Round Thirty-Five

 

“Date my daughter, or else.”

 

“Or else?” Taeng squeaked.

 

Mr. Lee frowned. “Perhaps I am not being clear enough.” He smoothed his jacket and smiled in a business-like manner. “You will gain many benefits if you date my daughter but you’ll be sorry if you don’t.”

 

“Benefits?” Taeng squeaked.

 

Mr. Lee smiled wider. “Yes, benefits. I will reward you handsomely if you date Jieun and make her happy.  I am rich enough to give you anything you want.”

 

“Anything?” Taeng squeaked.

 

“Yes, anything. If it’s money you want, just say the word. Money is no object so long as Jieun is happy.”

 

“Jieun?” Taeng squeaked.

 

“Yes, Jieun. Lee Jieun. I am her father. She likes you a lot. That girl of mine worships you like you are her hero. But she came home with a terrible temper yesterday because Ms. Hwang was very rude to her. Ms. Hwang is not wise to do that. But I hope you are wiser than Ms. Hwang.”

 

“Ms. Hwang?” Taeng squeaked.

 

Mr. Lee frowned. “What’s wrong with you? Why do you keep repeating what I say?”

 

Taeng could only blink. His mind had just been thrown into turmoil and confusion. What is he talking about?

 

“Lee seonsaengnim, I cannot date your daughter.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I am in love with Ms. Hwang.”

 

Mr. Lee scoffed. “Young man, you have disappointed me. You are not wiser than Ms. Hwang. You will regret your decision.” As he made to stand up, Taeng panicked.

 

“Wait! What do you mean? Why will I regret?”

 

Mr. Lee’s eyes bored through Taeng’s as he spoke.

 

“You don’t know the ways of this world yet. It is simple. I have all the money and power to influence people to do things. If you don’t want to date my daughter, you will be sorry. Ms. Hwang is already in danger of losing her job. I am going to get another PR firm to do our promotions. She will have a lot of explaining to do to her bosses.”

 

At that moment, an evil idea seemed to have struck him for his eyes gleamed with cruel intent. “You say that you love Ms. Hwang. If you love her, you should protect her from harm, shouldn’t you?”

 

Taeng nodded vigorously in agreement. “Yes, of course.”

 

Mr. Lee then smirked in the most disturbing of ways.

 

“Then it’s up to you whether Ms. Hwang loses her job or not. If your company fires her, I can guarantee that no other PR firm of any decent stature will want to hire her. She will lose everything she has. Perhaps she can find a PR job with a small, tiny firm that doesn’t mind hiring someone who has been fired from the top PR firm in the country, if she’s lucky.”

 

Taeng gasped in horror. Tiffany will lose her job?! NOOO!!! “No… Tiffany cannot lose her job… It will kill her…”

 

Mr. Lee swopped in for the kill upon spotting Taeng’s weakness.

 

“If you date my daughter, I will not pull out. I will continue working with your company and I’ll even send in praises to your company about Ms. Hwang’s excellent working capabilities. I will use your company for all of our promotions exclusively. This will be a huge deal. Possibly the biggest deal that Ms. Hwang has ever clinched.”

 

Taeng’s eyes grew wide in confusion. The terms and conditions that Mr. Lee was laying down for him threw his state of mind and emotions into an epic war between what was right and what was wrong. It appeared to him that he was on the losing end both ways. What could he do?

 

Mr. Lee knew that he had success in the palm of his hands. “Young man, I’m sure you know which decision to make. Finding somebody else to love is surely easier than losing everything that you have been working for all your life.”

 

He placed his name card on the coffee table. “I will give you a day to decide. By this time tomorrow, I want to know your decision. I hope you don’t disappoint me again.”

 

~~~~~

 

Taeng dug his fingers into his hair in despair. Why was this happening to Tiffany and him? He couldn’t understand. Why did this have to happen just when he finally got to hear her say the three words to him? Were they not meant to be together?

 

He squeezed his eyes as he fought against the demoralizing thoughts that overwhelmed his tortured mind. “NO!!!” he cried out in angst.

 

Tears formed rapidly and began raining down on his carpet. His heart was wrenched and twisted. His mind was under siege by the things that Mr. Lee had said to him.

 

Mr. Lee was a bully. Just like the others.

 

His eyes hardened as memories of him being bullied returned in one huge wave.

 

