Round Sixty-Nine

“Unnie? What’s wrong?”

Krystal was puzzled to see her sister turning pale at the sight of Yul. It was anything but normal for her sister to have such a reaction. Hugs, kisses, hand-holding, puppy eyes, love sick expressions and a general dazed look were to be expected but not this. Not a frozen stiff unnie. And…what was this? A frowning Yul? Where were his gentle charms for her sister? He was always the perfect gentleman around her; taking great care of her in every way he could. Why was he frowning?

Krystal shuddered inadvertently. Something was very wrong here.

“Uh…n-nothing. I’ll just…I’ll just go up to my room now.” Jessica cast nervous eyes at Yul.

“Okay, unnie.” Krystal was convinced that something was extremely wrong between her sister and Yul. Her sister never stuttered.

~~~~~

Yul was right behind her. She could feel his presence. It was like having a huge dark cloud following her, threatening to pelt liquid pellets at her any moment now. He followed her into her soundproof room and the sound of the door closing made her jump.

She put her new bag on her bed and turned around to face the music. Could it even be considered music? It definitely wouldn’t count as music. It was more like an eerie ambient sound that was haunting her. Eye contact with him had never been this nerve wrecking. This. Was. Not. Good.

“Yul…”

“Return that bag.”

She gasped. Although his voice was low and even, it was incredibly threatening and intimidating. Was this how he spoke to criminals? Too shocked to react, she simply stood rooted to the ground, frozen over like a block of ice.

“Did you hear me?”

“I heard you…” she said in her smallest voice. “Yul…”

“Don’t talk to me until the bag is returned. I’ll talk to you after you return it and get your money back.”

Tears welled up in her eyes and she sniffed. However, his eyes only hardened as he turned around and left her room as quietly as he had entered. He looked at her one more time as he closed the door but she wished she hadn’t made the eye contact. If she had any hope that he wasn’t as angry as she thought, it was dashed when she saw the look in his eyes. That’s when she collapsed onto her bed and allowed her tears to roll down her cheeks.

~~~~~

Yul was utterly disappointed and that led to immense anger arising. Yet, the tears in her eyes had gotten to him. He stood outside her bedroom door as he tried to calm himself down. He had a dinner to sit through and it wouldn’t do to be raving mad at the dinner table.

“Yul, can you get Sooyeon to come down? Dinner’s ready.”

“Sure, omonim.” Yul nodded at Mama Jung who smiled and disappeared into the dining hall.

A huge sigh did nothing to sooth his ruffled feathers but he turned around and opened the door to call her anyway. He had opened his mouth and was about to speak when he saw her looking at her new bag with the most heart-wrenching, sorrowful eyes he had ever seen.

“I’m sorry…”

His heart softened. It appeared that she was remorseful. However, any feelings of being slightly appeased were instantly wiped out when she continued.

“I love you but Yul doesn’t. I’m very sorry… I sincerely hope that you will find a nice new home after I return you.”

Was…Was Jessica talking to her bag?!

“Oh my dear Kelly, I’m going to miss you so much…”

He could only stare as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

“…but I don’t want Yul to be angry with me…”

He clenched his jaw and closed the door quietly. He had no idea that a person could be that attached to an inanimate object. Then again, there was Taeng. That was one man who was infinitely attached to his peas. Did Taeng name his peas too? Surely Jessica hadn’t named all of her bags?! What about her shoes?! Oh gosh.

He closed his eyes and straightened his thoughts. No. He couldn’t be swayed by a few tears and sad eyes. The crux of the problem was not this. It was her broken promise that was the catalyst of his dark, swirling anger that had been suppressed for now. Breathe in, breathe out. He was ready. He was ready for the dinner. He knocked on her door and gave her a moment to react before opening the door.

