We waited at the entrance of her flight and when the time came people scattered in. It seemed as if everyone came, but her. We waited and waited and finally mom started to wave. I looked at the direction mom was waving in and saw a woman. The first thing I noticed was her clothing. I thought she'd be wearing pants with gushing holes in it and a shirt so short that I could see her belly button, but she was wearing a light pink dress that looked very cute on her and she had matching pink shoes. Her hair was braided to the side of her left shoulder and she was rolling her suitcase behind her. I also didn't expect her skin to be so light. Don't people from the United States usually have darker skin?

“Welcome, dear,” mom greeted her with a hug. “I’m glad you made it safe.”

She smiled at mom.

“This is your father,” mom said and she smiled at him too. “And this is Jin Young.”

She did the same thing to me.

“Jin Young, this is Han Sun Hwa.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

She doesn’t say anything.

“Let’s get going then,” mom said.

She nodded her head and off we went.

What’s the matter with her? She didn’t say a single word to any of us.

We headed to our car and I helped Sun Hwa with her luggage before we all went into the car and dad drove us off to my house. Dad parked in my driveway and I helped took out her luggage afterwards.

“Jin Young will help you around the house. If you have any questions ask him. If he mistreats you, call us. Okay,” mother said.

She nodded her head and gave mom a hug.

“Your father and I are going since we have other things to do. We’ll see you guys soon.”

She nodded her head.

“You better get going,” I said rolling the luggage over to them. “You don’t want to be late.”

“Okay.” Mom got into the car and dad drove off.

Sun Hwa waved to them and watched them as they disappeared into the distance. She turned around and bumped into me. She gasped and bowed her head down.

“Let’s go inside. You must be tired right,” I said.

She didn’t say anything. She only picked at her nails.

I, on the other hand, headed inside and she followed along.

“As you can see, this is the living room,” I said as we walked. “You can find the television here and watch anything you want on tv.” I moved to the bathroom and then to the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”

She shook her head.

“Because I made lunch. If you’re hungry you can come eat. Make yourself at home and don’t be shy to look around. I’m usually not home so you’re going to have to prepare yourself some food instead.”

She nodded her head.

“Since you’re not hungry, I’ll go show you your room.” I took her to the guest room. “You’ll sleep here for now. When mom and dad come back, you’ll sleep in my room because I don’t want them to know that we’re sleeping in separate rooms. Got it?”

She nodded her head.

“If you’re tired then you can go to sleep. I’ll be downstairs. If you need anything just ask me.”

She nodded her head and went to her room before closing the door behind her.

I hope this is going to work out.

After a few hours, she was still upstairs. Maybe she fell asleep. My phone suddenly rang and I picked it up after I read Young Ji’s name.

“Jin Young, are you free right now,” she asked me.

“Do you need something?”

“I really have to talk to you. In person.”

“Okay. I’ll be right there. Where are you?”

“At home.”

“I’m coming.” I hung up and grabbed my key and wallet before I headed out.

I knocked on her front door and she came to answer it. Her eyes were puffy and red. She’s been crying and I knew that I was right because she fell into my arms and started to cry again.

“What’s wrong,” I asked her.

“Junsu, he broke up with me,” she cried out. “How could he do this to me?”

“Let’s go inside and explain to me what happened.”

“He said he doesn’t love me anymore. He said he found a better woman for him,” she said as we both sat down on the couch. “What did I do wrong to make him lose his love for me? I love him so much.” She wiped her tears and blew her nose.

“Don’t cry. Maybe this was for the best. You said you saw him cheating on you right? If you were to stay with him it’ll probably get worse. Think positive and move on. I know it’s hard for you right now and I want you to know that I’ll be here for you.”

“Thank you,” she said a smile finally cracking on her face. “You’re the only one I have.”

“We’ve been friends for so long. Of course I’ll be here for you.”

She hugged me and I hugged her back. Before I knew it, the time was nine almost ten and we didn’t even do much but talked. I told her about Sun Hwa and she gave me a advice. Like: stay with her and see how it goes. I see where she was going with this, but I really can’t live with someone I don't love. Should I confess to her and make her my bride instead?

When I got home, everything was the same. I went into the kitchen to see if Sun Hwa ate anything, but she didn’t. She didn’t even touch a grain of rice. Was she not hungry? Or was this not to her liking? I headed upstairs to her room and knocked on the door. She opened the door and she has changed her clothes. She was now wearing a purple t shirt and red plaid sweatpants. Her hair was up in one of those circle things. I’ve only known and saw her for not even a day and I can say that she was pretty cute.

“Did you eat yet,” I asked.

