmmm… cold... in a clinical way. People seemed to always be in a hurry and everyone dresses in those muted colors and mostly black.”

There’s a lilt and careless happiness in her way of talking, a hint that she is a little tipsy.

“Every metropolitan city is like that.” So Hyun finds her description amusing, “Even the people in Seoul are always on their corporate black formal clothes.”

“I guess so?” Ha Jin shrugs. “I went to walk in the London Bridge.”

She grimaces,

“And you’re disappointed because it’s just a normal bridge?” So Hyun finishes for her, feeling her body warmth over her thin clothes.

“Yes!” Ha Jin exclaims and then softly chuckles, “I missed the tour underground. Apparently they are only open until 6PM. Then I googled nearby places that I could go to. I went to the Old Operating Theatre Musuem at St Thomas St. and also missed their Victorian Surgery Talk.”

She talks animatedly, the happy pill of excitement and tipsiness still coursing in her veins, “The last session happens at 5PM. The structure of the church and the attic is interesting to look at though. Imagine an operating room in an attic of an old church. The steps are steep and high and only one person at a time can go up, I wonder how they were able to bring all those patients up there.”

“You weren’t able to come inside.” So Hyun feels sorry for her. Of course majority of tourist places in London are closed by 5PM. He forgot to tell her that, “How about we go tomorrow?”

Ha Jin shrugs, “You want to listen to a Victorian Surgery Talk?”

“Why not? Will I be able to hold your hand? For as long as I’m seated beside you, anything is interesting?” So Hyun tightens his arms around her waist, the cold wind breezing, “Have you considered coming back to your medical degree?”

“Hmmm….” Ha Jin never thought about it after her accident, “I don’t know. I don’t really remember why I was against it in the first place. Maybe because I’m not as smart as my unnie.”

“That’s not true.” So Hyun assures her. He lifts his chin from her shoulder, “Why don’t we continue this talk inside. It’s cold and I don’t want you to catch a flu.”

He leads her back to the automatic glass door and into the white long couch facing the skyline of London. So Hyun sits with his arm stretching at the headrest of the couch, facing Ha Jin while she sits snuggling her legs up the couch and closer to her body. When her butt meets the couch she luxuriously sighs, kneading her legs. She didn’t realize her feet hurt until she sat down.

So Hyun takes her glass of wine and puts it down at the center table, “You look happy and tipsy? How much have you drunk?”

Ha Jin searches for the bottle of wine at the bar, it came from her luggage that the assistant brought this morning, “Hmmm… half, I guess?”

She grimaces and then softly giggles.

So Hyun likes this giggling inhabited girl, reminds her of how she was the first time he met her on their original lifetime, the sweet innocent girl who kept bringing trouble in their household.

“Does your legs hurt? Noticing how she is kneading her upper thighs. He lifts her legs and rest it in his lap, making her face him. He replaces her hands with his, gently kneading and applying pressure above her knees.

Ha Jin deams, “I went into the Borough market and then the London bridge, walk back to St. Thomas and missed the surgery talk. Then I went into the docks, the old building with cafes and a Victorian glass roof and a big sculpture of ship in the middle.”

“Hay’s Galleria?” So Hyun asks.

“Yes, I think they call it that.” Ha Jin recalls, “I went into one of the bars and drunk a cocktail. It was expensive. Aw!”

So Hyun had knead a little hard on her thigh.

“But that feels good.” Ha Jin adds, her hand unconsciously covering So Hyun’s, moving with his, “Then your assistant called and ask where to pick me up and I said he doesn’t have to but he’s already driving a car a block from where I am and met him at the entrance. I wanted to walk to the London Tower Bridge but he says he needs to take me home already.”

So Hyun is staring at her endearingly, following every word she says, her moving lips looks tempting to kiss.

“He insisted that I ride the car but…” Ha Jin pouts, her face falling into that puppy eyed adorable expression, “Please don’t fire him. I wanted to experience the train.”

“So you rode the tube instead.” So Hyun’s assistant called him a while ago to say that Ha Jin didn’t want to use the car and so he ended up following her to the tube and making sure she doesn’t miss her stop and walks her back to the tower.

“Are you angry?” Ha Jin asks worried, her hand softly squeezing his,

So Hyun answers by stealing a light peck on her lips, “Don’t worry, he gets to retain his job.”

His hand stretching at the armrest, moves to catch a stray of her hair and brushes it behind her ear. A bad idea, since brushing Ha Jin’s hair to her back reveals the thin night dress tracing the mounds of her chest. It appears, she’s not wearing a bra underneath her dress. So Hyun lifts his gaze unto her face, trying not to think of her soft skin underneath that dainty dress of her. He braces his arm on the headrest and leans his head lazily against it, his other hand on Ha Jin’s legs, now rest, “You’re safe that’s all that matters but next time please don’t make me worry.”

Ha Jin grins like a kid, her eyes crinkling tipsily, “I won't.”

She snuggles closer, her scent enveloping his nose, “I told unnie about us.”

“And?” So Hyun was surprised but nevertheless happy.

“She says for as long as I know what I’m doing and I’m taking care of myself, she doesn’t see any reason why I shouldn't be with you.” Recounting her phone call with her sister a while ago, carefully keeping the part where she says, she’s nervous that everything seems to be going fast between them and that even her sister thinks the same, “Anyway, how is your dinner with your family?”

“Nothing out of ordinary.” Ha Jin’s silky dress lightly flows apart from her knees on his lap, showing her soft white shin, tempting So Hyun. Ever slowly, his hand climbs about to her knees and slides down into her shin, stroking carefully,  “Except Lady Carnarvon called my mother and told her about you.”

Which So Hyun had planned for. He knew that bringing Ha Jin to a family friend owned estate would surely reach his mother’s ears and a lot good it deed. Lady Carnarvon is naturally charmed by Ha Jin and so she put up a good word for her.

Ha Jin face falls unto worry for a moment.

So Hyun reaches to cup her face, “Don’t worry, she can’t wait to meet you. She likes you from Lady Carnarvon’s story and also, Jung Nam did talk a lot about you during your university years. It turned out it was you who he had been talking about all along.”

Ha Jin reaches to his hand that is cupping her face.

“She even sent you a pecan pie.” So Hyun points to the gift.

Ha Jin in takes a deep breathe and mutters, “I suppose I should meet her. How about some other time? But please tell her thank you for the pie.”

“Of course, I already told her so.” So Hyun pulls her into his chest, “I love you, my moon.”

But Ha Jin gently pushes from him, “But not too soon, alright. Just… I will meet her. In time.”

“Whatever you decide.” So Hyun assures her, lifting her chin to meet her lips and her promise sealed with a kiss. His hand wandering on her back and true enough there is no trace that Ha Jin is wearing a bra underneath her dress.

A raw undulated cravings violently glides down his midriff, to his groin and unto his thigh, he breaks their kiss and gazes at her round eyes, seeking consent, “I want you, my moon.”

Ha Jin swallows, the brewing storm of want on So Hyun’s eyes suddenly hurls her into sobriety, asking her to be his. She feels her cheeks getting warm and her heart racing on her chest, stirring her blood, awakening her nerves. Tentatively, she lays her hand on his chiseled jaw and tremblingly kisses the side of his lips because she doesn’t know how to answer.

So Hyun takes a hold of her hand on his cheek, stilling her, again searching her face for an answer she couldn’t put into words. Imperceptibly, she nods and as if a sudden possession has taken over So Hyun, he pulls her back to him, crushing her lips with his, an urgency on the tips of his hand to implore every part of her that he could touch. He arches her back to him, his lips purporting open mouth kisses on her neck down to her clavicle, to the mounds of her chest. Starting where they left off this morning, teasing his self and her by taking her nipples on his mouth with her thin dress still covering it. His other hand gliding up her legs, inside her dress, up to her inner thighs, feeling the warmth pooling in the middle of her legs, touching her where no one had touch her before.

