Main Characters in the Story:
Kang Han-na as Emilie 'Eun-hye' Seung
Tom Hiddleston as Himself
Minor Characters in the Story:
Amy Manson as 'Viv' Vivienne
Jo Min-ki as Seung Jin-woo {Emilie's father}
Park Ji-young as Seung Ha-na {Emilie's mother}
Park Si-eun as Anna 'Yeon-a' Seung {Emilie's elder sister}
Chapter XXXV: Graduation Day
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"So darling, do you have everything you need now?" Tom asked Eun-hye as they sat at a table in a small café. Emilie had just returned to the table with 2 cups of tea. She sat down. "I think so." She sighed slightly. "I've got a lace bolero to wear on top and I'll borrow a bag from Viv. And I'll have some shoes somewhere." She spoke, shrugging and taking a sip of her tea, looking up at Tom over the edge of her mug. Tom looked at her, he put his mug down and sighed, taking one of her hands over the table. "What do you mean you'll have shoes somewhere?" Emilie rubbed her thumb over the top of his hand as she spoke. "I mean I'll have a pair of shoes that I can use kicking about the flat somewhere. That dress was more expensive than I had planned." She laughed, nervously. "Will you let me buy your new shoes darling?" His eyes were full of sincerity as he spoke. Emilie froze for a few seconds. "I can't let you do that Tom. It's a lovely thought, but no. You don't need to spend your money on me." She squeezed his hand as she spoke. "But, I want to darling, I want to do this for you. Your dress is gorgeous and you're going to very beautiful in it. Please let me buy some darling." Tom leaned over the table slightly, lowering his voice, "and I won't take no for an answer."
Before she knew it, Emilie was dragged back along the streets to a shoe shop that Tom had saw her looking at earlier. They headed inside and looked at the countless displays of shoes laid out in front of them. "Any pair you like, my darling girl." He whispered in her ear.
45 minutes a lots of shoes later, Emilie had picked a pair. She had chosen an elegant bow tied light pink block high heel pump shoes. The whole heel to the round tip of her shoe is covered in light green with a bowtie on top – she wanted to add a little edge to her outfit. Tom paid for them, as promised and they headed home. "Thank you so much, Tom. Seriously, you really don't have to." She smiled and kissed him, grabbing his hand
"Anything I would do for my darling girl." He smirked as they continue their walk on the streets towards home.
~o~
It was almost night time when the sun was starting to set as they reached the flat and climbed upstairs then Emilie puts her key in the door before opening it swiftly, heading in with Tom. Somehow when they entered, it was silent and the whole room was bit dim.
"That's odd. I didn't think our flat would be this dark." She said, looking at Tom confused.
"Maybe, Viv turned off the lights before she went out."
Emilie started to become a bit worried as she tries to call out her friend. "Viv, Hello?"
No one answered.
"Viv?!"
"I think we should turn on the lights, darling." Tom said with reassurance.
"Yeah. Good idea." They headed towards the kitchen until suddenly the lights went on quickly and what they saw was incredibly unbelievable.
"SURPRISE!"
It was Emilie's parents and her sister along with Viv beside them.
Emilie stares at her family for a moment with shock and longing then suddenly her tears are beginning to fill from her eyes as she spoke.
"Appa… Eomma… Eonni {Papa… Mama… Big sister}". With that she quickly jumps in to embrace her parents wholly. Her mother and father returned their embrace towards their daughter they hadn't seen her for so long, they both happily cried as well.
"Appa, Eomma. Naneun neoleul neomu geuliwohanda {Papa, Mama. I miss you all so much}". She silently cried then felt her elder sister rubbing back neck lovingly.
It's been very long since Emilie felt her parents' touch. She was away from her old home and family for 4 years. So it's not surprising that she misses their touch. Tom just stands there watching Eun-hye hugging her parents, smiling. Seeing his darling girl now tearfully happily reunited with her family.
"Ulido neoleul geuliwo haess-eo, Eun-hye {We missed you too, Eun-hye}." Her mother replied, she rubbed her daughter back with comfort.
