Chapter 22

Tiffany lowered herself to the ground from the pain. Jejung gasped & stared at his own hand as if he wanted nothing better than to cut it off at that moment since it had betrayed him. He dropped to his knees & wrapped his arms around her. He touched her forehead gently & she flinched in pain, “Please tell me you are okay, please? Do you need to go see a doctor?” Jejung searched her eyes to make certain that she was fine but her eyes were still closed, “Take deep breaths & open your eyes.” Tiffany did as he said & when her eyes were opened, she smiled weakly as she saw the worry looked in his eyes.

“You are always worried about me. I’m okay. I promise. Help me up please?” Jejung held onto her gingerly & helped her stand back up. Tiffany rubbed at her sore forehead & felt a tiny bump starting to form. She sighed, “I guess these bumps are inevitable.” He gasped & hugged her to him tightly, “Don’t you ever say that. I will never hurt you. Never.” She touched the side of his face & smiled, “I know that. Now, go back to your room & get some more sleep. I’m going off to work now.” Tiffany got her desigual rotterdam audrey bag from her dresser & headed for the door. While she was searching for her purse, Jejung had dashed back into his room to speedily get changed.

He knocked on her door outside. Tiffany opened it in a second since she was already on her way out. She looked up at Jejung in shock, “What are you doing?” Jejung smiled sheepishly down at her, “Isn’t it obvious? I’m taking you to work.”

“Don’t be silly. I will just take a taxi.” He shook his head stubbornly, “No, it will either be me or you will not be able to go to work at all.” Tiffany opened to retort but knew that she wouldn’t be able to convince him to do otherwise. She shook her head at him & smiled, “Okay, fine, if you must.”

“Good, now come on.” He took her hand in his & they walked downstairs & tried to sneak past the kitchen & to the garage but Mrs. Kim beat them to it, “Where do you think you two are going?” They both whirled around to face her & smiled, “Hi, mom.” Jejung said, while Tiffany said, “Good morning, Mrs. Kim.” Mrs. Kim walked up to them both & took Tiffany’s other hand, “Now, come on dear, you need your proper nutrition, come eat some breakfast.” She glared at Jejung, “You too, son.”

“Um...Mrs. Kim, I have to get to work now & I don’t want to be late.” Tiffany tried to politely get out of Mrs. Kim’s grip on her.

“Nonsense, you don’t have to work. We shall take care of you. I have already named you my daughter. Now come on, let’s go.”

“I’m sorry Mrs. Kim, but I really can’t & I have to work to pay for tuition.”

“Ah, mom, don’t try to say anything more. I have tried & tried again, & she still stands strong on her decision. That’s just one of her many endearing qualities.” Jejung said, looking at Tiffany fondly, “So, we will just grab something to go & then I will take Tiffany to work. She needs to make it on time or I’m going to get an earful.” Tiffany pinched him lightly on the arm, “I’m not that scary.”

“Of course not, you are the most lovable & cutest girl of my heart.” He said, rubbing his arm & smiling sweetly at her. Mrs. Kim laughed, “Okay, okay, I give in. Let me get you each a cereal bar & yogurt plus a fruit. That should be enough to give you young ones energy.” She walked into the kitchen to find Keunsuk there, dressed nicely in a alexander dobell blue shawl lapel slim fit tux. He looked really nervous & was drinking a cup of coffee while thinking deeply about something, “Keunsuk!” Mrs. Kim shouted at him. He jumped up, startled “Oh, hi auntie Kim. Good morning.” She started getting out some food & put it into a lunch bag, “What are you doing?”

“Tiffany is going to work right now & Jejung is taking her so I’m getting them some breakfast to go. Can you believe that they even tried to escape breakfast?” She started ranting on but Keunsuk had already gone out. When she turned around again, he was no longer there. She put her arms on her hips, “Now, that boy, where has he gone, too?” A servant in the kitchen told her that he had just gone out.

Mrs. Kim spotted the three of them outside in the foyer, “Okay, here you go, Tiffany, Jejung.” She put the bag of food in Jejung’s hands. She then turned to Keunsuk, “Have you ate your breakfast yet, oh flighty one?” Keunsuk blushed & laughed nervously, “Yeah, I have, auntie. I just volunteered to go with Jejung & Tiffany to S&S...uh, to go see Soo, of course.” Mrs. Kim smiled at them, “Get going then. Unlike you early birds, your father still hasn’t woken up yet.” She said to Jejung. They left the house & Jejung & Tiffany ate in the car. They arrived at S&S in thirteen minutes. Keunsuk got out shakily & lingered behind while Jejung ushered Tiffany in first through the kitchen in the back. Keunsuk made his way in on trembling skinny, long legs but a smile remained on his face.

