Chapter 31 – Jingjeonghan Sarang. (True Love.)

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#since1765

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October 2015

Kim Residence - Living Room

City of Jeonju, North Jeolla Province

“If he was in front of you, what would you do? What would you say?”

As Jiyong's imaginary presence oddly soothed her pain, she was able to calm down.

“I would kiss him, and tell him that he's my Prince Charming, that I want to be his girlfriend, and that I want him to be my boyfriend. I love him very much, so he can't leave me, ever!”

The tears came again, so she wiped them once more. Gathering her breath, she shook her head and cried more before continuing her profession.

“Jiyong and I wanted to ask for your permission so we could date. (hic) If you blessed us, we would offer our relationship to the gods. We would... (hic) love each other... (hic) and bring our families back together again... (hic)”

Then, she looked up and faced the elders, pathetically exclaiming, “So he's must be there inside, alive and waiting for me! He is, r-right?!”

Still, no one in the family provided her the answer she wanted to hear. Until Grandpa Kwon spoke to say the unexpected.

“Then tell him that, and do just what you said.”

“Wh-what?”

“Go inside and tell him,” continued Jiyong's grandpa.

“I d-don't understand...” Taeyeon said, her tears temporarily subsiding.

To more of her astonishment, her own grandpa chuckled and said, “Love each other, and bring our families back together again. It's what would make all of us happy.”

“But you said... he's... g-gone...”

“We never said that, Taeyeon,” answered Grandpa Kim, still grinning at his grandchild. “You assumed the worst. And you know why? Because you love him very much, as much as he loves you. We can see that, bright and clear.”

“Oh my god...” cried Taeyeon, covering , as that was all she could do now that she understood what was happening.

She looked around the table and saw that the once sad and grieving women now stopped, and everyone wiped their tears, while laughing! Jiwoong and Hayeon blurted out in the loudest chortles, and Taeyeon was left in complete incredulity. Grandpa Kwon began to explain, much to Taeyeon's disbelief.

“Not all men subject to The Great Pact's test will stretch their limits to the point of utmost exhaustion. Anyone who loses consciousness doing the Rites of a Man is a much deserving groom. The moment the chosen husband closes his eyes out of fatigue, is the right moment to receive the council's blessing.”

“So Jiyong's... a-alive?”

“Wounded, but very much alive. He fought a hard battle for you,” answered Grandpa Kim, smirking yet still looking kind.

“And you've forgiven us?”

“Cleared of all charges. You are very much forgiven, my kind and wonderful granddaughter.”

Grandfather Kim took Taeyeon to his arms, which only resumed her tears. She found herself breaking out in loud outcries while buried in her grandpa's chest.

“Everything you and Jiyong had to go through was a test from the gods,” softly explained Grandpa Kim, gently patting Taeyeon's body as she cried. “We are merely stewards of The Great Pact, so we can never force what's not meant to be.”

Jiyong's Grandpa then elaborated, “The potential husband and wife who pass the series of tests, from the surprised arranged marriage, up to the Rites of a Man, are destined to get married for the republic. If you and my grandson did not end up falling in love like this, we would have never forced you.”

“I can't believe this,” exclaimed Taeyeon in a voice that was muffled by Grandpa Kim's embrace.

Everything in the last five months came back to her, and the puzzle pieces just painted the entire picture. It didn't take a genius to understand what was really happening. Obviously, the councils of Gyeonggi and North Jeolla worked together to pull Kim Taeyeon and Kwon Jiyong towards each other.

Strangely, Taeyeon only found the events romantic, and not hateful.

“Grandpa is so sorry, my little girl, for subjecting you to this challenge. But you did a very excellent job.”

“Grandpa, you are just a trickster, aren't you?” she yelled, pulling herself up from the old man, and pouting. She then addressed the entire family, exclaiming, “And you were all in on this?!”

“For the record, we weren't,” replied Daddy Kim. “We only found out a few days ago. It was all the grandfathers' handy work.”