She shook her head.

“Do you want to eat?”

She nodded her head.

“Follow me than.”

We headed downstairs.

“Did you sleep?”

She nodded her head.

Can she not talk or is she not talking on purpose?

We got to the kitchen and I heated up the food before I set the table and sat down to eat.

“I’m sorry. I usually don’t eat this late, but I got home a little late today.”

She shook her head.

I started to dig in. I picked at this and I picked at that that I didn’t even notice Sun Hwa was barely eating.

“What’s wrong? Is this not to your liking?”

She shook her head.

I looked at her weird and started to eat again. I got up after I got done eating and so did she. She barely touched her food. I’m sure she’s not full.

“Sun Hwa, you barely touched your food. Do you want to eat something else?”

She shook her head and headed to the sink. She the water and started to wash the dishes.

“You don’t have to. I can do that,” I said.

She shook her head and continued.

I wanted to ask her if she was a mute, but I thought it would be rude to do so. So instead I dried the dishes and put them away before I headed upstairs to take a shower and headed to bed.

The next day, I went to work and went to meetings like always. Before I knew it, the time was telling me to go home. I put away any important documents and headed home. When I got there, Sun Hwa was nowhere in sight. Maybe she was already sleeping. I headed to the kitchen and opened the fridge to see what she ate or cooked. Everything was the same. Only some food items were eaten. Seriously, what is wrong with her? Does she not like what I have here or does she have anorexia?

For the next few days, the food in the fridge has not been touched. She barely talked to me even when I was on my days off. She would come downstairs and help around the house, but she was silent. She doesn’t say a word. Maybe she is mute.

“Sun Hwa,” I said as I approached her.

She was drying the laundry.

“I have a question for you,” I continued.

She waited for me to go on.

“Are you perhaps,” I paused. “A mute? I’m not trying to offend you. I’m just curious since you don’t speak much.”

She nodded her head and said something in sign language, but I had no idea what she was talking about.

“What,” I asked her.

She took out her phone and wrote: you're right, I'm a mute.

“Ahh,” I said but on the inside I'm like: how can I live and love someone who doesn't speak? “One more question.”

She nodded her head.

“Is the food not to your liking? If you don't like it then tell me what you like and I'll go get you it for you.”

‘Nothing’s wrong with the food,’ she typed. ‘I'm just not used to this. Since I grew up in the United States, I'm more of a pizza and hamburger woman.’

“Ahh. I'll make sure to buy you that next time.”

She smiled and nodded her head like an enthusiastic kid.

I admit, she was cute. She had what every man was looking for, but the only problem is she doesn't talk. And since she's from the United States, she doesn't know how to cook. How am I supposed to live and love her if she was going to be like this?

“Mr. Jung, you have a guest,” my secretary said.

“Who?”

I was at my desk reading some documents.

“Baek Young Ji.”

“Let her in.”

Young Ji walked in and I immediately fixed my posture.

“What are you doing here,” I asked.

“I came to visit you,” she said with a smile on her face. “I also brought you lunch.” She set the bag down on the desk and sat down on the chair that was in front of my desk.

“You didn't have too.”

“I wanted to. You usually don't have lunch right? And I didn't want to stay at home. I was bored.”

“You're going to be bored here too. I won't have time to talk to you.”

“That's okay. It's better than staying home with nothing to do.”

She smiled and I smiled.

Young Ji was so pretty. How can she be so beautiful? My heart doesn't know how to stay still when I see her. I just wanted to confess to her, but I know that she's still hurt. I don't want to overwhelm her.

For the next few hours, I read my documents and fixed what needed to be fixed and signed what needed to be signed.

“Why don't you eat,” Young Ji said. “Lunch time is over.”

I looked at the clock and it was three.

“You should eat when it's time to eat. If you eat irregularly like this, it'll be unhealthy for you.”

“Okay.” I said nodding my head. “I'll make sure to eat regularly.”

She smiled and opened up her lunch box for me while I set aside my documents. She revealed fried egg rolls and fried hot dogs.

“You made this?”

She nodded her head.

“It's not much.”

“This is enough.” A wide smile came across my face. “Thank you.”

I grabbed the chopsticks she packed for me and dug in.

“It tastes great,” I said after tasting the rolled eggs.

“Good.”

She smiled. “How's it going with Sun Hwa? Have you guys made any progress?”

“No. She doesn't eat anything I make for her.” That reminds me: I have to go get her pizza and hamburger. “And on top of that: she doesn't talk. I mean she can't.”

“She's a mute?”

I nodded my head. “I don't know how I'm going to live with her.”

