The Engagement

Coree has her hair in a soft bun and her face is still pale without makeup on. She is seated on one of the chairs in the lanai, waiting for Eun so they can have breakfast together. She had ordered Han earlier that she wished to spend the morning outdoors, with a hint of sunlight on their faces as it was getting colder and because they both missed the outdoors. “It has been really cold in the past few months, it is very rare that we see the sun this high , might as well take the opportunity to receive some natural light and heat,” she tells her. Eun finally joins her, wearing jeans and a plain white shirt. They went on with breakfast, and Coree asked her son, “Are you going to wear that later?” Eun looks at her, confused. “Why Mama, is there anything wrong with what I wear?” “It is your father’s engagement.” There is silence between them. She continues, “Do you need me to come with you?” she asks, but Eun shakes his head looking down on his hands. He knows that his mama does not want to attend such an event, but his father invited him, and he refuses to hurt his papa’s feelings either. Coree touches his hand and asks him again, “Son, I do not want to force you to do something that you do not want to. Tell me what makes you comfortable and Mama will support you.” He looks up and at her, “Papa wants me to come, as well as, uhm” he does not know how to address Mari in front of his mother. She was his godmother, his father’s fiancée was his mother’s bridesmaid. Coree says, “Your Papa’s future wife. She is going to be your stepmother. I know it is awkward but you must respect her as much as you respect your father.” He nods and gets up. He walks toward Coree and hugs her from behind. “You are the best, Mama. I love you.” he says as he kisses her cheek while hugging her tightly.

After they finish breakfast, they decide that Eun will go alone with the driver. The exclusive event is located in a posh villa in Jeju, which makes it difficult for a young teenager to come alone. He goes upstairs and changes in his blue coat and pants. He goes to his mama’s room afterwards and kisses her on the cheek. “No matter what happens mama, I love you.” Coree hugs him tightly and closes her eyes. She tries to keep her tears from falling. It still breaks her heart to know that her best friend was having an affair with her husband, Jae Lee, the love of her life. She could not deny that she still loves him, but his infidelity must not be tolerated. She thought that he would choose their family, but he is madly in love with Mari that he opted to go on with the divorce so he could happily live with her and have no legal obligations with Coree. “You take care and enjoy,” she tells Eun. He left, along with their driver as Coree and Han are left home along with other household helpers. She goes back to her home office and checks her designs. There is an upcoming fashion show in a couple of months and she needs to update some of her designs and approve some which were created by members of her team. In about three hours, she receives a call from Eun that he already got to the venue. “I did not expect that Jeju would be this far.” Coree laughs, and tells him that he was supposed to take a flight to Jeju but he overlooked it since he was too busy with his enrollment. Before they hung up, Coree overheard a woman speaking to her son. “Hey Eun Lee, how’s your trip?” He replies, “Hi Mari, I am good.” He hung up. Coree hangs up, and realizes that her son will be spending the day with Mari and Jae. She continues working anyway, but she gets interrupted when Han walks in. “This will help you focus,” Han has got some pies and a cup of coffee for Coree. For many years, Jae has always been the one to bring her her comfort food. He would often say, “You have had the same coffee during the summer or winter.” She would usually smile, and answer, “I love hot coffee, regardless of the weather.” The past two years have been so different, as Han or Eun would be taking her coffee which was unusual. Her routine has not changed since, but the person who used to be in her routine had long disappeared. She prevents herself from thinking about such things, and continues to look at her designs. A memory struck her. A lady from Seoul has seen a design which she has created with inspiration from her mother who has her own fashion brand. Min Yin Park, Coree’s mother is the one behind the famous Sparkles, a fashion boutique that sells jewelry, shoes and makeup that also designs bags and gowns. She remembers that one of her designs that she had kept two summers ago has been missing. It was for a silver dress that must be worn with a tiara, with long sleeves made of lace and the fabric, silk. It is a body hugging dress which emphasizes a woman’s figure and has beadings all over it. She walks out of her office, goes to her room and searches for it. She checks the drawers but still could not find it. Desperate, she calls her assistant to check if she has seen it. “I am so sorry, Coree, I believe you have kept it at home. A client was looking for it the other day and I told her you have it with you.” Coree believes Lucy, as she is someone she can rely on. She continues to search as she looks at her folders. She needs the original copy, though she has a scanned copy in her computer, the details as to the measurement and the pattern of the Swarovski crystals that need to be embroidered in the dress are all in the original page. She goes back to her office, and just in time, Eun sends her a photo of him, Jae and Mari. He wrote, “Mama, the engagement announcement is done. I am sending you some photos.” Coree looked closely, and thought, “My son is growing up so fast,” she smiles as her son looked like a dignified young man. Jae looked the same, a lot older and mature than when they had their own party more than a decade ago. She suddenly gets curious about Mari, and looks at more photos. She sees her in them, Eun takes a selfie with her and Jae in the background. She looks familiar, more than the fact that they have known each other for years, Mari’s look today is even more. “She is wearing it! How could it be!” she exclaimed. Mari is wearing a silvery long dress made of silk, with lace covering her arms and a tiara which was made of pearls and crystals. She immediately recognized it. Han comes to her office as soon as she hears her shout. “What is the matter, Coree?” she asks. Coree replied, her eyes fixed on the mobile phone with Mari’s photo on it. “She is wearing it, Han. My design was inspired by my mother’s. How did this happen?” She turns the computer back on, and looks into the scanned copy. Han looks at it beside her and says “Oh God, she wears your design to the engagement.”