“Are you angry at us?” Jiyong's grandpa asked, staring at Taeyeon with a forced pout, as if already begging for forgiveness.

Taeyeon just chuckled as she wiped her tears. Shaking her head, she cried, “How can I be angry when Jiyong's alive?!”

“So go now sis!” egged Hayeon excitedly. “The sick's expecting you!”

“He wouldn't eat unless you fed him,” Mama Kwon informed her.

“Don't kiss him yet, okay?” tipped Kwon Dami, who was now all smiles. “He hasn't brushed his teeth since yesterday.”

The youngsters, including Taeyeon, laughed. Then, her smile faded and she stared at Jiyong's parents.

“You have our blessing,” assured Daddy Kwon, holding out his hand to her.

“Goodness, my dear,” yelled Mama Kwon. “You've had our blessing since the first day we met you!”

“Mom... dad...” she then addressed her own parents.

Mama Kim also reached out for her hand, and responded, “Jiyong already asked for our blessing, and he already received it.”

“Now give him some kiss-pirin sis,” teased Kim Jiwoong, standing up to lead Taeyeon towards the room where Jiyong was.

She passed by the two grandmothers, and they all signaled her to come closer to them. She kneeled down by them, and they sandwiched her with their warmth.

“Taeyeon, remember the virtues I thought you,” her grandmother softly said, fixing her hair. “Self-preservation and self-respect are the two greatest treasure a woman can hold high.”

Granny Kwon squeezed her hand, and kindly muttered, “My grandson can be a dirty rascal, but you've changed him. Keep making each other better, and the gods will bless the two of you, until the end of time.”

*

Kim Residence - Taeyeon's Room

City of Jeonju, North Jeolla Province

With shaking hands and a nervous heart, Kim Taeyeon approached the door towards her childhood bedroom.

She spent her entire childhood in that bedroom. The only time she vacated the place was when she was 16, and she moved to Seoul to train under SM Entertainment. The door to her room were plastered with art pieces she drew herself. The drawings were nostalgic, and they brought a smile on her face. Even the door was just as it was since she left in 2005 – wooden, vintage, and antique. Slowly, she held on the doorknob, twisted it, and pushed the door open.

“Jiyong?”

She expected a weak and sickly patient lying flat on her floor mattress. But upon opening the door, she saw that her bed wasn't made. The mattress and pillows were tightly folded on its side, as it was whenever no one slept. In the middle, instead, was a man, sitting in front of Taeyeon’s candle collection, surrounded by her collection of stuffed animals.

“Your room's cute,” muttered the obviously-not-sick-or-weakly Kwon Jiyong. While scanning the photo albums the younger Taeyeon designed, he commented, “You were such an adorable kid, honey.”

“Yah, you're not even that sick?”

Jiyong looked up and smirked at her. With mischief painted all over his face, he said, “You were so dramatic out there. So shameless, whining to our families that I haven't kissed you yet.”

She sneered and pouted, and sat in front of the guy. She put her stuffed toys away from the candle. While scoffing, she muttered, “What did you do to my dolls and stuffed toys?! You might burn them!”

“Honey, this is romance, so don't be such a kill-joy,” Jiyong suggested, giggling. He held out his arms to grab Taeyeon, and invited, “Now come here baby.”

“I hate you!” she yelled, still pouting. But she gladly let Jiyong drag her towards him, so that they were together, surrounded by all her teddy bears and stuffed animals.

“What did I do now?”

“I thought you died!” screamed Taeyeon, slapping Jiyong's arms. “I thought you left me!”

“I didn't. I'm just here,” said Jiyong, laughing and touching her cheek. “Goodness, you are so cute, Kim Taeyeon.”

“You can't die on me, ever,” she announced, confronting the man with a stern face. “You can't leave me, ever. You made me fall in love with you, so you have to promise me that!”

Jiyong laughed out loud, which only annoyed Taeyeon. While she was sneering at him, Jiyong just wrapped his one arm around her, responding, “I promise I won't die on you. I promise that I won't leave you.”

