♥♥♥The Lake House ♥♥♥

♥ 31 March 2011 ♥

"Jieun...!"

She heard Woo Bin angry voice behind her. Reluctantly, she push Jiyong body away from her. She look up to Jiyong. She was taken aback of what she seeing in his eyes. But when she blink her eyes, what she see a while ago seem to vanish. Jiyong turn away as he step back. And she watched him with sudden sadness somewhere deep in her heart. He seems like loosing his voice. Maybe she had a bit more wine than her usual dose. 

"What do you think you're doing!?" 

Woo Bin still sound angry over the kiss that she shared with Jiyong. She felt a bit brave at this instant. She turn to look at the angry man who face had turn so red like cherry tomato. She raised her eyebrow and smirked. 

"Well...as you witness a while ago, I was enjoying a kiss from him!" She pointed to where Jiyong was standing, not far from her though. Jieun then walked away after she proudly admitted of kissing another man at the back patio of the house that she shared with her boyfriend Woo Bin. She gallantly entered the house through the kitchen door as three pairs of eyes stood watching her every movement.

"I guess the party is over for us..." Jiyong said after finally found his voice again.

Woo Bin glared at him. 

"Yes, Mr. Kwon. Please leave my house this instant!" Woo Bin then followed Jieun inside their house, without waiting for Jiyong reply. Minah rolled her eyes as she walked to where Jiyong still standing. She lightly smacked his arm.

"What are you thinking, oppa?"

Despite himself, Jiyong smiled at the thought of the kiss that he shared with Jieun. 

♥ 1 April 2013 ♥

It was you. How come you never said anything?

Jieun

♥ 1 April 2011 ♥

You wouldn't thought that I was crazy? Or drunk...or both?

Jiyong

♥ 2 April 2013 ♥

Ya, I would think that. But I like you. You should have said something.

Jieun

♥ 2 April 2011 ♥

How? You're with your boyfriend.

Jiyong

♥ 3 April 2013 ♥

He was not my boyfriend. You know what. Excuses is still excuses. You are a coward.

Jieun

♥ 3 April 2011 ♥

I'm not a coward.

Jiyong

♥ 4 April 2013 ♥

Oh really? Well, what about your girlfriend? Mina?

Jieun

♥ 4 April 2011 ♥

What? I tell you already. She is not my girlfriend.

Jiyong

♥ 5 April 2013 ♥

And he was not my boyfriend too! Was!

Jieun

♥ 5 April 2011 ♥

Oh really? What is he then? Your brother?

Jiyong

♥ 6 April 2013 ♥

Hah...Never a comedian. What do you have? Clown for breakfast this morning?

Jieun

♥ 6 April 2011 ♥

Jiyong came home from work with Jieun latest letter in his hand. When he open the main door, Jack run inside the house in the direction of the kitchen. He is shaking his head in disbelieve. He stopped to close the door behind him and said to the empty house,

"Wonderful! We have our first fight! You can write a song about it. And go ahead singing it at those club in Gangnam." Then he heard the ringing of his residential phone which he had placed it at the kitchen. He is still fuming that he absentmindedly shout, 'What!' to the phone receiver.

"Oh hello, Hanbin."

"Hey hyung. You sound pissed. Which reckless bird drop the bomb on your windscreen?"

"Nah..." Jiyong dropped Jieun's letter at the side of the phone, along with his car key.

"Listen hyung, I got bad new about dad." Jiyong frowned. "What about him, Hanbin?"

"He is in the hospital Hyung. It's critical." Jiyong quickly grabbed his car key again. "Ok, I will be there in a flash!"

Jiyong reached the hospital 30 minutes later. He could not help it. The traffic has been packed in a jam at this peak hour. He was lucky to reach the hospital at this short minutes though. He did not bother to choose the right spot to park his truck. He just park at any empty slot in the basement of Seoul Hospital Main building. He has been here before so he quickly go directly to the reception desk to enquiry on his dad.

"Hi. I'm looking for my dad, Kwon Gu-Tak. But I do not know what room he is in?"

"Oh his name is Kwon Gu-Tak. Let me check in the system." But a doctor comes approach Jiyong at the reception desk. "Mr. Kwon Gu-Tak? The real estate developer?"

Jiyong turn to the approaching doctor. He could only nodded his head. 

"I'm Dr. Go Hara. I am the attending physician attending to your father." Jiyong shake the offered hands from the female doctor. She looks rather young to hold such an important position.

"Hi...what happen? How is he faring?"

"He got a heart-attack. Fortunately it is rather minor. But he is fine now and stable. We are able to stabilise his condition but he is still require to undergo several observation and further prevention. He has agree to schedule for tomorrow slot." 

Jiyong felt surreal to what he had been informed by the young doctor. Dr Go Hara pat his shoulder in comfort before leaving him in front of his father VIP suite ward. Jiyong nodded his head before knocking the door once and enter the room. He found his father on the hospital bed and the elder was busy reviewing drawings among other piles.

