"Some things are meant to happen, just not meant to be. Some things are meant to come into your life, just not to stay." - Trent Shelton
Chapter 9
Jun Pyo walked towards their table, head held high, steps assured and confident.
Jan Di was panicking inside.
It had been so long since she last saw him... was it a year now? More? Even though she agreed to this plan, and had rehearsed what to say to him, now that the moment was at hand, she felt very ill-prepared. What was she thinking? What would he say to her? What if he was still angry?
Panic overwhelmed her.
The closer Jun Pyo got, the more she couldn't breathe.
Her phone beeped and she hastily glanced at it.
It was a message from Ji Hoo.
"Breathe, Jan Di. Breathe. It will be okay."
She decided to take his advice and take some slow, deep breaths and let her shoulders relax a little as she straightened herself on the chair. She was glad Ji Hoo could still hear her panic alarm when she needed him.
She noticed that her left hand was shaking furiously, as it always did when she was extremely nervous. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine Ji Hoo beside her. She imagined him holding her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze, the way he'd always done in the past when she was on edge.
You got this. He just wants to talk. She told herself.
At least that's what Ji Hoo told her when he asked her if she would like to meet with Jun Pyo. He was only in Seoul for a short time, so she couldn't put it off for long. She reluctantly agreed, mainly because she'd been wanting to talk to him, too.
Ji Hoo had booked the restaurant at Jun Pyo's request.
She composed herself as Jun Pyo sat on the chair in front of her. His face was blank so she couldn't tell what he was thinking, and he gave her a cursory glance before turning to the approaching waitress. The waitress came over and asked him for his drink order.
Jun Pyo hastily scanned the drink menu. He looked up at the waitress, flashing her a bright smile. "What's the most expensive bottle of wine you guys have?"
The waitress opened the menu and pointed. "This one, Mister Gu Jun Pyo."
Jan Di couldn't help but see the price tag of the wine she pointed at. Her eyes went so wide she forgot where she was for a few seconds, but she managed to compose herself at the last minute.
Unfortunately, her brief surprise did not escape Jun Pyo's notice.
He smirked. "I'll take that, then." Looking at her, he added: "Since, you know, Ji Hoo's paying for this entire meal."
She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. The waitress bowed politely, then went off to get Jun Pyo's bottle of wine.
"You're late." She told him, trying to sound as casual as possible.
Wait, that's it? You haven't seen or spoken to him in a year and that's what you say first? She mentally berated herself. Queen of conversation, she definitely was not.
He shrugged. "You know me. I like to make an entrance."
She made a face.
Jun Pyo continued on as though they were just old friends meeting again after a long time. "Ever been here before?"
She shook her head.
He arched an eyebrow. "Really? You'd think Ji Hoo would have taken you here at least once." He was looking right at her.
Jan Di looked away. "It's not really my thing." Plus, they didn't really eat out a lot. Their dates mostly consisted of doing stuff outdoors – a picnic here, a bike ride there. Their meals were mostly takeout, or street food, or her favorite – meals they made together. That is, when they could get time away from the hospital.
Jun Pyo looked outside the window. "I felt like having hansik*, and I like this restaurant." He cast a sweeping glance around the room. "I'm glad Ji Hoo booked us a table here." His face suddenly turned smug. "Ji Hoo's lucky I wasn't craving French food or we'd have gone to the Pierre Gagnaire. Then your eyes would probably have fallen out of its sockets by now." He lowered his voice as if telling her some secret. "Compared to that place, this one's really cheap."
She sat there, unsure of how to respond or react. Were they really having a normal conversation? She was bracing herself for something... she just wasn't sure what. His wrath? His accusations?
When will the ax fall? Why was he so... calm?
The waitress arrived with Jun Pyo's bottle of wine. She poured him a glass, looked at her questioningly, and then set the bottle on the table after she shook her head.
"You don't drink anymore?" Jun Pyo asked, an eyebrow arched.
"It's too early for wine," she lied.