A soft moan escapes Ha Jin’s lips, her body feeling like a flower opening as she yields to So Hyun’s hands. Her expression is that of a shy innocent girl, blushing so violently, she bunches her hands on his polo, closing her eyes tightly and trembling on So Hyun’s arm.

So Hyun lifts his heavy lidded eyes to gaze at her face when he pulls her undies out of her legs and discarded it to the floor. Now she’s fully naked underneath her night dress, feeling her clasp hands tightening on his clothes, “Ha Jin-ah… open your eyes, look at me.”

Slowly and embarrassingly, Ha Jin follows So Hyun’s command. He pries her hands from his polo and leads it the buttons, “Touch me.”

Ha Jin stills, staring at So Hyun’s face and looks away, “I’ve never done this before.”

Silence.

“I’ve… I’ve… never been with a man” Ha Jin hurries her words, her shy confession bringing surprise to So Hyun but it nevertheless makes him happy for he doesn’t know how much will his jealousy be against that imagined boy who would have touched his moon first.

He breaks into a soft smile, giving her a tender kiss, “I love you, my moon.”

Remembering to be gentle with her this time, he carries her up to his glass bedroom and into the soft sheets of his bed, they tumble.   

Ping!

Ping!

Ping!

Ping!

Ping!

Chae Ryung’s phone vibrates nonstop by the bedside table as it is besought with incoming hundreds of messages all at the same time.

Laying naked underneath the covers of an expensive blanket, Chae Ryung awakes inside Hwang Seok Won’s room, a penthouse in one of the buildings owned by Hwang conglomerate. Seok Won sleepily turns to his bare stomach, burying his face on his pillows. The sunrays had penetrated the walls of his bachelor pad and is casting a bright light inside the room.

Groggily, Chae Ryung lifts her head to reach for her phone and makes a double take, instantly awaking at the sight of non-stop messages all coming from the media and no sooner a call goes through.

“Chae Biseo! Annyeong haseyo. Chal jaso? (Did you sleep well?)” A man who writes for Chosun Ilbo makes himself known, “I was at the party of Hwang Geon Hyeon taeponim this weekend and we had a martini together. May I have a minute of your time? I have a few questions regarding the second daughter of your boss, the Myung-Hyang board directors.”

“Huh?” Chae Ryung checks the screen of her phone telling her it’s seven in the morning and she’s about to be late for her work, “What is this all about?”

“May we have a comment regarding the daughter of Myung-Hyang University Hospital, Go Ha Jin Ssi, is she having an affair with one of the grandsons of Hwang Geon Hyeon taeponim?” The man asks straightly.

“What are you talking about?” Chae Ryung gathers her things, feeling unease settling at the pit of her stomach.

A post from one of the famous influencer in Italy goes viral in South Korea as the video she posted of herself inside the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, captures in the background So Hyun having his arms around Ha Jin and giving her a light peck upon her hair.

“I’m sorry. I will have to call you back.” And not a second after, Hyang Hana’s call comes through next, “Ne, sajangnim?”

“Where are you? Do I have to be the first one to know about the news?” Hyang Hana had just finished a 22 hour overnight surgery and is settling on her office when her phone started ringing also with hundreds of messages. She thought it was an emergency until she sees an article of the news of Hwang So Hyun and her second daughter on her opened desktop, embroiled in a sensational dating scandal.

“I’m on my way to the office, sajangnim.” Chae Ryung ends the call and quickly dresses up, swiping her things left and right.”

“It’s so early in the morning…” Seok Won turns to the sound of Chae Ryung hopping on one foot as she puts on her sleek black jumpsuit, “What’s all these commotions?”

“I think you should get up. The media is having a field day at your Harabeoji’s office and our office.” Chae Ryung tells him, “Your cousin made the headlines again with my boss’ second daughter.”

She hurriedly exits the room and locks behind her, taking care to put her shades up on her nose, slightly hiding her face from the CCTV on the elevator that takes her straight to the basement. She rushes into her car and leaves the building unnoticed.

It’s three in the morning in London when Ha Jin’s phone starts ringing on So Hyun’s bedside table. The two were fast asleep with Ha Jin snuggling inside So Hyun’s arms, naked and tired. So Hyun took his time, having her twice consecutively before Ha Jin asks to rest. It is her first time and though So Hyun was gentle, she is sore and aching all over.

So Hyun awakes groggily by the sound of a phone vibrating and reaches to Ha Jin’s phone to inspect it. Out of habit, his own phone is in silent mode, the screen turned down against his desk so whatever message or phone call doesn’t wake him up.

“Soo-ya…” At the dead of the night, when Ha Jin can’t hear her, he calls her by her name in their original lifetime, tasting it sweet on his mouth. Softly, he stokes Ha Jin’s cheeks as he braised his pillow arm and Ha Jin moves in her sleep. He gazes at her lovingly and doesn’t want to disturb her peaceful sleep but her phone kept, ringing, “My Moon, wake-up.”

“Hmmm…” Ha Jin is too tired to open her eyes and naturally moves closer to So Hyun’s warmth, the slight touch of her skin against his skin is waking So Hyun’s cravings again but he holds himself back, seeing as how Ha Jin is sore from their love making. Her neck, down to the sides of her chest, to her midriff and inside of her thighs are full of his marks, like petals of cherry blossom scattering in the wind. There’s not a part of her, he didn’t tasted.

So Hyun holds the phone on his hand, turning the screen off and lies back to his moon and no sooner, Ha Jin’s phone lights up again, “Ha Jin-ah, it’s your mother. I think you should answer it.”

Ha Jin struggles to awake against her sleepy lidded eyes and receives her phone, answering it as she curls up inside So Hyun’s arms, his legs tangling with hers and feeling him lay a kiss at the top of her head, “Eomma?”

“Eo di ya? (Where are you?)” Against Ha Jin’s sleepiness, she couldn’t detect her mother’s brewing anger.

“Ja-go iss-eo, eomma. (Asleep, mother.)” Ha Jin quietly answers.

“Eo di-nya-go! (Where are you?!)” Hyang Ha Na’s voice rises in anger and Ha Jin doubles over, now awake.

So Hyun heard her mother’s angry voice too and has his forehead scrunch over worry. Ha Jin signals for him to be quiet and go back to sleep as she hurriedly disentangle herself from his arms, and looks for her discarded night dress at the foot of the bed, putting it on and quietly walks to the far end glass window to talk to her mother, “Is there something wrong?”

“Are you with that boy?” Hyang Ha Na lowers her voice again.

“I don’t follow, eomma?” Ha Jin freezes on her stead, her hand kneading her soar abdomen.

“I want you on the next plane out of Italy and back to Seoul, now.”

“Yie?” Ha Jin doesn’t know what’s going on or how her mother learns about her affair with So Hyun. Surely her unnie didn’t tell her parents, seeing as her mother still believes that she is in Italy, “Mom, it’s three in the morning.”

“I’ll have Chae Biseo arranged the flight for you. In the meantime, do not answer calls in your phone.” Hyang Ha Na instructs her with rapid commands.

“What is going on?” Ha Jin quietly asks, checking over So Hyun if he is asleep.

“Imagine my surprise when I went out of my 22 hour surgery and find my phone bombarded by numerous phone calls from the press asking about my second daughter having an affair with another Hwang. How can you not tell us and we had to find out about it in the media.” Hyang Ha Na’s head is coming down with migraine, “Ha Jin-ah, did we not taught you to keep our family lives private? And to another Hwang, the darling of the media for the last several weeks. Heavens, our family name is on top of the list of search portal sites. The press is eager to turn up every stone to find out about our family.”

Ha Jin has no answer for that, too shock to even say a word, “Mianhae, eomma.”

A knock on Hyang Ha Na’s office door came and in, Chae Ryung walks, telling her that she had finished arranging the flight for Ha Jin.

“Get back here, now.” Hyang Ha Na tells her, “My secretary had just told me the details to your flight.

