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Summary: Four years and continents apart. What keeps Yi Jeong and Ga Eul's hope alive are the letters that they write to each other from time to time…

LOVE LETTER

XVI

It had been slightly over a month since Yi Jeong had left for Sweden and two weeks since she had read his letter. Contrary to her expectations, she hadn't sobbed her heart out while reading it although Ga Eul suspected that her yearning for him was manifesting itself in the form of compulsively reading his letter at least once every two or three days before she slept at night. She had practically memorised it by heart. "If only I could say the same for this," Ga Eul groaned as she flipped another page in a seemingly endless stream of pages. She had an important test coming up and the end of the year assessments were drawing near as well. Yi Jeong was probably grappling with assignments and exam preparations too.

Ga Eul sighed dreamily, wondering what he was wearing, whether he was drinking copious amounts of black coffee with sugar, whether he was wearing the arm warmers that she had given him. She was imagining the highlights in his hair under the soft glow of the study lamp when she heard something that shattered her daydreams about Yi Jeong.

"Ga Eul, come down! Your grandmother is here." Even from behind the closed door, she could hear the bewilderment in her mother's voice.

"Halmoni?" It was both a question as well as an exclamation. A very alarmed exclamation. She had narrowly avoided the clutches of her grandmother during the New Year, along with a whole slew of questions about boyfriends, followed by why she had no boyfriend, followed by why wasn't she planning on marrying soon and many others that usually revolved around her ticking biological clock. Looks like she wasn't going to be so lucky this time around. Ga Eul gulped, straightened her spine and resolutely opened the door. She could not hide in her room forever.

"Ga Eul! Where's that granddaughter of mine? Does she have a boyfriend yet?"

Hmm, maybe she should test out that last thought of hers. "No, no, you can't leave Omma to the mercy of Halmoni," she sternly told herself. Although her grandmother doted on her daughter-in-law, she had taken to pressuring Ga Eul's mother about the issue as well. Slowly, she descended the stairs one step at a time.

"Halmoni," she greeted politely before bowing. Then she came forward to give her grandmother a hug. In spite of her misgivings, Ga Eul found herself smiling affectionately. For all her persistence about the boyfriend issue, her grandmother was rather modern. She insisted on living by herself even after her husband passed away and took trips abroad with her close friends annually. And although she was in her late sixties, she was as sharp as a whip. Elegant and slender, Madam Lee Soo Jin was what one might call a good-looking woman. Ga Eul knew that she had inherited her large doe eyes and long lashes from her grandmother.

"There you are. And where's your boyfriend? Are you hiding him up in your room?"

"Halmoni!" Ga Eul sputtered while her mother couldn't quite hide her flabbergasted expression. It was quite clear that Yi Jeong had to remain a secret from her grandmother. Just thinking about her grandmother finding out about him gave her the chills. There would be no end to the questions and she wouldn't put it past the former to ask Yi Jeong to agree to a betrothal contract.

"Relax. I know you wouldn't do such a thing," Madam Lee muttered, conveying her disappointment with a loud sigh. "Anyway, I've decided to stay for awhile since Dong Min is away on his business trip."

Wasn't her father away for a whole twelve days? He'd just left yesterday! Ga Eul and her mother exchanged a look that thankfully, her grandmother missed as she was sipping the tea that her daughter-in-law had given her. It was quite clear that they were of one mind concerning this stay: it was going to be a very eventful twelve days.

…………..

Ga Eul yang,

Right now I'm in the entertainment den of my house and you are upstairs selecting a movie that we both can watch. I must confess: I lied to you about having more DVDs here; I had my staff move everything upstairs. But I need some time to write this to you; I don't want to leave you without a present. Since you gave me a letter as my departure present the first time I left, here's my departure present to you. I've even put a stamp in it, so you have no excuse not to write to me.

It feels more than a little strange, all these mixed feelings. On one hand, there are my parents whom I think will perhaps never stop haunting me in their own way. However, I have you. Thank you for coming for me last night. You've always been there, even when I don't deserve it.

It is hard to believe that I will be leaving again in a few hours, and having you so near to me makes it that much harder to bear. But I will come back a better potter and when I do, you'll be the first person I look for. Two years is a long time and in total, we would have waited for four. Still, I think that because of what someone has taught me, I'm not just capable of crafting pottery, I might actually be good at creating happy endings.

Yi Jeong

Ga Eul smiled softly to herself as she re-read his letter again for the thousandth time. It was a Saturday morning and she had woken up early, in spite of having studied into the wee hours the night before. Outside, the street was quiet and although she knew her mother had woken up an hour ago, the house was completely quiet. Today, she would write back to Yi Jeong.

Sunbae,

I'm not one to sing my own praises but my students do tell me that I'm a great teacher. And since I taught you about happy endings, trust me when I say that you will definitely be able to create a happy ending. Also, unlike pottery, happy endings are projects that require a joint effort. Since I'm by your side, you'll have all the support you need for this endeavour.

Ga Eul was about to put pen to paper again when there was a loud knocking on the door. It was her grandmother. "Ga Eul ah, please come down in half an hour's time. We're going to the mall!"