~~~~~

 

He had always been a very nice boy—simple, earnest and kind. Unfortunately, it was always people like him who are targeted by the mean and evil characters.

 

In pre-school, other children would grab and snatch his belongings from him.

 

~

Little Taeng drew a picture of his family. It was a simple picture with his parents, brother and sister. He was the middle child and a little neglected. His parents’ attention would usually be on their eldest or youngest child. But he was alright with that. He was comfortable in his little world as the middle child.

 

He opened his box of crayons and his cute little tongue stuck out a little as he tried to decide on a shade of blue to use to colour the sky with. His pictures always had a clear blue sky. He always felt a wonderful sense of happiness whenever he looked at clear blue skies.

 

Suddenly, there were no crayons to choose from. His box of crayons had been snatched out from right under his eyes. He looked up to see two sniggering boys who were grinning most devilishly at him (yes, five year-olds can grin devilishly. I’ve seen it for myself.)

 

“Can I have my crayons back?” Taeng asked politely. His parents taught him to be polite at all times.

 

“Yes, you can!” The two evil boys chorused as they flung the box of crayons as far away as they could. His crayons flew out of the box and landed on the ground, rolling in ten different directions, scattered all across the ground.

 

“Hey! Don’t do that!” Taeng shouted angrily as he got up from his seat to pick his crayons up.

 

The two boys merely sniggered at him and called him names.

 

“SHORTY PANTS! SNOW WHITE! You’re the shortest dwarf! HAHAHA!”

 

Tears brimmed in his eyes as he scurried around to pick his crayons up. He ignored their name calling. His parents had taught him not to react to such behavior.

 

“My dear little Taengoo, children who do that are very rude but you are my son, so you will be polite, understand?”

 

“I understand, Daddy!” Little Taeng beamed at his father and wiped his tears away bravely.

 

So Little Taeng picked his crayons up and put them back in the box neatly. He wiped his tears away bravely and returned to finish colouring his picture.

~

 

In elementary school, things got worse.

 

~

“Hey shorty! Come here!”

 

Taeng was scared but he knew that he couldn’t outrun the twelve year-olds.

 

“Hand over your lunch money.”

 

Taeng’s eyes watered. This group of boys had been taking his lunch money from him ever since they set their eyes on him. It was as though there was some kind of invisible sign hung around him that said ‘Please bully me’. He was the target of mean name calling and things like extortion in school.

 

The tallest boy clucked impatiently and threatened Taeng. “Do you want us to pull your pants down again?”

 

Taeng shook his head desperately.

 

“Your money! NOW!”

 

Taeng’s lips trembled as he handed his lunch money over to them for the upteempth time. He was this close to crying his eyes out as the boys marched out of the washroom, sniggering at him.

~

 

In middle school, things continued to be bad for him and it only escalated in high school.

 

~

Taeng curled up in a fetal position as legs and fists rained on his frail body. He was being punished by a band of bullies for reporting them to a teacher.

 

“Wimp!”

 

“Shorty!”

 

“LOSER!”

 

They rained insults on him as they assaulted him with kicks and punches.

 

“Try reporting us again, little boy.”

 

“You, little punk, got us into detention and I missed watching my favourite team’s soccer match. You’re going to pay for that!”

 

Taeng whimpered. This was his worst beating yet.

 

“STOP IT!” A bold voice commanded the boys with authority.

 

The boys were not deterred.

 

“Ah, our goody-two-shoes student leader president is here,” a boy scoffed.

 

“Make us stop, if you can,” another boy sneered.

 

The boys exchanged looks and turned to the student leader president instead. “You’re going to regret this.” They laughed cruelly but the student leader was surprisingly calm. He merely stood his ground and glared at them unwaveringly. It unnerved them a little so they decided to give it to him.

 

The boys launched themselves at the student leader president with flying fists and legs but he dodged them easily. They attempted to hit him again but he dodged them time and again with apparent ease.

 

He looked at them harshly. “Go away and leave that guy alone if you don’t want trouble with the school authorities.”

 

They looked at each other uneasily before deciding to scram. And scram they did, with haste.

 

“Are you alright?” The boy bent down to look at Taeng.

 

Taeng whimpered. He suffered multiple bruises and a cut lip.

