22

Chapter 22.
“Seriously, who’s texting you like crazy?” Hyung Ho asked.

Ji Won held her phone up to his face so that he could read the latest text.

I’ve sent you the next four chapters. We should probably meet as soon as possible. When and where would be best for you?
Kyung Ho read it then shook his head. “Oh, it’s your favorite Stalkewriter.”

“Surely, you’re allowed to have dinner or are you on call twenty four hours a day?” their other friend asked. “I don’t even know how you put up with it,”

“When you have to pay bills, you put up with everything.”

Kyung Ho crooked his head at their friend. “Did you hear that, Na Mi?”

“Go suck a lemon, Ho.”

Ji Won laughed at their exchange as usual and just as she was about to hit the reply button, another text came through.

I’m glad you’re reading my texts.

Stop texting me for chrissakes! Ji Won thought, frowning, as she quickly spun her head around and caught Shin’s eye. She wasn’t in the mood for his nonsense especially as right after dinner, she’d have to go back home and read several chapters about what women should do to keep a man. And the worst part was the writer was very much into routine so even though he acted like he was flexible, he only ever wanted to meet the day after turning his draft, at the same time at the same place.

She hit the reply button and typed:

We can meet tomorrow at 10am on the ground floor of the public library near my office.

Less than a minute later, a text came through.

Why don’t we meet tomorrow at 10am at the library near your office?

Ji Won rolled her eyes. Didn’t she just write that?

A minute after confirming her plans with the writer, another text from Shin came through.

O.K.

Okay to what? That he’d finally gotten the message and was no longer going to bother her? And twenty minutes later, when she and her friends were paying the bill, she was glad that her phone had been silent the whole time. Score? No more Shin?


***

We can meet tomorrow at 10am on the ground floor of the public library near my office.
Shin re-read that message a hundred times and couldn’t figure out why she’d sent it. All he’d really wanted was for her to text him back so that he could know that there were no heard feelings. But now she wanted to meet…?

Did she want to give him a stern warning and ask that he never contact her again? He wasn’t insane nor a stalker and he vowed that if she even as much as hinted that she’d wanted him to lose her number, he’d bow out gracefully. Not that it would be easy, but it would only be fair. And gentlemanly.

Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he wondered if he should make a quick stop at his favorite barber’s for a quick touch up then slapped his head in frustration.

“Get your act together! You’re a man, for goodness sake!” he yelled at his reflection.

Why he was fretting so much? She was only a woman. A wonderful, beautiful woman he had regrets about but still just a woman. So no big deal. He can just move on. Heck, he should have just moved on and never sent the first text. Why didn’t he just cut his losses? Why did he have to contact her? What did she want to say to him? Would she give him a chance to apologize? Would it make a difference? Was she going to threaten him with a restraining order? Glancing at the clock he kept in the cabinet, he wondered what was in store for him in exactly two hours.

About an hour later, as he was getting ready to leave his apartment, his phone rang.

“Gosh, she’s calling to cancel,” he said aloud, then slapped himself. “Be a damn man, you fool!” he said before clearing his throat to put on his baritone.

Pulling it out of his pocket, he glanced at the caller id then sighed.

“Harboji, good morning. Why are you calling so early? Is everything okay?”

“Yes, everything is fine. When next can you come over?”

“Huh? Harboji, didn’t I just come over to visit?” he glanced at his reflection one last time. He was looking as good as he ever could.

“Yes, but I want to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“I’ll tell you when you come by.”

He picked up his comb and ran it through his hair one last time then took another glance at his reflection. “Why can’t you tell me now? Am I not using the same ears to listen to you now?”

“Let’s talk in person.”

He sighed. Then froze for a second. Was something wrong? “Is Halmoni sick? Are you sick?”

“No. It’s nothing like that.”

He exhaled then picked up his lint brush for one last touch up. “Then what? I’m really busy, if you have something to say, just say it now.”

“We should do this in person, my son.”

Whatever. “Okay. I have to go now, Harboji.”

***

Ji Won found the usual table and plopped her laptop on it. She usually arrived about thirty minutes early to secure the table and mentally prepare for this particular client. Other than his sketchy qualifications as a relationship expert, Mr. Lee had a way of challenging every single thing she suggested. She was certain that if it wasn’t required that he work with an editor, he would have self edited – which would have been disastrous based on his drafts. He was funny but needed to be reminded that Spell Check wasn’t his enemy.

“I see you came in early as well,” he heard a voice say from behind her.

Recognizing it, she spun her head around in shock. What was he doing here?

“I must admit that I was surprised that you wanted to meet,” Shin said, walking over and standing in front of her.

She looked up at his smiling face, still confused. “Me?" she asked, point to herself. "I wanted to meet you?”

He nodded, registering the look on her face. “That’s what your text said." He reached for his phone, realizing that he’d need to show proof.

“I didn’t text you.”

