Round Fifty-Two

 

Tiffany thought she had heard him wrong the first time. Then it struck her that Taeng had just put the words ‘you’, ‘want to’ and ‘marry me’ in the same sentence. She experienced a moment of déjà vu. Where had she heard this line before? Then it came back to her. It was Siwon who had asked her this question a long time ago. She had been very happy to hear that question when Siwon asked it then. But where was the joy now?

 

Perhaps, it was the rather awkward setup. She was lying on the bed, with her legs spread. She had just attained an all-time high from the administrations of a fully dressed man who had his head between her legs. And now, his eyes were looking into hers most hopefully. On top of that, the buzz of euphoria had not yet faded and her body was only just recovering from all the convulsions it had been reduced to less than a minute ago.

 

Perhaps it was the suddenness of it all. She certainly had not seen it coming right after she ‘came’. Surely no man has ever popped the question right after doing such a thing? However, one had to expect the unexpected with Taeng in the picture. He had an uncanny knack for doing things very differently from others.

 

Perhaps it was her current stage of her working life. She was only just beginning to strike out on her own. There was little stability in what she was doing and she was fully aware of the challenges ahead of her. She would have to give it her all, if she wanted to have a shot at making it work.

 

Perhaps it was everything rolled into one that led to her saying, “You were very good Taeng, but I don’t want to marry you.”

 

It had come out wrong. She knew it the instant her words left . She saw the destruction it caused in the receiver of the answer and her heart wrenched. His hopeful eyes glistened with tears almost immediately and his lips trembled. His cute features contorted in an attempt to keep from crying. And her heart shattered when he said most numbly, “It’s okay, Fany ah. I know that I’m not good enough.”

 

He stood up with slight difficulty (his tent was still evident) and smiled wanly at her. And before she could react to what was happening, he had already left the room. She blinked several times before she truly comprehended what had just transpired.

 

“Oh no!” cried Tiffany and she leapt off the bed in a hurry. She dashed out of the bedroom only to see him leaving the apartment. “TAENG! WAIT!” she yelled at the top of her lungs but he was gone. She breathed heavily as she waited a few seconds to see if he could come back but he did not. She was close to dashing out of the apartment to chase after Taeng but she caught herself just in time. She was stark . Not exactly dressed suitably for outdoors. Cursing the unfortunate delay, she grabbed her bra and top from the floor of the living room and put them on quickly. She then dashed into the bedroom to retrieve the rest of her clothes before leaving the apartment looking significantly shabbier than when she first arrived.

 

~~~~~
 

Taeng could not think. All he knew was that he did not want Tiffany to see him cry. His tendency to burst into tears was probably one of the reasons why she did not want to marry him. One of the many reasons. His chest tightened unbearably as he closed the door of the apartment behind him. He heard a muffled sound coming from the apartment but decided not to turn back. For some reason, he did not want Tiffany’s sympathy. He did not want to be a man whom she took pity on. He did not want to be a man whom she felt sorry towards. He simply wanted to be a man she wanted to marry. But it seemed to be a greedy want for someone like him. Had he asked for too much?

 

He stepped out onto the street and looked left and right. Left or right? Left? There’s the pet shop… No. Enough of that. I won’t do the same thing this time. Right it is. So Taeng turned right and ran down the street as his tears began to blind him.

 

~~~~~
 

Tiffany stepped out onto the street and looked left and right, scanning the crowd, looking desperately for the man whose heart she had just completely broken. He was nowhere to be found. Left or right? Left. He might have gone to the pet shop to sooth his saddened soul. So Tiffany turned left and sprinted down the street to look for him.

