Ji Won looked at her reflection in the mirror and looked away in disgust - she looked like mini cooper. The left side of her hair was plastered against head while the other side was scattered in every direction. One strap of her silk night gown had snapped off and was hanging down her chest but luckily, the 12 hour slumber she’d just awoken from had kept the eye bags at bay. Disappointed in herself, with her nightwear still on, she walked into the shower and turn on the tap.
The previous day, shortly after reviving from the shock of seeing her airplane fantasy man in the arms of another woman, she'd decided to act her age and shake it off. Why should a woman who’d just survived from getting jilted by the love of her life lose faith because she lost a man that was never hers? How dumb was that? Besides, she was sure that the island was crawling with numerous single men who would take great pleasure in making her stay memorable. And as if to prove her point, she noticed a male passerby sending her appreciative glances. With the new spring in her step, she’d left the airport and boarded the hotel courtesy bus along with other guests.
She sat next to the window and as they drove past the green palm trees and odd-looking architecture, she assessed every man she saw, trying to figure out if they had the right look and possibly the right package to be the one and only fling of her life. By the time they arrived at the hotel, she was feeling pretty good because by her count, there were at least 30 men, include the hotel bus driver, who just might be The One.
She was still pleased as she checked in, walked into the elevator and tipped the bell man. But the minute she opened the door to the huge hotel suite and saw red rose petals strewn across the bed with champagne chilling nearby in an ice bucket, she dropped her purse, fell to her knees and lost it. Joon Young must have secretly arranged the surprise but apparently, he didn’t care enough to see it through.
She moved her head forward so that the water from the shower could cover it completely. Last night, after shaking the still soft petals off the plush king-sized bed and drinking all of the champagne, she opened her suitcase to unpack. That in and of itself was a bad move because half of the clothes she’d brought had been new lingerie she knew Joon Young would enjoy peeling off her. Thirty minutes later, after releasing her frustration on the room, she’d sat at the balcony watching the sunbathing guests till she felt sleepy and want to bed.
Ji Won pulled off her soaking nightgown and stood up straight. What the hell was wrong with her? The plan was to come to Aruba and have the time of her life. How did sitting in her room feeling for herself fit? She bet Joon Young was having the time of his life. As the cool water dripped down her body, she decided that third time was a charm. She’d already wasted one day she didn't have any more to waste. Twenty minutes later, she put on some clothes and went down for breakfast.
***
Shin looked at the pretty, long haired girl sitting alone and picking at her croissant. From what he gathered from the whispers from another table, she’d checked in alone into one of the honeymoon suites and this was the first time anyone had seen her since then. He watched as she poured milk into her coffee and stirred it.
Because of his job, he couldn’t help but study people so even though she was trying to act cool, he could still read the sadness on her face. It was almost like she wished she were somewhere else but at that particular time of the year, they were exactly where everyone else wished they could be. Intrigued, he wondered if he could find out more about her.
As the thought shot throw his mind, he shuddered. What the hell was wrong with him? Even if she had sad eyes and a somber aura, under normal circumstances, it still wasn’t enough to inspire him to reach out to a stranger. It wasn’t that he was a selfish guy but one thing he’d learned in his 30-odd years on the planet was he couldn’t depend on anyone but himself. And that reaching out to people only gave them the opportunity to take advantage of you. Yet, instead of just studying her like he did everyone else, he wanted to talk to her. He wanted to know more and perhaps help in any way he could. What was wrong with him? He looked at his half-empty mug of coffee and wondered if it was high time he did as his doctor suggested and gave up caffeine because apparently, it had begun to play games with his mind.
***
“I’m fine,” Ji Won said into the room phone.
“What have you done so far?” her mother asked from the other end.
“Done, as in…?” she kicked off her slippers and lay on her bed. The hotel had done a good job with breakfast – laying out the usual continental breakfast along with eggs, sausages and some local dishes. She wasn’t quite sure if it was a good or bad thing that she still hadn’t regained her appetite and had been unable to really sample any of the good stuff.
“Have you gone out yet? Seen the sights? You know, that kind of thing,” her mother asked worriedly.
“Oh, yeah, I’ve seen the sights.”
“Really? Where?” she replied skeptically.
Ji Won sat up in the bed. ”Umma, why are you grilling me?”
“I’m not grilling you. I just hope you’re not holed up in the room doing nothing. I didn’t want you to go there alone but since you did, try to make the best of it. Please, go out. Please.”
She looked down and played with the phone cord. It sometimes scared her how well her mother knew her. Ji Won hardly thought of herself as predictable but oftentimes, her mother knew what she would do even before she knew it herself. “Umma, I’ll try.”
There was a long pause at the other end before her mother spoke up. “I wasn’t sure if I should tell you or not but… Joon Young came by yesterday. He said that he’s been looking everywhere for you. He’s been calling your phone and he claims that he spent most of yesterday waiting for you at your apartment and when he didn’t see you, came here.”
Ji Won was ashamed at how high her ears had perked up on hearing that name. “What did he want?”