“Good. Now you better keep them.”

Jiyong nodded, and Taeyeon found herself putting her head on Jiyong's shoulder. She looked at the burning candle while she found comfort in his body.

Jiyong then spoke. “I heard everything you said out there. You want to hear my responses?”

Shyly, she answered, “Even if it's embarrassing for me, sure.”

“First, you are also my princess. Second, I also want to be your boyfriend. And third, I also want you to be my girlfriend.”

Taeyeon's stomach got ticklish, and she couldn't help but smile to herself. Good thing her head was against his face, so that Jiyong didn't see her blush. Once she felt the warmth leave her flushing face, she pulled herself away so that they could stare at one another. Upon looking at Jiyong's face up close, she finally noticed the cuts on his face. His once smooth and fair complexion was now stained with redness and wounds. She held on his face and caressed the cheek that had the most cuts.

“Is this painful?”

“Yeah. Kiss the wound away?”

She laughed and nodded, still holding his face.

“Ok.”

“Really?!” Jiyong asked in surprise. “I was just kidding!”

“So you don't want me to?”

“Well... if you really want to...” Jiyong answered in pretend coyness. “I mean, I built a school for you. I planted a lot of trees and seeds for you. I harvested grains and corns for you. I delivered water, coals and woods for you.”

Without further ado, Kim Taeyeon just leaned forward and planted a warm kiss on his right cheek. The moment her lips touched his wounded face, Taeyeon felt the world stop, her heart drop, and her face flush. It had been too long since they've been in contact like this, and she was desperately yearning Jiyong's warmth.

On the other hand, Kwon Jiyong just froze, his head turning into cotton. He wasn't able to talk, or to catch a breath, or even blink. His eyes already itched, so that he eventually blinked overly. Suddenly, he felt very aware of his heartbeat. Kim Taeyeon was finally just a breath apart, after weeks of not seeing each other. He missed her so much that all he wanted to do was look a little to his right so that their lips would meet.

But Taeyeon already separated herself from his face. Jiyong's chest dropped from disappointment. When was the perfect time for their much awaited first kiss?

“That was for the school you built,” Taeyeon declared, smiling. To Jiyong's surprise, she leaned even forward, so that her lips could reach the other cheek. “This one's for the trees you planted...”

And for every single item in Jiyong's have-done-list, Taeyeon planted a kiss somewhere on his face. Much to the young man's sudden... arousal?

“...for the seeds, for the grains, for the corns, for the water, for the coals, for the woods. And what else did you do that earns you a kiss?”

Jiyong was already reddening that he had to fan himself with his hand. Awkwardly, he told her, “Don't kiss me that much. I'm getting too hot I'm afraid I'll...”

“Yah, the gods are watching!” exclaimed Taeyeon, slapping the side of his arm again.

“I know! I made a promise, and I intend to keep it,” Jiyong answered earnestly, fanning himself even more.

That's when Kim Taeyeon got reminded of what Kwon Jiyong just promised. She wasn't a stranger to his very colorful past with women (lots of them). She heard all of SNSD's doubts and opinions about G-dragon's affinity to girls and all the benefits that came with being a superstar. And so now that all their battles have been fought and won, the inevitable truth was on the table – could Kwon Jiyong really commit to a relationship without the physical aspect of it?

“Would you really wait, even if it's already the 21st century...?”

“Try me. You'll see. I won't cross that line until we get married.”

Then, one more truth got laid out upfront – where were they in the relationship? Were they dating? Were they serious? Were they re-engaged? They were, after all, the fourth couple for The Great Pact. As far as they knew, they had to get married before the Lunar New Year.

“You really want to marry me?” wondered Taeyeon, sounding scared yet hopeful.

Jiyong recognized the fear and doubt in the woman's voice. He didn't like it one bit, and so he held up his hand to touch the side of her neck.

“I'm already 28, so I only want the real thing. You are my real thing, Kim Taeyeon. How about you? Considering all that we've been through, our situation, and what we feel for each other... do you see yourself marrying me?”

