PROMPTS

Bad Omens - 7

He was every woman's ideal man. Tall, lean, fair-skinned which was smooth and flawless like most actresses would want, shiny black hair, full lips meant for kissing.

Ha Chae-yoon met him at a seminar in Incheon that dealt with Financial Market changes and upcoming fraud schemes that was prevalent that year. She was browsing the agenda items for the three-day schedule when the man slid on the seat beside her.

"Hi. Park Yoo-ram. Is this seat taken?" he said, smiling brightly.

"No. Go ahead."

It was rare for Ha Chae-yoon to be rattled by the presence of a handsome man, but she here she was disconcerted with sitting beside a cute guy.

He was interesting to speak to. There were concepts about the scams that were difficult for her to grasp at first but he was able to explain them to her. By the end of the first they, she felt like they were fast friends. "Do you have dinner plans?"

"Ummm," Ha Chae-yoon sounded off, a little concerned about going out with a stranger she just met. 

"I'm booked in this hotel and I was sent by my office alone so," Park Yoo-ram said, leaving the sentence purposely open ended. "It's just dinner. What do you say?"

There was nagging feeling at the back of her head, but she decided that dinner at a public place should be alright. "Let's meet at the restaurant of this hotel at, say, 7?"

"Great!"

When it was almost 7, Ha Chae-yoon stepped out of her room and was surprised to see Park Yoo-ram waiting for her at the waiting area of her floor. "Sorry, I saw you get off this floor earlier and decided to surprise you. I hope you don't mind."

There was that nagging feeling again. However, he quickly distracted her by handing her a box of chocolates. "Let's go. We might miss our reservation."

That night, she found out that he had been around the world working for different companies. "I've been a trader, a broker. I also tried my hand at marketing these products." He told her the differences in working for the Western countries versus the Eastern ones and the market appetite on both sides of the world. "Here, there's more superstition that comes into play. What day of the week it is. If it's a Monday, people are careful about money going out. If it's August, they don't want to make big investments. Things like that."

By the end of the seminar, Yoo-ram was saying, "I like you a lot. I've been thinking of moving to Seoul. Do you think it would be okay to keep seeing you when I'm there?"

There was that unsettled feeling within her again. Rolling her eyes, she brushed off what he said fully expecting to lose contact once they parted. 

However, the following week, he was at the police station looking for an audience with her. "Hi! I told you I'd move for you."

He swept her off her feet, falling too fast too soon. It wasn't often that she met a man who was mature enough to start planning a future with her and she was thrilled. For the first time in her life, she dreamt of marriage and a family with someone in mind.

At the seminar, they were told, "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is." A lesson she would learn very well.

He bought her an engagement ring for their first month together.  With the ring on her hand, she decided, against her better judgment that it was commitment enough for her to jump into bed with him. It was good and there were times it was very, very nice. 

Then, she started noticing strange things. 

Like her work phone ending up on the dining table. She never puts her phone there because of her tendency to overwork herself so she keeps it in her bag. Additionally, there was a time when said work phone was locked out because of entering her passcode incorrectly.