Min Young was in front of her laptop screen that night…she was raking her head on thinking what to write.

“! How am I supposed to write about something that don’t understand?” Min Young said as she stood and went to the window of her room overlooking Seoul. She was about to give up when she returned to her laptop and saw a message.

“Hi, it’s me Ga In…just wanna tell you that I’ll be coming home to South Korea. It’s been lonely here in UK. Hope to see you again. Love lots!” it was a message from Ga In a fellow journalist who was her classmate in Seoul National University years ago.

“Well…well…well…thank you, Ga In, you just save my day”, Min Young typed and sent to Ga In as she began to write in her laptop…her quest would finally start…

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Year 2005…

Han Ga In was wearing a simple pencil cut skirt which she paired with a white blouse and flat shoes. Her long straight hair was ponytailed and light make up enhanced her simple but captivating face. She was waiting for someone…she was waiting for Kim Soo-Hyun’s mother…

“Heavens! Heavens!”, Ga In said as she grabbed the spoon she used to mix her coffee and used it as a mirror to look at her reflection.

A few minutes more…the person she was waiting already arrived…

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Kim, I’m Han Ga In”, Ga In bowed politely.

“Sit down, Ms. Han”, Mrs. Kim said in a formal and iced tone…

“I’m your son’s g---“ Ga In was not able to finish what she was saying because Mrs. Kim used her most acerbic tone on her.

“I know who you are. You are Han Ga In, my only son’s girlfriend. You’re a woman as poor as a church mouse. You’re practically a beggar and a dirt beneath the heels of my shoes!” Mrs. Kim haughtily said.

“Mrs. Kim, why are you saying these things to me?” Ga In asked in a controlled voice as she felt her ears turning red both in embarrassment and anger.

“I’ll be frank with you, Ms. Han, I don’t like you at all. I don’t like you one bit. You’re poor and you’re just using my son to be able to have a stint in any broadcasting network”, Mrs. Kim said as she looked at Ga In as though looking at the lowliest creature on Earth.

“Mrs. Kim, I love Soo-Hyun and I am not using him for his influence. I love him and he loves me”, Ga In defended herself as tears started to fall from her eyes.

“Aw, c’mon! I know what kind you are? You are the kind who will trade her body in order to reach the top…you can’t fool me”, Mrs. Kim insultingly said.

“Mrs. Kim, I’m not that kind of person and I won’t sit here anymore so that you could insult me with your poisonous tongue”, Ga In said as she stood and prepared to leave.

“Really? Your father is sick and he needed money to pay for his hospitalization and as far as I know you don’t have any”, Mrs. Kim said which made Ga In stopped from leaving.

“What do you want from me?” Ga In asked as she looked at Mrs. Kim who was still seated while stirring her coffee.

“Leave my son and I’ll help you with your father’s hospital bills as well as his medicines. Leave my son alone”, Mrs. Kim offered as she looked up to stare straight to Ga In.

“How dare you! How dare you use my father’s condition to destroy my relationship with your son!’ Ga In angrily said in a low voice as tears continued to fall from her eyes.

“You need the money and I’ll give it to you…just leave Soo-Hyun alone. Give me a call if you changed your mind”, Mrs. Kim said as she left a calling card on the table before she stood and looked at Ga In from head to foot before she smirked and left the café.

“…cold-blooded !” Ga In muttered as she took the card and inserted it in her purse. She wanted to bring it home and burned it.

She left the restaurant and walked towards the bus stop when her cellphone rang…it was Soo-Hyun.

“Hello”, Ga In answered the call.

“Hi, love, how’s your meeting with my mother?” Soo-Hyun asked happily in his gentle baritone.

Ga In closed her eyes…she wanted to tell Soo-Hyun that his mother was a complete but she would not want Soo-Hyun to quarrel with his mother. Soo-Hyun had been an only son and working so hard to gain appreciation from his high and mighty parents.

“Ga In, have you fallen asleep on me?” Soo-Hyun jokingly asked and Ga In could picture how handsome he was at that moment.

“She’s a fine and gracious lady. She’s very kind to me”, Ga In said pretending to be happy.

“Love, are you okay? Your voice is broken…did you just cry?” Soo-Hyun asked worriedly.

“No…I might just be coming down with flu”, Ga In denied…

“I’ll visit you tonight”, Soo-Hyun said.

“I don’t think it might be a good idea since I’m coming down with flu. You just visit me when I’m already feeling fine”, Ga In said.

“Okay, just call me when you’re better. I love you, Ga In, I love you so much”, Soo-Hyun emotionally said.