He found it and showed it to her. “Then what is this?”

What was going on? She quickly pulled out her phone, searched her outbox and in a few seconds, found the incriminating evidence. She looked up at him in embarrassment.

Registering this look, he pulled out a chair and sat across from her. So clearly, there’d been a miscommunication but that didn’t mean he should turn around and leave. Why not make use of this opportunity? Especially with her looking so pretty. Did she dress up this much when they met?

Ji Won took a deep breath in and decided to go on the offensive. “You texted me so many times that I must have accidently hit the send button. I’m actually meeting with a client of mine in about…,” she paused to look at her watch, “… twenty minutes. I’m sorry about the misunderstanding. That text wasn’t meant for you.”

“I see.”

“I really am sorry, but…,” she said, looking at the door way, hoping that the hanging word would hint that he needed to leave. But since he didn’t budge and instead, kept staring at her with some weird look on his face, she had to be direct. “I need to prepare for my client so…”

“So, you’d like me to leave.”

She nodded. “That would make the most sense.” She looked away. He was clearly trying his best to disarm her with his smile but it wasn’t going to work.

“So you just want me to walk away after postponing another appointment to be here?”

She shrugged. What did he want from her? “I already apologized.”

“But how are you going to take responsibility for this?” he asked with a very serious look.

She frowned at him. “What?”

“I have an hour to kill and it’s all your fault,” he said. Sighing and making a big show of it.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll have dinner with me.”

Her mouth flung open then she chuckled. Was he for real? “This is not a movie so don’t even think about that.”

“Hey, it was worth a shot." He laughed. “Well,” he said, standing up, “I know how seriously you take your work so I shouldn’t take up any more of your time. But I might as well kill the time here. Maybe there’s a magazine I can read. Is that okay with you?”

“Suit yourself,” Ji Won said, grateful for the end of the conversation.

At 10 o’clock on the dot, her client walked in. She didn’t even need to turn around to know that Shin would be watching them from a few tables away but it didn’t matter. It was time to work, which meant her old client would be long forgotten.

***

That client of yours… He’s a bit of a jerk, isn’t he?

“You don’t say,” Ji Won whispered as she read the text. “Should I or should I not respond?” she asked herself. Well, what the heck. It was not like she had anything better to do as she waited for her order to arrive. Maybe if she replied once and for all, he’d back the hell off.

Well, he’s just like my last client.

Touché. Is his book interesting?

You can buy it in six months.

What’s it called?

Okay, wasn’t she being clear enough? Perhaps she needed to be more direct.

You’re bugging me.

It’s lunch time.

She laughed. How random.

So?

Let’s eat.

I’m already eating. Well, not technically. But she would be in a few minutes.

With him?

No.

You should have told me before you left for lunch so that we could have met up.

In his dreams.

I think you’re drunk.

lol. No I’m not. It’s not even 2pm yet. I’m just mad I missed that opportunity.

Which opportunity? You’re delusional.

You’re working with him the whole day?

How is it your business?

I can come and pick you up for dinner.

Ji Won laughed again. Was he for real?

I don’t want to eat with you.

My book is coming along well.

Good.

“Thank you,” she told the waitress before digging into her food.

But it’s not the same.

…

You’re responding to my texts.

You want me to stop?

Did your client stop being a jerk after I left?

What’s a jerk?

You just said someone like me.

No, he’s different – much nicer than you.

When did you become so mean?

It was from spending time with you.

“You” as in “you?”

Ji Won smiled. Oh, was he trying to be smart with her.

No. “You” as in “you”

lol. I knew you didn’t mean me but you.

Are you trying to be funny?

How can I try to be something I already am? So that new guy… he doesn’t know who’s boss – he keeps arguing with you. Do you want me to come over and tape his mouth shut?

She giggled.

Yes!

When should I came over?

After lunch.

Are you serious?

Of course. Bring really strong tape.

??
An impish smile covered Ji Won’s face.

Oh, you don’t get it? If you tape his mouth shut, you’ll get an assault charge. Which would land you in jail, and keep you from texting me.

She laughed at her little joke and waited for a reply but got nothing. About five minutes later, as she chewed the beef that for some reason no longer tasted as good, she wondered if she’d gone too far. But that was okay, right? The point was to get rid of him. But why did she feel bad? UGH! Why couldn’t she help the way she felt. She was supposed to feel good about this! But as she sat there waiting for his text, she reflected on everything that had happened and concluded that he wasn’t the devil, after all. So maybe he didn’t deserve to be treated that way. Maybe she should apologize.

I was only joking.

I really was only joking

With the way you joke, I didn’t think you’d be this sensitive.

It was only a little joke.

Shin smiled as he read the last series of texts. He hadn’t immediately replied to her last text because he’d received a call from his agent. But after reading those messages, he decided to let her squirm a little. He laughed to himself thinking that maybe, just maybe, it was a good thing to contact her after all.