Date 5: Reinventing Sushi

Ocean waves crashing against the shore beneath them...seagulls calling out as they searched for breakfast....the distinct feel of the salty sea...and the warmth of a lover's embrace.



Dara's eyes fluttered open to find Jiyong still asleep, the night's activities having taken their toll on his gorgeous body. She loved the feel of his arms around her, how safe and loved she felt wrapped up inside them. She watched as he breathed shallowly, his chest rising and falling to the soothing rhythm of his breaths. She blushed, remembering the passionate dance their bodies entangled in, the many times they lost themselves in the carnal bliss. The addiction she felt for his touch, his body, his pleasure was overwhelming. And as much as she loved feeding her insatiable ual appetite, she wondered if they were even capable of enjoying a touch between them without instantly combusting from the heat of their lust. She made a mental note to add an extra entry to the green bowl when they got home.



She snuggled against Jiyong's chest, listening to his heart. Its strong beat was hypnotic and soothing and comforting all at once. Inhaling deeply, she took in his musky yet sweet scent. It made her smile. She could stay like this forever, but she knew they had to get going. There were some last minute preparations she needed to make for a surprise of her own. She gently tried to lift his arm from her body, only to be pulled into a deeper embrace by a grumbling Jiyong.



“Where do you think you're going?” he mumbled groggily, nuzzling his lips against her neck.



Amazing how he could utter the same words Jason had once spoken on that fateful night yet elicit a completely different response. With Jason, there was dread and terror. With Jiyong, glee and peace. She giggled as she tried once more to wrestle free.



“Mm...Dara....five more minutes like this,” he whined, pulling her close again.



“Jagiya,” she cooed, “we need to get going. I have a little meeting for Etude that I just can't skip out on today.”



“I thought Dr. Choi cleared you from all business activity for three months,” he grumbled.



“He did, Jagi. But this just has to do with some documentation that is time sensitive regarding the transfer of the CEO title. It shouldn't take more than an hour or two,” she lied.



“What time do you need to be there?”



“Noon.”



“What time is it now?”



“7:30”



“We better get going, then.”



They stumbled out of bed and readied themselves to leave. Finishing off the midnight snacks and breakfast items, they loaded the car and were on the road in no time. They reached Seoul with an hour to spare till her supposed meeting.



At the apartment, Dara picked an index card from the green bowl as she changed into more appropriate meeting attire.



“Huh.”



“What did you pick, D?”



“Reinvent a memory,” she read.



“Did you write that?”



“No, but at my last session with Dr. Choi, I told him about our 90 dates. He requested to add a few suggestions. I guess this is one of them.”



“What does it mean, though?”



“Well, he mentioned something about taking the trauma out of the mind by replacing the negativity of the associated trigger with a more positive experience.”



“Interesting. I'm guessing he's referring to Jason?”



“More specifically, the night he put me in the hospital,” she shuddered. “Dr. Choi said that the hypnotic buffers on the emotional trauma can't stay in place forever. He wants me ready for when he removes them, I guess.”



“We don't have to do this one today, D. We can choose another one,” he said softly.



“No, I want to. I'll think it over after the meeting. Can you drop me off at the Etude office in Seoul and pick me up when I'm done?



“Of course, D. I'll be your personal driver today. I can even wait at the office if you'd like.”



“Don't be silly,” she said trying to hide her nervousness from the deception. “You need to eat. Why don't you meet up with Taeyang for lunch? Isn't his office right down the street from our office?”



“That's right. I'll call him while you finish getting ready.”





* * *



“Call you when I'm wrapping up.”



“Okay. Love you, D.”



“Love you too, Ji,” she waved as he drove off.



She hated this little white lie. But it wasn't really a lie, not completely anyway. She did have to sign some documents today. That would take all of ten minutes.She planned on using the rest of the time to do some unhindered last minute shopping. And now with this assignment from Dr. Choi, she needed to make some calls as well.



“Hello, Mr. Noh. Yes, everything is fine. I was actually hoping to enlist your services a day earlier for a last minute trip to Tokyo. No? It's all right. Well, then can you change the pickup location from Incheon to Haneda instead? Yes, still the same departure time. Wonderful. Please text me the details of where to meet you. See you tomorrow.”



She walked into the office building and was greeted warmly by everyone, the warmest greeting coming from the beautiful assistant that helped her father.



“Hi Jiyeon unnie!”



“Dara! I was so glad to hear you were found safe! We were all so worried about you.”



“I'm sorry, unnie. I should have kept in better contact with everyone.”



“You're safe. That's all that matters. You here for the signing?”