“Eomma… I…” Ha Jin shakes, unable to lie, “I’m not… in Italy…”

“What?!” Hyang Ha Na’s anger is reaching a boiling point.

“I… flew…. to London… the other night… Mianhaeyo…”

Hyang Ha Na takes a deep breath, her hands trembling out of anger, “GO HA JIN! Get in to the first flight you could find or I swear… Just… get back here now!”

And hangs the phone.

Ha Jin closes her eyes and in takes an air, remembering to count backwards from ten to one. And not a minute after, her phone rings again. This time with an unknown number. She turns it off for fear that it might be one of the press her mother is talking about.

Quietly, she goes back to the bed and checks on So Hyun, who had drifted off to sleep, grateful that he seemed to not have heard any of the conversation. She lays a careful kiss on his cheek and rises to take a shower on the other bathroom inside his walk in closet. 

After getting dress, she silently takes her luggage with her and comes down to the lobby of the tower, asking the lady behind the concierge desk to get her a cab going to the airport.

By the time So Hyun awakes, his glass room is drenched with the sun, high up in the sky. It’s around 9AM already. He doesn’t normally sleep in late but he feels well rested, having shared the bed with his moon. He stretches his arms lazily for Ha Jin and finds no one beside him. He sits up, rising too fast, his head is dizzy. Except for the things he bought for Ha Jin, there is not a single thing belonging to Ha Jin that can be seen on his room. He reaches for his phone on the bedside table, already drained of battery from too many incessant calls the whole night. He stands up, taking the sheet with him and calls from his balcony on the second floor, “Ha Jin-Ah?”

No answer.

He tries again, coming down the first floor. He took the ipad from the center table and searches every room on his house.

Nothing.

He begins to be nervous and picks up his intercom and dials the concierge’s number on the lobby.

“Good morning, Mr. Hwang, how can I help you today?” The concierge answers,

“Has Ms. Go left the building this morning?”

The concierge checks the records on their computer, “Yes, Mr. Hwang. It says here, she asked for a cab around 3AM.”

So Hyun freezes, “Going where?”

“Heathrow Airport.” The lady answers, “Also Mr. Hwang. Your family have called ten times for the last three hours. It seems your phone has been turned off and they can’t reach you. Your grandfather wants you to call him immediately.”

So Hyun ends the call on the intercom and immediately charges his phone, going over his laptop to see all his messengers have hundreds of messages from his family and office.

Back into wearing her jeans, oversized sweater, sneakers, cap and mask, Ha Jin waited two hours before she got in into a 14 hour non stop flight going to Seoul. Her seat a window seat. Lucky for her, there’s not a lot of people flying this direct flight due to its expensiveness. She sleeps uneasily for the first four hours of the flight. When the sun’s yellow light spills to the other window across the aisle and shines on her, she couldn't sleep anymore. She ask for a flight attendant to talk to the person on the other aisle to pull down the covers of her window.

When the window was covered, Ha Jin turns to her side, facing her own window and lets herself worry. Her heart rapidly beating, remembering the news she got to read before boarding her flight. The influencer’s vlog is quote and shown ceaselessly in every news and there her face and So Hyun are visibly recognizable. There were endless speculation about how they met and are they going to get married. So far, when her plane left London, the Hwang publicists or her family’s publicist hasn’t given any comment on the issue.

Ha Jin shifts uncomfortable on her seat, feeling her body still sore and that’s when she remembers they didn’t use protection and now it adds to her growing list of worry. How could she be so stupid? Her hand comes to her midriff and rest there. She closes her eyes and tries to get a few hours of reprieve by sleeping again.

So Hyun gets into a flight through a friend’s private jet two hours after talking to his mother and having a video meeting with Choi Biseo and his grandfather. At the moment, the news of him having an affair with the youngest daughter of Myung-Hyang family doesn’t negatively affect their family and their stand is to lay low for the moment and let the news die on it’s own. The Hwang family are like a celebrity on their own merit, what with all the grand sons looking handsome and being the most sought after bachelors, people are just excited to get a glimpse of their private lives.

Nevertheless, a team of lawyers and media publicists headed by another Hwang grandson, Hwang Seok Won, is put in charge of monitoring the news, making sure it doesn’t get out of hand.

So Hyun gets in his flight hurriedly for the benefit of coming after Ha Jin and meeting her parents to explain. He was able to get a hold of Myung Hee Nam and apologized. Myung Hee Nam informs him that their parents are livid and that Ha Jin is in hot waters, being instructed to get into the first flight she could back to Seoul. She warns him that her parents are very particular with their family’s image and privacy that this news about them is intolerable and shaping to be unforgivable. So Hyun promises he would straighten things out and that he would like talk to her parents if Myung Hee Nam could get an audience for him.

Myung Hee Nam couldn’t promise but she says she’ll try her best.

Fourteen hours after, Ha Jin’s flight arrives in Seoul at around two in the morning. Hidden underneath her black cap and mask and fading with a group of college Koreans who are coming from their field trips, Ha Jin slips into her family car, sent by her parents, undetected by a mass of press in the waiting area of the airport. 

She was driven straight to their family home in Hannam-dong in Yongsan-gu, where another set of press people is waiting for any glimpse of the Myung-Hyang family. Their cameras snap with flashes of light, left and right, as her black Mercedes car is let inside their gate.

Sitting in their spacious living room with a command view of the walled garden through glass doors, Hyang Ha Na, Myung Seong Min and Myung Hee Nam are waiting for Ha Jin’s arrival, their faces solemn and quiet. Myung Hee Nam is in the middle of her shift when her father told her they're are all going home tonight to wait for Ha Jin.

Hyang Ha Na is by the glass door, her back to them, looking out to the garden. Myung Hee Nam and her father are sitting by their couch.

Ha Jin anxiously approaches her family, feeling their eyes on her. It’s 2AM in Seoul and her body is still trying to adjust from the time difference of London and Seoul. Having jet lagged after a 14 hour flight. Her phone is on her hand, turned off. When she reaches her mother to give her a kiss on the cheek, she feels the back of her hand connects with her cheek.

Slap!

She falls into the floor, her cheek stinging, her phone tumbling broken on the ground. ”Eomma…”

Myung Hee Nam and Myung Sung Min were both surprised and Myung Hee Nam rises to her sister’s help, putting her arms around Ha Jin, "Eomma, jebal..."

“How could you do this to our family?” Hyang Ha Na screams at Ha Jin.

For the last 14 hours of Ha Jin’s flight, she isn’t aware that the news about her affair with So Hyun had morphed into twisted sensational tabloid news. From them having an innocent affair to her family becoming schemers, having planned by their parents to have their daughters marry to the Hwang empire to get their hands on an endless funds for their family hospital, clinical research and trials. The press is now calling their family a high class, educated gold diggers.

Even So Hyun is not unscathed. The press digs up into his family’s reclusive life in London and when they didn’t find anything sensational, they turn into his public records winding about his military service that is not yet completed. One media outfit innocently writes about it and no sooner did it mutated into him using his family’s influence to evade his military services.

“Do you have any idea what you did to our family?” Hyang Ha Na is so furious, her daughters had never seen her scream like that or even hurt them, “Your father is in the brink of receiving his grant for his long time clinical research but thanks to you, the blue house is holding it for another evaluation. I’ve been receiving calls all day from private institutions. From our sponsors and donors. I had to assure them one by one that there is no truth to the rumors. Imagine our family being called high class gold diggers!”

Ha Jin is trembling on Myung Hee Nam’s arms, covering her cheek with her hand. The ring on her finger slightly catching a glint of light that made Hyang Ha Na notice it.

“I have never been ashamed my whole life!”

Myung Sung Min holds back his wife, trying to calm her down. 

“What is it this time?” Hyang Ha Na asks, “What is it this time that you are rebelling about again? Haven’t we gave you everything you’ll ever need. Anything you want? Didn’t we even let you had your way when you said that you are leaving us to live on your own.”