“Dinner’s ready. I’ll see you downstairs,” he said curtly before closing the door again.

~~~~~

Krystal was waiting outside for Young. She wanted to assure him before he stepped into her home—the lion’s den. Her eyes lit up at when his car came through the wrought iron gates that guarded her home and she couldn’t help but smile fondly at the man who was in the driver’s seat.

He had once told her that he preferred driving his own car than to be chauffeured although his parents had offered him the services of one. Apparently, he enjoyed the control he had over his car. He had so little control over the other areas of his life that driving a car became one of the few moments when he actually had the feeling of being his own person.

After hearing him say that, she had given him a big hug. A totally platonic hug, at that time, that served only to ease the strong sense of pity she felt for him. It seemed to her that he was not as happy as everyone made him out to be and it made her very sad.

He stepped out of his car and gave her a bashful smile. “Krys, I missed you so much.”

Krystal blushed. She wasn’t used to this sort of sweet, sugary talk.

“…and I would love to hug you right now but I think your father is watching.”

“He already saw us kissing, so I don’t think hugging is going to be a problem.”

Young looked more constipated than he ever had. “Y-Your dad…saw…he…us…oh my gawd…”

“Young, my dad isn’t objecting to us. You can relax a little.”

“Relax? How am I supposed to relax? I’ve never met any of my girlfriends’ parents before. I sure am jumping into the deep end right from the start, aren’t I?”

“My father isn’t as scary as you think he is. He’s just protective of me, that’s all.”

“Fathers would kill for their daughters.”

“My father isn’t going to kill you.”

“He wouldn’t have to. He could just hire an assassin.”

“Young, you’ve watched one too many movies. My father will not kill you. He is not going to hire assassins to do the dirty work either. You are not going to die. You got it?”

Krystal held one of his hands and patted his back to calm his nerves. At this rate, he was going to pass out in the middle of dinner. His nervousness seemed to be twice as bad as he had been when he first confessed to her. Yet, in a rather twisted way, she was actually pleased to see how nervous he was. This was Young, the player, who never had to lift a finger to get a girl, who was ever so smooth with his pick-up lines, sweating buckets over meeting her father. He definitely cared about her. He wanted to impress, or at least, please her father and knowing that warmed her heart considerably.

“I…I don’t want to die…I’m too young to die…”

“Young…”

“Krys…”

Krystal tiptoed and planted a brief but tender kiss on his cheek and smiled fondly at him.

“You’re going to be fine.”

~~~~~

Papa Jung was certain that he had sinned one too many times and this was some sort of wacky retribution. How else could he explain the oddity that was his family dinner? An overly giggly wife, a sniffing elder daughter who looked like she had been crying, a stoic younger daughter who was eating quietly, a future son-in-law who was a foreboding shade of black and a nervous wreck of a young man who was barely eating his dinner at all. Just what kind of a dinner was this?

“Sooyeon ah, what’s wrong? Were you crying?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Daddy.”

“Are you sure? Why does Yul look so tensed then? Did the two of you get into a fight?”

“We didn’t, abonim,” interjected Yul.

“Is that so…? Why do you look as though you’re about to blow your top then?”

“I’m sorry, abonim. I am thinking about something serious. Perhaps that is why I look angry.”

“I see, and what about you, Young?”

“Yes, Mr. Jung?”

“Are the dishes not to your liking?”

“No, sir! They are delicious, sir!”

“Why are you not eating then?”

“I…I…I was just about to begin, sir!”

Young stuffed his mouth full at once and nearly choked.