 

“Come with me. I’ll bring you to the school nurse. What’s your name?”

 

“T-Taeng.” Taeng winced as his cut lip hurt as he tried to speak.

 

“I’m Yul. Don’t worry. I’ll help you.”

 

Taeng nodded gratefully and followed Yul to the school nurse.

~

 

Taeng remembered what Yul had told him at that time.

 

“Stand by what you are.”

 

Those were the five simple words that helped him become who he was today. All that was left of his childhood horrors was the occasional nightmare that would haunt him. Indeed, memories of being bullied and beaten up were difficult to erase from one’s subconscious.

 

Now, as he faced what was possibly the worst bully he’d ever met, he decided that he wasn’t going to let Mr. Lee push him around like that. But he couldn’t let Tiffany bear the brunt of his decision. He couldn’t let Tiffany lose the job that she worked so far for. He had to protect Tiffany, yet defend himself at the same time. What was he to do?

 

~~~~~

 

“Peas, give me strength.” He hugged his peas tightly, and picked up his phone. He had decided that he needed help. He couldn’t tell Tiffany about this. There was no telling what she might end up doing which could jeopardize her own future. It was at times like these that he was extra thankful for having a friend like Yul.

 

~~~~~

 

Yul groaned. His head was splitting. It felt as though it had been hammered all night. He turned to look at the source of the irritating sound that had woken him up and was shocked to find Mr. Jung’s face right next to his.

 

HOLY COW!!!

 

His eyes grew twice their regular size as he realized that Young had wrapped his disturbingly long legs around him and was sound asleep. This was wrong. This was so wrong.

 

Just then, Young groaned and roused from his sleep—no doubt woken up by the shrill ringing tone coming from Yul’s phone. He opened his eyes sleepily but it took him about three seconds to register where he was and the awkward position he was in. His face was right in Mr. Jung’s crotch and his legs were wrapped around Yul’s waist, hugging him like a bolster.

 

“ARGH!!!” Young let out a manly shriek of horror and moved away from Mr. Jung and Yul as quickly as he could, groaning in the process as his head felt as though it had been shaken violently all night.

 

Yul was simply glad that Young’s legs were no longer hugging him. It was the most awkward feeling ever. If Jessica got to see this, she’d be in stitches all day. He dug into his pocket hurriedly to fish his phone out.

 

He groaned when he saw the name of the caller flashing on the screen. “Taeng, what is it?”

 

“Yul, I really need help this time.”

 

Yul groaned and sat up on the bed. He wasn’t feeling up to listening to another one of Taeng’s problems but something in Taeng’s voice told him that he had to listen to this one.

 

“Yul, can I meet you somewhere? I really need to talk to you.”

 

“Okay. Text me the details. I’ll need an hour to wash up and get ready.”

 

“Thanks Yul.”

 

“No worries, Taeng.”