Sooyoung was humming to herself as she was stirring the budae-jjigae soup that she was making. She held the ladle to her thick, full light pink lips & stepped away from the pot as she tested her work. When she confirmed that it was good & ready to be put into bowls for serving, she signaled her sous chefs to serve. Tiffany & Jejung walked inside the kitchen, hand in hand, with Keunsuk trudging along behind them, “Hey, Soo.” The couple greeted. Sooyoung smile at them, “Hey Tiffany, Jejung.” She peered around them, “Keunsuk Oppa, is that you?” Keunsuk stepped out from behind Jejung & smiled at his girlfriend. He went up to her & gave her a kiss on the cheek, “Hey, honey.”

“Come on out with me, I need to go meet with a table of people. You know them too, I think. They are the heads at your radio station. Your boss is there, too.” Sooyoung took his hand & led him towards the swinging kitchen door. Before she went through them though, she stopped to look at Jejung, “Jejung, you should come out too, since you are involved with the music business & you should meet with people at the radio station, too.” She motioned for him to come. Jejung looked at Tiffany & decided to take her along with him, too. Keunsuk tried to pull out of his girlfriend’s grasps but to no avail, “Soo, I have something to talk to you about, in private.”

“It can wait. This is more important.” Keunsuk finally managed to let go of her hand. Sooyoung looked back at him in surprises. Tiffany & Jejung bumped into Keunsuk from behind, “What’s wrong, man? The table’s that way.” Jejung pointed towards the table where all the head executives at the radio station were. Keunsuk took in a deep breath & was about to begin when Sooyoung punched him lightly in the shoulder, “What do you think you are doing? It really can wait but this can’t. One of the waiters saw you earlier & already told them that you were here & would meet with them.”

Keunsuk let out another deep breath & looked down at the ground. Sooyoung sighed & grabbed his hand again. They were out of the door in a second. When they were halfway towards the table, Keunsuk counted to ten. It was now or never. He stopped Sooyoung from going any further & dropped down to the floor on one knee. Sooyoung turned around again, & let go of his hand to put her hand to . Tiffany & Jejung, both gasped behind them. Keunsuk blushed as people all around started to look at them. The orchestra stopped their music & all the waiters & waitresses turned their heads towards them. The workers inside the kitchen, having heard the sudden silence outside stepped out of the kitchen to see what was going on as well, too.

Keunsuk smiled shakily up at Sooyoung & took her hand into his again. He put his other hand in his front pocket to withdraw a black velvet box. He flicked it open expertly with one long finger, having practiced in front of a mirror countless of times the past week. Sooyoung gasped again, & jumped a bit as she spotted the three-stone ¼ ct tw 10k white gold diamond ring. Tears fell from her eyes. She couldn’t believe it, “Choi Sooyoung, will you give me the greatest gift in the world by consulting to be my wife? I promise to love you & cherish you & protect you for the rest of my life.”

Sooyoung opened to speak but she was shocked beyond words. She gazed at Keunsuk lovingly & nodded. Keunsuk smiled widely & took out the ring. He let her see the inside of it which had the words ‘Keunsuk loves Sooyoung forever’ engraved on it. Once he was sure that she had seen what was carved, he proceeded to put it on the fourth finger of her equally trembling left hand. Keunsuk lifted her up & swung her around before placing her back down again, to give her a passionate kiss. The whole restaurant cheered.

“I love you, Choi Sooyoung, soon to be Mrs. Jang Sooyoung.” Keunsuk whispered into her ear, when they ended their kiss, “I love you too, Jang Keunsuk.” Keunsuk’s boss, Chiwon Gye, came up to him to pat him on the back, “Keunsuk, you got yourself a beautiful woman & a wonderful chef. You lucky dog. Don’t forget to invite us all to the wedding. I will give you five weeks’ break for your honeymoon.” He laughed & patted him on the shoulder hard. Keunsuk smiled & blushed as he thanked him, “Chef Sooyoung, you make the most wonderful brunch. I’m going to come back for dinner tonight.” Sooyoung smiled at him & shook Mr. Gye’s hand, “Sorry Mr. Gye, but I won’t be here to cook. I’m taking the day off to be with my fiance but my fellow sous chefs will be here.” Mr. Gye laughed in understanding, “Go have fun kids.”

Jejung had made his way up to the stage where the orchestra was situated. Everyone in the restaurant gasped & then applauded him. Kim Jejung had been gone from the entertainment radar for a month or so now since he got back to school so this was a rare public place for him to be, “As you may or may not know, Jang Keunsuk is my most highly regarded & esteemed friend who I have looked up to all my life, most of the time.” He added, which made everyone laugh, “In this memorable time & place, I wish to present a song to my friend & his soon-to-be bride.”

A/N: i'm sorry for making you readers wait so long & truly sorry for updating only chapter since i got home very late but i will try to update three chapters tomorrow :/