"Uli moduga hal. Geuligo ulineun dangsin-eul jalangseuleobge saeng-gaghabnida. Eolin-i {We all do. And we are so proud of you. child}". Her father said with a smile on his face, stroking his daughter's hair.
Tightening her arms around her parents, Emilie continues to cry, that brought upon by her longing to finally see her parents again. She rests her head on her mother's shoulder, basking on their kindness.
"Shhh… eomeoni wa abeoji neun jigeum yeogi issseubnida… shhh… {Shhh… Mother and Father are here now… shhh…}". Her mother assures Eun-hye, a mother's reminder of love for her daughter.
After a few seconds of tears between the family, Emilie lets go of their hug and stares at them while wiping her tears with her fingers and spoke.
"H-How did you all get here?"
"Well, we took a flight from Jinhae to Edinburgh in an airplane just two days ago." Her mother explained, smiling. She looked at Viv who also smiled in return then faces her daughter again. "It was all thanks to your good friend here, Vivienne. She called us on the phone last week, telling us that you are now finally graduating. So we all decided to see you, child."
"And besides, you didn't think that we would miss your graduation, do you?" Her elder sister spoke with an amused smirk.
"Neohuideul… {You guys…} You don't know how much this truly means to me." Emilie smiled tearfully.
"Eun-hye…" Her mother again embraces her lovingly as Emilie did in return, happy that her family are here to see her finally graduate personally. They let go of their embrace and stare each other with tearful happiness.
"Eun-hye. Dangsin-ui daleun chinguneun nugu-ibnikka? {Who is this other friend of yours?}". Her elder sister asked while looking at him behind her little sister. "Is he your boyfriend?" That question causes the parents to flinch in slight shock as they stared at Tom with curiosity.
Emilie turns around and looks at Tom with a smile, reassuring him that everything will be fine then reaches her hand to him. He smiled back as he took her hand then walked in front to face the parents and her sister for an introduction. Emilie smiled as she faces her parents and sister.
"Appa. Eomma. Eonni… this is Tom. Tom Hiddleston." She looks up at Tom with a loving gaze then returns to look at her family. "My boyfriend."
Silence begins to surround the room for a moment making it almost a bit awkward.
Emilie waits for her parents' reply but suddenly her elder sister was the one who spoke first.
"Your boyfriend. I see." Her elder sister approached Tom then extends a hand to him, smiling. "Hi, I'm Yeon-a. I'm Eun-hye's elder sister. But you can call me Anna."
He took Anna's hand and shook it with his signature smile. "Pleasure to meet you, Anna. Eun-hye has told me about you."
"Really? I do hope she tells you good things about me." Anna raised an eyebrow amusingly at her little sister.
"Oh yes, she did." He smirked, looking at Eun-hye who blushed a bit, looking down at her feet.
After a few small chats between Tom and (his possible sister-in-law) Anna, the parents of Emilie began to approach Tom. He tries to hide the nervousness in front of them while locking his arm around hers to keep him a bit calm.
"So… this is… your boyfriend. Eun-hye." Her father spoke in a serious deep tone that somehow made Tom a bit scared though he continues to keep himself preserve to avoid showing it in front of him.
"Ye, Appa {Yes, Papa}." Emilie replied, nodding while rubbing Tom's arm with her right hand for comfort.
It was silent for a few seconds between them until Tom decided to speak casually towards the father of his darling girl.
"It is an upmost pleasure to meet you, Sir." He extends his hand to him while waiting for him to respond.
Not for less than two seconds, the father finally spoke. "Well then…" He took Tom's hand and smiled slightly at him. "Likewise. It seems to me, you are a good man. I am looking forward to getting to know you, Mr. Hiddleston."
"Yes, we would be very happy to get to know the man our daughter who has been in love with." Her mother said with a gentle smile on her face, then she took Tom's hand and shake in greeting.
