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| LOL! Yeah right..not what I had imagined but at least this is easy on the eyes yeah? hahaha |
The wistful look in his eyes seemed to bore right through her. It was haunting yet captivating.
Who is this man?
"Choi SeungHyun.." she mouthed to herself as she gazed out of the window ruminatively.
There was a hunch that she couldn't shake off, that this man wasn't just an accidental stranger.
She tried to comb through the recesses of her fragmented memories to get a clue.
Images flickered through her mind like an old movie, there was a backview of tall man walking away... in another scene, she was screaming in pain as her wrists were pinned against the wall..
Her head started to throb, a droplet of cold sweat trickled down her temple as anxiety gripped her.
"Aaaahhh" she groaned and crouched her body, holding on to the kitchen counter but it was dripping wet and her hands were slipping off.
"LENA!" SungWoo hurried towards her and held her up, supporting her shoulders.
"Are you ok?! What happened?!" he panicked, one hand turning off the running tap which was overflowing the kitchen sink and the other gripping onto to Lena tightly.
She tried to look up at him but her vision was still blurred.
"Kenchana.. Relax and take slow breaths. Here, sit down" he led her to the couch then gently rubbing her back to calm her senses.
"Mianhe Oppa" Lena slowly apologized once her nerves were calmed down.
"Lena-ah.. you gave me a shock when I saw you collapsing and the kitchen floor was almost flooded. What if you fell and hurt yourself?! What if I wasn't around? Aish..." he half-exclaimed, half-chastised her.
Lena bowed her head sheepishly.
SungWoo covered her hands and assured her "Please be more careful ok Lena? Don't force yourself to remember the past. It will come back to you when the time is right. Promise me ok Lena? I may not be here all the time to look out for you and YoungBae needs you too. "
"Yeh Oppa, I promised." Lena smiled faintly and massaged her temple.
"YoungBae-ah" she tried to stand up to look for her boy but SungWoo held her shoulders firmly and settled her back onto the couch.
"You're weak and the kitchen is still slippery, rest here for awhile and I'll fix it. Arasseo?"
She tried to open her mouth to protest but he widened his glare at her; making her clamp her mouth shut instead and nodded. She knew how assertive her brother can be but she feels guilty for having to take care of his little sister. Although he does have a point; she can't imagine if she had gotten into a mishap, what would happen to her YoungBae? She shuddered at that thought and chided herself for not thinking of the people around her. YoungBae is already missing his real father and although SungWoo has been there as his godfather, they still don't make a complete family nucleus.
I must stay strong for my YoungBae. She reminded herself.
The sound of tiny feet padding across the hall broke her from her thoughts.
"Umma" YoungBae climbed up the couch to join her.
"Yes my YoungBae, what have you been up to?"
"I cleaned myself up Umma!" He stuck his chest out proudly even though his shirt was worn the other way around and his hair was still unkempt.
Lena smiled and patted his head "YoungBae is such a good boy" reminded herself to give him another shower before bedtime.
"Umma.. I'm hungry, can we have dinner?"
She looked at the clock, it was almost 7pm and she hadn't prepared their dinner.
"Omo" she gasped and hurried toward the kitchen.
She was surprised at the sight of her handsome brother decked out in a frilly apron and fussing over the bubbling pot on the hot stove.
"Oppa..."
"Dinner coming right up! I hope you like kimchi because we're having a kimchi-feast!Kimchi jigae, kimchi fried-rice and kimchi pancake!" He swirled and smiled broadly at the mother and son, while brandishing the soup ladle in the air.
Youngbae started giggling at the sight of his usually-cool godfather trying to look domesticated.
"Hey Hey YoungBae-ah, where are your manners? "
"Oppa.. I didn't know you could cook?! It smells wonderful! "
"Lena-ah.. Of course I can cook, I was living alone in the States, do you expect me to eat take-out everyday? But..... I can only make kimchi dishes." He laughed cheekily.
"Thank you Oppa, you're so sweet... Mianhe I troubled you again. Is there anything you need be to help you with?" Lena flustered.
"Kenchana, Lena-ah just sit-down and relax ok? I don't normally cook, but since you weren't feeling too good, let me do this once ok? Who knows? You might not want me to step into the kitchen again after today? Haha " He jested and turned towards the hot-pot to stir the contents.
