"Mr. Kang, wait for me. I'll walk with you." I swiftly give Mrs. Kang a brief hug, bid her farewell, then walk pass the two boys who are still at the table, having their breakfast, and run towards Mr. Kang, who is happily waiting for me. "Sorry for making you wait." I smile and hook my hands around Mr. Kang's arm. I rarely do that. But, it feels nice to walk with him like that, as if he is my real father.
Mr. Kang smiles and pats my hand. "I don't mind waiting, but don't you think, it's too early for you to be in the bookstore?"
"It is, but..." I pause, trying to find the right words to say to Mr. Kang.
"It is more suffocating to be in the same house with two boys who loves you." Mr. Kang replies in chuckles, answering his own question.
"You know?" I gasp.
"I'm not blind, and I have ears too. Besides, I can read the situation in the house pretty well." Mr. Kang pipes out.
"Does Mrs. Kang know too?" I can't stop myself from wondering.
Mr. Kang nods a few times.
"This is so embarrassing..." I shake my head ashamedly.
Mr. Kang laughs and pats my hand again. "There is nothing to be embarrassed, Jenny. Me and my wife have been in the same situation before. The love triangle. Fortunately, the luck is on my side, and Mrs. Kang has chosen me as her soulmate."
"Yeah...you are very fortunate." I smile.
"What about you? Do you think, you can make the right choice?"
"Err...."
"It's hard because of us, isn't it?" Mr. Kang beams. "You don't have to consider us in making your decision, Jenny. This is about your life, you should choose the one who feels right for you, not because you don't want to hurt anyone."
"I know...., Mr. Kang." I agree.
"Then, why can't you make your choice?" Mr. Kang asks curiously.
"Because....I don't feel anything towards them." I relay the truth.
"Hmm...I understand if you feel nothing for my son, but not even Lomon?" Mr. Kang looks pretty surprised.
I shake my head. "No, Mr. Kang. Lomon is just someone who stumbles into my life by accident. Nothing is developed or grown between us that strong enough to make me like him. At least not from my side."
"I see...Then, it will be hard for Lomon as well. He likes you a lot, and I think, he likes you more than Daniel."
"What do you mean?" I look at him with puzzlement. How can Lomon likes me more than Daniel, when Daniel never moves on from me?
Mr. Kang huffs deeply. "My son, Daniel, may still love you, but he has reached the limit where he knows, you and him will not going to be together. He is letting you go, bit by bit without knowing that he actually doing it. But Lomon, what he feels now, is still new and strong. So, he may need a very long time to get over what he feels for you."
"Then, he will be fine I guess. Because I have already rejected him." I smile in relief.
"But he won't back down that easily. It is his first rejection. That will motivate him to continue on pursuing you."
"I know..." I say faintly. I can see what will happen later. Lomon is so determined about getting my love. Even Daniel has said so to me as well.
"If you do know, Jenny, why don't you give him a chance? Open your heart and let him try to win your love." Mr. Kang suggests it to me.
"I'm not sure he is sincere."
"You won't know if you don't give him a chance."
"But why me? He can have someone who is more beautiful than me, and even someone famous than me. So, why does he choose me? An ordinary average girl. It feels....weird." I state my doubt to Mr. Kang.
"Because it's love, Jenny. It's what the heart wants." Mr. Kang remarks. "It is not easy to ignore, no matter how hard you try."
I quietly listen to his answer. Maybe Mr. Kang is right. The heart is what matters the most. If I didn't consider my own heart, I may have accepted Daniel back into my life. But this is Lomon we were talking about. He has better choices than ends up with me. That's why I don't think, I am the right choice for him.
"Just give Lomon a chance, Jenny. If you're lucky, he may be the right one for you. A matchmade in heaven." Mr. Kang gives me his last advice once we have arrived in front of the bookstore.
"I'll think about it, Mr. Kang." I smile thinly.
"Just don't think too long. He may leave before you get to give him that chance. And I don't want to see any of you get hurt because of it. So, make your decision quick." Mr. Kang retorts before he walks to his café next door.
I stand outside the bookstore for a few minutes, waiting for Mr. Kang to enter his café, then walk into the bookstore after I have unlocked the door. Once I am inside, I turn on the lights, and a thin smile appears on my lips because the electricity is back, which means, the bookstore can be opened to its customers.
Without further ado, I stash my things behind the cashier counter, and grab the broom so I can start sweeping the floor that begins to get a bit dusty. I am so busy with my work, hoping I can get it done as quick as possible, but the jinggling bells of the door being opened, immediately stops me from my job.
"Welcome to...." I greet but freeze automatically as I see the face of the bookstore's first customer of that day.
"Err....I'm here to buy a book from the limited edition section." Park Solomon says as he points to the shelves where I am trying to clean. "It's open, right? The door is unlocked, so...I presume it's already open. Or....probably not?"
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"It has been opened. You may proceed to the limited edition section for your book." I say, and step aside to let him through, since it is the only way to that particular section. I watch he moves through my peripheral vision, but I am quite startled when he suddenly stops next to me. "Err...limited edition is that shelves."
"I know." Park Solomon replies and buries his stare on me deeply, like he is trying to dig a hole through my brain, just to figure out what has been running through my head.
"Then....why do you keep standing here?" I lift up my head, so our gazes are connected.
"Because....I rather be with this limited edition that is alive with soul and pretty mysterious, than the one in written and full of fantasy and fiction."
"But I'm not a book for you to buy." I say flatly.
"True. You are not some sort of limited edition books, but you are the limited edition girl that I want to win over her heart and her love, sweeping her off of her feet, and make her as my forever soulmate." Park Solomon says as he gently takes my hands and kisses them alternately, which totally makes me stupefied. "Please, Jenny....one chance, that's all I ask. Let me shower you with my love, and I promise, you will not regret your choice of making me yours."