Ha Jin’s eyes well in tears.

“When you drowned two years ago and you were in a coma for a year and you woke up with no memories of the last two years of your life, do you know…” Hyang Ha Na’s voice breaks, “Do you know how thankful we are … that fate had finally gave you back to us… that we can take our daughter back home again?”

Hyang Ha Na’s tears spill on her cheeks, “You have no idea how your father and I suffer in silence as we watch you from afar because you wanted a different life from what we wanted for you… And look where it took you!”

“Mianhaeyo eomma…” Ha Jin couldn’t feel sorrier than she already is. Of course she knows how her family is suffering since her coma. She didn't want to hurt any of them, “Jjinja mianhae…. I didn’t mean for any… of this to happen.”

“Bang-ue-ro ka! (Go to your room!)” Hyang Ha Na dismisses her, “Don’t even think of getting out of this house or seeing that boy again.” 

Myung Hee Nam helps Ha Jin to stand.

“Mianhae, eomma.” Ha Jin apologizes once more.

"Ka!" Hyang Ha Na turns her back from Ha Jin, “I can’t even look at you.”

It is exactly seven in the morning in Seoul when So Hyun’s Bombardier Global 7000 private jet lands in the tarmac of Incheon International Airport. Aboard in it are his friend’s two pilots, three lady flight attendants and his own assistant, who seemed to have been in a flight everyday since the beginning of weekend. 

Sitting at the cabin lined with creamy rich leather and custom wood veneer, So Hyun dials Ha Jin’s number in Kakao for the nth time and then switches to local number to call. No answer. The operator on the other line says, the number is unreachable. His kakao messages is not even seen, wondering if Ha Jin turned off her phone to avoid the press which no doubt had tried to get in touch with her since yesterday. He tries for Myung Hee Nam’s phone also and again there is no answer.

So Hyun finishes his coffee and looks through the paper in his hand before his assistant hands him his coat to complete his black three piece bespoke, a super luxurious vanquish II fabric, looking all business like and formal.

Choi Biseo is waiting for him opposite the door of the plane, enclosed inside the jet bridge. he gives his greetings the moment he sees Hwang So Hyun, “Hwang sajangnim, I hope you had a good flight.” 

“Were you able to get a hold of Go Ha Jin Ssi?” So Hyun asks, his assistant following behind him. Aside from the dark circles under his eyes that gives him that edgy seductive charm, So Hyun is camera ready to give his statement to the press, who are waiting for him at the arrival gate at the first floor of the airport. His assistant continuously informed him about the ever-evolving rumors of his affair while they were aboard the plane.

“I was informed that the lady arrived around two this morning and was picked up by their family car and driven to their home.” Choi Biseo briefs him, “There are about 50 media waiting to take your statement. Representatives from digital media, newspaper and broadcast stations. Did you receive our company’s official statement?” 

“Yes,” So Hyun is holding it in his hand, “Keep it simple and short. I know the drill.”

He looks bored through all of this. He wants to get out of the airport and see Ha Jin as soon as possible. As they near the gates D-F, his group was flank by discreet bodyguards to protect him from the onslaught of cameras, flashing left and right of him. He comes to halt at the center of the gate and the media automatically gathers around him, throwing questions all at the same time.

“Hwang So Hyun Ssi, is it true that you are having an affair with the youngest daughter of Myung-Hyang Family?”

“What does your family think about the rumors that the Myung-Hyang Family had planned to have their daughters married into the Hwang empire to get their hands to endless funds for their clinical researches?”

“And what about the rumors that say you’ve had your citizenship change to British so you could evade your military service here in Korea?”

“Our sources say that you are still a Korean citizen and 29 in international age. Aren’t you pushing the deadline for your military services over the line already?”

“Is it true that you are ill and therefore can not commit to your military services?”

“Are you aware that you are not the first Hwang grand son who tried to evade the mandatory military services by using his grandfather’s immense influence?”

So Hyun takes a deep breathe and draws a calculated smile on his face. Not too wide that it would look like he is arrogant, not too soft that he would look weak, just enough to charm the press in front of him. His cheeks puffed, his facial features sharp, looking like a mystery inviting to be solved. This isn’t the first time he had to deal with the press and good image is the game every chaebol kids were trained to attain. 

“Annyeong hashibnikka, cheonun Hwang So Hyun-ibnida. Panggabseubnida. (Hello, My Name is Hwang So Hyun and is my pleasure to meet all of you.)” He stands with that British allure but when he speaks, his accent is that of Seoulite, no trace of his soft melodic English, “First of all, thank you for giving me your time of the day. I’m sure you have more important news to cover other than my silly affairs.”

He makes a light joke about it, drawing chuckles from the press.

“Hwang So Hyun Ssi, why don't you model for your own company, you look the part of a fashion icon.” One of the charmed reporters asks, giggling.

“Ah…” So Hyun keeps everything in a light note, “I’m afraid I am better off in the board room rather than in front of the cameras.”

But it doesn't. He looks solid and formidable and if they look closer, there is that coldness and ruthlessness in his calculated gestures.

“But to get back to the issue at hand.” So Hyun entices everyone to silence, with only the occasional flashes of camera snapping, “Yes, I am seeing the youngest daughter of Myung-Hyang family with marriage in mind.” 

It seems the cameras, phone recorders have doubled it’s vigor in capturing every word that comes out of So Hyun’s mouth.

“And although we have only met not long ago and by accident it was, she is a university classmate to my youngest brother and I can assure you that her family has no design whatsoever over my family’s business. The Myung-Hyang Family is a very honorable, talented and credible doctors in their respective field and it is to our request that their family be not involve in any unscrupulous rumours anymore. I am embarrassed that they are accused of such dirty name-callings. Please, we implore you to leave the lady and lady’s family out of the news. I have assembled a legal team to put a stop to all of these blasphemous rumours and I can assure you,”

And at this, the coldness in So Hyun’s faced makes it appearance for the first time, “Any unfounded rumours will be pursued with strong legal accountability.”

It seemed the silence envelops the crowd. No doubt, So Hyun’s warning is understood.

“Will you make your fiancée sign a prenup?” one reporter dares to ask, “Was her older sister asked to signed one too?”

“I do not have plans to make the lady sign a prenuptial agreement.” So Hyun directly answers, “and as for the matter of my military services, I have lived in London for the past 24 years. I have every chance to change my citizenship but I never did. At the risk of sounding as if I’m patronizing, I do love our country and I will serve my mandatory military service in the coming months. It has always been planned that way. I have signed my mandatory services several months ago with the start date of three months from now. You are free to browse the records. It’s open to the public.”

In closing, So Hyun bows his head, “Again, I humbly apologize to the Myung-Hyang family for having their name drag into this mess.” 

And then address the press, “Thank you for your time. A written statement shall also be sent to your media offices, you are all welcome to peruse it for your news clippings.” 

His bodyguards, two on both sides, parts the people in front of them with great care, letting So Hyun, Choi Biseo and his assistant pass.

“Hwang So Hyun Ssi, just another question…” 

“Are you marrying the lady before you do your military services?”

“Hwang So Hyun Ssi…”

But all the question thrown on So Hyun's group is met with tight lips.

Knock…

Knock…

Knock…

Myung Sung Min knocks on Ha Jin’s door and opens it slightly to take a peak. Inside, the drapes are drawn on the windows and whatever sunshine gets through, stays on the hems of the heavy drapes.

“Ha Jin-ah?”

No answer. Ha Jin had just taken her anxiety pills and though at the beginning, the pills keep her in the perpetual state of fatigue and unwakefulness, once her body adjusted to the pills, it does wonder on her mood these days. But this morning, Ha Jin couldn’t leave her bed out of her shame and embarrassment from last nights argument with her mother.

Myung Sung Min walks to her bed and instructs the ajumma following him to put the tray of breakfast and an ice packet to the side table. The ajumma proceeds to open the drapes and let the sun into the room, dispelling the gloom hanging in the shadows. Ha Jin pulls the covers to her head, her back to her father.

