Contemporary
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Author's Ramblings: This from Klove1's desk:
Dear readers, although I have been silent before, I am closely following your comments. I wanted to say a words as well.
I cannot speak for Nanu, so I wanted to say a few words myself.
I was sad and my heart was breaking for ES, so I was not upset, but happy to see that earlier chapters made you sad and cry, which means Nanu and I did a good job at delivering the tone and feelings we wanted. You honest comments always warm my heart, even if I do not always agree with all the suggestions, I do feel the support from you guys. Lauren, Pahitmadu, Faithling, anies, Passerby, Joy, Una, Guests, sorry if I'm forgetting anybody, your idea about the boyfriend fueled our imagination and helped us produce something that was not even in the works before. So comment away, be honest and daring, if we like it, we use, and if we don't we'll survive. Thanks, glad to see that our story is so loved. Klove1.
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Three weeks earlier
Jang Bin called her name as she rushed by him without looking. Used to the soft sound of his voice, Eun Soo dropped mindlessly "Anyo," still not turning her head to look at her friend, obviously on a very important mission.
"Hello." She heard a different, deeper and sexier voice. She lifted her eyes and saw a very tall male figure of the most perfect proportions. Tilting her head to see the face, because of the man's considerable height, her gaze traveled across a perfectly toned chest and arms and very broad shoulders, showing through a body-hugging shirt, and up to the handsome open face that met her with a bright smile and a twinkle in the eyes.
"Hello," she heard herself say, an uncontrollable blush covered her, and she was suddenly feeling very shy. Who in earth was this drop dead gorgeous guy?
"I'm Jang Lim. Jang Bin's older brother."
Oh.
"Meet my hyung, Eun Soo-shi. He just finished his army service and came to visit me."
"I really want to see Seoul. Can you ask your friend to show me around?" asked his brother, the Greek god statue of a man.
"Eun Soo-shi, can you help me out: I'm already swamped. I have to meet Deo Gi's parents tonight for dinner. It's a really big deal. I can't cancel. Please!"
"Sure". She was caught off guard. It's not like she had any plans besides trying not to cry while thinking of Choi Young.
"Introduce your friend to me," Greek god nudged.
"Oh, yeh. Doctor Yoo Eun Soo - my longtime friend."
"Very nice to meet you". And he leaned toward her to make it easier for her neck to look at him. She offered her hand to shake, but instead of shaking it, he lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, caressing it softly with his thumb once done.
Wow.
"Me, too," answered Eun Soo, still not quite having come to terms with the fact that she was talking to a perfect copy of Michelangelo's David, only with Korean face and… dressed - What a pity!
This is how she ended up acting as a guide to all things Seoul. For the first time in a long time, she felt excited about dressing up and putting on makeup. She went over a dozen outfits and changed her jewelry 5 times. Why am I acting this way? It is not a date. And it's not like I'm looking to date anyway. I have to get over that bastard Choi Young, mend my heart and then I will be ready.
She heard a call from downstairs and on her monitor saw a tall man, smiling and waving "I'm here, came to pick you up."
She checked herself in a mirror one last time and met him at the door. "I'm ready."
"You look lovely. These are for you," and he handed her an impeccably crafted bouquet of flowers, featuring an assortment of various kinds in blues, yellows and bright pinks. "I did not know what you like, so I went for the pretty colors."
"Thank you, it's unexpected, you did not have to."
"Don't mention it, after I met you, I knew that I had to get you flowers, it was not even a question."
"I'll put them in the water."
The man waited, while looking around the room with curiosity.
That evening Eun Soo found herself having a good time, without even noticing how it happened. Jang Lim had such an easy way about him. He was so effortlessly funny, she laughed so much, her stomach hurt by the end of the night. And his body was so unbelievably perfect, every inch of it, at least of what she has seen, leading her to want to see more and imagining even more than that.
A week after she first met Jang Lim, Eun Soo has been chatting with him on the phone daily and going out almost every night. He was suave and smart, and most of all very easy on the eyes. He started calling her "my darling doctor", making her blush, while he would hold her hand, stroking her hand right between the index finger and a thumb, inconspicuously. The little things he did really made a difference. Eun Soo always felt like a woman around Jang Lim. He made her feel sexy all the time. He was one of those men who managed to make a woman feel like she was the only one in the whole world. He was attentive, caring, always looked at her, and never at others, even in passing. He treated her like a queen, doing all the things a gentleman does: opening up doors in front of her, pulling out a chair at a restaurant for her to seat down, getting her coat and helping her to put it on. He gave her flowers for no reason and small unexpected thoughtful gifts. He was considerate of what kind of food and music she preferred and even used personalized environmental controls in the car, warming up her side to the temperature she wanted. He sent her sweet messages, flirtatious and funny, balancing out the sexy innuendoes with lighthearted humor.
The man was tall, handsome, and smart with a good sense of humor. He did not flaunt his body, but was not coy about his looks. He was soothing and exciting at the same time, and had this confidence about him: fully aware of how attractive he was, he was very comfortable with his sexuality. The way he managed to touch her, even the simplest skin-ship, such as caressing her palm, or brushing a stray hair off her face, or a light peck of his lips on the cheek, or whispering into her ear, tickling her with his breath – all of it was arousing and he fully understood the affect it had on her.