“Yes. We about ready?”



“I am. But you know your father. Go on in, everyone should be in shortly. I'll get you some coffee.”



“Oh unnie. I need a favor.”



“Name it.”



“Can you secure me two first class tickets to Tokyo for today?”



“First class? What about the jet?”



“It isn't available.”



“Okay, sure. Is this a round trip or one way ticket?”



“One way. And I'll need accommodations as well. Thanks.”



“Sure, Dara. I'll have them ready for you by the time you're done with the signing.”



The signing took closer to half an hour as opposed to the ten minutes she had envisioned. As she exited the conference room, Jiyeon had an envelope ready for her.



“Flight departs at 5:35pm. Is that sufficient time for you to pack and be ready?”



“Yes, it'll be just enough time.”



“You'll be staying at The Capitol hotel in the heart of downtown. I assumed that you're going for a night on the town. Hope that was ok.”



“Perfect, unnie. Thank you. Do you have a spare driver available to take me to the mall?”


“Sure thing, Dara. Go on down. I'll have him meet you in the lobby. He can take you to the airport as well if you'd like.”



“Perfect! Bye, unnie. We'll have to have lunch soon.”



Dara checked her watch as the driver pulled up to the mall entrance. She had one hour left.



“Stay in the valet dock. I'll make this quick.”



In a whirlwind of master shopping, Dara picked up two matching carryon suitcases, two cocktail dresses, a more demure bathing suit, and two casual suits for Jiyong.



She texted Jiyong as the driver took her back to the office.



“After you drop me off at the office, head on over to my apartment. Place the suitcases and bags on the sofa in the living room. Here's the key and address,” she handed him her spare key and a piece of paper with the address and apartment number on it. “Wait for me there. You'll be taking me and a companion to the airport.”



“See you soon, Miss Park,” the driver said, leaving her at the front of the Etude building.



Jiyong pulled up moments later.



“Did you enjoy your lunch, Jagi?”



“Yeah....Tae met a girl. Can you believe that? Finally!”



Distracted by the discussion on Taeyang's lack of dating experience, they quickly got back to the apartment. As they reached the door, Dara turned to Jiyong.



“About our date for today,” she started. “Would you be willing to do anything to help me reinvent a memory?”



Jiyong looked at her quizzically.



“Of course, Dara. Why would you think you had to even ask?”



“Because I want to reinvent the memory of sushi,” she said opening the door and stepping inside.



“Well that doesn't sound too hard. What the...” he stopped short, trying to make sense of the two suitcases and bags of clothes awaiting him in the living room.



“In Japan.”



“You want to have sushi...in Japan.”



“Yes,” she said softly.



She wondered if this was too much, but this last minute trip would help her gauge if Jiyong was really ready to be part of her world, a world she was dying to share with him. She looked deep into his eyes, praying that she wouldn't see apprehension, intimidation....or worse....detachment. She should have known better; Jiyong could never disappoint.



“Dara. If the moon was the only place we could reinvent your memory of sushi, I'd take you to the space shuttle and beg them to take us on board. When do we leave?” he said with a warm smile.



His eyes were soft and filled with that love....that wonderfully giving, always supporting, never disappointing love. Breathing a sigh of relief, Dara mirrored his smile.



“My driver is waiting for us downstairs. Our flight leaves at 5:35pm. We need to hurry. You should pack two days worth of clothes.”



He didn't ask any further questions. He simply went to the bedroom closet and started grabbing his clothes, toiletries, and passport. She smiled wider as she followed him and prepared her own things. They were packed in minutes, and easily made it to the airport in time for the check-in.



It was a new experience to be flying first class. Dara hadn't flown in a commercial flight since she was a little girl. Most flights with her family involved one of the many company jets. She stared in wonder at the tiny little movie screen found on each of the first class seats, which were spaced out as far as they could economically justify it in the tiny cabin space. The seats were comfortable, but she couldn't imagine how one was supposed to spend long stretches of time in them.  She was thankful Japan was only two hours away. But she didn't say a word; judging by Jiyong's equally fascinated expression, he wasn't used to flying first class either. The last thing she wanted was to appear above any of this. She grabbed his hand and let excitement fill her....however many times she had flown, private jet or otherwise, didn't matter. This would be her first time experiencing it with him... that fact alone sent her heart aflutter with anticipation. Jiyong looked at her and squeezed her hand gently.



They spent the entire flight huddled as close as their seats would allow them, watching bits of the inflight movie, talking more about their youth, nuzzling into the warmth of each others' bodies, and losing themselves in each others' eyes. In a blink of an eye, they were there.




