The best OST for A Tropical Holiday: 

Havana by Camilla Cabello and Young Thug

When Irene received the order to prepare a small suitcase for a trip in a tropical country and to bring it with her boss’s passport to Incheon, she didn’t think it was anything unusual. It wasn’t the first time Sooyoung had to go to another country in a few hours notice. Probably one of her parents’ banks in South East Asia had a problem, and she had to personally be there to solve it.

However, when Irene arrived at Koreana lounge and saw Yook Sungjae sitting in front of her boss, she felt something was wrong. Trying to speak politely, she pulled her boss aside and asked,

“Miss Park, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“Don’t worry, I know how to take care of myself.”

“Are you sure he’s not plotting to get your company or ruin you?”

She turned to Sungjae. He was on the phone, but he was looking at her direction while speaking, his expression asking, “What’s the problem?”

“We’re just---I’m just trying to get something.”

Irene frowned, “What is it that you want? Miss Park, you do know that Yook Sungjae-ssi is extremely manipulative, right? I just don’t want you to wake up one morning to find you’ve already signed a contract that will ruin you.”

“I won’t drink alcohol at all in this trip. I swear. I’ll be fine.”

“Miss, is this just a way to get back at Kim Taehyung-ssi?”

“Maybe. Or I just want to play too, for once in my life. Maybe I don’t want to do the right thing, just for once.”

Irene wanted to say a lot more, but it was not her job to dictate her boss. She hugged Sooyoung and wished her for a safe trip.

“When will you be back?”

“I’ll leave Bali on Sunday. Will be back for work on Monday.”

It was Friday, and Irene thought, nothing much could go wrong on a weekend trip, so she bowed and left the lounge.

“Are you and your secretary friends?”

“Yes. We met on a piano course, and have been friends ever since.”

“That’s nice. It’s hard to find sincere friends, right?”

Sooyoung was peacefully drinking her fruit punch, but did a double take at Sungjae with the question. The remark somehow hit home.

“A thousand times yes. Happens to you all the time, too?”

“Too often to be accepted as something serious anymore.”

“I don’t mind having only few friends. I have four, they’ve been with me through thick and thin. I’m done with fake friends.”

Suddenly, her phone vibrated.

Sooyoung immediately cursed once she saw the caller number.

Sungjae didn’t see a person’s name, but it was clear that Sooyoung knew the number’s owner.

At first, Sooyoung rejected the call, and tried to read the novel she bought at the airport’s bookstore, but the caller called for a second time, then the third time.

Exasperated, Sooyoung accepted the call, looking around for a private place to talk in the exclusive lounge, but decided that she rather risked Sungjae listening than letting strangers heard the conversation.

Her face was well-known by the media, and if anyone heard—“

“What???” she barked to the phone.

She listened than answered icily, “Why the hell would I do that?”

“You should’ve thought well first, before getting your secretary pregnant!”

“Never!!! Not in a million years! I don’t care! Go get disowned!”

She sat back down, banging her phone on the glass table.

“Ex fiancé begging to come back?”

“His parents threatened to disown him if he marries that secretary and not me. So he said he’d just keep giving the secretary money, and would like to still marry me. The nerve!”

“You’re not the type to marry out of pity, right?”

The glare she gave was answer enough.

****************************************************

During the flight to Bali, they both read. She was reading the novel she just bought, and he from an ebook in his phone. Finally, when they’re tired, they took a nap.

They arrived in Bali around dinner time.

“I just bought this resort. When I first went there, I thought it looks like heaven. It looks better in the morning, but I guess in the evening it’s pretty as well. I have a feeling you’ll love it.”

The resort’s name was Ayodya, located in Nusa Dua area in Bali.

And Sooyoung fell in love with the resort the first time she laid eyes on it.

It was built with as much traditional Balinese culture as possible, like a palace, with parks around and in between. Traditional, soothing Balinese music was always playing in the background. Frangipani flowers were everywhere, and the resort’s employees were all wearing traditional Balinese clothes. She felt she was being pulled to another dimension, where it was relaxing, beautiful and lulling.

She felt close to heaven there.

Ayodya was several buildings built in one place, there were statues of Balinese mythical creatures everywhere, and the whole place smelled like an enchanted forest.