Tom somehow felt relaxed and relieved that Eun-hye's parents were starting to be nice to him. He had never felt this scared before in his life of meeting his girlfriend's parents. Mostly her father, to be the exact. It's a good thing he managed to surpass the fear he had of meeting the father of his darling girl. Her mother however was a bit easy to pass into.
Emilie smiled in relief that her family is now starting to like him. At first, she thought her father was going to pummel Tom for… well you know… stealing his little girl away. But on the good side however, Tom and her father are somehow going to get used to being friendly for one another. And for that she's glad.
Tom and Emilie looked each other happily, accomplishing of what just happened today. Him meeting the family: Success.
'Machimnae ... Tom punman anila ... yeogie gajogdo issseubnida… {Finally… not only Tom was here… but my family are here as well…} I nal-eun iboda deo joh-ajil su eobsda {this day cannot get any better than this}'. Emilie thought, smiling.
~o~
1 WEEK LATER – GRADUATION DAY
A few days after Emilie's intense family reunion, her mother told her that they will all be staying at a hotel in Edinburgh until one week after Emilie's graduation. It was a bit disappointing that they would have to leave sooner that she thought but neither the less, it was great that she would get to spend time together with her family along with her boyfriend, Tom and her best friend, Viv in the past few days. Now that today is her graduation…
"VIV!" Emilie shouted through the wall between their 2 bedrooms. "YEAH?" Came the muffled reply. "CAN YOU COME CURL THE BACK OF MY HEAR? PLEASE?" She managed the rest of her head but could never do the back properly.
Emilie was sat on the floor, Viv behind her on a chair as she curled her hair. The bathroom door was opened and they heard Tom's footsteps approaching. He came through the door and both girls turned to look at him. "Sir Thomas!" Viv exclaimed, Emilie giggling at her best friend's nickname for him, "put some clothes on!" She covered Emilie's eyes as Tom stood there in nothing but a towel. She felt Emilie move her hand down away from her eye, winking at Tom. A smirk graced on his lips and he ran a hand through his wet hair. Emilie bit her lip while looking at him, 'geuneun geuleohge boassda... mid-eojiji anhneun {he looked so… incredible}'. She thought. Tom grabbed some clothes and headed back towards the bathroom to change.
"Ahh… he looked so hot." Emilie spoke after he had left. Viv smacked her shoulder with the hairbrush. "Concentrate lady, we only have a short time left." She said before bursting into a fit of giggles. "He did look hot though Em, you know how to pick them lady." She winked at her Korean friend before turning her back around and finishing her hair.
Half an hour later, Emilie was putting the finishing touches to her makeup. She pulled her dress out of the wardrobe and slipped it off hangar. She heard a knock on her bedroom door. "Ready when you are darling." Tom spoke, his muffled by the door. Emilie smiled as she heard his footsteps head towards the living room.
She slipped on her rosy pink dress, zipping up the side before grabbing her heels. Sitting down on the bed was the best way to put them on – she was too wobbly if she tried to stand up. Standing up away from the bed as she smoothed her hands down to her dress and took in her reflection. 'Nappeun Eun-hye, nappeuji anh-eunde {Not bad Eun-hye, not bad}'. She nodded half smiling. She grabbed her bag and headed out towards the living room and to Tom.
Her heels clicked gently on the wooden floor causing Viv to turn in her direction, smiling. Tom was on the phone in the kitchen, his back facing her. He turned around and stopped his mid conversation, his mouth slightly open. He regained himself long enough to tell whoever was on the other end that he had to go. He looked gorgeous. His black fitted suit fitted him perfectly. Underneath, he wore a light grey shirt, the top couple of buttons were open. He blinked and swallowed in throat as he took in Eun-hye's appearance, slowly walking towards her. His eyes never leaving her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, running it down on her arm before capturing her hand in his and raising it to his lips, kissing it gently while looking at her in the eye. Emilie felt giddy with happiness. "You look beautiful darling." Emilie blushed as he slowly lowered her hand, but never letting it go. "Thank you. You look so good Tom." She bit her lip before hearing a cough. "Uh yeah, hi. Best friend still in the room. Remember." Viv laughed. "Keep the ravishing of each other for later, yeah?"
