Chapter 27

Heartfelt Voice

His curious expression made Jiyeon smile a little. She grabbed her bag and sat down before him. I'm not curious actually. She opened the bag and took out the photo album. He moved to sit beside her, and she slowly flipped the photo album open. As the cover opened onto her lap, Jaehyun read the words 'A beautiful girl with her own way of thinking' written on the inside.

"No doubt the beautiful girl he meant was you," Jaehyun said as he placed his arm around her shoulders and drew her in close to his side.

"So you agree I'm beautiful," Jiyeon remarked, looking up at him.

He nodded innocently, offering an angelic smile, which made her heart change its rhythm. She lifted her hand, her finger tracing his dimple. "You have adorable dimples, Jaehyun," she whispered softly. Her face split wide with a beaming smile.

"You have the cutest dimple at the corner of your mouth." He inclined his head and planted a lingering kiss on the left corner of . Jiyeon giggled as the warmth of his kiss spread through her.

Jaehyun pulled away and gave her a confused look. "Why are you giggling?"

"Because you kissed my tiny cute dimple," she answered in a joking tone once her giggle subsided.

He shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. She shifted her attention back to the photo album and flipped through a few pages containing photos of a young woman looking at the sun with her back facing the camera, until she got to a page that contained a photo of her standing barefoot on the grass in a park, facing two young women. One of them had long straight brown hair; her index finger pointed at Jiyeon's face, while the other one had dark-brown shoulder-length wavy hair.

"She is my sister, Jung Eunji," Jaehyun said, disbelief registering clearly in his voice as he pointed his index finger to the young woman with dark brown shoulder-length wavy hair.

Surprised, Jiyeon jerked her gaze to him. "Really?"

Jaehyun nodded. "You met my sister before you met me."

Jiyeon turned her gaze back to the photo and let her mind fly back to the day she met his sister when she was in the first year of university. She took a deep breath before she told Jaehyun how she met his sister.

That Wednesday afternoon, she went barefoot to the park in order to test the theory 'staring at the sun leads to blindness' since she didn't have classes in the afternoon. It got her a lot of stares, but she didn't give a damn. Walking barefoot was one of her ways to connect with nature and reap its healing benefits.  

The sun shone brightly in a clear blue sky, broken only by wispy clouds chased along a light breeze. Standing barefoot on the grass, Jiyeon looked directly into the sun. She had been testing the theory for ten days. She was grateful she'd followed her instincts. If she just believed what science told her, she would never know that black is the actual color of the sun―and the human eye has the ability to break down the entire spectrum of sunlight into the different color rays.

She felt someone tugging on the hem of her white cotton T-shirt. "Sis, what are you doing?" came a child's voice. 

"Looking at the sun," Jiyeon replied, keeping her eyes on the sun. She noticed that after the sun turned black, it had an aura of purple around it and all the colors of the rainbow beneath it. She felt like she was seeing the electromagnetic field. Wonder, delight and amazement filled her whole being, her face lighting in a smile that made her draw deep breath. To her mind, words were meaningless when it came to the beauty of nature.

Jiyeon glanced down at her left side and was surprised to see a little girl in school uniform, who seemed to be around six years old staring at the sun. She turned her attention back to the sun and said, "The sun is black, and it's so beautiful, right?"

"I see rainbow colors! They are wonderful!" The little girl's voice rose, excitement kindling there. Jiyeon gave a short, amused laugh.

"Sojung, what are you doing there?" a woman's voice filled the air.

"I'm wacthing the sun with this beautiful sister," the little girl said loudly, tugging on the hem of Jiyeon's white cotton T-shirt. Immediately, the slap of running shoes echoed.

A young woman with long straight brown hair stood on her kness in front of the little girl, a worried expression written all over her face, while a young woman with dark brown shoulder-length wavy hair stood next to her, scanning Jiyeon from head to toe then back up again.

"Are you ok? Do your eyes hurt?" the young woman with long straight brown hair asked, cupping the little girl's face. "Your mom told you not to look at the sun, why did you disobey her?"

