Lee Sung-hwan + Jung Eun-chae (Part 1)
The distance from Arashiro to Seoul is so short, so close that before the sadness could even end, the plane had already landed.
The flight attendant called Li Shenghuan's name softly several times before he slowly turned his head to look at her.
"Sir, the plane has landed safely at Incheon Airport. Is there anything else we can do for you?"
"No need, thank you."
Li Shenghuan unbuckled his seatbelt, stood up as if his soul had never returned on the same plane, and followed the crowd off the plane.
He walked through the long corridor, retrieved his luggage from the conveyor belt, and then pushed the suitcase out of the airport terminal.
People around him came and went, all in a hurry. Only he walked slowly, as if his gaze was unfocused.
Stepping out of the glass door, the sky was already ablaze with golden sunset colors.
Li Shenghuan squinted and looked up at the sky. Tomorrow should be a sunny day, right?
The suitcase standing beside him seemed to be bumped by something and slipped from under his hand resting on the handle. When he looked down, his black suitcase was lying sideways on the stone ground along with another silver suitcase.
"Sorry, sorry... no, I'm sorry." After saying two English words, the other person thought for a moment and then added a Korean sentence.
Just as Li Shenghuan was about to bend down and lift the suitcase, his driver had already rushed over.
"I'm sorry, Executive Officer, for keeping you waiting." The driver said, taking the initiative to lift his suitcase.
The owner of the silver suitcase was a young girl with brightly colored braids. She wore a large black T-shirt with a skull pattern on her upper body, and on her lower body... it seemed like she wasn't wearing anything. Anyway, Li Shenghuan could see that under her T-shirt, which was below her hips, only two slender white legs were visible, and below that were black Martin boots covering her ankles.
After the girl picked up her suitcase, she stood in front of Li Shenghuan and looked at him.
Perhaps they were making eye contact? Because she was wearing oversized black sunglasses, it was impossible to see her expression at that moment.
Just as the driver opened the car door and Li Shenghuan was about to step aside to get in, the girl suddenly smiled, her bright red lips curving upwards. She took off her sunglasses and put them on Li Shenghuan's face.
Then, she turned around and dragged her suitcase toward the taxi stand.
"Executive Director, shall we go back to Cheongdam-dong?" The driver asked respectfully to Lee Sung-hwan, who was bending down to get into the car, while holding onto the car door.
"Sancheng Cave."
After Li Shenghuan finished speaking, she sat in the back seat and turned to look at the small dreadlocks that stood out in the crowd. The taxi driver helped her put her luggage in the trunk, and she opened the car door and got in.
Li Shenghuan's car circled around the airport and drove onto the main road. The taxis behind them followed closely, keeping a distance of not too far.
The driver wanted to ask Li Shenghuan several times if the girl in the taxi behind him was with him. If so, they would wait at the intersection to avoid getting separated.
I glanced at Li Shenghuan in the rearview mirror several times, and he always kept the girl's sunglasses on his face, never taking them off or changing his posture, only turning his head to look out the car window.
The driver didn't dare to speak, so he took it upon himself to slow down so that the cars behind wouldn't lose him.
However, after the two cars had been driving one after the other for nearly an hour, the taxi suddenly changed course at an intersection and drove in different directions, one to the left and one to the right of Li Shenghuan's car.
The driver felt he had to tell Li Shenghuan about it no matter what. "Executive, that car has left."
Li Shenghuan turned his head and met the driver's gaze in the rearview mirror. "What?"
"The girl who gave you the sunglasses, her car went in another direction."
After hearing the driver's words, Li Shenghuan seemed to suddenly remember that he was still wearing sunglasses, and he reached out and took them off. Then, through the car's rearview mirror, he saw his own eyes, red and swollen from crying.
Yes, the distance between Lancheng and Seoul is really too close. So close that even before his eyes, which were swollen from crying when he left Song Yunxi, had recovered, he had already returned to this place he least wanted to come back to.
*
Three days later is Jung Chang-ho's birthday.
Jung Chang-ho: Jung Eun-ah's father, a member of the National Assembly who has served three consecutive terms. He is currently preparing for the next parliamentary election.
Lee Sung-hwan, who is about to get engaged to Jung Eun-ah, the only daughter of the Jung family, along with Chairman Lee and his wife, were invited to attend Jung Chang-ho's birthday party.
Perhaps in an effort to project an image of a low-key and approachable legislative candidate, Jung Chang-ho's birthday party was held at the Jung family's villa in Gangbuk-gu.
"Brother Shenghuan, I need to play the piano for Dad. I'll go prepare first and come back to find you later." After saying that, Zheng Enya left Li Shenghuan's sight.
This was Lee Sung-hwan's first time going out since returning to South Korea.
For three days, he has stayed in his apartment in Samseong-dong, neither going out nor contacting anyone.
If Chairman Li hadn't had someone kidnap him from his home today, he might still be cut off from the world.
Li Shenghuan leaned on the balcony railing with both hands, looking up at the dark blue sky and the crescent moon that seemed to be obscured by mist and was not very bright.
Until the pleasantries, compliments, and clinking of glasses behind me all stopped in an instant.
