Disclaimer: I own nothing.
I didn't know that writing a humor story could bring so much fun. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter so hope you will have fun reading it, too! Merry Christmas to anyone who celebrates it!
Wang So called for an emergency family meeting. However, it appeared he was the only one in urgency at that moment. Mean while, the two younger siblings were taking all the time in this world to bring themselves in the living room to meet their older brother.
"Alright, does anyone care to enlighten me what is going on?" So asked with the serious tone he usually used on court. Woo Hee and Jung sat uncomfortably on the couch, under their brother's prying eyes while nervously exchanging glances with each other.
"Well" Woo Hee opened her mouth first "Hae Soo unnie's apartment is too far from her work" She said slowly, making up a believable story instead of the one where Hae Soo was her brother's lover from the past lives. "I asked her to live here in one of the empty rooms in our house. In exchange, she will help us with the chores. And she said yes. It's a win win, isn't it?" She finished with a happy note then turned to Jung, asking for his support. Fortunately, the young man instantly caught her signal.
"Absolutely a win win." Jung cheerfully responded. "So when Hae Soo noona showed up at our door with her luggage. I helped her move in the first room in the corridor, across my room" There was bliss in his voice as if he had managed to complete a great task.
"What?" Woo Hee yelled in surprise "I told you to have her stay in the last room, across So hyung's room"
"But that room is too far from mine" Jung complained, envying when Woo Hee only thought for So.
"What do you need to be close with her for?"
"Don't you ask her to stay here so that we could develop our relationship? Hae Soo and I were spouses in our past life"
Woo Hee gasped in horror. What in the hell made Jung think she was trying to set him up with Hae Soo? "Don't. You. Dare. To. Approach. Hae. Soo. Unnie" She hit Jung with a cushion, tried to knock some senses into him. The two argued back and forth without knowing their brother was burning them with his fiercest glare.
"ENOUGH" So roared and both Jung and Woo Hee stopped dead on their track. Quickly the youngsters regained their stance. "Who do you think you are to let stranger live in my house? Shouldn't you asked me first, at least?"
Jung immediately pointed his finger to Woo Hee. All the eyes were on the youngest sister now. Being betrayed by her only ally, the girl had to bite the lips to keep her composure. Tears started forming in her eyes.
"Do you know how hard it is to be the only girl in the house?" If normal words didn't work, she had to use her final trick "Hae Soo unnie is the first girl friend with whom I can have a girl talk. And I have never been able to share my girly secrets with you guys. Don't you remember what happened when I had my first period?"
Jung grasped his mouth in dread when terror flashed on So's face. She was reminding them about one of their most terrifying nightmares.
"Hae Soo noona can stay as long as she wants" Jung said in hurry then turned to his older brother "right, hyung? You will let noona live with us, right?" He gave So a pleading look as though his brother's answer would determine their life and death.
After an intense moment, So sighed defeated. If Woo Hee had to use this tactic, it meant she desperately wanted to have Hae Soo living here. The oldest brother nodded then walked out of living room. Right after the door was closed, Woo Hee and Jung jumped into the air to celebrate their victory. The two were about to high five when the sister remembered that Jung had just sold her out a few minutes ago. Woo Hee grabbed the cushion then hit Jung again.
Hajin had been in the kitchen the whole time since Wang So came home. She didn't know why but she trusted Woo Hee. That young girl was the first person who reached out for her since the moment she regained her memories. Woo Hee knew everything about Hae Soo's life in Goryeo. She was also the bridge between Hajin and Wang So in this lifetime. And the fact that Hajin/Hae Soo could easily trust Woo Hee and be ready to do anything the girl said showed how desperate Soo was to have So back in her life even when this So was only a phantom of her So in Goryeo.
She was startled by Wang So walking in the kitchen. Just like the morning, they stared at each other, but this time her eyes didn't get teary anymore. Woo Hee told it would be weird if she kept crying in front of him.
"Who are you?" So broke the awkward silence. He was curious about her, the first woman made his sister acting bizarre like this.
"Hae Soo" She said despite knowing that he didn't asked for her name "Does the name ring any bell to you?"
"Does it have to?" He raised an eyebrow at her uninterested then continued "Please give me your identity card. I will draw up a contract between us on terms and conditions when you live here"
Hajin fumbled the card from her bag and handed it to him. So glanced at the small rectangle piece then looked up at the girl with a slight frown "Your name is Go Hajin, not Hae Soo?" It was more a statement than a question.
