chapter one.
I Met You in the Sand
For all of Myungsoo’s life, he’d lived under the strict protection of his wealthy father’s men. He rarely went out, had few friends, despite having nearly everything. He was the only son, and his older sister was overseas studying in Australia. He knew that one day, he’d eventually inherit his father’s construction corporation. He has a well-respected education, a good background, an even a career locked into place for his future. For as long as he could remember, Myungsoo never really asked for anything; people just serviced him as they were ordered by his father and mother, whatever they saw appropriate.
When Myungsoo turned eighteen, he finally decided to make a choice of his own. Having never before done so, he nervously walked up to his father’s secretary’s desk in the company building to request an appointment with the CEO. The secretary immediately booked him for the next available timeslot, only a twenty minute wait. Lucky, considering how busy a man Myungsoo’s father was.
Myungsoo lounged on one of the cushioned chairs in the waiting area. Although generally a patient person, Myungsoo felt the need to occupy himself to keep time from slowing down. An article with a brilliant scene caught his eye.
‘The Sand Dunes of the American East Coast.’ As he grabbed the article, he realized that the location was a featured destination—in the company’s news bulletin.
When places were featured in the news bulletin, Myungsoo knew for a fact that the company had either invested in a new building project there or it made a recent partnership. Myungsoo pondered over what his father had planned with such a sandy space.
“Young master, you may see him now.”
Myungsoo glanced up at the secretary and nodded. He got up from the chair and took the magazine with him as he followed his father’s secretary to the great office. Myungsoo had only been there once in his eighteen years. And of course, that sole time he stepped into the company chairman’s office was involuntary.
The chairman was finishing up some documents from his last client when his secretary announced his son’s arrival at the office. He thought he was mistaken at first. Kim Myungsoo? Of course it couldn’t have been THAT Kim Myungsoo. THAT Kim Myungsoo had never ever visited his father, especially not at work.
“Father,” Myungsoo said calmly, his father finally looking up from his computer monitor, a shocked expression plastered onto his face. “Hello, father.”
“Why, Myungsoo, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you here? You hardly visit my office.” It was more like he didn’t step into the company building. At all.
“I have a request.” Myungsoo held out the magazine he picked up from the secretary’s lair. “I would like to take a one-week-long excursion to the States.”
He originally only intended to visit New York for a week, but upon encountering the image of a sandy bliss, he changed his mind.
“Here? You want to go here?” his father questioned, puzzled at his son’s sudden decisions to travel overseas.
Myungsoo hadn’t gone overseas since he went to visit his sister in Australia. Despite his family’s amassed wealth, Myungsoo usually stayed at home instead of traveling with his parents. They usually went here and there for business purposes anyway, uninteresting to Myungsoo.
“Okay, then. I’ll have Secretary Cha arrange for your trip, then. When are you going?”
“First week of July, if possible.”
“Of course.” Mr. Kim was overjoyed. His son was his pride, and to see that he might finally break from his lonely antisocial shell, he was more than delighted to let his son out into the world.
❦
Myungsoo had anticipated this trip for four long months; of course, without actually expressing that on his face in the duration.
He spent most of his first day in the Outer Banks touring up and down the more developed island. His English wasn’t the best, but he knew enough to survive in a foreign country.
Times like these, Myungsoo was grateful that his parents had sent his younger self to England to study all those years ago. At least it’s useful.
❦
Secretary Cha had arranged for Myungsoo to stay with a couple that lived in the area. Very close to the beach, actually. You were their daughter, a few years older than Myungsoo, but he didn’t know that.
In fact, you were rarely at home, instead roaming around the big island with friends. Myungsoo didn’t even know the couple had a daughter.
“How was your first day here? What do you think?” your mother asked him during dinner.
Myungsoo took a sip of the soup in front of him on the table. “The food’s good.”
Your mom smiled. At least he enjoyed her cooking. “Here have some more crab. It’s fresher here than in other parts of the country.”
❦
Your family owned a three-story-four-bedroom house, less than a ten minute walk from the ocean shores. The bottom-most floor’s bedroom served as a guestroom for your family to rent out; your parents shared a room, you had a room, and the third unoccupied room was sort of like a playroom. The kitchen and living room were on the top floor.
Myungsoo plopped onto the bed in his guestroom, hair still moist from his shower. He curled himself under the sheets, and pulled out a stuffed rabbit plushie. What was that doing there? A smile crept onto his face, and he soon fell asleep, the rabbit clutched between his chest and arms.
❦
After breakfast the next day, Myungsoo decided it was time to start on his real mission coming to such an unfamiliar place. Coming for the company was just an excuse.
Myungsoo had a hidden passion for photography. Whenever he had the chance to, he would secretly find time to visit new places he had yet used as his subjects. The Outer Banks would be one of those places.
He grabbed his camera pack and borrowed one of the bikes sitting in your garage, then headed over to the sand dunes he originally saw in the company magazine. He remembered passing it during his tour of the island, and luckily for him, it was only about three miles away from where he was staying.
