The Gift

Joy

Jeong-hyeok stretched out on the sofa. Or he tried to stretch. He was a little tall for the sofa. He always said he could sleep anywhere, and he had slept, but that didn't mean that he'd been comfortable. The sun was up, but it was still a little early. He got up, rolling his shoulders to ease the tension, and walked over to the window. The streets were quiet, just a few early traders setting up for the day and delivery drivers arriving in the small town. There wasn't anything suspicious, but he still felt a tension that had nothing to do with his stiff shoulders. He poured himself some water and stood watching for a while, but he still saw nothing unusual. He messaged his security team for an update, but they assured him that all was still quiet. Telling himself to relax he left the window. He tried to quietly make some coffee; not wanting the sound of the machine to disturb Seri next door too soon. He had his bag ready and his suit was hanging by the door. When Seri was up, he would head over to his mother's room with them and his mother could come here to get ready with Seri and her mother. But he didn't want to do that too early.

The evening with Seri's parents had gone well. They seemed welcoming of him to their family, and his mother had liked them. He knew Seri was happy with how it had gone, too. They had hired a private dining room at the hotel last night and had ordered champagne to celebrate. Everything had gone well. Even the conversation with Director Kim had gone better than he might have hoped. Maybe that was why he felt so tense now; he felt himself waiting for something, somewhere, to go wrong. 

Stop being gloomy. This is your wedding day. It's supposed to be the happiest day of your life. 

Marrying Seri had always seemed a beautiful dream and now that reality was just a few hours away he couldn't believe it would actually happen. Trying to shake off his more gloomy thoughts, he dressed and went back to the window to watch.

He heard Seri starting to move about in the bedroom next door. She called out softly to see if he was awake. 

"Yes. Don't worry, I'm ready to go."

"Thank you so much for doing this," she said through the door. "I'll see you soon. It's only a few hours."

He smiled to himself. It seemed rather ludicrous, but if that was what she wanted for her wedding morning then he was happy to let her have it.

"Ok, I'll go now. I'll escort mother over here in a while. Don't open the door to anyone else, will you?"

"No, of course not. I'll be careful. Now, don't worry about me, I'm going to have a fabulous morning! See you later, honey!"

He gathered his things and left. He called in at the room they had hired for their protection team and asked them to watch the door now he was leaving. It might be his wedding day, but he would not relax his guard. He was taking no chances. Then he headed to his mother's room.

Kim Yoon-he was up when he arrived. She, too, had gathered the things she would need to get ready. She looked excited, and he knew she was looking forward to it. It was a while since she had had the chance to dress for a special occasion and sharing this time with her future daughter-in-law would feel special to her.

"How are you my dear son? Are you nervous? Have you eaten yet?"

"I'm well. I'm not nervous about the wedding, just a little tense I guess. Don't worry, I just want everything to go smoothly."

She patted his arm. "You look tense. Try to relax a bit. Order some breakfast, you'll feel better."

"Ok mother, I will. Have you got everything you need?"

"Yes. You can escort me now if you like. But please try to relax."

After walking her safely back to the suite, he came back to the room. He wasn't particularly hungry, but thought perhaps he ought to eat something. He ordered breakfast. Whilst he waited, he looked out of the window. This room overlooked the back of the hotel. There was a delivery van collecting laundry, but nothing appeared to be suspicious.