WE’RE MILES APART

LOTTE HOTEL

“It took you a while to get here.” Samonim turned and looked at her very angry son.

“Samonim!”

“Uhm…you must be very angry if you call me that!” Yonghwa’s mother moved away from the windows and faces him.

“Why?”

“You call me Samonim.  Well, I was being Samonim when I talked to Joohyun.”

“You didn’t have to scare her.”

“I only told her the truth. I told her the things that you have been keeping from her.”

“I would have told her – we’ve only been seeing each 6 months!”

“When after a year? After 2 years? You think that’s fair to her? That you’ll hurt yourselves even more?”

“Omma!”

“I did what I had to do. Do you think I found pleasure in meeting her for the first time and discussing how hard her life will be should she choose you?” Samonim sat down on the sofa and massaged her temple. “Someone had to do it.”

Yonghwa sat on the chair and covered his face with his hands. They stayed that way for a while.

After a while his mother called room service and requested for 2 beers to be served.

“She loves you very much you know I could read it in her face.”

“I know Omma – I know she loves me.” Yonghwa sighed.” But right now she doesn’t want to see me.”

“When I was talking to her, she keep a tight grip on the bracelet she was wearing. Did you give her that? Not one sparkling thing on her. Does she not like jewelry?”

“She’s a simple girl Omma that why I love her. There is no pretense with Joohyun.  What you see is what you get. I’ve never met a kinder, more down to earth and loving person than her.  She’s different from all the other girls.  I will marry her Omma.” Yonghwa holds his mother’s hands and looks her in the eye.

“Yongie – you’ve only known her for a short time.” His mother grips his hands.

“If she’ll have me.  If you haven’t scared her away.” Yonghwa whispered.

“Then we’ll just have to wait and see won’t we?” His mother places her hand on his face. “Mianhe adeul. There are things that as Samonim I must do and this is one of them.”

Their beer came and they drank it in silence.

“Does Appa know?”

“Not yet.  You know that he can’t be bothered with things like this.”

“I’ll go back to Suwon – I won’t be home this weekend.” Yonghwa stands up and heads for the door.

His mother waits until the door shuts before she lets a single tear fall then taking her phone out calls Eunji.

“Samonim – how did it go?”

“Not well as can be expected.”

“Did she cry?”

“Not in front of me but I believe Yong was able to catch her before she left. I take it that it didn’t go well with him either because he was so mad at me when he came up.”

“He was mad at me too for locking him here until the interview was over.  Yonguk told me that he broke about 3 traffic rules just to get to the hotel. Of course, he followed Yonghwa discreetly.”

“Yonghwa is going back to Suwon and he won’t be home this weekend. I’ll instruct someone to follow him and make sure he gets there safely.  He’s distraught because she refused to see him for a while.” His mother sighs.

“That’s not good.” Eunji exclaimed.

“She needs time to think. She seems to be a very intelligent girl. She’s lovely by the way – and so in love with Yonghwa.  She was polite and seems well brought up. If only Shin Hye had half the calmness and self-possession that she had. “

“So do you think she can do it Samonim?” Eunji asked

“It’s up to her really.”

“Samonim are you alright? You sound tired.” Eunji asked.

“My mother’s heart hurts for my child but I have to be Samonim of CNB. It’s never easy.  I don’t know how his Appa will react when I tell him.  Alright, I will be going home now – take care Eunji and send my regards to Key.”

“Goodnight Samonim.  Go home safely.”

JOOHYUN

Ajusshi had threatened to call her mother if she didn’t stop crying. Before they entered the gate Joohyun told him about what happened. 

“Rest Agasshi.  Stop crying now – if your young man is chaebol then what his mother said is most likely the truth.  You must concentrate on your exams first. If you go on like this your Omma will ask questions again. Shall I ask Ahjumma to bring you up some soup?”

Joohyun wanted to refuse but she knew that Ahjumma would tell her Omma that she didn’t eat.  Having her mother questioning her was not what she wanted at the moment.

Letting herself into her room Joohyun threw herself on the bed. She could not cry anymore. Her head was pounding and was sore.

She stood up and prepared to take a shower.  She had one more examination tomorrow. She needed to focus on that first. As she let the water cascade down her body Joohyun kept hearing the voice of Yonghwa’s mother asking her - are you brave enough?

Am I brave enough?

At the back of her mind she knew that time will come when she would have to ask herself that.  Oppa was different.

Why did I have to fall in love with a chaebol heir?

Tears blurred her vision.

He is good to her.  He is loving and kind. He made her feel loved. He is possessive and choding.  He is funny and sweet. He is her best friend.

I love him so much. But I’m afraid.

Joohyun shook her head and stepped out of the shower. She didn’t even look at the mirror but just put on her night gown, brushed her hair and did her nightly skin routine.  When she went back to her room a cup of soup was on her dresser. Drinking it hastily she studiously avoided looking at the mirror.  She was afraid of what she would see in there.

Her phone had buzzed several times but she ignored it.  She opens her book and notes and tries her best to study.  It was a total failure since she couldn’t concentrate.

Her phone buzzed again and she sighed before opening it.

Oppa already had 7 messages.  She decided to just look at the last one.

HIS TEXT: Sweetheart have you eaten? Don’t cry too much because you might get a migraine. Study for your exam tomorrow. I am sorry for what happened today. I understand how you feel. I will wait patiently for you. I love you Joohyun.

Ah, how can you not cry if a man is this sweet?

Joohyun struggled to study.  She’d lightly tap her head when her mind started to wander. It was hard.

Oppa must be feeling so bad about what happened today. He has exams tomorrow also.

Before she could stop herself Joohyun sent him a text.

HER TEXT: Oppa – study for your test tomorrow. Eat well and sleep well. Please don’t reply to my text. Thank you for understanding.

As bad as she wanted to add “I love you” to the text Joohyun stopped herself.  She kept glancing at her phone – it remained silent. She didn’t know if she should be glad or disappointed.

It was already 3 am when she finished studying.

When her alarm clock screamed at 7 am Joohyun had to resist the urge to hurl it to the wall.  Now she really had a migraine.  Dragging herself out of her bed, Joohyun got ready for school.  Like yesterday, she avoided looking at the mirror. She tied her hair back and tried in vain