After locking up the bike at the kite shop across the street, Myungsoo strolled across the highway, then started hiking up the huge pile of sand.
❦
Meanwhile, you were spending the day at the dunes with your best friend. At least, that’s what you two had planned. You were already past the first climb on your own when your phone started vibrating.
“What do you mean you can’t make it? We planned this weeks ago! What? Your sister is in labour? Uhh… fine. Tell her congrats for me. See you around, bye.”
So, you were left on your own for the day. And for tomorrow, too. You sat down in the sand, and started lacing your fingers back and forth in it, creating some sort of sand etching. You were grateful that it was still somewhat early in the morning; otherwise the sand would’ve been beyond too hot to sit in once the sun reached its peak.
Just as you were working on some finishing touches, someone tumbled backwards onto his behind, smack in the middle of your work, ruining what you had spent the last half hour working on.
“Oh, crap.” The guy immediately stood up, only to clumsily fumble back down.
You stared at the guy, bewildered. He was Asian, like yourself, and a rare sight in this part of the country. You were hoping he spoke English, since you didn’t feel like digging into the back of your mind to use each of the Asian languages you learned to attempt communicating with him.
You stood up first, then offered him your hand to help him up. He seemed hesitant at first, but after a few moments, he took it anyways. You saw the camera he held as he worriedly dusted the sand off it.
Ouch, looked expensive. “Yeah… not a good place to bring a camera of that caliber.” You’ve already gone through the experience of camera malfunction, kudos to the sand. Hopefully, this guy’s camera was alright. You didn’t want to be liable to a stranger.
“Are you okay?” the guy suddenly asked as he smacked his legs to dust his pants. You were puzzled. Why wouldn’t you be?
You saw that he was pointing to your work in the sand where he fell over. “Oh, that? Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t anything important,” you assured him.
Still, he looked apologetic and guilty. You took a glimpse of the name etched on the guy’s camera pack and twitched your eye when you saw it. Kim Myungsoo. “I’ll treat you to a meal, come on.”
The guy seemed puzzled, but he decided to follow you down the dunes anyway, not quite sure what else to do now that his camera was dead for the day. He had some time to kill. A lot of it, actually.
❦
You were at the bottom of the hill, looking up about five meters to where Myungsoo stood, at the top of the hill. He was somewhat lost on how he was supposed to get down, but tried hard to keep a straight face and not panic.
“Do you need some help?” you called up to him after observing that he barely descended two feet after five whole minutes. The sun would set by the time he’d reach the bottom at the rate he was attempting to get down. You climbed back up to Myungsoo with ease before he could answer.
You held out your hand to him. “Do you trust me?”
Myungsoo didn’t look too sure. After all, he had just met you not half an hour ago. After mentally weighing to himself his options, he figured he’d might as well trust you; all the sooner his feet would settle on concrete again.
You smiled at him when he finally took your tiny hand. “Great! Now keep your chin back and run!”
And he screamed the entire way down, desperately trying to hold onto your hand—practically your entire arm—as his legs automatically alternated in pushing his body forward down the steep, sandy hill.
“HEY! Keep your upper body leaned back! Or we’ll—”
You couldn’t even finish your command; your mouth was dry from all the sand that got in it from your undesirable landing.
❦
“You said to trust you.” Myungsoo ran his hair under the fountain outside the kite shop where he had left the bike only an hour or so ago. “Now I have sand in my pants.” He mentally groaned.
“I did. And, I got you down and back on solid earth, did I not?” You continued tugging your shirt in various places, trying to shake out the remaining lumps of sand inside. “It’s not like you’re dead right now or anything.”
Myungsoo fought his temptation to punch you, instead kicking a post in the parking lot with all his strength. “OW! God, damn it!”
You rolled your eyes at him. You couldn’t resist smirking at him just then.
❦
“You know, from what you just told me, your stay here so far seems pretty boring.”
Myungsoo frowned at your remark, then continued chewing the sushi in his mouth.
You decided to take him to the island’s only sushi restaurant. It was only a few miles away from the sand dunes, too. “Sorry, we don’t have Korean cuisine over here. Maybe that would’ve been more at-home for you?”
“Nah, it’s close enough.”
“Why aren’t you eating the raw stuff?”
“Not fond of it.”
“Figures.” You picked up a slice of tuna and pouted. “Such a shame. It’s locally caught, too. Fresh stuff.”
❦
“Why would you do that?” Myungsoo took a spoonful of green tea ice cream.
“Because I want to. Why not?”
“Do you always treat strangers with this much—”
“No.”
“Then why would you—”
“My friend ditched me for her sister this morning. So I’m going to be bored today and tomorrow. Good enough reason?” You took another bite of your ice cream.
“No.” Myungsoo frowned. “You’re weird.”
“Thank you," you nodded to your waiter, who thanked you in return for the generous tip you left him.
“Wait, did you just pay—”
“Yup. Now come on, let’s go.”
“But I—”
“Just go. No big deal.”
Myungsoo followed you out the restaurant, speechless, dumbfounded.
posted 26062011
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