23

Chapter 23


“Funny seeing you here,” Ji Won heard a voice say from behind her.

She frowned before she’d even turned her head around to look at him. “Oh, so you’re alive?” She drank his image in. Black shirt, black pants, black shoes. She rolled her eyes. Was he going to a funeral?

From the tone of her voice, and the memory of her last text messages, he was sure that on some level, she’d been worried about him. He smiled to himself. Yes, it had worked! While he’d forced himself to stop texting her, it was the third day in a row he’d shown up at the library at 9am to catch her. And he’d breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her walking in a few minutes earlier with her huge bag. He raised his right eyebrow and asked if someone had informed her of his death.

She shrugged and found herself unable to catch his eye. It just irked the hell out of her that his silence had bothered her for three whole days. Pourquoi? “What was I to think when I made a tiny little joke and you started crying?”

He laughed as he pulled out a chair and sat. “I cried? Did you see my tears?”

“Would I need to see them to hear the sobs? Who knew you were so sensitive?”

“Why won’t I be sensitive?” He said, making a big show by touching his chest. “I have feelings too, you know? Do you even understand that magnitude of your words?”

Ji Won frowned. What was he doing? “Say what?"

He sighed dramatically then looked away. “That joke about an assault charge…. Do you know how many bad memories it brought up?”

“No. And I don’t want to know.”

“Well, I think you should,” he said as his clamped his hands together and looked up pensively. “One sad day - oh and I remember that day because it was the day I found out a friend of mine was dying of stomach cancer – turned out to be appendicitis so it’s all good. I think you met him at the party. He’s all healed now.”

“Huh?” Ji Won didn’t even bother to hide her smirk.

“Anyway, so that day, I was just walking down the street, you know, enjoying the breeze, listening to my Walkman – you know back in the days we had Walkmen or is it Walkmans?”

“Walkmans.”

“Oh, of course you’d know Miss Editor.”

She rolled her eyes. “Is there a point to this story?”

“So anyway, I was just minding my business walking and listening to music when I came across this couple fighting. I planned on pretending not to see them but he started hitting her and you know I just can’t see a woman in pain.”

“Since when?”

He ignored the comment. “So I intervened. I punched him and someone called the cops. Long story short, the stupid couple accused me of assaulting them. We went to court but luckily, the truth prevailed because my palm print didn’t fit the one on her face.”

“Wow… CSI," she said sarcastically.

He shrugged. “So now you know.”

“Yes, now I know even more then ever that for a novelist, you have a horrible imagination. Even a four year old can tell that story is fake.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “I told you I am sensitive. You have to know it’ll be too painful to reveal the true story.”

She scoffed. “Whatever.” She looked at him pointedly. “What are you even doing here?”

“It’s a library - I came to borrow a book.”

“Oh really? In all the times I’ve been here, I’ve never seen you but suddenly you feel the need to borrow books at 9:30 am in the morning?”

“As you saying I came to see you?”

She shrugged. “If that’s what you heard…”

“The library is open at this time. Why can’t I be here?”

“Whatever.”

Shin studied her. She was wearing a very simple blouse and skirt but yet looked so beautiful. Their entire exchange reminded him of how they first were when they met him Seoul… when he first fell for her.

He averted his eyes and pretended to brush something off his shirt. He didn’t want them to betray his emotions. “Anyway, are you hungry?”

Ji Won watched him closely. There was something about his demeanor what was so… dare she say… attractive? Then she remembered she hated him and replied, “Why do you want to know?”

“I brought some breakfast,” he said matter-of-factly.

As he reached into his bag to bring it out, Ji Won said, “I already ate.”

“That sucks,” he said, not bothering to hide his disappointment. “Next time, don’t eat so we can have breakfast together.”

She scoffed and looked away. “I don’t think so.”

“What about lunch?”

She sighed. “What about it?”

“Let’s eat together.”

Why was he so relentless? “Don’t you have some other friends? Aren’t you busy with your editor?”

He sat up straight. “Yes or no?”

“No. I am having lunch with my mother and no, you can’t join us,” she said with a small smile.

He chuckled. At least she told him her plans. That must mean something.

Noticing that she’s begun to get fidgety, Shin knew it was time to leave. “Anyway,” he said, looking at his watch, “I know you’re about to make a big deal about needing to prepare for your client so I’ll leave now." He stood up.

Ji Won raised her eyebrow. He was leaving so quickly? “Such a short visit? What exactly did you come for?”

“I already told you – to borrow a book.”

She narrowed her eyes and studied his face. “What exactly is your deal?”

He shrugged. “No deal. I just like reading books,” he said looking away before turning around.

As he walked out of the library, Shin turned his phone back on and saw that his grandfather had left him a message. Why exactly did the old man need him to visit?

***

When Ji Won walked into the restaurant and saw her mother looking rather spiffy in a purple dress and talking to a suit-clad gentleman sitting beside her, she knew she had been set up.

“Umma, I will make you pay for this,” she muttered through gritted teeth. Why did parents always need to have their way?

When her mother spotted her, she gave her a sheepish look then waved her to the table.