Being around him was easy and he made her laugh; she kept finding herself thinking about him more and more, and even imagining what kind of things he might do to her, making her body tense with excitement. Last night she had a dream of Jang Lim standing in her living room and her wearing a sexy short dress, approaching him. She came up to the tall man and unbuttoned his shirt, feeling with her hands his tight pecks and iron abs; she liked what she found and proceed to undo his belt and unzip his pants, examining what he had to offer with amusement. He stood there for her to be evaluated, smiling, really almost like one of those perfectly proportioned statues he always reminded her of. She had him bare it all and in front of her was a naked Greek god, who was not shy to be exposed to her eyes… Eun Soo woke up from a rapid heartbeat and the feeling of excitement in her body, she gasped in surprise at how daring she was in her dreams and decided that it was a good sign. She did not dream of Choi Young for a whole week, she stopped crying herself to sleep every night, and she did not think of him whenever her mind was not occupied by work. Jang Lim might be the perfect boyfriend she never had. And slowly she warmed up to the idea that they could be more than just whatever it was now.
.
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"You!" Choi Young screamed at Choong-sik, pointing at him from across the living room. After hours, the boys usually gathered around the X-Box, attempting to prove who was the best at Modern Warfare while eating pizza. Today was no different and hence it was easy for the disgruntled man to find his prey. He chose Choong-sik because Gongmin was out and he could not find anyone else to blame for the flowers. Sure, he had gotten Eun Soo to become his friend again, and he would try his damn best to gain her trust… Choong-sik, frightened, stared at the man with wide eyes. "You said flowers would fix everything! They didn't!" The man started running, what made Choi Young's anger flare, and he jumped over the loveseat to catch him. "Get back here! I'll show you how well the flowers worked!"
"But it's not my fault!"
Someone tackled Choi Young, screaming at the man to hurry in order to survive, and Choi Young found himself pinned to the sofa by the two men: Deok Man and Dae Man. "Sir, you need to calm down!"
"I'm calm! I'll show you how calm I am!" And he attempted to escape the men's hold, unable due to the fact Dae Man had dropped over him, and Choi Young was too spent to lift him.
"Didn't the flowers work?"
"Yes, the flowers worked, they just didn't complete the job!"
"What do you mean sir? Didn't she forgive you?"
"Yes, she forgave me!"
"Then what's the problem?"
"She has a boyfriend, that's the problem!" And everyone gasped, Dae Man surprised, rolled off Choi Young, who stayed down; everyone stared at the man and the 'general' stared back at his friends, lifting his brows quizzically, "I take it no one knew?"
Everyone in the room shook their heads.
"Well, that makes me feel better." And he stopped struggling, feeling too tired and weakened to even lift a finger. How could it be that no one in the room knew about this? If Eun Soo had spoken to Nogook about this guy then at least one of them should be aware of the situation. Who was this guy anyway?
"How can Unnie have a boyfriend and I not know about it!" Cried out Nogook when she found out, while Gongmin looked at Choi Young surprised. Someone had bought soju and the man was resting on the sofa, bottle in hand; he hadn't taken a drink, he was simply holding it. It reminded him of the weekend he spent housesitting with Eun Soo.
"How am I supposed to know? She doesn't trust me and I am very sure she is doing this because I hurt her…"
"Don't be so sure of yourself, moron; you did hurt her, but she is also entitled to go on with life if you are not there for her."
"I am trying to fix that, and she isn't helping."
"Was she supposed to? Of course not!" Remarked Nogook, annoyed at her brother and the information she received. She also wanted to know why Unnie hadn't told her about this man in her life.
Choi Young's hand was reaching to scratch his head, messing his hair up. "Nogook, I itch, could you please just… stop?"
"You itching already?" She asked very concerned.
Gongmin looked from one sibling to the other, confused.
"It's a miracle I'm not pulling at my hair," answered Choi Young, obviously angry.
"You will, when I get more info on this guy. I'm sure he is something special if she went for him."
That night no one could get any sleep. All the people in Choi Young's camp were as shocked as he was, although they all saw it coming after how hurtful he was to Eun Soo. Choi Young called his teacher, leaving him a message. He had not reached out for help in years, he did not even think of calling after Hae Ri died, which would have been a bigger crisis for any person to handle. Yet, this situation with Eun Soo triggered the long gone symptom of anxiety: the hair pulling. Only his teacher knew what to say to stop Choi Young from going back in time to a 10 year old, whose parents died tragically, and he was crying, alone and pulling at his neatly cut hair, instead of hugging a plush toy, which for many kids would have provided the much needed comfort. So Choi Young called and asked for help and said that he was at that place in his heart again... The teacher would know what it meant.
Nogook was tended to by Gongmin, patiently holding the girl, who was confused, upset and angry. She was mad at her brother because of him Unnie began keeping secrets from her. "I will call her tomorrow and find out everything."
But after a week, she still did not get any information on the mysterious man in Eun Soo's life, the girl felt rejected by her own friend and angry because of the circumstances… she was supposed to be the in-law, not Jang Bin!
One evening Choi Young found Nogook crying, holding her cellphone to her chest while rain of tears trailed down her face. Worried he dropped everything and hurried to her side, holding her shoulders. "Nogook, what's wrong? What is it?" If it were bad news he wanted to know immediately, if she fought with Gongmin he wanted to know, so to kick his ass, or was it something with Eung Soo...
"Unnie is ignoring my calls," she sobbed out, leaning against his chest and sobbing some more. The world has ended: Nogook's calls had been ignored.
"You scared me girl!" Yelled Choi Young, annoyed at his sister. Really! She could be such a crybaby!
Both siblings found themselves in an unfamiliar territory: the one person who was always available to them, was no longer rushing to answer their calls. They both quickly understood the meaning of taking somebody for granted, and regretting after the fact. It was the terror Choi Young had been trying to avoid when he apologized to Eun Soo, and it was what he had wanted to spare Nogook from, but such was their lot in life and they had to face it on their own accords.