"Lena-ah.. Seunghyun-ssi, the man we met at the playground today. What do you think of him? "
She arched her brow in surprise by his question.
Beep.. the message alert sounded on her phone.
1 New Message from SeungHyun:
Hi Lena, there's a carnival at the park this weekend. Would you like to go? I am sure YoungBae will have fun there. :)
"Speak of the devil..." SungWoo teased, jumping right beside Lena, startling her.
"Oppa!" Lena eyed him coyly, embarassed by his incessant teasing.
SungWoo laughed out and turned to Youngbae, " YoungBae-ah how would you like to go to the carnival with the Ajussi you met at the playground today?"
"Yay! I like that Ahjussi! Please Umma.. can we go? " he pleaded at her with his doe eyes, tugging at her sleeve." Hmmm.. ok ok Youngbae, anything for my dear boy" she relented and rolled her eyes at SungWoo who responded with a innocent shrug.
*
SeungHyun stared at his phone after hitting the send button.
Aish, I shouldn't have contacted her so soon, what if I scared her away? !Arghh...
He cursed under his breath and paced up and down his room. SeungHyun has always been self-assured and confident in all his endeavors. As long as he sets his mind to it, the outcome will always materialize to his expectations. Being the youngest CIO in the history of Korea Investment Corporation, he helms a staff strength of over 400 and is overseeing the investment of the nation's foreign exchange reserves worth billions. As they always say, it is always lonely at the top and the path to his success has been fraught with adversities and sacrifices. He used to remind himself that it will never be easy and collateral damage is necessary; he can't allow himself to be weak at any point in order to reach his goal. Over the course of his climb up the corporate ladder, the people close to him grew lesser as the change in him was drastic. He grew suspicious of others, trusting only a few and eventually only himself.
He looked out the full-length windows of his Gangnam penthouse apartment, the view of the might Han River barely visible in the early evening; flanked by a cacophony of apartments and houses which illuminated along the length of its banks. He let out a sigh and thought to himself like he did every night.
Was it worth it?
He loosened his silk tie and undid the top 2 buttons of his dress shirt; releasing his silver cuff links and dropped them on the marble counter top.
He reached over the bar counter and poured himself a glass of whiskey from the crystal carafe.
It was emptied within seconds and he helped himself to another glass, swirling its contents before gulping it down without any gratification.
It was his nightly routine for the past 4 years, his daily dose of vice or intoxication; alone or with the company of strangers. Men with something to offer in return for a cut of the corporate pie or women who will offer their bodies in return for one night with one of the top eligible bachelors in Seoul.
How addictive it was to weld his power and charm to make men and women alike to do his bidding.
It stoked the flames of his ego and greed, to see how pathetic these people grovel around him to get into his good favour.
While he was out hobnobbing till the early hours of the morning, someone was always waiting for him at home.
Even when he tumbled into the house in a drunken stupor and fell asleep on the couch or when he stayed out all night with one of the random wanton women whose name or faces did not matter to him.
She still waited.
He never knew of course, their relationship had been strained but it wasn't always like that.
She was only 20 when they announced to her the decision of an arranged marriage with the only son of another prominent Korean family. Her parents were getting on with age and already in their late 50s. She has an older brother who was the l'enfant terrible and rebel of the family; he left for the U.S. when he was just 18, with nothing but a suitcase and drive for independence; and swore never to return until he became a self-made man.
Her parents have been a childless couple after years of marriage but they yearned for family of their own so they went to the orphanage and immediately took a liking to little Lena . She was a vision of a little angel with her doe eyes and soft features. They spotted her when she helped a smaller child who dropped his milk bottle, he was wailing but she managed to coaxed him back with a smile. They had intended to only adopt one child but Lena started tearing and wouldn't leave without her protective Oppa, SungWoo who came rushing to her side and held her tightly in his arms refusing to let go. Their hearts softened at the two sworn siblings who would perish without the other, so they decided to take in the both.
Lena was an exemplary young girl who was virtuous and studious with a heart of gold; which could be her own undoing as she was too trusting. She always believed the best in everyone. Especially SeungHyun.
Lena was an exemplary young girl who was virtuous and studious with a heart of gold; which could be her own undoing as she was too trusting. She always believed the best in everyone. Especially SeungHyun.
