Memories of Mari

Coree wakes up early on a Monday morning. She immediately goes to the shower and fixes herself, as she needs to prepare for an appointment. After an hour, she goes to the home office and waits for missus Lim to come. She remembers how missus Lim has told how that it was Mari who handed her over the design for the engagement dress. “Seriously, Coree. I haven’t seen it before. I thought it was hers. She told me it was given to her by a friend and she had obtained permission to use it.” Coree puts her hands together, on the table. She glances at the ceiling and breathes in.

Mari sits on the rattan chaise near a plunge pool in her backyard. She is sipping on a glass of fresh pineapple juice when Jae walks and sits beside her. “Hey, “ he greets her. “It seems that all is good between you and Eun.” She smiles at him as she puts down the glass on the table beside the chaise. “I am glad that he sees me not as a villain, but as a friend.” Jae puts his arm around her and kisses her head. He tells her how happy he is, knowing that his son is starting to have a good relationship with his future wife. He continues, “I am also happy that Coree allows you two to go out.” Mari explains that Coree does not have an idea about it and that Eun is the one who asked her to keep everything in secret. “Why is that?” Jae asks. He does not want his son to be lying to his mother. She tells him that Eun is worried that his Mama would not allow him to see Mari. “Jae, please. Your son needs someone to talk to. He has been very busy with school, and he is starting to meet new friends. He is growing up to be a good man, but his mother keeps on treating him like a child.” Mari puts her hand on top of Jae’s and assures him, “Let me be like a second mom to him. Don’t tell Coree yet that I am seeing your son. It may..” She never gets the chance to finish, he kisses her lips gently and tells her, “I love you, Mari So. Thank you for being there for my Eun.” They both smile, and as Jae hugs Mari, she smiles and rolls her eyes as no one is looking.

Missus Lim finally walks into Coree’s office. “I’m glad you made it here,” Coree greets her. Missus Lim shakes her had, and takes her seat. The two women discuss how it was possible for Mari to obtain the copy of designs which originally belongs to Coree. Coree shows an envelope, hands it over to her visitor. “Please look at the designs inside. Could you possibly tell me which ones were showed to you by Mari?” Missus Lim browses on the files, checks each and starts to separate a few copies and puts them on the table. Coree stares at her, realizing that there were roughly more than a dozen pages that were selected from the folder. When missus Lim was done, she tells Coree, “Here. These were the exact copies. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to show them to you for proof.” “I see, let me have a look,” Coree replies. As she looks through the papers, a memory struck her.

She was in the bathroom when she heard noises, and when she got out, Mari was in her bedroom, facing the mirror with a copy of one of the designs. “I was trying to see which one would suit me,” she explained. Coree then walked towards her and said, “Silly you, find a groom first before you get a wedding dress.” They both laughed, and as Coree took the sketchpad off Mari’s hands, Mari said with a sweet smile, “Coree, one day I will marry the man of my dreams, and I shall wear one of your designs.” Coree replied, “Of course, but please make sure he is going to be a good man, and will take good care of you.” “He is,” Mari walks to the window and peeks outside, then faced Coree. “Apparently he isn’t single yet. But once he is, I’ll welcome him with open arms.” She said, laughing, with her arms stretched widely. Coree laughed hard, and told her that she needs to look for someone else if her dream guy isn’t single. She grabbed Mari’s hand and led her to sit on the couch by the foot of the bed. “When you find him, don’t ever let him go.” “Yeah but you need to introduce me first to your boyfriend. Maybe he knows my dream guy and he could help me get close to him, “Mari replied and winked. They both laughed hard and hugged each other tightly. It was ten years ago.

“Are you okay?” Missus Lim asks Coree. “Yes,” she immediately replies. “I just figured, most of these designs were selected by Mari, many years ago from my portfolio when she said she finally saw the love of her life.” Missus Lim extends her hands and holds Coree’s as she continues, “Who would have thought, that when we spoke about my boyfriend and her dream guy, we were actually speaking of the same man. Ridiculous isn’t it?” They go on with the discussion, and Missus Lim claims that she is willing to check her husband’s files to see if there is anything essential she could find. She wants Coree to retract the case as she said she did not know that the designs were stolen. Coree insists that she needs to have missus Lim release an official statement about her claims before she gives in to her request. They both agreed after an hour of discussion, and the visitor decides to leave. Han directs her to the door, out of the office and of the house. Han comes back after a couple of minutes. “Are you alright, Coree?” She nodded, “Yes. I just got reminded how Mari and I were the best of friends, until..” she looks down, so Han tried to comfort her. “Dear, she isn’t your best friend after all. You would not dare steal your best friend’s husband, will you?” “No one in her right mind will do it.” Coree answers, as she gets up the office chair. “I’ll go and change,” she says and walks out the office. Han is left in the office, she cleans the table and removes the coffee mugs that were used by Coree and missus Lim. She wipes the table off, and notices something under it. It is an old photo of Coree and Mari. She picks it up, and as she flips it, there is a note that reads, ‘My forever friend, I am glad you found the one. I hope to find mine too.’. Han tales the photo and puts in her pocket, then proceeds with the cleaning.