“Ha Jin-ah?” Myung Sung Min sits by the space on Ha Jin’s bed, “Appa came to bring you your breakfast, why don’t you sit up and eat with me?” 

Nothing.

Touching Ha Jin’s head over the covers, Myung Sung Min apologizes for his wife’s burst of anger last night, “Your mother is sorry for having hurt you like that. It feels heavy on her chest that she had struck you out of anger.”

Ha Jin holds her sob, trying to make no sound.

“I know you didn’t mean to embarrassed our family. That vlog going viral is not of your doing. I just wish you have told us about this boy before we learn about it in the news. Your mother was shocked. You know how she hates surprises. Surgeons, in general, hate surprises.” Myung Sung Min explains.

“Appa mianhae.” Ha Jin mutters through the tears escaping her cheeks.

“I know, darling. I know.” Softly, Myung Sung Min pats Ha Jin’s arm, “I’m sorry about your mother too. Can you come out of that covers and talk to appa properly.”

Compelled, Ha Jin pulls the cover to her neck and turns to her father, whose arms are waiting for her. Ha Jin settles her head on his lap. She feels like a kid again. 

Myung Sung Min traces the welt on her cheek, “We should put an ice here. It's swelling.”

Ha Jin covers her cheek, “Gwaenchanha appa. I deserved it.”

“No, you don’t. Your mother never intended to hurt you.” Myung Sung Min reaches for the ice packet on the tray and puts it on her cheek gently, “Tell me about this boy. How did you meet?”

And Ha Jin tells her father how she met So Hyun at the Hwang party and how he fetched her home afterwards. She then accidentally run into him in Italy and ever since then, they have been together everyday. Even flying her to London because he insisted that Rome is not safe for her. 

To all this, Myung Sung Min listens patiently, nodding and responding warmly to Ha Jin’s story, appearing to be more accepting than his wife, “And do you love this boy?” 

Ha Jin tenses and answers honestly, “Chal mol-la, appa (I don’t know, dad)”

“He sounds wonderful to me. An overachiever kid who is an heir to an empire,” Myung Sung Min carefully words his sentence, brushing Ha Jin’s hair on her back, “But under the circumstances your relationship came to light, I don’t think your mother and I should approve of him. I don’t want you to fall short of all his achievements and dissolve to his shadows as just the ‘caring wife’… You know what I mean? You’re so much better than that.”

Ha Jin’s clutches to her father, at a loss. She senses the truth on her father’s words, resonating to her core. Like the way the scandalous news painted her, she’s a nobody, in spite of coming from a prestigious well-established family. Who is she really other than the background her family provides for her. She isn’t Myung Hee Nam, an intern resident doctor and administrative officer for their hospital. There is no accomplishment or fame under her name and if she ever marries into the Hwang empire, she’d be swallowed alive by the politics of that family, even though So Hyun would as hell, protect her with all his might.

“You’re young, my daughter and if you choose you could still come back to medicine if you want.” Myung Sung Min continues, “Your mother had made a call to Stanford. We can send you to California. You have a year to prepare for your admission test, maybe enrol on some English classes. You can start anew. Away from here. Away from these damaging rumors brought unto our family. Away from that boy with whom you haven’t settled your feelings yet. Who knows. Maybe the distance will do you both good. You might meet someone that doesn’t have the kind of burden that boy has. It’s an empire on his shoulder. That it is a heavy burden to take. You can be free. There is an endless possibilities to your life, my daughter, if only you’d listen to us.”

Ha Jin thinks about it, she can’t breathe through all these burden suddenly on her shoulders and she had been constantly drowning of how fast her relationship is going with So Hyun. She needs time to breathe, a space to grow. She makes up her mind if only to please her parents because they sound right. They are right. They've always wanted only the best for her and she is the one who always fails them. She doesn't want to hurt her family anymore, “Ne, appa. I will go to California if that is what you and eomma wants.”

Myung Sung Min gathers her to his arms, happy of her change of heart, “Chal haessda, nae dalya. (Very good, my daughter.) I’m sure your mother will be glad to hear about it.”

So Hyun’s next stop is Hwang’s business headquarters in Gangnam. A 24 storey building inspired by the shapes found in traditional Korean pottery. The glass tower gives an impression of a building in waves. The glass façade lends a dynamic quality to the tower by reflecting the lights with the movement of the viewer. The tower employs solar power and the offices are naturally ventilated.

Choi Biseo parks their car at the 1^st floor basement and takes the private elevator that protects them from the prying cameras of media, who are still in the vicinity of their office. The lift shoots up to the 24^th floor penthouse where Hwang Geon Hyeon makes his office. Another secretary, a lady in tweed suit, welcomes them and buzzes them to the glass office of the Hwang’s patriarch.

Hwang Geon Hyeon had just finished watching So Hyun's press statement on his laptop, sitting behind his massive mahogany table, his back to the view of Seoul’s skyline. In front of him, in one of the couches, Hwang Mu Jin stands and reaches to So Hyun’s shoulder to pat him and greet, “You did well in front of the media.”

So Hyun only nods, waiting for their grand father to notice him. It will be a few minutes of silence before Hwang Geon Hyeon raises his eyes to acknowledge his newly arrived grandson, “You look well.”

“Ah yie harabeoji, I believe I’ve handled the situation well. Thank you for trusting in me.” So Hyun bows his head in formality.

“You look well because it was the lady’s family who bore the brunt of witch hunt. You should be thankful our legal team were quick to do damage control.” Hwang Geon Hyeon does not look satisfied, his face dawns that neutral façade that their family is so good at wearing, “In the future, I expect no such scandal would surface again.”

“Yie, harabeoji. Algessuebnida. (Yes, I understand.)” So Hyun answers frugally, maintaining his dignity. 

“What is this I hear about you marrying the lady.” Hwang Geon Hyeon turns to another pressing matter at hand, “The lady hasn’t even been introduced to our family.”

“Joesonghabnida harabeoji, I will introduce her in a dinner, one of these days.” So Hyun explains. It's not part of his written statement, "I just don't want her to be accused of anything."

“Are you marrying this girl to save her face from the scandal?” Hwang Geon Hyeon already run a thorough background check on Myung-Hyang family the first time his grandson, Hwang Dong Wook announced his marriage to Myung Hee Nam but he run another background check again just to be sure that the family his grandsons are marrying into has no special designed over his legacy. Truth of the matter, the Myung-Hyang family is a good family for their image. He has no qualms about his grandsons marriages, only that Hwang So Hyun's engagement seemed to be hurried.

“Anibnida. Believe me harabeoji, I have known this girl my whole life and there is no other girl I would want to marry other than her.” So Hyun calmly defends his unscripted statement with the press, “and if she agrees I would like to marry her before I go to my military service.”

“And that, you can not do.” Hwang Geon Hyeon rest his back on his swivel chair, “The press loves a romantic chaebol wedding but they will crucify us if they so much gets a whiff of an excuse to delay your military service. People don’t take kindly to draft evaders. Look how fast the media turned on you. I suggest you complete your mandatory services first. Let the news die down and marry the girl after. It’s not just for your sake but for the girl’s family’s sake too.”

So Hyun doesn’t want to but his grandfather’s suggestion is not just a mere suggestion but a command. He could argue with his mother but he can not argue with his grandfather.

“I shall make a call to the blue house and pull some strings and it will not be hard to convince the private sponsors of Myung-Hyang University Hospital to do business with them again.” Hwang Geon Hyeon tells his grandsons, “Who knows I might even be interested to fund some of their medical researches. Our business had never ventured to that field before. Maybe it’s about time.”

And So Hyun could never be more grateful than he is already. Only his mandatory service looms darkly above his relationship with Ha Jin, “Kamsahabnida, harabeoji.” 

