Heartbreak Journey

Before Sunset

Ri Jeong Hyeok

As tomorrow coming closer, I can't tamp down my nervousness. Or is it my excitement? I take the velvet box again, open it and look inside for the millionth times.

Laying down on the bed, I try to imagine her reaction when I pop the question. Will she cup her mouth in surprise like she always does? Will she laugh at me like when I asked her to move in? Will she faint?

Or will she cry like her mother when I told her I wanted to marry her daughter?

Yeah, about that.

One of my regret during the whole thing with Dani was I never asked her parent's blessing to propose to her. If I asked, I probably would've gotten hint of Dani's heart. Well, it was water under the bridge but I wasn't going to repeat my mistake.

So I asked Se Ri's parents blessing first before proposing to their daughter. In today's world, this gesture might feel antiquated, but I thought her family and her father particularly, could feel my sincerity and my love for Se Ri through this.

Remembering the day I visited Yoon family home and the subsequent event still makes me rolling my eyes, considering how nervous I was back then.

***

When I raced for long distance run, full marathon for example, I learned how to manage my pace and my heartbeat. As a heart surgeon, I knew for a fact that running with elevated heart rate could risk cardiac events in the future. Now, I wasn't in run whatsoever, but my current heart rate might mimic the peak heart rate while I was running marathon. God, I was a nervous wreck.

I tried to regulate my heart beat with breathing exercise before stepping inside. I hadn't got a chance to knock the door when Se Ri's mother greeted me from the garden at the front yard. I was surprised as hell but tried to appear calm.

"Hello, Eomonim. I'm sorry to bother you this Saturday." I bowed down to her. "Doctor Ri, come on in. We've waited for you. I really thought you would never step inside the way you're pacing in front of the gate." Ouch, she could see from there? I smiled awkwardly and gave her the red ginseng I brought as a gift.

"Here's something for you and Abeonim."

"Ah, you shouldn't. But thank you. Come on." She led me inside the house. It seemed empty, I couldn't see anyone else here.

"Let's just go to the greenhouse. Se Ri's Appa is there. Se Hyun with Sang Hee and her Appa are out to the park."

This felt conditioned perfectly. It'd be awkward as hell if Se Ri's ex was here to witness me asking her father permission to marry her.

"Se Ri's Appa just recently taken in hydroponic plants. The greenhouse is his stress reliever. I wonder why he is there today." She glanced at me knowingly.

My future mother in law was a very perceptive woman, I concluded. I smiled at her trying to calm myself again.

"Although I may be wrong, seeing as you visit us without Se Ri, I have an idea why you are here today. I just want to say thank you that you think to include us in whatever plan you have for and with Se Ri."

"I'm the one who needs to thank you, Eomonim. And I am sorry if you both feel like I ambush you or something." She smiled. "You're not. Actually, her father asks the question every week."

"What question?"

"Do you think Doctor Ri will visit us this weekend? That's like his favorite question." Now, I felt guilty.