"Hae Soo or Go Hajin, it's only me. You can call me by the name you prefer"
"The name in contract must be Go Hajin." It was an obligation since Hajin was her lawful name. But So found the name Hae Soo more mellow. "In an hour, please come to my room. We need your signature" And then he walked away, disappeared behind a corner. Hajin's eyes still followed him though So wasn't in sight anymore. After that, Woo Hee came in, giving her two thumbs up and a triumphant smile. She would live with them, in their house, until So remembered her. She determined to make him remember Hae Soo.
So waited for Soo in his room with a simple 5-page contract, noting rights and obligations of 2 parties. It might be too formal but he was a lawyer after all. The door left slightly opened, so Hae Soo could walk in his room without knocking. On her hand was a tray of tea set and pastries. It must be Woo Hee who told her that he preferred tea to coffee, So guessed. She received the document after settling the tray on his table.
"Please read it carefully then sign..." So was explaining when Soo quickly reached for a pen and signed at the last page. The man gave her a scandalous look "Don't you read the contents before signing?" He was shocked at her action but more disappointed when she didn't give a look at what he had spent almost an hour to make.
"I trust you" Hae Soo simply replied, which rendered So speechless. This might be the first time someone could make an lawyer like him tongue-tied.
She took one copy of the contract then left as fast as like the way she came. But So called after her when Soo reached the door.
"Don't trust me" No one had said they trusted him before, not even Woo Hee or Jung. Actually the siblings never got into a situation that demanded their trust on each other. So it made Soo the first person saying that to him. "They say a good lawyer is a bad neighbor. You should not trust a lawyer."
"I don't trust a lawyer. I trust you" She threw one look over the shoulder at him before walking out and closing the door. So stared at the closed door for a while then averted his eyes to the tray on table. Woo Hee didn't know his favorites were oil-honey pastry and fresh leaf tea.
Hae Soo stared at the contract in her hands with a mixed feelings. Maybe because all the past memories were still so raw in her mind, she needed a little time to get used to the modern civil life again, just like how Hajin had got used to with the ancient life in Goryeo. How funny it sounded. The name in the agreement were Konikishi Akira and Go Hajin. It wasn't a contract between Wang So and Hae Soo. But it appeared better this way since she might detest a legal binding between So and Soo. The two souls should only be bound by love.
Woo Hee's idea to have Hae Soo living as their housemate was a good initiation. However after that, her plan was put on a slow burn because Wang So was too busy at work. He left early and came back late, even on weekends. Hae Soo and her brother just ran into each other in the kitchen or corridor. They barely talked but just exchanged some awkward stares or modest glances. Their lack of interaction irked Woo Hee to no end, especially when the most excited person since Soo moved in here was Jung. That so-called university student spent less time going out and stayed at home more. "To be with his Soo", he said. And every time he dared to say something like that, Woo Hee would hit him or shove the young man away from Hae Soo. Hae Soo belonged to her brother Wang So and not that unrelated stranger.
Hajin quickly adapted herself to the daily routine in Woo Hee's house. She prepared breakfast and dinner for Woo Hee and Jung while they took care of their own lunches. So barely ate at home, much to Soo's disappointment. But still she made his favorite tea and snack for him, or maybe that was what she thought. She didn't even know if he favorited fresh leaf tea and oil-honey pastry like the old So or not.
It was a cold Saturday morning, Hae Soo woke up early and decided to go to the kitchen to cook breakfast for the two youngsters. Setting her first step out of the room, she literally bumped into the man lived across her room. He dropped a small paper bag, which spilled some pastries out. It was the pastries she had put in his room the night before. In a second of embarrassment, So hurriedly collected the bag and scattered snacks then hid them in his coat pocket. But Soo knew better, he was going to throw them away. That might be what he had been doing to all the pastries and tea she had made for him. Sorrow rose in her chest.
"Uhm" The man cleared his throat "I will try to come home early today to have dinner with everyone." Woo Hee had asked So to come home earlier almost everyday but the new cases at work tied his legs. Today could be the first day he had dinner at home since Hae Soo moved in. "See you this evening" He picked up his briefcase then left while Soo was still standing in the dark corridor, staring at his back. She took a deep breath to get rid of the previous sadness. There was still hope at the dinner today.
Woo Hee was on the ninth cloud once hearing her brother come home for dinner. She was keen on cooking dinner since afternoon. The kitchen was full of laughters of two girls when Woo Hee and Hae Soo prepared a small feast.
"My younger brother says he misses Korean food every time we're on Skype" Hajin told about her brother who was studying abroad. Unlike the orphan child Hae Soo, Go Hajin in this lifetime had a happy family living in Busan.
"Do your parents come to Seoul often? You may want to introduce us to them" Woo Hee suggested but Hajin only smiled. Her mother was planning to see her in Seoul but it was a different story. Then the high school girl changed topic and asked Soo with a lower voice "Are you having nightmares recently? Yesternight I heard you cried in your room"
The smile on Soo's face faded away. She did indeed have nightmares every night. Since the day she regained memories of the past life, Soo hadn't only dreamed of So but all the painful events came back to her. Maybe it was the price to live with the memories of past lives that Woo Hee said. And Wang So had lived like that for 12 lifetimes. He had just had a short period of peace during the late two years.
"Don't ask about me. How about you? Did you have any new flashbacks?" Hae Soo almost forgot Woo Hee's desire to remember her past life in Goryeo.
"No, not a thing" The younger sadly sighed. "I only saw a spirit ritual and the rain ritual in which So hyung was the master of the ceremony"
"That means you were presented there." Soo used her logical analysis "The rain ritual was opened for public but the spirit ritual had happened only in the palace, reserved just for the king, the queens and the princes." Suddenly Soo's eyes widened in realization: The royal family, the princes and princess, half-sister of So. "Are you..." her face went pale in fright "princess Yeon Hwa?"
"Me?" Woo Hee cried in disbelief "princess Yeon Hwa? Half-sister of So hyung?"
"Queen of Gwangjong" Hae Soo murmured.
All of sudden, Hae Soo had ridiculously negative feelings toward Woo Hee though the girl didn't do anything wrong. The rest of the afternoon sunk in a deep sea of silence. No improvement was made in the evening, either.
Wang So had expected a happy dinner time with his siblings and the housemate, but not a low-spirited one like this. Right after setting foot in the house, he could sense the dark aura around Woo Hee and Hae Soo. It didn't disappear even when they started having the meal together. Everyone, with common sense, could see that Hae Soo was giving Woo Hee a cold treatment. Everyone except for Jung who was too busy burying his nose in the food. And since when did Jung have common sense? So mentally sighed, ashamed of his younger brother.
Hae Soo secretly threw glances at So and Woo Hee, who might be Yeon Hwa's reincarnation, imagined their past life as king and queen of Goryeo. Jealousy grew inside her. Soo wasn't sure if she was envying of Yeon Hwa, who had had Gwangjong physically in the past life or the 18 year old girl Woo Hee, who had all the affection from modern Wang So. Was that only brotherly love or something more? Hae Soo knew it was an absolutely irrational thought but green monster could thoroughly blind a woman's eyes.
The heavy atmosphere on the dinning table made So suffocated, so he decided to break the freezing cold ice. Wang So turned to Woo Hee then gave the girl his warmest, sweetest smile that a brother could give his sister.
"How is your school these days?" He simply asked. And clash. The sound of Hae Soo forcefully hitting her spoon on the table, startled other three people. Even Jung, who couldn't see anything but food, also looked up from his dishes.
"I'm sorry. I lost my appetite." Soo said while moving up from her seat "Please enjoy the dinner without me" She walked almost like running out of the room. So couldn't help wondering what had triggered the girl. Was it wrong for a brother to ask his sister how her school work was going?
When Soo was out of sight, Woo Hee turned to her brother with a dead glare "It's all because of you" She furiously lashed out on So "Why did you have to marry that evil wicked princess instead of the dear sweetheart Hae Soo?" In So's utter shock, Woo Hee also frustratedly stormed out of the dining room. He didn't understand a word the younger girl said but according to her, it was all his fault now. What was the meaning of this ridiculous fuss?
There left only the brothers on the dinning table. Wang Jung, with a mouth full of food, gave his older brother a questioning look. "What have you done to them?"
So's jaw dropped. The people in this house never stopped to amaze him. And Jung, of all people, dared to open his mouth to ask him such question.
So threw a dirty napkin at the dumb head, then without a word, left the table. The dinner was completely ruined.
The next day was a stormy Sunday with dark clouds covered both outside and inside the house. And to add somber to the dark mood, Wang Jung played the song "Gloomy Sunday" in max volume. So had to bang on his door to make him turn it off.
The house became cold like the inside of a freezer with two walking icebergs named Hae Soo and Woo Hee. In order to spare their lives, Wang So must bribe his idiot brother so that Jung would take Woo Hee out for a change of air. And the dumb head decided to take the younger sister to a theme park, in a stormy day, in the middle of winter. It surprised So more that Woo Hee agreed to go with Jung. Finally, went out an iceberg. There left only one in the house.
