Pretend Love

Chapter 11: Ride

Sungjae took Suzy over to the stables and saddled a sleek mare for her. "She's a beauty, isn't she?" he said as Suzy stroked the horse's shiny dark brown coat. "She was my mother's."

"She's gorgeous," Suzy said softly.

"She's also the most good-natured. She won't give you any trouble." Sungjae handed the reins to Suzy, who started leading the horse outside. As she was passing one of the boxes, the horse inside neighed and kicked his door. Suzy jumped slightly, but the mare seemed unperturbed.

"That's Luna," Sungjse said. "He's Hyung's. He doesn't let anyone else ride him. Abeoji tried to sell him, but the buyers always came back with him. If it weren't for the fact that our mother bought that horse for him, Abeoji probably would have had him put down by now."

Suzy peered inside the box. Luna's coat looked more like a panther's than anything else. He had a raven-like mane and his eyes seemed to be just as black. Yes, this was definitely Vincent's horse.

Sungjae soon joined her outside with his own horse, a brown Calabrese and they set off in a trot.

"Did you often go out riding together, you and Vincent?" Suzy asked as they were riding along a small trail.

"All the time," he smiled. "We would race, of course. First one to the barn, first one to the well, first one to the lake..."

"There's a lake near here?"

"About an hour's ride from the house, yes. Would you like to see it?"

"No, that's ok. So, what type of grapes do you grow?"

Sungjae went into a detailed account of how wine is produced and Suzy found herself relaxing in his company. He had a pleasant voice and he seemed very dedicated to his work. They eventually drifted over to discussing books and music, and Stefan listened attentively to Suzy's description of her work at the publishing house.

"So you've been working for Vincent for over three years and he still hasn't promoted you?"

"He would have, I'm sure, but when we started dating, we just felt it would look bad if he promoted me."

"Was that your decision or his?"

"Does it matter?"

"I just don't see you as the kind of person who would give up her career for a man."

"That's not what I'm doing."

"Well, good," he smiled. "I would hate to see you sell yourself short."

Suzy frowned at the expression. Was that what it would look like to their colleagues once she got the promotion? Like she had sold herself? Of course that was not what he meant by the phrase, but the thought still bothered her.

"Suzyssi?"

Suzy blinked and found Sungjae eyeing her suspiciously.

"Uh... sorry," she shook her head to rid herself of her troubled thoughts.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yes. I'm just... I guess I'm not used to the sun, is all."

"Come, there is a tree over there. We can let the horses rest for awhile," he gestured towards a large oak and steered his stallion over there.

He jumped off and tied his horse to a thick branch, then walked up to Suzy's horse and held out his arms to help her down. Suzy was perfectly capable of getting off herself, but she allowed him to lift her down. She realized her mistake when his hands lingered on her hips a little too long and she turned away to discretely free herself of his grip. He took the hint and let go.