 

~~~~~

 

Taeng ran and ran and ran until he collided with a relatively soft body.

 

“OOF!” went Taeng while the soft body went, “OWW!”

 

They fell onto the ground in a heap and paper rained down from above all around them. And that’s when the person he had run into shrieked, “MY PAPERS!”

 

He sat on the ground in a daze while the woman started picking the papers up in a hurry. The woman turned to him and barked, “HELP ME TO PICK THEM UP! QUICKLY!”

 

“O-Okay.” He felt a little intimidated by the woman but got to his feet and helped her nonetheless.

 

“Come with me, hurry!” ordered the woman.

 

He followed her despite not knowing where they were going. They entered a building and got into an elevator.

 

“You need to help me to sort out of the papers and put them in order again. Got it?”

 

Taeng looked at the woman and nodded. She smiled suddenly and caught him by surprise for she was astoundingly beautiful when she smiled. Gone was the cold and unapproachable look that intimidated him just moments ago. They arrived at the assigned floor and he followed her into a room that looked very much like the radio station he worked at with Kangin.

 

“Quick! My show is starting soon and I need the scripts to be in order.”

 

Taeng looked at the stack of papers in his hand and snapped into action. He laid them out and began to put them in numerical order. He was so focused that he did not notice their heads coming closer and closer to each other and they ended up knocking their heads into each other when they both reached for the same sheet of paper.

 

“OWW!” the both of them groaned and rubbed their heads.

 

Their eyes happened to meet just then and they burst into laughter at the ridiculous situation that they were in.

 

“What’s going on here?” a deep voice intruded upon their moment.

 

The woman explained, “I ran into him around the corner and my script got messed up. He’s helping me to put them back in order now.”

 

“I see. Let me help.”

 

And the three of them got down to sorting out the papers. With the additional help, the job was done in a jiffy and the woman smiled again.

 

“I’m sorry, I never did introduce myself. I’m Gyuri. What’s your name?”

 

“I’m Taengoo but you can call me Taeng.”

 

“Taengoo? Taeng? TAENG?” Gyuri’s eyes were wide open in wonder. “OH MY GAWD! You’re Taeng DJ!”

 

Taeng was taken aback by her big reaction but he smiled and nodded politely. “Yes, I am Taeng DJ.”

 

Gyuri yelped excitedly and threw her arms around him happily. “I love you! I’ve been listening to you while I drive home. Too bad you only have a weekly segment. I’ve been hoping that they would give you more air time so that I can listen to you more. Oh my gawd, I can’t believe I didn’t recognise your voice! Now that I know who you are, you sound exactly like the voice on the radio! You have no idea how excited I am to meet you in person!”

 

Taeng froze. He was shocked by the warmth and tightness of her hug. It was not right. He belonged to Tiffany, even if she did not want to marry him. This was wrong even though it felt good. He pulled her arms away from him and stepped back from her.

 

“I’m sorry, I have a girlfriend and I shouldn’t be hugging other girls like that.”

 

Gyuri looked a little crestfallen to have her hug rejected. “You sure do love your girlfriend a lot. I’m so jealous of her. It was your love confession that caught my attention during your radio show and I really wish that I have a boyfriend like you. Well, I guess I have to respect you for being so loyal to your girlfriend. That’s what made me love your show in the first place. But if she ever dumps you… think of me… okay?”

 

Dump me? Will Tiffany ever dump me? She might, since she doesn’t want to marry me. She might dump me when she finds someone she wants to marry.

 

“I’m sorry, did I say anything wrong? Why do you look so sad?” Gyuri’s concerned voice warmed his heart and in a moment of utter despair, Taeng hugged Gyuri and cried on her shoulder. “Now, now… what’s wrong? Please don’t cry…” Gyuri’s caring voice did nothing to stop his tears.

 

“Gyuri, you’ve got ten minutes till you’re on air.”

 

Taeng came to his senses and stepped away quickly. “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. But thank you for lending me your shoulder to cry on. I-I should go now.”

 

“Wait! I… I really want to be your friend. Can I be your friend? Can I visit you at your radio station? I welcome you to mine anytime!” Gyuri’s eyes were earnest and hopeful and Taeng could not help smiling as he wiped his tears.

 

“We can be friends and you can come to my show if you want.”

 

“Really?” Gyuri hopped up and down excitedly.

 

“Really.”

 

“Oh my, that’s great!” Gyuri almost hugged Taeng again but she stopped just as she was about to. “Ah, right… no hugging. But how about a friendship hug?”

 

Taeng blinked. “What’s a friendship hug?”

 

Gyuri grinned and stepped forward. “Like this.” She hugged him lightly and patted his back twice before releasing him.

 

Taeng thought about it for a while. It did not seem so bad. It felt very encouraging and he liked it. “I suppose the friendship hug is fine.”

 

Gyuri laughed and clapped her hands joyfully. “What’s your number then? I’ll give you a call before I visit your show.”

 

Taeng gave her his number and she giggled like a schoolgirl who had her crush give her his number.

 

“Say, would you like to stay for my show?”

 

Taeng thought for a moment. He did not want to go back so soon and he did not have anywhere else to go. Perhaps he could learn a thing or two about deejaying from Gyuri too. “Okay! I will stay and learn from you.”

 

Gyuri laughed. “You’re a very good DJ yourself. I should be the one learning from you.”

 

“Gyuri, one minute.”

 

“Oh!” Gyuri looked at the clock in the room and back at Taeng. “Sit tight, alright? I’ve got a show to do now.”

 

Taeng nodded and smiled.

 