"We are?" Ga Eul mumbled, staring at the door. "But I had plans…" Sighing, because she knew that it was no use arguing over such issues with her grandmother, Ga Eul put away both the letters, hiding them safely under a huge pile of notes in her drawer. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, she told herself optimistically. She had been studying hard and it would be a nice break. And she would get to spend more time with her grandmother whom she hardly ever saw. Yes, it wouldn't be so bad.

…………………

She was wrong. It was worse. Glaring at her grandmother from the corner of her eye, Ga Eul lifted her cup and pretended to take a sip of tea. She would use any paltry excuse to avoid conversation with the equally miserable looking young man seated opposite her. Next to him was his mother, who apparently was her grandmother's very close friend, Madam Park, who had by sheer coincidence, been at the same mall, waiting outside the same café that Ga Eul's grandmother had insisted on going to.

"Coincidence my foot," Ga Eul thought morosely. This had been a well set trap and she had fallen into it nicely. Someone had replaced the beloved grandmother of her childhood with this evil doppelganger whose sole aim in life was to get Ga Eul married off and pregnant.

"Ga Eul, Madam Park was asking you a question."

"Huh? Oh, my apologies. Yes?"

"What are you studying at university?"

Madam Park looked like a nice enough woman. But she was a co-conspirator in this awful plot to match-make her son, who had known nothing about this meeting, if his horrified expression had been anything to go by. And that meant she was in the same league as Ga Eul's wicked grandmother.

"Business Studies and Economics." Better to keep all plans to pursue a further degree to herself. Come to think of it, she had shared her plans with only Yi Jeong. Yi Jeong would probably smirk and laugh at her predicament. Then again, he might get jealous. But he was always so cool and unaffected all the time. But he had been jealous at least once before so shouldn't this matchmaking session make him at least uncomfortable?

And then from under the table, Ga Eul's grandmother poked her hard on her leg. "Please pardon my granddaughter Madam Park. She's always been such a dreamy child. Ga Eul, Madam Park asked you whether you had any plans after you graduate next year."

Ga Eul opened her mouth to give some commonplace and forgettable reply when inspiration and some degree of daring seized her. "Oh, I have big plans. I intend to pursue a career and maybe get transferred overseas for some experience. I love the idea of living in a foreign country. Sweden sounds interesting actually. Even if I get married, I won't stop working. Children will have to wait."

Ga Eul watched triumphantly as the look of interest on Madam Park's face drained away. She could feel her grandmother's stare on her. "Score one for Ga Eul," she thought triumphantly as she happily out another piece of cheesecake into her mouth.

…………..

I should have known that that wasn't the end of it. The next few days can nicely be summed up as The Grandmother Strikes Back. I had no idea that she knew so many people. Either that or she secretly signed me up with a matchmaking agency.

Yi Jeong chuckled as he read the letter. Ga Eul sounded so irate; he could just imagine the small frown that creased her smooth forehead, or that little pout she always made when she was thwarted or upset.

Unfortunately, my "career woman" antics didn't scare of everyone. Some men are just so persistent, even when you tell them no. Some of them actually called my house and I've been forced to engage in some of the most inane conversation I've ever had. A law student actually wanted to know what different kinds of porridge the shop serves and what condiments we offer. After that, he wanted to talk about how to cook porridge! There's one person I'm not hiring if I ever need legal help.

Called her house? Immediately Yi Jeong's mirth subsided and was replaced by something a lot less pleasant. Why didn't Ga Eul yang just put down the phone or tell them it was the wrong number? Or better yet, tell them she wasn't interested in men. She was a rather resourceful person and she should have come up with a better plan.

I can't believe I have to endure another two weeks of this. My father has had to extend his trip and now I'm at the mercy of my grandmother. My mother won't help and I can't blame her; I am old enough to take care of myself. I don't want to be rude either but sometimes, my grandmother drives me up the wall. I suppose I'll just let her drag me around and speak to those people if I have to. Once she's gone, I'll tell them to go away.

He sat up straighter. If Ga Eul yang was trying to win a war against her grandmother, she was failing miserably. This was definitely not the way to go about it; she was being far too passive. "Do I have to be around to look after her all the time?" he muttered irritably. The thought of Ga Eul being introduced to strange men disturbed him. And although he knew she would not even look at them, he could not bear the thought of her being made out to be eligible. Because she wasn't. She belonged to him.

I have to go now. Another 'appointment' (I refuse to refer to these as dates) has been scheduled and after that, it's back to my books. Sometimes during those 'appointments', I think about you and wonder what you are doing. Time passes faster that way.

Ga Eul

That last sentence almost made up for the fact that she had gone out on a date immediately after writing him the letter. Okay fine, so she didn't think it was a date. But she shouldn't be going out at all with anyone else! He didn't care if her grandmother and half her family tree tagged along on the date; it was still wrong.

Also, he did feel that it was a little strange that Ga Eul hadn't mentioned him to her grandmother. If she had, surely all this would stop. Even if they hadn't used official terms such as girlfriend and boyfriend, there was no doubt that they were in a romantic relationship. Or maybe she just didn't want to depend on him to get her out of a sticky situation. Well, he could always ask her in his next letter.

But first, there were some matters he had to take care of. And at the top of his list, was her grandmother.