Li Shenghuan turned around and saw a girl in a light blue off-shoulder dress slowly walking down the stairs, lifting the hem of her dress.
He was too far away to see her face clearly, but he knew it wasn't Jung Eun-ah.
The girl walked to the piano that had been adjusted, sat on the piano bench, and played a simple Happy Birthday song with both hands.
For some reason, Li Shenghuan had a strange feeling that although the music was flowing in the room, the people in the room seemed to be frozen, forgetting to speak, and perhaps even forgetting to breathe.
Especially Jung Chang-ho, whose face was full of surprise, could be seen perfectly from Lee Sung-hwan's angle.
Li Shenghuan walked to the front of the stage, just as the song "Happy Birthday" ended. The girl who had been playing the piano stood up and bowed to everyone.
"Thank you all for coming to my father's birthday party. I am Jung Eun-chae."
Turning her head, she also saw Li Shenghuan.
She smiled at him, her grapefruit-colored lips curving slightly, her eyes with long, dark eyelashes crinkling into crescents. Her skin, already fair, appeared even more radiant under the cool lighting and against her blue dress.
She had long, straight black hair that was loose, with only a diamond hair clip above her left ear. The small diamond on the hair clip sparkled with the light as she moved, reflecting a rainbow of colors.
Lee Sung-hwan also recognized her; she was the girl he had met at the airport that day.
That day, she was a rebellious teenager with dreadlocks. Today, however, she is a beautiful and gentle heiress.
Jung Chang-ho's wife, Park Geun-hye, stepped forward and hugged Jung Eun-chae tightly. "Eun-chae, my daughter. Why didn't you tell us you were coming back?"
The mother had probably not seen her daughter for a long time, so she hugged her tightly, as if to declare to everyone: no one can separate them now.
Jung Eun-chae reached out and patted Park Geun-hye's back twice, revealing her shallow dimples as she smiled. "Because this is my surprise. I want to give Dad a birthday present he'll never forget."
Jung Chang-ho stepped forward and gave the mother and daughter, who were still embracing and reluctant to part, a soft hug. "Thank you, my daughter. Dad is so glad you came back today."
After Jung Chang-ho finished speaking, he bowed to everyone present to express his gratitude: "Everyone, today is my birthday. Thank you all for coming. I am very happy, especially for the surprise that my youngest daughter, Eun-chae, brought me."
Afterwards, Jung Chang-ho, with a broad smile throughout, introduced her youngest daughter to everyone:
Jung Eun-chae is a smart, independent, and filial child, and also the child that her parents love and cherish the most. Because they wanted her to grow up freely, they sent her to the United States when she was young, so that she could live a life without constraints or disturbances.
She eats her favorite foods, wears casual clothes, studies her ideal music, and goes to the places she longs for. She can run through the streets of New York, play on the beaches of Miami, and enjoy the sunshine in Hawaii.
She lived like the free wind, the joyful cloud...
Everyone present was deeply moved by the poetic life story told by Jung Chang-ho. Jung Eun-chae watched with a smile as Jung Chang-ho, whose eyes were reddening from his words, spoke of her life.
Park Geun-hye wiped her eyes lightly, then turned and pulled Jung Eun-chae aside. "Eun-chae, come to my room with me for a moment."
After that, the mother and daughter held hands and walked up the stairs to the second floor.
Jung Eun-chae turned around, met Lee Sung-hwan's gaze, and waved her other hand at him with a smile.
Park Geun-hye and Jung Eun-chae disappeared around the corner of the stairs. The birthday party continued, with people coming forward to toast Jung Chang-ho, congratulating him on his birthday and welcoming his youngest daughter back.
Li Shenghuan then turned around and sat down again at the small round table outside the terrace.
After a long while, Li Shenghuan, who was gazing at the night sky, caught a glimpse of someone sitting beside him out of the corner of his eye, and turned to look at them.
Jung Eun-chae held two glasses of wine, and she handed one of them to him. "Want a drink?"
Li Shenghuan glanced at her but didn't say anything.
Jung Eun-chae laughed, “I can drink because I turned 18 last month.”
Lee Sung-hwan also managed a smile that could hardly be called a "smile".
Although he had only met her twice, he could tell from her appearance and attire that she was quite young; it turned out she really had just come of age.
The little girl is doing well living alone in America; at least she can live as she pleases and remain innocent and naive. Unlike him, who lives a life controlled by others.
A life you want to escape but can't.
Jung Eun-chae asked, "I heard you're Jung Eun-ah's fiancé?"
"Not yet."
"Is it because the engagement ceremony hasn't been held yet?"
Li Shenghuan did not answer her question directly, but only said lightly, "Perhaps, it will not be held."
Jung Eun-chae smiled and took a sip of the wine in her glass. Perhaps the taste wasn't as good as she had imagined, because Lee Sung-hwan noticed her furrow her brow slightly.
Afterwards, she put down her wine glass and looked at Lee Sung-hwan: "If you don't want to get engaged to Jung Eun-ah, you can get engaged to me. Anyway, your family just wants you to marry a daughter of the Jung family, it doesn't have to be Jung Eun-ah, right?"
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