Truth be told, she was still quite embarrassed at her behavior the last time she drank and got carried away. She had just received her first paycheck from the hospital so she decided to celebrate with Ji Hoo. Ji Hoo was drinking with her at first, but stopped after he noticed how quickly alcohol was affecting her. She couldn't remember much of that night, but her last memory was... pretty much trying to kiss Ji Hoo in the car. And it wasn't the romantic, gentle kiss you read about in books and daydreamed of. It was quite slobbery, sloppy and ungraceful (plus she was sure her breath reeked of alcohol) and she was certain she was making embarrassingly slurred declarations of love to him too.
She vaguely remembered declaring love for every single thing in the car...
I love you, door! Then she would give it a kiss.
I love you, seat! Another kiss.
I love you, box of tissues! Smack!
And you too, you soft, comfy head rest.
Oh, and I love you, Mr. Gil!
She had tried to give Mr. Gil (Ji Hoo's driver) a kiss but thankfully Ji Hoo pulled her back before she could. Because if hazy memory served her right, Mr. Gil looked very, very uncomfortable and maybe even a little horrified.
She woke up the next day with the world's biggest headache, in her room, on her bed, still fully clothed. She found a note from Ji Hoo that said, "Call me when you wake up. Drink lots of water today."
She couldn't bring herself to call him that day, embarrassed as she was, so he had appeared at her front door with a bowl of hangover soup. He made her finish every last drop of the soup, and stayed with her until her headache went away. She tried to apologize for her behavior, but he just told her there was nothing to apologize about. She promised him she would never get carried away with liquor again. He had just laughed and told her at least she wasn't an angry drunk, but a rather entertaining one.
"It's never too early to drink," Jun Pyo stated. He swirled the wine in its glass a little, gave it a little sniff, and then took a long, languid sip. He looked at the wine. "Not bad," he said. "At least Ji Hoo will be glad to hear he paid a small fortune for good wine."
Jan Di just sat there staring at him. She had no idea what to say. Was she even supposed to say anything? She knew nothing about wine.
The waitress came and took their food order – and Jun Pyo ordered for both of them.
The meals came one course at a time, each course looking more beautiful than the next. The appetizer was light and crispy crackers and dried jujubes. They looked fancy, and Jan Di found the jujubes so ridiculously addicting that she couldn't help but pop one after another in her mouth while Jun Pyo watched in fascination.
Next came the chestnut puree, with shaved chestnuts on top. Next they brought out scallops, then crabmeat and pine nut porridge, then a couple of hot pot dishes that made her mouth water.
Jan Di lost count after course 7. Everything was delicious and plated exquisitely, and the portions were just small enough that she didn't feel stuffed, and big enough to satisfy her stomach.
She was so busy admiring and eating her food she didn't realize Jun Pyo was staring at her.
"What?" She asked, nervously. She hastily wiped her mouth with her napkin.
"It's good to see you again, Geum Jan Di."
She looked at him, trying to gauge his sincerity.
He meant it.
"You too," she replied. "You... look good, Gu Jun Pyo. Really good."
He really did.
She was terrified that when she saw him he would look like a mess. Like the time she ran away from him many, many years ago. She never saw him then, but she heard stories. She was afraid he'd look worse than that.
But she was wrong.
He smiled and lifted his chin up proudly. "Don't I always?"
She couldn't help but crack a smile. It was nice to see a glimpse of the arrogant Gu Jun Pyo.
"So," he began, as he took another sip of wine. "I heard you and Ji Hoo are going to Canada for a bit."
The question surprised her, as she wasn't expecting him to ask about their future plans.
"Yes, in a few months, actually."
"What do your parents think of that?"
"They're really excited about it."
Jun Pyo gave her a questioning look.
"They're coming with us. Not right away – Ji Hoo's got someone looking for a place for us and my parents are coming a few weeks after we get settled."
She chuckled as she remembered her mother freaking out about going to Canada at first. She kept asking questions like, "Are we going to live in an igloo?" Or "Do they have cars there? What about electricity? Is it true it never stops snowing there? I heard polar bears roam around like stray dogs? What if I get eaten by a bear?"