 

~~~~~

 

Yul felt a lot better after popping a couple of pills. He retrieved his car from where he had left it the night before and drove to meet Taeng.

 

Taeng was already waiting for him with a steaming cup of coffee.

 

“Hey.” Yul looked at Taeng intently, ready to listen.

 

He listened as Taeng told him all about Mr. Lee and his daughter. He grinned when Taeng described the night that Jieun had come knocking on his door.

 

“So… did you and Tiffany…?”

 

Taeng nodded shyly and blushed as Yul whooped loudly. He high-fived Taeng, feeling really proud of his friend for having come this far from his high school days.

 

“I’m proud of you, Taeng.”

 

Taeng beamed at him for a moment but it faded just as quickly when he thought about what Mr. Lee had said to him. “But Mr. Lee is a big problem, Yul.”

 

Yul nodded. “I agree.” He sighed. “You, my friend, have a difficult love life. But I like how you’re thinking. You’re not that boy I first met in high school anymore.” He grinned widely at his friend who wore a sheepish grin.

 

“So what’s your plan Taeng?”

 

“Tiffany once told me that our big boss is friends with Jessica’s father.”

 

Yul’s eyes lit up at the revelation of what Taeng’s plan appeared to be. “Oh, I get it. You need Sica’s father’s help to protect Tiffany?”

 

Taeng nodded uncertainly. “But I’m not sure if her father would do that. I mean… Tiffany isn’t anybody to him.”

 

Yul’s eyes danced with glee as he laughed. “Taeng, have you forgotten that Tiffany is Sica’s best friend? Are you kidding? Sica will not let this happen to Tiffany. Rest assured my friend. I’ll talk to Sica about this when she gets back from her little getaway.”

 

Taeng brightened up at the thought. “You’re right!” He looked thoroughly relieved. “I feel so much better now!” Then his face fell. “When does Jessica come back?”

 

“Tomorrow.”

 

“Oh no… I have to tell Mr. Lee my answer today or he’ll harm Tiffany.”

 

“Stall for time then. I’ll call Sica but she would need time to persuade her father and Mr. Jung needs time to talk to your big boss. We need time.”

 

“That means I have to agree to date Jieun?!” Taeng looked horrified.

 

“Why don’t you tell Tiffany about it? She’d understand.”

 

“No, she wouldn’t!” Taeng looked doubly horrified. “She’s not going to allow me to date Jieun. If she could shut the door in Jieun’s face like that, there’s no telling what she’s going to do if she finds out about Mr. Lee’s threat. She might just quit her job! She’s too headstrong.”

 

“Hmm… I see what you mean. Right… but keeping things from Tiffany might cause problems. Remember what happened to me and my proposal?” Yul cautioned.

 

“I’ll have to take that chance, Yul. I want to protect Tiffany and her job. I’ll just try to explain everything to her after the problem is solved. And I have you to back me up!”

 

Yul sighed. Taeng was in for the long haul. He watched Taeng as he made a call to Mr. Lee.

 

“Good afternoon Lee seonsaengnim. I have decided. I will date your daughter.”

 

Yul watched as Taeng’s face went from pale to paler.

 

“Y-You want me to breakup with Tiffany today?!”

 

Taeng looked at Yul desperately for help but Yul was at his wits’ end. They needed to stall for time but this was turning out to be bad news for them.

 

He watched as Taeng’s face fell to the pits.

 

“Yes, I will do it Lee seonsaengnim.” Taeng hung up. “YUL!!! WHAT DO WE DO NOW?!”

 

“Let me call Sica first.” Yul sighed heavily. He made a call to Jessica but she did not answer.

 

“Yul…” Taeng looked more desperate than he ever had in his life.

 

“Tell Tiffany or you will have to breakup with her.”

 

“No, no, no… Tiffany isn’t going to like this at all! What if she quits out of pride and stubbornness? Or worse still, what if she confronts Mr. Lee and he gets her fired?”

 

“Well, do you think she’s going to like breaking up with you?”

 

Taeng bit his lip. “It’s only temporary. If she knows the truth, nobody is going to be able to stop her from being angry. And I don’t know what she might end up doing if she’s angry.”

 

“It’s your choice Taeng. All I can do now is try to call Sica. The rest is up to you.”

 

Taeng groaned and dug his fingers in his hair for the upteempth time. Why were all these things happening to him?!

 

~~~~~
 

Tiffany opened the door and smiled widely when she saw that it was Taeng.

 

“Taeng! Miss me already?” She giggled and hugged him as he stepped into her home. “Are you here for round two?” She winked at him cheekily, sending his heart into a frenzy.

 

Taeng groaned. How was he going to breakup with her at this rate? No. I have to do this. Stay focused. “Fany ah, I have something to say to you.”

 

“What is it?” Tiffany sensed that something was up and her chirpiness faltered.

 

“I’m here to breakup with you.”

 

Tiffany gaped in disbelief. Then she laughed. “Taeng, you at lying but you almost had me there.” She nudged him playfully. “I think you’re here for the opposite reason.”

 

Taeng shook his head in all seriousness and held Tiffany by her shoulders. “Fany, I’m not joking. I’m being very serious. I’m breaking up with you right now.”

 

“What is this?” Tiffany couldn’t believe her ears. “What are you doing? We just made love last night. I finally got a chance to tell you that I love you. Why are you saying this now?”

 

Taeng teared despite knowing that he didn’t really mean to do this. He teared because Tiffany’s eyes were up to the limit in tears. He took a deep breath. “Fany, I’ve decided to leave. I’m going back to my hometown.”

 

“I don’t believe you.” Tiffany gasped. “Why are you breaking up with me over this?”

 

“Fany ah, I’m not coming back.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I’m taking over my family’s optical shop. My parents are getting older now. I have to be filial to them.”