Then takes his immediate leave, unable to wait another minute to solve all of this so he can finally see Ha Jin. When he steps out of the office, Choi Biseo and his assistant are waiting for him, Hwang Geon Hyeon turns to his first grandson, “I want Hwang So Hyun sent to his conscription in three day times.”

“Harabeoji?” Hwang Mu Jin would like to disagree, “He just came back from London and what about his hotel?”

“It's the fastest way to quiet down the scandal.” Hwang Geon Hyeon stands to turn his back and look at the view of Han River on his office, “You take over the Windsor Excelsior for the mean time. Also, I want Hwang Dong Wook back to China tomorrow.”

“But isn't he getting married in three months time?” Hwang Mu Jin is baffled. He, like So Hyun, thought that the press release a while ago did a good job with cleaning this mess.

“The Myung-Hyang family is a very reputable and highly proud family of doctors. It would take a lot of convincing and sincerity on our part before Hyang Ha Na Ssi would agree to have her daughters be associated with us again.” Hwang Geon Hyeon is only stating a fact.

He had made a call to the hospital when he learned of the news about his grandsons and was forwarded to Hyang Ha Na and finds Hyang Ha Na an interesting proud lady, graduated from Stanford at the top of her class, she’s highly praised as one of the best and daring neurosurgeon in her field. The only Asian surgeon who received an ASA (American Surgical Association) Medallion for Advance Surgical Care on her work in nuero-cell engineering and founding co-president of Neuro-cell Engineering Regenerative Medicinal International Society that is renowned all over the world. At the moment she is the Chief of Surgery and co-owner of Myung-Hyang University Hospital.

Her husband, Myung Sung Min is equally talented and highly praised for his work in the field of Cardiothoracic Surgery. An alumna of Oxford University, the two met each other at John Hopkins University when they were both doing their residency. When the two got married, Hyang Ha Na and Myung Sung Min settled in Korea where they inherited Myung Sung Min’s University hospital and Hyang Ha Na’s family bought a share of stocks in it, making the two the majority stockholders of the university hospital. 

“I am even surprised that Hyang Ha Na Ssi hasn’t canceled Myung Hee Nam’s engagement to our Hwang Dong Wook.” Hwang Geon Hyeon mutters, “It’s a nice change to encounter a family who isn’t intimidated with our empire nor are they after our family’s legacy. I like them.”

“Then why are we separating my cousins to their fiancées?” Hwang Mu Jin asks.

“It’s the Myung-Hyang family request and I am too embarrassed of my grandsons, who brought trouble for them.” A crease in Hwang Geon Hyeon’s forehead appears for a second but it was gone fast, “Let us honor their request for now. Time will eventually bring everything into fruition.”

Hwang Mu Jin has no answer for that. He does find the wisdom on his grandfather’s words. Of course they should respect the request of Myung-Hyang family.

“Did your two crazy cousins come home already?” Hwang Geon Hyeon changes topic.

“Hwang Jung Nam and Hwang Baek-Ah are arriving at 2PM.” Hwang Mu Jin got the information from Choi Biseo this morning.

“Tell them to see me as soon as their flight arrives.” There’s an annoyance on Hwang Geon Hyeon’s voice.

“Yii, harabeoji.”

Inside the conference room of the hospital, surgical freshmen and second year intern residents gather around the table, looking overworked and sleepy. Some of them had been in their shift for the last 40 hours, some of them still fresh. Myung Hee Nam is still on her scrub uniform coming in from a basic surgery this morning, taking a seat with her colleagues. She hasn't slept for the past 36 hours and after Ha Jin was sent to her room when she arrived, Myung Hee Nam had come back to the hospital to continue her shift.

“What is it this all about? Does anyone know why we are called here?” Myung Hee Nam asks on her corner to another intern on her right. 

Hyang Ha Na barrels in the room with her chief of resident at her heels, “Okay people. Settle down.”

The interns find their places and sit anywhere they could.

“I’m going to do something pretty rare for a chief attendee here.” Hyang Ha Na looks confident with her hands on the pockets of her white coat, “I’m going to ask for help.” 

The intern residents exchange a look of puzzlement.

“I have this kid, Kim Jeong Moon, 19 years old majoring in theater and modeling.” Hyang Ha Na explains, “Labs are clean, scans are pure but he is having grand mal seizures with no visible cause. He doesn’t respond to meds. He’s a ticking time bomb and he’s going to die if we don't get a diagnosis.”

She walks the length of the room, “And that’s where I’m gonna be needing your help. I need you eyes, your minds. I need you to play detectives and find out why this boy is having seizures and since I know this is still a very advance stage for all of you, as an incentive, I will give you the chance to scrub in and assist with me in surgery if you ever find the answer to this mystery illness.”

Turning to her chief resident, “Dr. Park Wol Han here, will hand you Kim Jeong Moon’s chart. The clock is ticking interns, if we are to save this boy’s life, we need to do it fast.”

Dr. Park Wol Han puts the stacks of folders in the table and the interns dig in, eager to prove themselves. Hyang Ha Na leaves the room after explaining.

She walks into the second floor walkway under a massive celling of dome glass that naturally lights the whole atrium. The walkway connects the two buildings together. Below her, in the atrium of the hospital, she can still see a few media being held back by their security team.

At the end of the walkway, going to the offices of the heads of each department is Hwang So Hyun with a bouquet flowers in hand, waiting with Choi Biseo and his assistant at his back.

Choi Biseo whispers to So Hyun, “That would be Dr. Hyang Ha Na, chief surgical attendee and co-owner of this hospital.”

So Hyun discreetly appraises his soon to be mother-in-law, a lady of average height with porcelain skin and a very radiant face. She is in a formal pencil cut dark blue dress underneath her white coat and 2-inch black heels. With her slim arms and soft calves, she looks as fragile as her daughters are but unlike her daughters, she had that sharp eyes and reclusive, cold expression that she wears when she is in the hospital. This is an accomplished lady with an intelligent mind and bold powerful hands that cuts into anyone’s brain. So Hyun bets his mother would love to meet this lady. 

Over the last 24 hours and the next few days, So Hyun and the Hwang Geon Hyeon would come to know that as much as Myung Sung Min’s family originally owns the hospital, Hyang Ha Na had risen to the top as the head of board of directors. She’s the brain behind every decision-making ever made in the hospital. And for that matter, Myung Sung Min is very much dependent on her and lets her decide for their family too.

“Annyeong hashibnikka,” Hwang So Hyun greets, bowing his head formal and respectful, “Cheo Hwang So Hyun-ibnida.”

He extends his hands and offers the bouquet to Hyang Ha Na, “I wish I could have met you in a better circumstances”

Hyang Ha Na stares at So Hyun and out of respect, receives the bouquet, “White Stargazer Lilies? Interesting choice of flower. This should be out of season now.”

“It is.” So Hyun agrees.

Choi Biseo is only able to get it from the exclusive green house of their mall in Gangnam.

Hyang Ha Na leads them to her office at the end of the hallway. A modest room with floor to ceiling shelves for books and a view of the university quadrangle behind her glass windows. There are two creamy leather couches in her sitting area in front of her office desk. She puts the temperature in her room in a comfortable 20 degrees before removing her coat and hanging it in a rack beside the door. She puts down the flowers on her table and makes a call to her secretary at the intercom to bring a brewed tea for So Hyun. She takes a sit in front of So Hyun at the sitting area while his assistant and Choi Biseo were outside of the office. 

Chae Biseo brings in the brewed tea and colorful dasik (Korean tea cookies) then leaves the two to talk.

“What can I do for you Hwang So Hyun Ssi?” Hyang Ha Na asks all formal and business. She reminds So Hyun of his own mother, Yoo Shin Young, when she is inside a boardroom, sharp and a no non-sense person.

The phone rings and Chae Biseo intercepts it on her desk.

