23. Visions

“But after a year we are just going to say that it did not work and we can go… Euna and I.”

Hyeon Ji didn’t answer right away. She looked at Yonghwa and when he turned away, she cleared . “Yes, that’s what we agreed on. I could assure you that Yonghwa would also yield to it,” Hyeon Ji smiled. If in that year these two won’t fall for each other, then she would be damned. That hidden agenda needed to be really kept hidden. She cleared and continued addressing her nephew, “Since its Seohyun whom you are asking for this big favor, you should consider her and Euna in every action that you do.”

“What does that supposed to mean?” Yonghwa inquired fully aware of his aunt’s meaning, “If you’re suggesting that I could no longer date or meet other women then it’s out of the question.”

“Yonghwa!” Hyeon Ji exclaimed both in disbelief and reprimand. After chastising her nephew, she focused on Seohyun and saw that she was as surprised as she was with what Yonghwa said. But she needed to address the matter calmly as if it could lessen the effect of his stupidity. Hyeon Ji raised a brow and spoke firmly, “If Seohyun would allow you to.”

What he said shouldn’t have been a surprise for her but it stirred something inside her. She couldn’t understand why she was feeling so angry inside when she knew that he would be like this. Instead of exploding, Seohyun took a deep breath and gave her sincerest smile to the older woman who only wanted the best for all of them. Then, she turned to him with the same smile but her chin lifted when she declared, “If he could, and surely he would, I could too… and definitely would…”

“What? You want to date someone else?” Yonghwa sneered from obvious surprise. Surely, she realized that he was just messing around. Or was he? Not believing what he just heard, he scoffed quietly almost to himself, “Ridiculous.”

“What’s ridiculous about that?” She shrugged but her animosity was reaching a very dangerous level, “If my going on dates would be ridiculous then it’s just the same as you. What do you expect? For me to stay here locked up in your house?”

Yonghwa gaped at her. She looked so calm but the way she spoke told him that she was a volcano ready to explode. He turned to his aunt only to see that smirk pasted on her lips. It was as if his own joke turned against him and he didn’t like it. In his annoyance, he groaned, “Okay, nobody minds each other’s personal business then!”

“Fine!” Seohyun stood, grabbed his glass and gulped the content without even wincing then dropped the it on the table hard enough it almost broke.

“Hey! You’re not supposed to drink that!”

“Mind your own business!” Seohyun marched out of the room without even giving him a second look.

Hyeon Ji whistled with a satisfied smile. She settled deeper on her seat and in a sing-sang voice, she spoke, “Yonghwa has found his match.”

“What? Her?” He pointed at where she disappeared to and shook his head, “Never…”

“Let’s see about that…” Hyeon Ji called out when he, as well, retreated away from the kitchen. She took her glass and laughed to herself, “Silly kids…”

After a moment of contemplating, Hyeon Ji finally stood and looked for the two. She found Yonghwa in his home office in the middle of a conference call. Smiling to herself, she realized that her nephew who rarely missed a day at work, stayed home. Whatever his reasons were, she decided not to probe more for it might only be met with hostility especially after their supposed talk of rules. As for Seohyun, she remained in the guest room until around dinner time when she called the two in the great room.

Hyeon Ji prepared dinner since the two seemed to have forgotten about food. The dinner table was quiet except for the small sounds of the cutleries. She noticed that the two were not even looking at each other— or they were just good at hiding, obviously still bothered with what happened. Finally, she could no longer take the silence so she spoke softly, “I don’t expect you to be lovers.”

That caught the attention of the two but they remained quiet. Her opening line clearly shook them so she continued, “You can date whoever you want. Yonghwa, you can be yourself and Seohyun should respect that. Seohyun, you can open your world into other possibilities and Yonghwa should honor that. I’m not asking you to date each other while you are in this circumstance but,” Hyeon Ji smiled gently at each of them as she spoke, “But let there be love between you. At least love each other as friends. While raising Euna together, be friends. Even if this is only going to be for a year, at least Euna should feel the love you have for her and for each other so she’d learn that from you— to love. That’s the most important.”

Yonghwa’s eyes fell on the woman across him and found that she was also looking at him.

They didn’t have to fall in love.

Hyeon Ji saw the way they looked at each other— no, it was more like how they looked into each other. If she didn’t see the speckle of love in that, then she didn’t know what love is.

Her voice softened as she went on, “If you do that, everything else will follow.”

She was not sure the two heard that though.

~~~

When morning came, Yonghwa woke up early although he couldn’t sleep the night before— once again. The excitement he had for getting Seohyun to agree and taking them to his home was later shattered by that careless remark he said. But the more he thought about it, the more it was clear to him that Seohyun was more than willing to play his game. He scoffed to himself— his aunt was probably right in saying that he found his match.

He kicked the sheets and brushed his hands on his face when he realized that this was the last time he would wake up in this room. Yonghwa sighed and stood. Mrs. Kim, his housekeeper was coming later that day so he planned to have her clean the room for Seohyun.

When he walked out, he stopped in front of the guest room and stood there for a moment. Did she know that he was kidding when he said that? Yet, it made him ask himself if he really would stop dating.

Would he? At this point, he probably wouldn’t but he was no saint.

Sighing, he walked away and found himself on the balcony by the living room. The early morning sun glared at him and he would normally lower the blinds but this time, he caught sight of his aunt on the lounger with Euna curled on her chest. He went on his knees and gently kissed the baby on her temple. She stirred but it didn’t wake her so he we took his place on the lounger opposite them. “Is it okay for her to be here? It’s hot.”

“It’s healthy at this time but only for a few minutes,” she replied. She smiled at Yonghwa’s concern for this little one, then she added, “It would be a good time to bond with her like this.”

“And Seohyun?” He asked.

“She’s still sleeping,” Aunt Hyeon Ji said rubbing the baby’s back, “These past few days must be hard for her but I admire her resilience. I remember Sooyoung broke down just a few days after her first son was born. But Seohyun,” she sighed, “So far she looked so strong and so in control.”

Yonghwa stared into the far edges of the lake his eyes could reach. His aunt was right. Usually, she would just look tired but never disgruntled. It was good actually but this lingering thought that she might be keeping it privately didn’t settle well in him especially when he recalled how she winced in pain back in her old apartment. His aunt’s voice brought him back to the conversation.

“Don’t forget to drive her to her doctor, I think she hasn’t yet. She might be in pain but she wo