How It Should Have Ended Part2 (The Continuation)

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(Ji Hoo's Story)

Five Weeks Earlier...

Yi Jung and Ji Hoo sat at the Italian restaurant sipping their glasses of wine. The girls had gone to the bathroom.

"You look exhausted, man," Yi Jung observed. "I think your eye bags have eye bags. Has Jan Di been stressing you out lately?"

Ji Hoo gave a hollow laugh. "We haven't really had a lot of time together lately."

"Things are hard, huh?"

Ji Hoo took a sip of his wine. "Yeah, I don't know how much longer I can do this, Yi Jung."

He sighed wearily, and then closed his eyes. "I can't live without her, so I want to ask her to marry me. But I need to go see Jun Pyo first. I have to talk to him." He faced Yi Jung. "You can't tell Jan Di about any of this though, okay?"

"Jan Di is going to freak out. Are you sure you want to do that?"

"I have to do it, Yi Jung." He pinched the bridge of his nose. His head ached something fierce. He lowered his voice almost to a whisper. "I don't want to disappoint her in case it goes nowhere with Jun Pyo. But I'm going to try anyway."

Before he could say anymore, the girls arrived at their table. The waitress brought out their dessert right then, and all of them ate it quietly. Jan Di seemed to be intensely focused on eating her dessert, and he stared at her, bemused.

Maybe she just really, really liked Panna Cotta?

...

Ji Hoo thought long and hard of a convincing-enough reason he could give Jan Di on why he had to go to Canada. He knew Jun Pyo was in New York, but if Jan Di found out he was going to New York, she would know for sure why. So he decided he could pretend he was going to Canada first. After all, he had talked about Canada a few times with her already.

He knew she would want to go, but since Canada was just a decoy, he couldn't bring her along. Besides, this was something he had to do by himself. He had to face his friend alone. If Jun Pyo was still angry, he would face his wrath and the consequences of it all by himself. (He also didn't think Jun Pyo would be too happy to see him and Jan Di appear in New York together).

He was flipping through the tv channels one day when a hockey game caught his eye.

Of course, he thought. I could pretend I'm going there to buy a hockey team.

Jan Di would never suspect anything. After all, he already owned two sports teams.

Actually, I wouldn't mind owning a hockey team.

He liked the game, and he knew Canadians love their hockey so it wouldn't be a losing venture.

He went through his list of business contacts in Canada and dialed a number.

Jan Di did not seem pleased at all that he was leaving her behind. He could see how disappointed she was, and when he promised her he'd bring her next time, he saw tears in the corner of her eyes.

He almost broke down then and tossed away his plans. He tried to keep his resolve and pulled her into his arms.

I'm doing this for us, he wanted to tell her. There will never be a day when I won't think of you.

Instead, he said: "I love you. Always. Don't ever forget that."

It's only a week, he thought, as he held her tight. I'll be back as soon as I can.

Ji Hoo had a very aggressive schedule during his one-week trip to Canada and the United States. He was flying in and out of Canada so Jan Di wouldn't suspect anything, but that meant a lot of flying for him in a week.

He sat in First Class on an Air Canada plane heading to Vancouver first, then onto Calgary. His seat turned into a bed of some type, so he decided to lie down and tried to get some sleep. He popped some melatonin pills into his mouth and closed his eyes. It would take him at least 14 hours from Seoul to Vancouver, then another hour flight from Vancouver to Calgary, not including airport waiting times. The time difference meant he would arrive in Calgary the same day that he left Korea.

He knew his body was in for a rough week.

He thought of Jan Di waiting for him when he got back, and pulled some strength and comfort from it.

He arrived in Calgary shortly after 6pm that day, and a limo picked him up from the airport to his hotel located in downtown Calgary. It was close to the Saddledome, which was where the Calgary Flames (the city's national hockey team) played. He had a meeting with their General Manager at 2pm the next day.

He collapsed on the king-sized bed of his room as soon as the door closed. Exhaustion took hold of him and he slept soundly.

He woke up around noon the next day, feeling a little refreshed. After calling for room service, he called Jan Di, got dressed, and then went to his meeting.

The meeting with the hockey team and their managers went well. Ji Hoo seriously considered buying the team. Perhaps he could discuss it with Jan Di in detail when he got back to Korea.

His phone rang.

"How's Canada?" Yi Jung's voice sounded excited.

"Good. Full of Canadians." He was looking through brochures of the city. His flight to New York left in the early afternoon the next day, and he only had a one-hour appointment close to his hotel in the morning. "How's the planning going?"

He had told Yi Jung and Woo Bin of his plan to propose, of course. Yi Jung had graciously volunteered to be in charge of the entire thing. Ji Hoo had been thinking of it for a while and had all the details mapped out – but Yi Jung was in charge to make sure everything went according to plan. Woo Bin owned the perfect location for the proposal, much to his delight.

"Great!" Yi Jung grinned. "Jan Di does not suspect anything." A pause. "She's actually pretty clueless most of the time anyway."

"Watch it," he warned, but he was smiling. He looked at the time. "So, is Woo Bin there?"

"Uh huh."

"Let's do the video call so we can practice."

Yi Jung groaned, but a few minutes later, his face appeared on Ji Hoo's phone.

He took his guitar from its case and started playing. He only brought two things with him on his trip – a small suitcase and his guitar.

Yi Jung and Woo Bin strummed their guitars in unison. They practiced for around an hour, until he was satisfied that they all got it right. (He had given them a copy of the song before he left.)

"I can't believe you wrote this, man," Woo Bin shook his head in awe. "How long did this take you?"

"Believe it or not, it wasn't that bad," he replied, candidly.

It took him two straight weeks of at least an hour a day of writing. When he thought of Jan Di, the words seemed to just write themselves. It was the melody that took most of his time. He gave his friends a grateful bow. "Thanks for doing this for me, guys."

"Hey, what are brothers for?" Woo Bin grinned.

"Yeah, just remember this when it's our turn to propose ok?" Yi Jung reminded him. "I would want you to write me a song that would make Elton John cry."

Woo Bin gave Yi Jung an alarmed look. "Are you proposing to Elton John? Man, Ga Eul would be so pissed when she finds out!"

Yi Jung glowered at Woo Bin, who was howling with laughter.

Ji Hoo realized he missed his friends terribly.

...