"Good to see you taking things easy, dad." Jiyong said sarcastically before taking the only one available chair in the room. His father did not bother to look at him. "Well...you didn't need to come. I am perfectly fine!"

"No you're not. You had a heart-attack dad." Jiyong trying hard to repress his anger.

"I had an episode, for Christ sake!" His father continue to sketch something on the construction drawing. Making notes here and there. "Nothing more. Appreciate that you keep everything in perspective."

Jiyong puff out angry air through his nose. He stood up from the chair and heading out of the room but he stop for awhile and look back at his father. "I just want to tell you that I'm here if you need anything."

His father seems not to hear a word of what he being said. So Jiyong turn the knob of the door and open it. But before he closed the door behind him, his father faint voice speak out to him. "Coffee."

"What?" Jiyong asked feeling exasperated to the word he just heard coming out from his father mouth. He turn again to his father who still busy sketching on a blank pad.

"You heard me."

♥ 7 April 2013 ♥

 Jieun glance at her wrist watch. Twelve in the afternoon. It is her lunchtime. She has been working since 6am without taking any breaks. She headed out of the ward room, stopping just outside the room to slot back her patient chart at the slot shelving on the wall. She then head down to the staff lounge. Her hand casually checking Jiyong letter that she has pick-up early this morning before her morning shift. She is anxious to read his letter. The only interesting thing that currently happening in her life that she had been earnestly looking forward to. Once she reached the lounge, she head straight to her favourite table at the back of the room where she will be hidden by the other doctors. Her table overlook the busy city of Seoul. As she pull out the chair to sit, she did not bother to buy any food to eat, not even a cup of coffee. Instead, she hurriedly take out Jiyong letter and started to read it:

Jieun,

There is something that I never told you, Jieun. You see, it was my father who built the Lake House. I mean, with his own hand. It was a long time ago before he was famous and he had a family who worship my mother.

My mother. Her name was Hwang Geum Bok. And the house was a gift for her. My mother...she was a smart and funny. She could have done anything but choose to take care of us...my younger brother and my father.

She helped him to build his career. My father. The eccentric and difficult man to live by but yet he is a brilliant at what he does best. You see, my father...the more successful he became, the more impossible he was to

live with. Finally, she just couldn't take it living with him anymore. She left him. Within the same year, she got sicked. Unfortunately, she never learnt how to stop loving him. My eccentric father. He never at the funeral.

When I asked him why...

Jieun frowned. The letter just ended like that. Jieun even flip over the letter in case Jiyong might leave any clue to what he intended to write next. But there is none of that. Jieun blew out frustration breathing as her mind race to what she had learnt about the history behind the Lake house. It was built as a family house but that's not what she felt when she had lived at the Lake house. The house has the great view of the lake however the missing element is the original theme. 

"Why Jiyong? What did your father said...?" Jieun re-read the whole content of the letter. She tried to imagine what's might be the reason for Jiyong father not attending his late wife funeral.

♥ 6 April 2011 ♥

"He said she was dead to him the moment she stepped out of the house. And he won the Best Architect for that year..." Jiyong had stop writing the letter as he stare straight ahead of him. His mind race back to the most painful memories of that morning where he confronted his dad for not attending his mother funeral. Hanbin did not bother to stop Jiyong. He had choose to travel to Europe for a short getaway as he tended his sadden heart. Their father voice sound so cold that Jiyong find it difficult to find any remorse in his father. Right after that confrontation, Jiyong had decided to set out on his own path. He had left his position in his father architect firm and decided to travel south. That's when he left the Lake house before coming home after years of travelling.

Jiyong shuddered. He read what he has written before sending it over to Jieun. His stare at that last sentence. He could not bring himself to write it. It is just too painful for him and at the moment, it might not be a good time to start remembering the other reason for him to hate what his father had said about his mother death. Casting it aside, he needs to take care of his ailing father. Afterall, he did promise his late mother to take care of him for her. He decided to check on his father, bringing his hot coffee as he requested earlier. When he reached his father room, it did not surprise him a bit when he finds the older man still working on his bed. When Jiyong entered the room, his father literally stop working as he take the offered cup of coffee.

"I hope you appreciate this. I have to sneak past three nurses."

"Not decaf, is it?" Kwon Gu-Tak take a careful sipped of the hot coffee and enjoying the aromatic smell of it.

"...should be...but I guess you might not like it." Jiyong took the seat nearest to his father bed. He observed the mess of the drawings piling on the table by the hospital bed.

"Oh...that's not bad. Thank you. So...?" Kwon Gu-Tak smiled at his eldest son as he placed the cup on the table in front of him. "Where is your brother?"

"Oh...I just sent him away. He wasn't feeling well. You know how he is...worried..."