She loved the suite, definitely the best one in the resort, and the view of the balcony was of the park, the pool, the fountain park, the Balinese theatre, and the sea.

She had a feeling it would look ten times better in the morning.

“How much would you sell this place, Yook Sungjae?”

He laughed at that.

“Not everything is for sale, Park Sooyoung.”

He’d shower then, and she took her turn, then they sat down for dinner in one of the buffets, laid as an evening picnic in the garden facing the sea.

The dinner was fantastic, the place was amazing, and for the first time in a long time, she realized she was having a holiday.

*****************************************************

Sooyoung woke up first the next morning, and immediately opened her suitcase, wore a bikini and a bathrobe, then went to the resort’s swimming pool.

She needed some time alone.

There’s an increasing, nagging feeling that bothered her ever since they were at Incheon the day before, but she couldn’t pinpoint what.

It disturbed her, and she needed some time to figure out what that was.

They didn’t have the previous night. Had they done it, she wouldn’t feel so disturbed. Physical was clear. And probably meaningless. But they talked for hours, about the things they liked and hated. Favorite books and movies, music and food......

She thought Sungjae wanted her for the . She could handle that. It was less complicated. But this—what was this?

Are we having a holiday together? But what for? It’s not that we’re anything special.

And more importantly, why does talking come so easy with him? Why does she enjoy it so much?

Her head gave her no answers, so she turned around in the pool for another lap.

****************************************************

Sungjae woke up and found her not lying there beside him.

Panicking, he searched for her handbag.

Relieved when he saw her passport there, he then walked out to the balcony.

Deciding to search for her, he first walked to the breakfast buffet, and she’s not there. Then he went to the park, the empty, open theatre, the shopping area, and finally the swimming pool.

She was sitting leisurely at the side of the pool, her legs dangling inside the water, drinking what looked like watermelon juice, wearing a black bikini.

She looked deep in thought, not caring the way at least a half dozen men were staring at her from time to time.

One empty sitting space had her novel, so Sungjae grabbed her bathrobe and came to her.

“Get up” he ordered.

“What? Why? I still want to swim.”

“Get up. Now.”

“But—“

“They’re staring at you. Unless you like to show off your body so much, you better get up and wear this right now, before I kick them all out from my resort.”

When Sooyoung looked at the guys around the pool, they all seemed busy doing something else, but she disliked the idea of having a row with Sungjae then and there, so she relented and got up, wearing the bathrobe he was holding.

“Are you being territorial right now, Sungjae-ssi?” she joked, but the glare he sent her was definitely murderous, which she wasn’t sure how to respond.

“I’m walking you back to our suite. Then you’ll shower, and we’ll have breakfast, then I’m going to bring you to Uluwatu.”

“Uluwatu? What kind of place is that?”

“You’ll see. Let’s go.”

He’s silent during the long walk to their suite.

Sooyoung was not in the mood to cajole him.

Was he angry because I swim with a bikini in public? But he has no right to be angry!

The mood turned sour, but she felt better after breakfast. There was a big pond beside the breakfast lounge, with swans in it. Little children really loved the swans, and kept trying to feed them with bits of bread.

The swans were used to attention, and all elegantly accepted the scraps of food thrown at them. When they’re full, they flew away and basked under the sun.

Sooyoung also got up and tried to give bits of bread to a group of swan. They all ate obediently.

Before long, she felt her dress was pulled.

A blond toddler was standing beside her, asking for her bread.

“Would you like to give food to the swans as well?” she asked, with her perfect British accent.

The toddler only mumbled and tiptoed, trying to grab her bread.

She gave it to the kid, even walking with him to the railing, watching him taking little pieces and giving it to the swans.

A blond woman that looked exactly like the toddler arrived.

“Sorry for disturbing you.”

“Oh, he didn’t. He’s really cute.”

“Thank you. Please continue your breakfast.”

Smiling, Sooyoung returned to her seat.

She then resumed eating her sushi, until Sungjae asked, “Would you like to have your own children?”

“Of course I would. Children are important.”

“I don’t mean children to continue your business empire. Would you have children just for the sake of it?”

“I would. I love children.”

“How soon after you marry would you want one?”

