Marriage Proposal

"How could you even do that?" Jae shouted as he closes the door behind him, with Mari going straight to the couch, "It was meant to be a celebration, Mari!" Jae is obviously becoming upset, "Yes, Jae Lee," she gets up, and faces him. "It is a celebration, in fact today is our fifth year, and you did not even remember. You were too preoccupied with the graduation ceremony." Je quickly replied, "It's my son. He is my son, a graduation is a milestone and I cannot miss it." Mari walked past Jae, went to the staircase and before she reached the landing, she glanced back at him and said, "I have done everything you wanted me to do, and here I am, still begging for your attention." She went straight to the bedroom and locked herself in. Han greets Jae, "Is there anything you may want?" she asked. Han has been working for Mari for more than twenty years. The So family hired her when she was in her early twenties, and Mari had just turned ten. She calls both Mari and Jae by their first names, as she has always treated them like her own children. Jae goes to the patio, and drinks coffee which was handed over to him by Han. He watches the rain and loves its sound, falling from the sky to the roof, and eventually, the ground. The leaves of a bamboo tree that sways with the wind captured his attention. The tree is very much like him, he thought. It sways to the sound of the wind, and does not care where the wind sways it to. For a moment, he was quiet, and a memory suddenly struck him.

On the wedding day, he waited in the groom's suite as his bride, Coree had prepared for the ceremony. He heard she was so beautiful in the simple, yet elegant wedding dress that she chose from the boutique. The wedding was set to take place at nine in the morning, and since he had ten minutes left, he decided to sit down and read a good book to lessen the feeling of a cold feet. A lady knocked on the door, he opened it, it was Mari, wearing the bridesmaid's dress. "Hello," he greeted her, but she did not say a word. She got in the room, closed the door behind her and kissed him passionately. He pushed her, "What do you think you are doing, Mari? I am your best friend's husband to be!" he shouted. Mari stared at him, confessed her love that she had hidden in her heart for years. She wanted him to stop the wedding, but he loved Coree that much, so he asked her to leave and threatened her never to try to seduce him again.

Jae is so deep in his thoughts that he is not hearing the voice which calls for him. "Jae? Are you alright?" Han asked, "You seem to be lost in your thoughts. Eun has called, he wanted to speak with you." Jae looked at her and said, "I'll call him back." When Han left, Jae goes back to thinking about the past. "If I refused her then, why did I end up leaving the love of my life for this woman?" He finishes the coffee, and goes upstairs. He goes into the room, sees Mari sleeping on her side of the bed. Jae walks in, and strokes her hair, then goes to sit on the other side. He lifts his feet up, grabs the home phone and dials Eun's number. "Hey, what's up?" he asks. Eun replies, "Hi dad. Sorry for what happened earlier. I wanted to be nice, but mom said it is better to leave than to speak with Aunt Mari. I don't know what happened between them, but it was something that ruined their friendship." Jae was speechless, he does not know how to tell his son that he was, after all, the reason behind everything. "Don't worry son. When you grow a bit older, I am sure your mom will tell you everything," he assures his son. "Dad, does it mean you know it too? Why won't you guys tell me?" Jae calms him down and tells him that there is a perfect timing for everything. He assures him that he is loved by his parents. Eun finally thanks his father for coming to the ceremony, and says goodbye. After such, Jae remains seated on the bed yawns. Mari sits up and tells him, "Jae? Do you really love me?" Jae was stunned, it could probably be one of the most difficult questions he is faced with. "I left my family to be with you," he tells her. She is not convinced, so she pulls the drawer from the bedside table and gets a small box in it. She hands it over to Jae, and as he opens it, it contains two beautiful rings made of white gold and platinum linings." What are these? "he asks her. Mari buries his face in her hands and kisses him on the lips. She then asks him, "Jae Lee, this is Mari So, asking you to forget past heartaches and failures. With all my heart, I ask you to be my top priority in this life. Love, please be my husband."