At the hotel lobby, Jiyong stood in awe as Dara took the lead, exchanging pleasantries and giving instructions in fluent Japanese with the hotel staff. At one point, she looked over at him and gave a flustered shake of her head. He felt completely out of his element but watching her was like following a lighthouse to shore; she was his home, wherever their adventures took him. She gave the front desk the wardrobe bag containing their new clothes then motioned him towards her. He followed her to the elevators, where they quickly rose up to one of the executive suites.



“What were you talking about with the staff that made you blush?”



“Oh...umm....they thought you were my husband,” she blushed.



He couldn't help the proud smile that crept across his lips. One day, D.



“It doesn't bother you?”



“Truth? I kind of like it.” He wrapped his arms around her. “It means people recognize something. You're mine, baby.”



Amazing, he'd done it again without even meaning to. This morning and now again, uttering an exact phrase that Jason had spoken to her.....but the context made all the difference in the world. Jason made her want to escape him. Jiyong, speaking from the warmth of his beautiful heart, made her want to be his; mind, body, and soul until eternity. Without even trying, he was helping her reinvent the memories behind these words.



“I'm so lucky to have you, Jagi,” she said tearfully.



“What's the matter, D? Did I say something wrong?” Concerned was etched on his face.



“No, I just love being yours. I love that you want me to be yours.” She kissed him lovingly on the lips.



“And I'm yours, Dara.”



Suddenly, without warning, there was a loud rumbling sound.



“You hungry, D?” he chuckled.




Dara blushed deeply. “Ah haha.....guess that inflight snack didn't make much of a dent, eh? Let's get going. I want to take you to a sushi place that's to die for!”



“Sure.”



“Let's go, Jagi!”



They took a taxi to a place in Nishi-Azabu. The modern living room type atmosphere made the place inviting, and the distinct lack of cigarette smoke was a fresh change. They ordered sashimi to avoid the filling effect of the rice in the rolls and sushi pieces. The fish was so fresh, it felt like it melted in the mouth, with no telltale fishy aftertaste. Plate up plate of fresh salmon, belly tuna, yellow tail, albacore came to fill their stomachs to the breaking point. After two hours of gluttony, laughter, and wonderful conversation, they stumbled back into the taxi to head back to the hotel.



“That was amazing, Dara. Hands down, the best sushi I've ever had,” Jiyong grunted as he fell onto the bed of their suite, exhausted, full, and happy.



“Yeah,” she said, choosing her next words purposefully, “I didn't know I could eat so much. It was almost too much....all that sushi.”



“Are you kidding, D? I was surprised you didn't eat that poor man out of business tonight. Admit it, you were holding back, huh?”



She erupted into a fit of laughter, her attempt to remake another conversation from her past completely forgotten.



“I'm not that bad, Jiyong.”



“Ooh...my full name. I must be pissing you off!” he teased, holding out his hand for her.



She laughed again and took his hand. “You know you should never criticize the appetite or weight of a woman.”



“Not criticizing, D. Boastfully proclaiming that my hot goddess of a woman can out eat a man and still rock that body of hers,” he said, his voice full of admiration, as he pulled her down to him.



“But if you're really worried that you ate too much, we could work off some of those calories.” He wiggled his brows at her in a mischievously suggestive way.



“And what if I just want to be fat and cuddle the night away in your arms?”



"Dara, any way I can get you in these arms of mine, that's my heaven...right there.”



Her breath hitched, and tears formed in her eyes anew.



“Jiyong Kwon. You're the perfect man. Thank you, Jagi!” she said and hugged him tightly to her.



He held her, puzzled at her sudden emotion.



“We better get some sleep, Jagi. We have an early flight out tomorrow.”



“Back to Seoul?”



“No, silly. Didn't you notice our tickets were one way?”



“Yeah, I was meaning to ask about that.”



“I took the liberty of taking the first red card date since the day after tomorrow is our seventh date.”



“What about our sixth date? And where are we going?” he called after her as she walked over to her bag.




She tossed a little book at him as she turned to get ready for bed, grinning from ear to ear.



Jiyong looked at the book and let out a tiny gasp.



French Phrases for Dummies.

Author's Note:

I understand the title of the date is a bit misleading, seeing as how our couple only spends at most a paragraph at the sushi bar. HAHAHAHAHA...but my focus for this date was Dara's ability to really let go of Jason....every haunting word, every memory, however seemingly insignificant...as Jiyong's love replaces it all (reference the quotes to Chapter 10 and the Epliogue in Amnesia).  Hope you weren't too bored.