So Hyun stands from his sit and kneels respectfully in front of Hyang Ha Na, something he had never done his whole life, “I came to formally apologize for the scandal I have caused your family. Please know that I sincerely regret that you had to learn about our relationship in a reprehensible manner. My feelings for your daughter are sincere and if you could look pass this situation just once, I shall prove to you how devoted I am to your daughter.”

Hyang Ha Na considers him for a moment, “You can go back to your seat, Hwang So Hyun Ssi. It is not healthy for anyone to kneel for a long time.” 

With a fine manner, she reaches for her cup of tea and let So Hyun settle back to his seat. It’s her chance to examine him this time. She recognizes the 24,000 dollar bespoke suite that So Hyun is wearing. He smells of money, a privilege kid with everything at his fingertips, “I have a ten hour surgery waiting for me Hwang So Hyun Ssi so I’ll go straight to the point. I do not like you for my daughter simply because you're a Hwang. You can have everything with a simple wave of your hand. So it goes to say you can easily discard my daughter when you find another flavor of the month.”

“Hyang Ha Na Sabeonim, you do not understand ---“

“Oh I do, Hwang So Hyun Ssi. My daughter is a wide-eyed naïve girl suffering from clinical depression and selective amnesia. She is not right in her head and it is our mistake to have let her go into that Europe trip all alone.” Hyang Ha Na interrupts So Hyun, “You’ve taken advantage of her.”

So Hyun would like to disagree but he did took advantage of the fact that Ha Jin is all alone across the world and planned his moves to keep her.

“She is very young and knows nothing of the hardships of life. All we want for her is to go back to university and pursue her medical degree again.” Hyang Ha Na continues.

"And I will not hinder her in anyway if that is what she wants." So Hyun is careful of his words.

The phone rings shrilly again and was intercepted by Chae Biseo on her desk. 

“Did you know what I had to do the whole day, yesterday on top of all my surgeries?” Hyang Ha Na looks from the phone to So Hyun, “I had been in the phone having an emergency meeting with all of those private and government institution funding the clinical trials and researches on this hospital, trying to assure each and every one of them that every penny they sponsor on this hospital goes to where it should be. I have three institutions withdrawing their funding from us, effectively putting a stop to clinical trials that could have save thousands of lives around the world. That included Ha Jin’s father’s eight year clinical research.”

“I am deeply remorseful for what happened, Hyang Ha Na sabeonim” To So Hyun’s credit, he doesn’t lose his calm, going through the meeting very business like, “If you would let me, my grandfather is currently interested in venturing to the medical fields. In fact, he just made a call to the blue house regarding your husband’s clinical research.”

“You’ve looked into our family.” Hyang Ha Na states coldly, the conversation turning sourly for every information coming to light, “My husband’s research is highly classified.”

Hwang Geon Hyeon never mentioned it was classified. Of course, with their family’s powerful clout, even classified information can be obtained.

“I understand how powerful your family is Hwang So Hyun Ssi.” Hyang Ha Na composes herself, “And I am grateful for the offer but I do not want to fan the smoke the media had started. We do not need your family’s money and I would appreciate it if you do not come near my daughter again.”

“Hyang Ha Na sabeonim, please…” So Hyun’s features soften, his brain turning in wheels, calculating, “I am in love with your daughter and if you have seen my press statement this morning, I want to marry her.”

“And I want my daughter to become a doctor and not end up as just someone else’s wife.” Hyang Ha Na straightens, their conversation coming to an end, “It was nice having this conversation with you, Hwang So Hyun Ssi. Please spend your money and your dotting elsewhere.”

So Hyun rises from his chair, “Hyang Ha Na Sabeonim, what can I do to win your approval? Show you my sincerity.” 

“Nothing.” Hyang Ha Na coolly shrugs, “Your grandfather had agreed to send you to you conscription in three days time. Your cousin, Hwang Dong Wook Ssi would be sent to China and his engagement to my Myung Hee Nam will be dissolved. It’s all for the best.”

She takes her coat from rack and walks out of her room with no glance at all.

Choi Biseo  and So Hyun’s assistant approaches So Hyun the moment he steps out of the door, his face is sealed and the two can’t read anything on him, “Choi Biseo is it true that my grandfather is sending me to my conscription in three days time?”

“I… “ Choi Biseo hesitantly answers, “There was a talk about it yesterday but as far as I know, your grandfather hasn’t made up his mind.”

So Hyun whips out his phone from his pocket, sees missed calls from his first cousin and dials his grandfather’s office number.

Ring…

Ring…

Ring…

The call is forwarded to his grandfather’s second secretary, “Yie, Hwang So Hyun Sajangnim?”

“Where’s harabeoji?” So Hyun asks

The secretary checks Hwang Geon Hyeon’s schedule on her computer, “He is in a meeting in the Blue house. Would you like to leave a message for him?”

“No. I’ll talk to him straight.” So Hyun ends the call and dials Hwang Mu Jin’s number next, putting the same question to him.

“Harabeoji just made up his mind after you left his office.” Hwang Mu Jin regretfully informs him, “I tried calling you but you weren’t answering.” 

“I met with Go Ha Jin Ssi’s mother here in the hospital and it was her who told me about it.” So Hyun simmers in annoyance, “Why do I feel like I am being treated like a child. How come I wasn’t informed? I can’t go to my conscription. I haven’t even seen Ha Jin yet and they are dissolving Hwang Dong Wook’s engagement to Myung Hee Nam Ssi.”

“What?!” Hwang Mu Jin is startled, “Harabeoji agreed to Hyang Ha Na’s request to send you to your conscription and Hwang Dong Wook to China to lay low but he never agreed to dissolve the engagement. I doubt he will. He believes the Myung-Hyang family is a good catch for our family. He’s even in a meeting with an officer in the Blue house to talk about the funding for Myung Sung Min Ssi’s clinical research.”

Knowing his grandfather and after talking to Hyang Ha Na, So Hyun doesn’t think there was a miscommunication. Hyang Ha Na simply made her demand and his grandfather did not agree to all of it but let Hyang Ha Na have her way just this time to gain her trust. As always, his grandfather is two steps ahead of him, standing back and seeing the whole picture to understand it and yet So Hyun couldn’t bring himself to be sent on his conscription, he needs to see Ha Jin.

“Hyung, please talk to Harabeoji.” So Hyun appeals to Hwang Mu Jin, feeling like a child with no say on the matter, “At least, give me a month. I need to settle things first with Ha Jin.”

“I will try, So Hyun-ah but you know our grandfather, he will not change his mind once it’s made up.” Hwang Mu Jin couldn't make a promise.

“Thanks.” So Hyun hangs up, dialing Yeon Hwa’s number next.

“Ne, oppa.?” Yeon Hwa answers on the other line, all perky and sunny, “Let me guess, you’re going to ask me to locate Go Ha Jin again.”

“Eong.” So Hyun is not in the mood to engage Yeon Hwa’s playful antics. 

“Tough luck.” Yeon Hwa grimaces on the other line even though So Hyun can’t see her, “I already tried because I’m sure you would ask me.”

“And?” So Hyun prompts. 

“Her phone is off.” Yeon Hwa explains, “Either her phone finally dies or she just wouldn’t turn it on. By the way, you look gorgeous in your press conference this morning. No jet lag at all.”

“Thank you, Yeon Hwa-ya, I’ll call you again.” So Hyun hangs up. He was able to get a few hours of sleep in the private jet but he only felt tired the moment Yeon Hwa pointed it out. It seems his body had been functioning in adrenaline all morning and is starting to crash now. He turns to Choi Biseo, “I need to eat. Let’s get a sandwich.”

And continues to dial Ha Jin’s number while walking back to his car.

Eight hours after, So Hyun had been sitting on his grandfather’s Rolls Royce dark blue sedan watching Ha Jin’s house across the street. Thank the heavens, the press had dispersed right after each one of their offices got So Hyun’s written statement from the publicist department of Hwang conglomerate. 