"Oh I can't promise that now Viv." Tom said, winking, the three of them laughing. "Now, Viv, shall we watch this lovely lady graduate?" He asked, holding out both of his arms for them as the ladies took one each and headed out the door.
~o~
After the ceremony, Emilie headed out into crowded foyer, searching for Tom, Viv and her family. They were all heading out for a meal together but she had yet to find any of them.
A few more seconds of searching and she saw Viv's hair, bouncing up occasionally, obviously looking for her as much as she was looking for them. Emilie waved her way through the crowd, trying to keep a hold of her gown, bumping into some of her classmates on the way and stopping to congratulate them.
Eventually, she made her way through the throng and found her family. Her father approached her first then embraced her. "Naneun neoleul jalangseuleobge saeng-gaghanda. Jalang {I am so proud of you my child. So proud}". He whispered into her hair as they embraced each other. Pulling away, she succeeded in holding back her tears. "Geuneun joh-eun saram, Eun-hye. Naneun geuleul joh-ahagi sijaghaessda {He's a good man, Eun-hye. I'm beginning to like him}". He whispered. Her mother and her elder sister were next to congratulate her, both of them squeezing her in a hug. Her family had arranged for them all to go for dinner to celebrate her graduation. Viv gave Emilie a hug and left for her best friend to celebrate with her family. "I'll see you back at the flat hun." Before disappearing through the crowd.
Sitting in the restaurant, Emilie sat chatting with her mother and sister. She looked over the table to Tom and her father having a deep conversation. She smiled at the sight of them getting along so well than before. Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother's voice. "Presents!" She squealed, clasping her hands together before nodding at Emilie's father who produced a small gift bag from under the table, handing it over to Emilie. She opened it and pulled out a small white box. Opening it slowly, appearing to be a small Pandora charm sat on a cushion. It was a tiny cherry blossom flowers on the charm. She smiled up at her mother and sister. "Gomapseumnida. Jeongmal gomapseumnida. {Thank you. Thank you so much}". Before she turned to her mother who helped her take off her bracelet to put on her new charm. Next, her elder sister handed her a slight bigger bag. "Geugeos-eun amugeosdo anieyo. Eun-hye nim, oneul gieoghalmanhan mueongaga issgileul balabnida {It's nothing special Eun-hye, I just wanted something for you to remember today by}". Emilie pulled the tape off the bag and looked inside. She pulled a photo frame and sat studying it. It was a large silver frame with a date engraved into it. "Jeongmal gomapseumnida, Eonni. Neomu johda. {Thank you so much, Big sister. This is so great.} You realize that I need a photo to fill it though, right?" She smirked at her sister. Tom cleared his throat before he spoke. "I'll take it for you." He smiled. He was about to grab Eun-hye's camera when her father cut him off. "Indeed you will not. You'll need to be in the photo too, son." Emilie grinned at her father calling Tom 'son' before speaking. "How about we get a photo taken outside, in the garden or somewhere." She suggested.
"Sounds lovely darling." Tom spoke again. "But can I give you my gift first?"
Emilie looked at Tom, almost disapprovingly. "You didn't mention a gift, Tom."
"Well then it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" he smirked at her. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a thin white envelope, sliding it towards her. She reached out and took it from him, looking confused. Tom looked at her, smiling, silently encouraging her to open it. Inside it was a laminated piece of card, the logo for the new Thor film printed on the front and '22.10.13' on the reverse. Emilie looked up at him, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, waiting for an explanation.
"Well, you did say you'd be disappointed that you wouldn't see my face on the billboard in Leicester Square. And I'd hate to disappoint you darling." He smiled gently as the realization hit Eun-hye.
"Are you giving me what I think you're giving?" She asked.
"Will you accompany me to the Thor premiere darling?" He asked, his face lighting up with a smile.
Emilie grinned and rushed to the other side of the table. Tom stood up, arms open, waiting on her.
"I'd LOVE to, Tom!" She squealed, before kissing him with a smile on her face.