"I'm ok, Auntie. My eyes do not hurt," the little girl answered. "Mom is a liar. I don't go blind."

Jiyeon couldn't help but laugh at the little girl's innocence, while the young woman with dark brown shoulder-length wavy hair pressed her lips together but didn't succeed in hiding her smile. The young woman with long straight brown hair's worried expression turned into one of anger. She shot Jiyeon a piercing glare, which made her stop laughing.

She looked back at the little girl. "Sojung, go back to the car and wait for me there," she instructed firmly. The little girl sulked, her lips turned down in a pout.

"Hurry up!" She raised her voice a notch.

"I hate you!" the little girl shouted before running.

She straightened up and pointed her index finger at Jiyeon's face as she spoke aloud, "Why did you persuade a kid to stare at the sun? Are you losing your mind? Staring at the sun is not wise. It will―"

"I didn't persuade her. She asked me what I was doing. I guess it was her curiosity that made her do what I was doing," Jiyeon interjected as she pushed her hand away. "I'm one hundred percent sure, when you were a little kid, your mother told you not to look at the sun. It will burn your eyes, and you'll go blind. That's all lie. If staring directly into the sun is harmful as mainstream knowledge and medicine put it, it will take only a few seconds to do the damage. Your niece and I proved it wrong. I can look directly at the sun for any time you can count, and I still have perfect vision."

"It's not ok to spread disinformation! You're essentially holding a magnifying glass to the back of your eye and burning it. It's basically what you're doing when the sun is focused through your eye," the young woman retorted. "Sir Isaac Newton tested this theory by enhancing the sun's rays by putting a mirror in a dark room and staring into the mirror that was pointed at the sun. He lost the ability to see color and had distorted vision."

"Sir Isaac Newton just proved you don't think for yourself. People have been conditioned way too long that they cannot even think or research even apply things to their perceptions of the world and therefore we have zombies walking and talking the same," Jiyeon said slowly, emphasizing each word as she looked at her sharply. "So instead of believing what you're told, try checking things out for yourself. Things don't lie, people do."

"You're mentally ill. I don't have time to argue with you," the young woman with long straight brown hair spat out before walking away.

The young woman with dark brown shoulder-length wavy hair patted Jiyeon's shoulder and gave her a small smile. "Don't take to the heart. You know in order to break out of the box, there needs to be a basic understanding of how the human mind reacts to the truth―either happy acceptance or violent rejection. This depends on how entrenched is the current belief system," she told her. "If there are strong but erroneous beliefs, and when facts are presented, there is often in the first stage, a display of insults and mockery. In the second stage, there is aggression in defense of their own belief system. When the facts can't be denied any more, they must cave in and accept the truth. Sadly, the majority of people never get beyond the first stage."

Jiyeon smiled at her. "You're correct. A wise man once said 'it's easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled'. By the way, is she your friend?"

"Yes, she is. We are attending the same university."

"What's university, miss?"

"It's Seoul University."

Jiyeon's smile grew wider. "I'm attending Seoul University too."

"Oh really?" A surprised look crossed her features. "What's your―"

"You're wasting your time talking to that mentally ill! Come on, I need to take Sojung to an eye doctor!" the young woman with long straight brown hair shouted.

"I'm sorry. I have to go. It's nice to meet you," she said with a smile, then turned around and walked off.

"That young woman's opinion on how people react to the truth is spot on," a man's voice came. Jiyeon cocked her head to the right side and saw a young man leaning against a tree trunk, looking down at the camera that he was holding in his right hand. He was clad in blue jeans, white T-shirt and sneakers. He wore a black knitted cap on his head. Black scarf around his neck covered half his face.

He kept his eyes on the camera as he continued, "You probably believed as a kid it was Santa Claus who miraculously delivered your toys every Christmas. As you got older, you might remember the day when a school friend broke the devastating news that Father Christmas wasn't real! Were you upset? Of course you were. You mocked your friend who could suggest Santa Claus didn't exist? You were angry. Finally you learned the truth and you had to accept it. For the first time you escaped the process of brainwashing."