When Taeyeon didn't answer right away, the fear Jiyong hated suddenly crawled in his own body. Was she hesitating? Was she backing out? Then, to his surprise, Taeyeon broke out in a cry again.

“You're making me cry again!” she yelled, shaking her head and covering her face with her two hands. “You are so unreal, like some kind of prince charming in a fairy tale. I'm so scared everything's just a fantasy.”

Jiyong couldn't help but howl in laughter. Kim Taeyeon, even at 27, still managed to look and sound like a teenager. He took her in his arms, and kissed the top of her head.

“Yes darling, I am Prince Charming, and this is our fairy tale. But no, this is not a fantasy. Look at me,” he egged, forcing her hands away from her face, and lifting Taeyeon's chin up. When they were already face to face, he declared, “I love you, Princess Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon studied him for a while. Then, she suddenly separated herself from his arms, and she took ownership of his head. He cupped Jiyong's face with both hands, feeling it very well to check his authenticity. The man was real. She wasn't dreaming. The romantic moment was real, happening here in her childhood bedroom, guarded by her childhood dolls in a candle-lit night.

“I love you too, Prince Jiyong,” she professed, silently crying as she stared at the man whose face she was cupping. Again, Taeyeon felt that Prince Charming was real, existing, and breathing.

“Come here, you,” Jiyong pulled her in again, so that she surrendered in his arms once more.

Taeyeon was a little bit disappointed, because she thought that was the best time to share their first kiss. Maybe not.

“Look at you here. Even as a little girl, you already looked like a princess,” Jiyong said, looking at the picture frames behind Taeyeon.

They stopped hugging, and Taeyeon checked on the photos he was talking about. It was a series of her childhood photos, from her infant years up to the fifth grade.

“Do you want to hear about my childhood dreams?” she asked Jiyong, grabbing a photo of her when she was 11 and looking at it with him.

“Of course.”

“Look at this box I was holding.”

“Yeah?”

“That box contains all my childhood dreams. I wrote them all down in a canvas book, and on the next page, I drew how I envisioned them happening.”

“Contains? So it still exists?”

That's when Taeyeon opened one of the drawers where the frames stood. Inside, she took out the very same box in the photo. With Jiyong's help, they were able to open the box that contained a canvas book that Taeyeon filled with dreams and visions until she was 11.

“Let's read it then,” Jiyong suggested, opening the canvas book and looking at the pages of her handwriting and drawings one by one. “I'll do it. Here goes.”

Taeyeon listened to the man put to words the childhood dreams and goals she had, and they sounded extra sweet when voiced out by the man she loved.

“Sing for at least an entire village. Hmmmm... You've sung in front of the whole world, babe. Check.”

“Be a role model to at least fifty children. Honey, thousands of Korean children idolize you and dream to be like you. Check.”

“Buy a motorbike for Jiwoong, even if I hate him. That's also a Check. He told me you already gifted him about three bikes over the years, and a car.”

“Ask my parents to make a little sister who looks like me. You and Hayeon look like twins, and are clearly the most beautiful women in the world. Check.”

“Be popular in South Korea, and maybe other countries. Heck yeah! You are at the top and center of the Kpop Wave. Check.”

“These next ones are no brainers, baby. Buy a house and an SUV for dad and mom. Build an optical shop for my parents. Meet a pretty best friend who speaks English. Check, check, check.”

When Jiyong turned the book to its last two pages, he suddenly giggled to himself. Taeyeon checked on what the last dream was, and she suddenly blushed because there was a certain uncanny coincidence to it. Maybe even destiny?

With a playful grin, Jiyong read, “Date a fashionable rockstar who can make music...”

And Taeyeon pretended to cry. She scoffed, and exclaimed, “How can I make that dream come true now?! You're not even close to a rockstar!!!”

Surprised and quite offended, Jiyong replied, “Yah Kim Taeyeon, there's no bigger rockstar in Korea than G-dragon! This dream of yours is already coming tr