Chapter Two

I remember when I was seven, two years after my mother’s funeral, my father became so busy with his work, his golf matches, and his business trips. He never looked at me since the funeral and whenever he was home, he would lock himself in his room and I would never see him until his next business trip. The maids would ignore me, only when my father was around but when he was gone they would apologize and take of me. One day I lean towards my father’s bedroom door when he was home and listen as he was talking to one of the butlers; talking about me and why he couldn’t look at me because I look like my mom. I ask the butler why my father didn’t like my mother, I mean she died and no one weep for her at her funeral. The butler didn’t tell me until my father was asleep, see I only knew my mother died from a car accident...but I didn’t know that there was another man in the car.

-

“Beeeee!!!”

I turned around and I saw him, the mysterious stranger whose name I just found out yesterday, the so called Kim Jae Joong waved towards me as he jogged towards the small theatre, where we met yesterday.

“Didn’t I tell you to stop calling me Bee,” I said.

Jae Joong just smiled and rub the top of my hat, that I was wearing.

“Omo you’re wearing a skirt today, you look nice,” he said as I felt my cheeks turn slightly pink.
“Come on!” he said as he grabbed my hand.
“Wait!” I said I shook my hand away from his. “Where are we going?? For all I know, you might be kidnapping me.”
“And why would I do that?” he ask.

“Whose seventeen and whose twenty-seven...ahjusshi!” I said walking towards him and bop my head right in front of his face.
“Ahjusshi??!!! Yah!! I’m barely thirty years old!!” he said.

I crossed my arm and a sigh of victory. Jae Joong....AHJUSSHI.... just huffed as he shook his head.

“Well lets just go,” he said as tried to reach down and grab my hand when I fling my arm away from him.
“Go where, I need to know where I’m going,” I said as I crossed my arms.
Jae Joong ahjusshi placed his fingers to his lips, “It’s a surprise,” he said.

I glared at the ahjusshi as he just smiled and chuckled, “Alright,” he said as he stood up and raised his right hand halfway in the air, “I, Kim Jae Joong, promise that I am not kidnapping or planning a death to a high school student name, Kwon Boa...”

I kind of nodded my head feeling a little happy.

“...who I would prefer to call Bee!”
“Hey!!” I yelled.
“...as God as my witness if I break my promise please strike me with a thousand lightning bolt,” he said as put his right down while I sighed through my nose, “Happy?” he said holding out his hand.
“A little relaxed” I said I accepted his hand gesture.

“Come on before we miss the train?” he said holding my hand as we ran out of the park.

-

“Are you serious!? You took me here to eat...at a McDonald??!” I said as Jae Joong ahjusshi came by with a tray full of food for both me and him.
“I knew you didn’t eat,” he said as he sat down as if on cue my stomach started to grumble. He chuckled under his breath as he grab his burger, “Go on, eat.”

I looked down at my burger, and then back at ahujsshi, he smiled as I gave a shy smile back and ate my burger.

“How is it?” he ask.
I slowly swallowed my first bite before slightly nodding my head, “It’s okay,” I said as I took another bite covering my mouth.
“Okay? Or do you prefer something a lot...richer.”

I paused as I set my burger down.

“Richer?” I said as I raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah because you’re rich,” he said as he took another bite.
“Well, how would know I’m rich?” I said as lean my elbow on the table.
Jae Joong ahjusshi just shook his head, “anyone who is rich can never hide that they’re rich, I mean look watch you’re wearing. A nice top and a brand name bag; also a lot of people here looks relaxed as they’re eating their burgers expect you because you never had these types of food before you never need to eat them. Am I right?”

I blink a few times at a loss of word; but I clap my hands slowly, in a sarcastic manner as Jae Joong ahjusshi ate his fries.

“Bravo Mr. Kim, bravo,” I said as I took a sip of my drink.
“Well I do my best to impress a beautiful young girl,” he said.
Then I slowly lean back into my chair as the last words he said were echoing in my ear, “Did you just call me beautiful?” I ask.

He finally swallowed the last bite of his burger as he looked at me in a confused way.

“Yes,” he said wiping his hand on the napkin from the grease.
“Well...why?”
“Why...? Because you are,” he said.

I pause for a breath as I took a sip of my drink. Jae Joong ahjusshi realize my lack of words after as he finished off his drink.

“Didn’t anyone tell you, that you were beautiful?” he ask.


