4/16/2015

Part 4:

Lee Minho stared at the bracelet Sandara Park had returned to him that afternoon. His mouth twisted into a wry grin. So much for diamonds being a girl’s best friend. She had even returned the stuffed rabbit. Surely there had to be a way to get on Sandara’s good side. The problem, he knew, was that she had a boyfriend whom she fancied herself in love with.

Minho had checked on Sandara’s boyfriend. His name was Kwon Jiyong and he worked as an accountant at the Shilla. If he was to have a chance with Sandara, he would need first to get rid of Jiyong.

A smile crept up on Minho’s face. He had seen the look of anger on Kwon Jiyong’s face when he saw the bracelet he’d given Sandara. He was certain too that Jiyong was the reason Dara had rejected his gifts. Such a petty man. It wasn’t as if Mr. Kwon were married to Sandara. And as long as she was still single that meant she was fair game. Was Jiyong afraid of a little competition?

Minho laughed and wondered what would happen if the shoe was reversed. Would Kwon Jiyong be just as upset if he were the one to receive expensive gifts and favors from some rich woman? The thought was tempting. Too tempting for Minho to deny as he picked up his phone and placed a call through.

*

The growling from her stomach was the first indicator for Dara that she should probably stop her work and head home. Glancing at her watch she saw with surprise that it was already past 7 in the evening. With a sigh she began to gather her tools and put them away. She was currently working on restoring an 18^th century painting. It was tedious painstaking work but the portions they had completed restoring was ample reward to keep their team going. But not tonight. Her body had had enough for the night and she was ready to head home.

Several minutes later she was leaving the museum when she saw Lee Minho leaning against his fancy sportscar.  Oh boy. Had he been waiting for her all this time? She wished she had left through another exit now.

Minho straightened when he saw Dara and he smiled lazily at her. “I was beginning to think you were going to sleep here,” he said.

Dara smiled. “Are you waiting for your mom?” she asked, even though she was well aware that Mrs. Lee had left earlier in the afternoon.

Minho’s smile broadened. “Actually, no, I was waiting for you.”

Dara paused and wondered how she would get out of this. She knew for certain that Jiyong would not show up unexpectedly. He was working tonight and was the closing auditor at the hotel. He wouldn’t be finished until after midnight.

Drawing her shoulders back Dara took a deep breath and said her piece. “Minho, I hope you’re not here to pick me up. I’ve already told you that I’m involved with someone else and I have no desire to change that."

“Well that’s good,” Minho said, strolling towards her and closing the distance between them. “Because I’m not interested in changing that status.”

Dara raised a brow as she tilted her head to one side. She didn’t believe one word of what he had just said.

“I know you have a boyfriend – I got that. I admire your loyalty to him,” he added. "Not all women would give up the opportunity to date someone significantly richer and better looking than their current beau."

Dara folded her arms over her chest and regarded Minho with guarded amusement.

“Which is why I want to be friends with you,” Minho finished.

Dara laughed and shook her head. To his credit Minho also laughed good naturedly.

“Truce?” he offered.

Dara nodded her head. “Truce. But that doesn’t mean I’m going anywhere with you,” she ended, wagging her finger to him as she turned and headed to the bus stop.

*

Weeks passed and life continued uneventfully for both Dara and Jiyong. They both worked at their jobs and made time to see each other when they could. Dara had the weekends off and Jiyong tried to swing his schedule so that he could have some weekends off as well. Sometimes they were able to see each other during the week for a couple of hours in the evening if both of them got off work early.

In the meanwhile Dara had started a tentative friendship with Minho.  He continued to pop in at the museum once or twice a week. Always he said hi but didn’t try to cajole her into going out with him or anything of that nature and Dara was beginning to think that he truly had given up on trying to ask her out.

*

Jiyong called Dara one evening and asked her out. “Wear something pretty,” he told her. “I’m going to take you to a proper restaurant tonight.”

Dara was excited by the happiness in Jiyong’s tone. “What’s going on? Are we celebrating something?” she asked.

“I’ll tell you at dinner,” he said, mysteriously. “I’ll pick you up at 7:30pm.”

Dara was ready and waiting when Jiyong appeared. He came in and said hello to her parents before whisking Dara out. She paused as she saw the white Bentley parked in their driveway. “Who’s car is that?” she asked.

Jiyong beamed at her and folded his arms across his chest as he leaned against the car. “It’s mine,” he said. Dara stared at him. How did he afford to buy such a car?

“Well technically it belongs to the hotel but it’s been assigned to me! Also, guess what? I’ve been promoted!”

Dara’s eyes grew round. She squealed and hugged Jiyong tight. “You’ve been promoted?!” She hugged him again and kissed him on the lips. “So what’s your new job?” she asked, eyes shining.

“You’re looking at the new Head of Accounting!”

Dara offered her congratulations and expressed how proud she was of him. Jiyong escorted her into the car and Dara marveled at how fancy and luxurious everything looked.

“So how did you get a car?” she asked.

“They said I’m going to be doing a lot of traveling between branches and so they were going to issue me a car. I had no idea that it would be something as great as this.”

Dara could see the excitement in his eyes and she was excited just as well.

“There’s more too.”

Dara turned in her seat to face him expectantly. “They gave me an apartment!”

Dara’s mouth dropped open. “Wow, that must be some job that you get a car and an apartment!” She had no idea that working for a luxury hotel could be so rewarding…

“Do you want to see it?” Jiyong asked. “We can stop over after dinner.”

*

The prices of the food where Jiyong took Dara made her eyes pop. “Ji,” she whispered, leaning toward him. “This place is beautiful but don’t you think it’s a bit much for us?”

“Don’t worry about it, Babe,” Jiyong said, patting her hand with reassurance. “Order anything you want.” It felt good to him to be able to say that to his girl, to finally be able to take her to a nice fancy restaurant and show her a good time.

Dara ordered but she couldn’t quite relax knowing how expensive everything was. Jiyong wasn’t the type to splurge foolishly, that she knew. But still, the car, the new apartment, the fancy restaurant… She was happy for him but something about it all didn’t sit right with her. Nonetheless she held back her worries and enjoyed her time with Jiyong.

Afterwards when they stopped at the new apartment, Dara had to turn and ask Jiyong what exactly did his new job entail? “Are you a V.P.?” she asked, because in her mind all these perks were the type given to someone of high rank in a company.

Jiyong laughed as he hugged her from behind. “No, I’m just the head of the Finance Department. But I’ll be working directly with the V.P. of Finance.”

Dara nodded, figuring that must be why they would give him all these perks. The apartment was in a upscale neighborhood and came fully furnished. It had two bedrooms, each with its own bath, a kitchen and living room.

“Maybe you’ll want to move in with me?” he whispered into her ear.

“Uh huh, tell that to my father,” she retaliated, as Jiyong chortled and kissed her.