Chapter 13
Picture Perfect______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chan-ho asked impatiently.
“It means,“ She said in an even voice, “that I am not married, nor have been married. I’m still single.”
Chan-ho laughed. “Very funny. You must have forgotten that we’ve already met Chulson.”
“No. You all met a man by the name of Bang Yongguk who was kind enough to fill in for me when I thought I needed someone to introduce as my husband.”
Chan-ho stared at her as though she had suddenly started speaking in tongues. It didn’t take long for him to say, “But he stayed with you during the weekend, didn’t he?”
Suzy smiled. “That’s right, he did.” She said and watched Chan-ho ears turned red. "I'm sorry that I'd disappointed you."
“Why tell us you were married if you aren’t?” Chan-ho asked.
“I was under the impression that I wouldn’t get the promotion without it. I wanted the promotion. Therefore I invented a husband.”
“Sounds like a dumb thing to do.” Chan-ho said with a shrug. “I don’t like the idea that you lied to us, Suzy.”
“Neither do I, which is why I decided to admit the truth. If you want someone else to take over the Busan operation, let me know.” With that she walked out of the office, closed the door quietly behind her and almost skipped down the hall.
She couldn’t believe how relieved she felt. So what if they fired her? Wasn’t it discrimination to require a certain marital status as a job requirement? Now she didn't care anymore.
Meeting Yongguk had been the best thing that had ever happened to her. She wanted so badly to call and share with him what she had just done. Then she reminded herself that Yougguk ignored her massages. Almost four months has passed since she’d been in Busan. There was no reason to believe that he was still out of town, the only excuse she had been able to cling to during those first week.
Suzy found Yongguk’s business card where she kept it in her top drawer. She’d memorized his phone numbers weeks ago, but she continued to look at the card and smile at the whimsical name of his company. Its battered condition revealed how often she handled the card. She ran her finger across his name and wished that it were him she touched.
She missed him so much. She tried to tell herself that her preoccupation with him was due to the fact that he was the first person she’d ever allowed to become close to her, emotionally as well as physically. In the past several weeks she’d fallen into habit of mentally talking to him, sharing the odd things that came up in her day-to-day existence. She really missed him.
A tap is heard at her office door.
“Yes. Come in.” Her eyes still at her computer screen.
“Suzy, do you have a minutes? I think we need to talk.”
Suzy was surprised it was Chan-ho. “Sure. Please have a seat.”
“I’m very disappointed in you.” Chan-ho paused as though waiting for Suzy to comment. When Suzy didn’t, he went on. “Who did y
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