She thought for a while, “Immediately, I guess. It’s nicer if you still have lots of energy to play with them.”

“I see."

His tone was suddenly different, and she turned to him, a questioning look on her face.

“I just think you’ll be a great mother, that’s all.”

That nagging, disturbing feeling returned.

What is this? I don’t get this, she thought.

“If you’re ready, we’ll go now.”

She nodded, and followed him to the spacious lobby.

Sooyoung really loved the lobby. It was built like the front of a Balinese palace, with high wooden ceiling, wooden pillars, and a statue of a woman in the middle.

There were four women dancing a traditional Balinese dance in the middle, and before long, she was standing there in front of them, trying to copy them.

They were beautiful in their traditional outfits, their hair braided with frangipani.

The dancers liked her, and quickly tried to tell her some moves.

Sungjae had to take a phone call, and when he finished, he found Sooyoung dancing with the four dancers, smiling and following all the pretty movements perfectly.

“You’re talented” one of them said.

“And you’re beautiful” Sooyoung replied.

Sungjae had to take another urgent call, so she walked around alone in the lobby, and ended up standing in front of the statue of a woman. She stood on what looked like red fire, her expression serene.

There were what looked like offerings of flowers for her, and incense burned on four sides of her statue.

“This is the Goddess Sinta,” a female officer said, approaching her.

“Is she standing on fire?”

“Yes. She was captured by the villain Rahwana. Her husband saved her, but doubted her purity. To prove that she never betrayed her husband, Goddess Sinta walked on fire. If she came unscathed, it means she’s pure. If she’s burned, it means she betrayed her husband.”

“What happened then?”

“She came unscathed by the fire. She’s loyal to her husband.”

A few seconds later, Sungjae stood beside her.

“You look interested with the statue.”

“Do you know her story?”

“They told me.”

“She’s the one captured, but why was she the one who had to walk on fire to prove her loyalty? I would’ve asked my husband to be the one who walk on fire to prove his loyalty.”

“Of course you would. You’re Park Sooyoung. Besides, if you have a husband and he’s not loyal to you, he deserves to die in fire.”

“Do you think so?” she asked, turning to him.

“I believe so” Sungjae answered.

Their eyes locked.

And she probably saw too much things she didn’t want to see in his eyes, and those questions returned:

What are we doing? Why is he like this?

She was the first one to walk away, down to the front of the lobby, and entered the waiting car that would drive her to Uluwatu.

Uluwatu was a high hill with a temple up atop a cliff, and a forest housing hundreds of monkeys. It was a famous tourist spot in Bali, and also a sacred place for the local citizen.

First, they hiked the hill to see the monkeys. They were used to tourists and ran around them. Sungjae liked the place, and wanted her to see it as well.

One moment, he was talking to her holding his sunglasses, moving it this way and that, and a monkey jumped to snatch it.

After the shock, he screamed at the monkey, “Yah, I like that sunglasses!”

The monkey handler quickly chased the monkey and returned the glasses back to Sungjae. All along, Sooyoung couldn’t stop laughing.

Afterwards, they sat down in the open theatre to watch the performance of Kecak dance. A traditional Hindu-Balinese musical-theatrical dance performed by a group of men.

It’s an energetic and exciting performance, the energy of their dance seemed to reverberate around the hill.

The last thing they did was climbing the temple atop the cliff.

Sooyoung couldn’t believe how beautiful the sea looked from up there. The waves were big, and the sea looked greyish blue. The sky seemed to continue down into the sea.

The waves of the sea felt like her own troubles and worries. It’s such a beautiful, natural space.

She felt like the sea and the sky came together and hugged her.

Before long, she realized she was crying.

It’s been a hard, difficult five years. It was never easy to be a third generation CEO. She had pressures from all sides, all her moves were watched and sometimes there were times when she thought she’d die out of exhaustion.

But she had been strong. She had been strong and faced everything in the eyes. She had managed to defeat all her obstacles, all her family’s pressures, all the backstabbings in the business world, and made Park’s name remained as one the of best in the country.

And then her own fiancé betrayed her.

She’s so tired.....

As she stood there under the blue sky, seeing the blue sea, in the sacred Balinese temple that was said to answer any prayers, she prayed there would be a way to stop feeling mentally so tired.