I slide my hand from the top of the table down to my lap as I avoided to look at him.

“...No,” I said.

I didn’t even look up as I didn’t what to see the reaction of his face because of my answer. Then I felt a hand touching my hand, and I looked up and saw Jae Joong ajusshi swatting down next to me as he gently and slowly rub my hand and gave me a warm smile, a warm smile I had never seen in my entire life.

“Well...at least there’s one instead of none.”

For the first time since I met this mysterious man, I smiled before him.

-


“What is this place?” I ask.

We were a few miles away from Seoul by train, and there was a small cabin in the mountain that apparently Jae Joong ajusshi likes to go.

“So do you live here?” I ask.
“Of course not, I live in an apartment building back in Seoul,” he said as he went to the kitchen area.
“Sorry I just thought...nevermind,” I said as I wander around his cabin.

The cabin was so small, it was probably half the size of her living room. There were no rooms, so everything was an open space, and there was no bathroom too. So this place was not a place to stay overnight, unless you want to go use the bathroom outside. However, there was a few sleeping bag, pillows, and blankets. There was also a fireplace and lot and lots of books.

I see that he likes to read a lot. Electricity doesn’t seem to run around here since I saw a gas lamp on one of the table side and I looked towards Jae Joong ahjussi direction on the kitchen area, where there was a small sink and a gas top oven. I quickly looked away when he walk towards my direction while carrying to mugs in his hand. I accepted the drink as I tip of sip of tea.

“Do you like it?” he ask.
I nodded with a shy grin, “It’s sweet.”
“I added honey in it,” he said as he too took a sip and place it towards the table. “Here,” he said as he gave me a key.
“What’s this?” I ask taking the key.
“A key, to here,” he said as he sat one of the old raggy couches.

“Why?” I ask.
“In case, you needed a quiet place to think,” he said as he grab his cup again to take a sip.
“Do you come here when you think?” I ask.
He nodded after he took a sip of his tea.

I slowly sat down next to him on the couch, then I took a sip of my tea as I looked around even more until I notice something. There was one corner of the room where a pile of books were stacked on something that doesn’t look like a table or a bookshelf. I got up and the books away and place them on the ground. Jae Joong ahjussi just got up wondering what I was doing. I took the books away and saw that unknown stand was a piano.

“Oh that, it doesn’t really work. the strings are broken and so are the keys,” he said.

I opened it up and and he was right, the keys were broken and some of them were even missing. Then I heard the rain outside the window as I looked out the window and sighed.

“Looks like we’re going to be here for a while.”
“Ahhh!” I screamed as I turned around to see Jae Joong ahjusshi behind me. He smiled as I tried to catch my breath, “Please don’t scare me like that,” I said as I took a sip of my tea and sat down.

Jae Joong ahjushhi turned around and looked at his watch.

“It’s getting pretty late now,” he said as sat now next to me.
“Yeah...” I said playing around with my cup.
“Aren’t your folks going to worry about you?” he ask.
“My dad doesn’t care. He won’t even look at me,” I said.
“And your mom?” he ask. I didn’t say a word as took my last gulp of tea, “Ah, I see,” he said as he understood the hint and took another sip of his tea.

“Are you happy?”
“Huh?” I ask looking up at him. He set his cup down as I did too, “Are you happy?” he ask.
“About what?”
“Just in general with your life. It seem like you get to do whatever you want,” he said.
“Yeah I guess so...” I said.

“So are you happy?” he ask again.
I paused and I kept thinking about his question, a rich girl who gets to do whatever she wants...


“No...” I said, “I’m not happy at all...or ever...”
“I see...” he said adjusting his seat. “Bee have you ever heard of W.N. Rieger?”
“No,” I replied.
“Me neither,” he said adjusting his seat again as that his whole body was towards me. “But I read a book and I found a quote from him in a book and it said: ‘Much unhappiness results from our inability to remember the nice things that happen to us.’”

“But what happens if...you never had everything nice happen to you...at all?”
“At all, you never had a happy memory?” he ask.
“No, just the same routine, everyday,” I said.
“Well what about now?”
“What?” I ask.

“What about now?”

How do I feel being on a shabby old cabin in the mountain with a man who I just met yesterday, rather than being at home curl up in bed while watching TV?

“Are you happy now??” he ask again.
“Strangely...yes,” I said as a shy smile escape my lips.
Jae Joong ahjusshi also smiled, “at least there’s one instead of none.”