Since arriving here at four, So Hyun’s assistant had rung the doorbell and was told by an ajumma that no one is home, that the whole family is in the hospital. When So Hyun got tired of dialing Ha Jin’s cellphone number, he had Choi Biseo looked for Ha Jin’s house phone number.

To his dismay, the same ajumma who opened the gate is also the same ajumma who answered the phone and she told the same thing. So Hyun asked for Go Ha Jin and the ajumma told him that the lady had been out of the country since last week and hadn’t came home yet. The standard answer given to everyone who calls the house.

The house seemed empty from the inside of So Hyun’s car and when the last of sun rays turned violet and then blue and then night, only the lamp outside the house was lighted. So Hyun can only see the attic part of the house and that remained dark after the sunset. 

Around 10PM, Hwang Dong Wook’s car, a black Cadillac CTS-V arrives at the gate, fetching Myung Hee Nam at home. Myung Hee Nam appears distraught as she came down of the car, her face buried on her hands and running towards their gate. Hwang Dong Wook came after her but the gate was closed on his face. 

So Hyun comes out of his car. His assistant and Choi Biseo follows him. He approaches his cousin, “Dong Wook-ah?”

Hwang Dong Wook turns upon hearing his name. His facial muscles, down to his biceps are all tensed, trying to hold back his anger. For a second, Choi Biseo thought that Hwang Dong Wook would throw a punch on So Hyun.

“This is all your fault.” Hwang Dong Wook stares with deadly daggers at So Hyun, “Are you even aware of what you did?”

“Mianhae Dong Wook-ah, I didn’t intend for any of these to happen.” So Hyun apologizes in a neutral tone, standing his ground.

Hwang Dong Wook had never hated So Hyun more than now, looking all calm when relationships around him are falling because of his tactlessness, “Thanks to you I’m being sent back to China and Myung Hee Nam is being force to take her residency on another country.”

He walks pass So Hyun and into the door of his car.

“If it’s any consolation, harabeoji does not intend to dissolve your engagement with Myung Hee Nam. In the contrary, he’s going through all our contacts to pool contracts and sponsorship for the Myung-Hyang University Hospital. He’s diverging from our field and venturing to invest in the medicine field.” So Hyun did not want to explain, he tells it as if he is consoling himself.

Hwang Dong Wook laughs bitterly “Jangnanhae? (Don’t kid me.)”

He opens his door, “Have you met their mother? She makes my mother look like a picnic in a park. If she says she doesn’t want anything to do with our family, it’s finished. Her daughters will never go against her. Thanks to you.”

He gets into his car and manoeuvres back because So Hyun is standing in front of his car. When he was able to navigate a space away from So Hyun, he steps on gas and was about to leave when he stops right beside So Hyun and lowers his tinted window, “Don’t bother waiting outside. Ha Jin Ssi is no longer there. Myung Hee Nam says their father flew Ha Jin Ssi out of the country the moment she agreed to pursue her medical degree. That was breakfast, this morning.”

So Hyun is frozen all over, standing on the street long after Hwang Dong Wook’s car is out of sight. He couldn’t believe Ha Jin would leave, would run away. A feeling of betrayal trickles on his nape and he feels that pain on his chest, that void he had escaped when he finally met Ha Jin after a thousand years of waiting. He feels as if he is back at the massive doors of Hoegyeong Hall, the sun shimmering strongly upon the courtyard, he’s almost blinded as he watches his beloved Hae Soo getting into her palanquin and being carried out of the palace, never to come back again.

“Soo-ya…”

He whispers under his breathe, “Why do you always leave?”

Epilogue…

2 years after…

Standing grandiosely at the intersection of Pasteur Dr and Welch Road, the New Stanford Hospital is a seven-storey state of the art behemoth building that is part of a major hospital upgrade across California. It houses 368 private rooms, two enlarged emergency department, five gardens for patients and visitors and parking lot of 900 spaces. 

The glass roofed atrium, surrounded by four buildings on each corner is busy with med students milling around getting to their lab classes, of civilians visiting their love ones on their respective wards and of patients being welcomed by nurses and leading them to their clinics.  The first floor serves as food area, cafes, gift shops and spaces for people to come in for social services. Outside of it is the promenade that leads to the shopping center and train station in Palo Alto. A major pedestrian for foot and bike traffic.

For medical students, they simply love hanging around the park or in one of the cafes reading their tons of cases and studying when the library becomes too crowded.

Ha Jin is crossing from one building to another to get to her practical medicine class. She has an hour break in between and has a book in hand, busily memorizing. She hasn't slept for the last 36 hours. Her week is full of labs, clinical procedures, class theories and practicum. The normal load for second year med students and would probably get harder as she advances to next grade. She’s tired and has dark circles around her eyes.

At one point of her freshmen year, she started crying every night because her brain refuses to take in any of those medical terms in her books. Never mind that medical terms are hard enough to memorize, English is just much harder for her since it's not her native tongue. She isn’t as sharp as their mother nor as smart as Myung Hee Nam nor as wise as their father. The only thing that got her through her first year is sheer will to survive because really there’s nothing for her to go back to. Her parents will not let her come back to Korea again not even for a holiday and she was so apologetic to her unnie for breaking her engagement.

Myung Hee Nam was also sent here in Stanford to do her residency a few days after Ha Jin got here. She never made it against Ha Jin nor did she say anything. Myung Hee Nam took it with a stride and gentleness that it only made it more burdensome to Ha Jin and yet she seldom sees her sister even though they both live in an apartment that their parents set-up for them in Palo Alto. Myung Hee Nam spends every waking moment in the hospital, throwing herself to being busy.

Out of embarrassment, Ha Jin strived harder to meet her family’s expectation and truthfully, it’s her way of filling the void on her chest. The one created after she left So Hyun without any word. Her parents bought her a new phone and she never registered into a new Kakao again. There was no use for her of it in California, everyone is on whatsapp or just plain call and text. Aside from her family and new classmates in Stanford, no one back home knows her new number and all her social media accounts were deactivated. She had never heard anything from any one back home. She also never tried to reach out, knowing that if she retains a bridge, it will only open opportunities to rekindle her past. For the last two years, she and her sister lived in complete anonymity. Or so she thought…

Ha Jin dashes to one of the cafes and gets her fill of coffee, holding it in one hand while her book on the other. The weather outside is perfect. The sun has filled the glass roof courtyard with warm orange sunshine and the temperature says it’s a comfortable 18 degrees outside yet Ha Jin has no time to take it all in. She has three more medical cases to read before she gets to her next class. With her eyes glued to her book, she almost run into the low light fountain at the middle and side steps to avoid it.

“Soo-ya…”

A whisper of an old name made her stop. Her heart quickening on her chest. How many times for the last two years did she woke up from a dream of a girl looking like her being called Hae Soo and the boy, who was her lover…

What was his name again? Something like Wang So?

She is afraid to know and at the same time her curiosity is killing her. She shakes her head, dispelling herself of the memory at the back of her head. 

“I must be tired again.” She mutters to herself, feeling the delicious fatigue that is threatening to claim her consciousness. She drinks from her coffee and it was only a second when she lifts her eyes to see if there are any couch or person on her way and there he is an image of that boy from two years ago that she refuses to name. Too painful to even think about him.

“Ha Jin-ah…”

But he speaks?

The boy in his military uniform is not just a faint glimmer created by her imagination. She can see the tiny dust swirling around him and the shadows sculpting the parts of his face where the sun above them couldn’t reach. His hair is cut short, one of those haircut popular among the military men. He seemed to have lost weight but have been filled of muscles in places underneath his military uniform, no doubt he would be more chiseled than he was before. He stands with his balance distributed on both feet, his black beret on his hand.

“O-raen-man-i-ya… (It’s been a long time…)” So Hyun echoes that long ago words Ha Jin first spoke on their meeting two years go.

Ha Jin steps back. the force of reality slapping her awake.

Time trickles to a stop and the moment is suspended. Everything goes into slow motion, even the fine dust swirls minutely in the air as the sun and moon meet each other again under a different sky.