Ji Won quickly glanced at her reflection in one of the windows then walked as confidently as she could to the table. Even though she wanted to yell at her mother, she knew she had to be respectful in front of this stranger.

Both the man and her mother stood up as she approached them and once she was at the table, her mother turned to the man and said, “Min Sik ssi, please meet my daughter.”

Ji Won sized him up. About 5’11. Clean face. Thick brows. Expensive haircut. Designer frames. Designer shoes. Designer suit. Probably hiding a six-pack.

“Hello, Ji Won ssi, it’s nice to meet you. You’re even lovelier than your mother described.”

Deep voice. Pretty teeth. Pretty lips. Knows how to compliment.

She shook his hand and sat next to her mother. Okay, so her mother didn’t do too badly this time around. She caught her mother’s eye and could tell that she was also very proud of her accomplishment. Ji Won groaned. Looking at the fine man grinning at her, she wished she’d met him in some other way. Parents setting you up was almost always a recipe for disaster and if by some fluke, they actually set you up with a nice man, they’d gloat about it forever. For the rest of her life, she’d have to hear things like:

“If I hadn’t intervened, would you have met him?”
“Can you see why you should always listen to me?”
“Mother knows best.”


It was almost never worth it. Even though Ji Won had practically closed her heart to the prospect of finding a good man again, as she looked across the table at the fine specimen of man sitting there, his broad shoulders moving as he laughed at her mother’s corny jokes, she wondered if perhaps she’d been too haste in her decision. Maybe she could find a great man after all. The single life was great but two is better than one, right?

***

Twenty minutes later, her mother was gone and as she chewed her food, she tried her best to act interested in his discussion about subprime loans.

“The truth is the opportunities are endless. Let me tell you why.”

“Please do,” Ji Won said dryly before turning her face away and rolling her eyes. Of course there had to be something wrong with him. In what world did a man think that a woman who isn’t in finance would want to learn about subprime loans on a first date? She glanced at her watch and found herself missing Mr. Lee. At least, when he argued with her, it wasn’t about securities.

Looking again at this waste of a beautiful body, Ji Won was in the process of coming up with an excuse to cut their lunch date short when her phone buzzed.

Excusing herself, she looked at it and smirked. It was a text from Shin. Did this guy even have a life?

How’s lunch with Mom?

She apologized to Min Sik again before typing out a response.

Don’t text me – I’m on a date. Okay, so why did she enjoy typing that out so much?

She put her phone down and smiled wearily at Min Sik. “I'm sorry about that. You were saying?”

The moment he opened his mouth to start talking, her phone buzzed again.

Really? I thought you said you were having lunch with your mother.

She looked up at Min Sik apologetically then typed.

That's what I said.

So you lied.

Ji Won knew she was being rude so she excused herself and went to the restroom. She planned to reply, make it short and sweet and return to learning more and more about RMBS or whatever the hell today's lesson was about.

As soon as she found a comfortable, clean stall, she typed:

No, I didn’t lie. I'm really on a date so I'm going to have to let you go. My mom set me up with a handsome man. Tall, handsome and rich. Every woman’s fantasy.

I’m also tall and handsome and I am not broke.

Who told you that you’re handsome?

Ouch. Did you forget that I'm sensitive?

LOL

Do you like that guy?

Well, unlike someone I know, he told me his real name.

So did I, Alex.

Ji Won frowned. Why did he have to remind her to that? All she could type was, Whatever.

So do you like him?

I don’t know – we just met.

Oh, so you don’t like him.

Who said that?

I just know it. That means I still have a chance.

A chance to do what?

Take you to dinner.

LOL. You only think about food.

What else is there to think about? So what about dinner?

What about it?

Have it with me.

Why?

It's a free meal. Why are you being so difficult?

Difficult how? Why would I need a free meal? I can afford to feed myself. You're going to have to come up with another reason.

You get a free meal from me.

I said, “another reason.”

You get to hang out with me.

In that case, the answer is no.

Why?

I’ve already seen your face once today. That’s already one time too many.

Ouch again. Have you forgotten that I’m sensitive?

Stop it! That joke was old two jokes ago.

She laughed. Then abruptly stopped as she realized she was enjoying herself.

“Hold up,” she said to herself. “I don’t like this fool, right? Why do I suddenly feel like I did when I was writing to Yoon Pil Suh?” She knocked her head to put some sense in it. “Na Ji Won! You can’t fall for him again! WAKE UP! He’s not the adorable man you thought he was – he’s a master manipulator. Don't fall for his words! No more text messages from him!” And with that, she turned her phone off. Na Ji Won, why are you like this? A few words here and there and you start to become stupid? She sat in the stall for a few minutes as she tried to figure it out.

It wasn’t till someone knocked at the toilet stall door that she remembered where she was. Oh sh.it, she was on a date with a fine man. A fine man who was miles better than Shin/Yoon Pil Suh or whatever he wanted to call himself. Someone who didn't tell offensive jokes or make weird stories up. A normal, kind man who had a sensible job.

She got out of the stall, checked out her reflection and walked back into the restaurant. However, when she got to her table, Min Sik was gone.