At that precise moment, Sungjae suddenly came behind her, his arms circling her waist, holding her tight.

She wasn’t sure why, but her tears dropped more.

She didn’t know why she’s there with this man she had learnt to hate all her life, but his presence was reassuring, and she felt like she wouldn’t be swallowed whole by her own fears if only he wouldn’t stop holding her tight.

Under the blue sky, above the blue sea, between the blowing wind, when she was crying and realizing she wished she could have some time to not be CEO Park, just to rest, just to be herself, Sungjae was holding her, whispering, “Don’t cry, everything will be alright.”

*************************************************

It rained really hard in the evening, so they couldn’t have their picnic dinner at the garden. They ordered some meals and asked it to be delivered to their suite.

Sungjae decided they should have a picnic right there on the carpet, and Sooyoung agreed.

Once dinner was done, he suggested they played Truth or Dare.

She agreed, because she’s afraid of nothing, least of all a Yook Sungjae.

Although his questions were unexpected. She thought he’d make her confess all the embarrassing things she already did, but it wasn’t like that.

“If you were not CEO Park, what would you be?”

“I’d be a historian" she answered decisively, "I love history. My books at home were all about it. If I could take a long break, I’d take a degree in history. Then travel the world just to see all the great museums out there.”

“Park Sooyoung, a historian. That’s something really different from your image.”

“Do you love your fiancé, Kim Sohyun?”

“Never.”

She laughed at that. “Ah, should’ve given you a more difficult question.”

“Your loss. Did you ever love your Kim Taehyung?”

“I had a point where I liked him. It’s just easier to like him then fight my family. But then he cheated on me so, it’s game over. Have you ever loved a woman seriously, Yook Sungjae?”

“Yes, I have.”

The way he looked at her made all her alarm bells ringing.

“Aren’t you going to ask who?”

“I rather not know.”

“Has there ever been a time when you hate your family?”

Sooyoung chuckled bitterly, “Every Sunday noon, when the whole family gather for lunch. I can’t keep avoiding it by going abroad for business reasons. Everyone from my grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles would be there. And there would always be an aunt who would like to talk about the bad gossips related to me. My parents and grandparents always take the bait and reprimand me. It’s weekly torture. No matter what I do, I’m never enough for them. How about you?”

“Everytime you win something against me since highschool. My father would always beat me up.”

“.......I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“It’s not your fault. Tell me something you can’t do.”

“Something I can’t do? Should I take a dare for that?”

“Aniya. Just answer. What’s something the almighty Park Sooyoung can’t do?”

She thought for a while, before answering, “Depending on a guy. Letting a guy solve all my problems. I don’t know how some girls do that. To just sit there and be pretty and let men rule your world. I don’t know how. And I’ll never want to, I guess.”

“Maybe you’ll stop feeling tired if you know how to depend on a guy.”

“What if the guy ends up ruining everything?”

“What if there’s a guy who won’t ruin everything for you?”

“Can you give me your company, Sungjae-ssi?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“Your next answer.”

“Oh?”

“Can you be mine, Park Sooyoung?”

“.........I choose a dare to that question.”

He pulled her wrist and caught her for a kiss.

She kissed him back, and they ended up having passionate right there on the carpet.

Sooyoung told herself his eagerness was just physical, of which she answered with her own need for his body.

There’s something in the way he touched her that night that made her surrendered, lying there for him to do as he pleased.

His callings of “Sooyoung-ah” were frequent, and she might have held on to him a bit desperately.

*******************************************************

Author’s Note:

Hi, everyone!

Ayodya Resort really exists, and I went there for my holiday last week. Heaven might look like that.

I hope you like the update.

Tell me what you think about it!

*****************************************************

Author's Note Part 2: 

Just some info about my accounts: 

My Livejournal (mostly Yongseo stories): https://lady-lia257.livejournal.com/

My AFF for Yongseo stories: https://www.asianfanfics.com/profile/view_author_stories/68974/L

My AFF for mixed otps stories: https://www.asianfanfics.com/profile/view_author_stories/1237812/L

My Wattpad: Sungjoy and Dyshen: https://www.wattpad.com/user/ladylia257

My twitter: @ladylia257