~ Nine years later ~
“Soo-jin-a,” Vina called out. “Bring me your green dress. You’ll need something to wear to church.”
“Yes, Eomma.” Eight-year old, Soo-jin clambered off her bed and crossed the room to her closet. Minutes later, she came back with the green dress and handed it to her mother.
“Thank you.” Vina folded the dress and stuffed it into her daughter’s small white suitcase.
“Did you remember to pack me underwear?” Soo-jin watched her with raised eyebrows. “Last time you forgot.”
“Just a minute.” Vina checked the side-pocket. She winced when all she found there were under-shirts. “Oops.”
Soo-jin sighed and shook her head disapprovingly. “What would you do without me here?”
Vina laughed. People often said that of her two daughters, Soo-jin most resembled her. The little girl was smaller than most girls her age and had her mother’s small button-like facial features. But as far as Vina was concerned that was where their resemblance stopped. Soo-jin had to be the most hard-working, responsible and diligent eight-year-old in the world- which was strange considering who her parents were. Vina couldn’t remember how she was at that age but surely she wasn’t as ‘grown-up’.
Just then Daughter Number Two raced into the room.
“Eomma.” Five-year-old, Hyo-jin made a beeline for her mother. “I’m hungry.”
“Didn’t you just have a sandwich an hour ago?” Vina asked as she zipped up Soo-jin’s suitcase.
“No, I didn’t,” Hyo-jin lied without even blinking.
Vina almost laughed. Now this one was without a doubt hers. Keeping her face straight, Vina berated, “Yah! Lee Hyo-jin. How many times have I told you not to lie?”
“Many times.” Unrepentant, Hyo-jin made a face. “But I’m hungry.”
“Go and tell Appa to fix you another sandwich,” Vina ordered.
“Okay.” But she didn’t move away. Instead, she flipped the lid on the pink suitcase that sat next to Soo-jin’s. The five-year-old peered into the suitcase. “Where’s Bunny?”
“Didn’t I put her in there?” Vina asked.
Hyo-jin shook her head. “She’s not in here.”
Soo-jin, who was currently lying on her bed, thumbing through a book, added, “You didn’t pack her.”
“Really?” Vina looked around the room. “Then where is she?”
She and Hyo-jin went around the room looking for the stuffed toy. When they couldn’t find it, Vina sent Hyo-jin out. “Ask Appa to help you search for it in the living room.”
As soon as Hyo-jin was out of the girls’ shared bedroom, Soo-jin confronted her mother. “Isn’t she too old for Bunny? I got rid of Teddy when I was four.”
“And that made me very sad.” Vina pouted as she watched her oldest daughter. “Why are you growing up so fast?”
“It’s boring being a kid,” Soo-jin stated matter-of-factly. “Did you remember to pack our toothbrushes?”
“Yes, Madam Lee.” Vina nodded, but she checked each suitcase just in case. “Where’s your inhaler?”
“In my backpack.” Soo-jin turned back to her book. “I put it in there last night.”
A smile tugging at her lips, Vina shook her head. Definitely not me.
“Honey?” A deep voice rumbled outside the room. A second later, Orion strode into the girls’ bedroom with Hyo-jin balanced on his hip. His eyes onb Vina, he said, “We can’t find Bunny.”
Nine years later, Orion was still a lady-killer. Twenty-nine had been good to him, but at thirty-eight he was heart-stopping. He seemed to have acquired that quiet stylishness and maturity that came with age and being a family-man. And other women had noticed. Vina couldn’t even count the number of times one of his female clients had tried to get inappropriately close.
Thankfully, he only had eyes for her.
Nine years and he still treated her like she was his world, like there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. Of course they’d had their ups and down as a couple, times they couldn’t even bear to look at each other. But she’d never feared that he’d walk away from her or even considered walking away from him herself. Not even once. They were in this for keeps.
Though they were still not officially married, what they had worked for them. Vina was fully aware that not many people would’ve been okay with being in what was technically a common-law marriage, but she was okay with it. Some people found safety in having papers. She found safety in not having them, in knowing that staying with Orion was her choice and not something she was forced to do because of society’s strictures. Maybe that was her fear talking again – but she was glad that she’d found someone who understood her and loved her enough to stay by her side even without the security of a marriage license. How could she possibly let Orion go when he was that good to her?
He was hers to keep, hers to hold, her to love. Forever.
“Are you sure you’ve searched the living room well?” she asked.
He nodded. “It’s not there.”
“It must be there.” She, Orion and Hyo-jin trouped to the living room to conduct a more thorough search. Nothing turned up except for a talisman that Yoon-ah strategically plastered under the coffee table.
Yes, Yoon-ah was still up to her usual tricks, and still seeing Master Yoon. Since Orion still refused to accept her good-luck talismans in his house, she’d taken to bribing the girls to carry them around or sneaking them into the house when he wasn’t looking. Vina found it all quite hilarious.
Despite the unconventionality of Vina’s entrance into their family, Yoon-ah had never treated her as anything less than a daughter. Apparently, Yoon-ah hadn’t received the memo that mothers-in-law were supposed to be witches. When Vina had been at the hospital for the birth of the girls, Yoon-ah had spent more time in the hospital than anyone else, including Orion. Even the nurses had been surprised when Vina had informed them that Yoon-ah was her mother-in-law not her mother.
When they still couldn’t find Bunny, Orion turned to their youngest. “Hyo-jin-a, think. Where could you have dropped it?”