Kang San found it funny at first, but after two days of her mother freaking out like that, he finally decided he'd had enough. He sat his umma and appa down while he showed them videos and pictures of Canada. They were still not happy about how cold it got in Canada during the winter, but Ji Hoo had suggested he could just send them somewhere warm (like Mexico or the Caribbean or back to Seoul) if they wanted to escape. This seemed to placate them.
"Your parents are going to stay with you two newlyweds?" He said, disbelief apparent in his tone.
She made a face. "Yeah. We need someone to look after me after the surgery. And umma didn't want us to hire a nurse or caregiver there. Ji Hoo's got some work lined up so we don't know what his schedule would be like."
It amazed her how easily she answered his questions. It was like they were two old friends catching up on life. There was no tension in their conversation.
"What about their business?"
"It's doing really well. In fact, they hired two full time workers a few months ago. My parents don't have to work as hard now."
Jan Di thought about her parents.
They'd just discovered travelling for leisure – just to the surrounding towns and cities for now, but they seemed to enjoy it. Kang San was also excited to have the house to himself when they leave for Canada. Her umma kept threatening to install a security camera in the house, but Kang San just scoffed and said he could easily find a way to disable them.
Ji Hoo's house would be well taken care of, since they had people who came to clean it every week. Grandpa Yoon would be coming to Canada as well, though only for a few weeks at a time, as long as his health allowed him to. He was still strong enough to travel, though Ji Hoo and Jan Di often worried about his health. They were only going to be in Canada for maybe a year (or less), until she had recovered enough from her surgery that she didn't need to see the specialists as often anymore.
"Are you scared? Of the surgery?"
Again, Jan Di's face registered surprise. Ji Hoo must have told him.
"A little. But the specialist is one of the best in his field, so my chances are pretty good." She gave him a small smile. "I can't wait to be able to swim again. I miss it so much."
She saw a flash of something register in his eyes but he looked away so quickly she might have imagined it. Was it regret? Hurt?
"Sorry about your shoulder." Was all he said next.
"That wasn't your fault." She tried to reassure him. "And it happened a long time ago." She had never blamed him for it, and she never would.
A few minutes of silence followed. Jan Di started getting tensed again as she clasped her hands on her lap. Gu Jun Pyo just sat there looking at her, face stoic. Jan Di almost hugged the waitress when she came over to ask if they needed anything else.
"I think we're good," Gu Jun Pyo answered. The waitress bowed low, thanked them and left.
"But the bill," Jan Di began, then she remembered that Ji Hoo was supposed to pay for it. Besides, she didn't think she wanted to see the bill.
"Shall we go?" Gu Jun Pyo asked, and Jan Di realized he had already stood up.
She hastily grabbed her purse and started walking with him towards the elevator.
"Where are we going?" She asked, trying to sound as calm as possible.
"Just for a walk."
The valet had Jun Pyo's car ready when they got outside. He tossed the keys to Jun Pyo, and he urged her to sit in the passenger seat.
"Where are we going?" She asked again.
"Just get in. You'll find out soon."
They drove around in silence. Jan Di noticed a black car following behind them. She was still not used to it, but Jun Pyo seemed oblivious to it. She sat there, hands on her lap, eyes fixed outside her window but not really seeing anything. She glanced at her phone.
"You okay?" A text from Ji Hoo.
"Yes, don't worry." She texted back. Was she really okay?
"Okay, I'm at the stables visiting Rui. Call me when you're done and I'll come get you." Was his reply.
She stole a glance at Jun Pyo. His eyes were focused on the road; his face seemed deep in thought.
What is he thinking about? Is he okay?
When they finally stopped, Jan Di took stock of her surroundings.
And froze.
She looked up and saw the big "N" on the tower.
Namsan Tower.
Where she and Jun Pyo had their first date what seemed like a century ago.
So many memories of this place... And not all of them were good.
"You coming?" Jun Pyo called out, as he held the door open for her.
...
*Hansik refers to traditional Korean food, centered on rice, served alongside a bowl of soup and a variety of side dishes