I'm back! Sorry for the long hiatus. And as a sign of my sincere apology, here's chapter 14. :D
 

HERMES - CHAPTER 14

“Marry me,” Jiyong suddenly blurted outed out in a wistful tone while they were in the middle of dinner at Ellie’s place. It was their third consecutive night eating together after Jiyong fell in love with Ellie’s cooking. Tonight, Ellie made lemon rosemary chicken with couscous and salad greens with French vinaigrette and it was gloriously perfect.

“Yah! Don’t let your fans hear you say that. They’ll happily murder me,” Ellie joked.

“Well, I feel terrible breaking my fans’ hearts but really, they have to be as good as you in the kitchen if they want to win my heart,” Jiyong said cutely before he took another mouthful of the salad.

"Well, it takes more than just sweet words to win my heart, my dear," Ellie said knowingly.

"What do I need to do?" Jiyong asked, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Hmmm... I like guys who help in the housework..." Ellie mused.

"I've been doing the dishes every dinner!" Jiyong piped in. Ellie pretended to look unconvinced.

"I know how to operate a washing machine. I know how to fix your vacuum cleaner. I can build you more shelves from Ikea. I can even fix your plumbing!" Jiyong said counting off each skill on his fingers.

"You can do plumbing?" Ellie asked with a laugh.

"Well, no. But I can always search for instructions on Naver," Jiyong replied smugly causing Ellie to laugh hard.

“Well, I guess I have to accept your proposal then. But first, get me a custom Lorraine Schwartz and new locks for my door. I don't want crazy fans strangling me to death while I sleep,” Ellie said in a deadpan voice. Now it was Jiyong's turn to laugh at her audacity and was impressed by her taste in fine designer jewelry. The jeweler's most famous creation was worth at least $5 million.

“I'll work on the dishes tonight, then we can go find new locks tomorrow. I'll have to save up for the ring, though,” he said as he leaned over the table to casually tuck a couple of strands of her hair behind her ear. Ellie's hair was piled up high on the crown of her head in a messy bun with her bangs framing her pretty face. This was fast becoming Jiyong’s favorite look of Ellie’s.

"Meh, that's no fun. I thought you're rich, Superstar?" Ellie teased as she scrunched her nose disapprovingly at Jiyong. He suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to kiss her pouting lips.

They’d been skirting the fine line between teasing and flirting these past couple of days and Jiyong was enjoying every minute of it. Ellie wasn’t the type who’d blush when sweet talked to. She actually had a witty comeback for every sappy remark he threw at her. Then they bantered for a few minutes before she throws him off guard with a flirtatious quip or a humorous retort. He enjoys it but frankly, he’s somewhat unsure of where this was heading, especially since he hasn't sorted his feelings for Kiko, yet.

For the last several days, he's been pushing aside all thoughts of Kiko and it wasn't that hard to do since he had been hanging around Ellie. He knew he'd have to address the issue soon but decided to put it on hold for the mean time. He didn't want to ruin their time together since he'll be leaving for Japan soon again and rehearsals for MAMA will start this week.

They finished dinner and Jiyong did the dishes again while Ellie cleaned up the dining area and kitchen. Ellie played Kings of Convenience’s Riot on an Empty Street album on her phonograph and she would hum to the folk-pop melodies that floated through the apartment as they worked. It was very peaceful and pleasantly domestic. Jiyong never thought he's the type to actually like this kind of homely living. He's lived in YG dorms half his life and the private apartment that he owned was too editorialized to actually feel lived in. Having spent time with Ellie like this made him look forward to the time he'd have a comfortable place to go home to everyday.

When they finished cleaning up, they hung out at Ellie's living room as they continued to listen to the album. Jiyong has never heard this kind of music genre which was a whimsical fusion of indie, folk, and pop.

"I like this music. It's relaxing," he mused as he sipped his wine.

"Yeah. I love this group. This is my kind of music," Ellie said with a sigh as she sat back on her couch, a glass of wine in her hand. Listening to Ellie's collection made Jiyong understand her personality even more. Her musical style was simple, almost raw, but created with such precision that it was breathtakingly beautiful, just like her.

"How did you get into music?" Jiyong asked.

"Hmmm... well, music has been a very big part of my life. My mom was a music teacher in Italy before she ran off and married my dad who was touring the Italian countryside after college. My maternal grandfather was a maestro and a pretty famous conductor. We had a grand piano at home and my mom would play me Vivaldi's Four Seasons everyday. I started learning the piano when I was about three years old, the violin when I was five, and the cello when I was tall enough. I picked up my first guitar when I was 13 and rebellious. The other instruments I learned when I was in Berklee," Ellie explained.

"So, it's always been classical music for you?" Jiyong asked.

"Well, I was classically trained. I even joined competitions and won several national and international awards for the violin. My parents were so proud of me. But to answer your question, no. I grew up listening to my Dad's collection of 60s and 70s American rock n' roll and I also branched out to other genres when I was growing up. My brother is a fan of hip hop and he played Tupac, Missy Elliot, Dr. Dre and Bone Thugs when he drove me to school. Then I got into heavy metal because of my friends. Believe it or not, I actually listened to Alice in Chains, Rammstein, and Pantera when I was an angry teenager," she said with a laugh. Jiyong's brows shot up and he looked at Ellie quizzically.

"What?" Ellie asked.

"I'm trying to imagine you in goth attire," Jiyong said.

"Oh, please, don't. I burned all my pictures. I don't want to remember that dark part of my life," she said laughing.

"Dark part?" Jiyong asked. There was something in the way she said it that made Jiyong think there's more to it than what she was divulging. He didn't want to be pushy but he's really curious. He looked at Ellie straight in the eye trying to convey his sincere interest. Ellie looked a bit apprehensive at first but after a few seconds, she sighed and began talking.

"Did you ever have a phase in your life when you didn't want to be yourself? You hated everything and everyone? Have you ever rebelled against your parents and teachers?" she asked.

Jiyong shook his head. In truth, he's never experienced that kind of emotion. Ever since he was young, he's been focused on music, his training and career. And he's never had to rebel against his parent since they've always been supportive of him.

"Oh, good for you then," Ellie said with a smile.

"And you?"

"All that and more," she said with a sardonic laugh before sipping her wine. This piqued Jiyong's interest further.

"Here's the thing, I'm adopted. Me and my brother, we were both adopted, " Ellie stopped briefly and looked at Jiyong. He tried to hide his surprise at the revelation but suddenly, a lot of things made sense. Like why Ellie had a western name, why she grew up in Hollywood Hills, and why she didn't have photos with anyone who looked remotely like her on her Instagram. He watched at Ellie who looked rather uncertain if she wanted to continue telling him her story. He realized that it was a very personal issue for her. Jiyong smiled encouragingly at Ellie who gave him a shy smile before continuing her story.

"Our parents never really intended to have kids since they were pretty content with each other and they both loved to travel. That all changed when they met me at an orphanage during one of their travels here in Korea. They were almost in their late forties at that time. I was barely two years old when they saw me. They came a day after my biological older brother was adopted and my mom said I wouldn't stop crying. None of the nuns were able to pacify me. But when my mom picked me up, she said I stopped crying and I smiled at her. A couple of months later, they took me home to California. A year later, my parents and I traveled to the Philippines on vacation and that's where we met Gerry, my older brother, in an orphanage near the resort we were staying at. He was five years older than me and my dad said I wouldn't leave the orphanage until we could take him home with us. I guess he reminded me of my other older brother that's why I clung to him so badly."

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