Love is Only a Feeling

Chapter 1 – Made in Heaven

It's just another phase that I'll go through

"This is… I can't believe it! This is certainly a match made in heaven!" The old woman exclaimed, tears visibly welling up in her eyes. All the while, the matchmaker was gesticulating energetically. "In all my years as a matchmaker, I have not yet come across such perfection among imperfection."

Han Myung concluded that either the woman was overly emotional, or she was exaggerating things. In either case, the result had turned out to be in accordance with his plan, so he didn't bother much about her reaction. He had gambled, and won, so to say, by taking it into his own hands that Hwang would be with Mina. He took a small sip of his tea and pondered the words for a minute, his gaze settling on a shadow near the corner of the door. "Now, what do you mean by 'perfection in imperfection'?"

"Of course, the layman wouldn't consider the two of them to be compatible, especially in terms of age! But after looking at their birth characters and consulting the almanac, those two couldn't have been a more perfect match!"

"So… this is a wise pairing?" his gaze focused on the shadow. He knew, of course that it was his daughter at that very spot, listening to every word that had been uttered in the room. He wasn't angry. On the contrary, he thought it was better to let her find this out for herself; he couldn't imagine the inevitable ruckus that would ensue if he had kept something so big from her.

"Absolutely." The matchmaker looked very pleased with herself, her crinkled face beaming.

"Thank you for your time, Matchmaker. Let me see you to the door." He watched in half amusement as the shadow scuttled to move away as fast as it could.

It seemed she wasn't fast enough though. Before she could disappear round the corner, her father's stern holler of her name had carried through. "Matchmaker, I would have liked to wait for the next meeting before introducing my daughter to you but since it is such a coincidence…" Mina flushed a deep shade of pink. Was it her imagination, or had her father emphasized the last word a little too harshly?

Mina smiled and bowed deeply, just as she was expected to do, all the while plainly avoiding her father's direction.

"My, what a pretty young woman! You must be Seung Mina," Mina was acutely aware that the matchmaker used the word "woman" instead of "girl", and felt that she should probably not be that mean to her. After all, she was just an innocent old lady.

If it was even possible, the matchmaker's smile got wider. Mina smiled in return. It was heartening to know that the old lady's only source of happiness lay in finding happiness for young people. However, when the object of discussion was her… she won't be too sure about that. The old lady turned to face Han Myung. "Whoever that young man is, he is very lucky. A lucky man indeed…"

Han Myung scantly turned towards Mina. "In my study, now," he muttered, before saying in a loud voice to the matchmaker: "You better get going, Matchmaker, before you are late for your next appointment!"

As Han Myung saw the old lady to the door, Mina trudged back to her father's empty study. Of course it was inevitable. She stopped to let herself entertain a fleeting thought: perhaps it was time to stop trying to run away from marriage. Most girls her age in the village had got married some time in the past two years or so, and some had even had children of their own. However, when she tried to picture her life solely revolving another man, she felt increasingly repulsed, and decided against ever entertaining such a thought again.

It wasn't long before Han Myung returned to the study. Mina waited until he was seated comfortably at his desk before asking, "Who is it you're trying to sell me off to this time, father?" The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop it; she kicked herself for talking through her hat again. It sounded rude even to her, and she muttered a quick apology. However, she kept her eyes trained on him, waiting expectantly for the answer to her question. It had happened before, but as luck would have it, the previous matchmakers coming into the house had nothing good to say about her prospective husbands. This time it was different. A "match made in heaven", did she say?

He heaved a heavy sigh. "I've arranged for the matchmaker to come again Friday afternoon. When we will finalize the details of the wedding. Don't be late." He made no attempt to answer any more. Mina realized that his answer meant that the groom would be there, and then she would be able to get the answer to her question.

AN: Where did all the Hwang Mina fans go?
Hope this wasn't too badly written! Hehe