 

“I can’t believe this. This is too sudden.” Tiffany slumped onto her couch as her legs lost their strength to stand. “Even then, we don’t have to breakup, do we? We can have a long distance relationship. It’s not like we’re in different countries or anything like that.”

 

Taeng shook his head gently. “I’m not coming back, Fany ah. And I don’t think you want to come to Jeonju with me. You have your entire career ahead of you here.”

 

Tiffany looked at Taeng mutely. She was simply too shocked to think. Taeng is leaving? Jeonju? Not coming back?

 

Despite knowing the truth behind his ‘breakup’, Taeng couldn’t help feeling a little pinch of sadness in his heart. This was reality. Tiffany did cherish her job and career more than him. His decision to protect her job was definitely a good one. Tiffany was more important than his life. This little heartache he could take.

 

“So, what? That’s it? After we make love and say our ‘I love you’s you simply pack up and leave me forever?”

 

Taeng’s tears rolled down his cheeks when he saw Tiffany’s tears wetting hers. He handed her his resignation letter. “I’m sorry, I can’t be your PA anymore.”

 

He gave her a hug that she didn’t return and stood up. “Bye Fany ah. I will always love you.”

 

He left her apartment hurriedly and shut the door behind him before he could change his mind. This was for the best. After deliberating with Yul for the longest time, they had decided that it would be best for him to escape to Jeonju for the time being while Yul tried to get hold of Jessica. Once Jessica’s father secured Tiffany’s job, Taeng would be able to return to Seoul without having to date Jieun at all.

 

~~~~~
 

Tiffany was shocked beyond words. Although her mind was frozen stiff, her fingers, however, seemed to have a mind of their own as they tapped on Jessica’s name on her phone.

 

~~~~~
 

Jessica was enjoying a scrumptious lunch with her mother and sister in their villa after an enjoyable morning of chatting on the beach when her phone buzzed. It better not be that scumbag calling to ruin my mood. It was Tiffany.

 

“Tif! How are you? I’ve missed you!”

 

“Jessi…” Tiffany’s voice was quivering and Jessica was instantly alarmed.

 

“Tif? What’s wrong? Are you crying?” She excused herself from the dining table as her mother and sister looked at her in concern. “Tif, talk to me.”

 

“J-Jessi… Taeng broke up with me…” And with that, Tiffany cried her heart out over the phone.

 

“OH MY GAWD! Why?!”

 

“He’s going back to Jeonju for good.”

 

“WHAT?!”

 

“He’s not coming back.” Tiffany wailed.

 

“Tif… can’t you two keep a long distance relationship?”

 

“He insisted on breaking up. He said that I wouldn’t want to leave my job and go to Jeonju with him. Jeonju is so far away… Jessi… my heart… this is worse than breaking up with Siwon, Jessi…I love Taeng…”

 

Jessica was most alarmed to hear Tiffany crying so brokenly over the phone. This certainly sounded worse than all the times she had cried over Siwon. It would appear that Tiffany was well and truly in love with Taeng. This wasn’t good. She had to get back quickly to comfort Tiffany.

 

As she assured Tiffany that everything would be alright, she began cursing Taeng for making Tiffany cry like that. That was the cause of Tiffany’s heartache. All these men… they’re all scumbags. Just like Yul. Her blood boiled at the thought of Yul.

 

Before her mind even registered what she was doing, her fingers had tapped Yul’s number. The call was answered in a jiffy.

 

“SICA! You have no idea how gla—“

 

“SCUMBAG! YOU AND YOUR FRIEND ARE BOTH SCUMBAGS. TIFFANY IS CRYING SO HARD BECAUSE OF YOUR OF A FRIEND. YOU ARE SO DEAD WHEN I GET BACK, YUL. SO DEAD!!!”

 

Jessica ranted into her phone and hung up before returning to the dining table feeling a little bit better.

 

“Mum, Krys, I’m sorry but could we cut this short? Tif is heart broken right now and I need to get back to be with her.”

 

Krystal was first on her feet. “Of course, unnie is a good friend, right?”

 

Mrs. Jung smiled at the two of them. “We’ll come back here soon—together.”

 

“Yes!” chorused the two girls.

 

~~~~~

 

Yul stared at his phone in shock. What was that about?

 

~~~~~