“Young, there’s no need to eat in a hurry.” He sighed inwardly at the sight of Young nodding vigorously with his mouth full of chicken. Just what kind of a man had his little daughter chosen for herself?

~~~~~

Dinner came to an end and Young tensed up even more. The end of dinner meant the beginning of the talk that Mr. Jung wanted with him. He gnawed on his cheeks as he waited for the ball to drop. And it did.

“Young, come to the study with me for a moment, will you?”

“Er, certainly, Mr. Jung.”

The elderly man nodded and began walking towards the study. Young could only flash a desperate look at Krystal before hurrying after him. The sight of her smiling encouragingly at him helped to calm him a little but his heart was still on the verge of exploding as the door of the study closed behind him.

“Take a seat, Young.”

Young his dry lips unconsciously and sat on the luxurious leather chair as Mr. Jung settled into his on the other side of the table. He sat still. Nervous. Waiting. Silently.

“I was told that the two of you were kissing in your car after your date last night. Is that true?”

Young’s heart would have jumped out in fear and scampered out of the room if it could. However, it was trapped in his chest where it pounded away rapidly, pumping blood that rushed into his ears, creating a loud roar in them.

“It…It’s…true…” Young was all ready to die at the drop of a hat. Mr. Jung was going to kill him now. He was dead sure of that.

“How did you feel about it?”

Young’s eyes opened wide. As wide as saucers. WHAT?! “How…How…do I feel…?”

“Was it just another kiss to you?”

“NO!” Young clamped his hand over his mouth upon yelling his answer in Mr. Jung’s face. Opps. That wasn’t good, was it? “No…it wasn’t just another kiss to me…”

“So your celebratory cheer further down the road had nothing to do with you scoring with my daughter?” Okay. If Mr. Jung wasn’t going to kill him, he was going to kill himself. “I…I…was…” His mouth ran dry and he had trouble finding the words to explain himself. “I love her.” He couldn’t think of anything else.

“You love her.”

“Yes, I do.” He hoped his earnest eyes were convincing enough to convince Mr. Jung.

“What do you understand by love. Love is merely a transient thing. What will you do when the heat of the moment cools? What will you do when the passion dies?”

“My feelings for her will never cool! My passion will never die!”

Mr. Jung merely laughed. “Young man. I know how you play with girls. You’re looking at a player. Or rather, an ex-player. I know what it’s like. I was all for it. I would still be all for it if it weren’t for my daughters…and my wife…I’ve learnt a few things in the past few years…but you. You, I don’t trust.”

“What can I do to prove myself? I will do everything I can.”

“Time will tell. I will tell you what I told Soojung. I’m not objecting to her seeing you only because I know that she is sensible enough to know what’s good for her. But be prepared to face the consequences if you even as much as look at another girl. Do you know what I mean?”

Young gulped. Hard. “Ye…Yes…I un…understand…”

“Now…do you want to back out of the relationship? I will not stop you from walking away if you think that you’re being unfairly treated.”

“NO! No…I’m not backing out. I…I’ll do anything to be with her.”

“Your father has spoken to me about his intentions. He wants you to be engaged. Have you told Soojung about it?”

“I told her about it five nights ago.”

“And what was her answer?”

“She said no.”

Mr. Jung smiled. “That’s my girl.” Then his smile vanished. “I told your father in no uncertain terms that my daughter isn’t about to agree to any sort of engagement any time soon. Your father has expressed his understanding in this matter. He seems to think that Soojung is an ideal wife for you and is willing to wait. You will not push or force my daughter into any kind of agreement or engagement that she is not comfortable with. Is that clear?”

“Ye…Yes…”

“Good. We are done. You may go.”

“Yes, Mr. Jung. Thank you Mr. Jung.”

~~~~~

“Yul…”

“I’m not talking to you until the bag is returned, Jessica.”

Jessica flinched at the sound of her full name being called. Yul never used her full name unless he wasn’t happy with her. What she would give to have him call her baby again. “I will return the bag…” She couldn’t help pouting as she said it. She did love the bag so.

“It’s not just about the bag, Jessica.”

“I know…” Her voice, small. The burning sensation of tears welling up, the tightening of her chest…she didn’t like these feelings. She didn’t like them one bit. But why? Why did he have the power to make her feel sorry? She had never known what being sorry was like until she met him.

“You hurt me, Jessica.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I thought our deal meant something.”

“It does!”

“Is it that difficult to keep your promise, Jessica?”

She lowered her head and nodded.

“Why is it difficult?”

“I really like that bag…”

She could hear his heavy sigh. For some reason, it sank her heart.

“I’m disappointed, Jessica. Very disappointed. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Yul…” Jessica held his hand and tugged on it. She didn’t want him to go.

“I might just blow up really angrily at you and I don’t want to do that. I’ll go back and think about what you said and we’ll talk tomorrow.”

Her heart sank even lower as she stared at the taillights of his departing car. She didn’t know why, but she felt worse because Yul didn’t even scold her.

~~~~~