"Are you talking to me?" Jiyeon questioned, trying to sound calm. As the man slowly raised his head, she quickly ran away.

"Sun girl, where are you going? Of course, I'm talking to you!" His shout echoed through the park. She didn't bother to look back. His clothing scared her. It reminded her of a thief.

The memory brought a smile to Jiyeon's face. She felt proud of that little girl for figuring out she'd been brainwashed into believing a lie. Her smile faded as a realization hit her. The man in a thief like outfit was none other than Baekwoon. She shuddered at the thought that Byun Baekwoon was a creepy stalker.

Jiyeon took her lover's hand in hers and squeezed it. "Jaehyun, your sister was nice to me."

"I believe she will approve of our relationship." Jaehyun her cheek softly. He then looked down at the photo and pointed his index finger to the young woman with long straight brown hair, adding, "Her name is Lee Jieun. I met her twice." He shifted his gaze back to Jiyeon's face. "I have no doubt the man who called you sun girl was Baekwoon. He'd stalked you and taken your photos."

"You're correct. He was Baekwoon. Now I get why in my dream, he told me that we aren't strangers. We know each other, and we have a history." Jiyeon continued to flip through the pages until she reached the last page that contained an 8x10 portrait of her sitting on the ground, leaning against a maple tree trunk while reading a math book.

"Byun Baekwoon, you stalked me when you were alive! You're dead now, and you're still stalking me?" Jiyeon shouted, frustration clear in her voice. The thought that she was being stalked by a dead man drove her insane. She slammed the photo album shut, feeling the tears threatening to tumble, but she fought to keep them at bay. "Please, go away, Baekwoon." Her voice cracked.

Jaehyun put the photo album back into her bag, then wrapped her in a strong embrace and kissed the top of her head. "If you want to cry, go ahead and cry," he whispered so tenderly.

His tenderness comforted her like a warm bath that washed away the clutter in her mind. Jiyeon stilled in his embrace. Closing her eyes, she drowned in his warmth, his caring. Jaehyun kept caressing her hair lovingly without saying anything. Each caress sent warmth all the way to her soul. Moments later, he extricated her from his embrace, but continued to hold her hand. His eyes gleamed as he looked into her eyes. She smiled slowly. Her fingers squeezed his, and she looked back into his eyes for so long that she flushed.

"We experienced the same thing," Jaehyun said softly, holding her eyes. "We got labeled mentally ill for challenging the consensus view. Let's take this as a sign we're meant to be together."

Jiyeon nodded, her smile growing wider. "I promise that no matter what happens in this life, I'll always love you, Jung Jaehyun. I'll always support you, and I'll always be faithful to you. Always."  

He grinned. "No matter what happens in life, I will do everything to be with you, Park Jiyeon. I will never stop loving you. I will honor, protect and respect you until the day I die. Nothing can ever get in the way of..." Jaehyun leaned in, pressing a kiss on the tip of her nose. "Our love."

Jiyeon gave him her most serious expression. "We're now married," she declared.

His dimples appeared as a low laugh escaped his lips. She cupped his face and spoke very slowly as if she were spelling out every word, "I'm not kidding, Jung Jaehyun. We're now married. We just said our vows to each other, witnessed by the sun, the wind, grass, trees and the clouds. To me, marriage is the commitment that two people enter into that state they will honor, protect, love, sacrifice all they have to the other person. I don't need a ring. Rings are not a symbol of love and devotion but a symbol of materialism."

His eyes grew moist. His lips moved, but no words came as if he didn't quite know what to say. He hugged her tightly. "I'm so incredibly honored you chose me as your life partner. I love you dearly and endlessly," Jaehyun whispered, his voice cracking.

"I'm blessed to have you and your love," she whispered back as she rubbed his back.

"You promised to your mom that you won't have before marriage. Since you know she won't ever allow you to get married to him, you create your own definition of marriage, so you can have with him without breaking your promise. That's what you think, right?" Baekwoon's angry voice boomed in her ears. "You're so shameless, immoral."