~~~~~

 

Tiffany could not find Taeng. She had a sinking feeling that quickly intensified into a horrible premonition. Please let Taeng be safe. Please let me find Taeng. Please… She headed back to his apartment only to realize that she could not open the door as it locked automatically when she left. It was just as well, or it would have been left unlocked when she dashed out without thinking of locking it. She pressed the doorbell several times and called for Taeng but all was silent in the apartment as far as she could tell. So she sank to the floor and leaned against the door. She would wait for him to return and make things right again.

 

~~~~~
 

Yoong brought Sunny out after work. They had a late dinner, a glass of wine each and it was a very pleasant night for the both of them. He had sensed that there was something bothering her for the past few days. Things had not been right ever since the night she did not answer his call. Although Hyoyeon had explained it, he had his reservations about the truth. Was Sunny having some kind of problem? He did not want to force it out of her, so he decided to treat her to a really nice night instead. He hoped that he would be able to make her feel better, at the very least.

 

She seemed to be fine all through dinner and he enjoyed talking to her about inconsequential things. He avoided talking about work and Hyoyeon. After the wine was finished, he sent her home.

 

He stood at her door, feeling reluctant to leave. “Can I…?”

 

Sunny looked at him for a moment before nodding. “Come in.”

 

Yoong stepped into her apartment and wrapped his arms around her waist as she closed the door. He sensed her tensing up and wondered why. She was usually very soft and pliant when he hugged her. Wanting to ease her tension, he took her bag from her and put it on the floor. Then he turned her around and looked into her eyes. He was surprised to see the uneasiness in them.

 

“You’re so tense, bunny. Let me help you ease up.”

 

He pushed her towards her bedroom and made her lie on her bed.

 

“You’re the luckiest girl in the world and do you know why?”

 

Sunny blinked at him and shook her head silently.

 

Yoong ed her blouse and took it off, noting how she became tenser and tenser as he did it.

 

“I’m a darn good kisser, that’s why.”

 

And he lowered his lips to claim hers only to find that she had turned her head away and he had ended up kissing her pillow instead.

 

“Bunny?”

 

Sunny looked as though she could not breathe and Yoong was alarmed. He sat up beside her and helped her up.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Sunny shook her head and grabbed her blouse from the floor. She held it against her chest and breathed deeply. By now, Yoong was quite beside himself with worry but he forced himself to stay calm.

 

“Bunny, please tell me what’s wrong.”

 

Yoong felt helpless as he could only hold her trembling hand to comfort her. She had backed up against the headboard, distancing herself from him.

 

“Bunny… you’re scaring me…”

 

“I-I’m s-sorry.”

 

“What for?”

 

“I-I can’t do it tonight.”

 

“Why not?”

 

Yoong felt like shaking her when she remained silent. However, all he could do was to put her blouse back on and button it up for her. He noticed that she was considerably calmer once her blouse was buttoned up. What was that about?

 

“Never mind. We won’t do it tonight. I think you should take a shower and get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

Yoong kissed her forehead and her hair before he got off the bed and let himself out. He headed back to his car and started the engine. However, he did not drive away. Instead, he sat still and thought about Sunny for a long time. She was not behaving normally at all. He had to speak to Hyoyeon about that night.

 

~~~~~
 

He punched in the number that Hyun had given him and made the call.

 

“Hello?”

 

“It’s Yoong.”

 

“Oh. Er… hi… why are you calling me?”

 

“It’s about Sunny. That night—”

 

“I can’t say anything.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I promised Sunny not to say anything. Why don’t you talk to Tiffany instead?”