“I love you; too, Soo-Hyun. I love you so much”, Ga In said as she cut the call and entered the bus that stopped in front of her. She walked at the aisle to the back. On her way home, she was crying silently for the embarrassment she endured at the hands of Mrs. Kim and for the love she felt for Soo-Hyun.

“Hi, can I stay here for a while?” Ga In entered the small bookshop owned by her cousin, Jung So Min.

“Sure. Have a seat. How’s your meeting with Soo-Hyun’s mother?” So Min asked while she was listing the second hand books at the counter.

“She insulted me and made me look like trash”, Ga In replied as she sighed.

“! Did you just cry, Ga In?” So Min asked as she looked at her.

“She wanted me to leave Soo-Hyun and in exchange she’ll help me with my father’s hospital bills and medicine”, Ga In replied before she put her face on her palms as tears again threatened to fall.

“How dare that !” So Min exclaimed angrily.

“So Min, what should I do?” Ga In asked feeling defeated.

“You should have slapped her face and tell Soo-Hyun about it”, So Min replied angrily.

“I wanted to but I don’t want to come between Soo-Hyun and his parents…his mother”, Ga In replied.

“I’ll tell Soo-Hyun if you can’t tell him”, So Min said.

“Please, So Min, just don’t tell Soo-Hyun everything”, Ga In said.

Before So Min could say anything, Ga In’s cellphone rang…

“Hello”, Ga In nervously asked as she saw that it was the number of the hospital where her father was confined.

“Hello, Ms. Han, this is Dr. Lee…your father’s heart condition seems to be getting serious. He needs to undergo bypass operation within this week or else he’ll die”, Dr. Lee said.

“Within this week? Bypass operation?” Ga In asked as she turned pale.

“Yes, when you visit your father this afternoon; I would like to speak with you personally”, Dr. Lee said.

“Thank you, Dr. Lee. I’ll be there this afternoon”, Ga In said as the call was cut.

“What happened to uncle, Ga In?” So Min asked worriedly.

Ga In told So Min what the doctor told her…

“Why is this happening to me, So Min? Why?” Ga In said as tears fell from her eyes and she felt So Min embraced her tightly.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For three days that week, Ga In looked for money…she tried to borrow from people in their neighborhood but no one lent her enough for her father’s operation. So Min even contributed her savings but still it was not enough…

“How can I have enough to help you, dad”, Ga In said as she looked at her sleeping father when someone knocked on the door.

“Enter”, Ga In said as she was surprised when Mrs. Kim entered.

“Soo-Hyun can’t come because he is busy at the publication company…he is so busy this past three days…” Mrs. Kim said as she looked at the room and her sleeping father.

“What brings you here, Mrs. Kim?” Ga In muttered.

“My offer still stands. Think of your poor father, Ms. Han. My demand is simple leave my son and you can save your father. Your so called love for my son or your father? The choice is yours”, Mrs. Kim said.

“Leave us alone, Mrs. Kim”, Ga In said as she closed her fist on her side.

“Just call me when you changed your mind”, Mrs. Kim said as she left.

Ga In felt so weak as she sat on the stool near her father’s bed. She raked her fingers on her hair in desperation. She was looking at her father…who was already weakened and turned bony by his heart ailment.

“Ga In, what happened?” So Min asked worriedly when she arrived.

“Mrs. Kim came a while ago and she wanted me to choose between my father and Soo-Hyun”, Ga In replied.

“Ga In, what are you going to do now?” So Min asked.

“I don’t know…I don’t know…” Ga In said.

“We’ll still look for money and rake our resources”, So Min encouragingly said.

“For how long can my father wait…he needed to have the operation by the end of this week”, Ga In said hopelessly.

“Please, don’t lose hope, Ga In”, So Min said as she embraced Ga In and comforted her.

It was Saturday and still Ga In could not rake enough money to pay for her father’s operation.

“Ms. Han, we need to do the operation tomorrow or your father’s just going to be worst”, Dr. Lee said.

“I’ll find a way, Dr. Lee”, Ga In said as she stood, bowed and left the doctor’s office.

She went outside and dialed a number…

“Have you changed your mind?” Mrs. Kim asked frankly.

“Yes…please meet me at the café where we met before”, Ga In said as tears fell from her eyes.

“A wise decision, Ms. Han”, Mrs. Kim said.

Ga In did not say anything she just cut the call and sat on the bench along the hallway of the hospital as she cried bitterly for the decision she made….

Hi everyone! This is the first story in the anthology featuring the OTP of Han Ga In and Kim Soo-Hyun...