“He didn’t say but I think he wanted to apologize. And explain things to you. But I can’t be too sure. I wasn’t too impressed myself because if he really wanted our forgiveness, he would have brought his parents and made a formal apology.”
Ji Won was about to ask something else when she decided to ask about it. If she found out more, she'd only end up fixating on it and she wasn’t going to let her stay get ruined by wasting precious time wondering about that man. “Forget about him.”
Her mother coughed before saying, “I still wish he’d told me what he wanted. Anyway, he wasn’t happy to hear you’d gone to Aruba alone. I think he was worried. Ji Won, I think he still loves you.”
No. She didn’t want to listen to any more of this. “That’s his problem. Umma, stop talking about this.”
“Ji Won ah, I don’t even know what to say. I am not the best person to advice you on this because I’ve only been able to love one man in my life and if I could do anything to have him back, I would.”
“Umma—”
“Let me finish. But on the other hand, I can’t advice you to take Joon Young back because he’s behaved so badly. I don’t know what I would have done if your father had done this to me.”
”Umma, why are you still talking about this? Don’t worry about it.”
“How can I not? Some things are forgivable but is this one of them? I trust you so I know you will do what’s best for yourself. I won’t pressure you, Sweetie. Whatever you choose, just know that your sister and I will support you.”
“Thank you.”
“But try to have some fun, okay? Don’t think about anything and just have a great time because I want to see lots of pictures. And always be careful, Sweetie.”
***
Ji Won showed the hotel employee the receipt she received at check-in. “Is there a group going water skiing today?” she asked in Korean. It was a long shot but who knew? Maybe the lady would understand her.
The manager looked at her uncertainly. Since she was already fluent in English and French, she’d only been required to learn conversational French, Japanese and Chinese for the job. If the guest had been speaking in a language like German or Russian, another staff member who would have communicated with her. But what was she to do in this case? She pasted a bright smile on her face and in Dutch said, “How may I help you?”
Ji Won looked away from her. She certainly didn’t understand Dutch or the other local language so she tried another approach. “Ski. Water,” she said in English. She pointed at a group of people waiting in the lobby. “Them. Are going water ski? Or no?”
The woman smiled. Broken English would do just fine. “Yes, they are waiting for the bus. Are you signed up for that package? What’s your name?”
Ji Won handed over her receipt and waited for her to look it over and confirm it on her computer.
“I see you’re signed up for the all inclusive honeymoon package.” She’d been in the business long enough to not flinch at a supposed honeymooner vacationing alone. She printed a ticket out and handed it to her. “You will need to show this to the driver.”
Ji Won took it from her and put it in her purse. “Thank you. What after water ski?”
“There will be water skiing, jet skiing and hand gliding. We usually only go to one location a day then you can spend the rest of the day doing whatever you please. Most people like to go into town and sightsee but some others prefer to spend their time at the pool. So depending on what you want, the bus can either drop you off in town or back at the hotel. But if you choose to go into town, when you’re done, just call us and someone will pick you up.”
Ji Won had tried her best to follow what the lady was saying but she’d only been able to pick out a few words. “Sorry. Please say again?”
“She says that there’ll also be hand gliding and if you want, you can go into town afterwards,” a voice said from behind in Korean.
Both grateful and intrigued by the interruption, she spun around to face the owner of that deep, gruff voice.
“Thank you,” she said, bowing slightly to him.
“It was nothing. And I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was just waiting to speak to the manager.”
“There’s no need to apologize. Thanks for your assistance.” She pointed at the waiting group. “I’d better go ahead and join them.”
About a minute later, Ji Won felt the presence of someone standing behind her. She readjusted her weight on the couch’s arm and looked back.
“I’ll be going with you guys,” the Korean-speaking stranger said, smiling with a smirk she could already tell was permanent. She looked at her reflection in the glare of his sunglasses then turned around and observed the rest of their group. Other than the both of them, the rest of the waiting people were coupled off.
She turned back to him. “You’re coming alone?” It would have been the coincidences to end all coincidences if he too had been left at the altar but from the length of his hair and creases in his clothes, he didn’t look like someone who even had a steady girlfriend.
He nodded. “Why?”
“No reason,” she said, quickly looking away. Why did that answer suddenly make him look so much more attractive? She hid a smile then stole another glance from him. They were on vacation so he had an excuse for the flip flops, khaki shorts and t-shirt. But what was up with the long hair and earring in his ear? Did he think he was a pirate? Even if she hadn’t been with Joon Young for so long, he wouldn’t have been the kind of man she’d have looked at once. He did appear to have some good height on him and even though she couldn’t see much else, his legs looked long and lithe. But on the other hand, he looked like the sort of man who would be satisfied with living in a shack if it meant he got to spend all day on the beach picking sea shells when he wasn’t surfing. The kind of man with no real ambition. The kind of man who wouldn’t know the difference between a Manet and a Monet. He was just kind of man that was so very wrong for her. But exactly the kind of man she needed.
She looked over at his hands to make sure he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring and when she was satisfied with what she saw, she stood up straight and stretched her hand out to him. “Hi, I’m Alex.” The girl you will be sleeping with tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment