Chapter 10: Caught Between the Sheets – February 27 – March 1, 2021
“Eomma! Eomma!” Ajin came running into her room the next morning before stopping abruptly as she stared at the man who had his arm wrapped around her mother and his head lying on her chest in her eomma’s big bed. “Uncle Naru?” she asked with awe in her voice.
He cracked an eye open, and Ajin entered his field of vision. For a moment, he was disoriented and wondered why she was in his bedroom. But then the events of the previous night and the softness of the body beneath his ear communicated themselves to him, and he remembered where he was and whom he was cuddling. He grinned at Ajin.
“Good morning, my precious princess.”
“Why are you sleeping in my eomma’s bed?” she asked curiously.
“Your Eomma didn’t feel good last night. I stayed with her to watch over her.”
Her face lit up. “Like you took care of me last week?”
He nodded.
Then her face fell. “Does that mean we can’t go to the aquarium again?”
He shook his head. “Nope. We should still be able to go to the aquarium today. Your eomma was feeling much better by the time she fell asleep last night.”
He couldn’t help grinning as he remembered the last few blissful moments before they’d fallen asleep wrapped in each other’s arms. He was shocked at how satisfied he’d become with simple kisses.
Ajin jumped up and down and kept yelling over and over, “Yay!” until she’d woken her mother up.
Minha stretched and yawned. Then she became aware of the weight on her chest. She reached up a hand and found a head of silky hair. Her eyes popped open as she felt the arm about her waist too. She glanced down at Naru who was gazing up at her.
“Good morning, love,” he purred as his eyes caressed her.
She blushed as she remembered the events of last night, especially the last few delightful things he’d made her feel. Then her eyes slid to her tiny daughter dancing off to her left.
“Ajin,” she murmured. “Ajin!”
The little girl glanced up at her eomma. “Can we leave for the aquarium right now?”
“Uh. No. Darling, I need a shower first.”
Naru leaned up on his elbow and bent to breathe into her ear, “I wish I could join you in there. Are you sure we can’t get married today?”
She laughed and rebuked him lightly, “Really, Naru! How is a girl supposed to hang on to any self-restraint with you always breathing such provocative words into her ear?”
“You’re not,” he teased her. “I want you to let go of all restraint and marry me today. Then I can do really marvelous things to you in this bed.”
He reached down and threaded his fingers through hers. He dragged her hand to his lips and began to kiss each finger separately.
“What do you think, Ajin?” he consulted the tiny child. “Should your eomma marry me today?”
“Yes. Clearly,” spoke a strong voice from the doorway.
Naru’s eyes traveled up into the stern face of Minha’s grandma. He stopped in mid-kiss and swallowed. He felt like a tiny boy with his hand caught in the cookie jar.
But he murmured to Minha, “See, your Harmony agrees that you should marry me today.”
Minha’s eyes flew to meet her grandmother’s. “It’s not what it looks like, I swear.” She felt like she’d disappointed her grandma again.
Maeum saw the tremor that passed over her granddaughter’s face. She glanced down at the little girl.
“Ajin! Go set the table for breakfast and get everyone a glass of water. We’ll meet you in the kitchen in a moment.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the wee girl responded as she skipped towards the kitchen.
Maeum set her eyes back on the two who were still entwined in her granddaughter’s bed. Naru had tightened his hold on Minha. He wasn’t about to let this wonderful woman get away.
“I asked Minha to marry me last night, and she agreed. But we’re quibbling over the date. I said either next Saturday or today. But she wants me to complete five dates with her and Ajin first.”
“Wise woman,” her grandma murmured. “But why did you let him into your bed then?”
Minha turned bright red. But Naru came to her rescue.
“We didn’t do anything, Harmony. Just kisses. Minha was…almost raped last night. She asked me to stay with her because she was scared and traumatized.”
Now her grandmother’s face rippled in concern. “You were almost raped? What happened?” she asked sharply.
She crossed the room to stare down at her granddaughter. Naru sat up finally; so did Minha. And Maeum could see the nasty bruise that was forming under her eye.
Minha swallowed. “Do you remember the guy that kissed me the night I told Beopdung I was pregnant?”
“Yes…” her grandma responded slowly. Her voice dipped in the middle of that one word.
“He was at the party last night. I went upstairs to get my phone to call Ajin. He cornered me in Naru’s bedroom. He – he attacked me. He ripped my dress and grabbed me. And Naru saved me.” She fell silent.
Maeum’s eyes flew to Naru’s for confirmation.
He nodded. “That’s exactly what happened. He had her pinned on my bed. He backhanded her because she bit him.” He glanced at Minha, and his face was full of pride in her tenacity. “Then he ripped her dress down the front. I grabbed him and punched him in the mouth. He went away quite damaged.”
“But so did you, my dove,” she whispered to her granddaughter.
“I’m all right, Harmony,” Minha rushed for assure her. “My face will heal. The memories will fade. I – I asked Naru to hold me last night and to kiss me to wipe the memory of Eunho from my consciousness.” She began to shake again.
“Hey, hey, it’s all right. You’re okay,” Naru responded tenderly as he turned and wrapped his arms around her. He planted a sweet kiss on her lips too.
Maeum watched the boy gently care for her beloved granddaughter, and she fell even more in love with him. She knew that Minha was being wise to demand they get to know each other better first. But for her part, she would have married him today had she been Minha.
—
“Look, Ajin! You can put your hand in this pool and play with the starfish and the hermit crabs,” Naru informed her as he stuck his own hand beneath the water’s surface to run his finger along a crab.
They had just left the shark tank. Ajin had been fascinated by the aquarium tube that had run above their heads as they walked down the hallway next to the shark tank. She’d watched sharks swim back and forth from one tank to another via that clear tunnel.
“Are you sure they can’t get me, Uncle Naru?” she’d finally asked in a tiny voice as she clung to his head.
When he had detected her fear, he’d pulled her down into his arms. He’d assured her that she was safe with him. She’d stayed secure in his embrace until they’d left the shark room. Then she’d wiggled until he’d set her down.
Now she came running over to the little tank full of starfish and crabs. She watched in awe as he petted a crab.
“It’s not biting you?” she asked in surprise.
He shook his head. “They won’t hurt you. Do you want to touch one?”
Minha watched them and marveled at how gentle he was with her daughter. Maybe she should just marry him next Saturday.
A little while later, as they sat eating lunch in the aquarium cafeteria, she turned to him.
“Naru? You don’t have anyone you want to attend our wedding? Not even one of your siblings?”
She knew so little of him. This became all too clear when he gave her a startling answer. It was mostly surprising because she’d had no idea.
“I have a twin sister. Nari. She’s Jungju’s eomma.”
She stared at him. “You have a twin sister, and this is the first time you’re mentioning it?”
He shrugged. “It’s not that big of a deal. For a long time, we weren’t very close.”
She stared at him in consternation. “How could you not be close?”
“We were always competing for our appa’s attention. I think she always resented me, and I know that I was always irritated at how perfect she was. She was clearly the apple of my appa’s eye, so I got in trouble all the time just so I could capture a little of his attention.”
“Oh, Naru! That’s so sad!”
“Is it? I suppose it is. It’s all right, though. We get along famously now. Especially the last few months…I would like her and Yoongi to come to the wedding. And my parents, I suppose. But if we invite them, Appa is going to want to invite all his business associates…”
She glanced up at him. “Is this important for your job?” she asked him, fearing she had already detected the answer.
“It’s fine. I’ll just tell him after the fact. He’ll get over it.”
“No! Naru, I don’t want you to burn any bridges with your family to marry me. Surely, we can find a happy medium.”
“How about you marry me privately next Saturday, and we hold a public ceremony during the summer when you’ve grown more comfortable with us all?”
“That doesn’t seem very honoring of your appa or his position in the company. Look, I know you want me, but surely we can both exercise a little abstinence for three months so that we can get married in the grand style your parents would want.”
“But…I thought you’d hate that.”
She shrugged. “I’m willing to make sacrifices for family.” She heaved a huge sigh. “You know what the first step is…”
His eyes met hers. “You need to meet my family.”
She nodded.
He sighed. “I know.”
She’d been briefly introduced to his parents the night before as his friend. But they hadn’t been told they were seriously dating. Or that she had a daughter.
“How are they going to feel about…” Her eyes strayed towards Ajin.
“They’re going to love her. I think we should arrange to have dinner with them and Nari, her husband, and Jungju. You can bring Ajin too. The kids already know and like each other, so they’ll brighten the mood. And Nari will adore you. So will Yoongi. We’ll meet them at a restaurant.”
She sighed. If she wanted Naru, she’d have to endure this. But it made her cringe just thinking about it. There was no way cold aristocrats were going to love her or her daughter. But as long as she could protect Ajin from their spite, everything would be okay. Minha could endure anything for someone she loved.
—
Later that night, Naru laced his fingers through Minha’s after they tucked Ajin into bed. He tugged on her hand and led Minha out to her front porch.
“Is our date officially over?”
She gazed questioningly up at him. “Uh. I think so.”
“Good.”
Then his head dipped, and his lips claimed her own.
He’d been waiting all day to do this.
After a few blissful moments, she smiled up at him and asked, “Why did you ask if our date was over?”
“Because I’m not permitted to kiss you on a date with Ajin. Remember?”
“Oh,” she blushed.
She’d actually forgotten her caveat. It seemed ridiculous now that they were engaged to be married.
“Minha, I have a phone call to make. I’m going to stay out here while I make it so I don’t disturb anyone inside, okay?”
She gazed at him quizzically. “Okay…Who are you calling?”
“My sister.”
“Oh. In that case, I’ll leave you to it.”
She started to walk inside, but he drew her close to him again with the hand that was still intertwined with hers. He brushed his mouth along hers once more. And that tiny touch lit a great deal of kindling in their souls. They ended up kissing for several minutes. Quite passionately this time.
“Are you sure you won’t marry me this Saturday?”
She chuckled. “Why don’t we see how your parents react to me first?” But even as she said it, her stomach dipped.
“All right,” he murmured, a little disappointed. “But it doesn’t matter. I’ll take you anyway. No matter what they decide.”
The corners of her mouth quirked upward, but said action couldn’t quite be deemed a smile. Minha fervently hoped his parents accepted her. She was very afraid that if they didn’t, Naru would one day come to hate her.
She slipped inside her house a moment later, and he pulled his phone from his pocket. It was time to set events in line for him to make this relationship official. But he was going to need some help to smooth their path.
—
“Nari, I need your help.”
“Naru?” She stared in astonishment at her husband.
Yoongi mouthed, “What?”
“When are you coming back to Busan next?” Naru’s deep voice sounded on the line.
“Actually, we’re in Busan right now. We head out on Tuesday again.”
“Are you, Yoongi, and Jungju available to join me for dinner tomorrow night?”
“Sure…” She furrowed her brows, and Yoongi hung on every word he couldn’t hear.
“I’m going to text you an address. It’s about a half hour drive from appa’s house. I want you to meet some friends of mine. And, Nari?”
“Yes?”
“They’re very special to me.”
“Oh-okay.” She frowned. What was Naru trying to say?
—
“Naru? I’m nervous.”
He glanced up at Minha. “Don’t be, love. Nari is going to love you. And her husband, Yoongi, is a very kind man. Nari would never have married him if he weren’t. And they produced Jungju. He’s living proof that they’re wonderful people.”
“That doesn’t mean that they’re going to love me. Or Ajin.”
“First of all, you malign my sister if you think that she won’t fall madly in love with your daughter at first glance. I did. And, secondly, she’ll adore you simply because I do. But also because you and she are very much alike.”
Surprised, she glanced sharply at him. “We are?”
“Mmhmm,” he responded, a twinkle in his eye. “Stubborn. Opinionated…”
“Hey!” she laughed and slapped him on his shoulder.
“You forgot strikingly beautiful when angry,” Yoongi finished Naru’s thought as he stepped into Maeum’s kitchen.
Naru turned his head to smile at his brother-in-law. “I guess you get to meet the least formidable member of my family first.”
“Thanks, brother,” Yoongi intoned dryly with a quirk of one eyebrow and a twist of his lips.
“Minha, this is Yoongi. Yoongi, this is the love of my life, Minha.”
She’d been gazing at Yoongi but at that provoking description, she glanced at Naru, and Yoongi could see how absolutely taken they were with each other. He grinned.
Oh, yeah.
The Beom family wouldn’t know what had hit them.
“Hello, Minha. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Just then, Nari entered the kitchen laughing. Yoongi turned towards her. “And this giggling woman is my wife, Nari.”
Nari chuckled up at him before turning curious eyes on Minha.
“Nari, this is my fiancé, Minha.”
As the laughter died in her mouth, Nari’s eyes grew wide, first, at his description of Minha, but then, second, at the expression on his face as he turned his eyes on his fiancé.
Oh, yeah.
Her brother was a complete goner. She had never before seen Naru look at a woman the way he was gazing at Minha.
Nari grinned from ear to ear. It had finally happened. A good woman had captured her brother’s heart. He was going to turn out all right, after all. All her fervent prayers for him had been answered. Absolutely delighted, she opened her mouth and spoke to Minha for the first time.
“Hello, Minha. It’s wonderful to meet you.”
Minha smiled at her. “Hello.”
“I’m assuming that adorable, little girl in the other room is your daughter?”
Minha nodded.
Nari smiled. “I’ve seen that our children are already the best of friends. And I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but my brother’s heart isn’t the only one that you’ve stolen. Jungju just gushes every time he speaks of you.”
As they had approached the front door, her son had told her his teacher lived here. Nari had put two and two together.
A delightful blush spread across Minha’s cheeks at Nari’s sweet words.
“Well, of course, he’s in love with her!” Naru interposed. “This woman is extremely lovable and the best teacher in the whole world!”
“Naru, stop!” Minha responded shyly. “Don’t build me up to be more than I am. Your family will be so disappointed when I suddenly come crashing to the ground.”
“No, no, my brother is quite right. You’re absolutely adorable,” Nari responded with a smile.
Minha’s eyes met hers, and she had the sudden feeling that the two of them were going to be the best of friends. She felt herself relaxing. Maybe she would enjoy this evening, after all…
—
“Appa. Naru is changing,” Nari commented at dinner on Monday night.
“Where is Naru? I haven’t seen him around the house since the party on Friday night.” His appa glanced around as though he would upset Naru hiding in a potted plant or behind a chair.
“I think he’s staying at his friend’s house,” she murmured before eating a bite of rice.
“Which friend?” their eomma queried.
“Minha. I believe you met her on Friday night?”
“Ah. That young lady in the navy dress. Yes, we did,” his mother responded.
“Another of his playthings,” her appa retorted.
“No. He isn’t sleeping with this one, Appa. He’s staying in another room.”
He glanced up sharply at his daughter. “What are you saying? Naru not screwing around? That doesn’t sound like my son. Pretty soon, you’re going to try to convince me that he’s on the straight and narrow.”
“I think he just might be this time, Appa.” Nari sent him a measuring glance. “Do you know why he took a leave of absence?”
“He said he needed to help a friend. I just assumed he was goofing around with some new girl.”
“He was at Minha’s house.”
“See?”
“Unbeknownst to her.”
“Huh?” He was beginning to wonder if his daughter had lost it.
“Are you aware that Minha has a daughter about Jungju’s age?”
Their eomma’s head snapped up. “What? Are you saying that Naru is dating a woman who has a child? From a previous relationship?” Her heart was racing.
Nari nodded. “Yes, Eomma. Naru is very serious about this one. And her daughter. He spent his leave of absence going to her grandmother’s house so he could help the old woman to fix all the broken things on her property.
“She’s a widow, and her son died a couple years back. She kept losing farmland in an effort to pay her bills. Naru arranged for all her land to be leased and saved her farmhouse. That’s what he spent his break doing. And Minha didn’t know about any of it. He also fixed all the broken things with his own hands. He mended fences, and repaired sinks, and fixed creaky porch boards.”
Her father speared her with his eyes. “That doesn’t sound like Naru. He’s been spinning you a tale. The boy wouldn’t know how to fix any of those things if his life depended on it. And he wouldn’t do it anyway. He’s just not that responsible.”
“In the past, I would have agreed with you, Appa. But this time you’re wrong. Naru didn’t tell me those things. Minha’s grandma did. Last night. We had dinner with them.”
Her father’s eyebrows ascended into the heavens.
“There’s more. Naru is in love this time. No doubt. I have never seen him look at any woman the way he looks at Minha. And he’s as gentle with her daughter as he is with Jungju. He is, in fact, going to make an amazing appa.”
“Appa?” Her mother’s head shot up. “What are you saying? Is Minha pregnant?” She had long known that one of these days her son’s habit of sowing wild oats was going to come back to haunt him. “He’s gotten a farm girl pregnant?” She shook her head.
“Eomma. You’re not listening. I told you: they are not sleeping together. But I think he’s going to ask her to marry him.” Her eye met Yoongi’s then. She was trying to ease her parents into what she knew was already a done deal. “He really loves her, and he adores her daughter. That’s what I meant by saying he’ll be a good appa. To her daughter.”
Her parents just gaped at her.
“Please. Just give Minha a chance. She’s a wonderful woman and a very brave one, I think. When she discovered she was pregnant, her boyfriend – a rich playboy like Naru used to be – abandoned her and their baby. She’s raised this child completely on her own. And my understanding is that she wanted nothing to do with Naru when she discovered he was rich.”
“What?” Her eomma stared in shock at her. “What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say that, in the beginning of their acquaintance, Naru behaved as he’s usually done and came on to her very strongly. He reminded her of the man who abandoned her. She’s worked hard to protect her own heart and her daughter for the past few years. She wasn’t about to let some slick talker back into her life again. She lives a respectable life. Did you not realize that she’s Jungju’s teacher?”
“What?” Both of her parents stared at her.
She felt uneasy and hoped that she and Naru weren’t putting the woman’s job at risk by speaking of this.
“So…what happened? How did Naru find favor with such a woman?” her appa suddenly asked.
“He started taking care of them all. And then she made some sort of a bargain with him. I’m not sure what. They wouldn’t tell me. But it involved a date that went very badly. Naru didn’t take advantage of the situation but instead took care of her, so she gave him a chance. I think she sees how good he is with her daughter. But I also think she’s strongly attracted to him. I’ve never seen him treat a woman as sweetly as he treats this one.”
Yoongi cleared his throat. “Did you know that Minha was nearly raped in your house on Friday night?”
Horrified, her parents gaped at him. “What?”
“One of your guests accosted her in Naru’s bedroom when she went upstairs to get her phone. Thankfully, Naru entered the room just in time to see the man hit her in the face before ripping her dress. Naru punched him in the mouth and sent him packing. But I rather think that she sees him as her hero now.”
Naru’s parents gawked at each other.
“We’re telling you all this because he wants all of us to go to dinner with them the next time we’re in town. And I think he’s afraid you’ll reject her. But I’m telling you to give her a chance. She may not come from money. But she is Naru’s match in every way that counts,” Nari pointed out.
“I know you’ve both despaired of him ever growing up. I think this woman is his chance to do so. I also think if you reject her, he will quit this family. He’s that in love with her. He’s already vowed never to set foot in this house again because of what she endured in his bedroom last Friday. I think, too, he greatly regrets all the things he did with other women in his room upstairs.”
“He’s not coming home again?” his eomma queried, frowning.
“No. He already had one of the maids pack up his clothes. He picked them up and took them to Minha’s house. She and her daughter are sharing a room right now while Naru sleeps in Ajin’s room.”
“Who is Ajin?” her mother asked.
“Minha’s daughter.”
“Wait. Naru is sleeping in the little girl’s bedroom?” her appa asked, stunned.
Nari nodded. To her this was the best part of this story. “In her twin bed.”
Her brother, the rich profligate who had shared a king-sized bed with dozens of extremely sexy women, had relegated himself to spending each night alone in a twin bed surrounded by stuffed animals and dolls because he so loved a woman and her tiny daughter. It was even sweeter than her own love story with Yoongi.
“I want to meet this woman. And her grandmother,” her appa instantly insisted.
“And her daughter too,” her mother added calmly. No one detected that her heart was racing.
“Can we visit them at their house? I need to see this for myself.”
Nari stared at her appa. “I think Naru would be very upset with me if I set his woman up like you’re asking me to.”
“Give her my phone number. Please ask her to call me,” her mother intervened. “I’ll take it from there.”
But Nari didn’t rush to do her eomma’s bidding. She left town the next day. Completely forgetting her mother’s request.
