Italics for conversations in English.

November 29: 6:55am, Chateau Lever du Soleil Winery, Napa, California

“Wake up, Jae.” Hayaley has been up for awhile. She did sleep a little but her back does not tolerate awkward sleeping positions and she woke up several times during the night. The last time around 6:30am. She decided to stay up for fear of missing the sunrise.  Jae Joong stirs but seems to be falling back asleep. “Jae, wake up,” she coaxes him, a little louder this time. “You’re going to miss the sunrise.”

Jae Joong finally opens his eyes. He looks at Hayaley, then the horizon. You could tell the sun was just about to burst forth. He hugs her close. Their eyes trained on the horizon. It was the most beautiful sunrise. More beautiful than the last one they witnessed together. The light that slowly lit up the sky and the vineyard before them casts shadows and hues among the vines. The colors were too beautiful even for an artist to try to mimic on a canvas. Pink, orange, yellow, purple – all the colors on a pallet seem to be present.

Jae Joong turns and cups Hayaley’s face, then kisses her deeply. She does the same. When they finally part, he asks, “Will you move to Seoul?”

Hayaley giggles. “I can’t but I promise to spend as much time as I can there. Though it would be nice if you could spend some time in LA too when I have to be there for an extended period of time.”

Jae Joong nods. “We can work on that.” They both laugh.

“Now, if we had just tried to work it out like this the last time, we would have saved each other some agony.”

“True."

"I guess we should be thankful for second chances.”

“Yes,” as he leans in to kiss her some more. This time much more passionately.

It started to rain during their little moment on the patio. So, they quickly retreated to the guest room. Hayaley asked for breakfast in bed, stating that it was the perfect weather for it. They called down to the kitchen, which was only too happy to oblige.

This winery only has four guest bedrooms and pride themselves on the high quality of service they offer their guests. This time of the year, Napa is much quieter as harvest has just ended and the vineyards are quite bare so they were the only guests on the property, which works to their advantage. The personalized service gets kicked up another notch.

Hayaley savors the last bite of her omelet. “Food is so fresh here in Napa.” She picks up her champagne glass, “Cheers, baby.”

Jae Joong picks up his glass and they toast. “I was actually going to plan something different for breakfast this morning.” Seeing that he has piqued her interest, “A hot air balloon ride with champagne breakfast.” Hayaley’s jaw drops and he sees the almost horrified look, “I know. Bad idea, right? That’s why I decided against it.”

“It would have been a great idea if I didn’t have a fear of flying.”

“I know. I just wondered if it was just airplanes so I called Mael. He wasn’t sure so we concluded it might be best to just forego the idea. The bast**d said he’s going to steal the idea though.”

Hayaley laughs. “Right, like when?” Hayaley shakes her head, then sarcastically adds, “Oh, wait…like when he finally pulls his head out of his and owns up to his feelings for Misono?”

Jae Joong’s turn to laugh. “I don’t understand their situation. I mean I do but I don’t. I thought our situation was messed up but I guess theirs is worst.”

Mael and Misono are obviously attracted to each other. While they don’t shy away from the physical attraction, they have held their emotional attraction in check, both adamant they are not in that type of relationship. Hayaley keeps asking them what type of messed up relationship is that where they spend time together like a couple, are physically intimate but have no strings attached. And this has been going on for years. Neither gives her a straight answer.

She understands Mael’s insecurities with relationships. The pain of his parents’ divorce has scarred him deeply. He is afraid of turning into his father or walking away like his mother and has chosen not to commit to a romantic relationship. But Misono is her friend too and she feels like he’s been dragging her feelings around for far too long. She keeps telling Misono that she needs to either end it or get Mael to commit but Misono is too afraid of losing Mael so she just lets it ride. 

Jae Joong sees that Hayaley’s mood has shifted some. “Sorry, babe. Let’s not talk about them. Let’s try to just concentrate on us this trip, okay?”

“Okay.” She flashes him a smile. “So tell me the plans for today.”

He chuckles. “I guess she’s not going to give up,” he says to himself and begins to give her a brief idea of what he had planned.

November 29: 9:48am, Domaine Carneros Winery, Napa, California

They park their bicycles and climb up the flight of stairs hand-in-hand. The weather has cleared though still a little overcast but that did not dampen their spirit at all. Not since they have had such a great start to the morning.

“Do you think he’ll remember us?” Hayaley asks.

“We shall see.”

They join another older couple that is also waiting for the Winery and Tasting tour to start.

“Look what we’ve got here!” Stephan’s booming voice commands their attention. Stephan is the Vineyard Activity Director. He eyes Hayaley and Jae Joong. “You came back….and I was right, wasn’t I?” he asks, with a twinkle in his eyes.

They both laughed. Then, Hayaley tells him, “But it almost didn’t happen.”

“It doesn’t matter. Because it did eventually. Stephan’s predictions always come true. I’ve been doing this for over 20 years. I smell it. My soul recognizes it,” he poetically explains himself with outrageous hand gestures. He then apologizes to the older couple and explains how he had several months ago, predicted the two younger guests would be dating before the year ended, eliciting an “Oh, that’s beautiful,” from the lady.

After the tour, Stephan bids them good-bye, “I have to go tend to a wedding this afternoon. You all enjoy the wine and scrumptious hors d'oeuvres.” Then, he winks to Hayaley and Jae Joong, “I throw magnificent weddings by the way,” and exits.

They look at each other and laugh.