"Yeah...Just like your mother. I'm afraid. She was always worried too much..." Jiyong watched his father face. He got that faraway eyes shining in his eyes. Jiyong decided to stir the conversation away from the topic relating to his mother. He pointed to the drawings. "What are you working at?"

"Hmmm...? Oh yeah...take a look at this," Kwon Gu-Tak show his son a magazine. "It's a proposal."

Jiyong took the magazine from his father as his eyes lingered at the picture. "Whose is it?"

"Someone new..." His father lean nearer to Jiyong as his frail finger pointed to one of the buildings in the magazine. "Look closely on this building. And tell me what's so special about it?"

"Well, I like the walkway where the light fall. What is the material?"

"Granite...linoleum," Kwon Gu-tak wipe out for any coffee residue on his upper lip. 

The conversation between Jiyong and his father continues. They talked about the first trip that he had follow his father to the Europe. His father had show him lots of buildings in each cities and explained to him the intricate details of each building. Jiyong had enjoyed it so much. He then decided to follow the footstep of his father. Their conversation lasted longer than it should have been. He watched his father eyes drooping closed. 

"Why don't you go to sleep dad? You can continue with your work tomorrow morning."

His father just nodded without saying a word. Jiyong watch his father sleep as he sat on the chair nearby.

♥ 8 April 2013 ♥

Jieun decided to head down to the hospital record archive down in the basement. The room was located just across the morgue. Dr. Go had inform earlier that Jieun are required to fill-in the request form for the record that she wished to study at. After Dr. Go had sign it off, Jieun has to pass the form to the clerk who is station there. Jieun watched the male clerk who checking through the form before he allow her to inside the archive room.

"Take as long as you want. But please don't mess up the record." Jieun nodded before enter the room. The record system had been arranged by year that follow with the alphabetically order of the patient name. Jieun head to the year 2011 and search for letter K for the patient surname 'Kwon'. There are several rows of patient with the same surname. Eventually Jieun found the record that she had been looking for. The patient name is 'Kwon Gu-Tak'. As Jieun read through Jiyong father medical record, she was utterly surprised that his father had died on 8 April 2011. That was today in 2 years ago. She saw under the field 'Cause of Death' it has stated Cardiac Arrest and the patient had died in his sleep.

Jieun decided that she has to write a quick note to inform Jiyong in advantage of his misfortune. Jieun literally run past the clerk and climb up to the staircase to her floor. From far she saw Dr. Kim, "Dr. Kim, please can you cover for me for an hour or so. I have some emergency to take care for." The doctor just nodded as she watched Jieun run past her, heading straight to the locker room. 15 minutes later, Jieun drive out from the hospital parking lot, heading to the direction of the Lake House. 

Unfortunately she was too late...

♥ 8 April 2011 ♥

"Hello, Mr Kwon Jiyong. This is Dr Go Hara. I'm afraid I have some difficult news for you..."

Jiyong stop the car at the side of the road. After he ended the call from the hospital, he don't think he is strong enough to break the news to Hanbin. He simply send the text message to his younger brother. He then closed his eyes to allow his self to absorb the news of the death of his father. His father had died in his sleep and the doctor had predicted that he had died around 2 in the early morning. Jiyong was still in his father ward when the older man soul had left his frail body. Jiyong was still wide awake at that time. He was utterly clueless that at that same moment the angel of death had taken away his father soul. Still Jiyong could not shed a tear for his passing father. 

After a few more minutes, Jiyong decided to continue his journey back home to the Lake House. He rather be alone while sitting by the lake than dealing with his father burial procedure. He will leave it to Hanbin to prepare for it. Once he reached the Lake House, he check the mailbox for Jieun letter, if any. And he was surprised to find one. Along with a package underneath the letter. The package bare with his name. The handwriting he knows so well. The package was send by Jieun.

Jiyong,

I am so sorry for your lost, Jiyong. I wish somehow I could be there with you. That we would sit together and lookout into the lake for the light in the lake house where your father had built.

I could be a shoulder for you like you've been for me. And tell you everything will be ok. If I could do one thing, for you today, from here. One small simple thing from the future. I hope this is it.

The package is your father biography that you have told me that he had been working on lately, in your time. This book won't be published for couple of months but I thought you won't have to wait

for that long. Look at the bookmark that I have indicated for you. Jiyong, I hope that you know how much you were loved by your father...

From Jieun.

Jiyong did what Jieun had instructed him. He flip the pages to the bookmark that Jieun had indicated for him. His lip trembled as he gasped out of utter surprised to what he saw. The picture of the Lake House with his father and the younger boy which was him standing at the mailbox, looking over to the Lake House. His father had dedicated two whole pages of his first ever project of the Lake House. He even goes out of his way to mention the small details of his family who used to reside there with him. Now Jiyong could not help but cried for the utmost lost of his beloved father. Despite what has happen between his parent, he is still afterall his father proud son. 

"Oh dad...did you ever know that how much we love you to this day..."

♥♥♥The Lake House ♥♥♥