 

“What has Tiffany got to do with this?” Yoong was perplexed.

 

“Call her and ask her. Bye.” Hyoyeon hung up on him immediately.

 

Yoong stared at his phone, wondering what Hyoyeon was talking about and decided that he had better call Tiffany immediately. Unfortunately, her phone was unanswered. He was getting frustrated with unanswered phones. It was never a good sign. Sighing did nothing to alleviate his worries so he decided that a hot shower once he got home would be necessary before attempting to call Tiffany again.

 

~~~~~
 

Mr. Jung was certain that he had aged considerably. He must have aged a lot more than he had realized and lost some of his hearing in the process. How else could he explain why he had just heard his beloved daughter asking him for a business loan? A business loan? He laughed. He laughed so hard that his shoulders shook violently. He slammed the table top and palmed his chest and laughed. He laughed to the point where his sides had begun to hurt. And he still could not stop laughing.

 

“I’m sorry Sooyeon ah, what did you say again? I thought I heard you asking for a business loan. What is it that you want to buy again?” Mr. Jung wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes and breathed deeply to calm himself down.

 

Jessica wore a distinct scowl on her face. She crossed her arms, leaned back in the study’s luxurious leather chair and scowled.

 

“Why is it so hard to believe that I need a business loan? I need some money to join Tif’s company.”

 

Mr. Jung blinked and gaped in disbelief. “You are really asking me for a business loan? You? Sooyeon ah, you are not kidding with me?”

 

“I’m not kidding. I’m perfectly serious. I need a business loan.”

 

“Please explain this. I find it hard to believe.”

 

“Tsk. It’s not my idea. It’s Yul’s. His wish is for me to find work and earn my keep. And he had already fulfilled three of my wishes so it’s only fair for me to fulfill his.”

 

“Yul fulfilled three of your wishes? What were they?” Mr. Jung was amused by the dealings that transpired between his daughter and future son-in-law.

 

“My wishes?” Jessica grew red in the face and blinked furiously. “I… don’t think…”

 

“Oh, never mind that,” Mr. Jung said quickly. All signs were pointing towards some kind of hanky-panky transpiring between the two youngsters and he did not want to know about it. He did not want to have those kinds of images in his mind. It was not a reality that he wanted to face even though he knew that his daughter probably had some prior experience in the past.

 

It was a painful process, watching your daughter growing up, maturing into a woman and giving herself to another man. He had had to curb his urges to chop off the paws of her previous boyfriends who could not keep their hands off her. But now, it was time to let go. If Yul could get Jessica to work, then Yul was the man worthy of her love. His daughter had finally found a man who would take care of her for the rest of her life. Now all he had to do was to pretend that they did not engage in naughty activities. That was, at least until they got married.

 

“How much money are we talking?” Mr. Jung cleared his throat and changed the topic as quickly as he could.

 

Jessica’s look of relief was evident as she said, “A couple hundred grand.”

 

Mr. Jung smiled and nodded. “Consider it done. I will set up an account and transfer two hundred grand into it. You will have to put money into that account every month to pay it back. I will let you decide on how much you want to pay back each month.”

 

“Sounds good.”

 

“Of course it does. You’re my daughter. I would never do such a thing for anybody else.” Mr. Jung chuckled and shook his head at her naivety in such matters. “I really hope that you will learn a lot from this experience, Sooyeon ah.”

 

Jessica sighed dramatically and stood up. “There go my carefree days of shopping and enjoying myself. Stupid Yul. It’s all because of the wishes.”

 

“I’m sure that Yul used his wish not for himself but for you. Getting you to work is not for his pleasure but for your benefit.”

 

“Benefit me? More like to torture me.” Jessica pouted. “But a promise is a promise. Especially when it is sealed with a kiss.”

 

“ALRIGHT! NO MORE DETAILS! GET OUT! I WANT TO WORK NOW! GET OUT!” yelled Mr. Jung all of a sudden, making Jessica jump in her skin.

 

She frowned and pouted but left the study, nonetheless.

 