“I can’t think.” Hyo-jin flopped sulkily on the couch. “I’m tired. Where’s Bunny?”
“Have you checked the shoe closet?” Soo-jin said. When had she even come into the room? When everyone turned to her, she said, “Hyo-jin was playing hide-and-seek in there yesterday.”
Hyo-jin immediately clambered off the couch and raced to the shoe-closet. Moments later, she came back into the room, beaming happily and brandishing Bunny, her stuffed rabbit. Soo-jin sighed, shook her head and headed back to the bedroom.
“Are you sure she’s ours?” Orion murmured as they watched their oldest go.
Similarly awed, Vina shook her head. “I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Two hours later, Vina had finished packing and the girls were dressed and ready to go.
“I wish I could drive you guys there,” Orion said as he walked them to the parking lot, carrying the two suitcases. “But this appointment…”
“I know. It’s important. That’s why there’s two of us.” Vina grinned. “One to make the money – and another to spend it.”
About five years ago, Vina had left Tellers and opened her own restaurant, The Orion. It was doing quite well, and now that she’d appointed someone else to be Executive Chef, she had more time to spend with her family. Thankfully, her exit from Tellers hadn’t affected her friendships with April and Snow. The three still spent a lot of time together. In fact April and Snow were godmothers to her daughters while she was godmother to their sons.
“Appa?” Hyo-jin tapped Orion’s back as he strapped her into her car-seat. “So we won’t see you until Monday?”
“Yes.” He glanced up at her. “But you’ll be spending time with grandpa and grandma, so you’ll be okay, right?”
Hyo-jin cocked her head as if thinking about it then nodded. “But I’ll really, really, miss you.”
“I’ll really, really miss you too.” Orion hugged her tightly, before turning to their oldest. “Soo-jin-a, you won’t miss me?”
“Hmm… maybe a little.” Soo-jin indicted just how little she’d miss him with her thumb and index finger, earning herself laughs all round. After hugs, kisses and goodbyes all round, Orion waved them off.
Twenty minutes later, Vina parked her car in her space in front of The Orion. She let the girls out of the car then guided them by hand into the restaurant. The girls spotted Na-ri and Doo-shim as soon as they entered the restaurant
“Halmeoni.” The girls detached themselves from Vina and raced towards their grandmother and great-grandmother. With a smile, Vina followed them.
“Yah! Im-na-ya, why have you gotten so thin?” Doo-shim took her in with critical yet worried eyes. “Is that boy not feeding you well?”
Vina laughed as she bent to hug her grandma. “He’s feeding me very well and I’m exactly the same weight I was when you saw me last week?”
Though the older lady had perceptibly aged in the last few years, her gaze was as sharp as ever. She turned those sharp eyes to Vina. “Really?”
Vina nodded. “Really.”
Though Doo-shim had initially been very angry at Vina for choosing to move in with Orion instead of get married, she’d thawed pretty quickly. Apart from the occasional disparaging comment about Orion getting the milk for free, she’d let Vina be.
Vina crossed behind her grandmother to hug her mother. “Eomma, did you get the pollock I sent to the house on Wednesday?”
“Yes, I got them.” Na-ri patted her back. “Thank you.”
The years had been much kinder to Na-ri than Vina expected. Ever since Vina had been kicked out of the house, she seemed to have developed a backbone that not even Min-kyu could break. Though Min-kyu had declared that Vina was a persona-non-grata, Na-ri had ignored his decree and continued to visit Vina whenever she wanted. Of course Min-kyu had kicked up a fuss, but when Doo-shim had started tugging along, he’d been forced to shut up and just glare at them.
However, even he couldn’t resist his grand-daughters; which was the reason for this particular trip. Even though he refused to see Vina or Orion, he regularly hustled Na-ri and Doo-shim to bring the girls over so he could see them. At first Vina didn’t want to send them over, but Orion had convinced her that it was not a bad thing for the girls to know their only grandfather.
“Are you sure they can’t stay the whole week?” Doo-shim cajoled Vina.
Vina shook her head. “They have school on Monday.”
“We can drop them there,” Na-ri suggested, just as eager to have more time with her grandchildren.
“Sorry, no.” Vina shook her head. When she saw her grandmother and mother’s disappointed expression, she soothed, “Don’t worry – during their summer break you can have them for two weeks.”
That brought smiles all round. The family spent a few more minutes together before Doo-shim and Na-ri left with the young girls.
As soon as they were gone, Vina called Orion. “Mr. Lee? Since it’s just the two of us tonight, what do you think about going on a date?”
“No,” he said. “I want to stay home.”
“Ri-on-aaa, we haven’t spent any time together this week.” She cajoled, “Let’s go out. Maybe see a movie.”
“We can see a movie any time.” His voice lowered, deepened, darkened. “But tonight, I want it to be just us. There are things I want to do to you that I can’t do when the kids are there.”
“Oh.” Her mouth dried, her lungs seized and a strange tightness started in the pit of her belly.
The phone practically burned with the heat in his tone as he asked, “Is that okay with you?”
She swallowed then stuttered, “It’s – it’s okay.”
She could’ve sworn that she heard his smile as he said, “Good. I’ll see you after I’m done with work.”
│ THE END │
Thank you for reading The Love Contract. Did you enjoy it? I hope you did. Let me know what you thought by leaving a review at your favorite store/site (just click on your preferred link below). Again - Thanks.
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