“Didn't I say to go on with life? She may not be able to talk, but at least she's a good wife to you. Right?”

“She is. She does all the house chores. To be honest, the house looks cleaner now ever since she came to live with me.”

“See! She is a good wife. Woman like her are hard to find. The only problems are: she can't talk and she doesn't cook for you. If you taught her how to cook then the only problem will be she can't talk to you.”

“I don't know. I'm not sure I can live with her even after that. Even if she knew how to talk I can't live with her.”

“And why is that?”

I'm in love with you.

“I don't love her. I don't think I can grow to love her.”

“Do you have someone else in mind?”

“I do,” I said after a pause.

“Who? Do I know her?”

It's you. You're the one I love.

“You know her very well.”

“Who is she?”

“Mr. Jung, will you come down to the lobby,” my secretary said over the phone.

“I'll be right there,” I said after pressing a button.

I dropped the chopsticks and headed out.

“Jin Young, make sure to come back to finish this.”

I nodded my head and quickly took the elevator down to the lobby. When the door opened, a ruckus was heard.

“Why can't I get a room,” the angry man said.

He was short, but skinny. He still had a head of hair but he looked like he was in his forties. He wasn't wearing expensive clothing so he probably is not financially stable. And his skin didn't look that healthy. He looked like he smoked and drink a lot.

“What's wrong,” I asked approaching them.

“Good! The manager is here!”

“I'm the CEO of this place.”

“Even better! Why are your employees not giving me a room?”

“Sir, I'd like to ask you to calm down and I'll ask my employees why they won't give you a room. Is there a reason why you won't give him a room,” I asked Mrs. Roh, the lady who took care of the front desk.

“His card is invalid. He insist that we give him a room and he'll have money for us in the morning. I've told him about our policy, but he insists.”

“Sir,” I started. “According to my employee, your card doesn't work.”

“Yes. Because my so call wife canceled it! I'll call someone else in the morning to give you the money so give me a room!”

“According to our policy, we don't provide a room to any customers who can't pay us.”

“I've been told that already!”

“You're told twice because you insist on having a room.”

“Tell me why this is your policy than.”

“To be safe, incase our customers run away, we make sure to have our customers pay first before we give them a room.”

“That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Why would customers run away? You're the first hotel to have this policy.”

“We have this policy because we've experienced it before. If you don't like it than go sleep at another hotel.”

He glared at me and stomped out our door.

“I'm sorry, sir,” Mrs. Roh said.

“It's not your fault. You're doing a great job. If anything else happens, make sure to contact me if you're in need of help,” I replied.

“Yes, sir.”

I went back upstairs to my office. Before I got there, Young Ji came out of my office. It looked like she was in a rush to go somewhere.

“Are you leaving,” I asked her.

“Yeah. I got a call from Junsu. He sounded like he needed help.”

How can she crawl back to him after what he did to her? I wanted to stop her. I wanted to tell her not to go. But I wasn't in a place to tell her so. She still longed for him.

“Be careful,” was all I said.

“I will. Remember to eat your lunch.”

I smiled and nodded my head before I watched her leave.

My heart ached. I really can't stand to see her hurt like this. Why can't she see that I loved her? Has she not noticed all the things I've done for her? Must I really tell her how I feel?

After work, it was already too late to get food, so I headed home instead. While driving, my phone rung and I picked it up wearing my ear piece.

“Jin Young, how's it going with Sun Hwa,” mom said over the phone.

“Mom, did you know that she doesn't talk.”

“Of course.”

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“If I did, you wouldn't have agreed to let her live with you.”

“What about now? I've found out and how do you expect me to live with her?”

“Just treat her as a normal person.”

“How can I treat her like a person? I can hardly make any conversations with her. And she won't eat anything that I cook for her.”

“Than go buy something for her to eat.”

“How can I when I leave so early and get home from work so late.”

“You're the CEO. You can always come home earlier than everybody else.”

“If I did that, I wouldn't be a very good role model to my employees.”

“Doing it a couple times won't be a big problem.”

“I won't be doing anything like that unless it's an emergency.”

“Okay. You can stop talking now. Just make sure you take care of Sun Hwa well. I don't want her parents thinking that we're mistreating her.”

“I will do what I can.”

I hung up and continued on home. When I closed the door behind me, I looked around. The house was quiet. Sun Hwa was probably sleeping. I headed to the kitchen and like usual, nothing was touched. Is she going to starve until I get her hamburger and pizza? How long has it been? A few days actually. Maybe I should stay home tomorrow and stock up on food that she actually wants to eat so she doesn't starve to death.

I headed upstairs and took a shower before I headed to bed.