~~~~~

 

Tiffany woke up the next morning not knowing where she was. It took her a while before she realized that she was lying in a bed that was not hers. She sat up straight, blinking furiously, heart thumping madly and looked wildly at her surroundings. Then she calmed down as she recognized the room as Taeng’s. She patted her chest gently, soothing her nerves. That had been quite a fright. The funny thing was, she could not remember how she ended up sleeping on his bed. The last thing she remembered doing was sitting outside his apartment, leaning against his door. She reckoned she must have dozed off while waiting for Taeng’s return. She caught a whiff of something delicious cooking and stepped out of the bedroom to investigate. Taeng was cooking.

 

Tiffany admired Taeng’s back view, thinking about how good he looked with the ribbon of an apron fasted around his waist. It suited him, somehow. But she had something to rectify and it would not do to put it off.

 

“Good morning, Taetae.”

 

Taeng turned around and smiled at her. Her chest protested violently at the sight of his forlorn look. How he managed to look so forlorn while smiling, she would never know. But her heartstrings were pulled in all directions, left, right and center. It hurt to see him hurt. She stood behind him and put her arms around his waist. She pressed her lips onto his shoulder and squeezed his waist with her arms.

 

“Taetae… we need to talk.”

 

Taeng put down his spatula and turned around in her arms. He smiled forlornly again, sending her chest into a tightening frenzy and shook his head.

 

“Don’t feel sorry for telling me the truth, Fany ah. I know that it’s a bit too much to ask when I don’t have wealth, status and power to take care of you with. All I know is how to cook for you and… and to make you feel good. But it’s okay if you don’t want to marry me. I will still love you the same.”

 

Tiffany was about to go mad from the whirl of emotions that were overwhelming her mind. She had never heard a more heart-breaking confession of unconditional love and selflessness. Only Taeng could make her feel this way. Only Taeng. And yet, he had no idea how much importance he had in her heart? How could he have so little faith in himself? How could he believe that she did not want to marry him? Then she felt angry. What kind of woman did he take her for? Did he think that she was simply using him? Did he think that she was the kind of woman who would dump a man just because he did not have wealth, status and power?

 

“You’re an idiot, Taeng. Really. How can you think of yourself like this? How can you think of me like this? Am I such a horrible woman? Am I the sort of woman who would use you and then dump you callously when I meet someone with wealth, status and power? How can you put so little faith in both you and me? AND HOW CAN YOU GIVE UP SO EASILY AND JUST RUN AWAY? CAN’T YOU AT LEAST FIGHT FOR ME A LITTLE BIT MORE? WHY DO YOU CHOOSE TO SMILE SO SADLY AND BREAK MY HEART WITH YOUR SAD SMILE?!”

 

Tiffany got more and more worked up as she talked and ended up yelling at Taeng. She did not know why she yelled but she knew that Taeng had disappointed her this time. She wished that he had done more than to leave the apartment upon hearing her rejection. She wished that he had at least tried to find out why she said what she said instead of jumping to horrible conclusions. How she wished…

 

Tiffany sighed deeply. She knew that Taeng did not have much of an aggressive bone in his body. He was sweet, cute and very endearing but his softness really got to her sometimes. Did she still love him though? The answer was a resounding yes and she knew it. But Taeng surprised her with a lengthy speech just as she was about to speak again.

 

“I didn’t want you to see me crying. That’s why I left. I wasn’t running away. Then I bumped into a girl and I had to help her with her papers. It turned out that she is a deejay too and she invited me to stay and watch her show, so I did. After watching her show, I came back and found you sleeping outside my apartment. Do you know how dangerous it is to fall asleep like that? What if someone had come along and robbed you or something? But luckily, you were safe and sound so I carried you in and put you on the bed. Then I sat on the couch and thought about things for a long time. It’s true that I may not have the money or status or power but I’m willing to work hard to get them somehow. I do not think that you are a woman after all these things but you are a practical woman and such things do matter to you. And if it matters to you, then it will matter to me also. You said that you don’t want to get married so soon. I can wait. You said that making you feel good is an important aspect to consider. I can make you feel good. I want to marry you, Fany ah, and I will do everything I can to become a man whom you want to marry.”

 

He paused for breath and smiled. It was a cheerier smile than before.

 

“And I’m sorry for breaking your heart with my sad smile. I didn’t realize that I was smiling so sadly. I will try to smile more happily for you.”

 

And for the first time in her entire life, Tiffany was at a loss for words.

 

~~~~~