"Just shut up. It's none of your business," she muttered under her breath as she kept rubbing Jaehyun's back.

A moment later, Jaehyun released her. "They are tears of joy," he said, smiling as Jiyeon wiped the tear stains under his eyes.

"I know." Jiyeon planted a quick kiss on his lips then took off her shoes. She rose to her feet, removed her blazer and casually tosssed it up in the tree; it landed on one of the branches. She started rolling up her sleeves.

"What are you going to do?" Jaehyun asked, his voice tinted with confusion. "Climb the tree?"

She glanced down at him as she replied, "Feel sunlight on my bare skin." She curled her long arms up towards the sun, craned her neck to bring her face closer to its warmth, her eyes fixed on the sun. She stilled, feeling sunlight go to the intestines.

"It's like you're flowering," Jaehyun said.

"Yes, I'm like a plant," Jiyeon countered. "Like plants, the human body not only needs water; it also needs sunlight. Light is the energy that allows the biomechanics to work. The more light we get, the healthier we are. What nonsense, to be told to shun the sun."

"I couldn't agree more." His voice sounded deep and gentle. "We are biological batteries. Fact! Sun gazing actually charges you up. It's funny how at school we are told that if you look at the sun, it will damage your eyes. I wish more people would wake up and turn to nature."

"I really want to sunbathe . It must feel so good," Jiyeon blurted out.

"Just do it then. What stops you?" Jaehyun's voice rose a notch. "There are many cultures that don't wear clothing and are a lot more at peace with nature and life, not worrying about silly things, no insecurities, or repressed anxieties. When things are held back is when problems start."

Jiyeon turned to face him. " sunbathing is considered unacceptable. You can be arrested under indecent exposure if you are in a public place."

"Well, you can sunbathe in your garden."

She blew out a loud a sigh. "Mom will kill me."

He sprang to his feet, put his arms on her shoulders and looked at her eyes. "You can do it in my garden if you want."

Without saying a word, Jiyeon squatted down, helped him untie the laces and took off his shoes. She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder before taking their shoes and his bag.

"Let's go." She handed him the bag.

Jaehyun took it and draped it over his shoulder. "Jiyeon, where are we gonna go?"

"We're going home barefoot."

"To your parents' house, or mine?"

"Of course, yours," Jiyeon replied. She dropped her voice to a whisper as she added, "I want to sunbathe in your garden."

Jaehyun smiled. "Okay, let's go."

"Nowadays many people associate walking barefoot with poverty or eccentricity―they look down on it. Watch how many glances of surprise, pity and even contempt we will attract." Jiyeon dumped their shoes into the trash can.

"Those people never learned the benefits of walking barefoot. They know nothing of the peculiar, mysterious power it can convey, or else they would not react the way they do." Jaehyun took her hand and interlocked their fingers together as they walked slowly as if their feet were kissing the earth. The grass under their bare feet felt cool and soft. It brought a sense of happiness.

"Modernism replacing our ground with concrete, asphalt. We're all disconnected," Jaehyun grumbled as they stepped onto the concrete sidewalk. The concrete felt warm under their bare feet.

An old man sitting at the bus stop gave them a pitying look. Two passing pedestrians, who looked like a couple, threw them a contemptuous glance, whispered to each other and laughed. But Jaehyun and Jiyeon didn't care. As they felt the concrete getting hot, they ran and ran as fast as their legs could carry them.  


 

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KimmyNurry
692 streak #1
Chapter 40: Congrats on the bid! ^^
lovelyfeisty
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Chapter 40: Congratulations on the highest bid and I'll be reading soon!
WR_Supplier
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Chapter 34: Congrats on the ad bid feature!
dreamshun
1812 streak #4
Chapter 34: Congrats^^
Damia_Song123 #5
Chapter 34: Congratulations on winning the bid ^^
Ghad20
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Chapter 34: Congratulations
sabirah
#7
Chapter 34: Wow the whole story is so overwhelming ,i would likely to digest the gist of it ...Love it as it's been a long time that i read this kind of story before 😍