So carefully approached Soo, who was boiling water in the kitchen. She knew his presence but didn't bother to look at him.
"Are you making some tea?" So broke the silence, peeked at the kettle with much expectation. She might be making some fresh leaf tea for him. She always did, everyday.
So came home from work every night and found a tray on his table with fresh leaf tea (sometimes with oil-honey pastries). He loved her tea and pastries so much that he made sure the tray to be empty the next day so that Soo would make more for him. Sometimes So had to resist the urge to eat all the snacks, and packed them into a paper bag so that he could enjoy them at work too.
Soo didn't answer his question, continued mashing the tea leaves by her own hands. That might be the secret of her special tea. Everything was handmade without the help of machine, just like the old traditional way. So was fascinated by her focus on what she was doing. Soon, hot water was poured into the teapot and the pleasant scent of new tea filled the room.
So eagerly held out his mug for Soo to pour the tea in. However, the girl poured all the tea down the sink instead of his mug.
"What are you doing?" So cried out in surprise. Soo slowly looked up at him for the first time that day.
"Why do you have to pretend that you enjoyed my tea when all you do with them was pouring or throwing them away?"
"I don't know what you are talking about" So looked at her in confusion but the girl ignored him. Throwing the teapot into the sink, Soo walked away out of the kitchen.
After a second of shock, So quickly picked up the teapot. There was not a single drop in it. All the tea was down the drain now. The only thing left behind was a deep regret growing inside his stomach. What he had done wrong anyway, So wondered.
Woo Hee tossed and turned on her bed that night, couldn't sleep even though she had a tiring day hanging around with Jung. Just like Hae Soo, she wasn't fond of the idea there was Yeon Hwa's soul in her body, either. Somehow, the girl felt guilty for the misery of So and Soo in Goryeo though it hadn't been her doings. Unable to fall asleep, Woo Hee got up and went to the kitchen to grab a drink.
Unexpectedly, she saw Hae Soo already sitting there with a bottle of soju nearby. Taking a deep breath, Woo Hee treaded in. Pouring a cup of warm milk for herself, the younger girl settling down across Hae Soo. Woo Hee was the one who broke the silence first.
"Alcohol doesn't help you resolve the problem" She referred to the soju in Soo's hand.
"Neither does milk" Soo shrugged indifferently and the younger girl left out a small chuckle. Soo, too, also smiled up a little. After a short pause, Soo opened up "I'm sorry for such childish actions of mine. I shouldn't treat you that way."
"No, I'm sorry for..." Woo Hee apologized but Soo quickly cut her off
"You have nothing to be sorry for. It wasn't you but the person of 1000 years ago. How can you be responsible for things you didn't do?"
"Unnie, I promise to make So hyung fall in love with you again, with or without memories of the past lives" Woo Hee gave Soo her words sincerely and received a warm smile from Soo. Her heart was at ease.
"Alright, it's not a big problem right now, because next week, my mother will go to Seoul. She is arranging a blind date for me."
"What?" Woo Hee hit the table and accidentally turned the TV on.
A big face was shown on the screen, right in front of Woo Hee's eyes. After a second or two, the young girl laughed out loud in Hae Soo's bemusement
"It's not me, but her" Woo Hee chimed in happiness, pointing at the person on TV. "I was not the reincarnation of that princess but that woman was" Hae Soo turned around, looking at the small screen which showed a middle-aged woman running for the presidency in Seoul city. "Hae Soo unnie, I wasn't princess Yeon Hwa" Woo Hee jumped on her feet and started dancing around.
Wang So heard some noise outsides. It was past midnight already. He got up in frustration. Anyone who disturbed him sleeping at this hour of the day would deserve a death penalty. Walking in the kitchen, he surprisedly found a cheerful dancing Woo Hee and a happy laughing Hae Soo. His anger slowly faded away. But suddenly, crash. The sound of ceramics breaking. Wang So froze in his spot. All the blood drained from his face once seeing his favorite ancient vase become broken pieces on the floor.
"My... my... my vase" He stuttered in disbelief.
Hae Soo immediately pointed her finger to Woo Hee. And the younger girl's face went pale, terrified.
"A. SA. HI." So gritted her Japanese name in a fit of rage.
Woo Hee knew she was totally doomed.
But at least she wasn't Yeon Hwa in her past life, until now, it was good enough.
