01 // runaway bride

Heegun quietly counts the cash drawer.  All of the servers and cooks have gone home, quietly dispersing after bowing to their boss with a soft “you’ve worked hard”.

It has just started raining, making Heegun smile.  The sound of rain hitting the window is just magical and calming, reminiscent of times when rain could make an entire day fun.

Unexpectedly, there’s a rapid knocking against the glass of the front door.  Heegun sighs; setting aside the stack of 10000 won bills to go tell the person knocking on the door that the restaurant is obviously closed.  As the door comes in view, Heegun stops.

What ever he thought he was expecting, she wasn’t it.  A woman stands at the door with her knuckles against the wet glass without any protection from the weather. Heegun doesn’t even have time to register that she’s stunning because the sleeveless wedding dress that she’s wearing is being ruined drop by drop.

Something, probably his kind, easily swept away heart, compels him to unlock the door to let her in.  The door taps against the bell, and Heegun is now face to face with this woman who’s taking his breath away and making his heart run.

There’s a small bejeweled tiara that holds her veil in place nestled on top of the cascading black tresses of her hair.  She takes a small breath, tucking a section of her hair behind her ear, “Can I hide here for a little while?”

There’s a quiet desperation in her voice and pathetic sadness in her eyes.  Her deep red lips tremble against the cold rain and icy emotions in her heart.

Heegun steps back, bringing the door with him.  Although he doesn’t say anything, the bride smiles and takes it as an invitation in.  Along with the smell of rain, she brings the scent of magnolias and vanilla.  The fabric of the bottom of her dress slides against the tile floor of restaurant along with the faint clicks of heels.

She grips the top of the puffy, chiffon skirt of her dress as she turns to face Heegun, “I’m sorry.”  It’s obvious that she’s come to understand the absurdity of knocking on the door of a closed restaurant in a wedding dress at such a late hour.

Heegun clears his throat, trying to shake off the enchantment.  “Do you want to talk about it?”

She pauses, confusion flickering across her face before a grateful smile settles in its place, “That’d be nice.”

Stiffly and awkwardly, Heegun carefully moves around her and her dress in order to lead her back toward where he was counting his cash drawer.  He pulls out the slight worn, wooden chair across from his for the beautiful, strange bride to take a seat in.

She gathers her skirt, sweeping most of the fabric off of the ground before gently taking a seat on the edge of Heegun’s chair.  As Heegun pushes her chair closer to the table, he notices the drops of rainwater that dot her shoulder and arms.  They make all of the invisible hairs on her arms stand on end.

Heegun doesn’t think much of it as he takes his coat off of its peg behind the register and drapes it over her shoulders.  Fall is on the cusp of winter, making dreary weather all the more common.

As he takes the seat across for the bride, he asks, “What’s your name?”

She moves her hands to grip the edges of the Heegun’s jacket, pulling it closer to her skin and shrugging to keep all of her warmth to herself.  “Sungim.  Chun Sungim, runaway bride.”

“Heegun.  Kang Heegun, owner of this dining establishment.”  Heegun juts out his hand for her to shake as his lips stretch into a flat smile.

Sungim lets go of one side of his jacket to shake his hand with icy cold fingers.  Her grip is light like she might need to pull away at any second.  Heegun lets go first despite his inclination to envelop her hands and blow on them to warm her up.  That would be too much for people who have just met; it doesn’t change the way he feels.  He just knows that he shouldn’t, so he doesn’t.

Heegun takes a very deep breath, accidentally inhaling some more of Sungim’s scent.  “So, Ms. Chun, what brings you here?”

Sungim places her left hand on the table, poising her acrylic nails to tap against the table.  After taking a moment to gather her words, she purses her lips, “I couldn’t do it.”  She lets out a soft, almost bitter laugh as she presses the back of her hand against her cheek.  She smiles out of something akin to disbelief.

“I was sitting there in front of that vanity mirror, and…” She trails off, turning her head to look out the window.

“It occurred to me that I didn’t care who was standing at the end of the aisle.  The wedding meant more to me than the man I was going to marry.”  Sungim looks at Heegun with eyes on the brim of crying.  Leaning forward, she whispers,  “That’s not how it’s supposed work, right?”

Heegun bites his lips and shakes his head.  Sungim straightens up, flicking her hair over her shoulder, “So I started running.  I know it makes me a bad person, but Heegun, I have so much left to do.  It would’ve been unfair if I married him with an empty chest.  We both would have been unhappy.”

Heegun swallows, ignoring the small desire to hold Sungim’s hand and comfort her physically.  He speaks softly, keeping it level and free of judgment, “It’s okay.  I don’t know you all that well, Ms. Chun, but you deserve to love the person that you want to grow old with.”

“Thank you.” Sungim murmurs along with a heartfelt smile.  She leans forward, “To be honest, I ran here because we never had date here.  I’ve never been inside this restaurant even though I was always curious.”

Sungim grits her teeth, looking up at Heegun through her eyelashes, both fake and real, “No one would ever look for me here.”

Heegun nods, “You’re lucky that I was here, I guess.”

“Thanks for letting me in, I guess.” She replies quietly, finally glancing down at the money between them.

“Next time, I’ll come during business hours.”  She sticks out her hand with all but her pinky finger curled in.  It makes Heegun want to giggle at the sheer childishness of the gesture, but he finds it far too endearing to do anything but link their fingers.

“Heegun?”

He clears his throat, “Yeah?”

“Can I come often?”  Her voice is low and sweeter than honeydew.   The request sparks something in his heart, or it at least stokes the low burning coals.  Warmth spreads from his chest to his toes and fingertips.  Perhaps it’s because they’re still touching each other, but Heegun can feel a little piece of his heart flying away, straight into Sungim’s arms.

“I would like that.” He smiles broadly at her, letting some of the warmth out of his body before he gets burned.

Sungim smiles back, nodding her head happily and swaying their hands a little bit. 

Heegun doesn’t know why he’s thankful that someone’s heart is broken, but happiness comes whether he likes it or not.  Fate, or a man standing alone at an altar, has given Heegun a chance to lose his heart to Sungim.

a/n:
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