Hello readers!!!

I'm coming back! Slowly but definitely!

Need to finish this story before my graduation June next year :)

To all the readers who left their comments, I'm deeply grateful and trust me I read every single one of them.

To all the news subbies and silent readers, you people made my days too. ^^

So yeah, rest assure! You'll have a complete story SOON. 

Enjoy!!!

TAEYEON’S STORY

AT FIRST SIGHT

“Would you like to take the wheel for a while?” Jiyong finally popped the silence between us.

Out of the deference to the possible return of my morning sickness, Jiyong kept his ketch, the Crayon in sight of land on our leisurely cruise around Jeju Island.

I, who had been sunning on the deck that form the main roof of the main cabin below, popped up on my elbows and looked at him over the top of my sunglasses. “You’ve got a yen to visit Tokyo?”

Jiyong laughed. “Unfortunately, not today.”

“Then, I advise you to keep the wheel.”

“Only if you’ll come over here and keep me company.”

I was surprise at his sudden invitation, but nonetheless I sat up and gathered the sarong skirt that hand been spread out under me. I climbed down carefully, tied the sarong at my waist and jeered at Jiyong on the padded bench behind the wheel.

“You said earlier that you usually sail alone, so I figured you’d prefer peace and quiet.” I said as I settled next to him.

“Though the silence was companionable and relaxing, I’d rather talk today.”

“About what?”

“You.”

I startled at his word, anxiety began to grow as I bit my lower lip. “What do you want to know?”

The blue and white sails above us crackled as the wind shifted ever so slightly, and Jiyong adjusted our course to keep the sails full. “Oh, just the ordinary stuff, I guess. What your childhood was like. Why you went into business. How you ended up working for another company before Wisteria in Thailand.”

I found myself heaving a sigh of relief. I considered there was no harm in answering him as long as I was careful enough to not spill unnecessary details. “Seunghyun oppa told you that I grew up poor, didn’t he?”

“Yes.” Jiyong replied. “In Jeonju.”

“Then you can pretty much guess what my childhood was like. We lived way out in the country on a piece of land that had been in my father’s family for generations.”

“What did your father do for living?”

My heart sank at the thought of my father. He was rather a chapter in my life that I vowed never to mention again in my life. But the person who was asking was Jiyong. I knew he wanted to close the gap between us, but in order for that to happen; he needed to know more about me, to understand who I am as a person.

“My grandfather opened a small noodle shop most of his life and he taught my father all of his skills and knowledge. Regrettably, my father wasn’t really interested in running the family business. He’d lost the use of his left arm in an accident when he was a teenager and that became his excuse to never work another day in his life.” I hesitated before making the admission that was still uncomfortable for me. “We lived on welfare and charities from people.”

I looked at Jiyong to see his response, wanting to see if he was judging me, condemning me. He wasn’t. In fact, I saw just the opposite. Respect. “Do you ever marvel at how far you’ve come, Taeyeon?” He asked in a gentle voice, a voice that I was finally becoming accustomed to.

I smiled and nodded. “Oh, yeah. I spent my years in Seoul and Thailand learning etiquette, travelling when I could to soak up culture, shedding my hillbilly accent… Basically trying to pretend that I was someone other that a little hick from nowhere.”

“Do you still pretend?”

“Every chance I get.” I said wistfully. “But it’s hard to escape who you are. You can leave the past behind, but you can’t hide from the things that shaped you. Particularly not when you’re someone who volunteered counseling for women shelter. I mean, how can you ask other people to face their demons if you aren’t willing to face some of your own?”

“Is that why you took psychology as your second degree? To understand more about human’s mind and emotion and face your demons?”

“Urm… sort of.” I said after a moment. “I took business because I wanted to relate to my grandfather somehow. Though I didn’t quite remember him clearly since he died when I was still young, he was someone who I hold dear in my heart. He always told me to aim high and grow up to be a respectable person. “

I went on to explain how I’d worked my way through high school and got a full scholarship to attend NSU. And eventually, how I met with Tiffany and we became best friend.

Though I had an odd yearning to be completely honest with Jiyong, I left out huge chunks of my life, skipping over the nightmare years. Something inside me wanted to trust him, but I didn’t dare risk giving him any ammunition he might use against me later. I needed him to assume that I had simply finished high school, and headed straight to NSU; and to my great relief, he did.

“It was Tiffany’s idea for me to take psychology as my second degree. I got excellent grades and the university offered me to take a double degree.” I told Jiyong. “She said if I were to obsess in helping people at the shelter and ready to give counseling 24/7 if they need me, I might as well do it properly. So, I took the university’s offer and study psychology.”

“Admirable.” Jiyong said as he pulled a genuine smile on his lips. “You seemed to love your life in Korea. Then, what made you go to Thailand? Is it because of Tiffany?”

“You hit the bull’s-eye there. I didn’t actually want to leave Seoul. I had my whole life there. But you know how Tiffany is. When Uncle Hwang gave her the news about transferring to Thailand, she basically went crazy. She hasn’t meet Seunghyun oppa at that time, and the thought of having to move to a foreign country with no one she knows aside from her parents didn’t sit well her. So, she begged me to follow her to Thailand. She even asked her parents to coax me.”

“But why did you work for another company? I’m sure the Hwangs invited you to work with Wisteria in the first place.”

“I don’t want people to think that I took advantage of the Hwangs. They’re really nice people and I love them like they are my own flesh and blood. So, I took a job at a different company.”

“Until Chaerin came back to Seoul and there was an opening to fill her spot in Bangkok’s Wisteria?” Jiyong assumed.

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