October 29: 2:43pm, Haeoreum Art Village, Nam Hae-Do

Hayaley very attentively paints the detailed and fine lines on the clay piece before her. She is so focused that it took a number more rings on her phone to catch her attention. It didn’t help that she had put it on silence. The vibration finally alerts her. She looks at the caller ID. “Oh, shoots!” Her hands are full of clay and paint. “Argh, I’ll have to call him back.” She gets the finishing touches done and hands her art pieces over to the instructor.  

As soon as she scrubbed her hands clean, she checks her texts.

2:30pm: Hi, call me back.

2:40pm: Did you get my last message?

2:45pm: Are you okay?

2:48pm: Please call me back. Did something happen?

2:50pm: Sung Hyun Jin, I’m getting worried. Where are you?

2:51pm: What’s going on???

She also has 5 missed calls. She has never seen Jae Joong so frantic. She quickly calls him back.

“Where were you?” concern in his voice.

“Sorry, I just left Haeoreum Art Village. Took a class on sculpturing clay. My hands were full of clay and paint when you called.” She continues to walk down the main road.

“You got me worried.”

“Sorry.” 

“It’s fine. I’m just glad you are okay.” Glad is an understatement. He was beginning to really regret leaving her on Nam Hae alone. He had received a call two evenings before with the bad news that a senior singer he respected a lot had passed away. He had made the decision to cut short their vacation and go back to Seoul for the funeral. The next morning, Hayaley told him she would like to stay since she really didn’t have any reason to go back to Seoul yet especially when they have already paid for the pension till today. They had argued about it.

“How are you going to get back to Seoul tomorrow?”

“I’ll take the bus or rent a car. It’s not a big deal.”

“You are going to be alone in this big pension by yourself. We don’t know who lives around here.”

Hayaley laughed. “Kim Jae Joong. You have obviously lived in the city for too long.”

“What do you mean?”

“You are paranoid about your neighbors!”

I’m just paranoid, period. He’s been harassed by ssasengs in the most outrageous and intrusive way since his debut so much so that he is distrusting of certain people and places.

Hayaley hugged him, assuring, “I’m going to be fine. I live in Cheongpyeong. And out in the middle of nowhere in California. This is normal for me. I really like Nam Hae and I don’t really want to leave yet.” She pouted a little, knowing that would sway his mind.

He did relent. Then, he had gotten a text from Hayaley saying she was staying another day. He called her immediately and heard her chatting with some neighbor guy….who is single, lives alone and likes deep sea fishing. Couple that with a beautiful girl left alone on a remote island, sounds like stuff made for a murder mystery! Of course she had totally laughed it off saying he was being ridiculous.

“Jae, you still there?” Hayaley’s voice brings him back to the present.

“Yes.”

“What happened?” He was silent for quite a while.

“Nothing, just admiring a beautiful lady.”

“What??” She hears him chuckling. And then….

Jae Joong’s heart soars seeing the big, radiant smile on her face as soon as she saw him. That validates that he made the right decision coming back to Nam Hae and to her.

Hayaley starts walking towards him. She looks around. Seeing no one, she starts running instead and jumps into his arms, wrapping her legs around him. She gives him a big kiss. Jae Joong grins. He should be used to this exuberant welcome from Hayaley by now but it always still makes him super happy. It amazes him how the Ice Queen can show so much adoration. Ever since their heartfelt talk after her return from LA, this has been the way Hayaley would greet him when she comes back from her concerts. “But I guess it applies to this short separation too. I can really get use to this,” he tells himself.

“What are you doing here?” She asks, still excite