Joong Ki awoke from the rustling of feathers near his window. He checked the clock on his bedside table: 3 am. The pigeons always made noise at this time. It was funny how life imitated art, and he smiled fondly as he remembered Inzaghi from the drama. Mina was sound asleep, her chest rising and falling steadily. Joong Ki couldn’t fall back asleep easily and decided to take a walk around the house in the hopes that it would tire him out again.

He descended the stairs and stopped at the ground floor for a glass of water. He then made his way to the level below and stared at the moonlight glittering off the water of the pool. When he tore down the house, he had a clear vision of what he wanted. 2 upper floors and 3 basement floors. Joong Ki wanted a pool on the ground floor, but there was just no space, and with the building regulations, it was better to have the pool in the basement – and benefit from more privacy as well. He had been fascinated by the indoor pools and baths during his travels, and wanted to bring back the relaxing spa atmosphere and Art Nouveau highlights that he loved from the resorts in Greece and the Gellért baths in Hungary respectively.

Joong Ki always loved swimming – the water calmed him down. Being underwater meant being away from everything and everyone, even if only for a small moment of time. The large skylight was built on the floor of the ground floor patio, allowing light to filter in and illuminate the pool in the basement. The golden wall sconces cast a soft glow under the arched ceiling, and the colorful tiles of the pool floor shone. Joong Ki perched himself on the concrete wall surrounding the pool instead of one of the comfortable recliners around the pool. He lay his hand flat on the surface of the water, something he liked to do as a kid, marveling at how the liquid seemed to fuse with his skin. His thoughts drifted to Mina. He didn’t expect things to turn out this way. He should have had some idea based on how he felt when he first saw her, but now things were out of his control.

Turquoise shimmering waters lapped softly on the white sandy beach. A Mojito in hand, Joong Ki soaked up the sun as he basked in the warmth and soft chatter of Waikiki Beach. Even though it was so beautiful and warm, his insides were in turmoil. He had just filed for divorce from the woman he thought he would spend the rest of his life with. How wrong he was, and now he realized how quickly he had fallen head over heels for her with no afterthought. He first realized something was amiss in the first few months of their new marriage. They had grown apart in a short matter of months. In retrospect, it was funny how they never discussed something important as having kids. He always just assumed she wanted the same things as he did. But it turned out otherwise.

As Joong Ki mulled over his failed marriage, a girl with a slim silhouette walked by, a surfboard in tow. She went straight to the sea, catching the eyes of every man she passed. She wore a fitting black wetsuit and had her hair in a high ponytail. Her surfboard matched the brilliant sea, turquoise blue with white stripes. The waves broke onto the beach, and the girl started to paddle out to sea on her surfboard. Once she was far enough, she balanced herself and got upright on the board, riding the waves as they swelled and carried her to the coast.

Joong Ki observed her from behind his dark aviators. In no time, he had drained his drink, and needed another one. The girl had disappeared from his sight. He stood up, scanning the beach for a sign of her. He couldn’t spot her, and that was that. Just another pretty girl one saw on the street. He sighed and walked to the beach bar to get another drink since he was already up.

The girl who greeted him at the bar was the same girl who was on the surfboard. It seemed like she worked at the beach bar. She had her sunglasses propping up her sun-streaked wavy hair, framing her beautiful brown eyes and petite face. Awed by how pretty she was, Joong Ki ordered another Mojito from her, but she recommended a Blue Hawaii instead with an irresistible wink. Of course Joong Ki complied, what could he do?

***

Joong Ki loved the vibe in Hawaii so much that he bought a holiday apartment there, but he didn’t see her again when he made another trip that year. After asking various people from the bar and in the area, he found out that she had moved home to Seoul. Disappointed, he pondered his next move. It was definitely not normal to meet someone who made him forget about his troubles so easily.

Back in Seoul, Joong Ki tried to trace the girl down, but to no avail. When he met his friends for dinner one day, one of them mentioned that an acquaintance had just recently returned from Hawaii, and that she had loved surfing and worked at a beach bar there. Could this be her? It seemed like there was a funeral that weekend that his friend and the girl would be attending, and Joong Ki made an excuse to appear there.

Once he confirmed that it was really her, the rest was easy. All he had to do was to get to know the mutual connections between the girl and himself. Once that was done, he made sure that he appeared at every social gathering the girl attended. It was a true coincidence that they were all funerals.

Joong Ki got up to pour himself a drink from the bar trolley, but then decided against it. It would be tough to fall asleep again. He supposed what he did wasn’t the most ethical. But there was also nothing seriously wrong with it. He just wanted to get to know Mina and he did that.

Making his way to the level below, Joong Ki brushed his hand across the red velvet chairs as he passed them. He had converted the second basement floor into a home cinema. He loved watching movies, but going to the cinemas was out of the question since at least ten years. Joong Ki would be mugged every time by fans or paparazzi. It just made sense to bring the cinema experience home. He pressed some buttons on the remote and his favorite film Cinema Paradiso came to life. It was a sure-win solution whenever he couldn’t sleep and needed to distract himself from his thoughts. However today, the film’s colors and emotions reminded him too much of Hawaii. Joong Ki got up from the comfortable chairs and took the elevator down to the last basement floor.

On this floor, he had created an art gallery, and sectioned off a space for a wine cellar. He stared pensively at the works before him. Joong Ki had started his collection from small artists that he liked, but quickly graduated to the big guns. He had picked up a couple of original Le Corbusier paintings, and recently acquired original Kandinsky works. Via the auctions, Joong Ki was aiming even higher at the likes of Dali, Picasso and Klimt. Apart from art, Joong Ki also appreciated architectural and modern furniture pieces. He had some miniatures of buildings and furniture he liked displayed around the floor.

Today, nothing brought him peace of mind. In the end, Joong Ki decided to have a glass of wine to calm down. Approaching the cellar, Joong Ki selected a mellow bottle of Pinot Noir and poured a glass from it. He felt the metal handle of the hatch below his feet, and Joong Ki bent down and lifted the hidden hatch ever so slightly. Something gold glimmered from below, and Joong Ki put the hatch back in place.

Laying on the ground of the wine cellar, Joong Ki fell back into a light uneasy sleep, the empty wine glass perched precariously on one of the racks.