Our Story - Binjin

Chapter 40: Daegu - Meet the Son Family (Part 1)

Hyun Bin was resting in his hotel room in Daegu. He sighed. He was in Ye-Jin's hometown, she was in her hometown but they were not together.

One would think Hyun Bin has been separated from Ye-Jin for weeks. In reality, they had parted ways less than two hours ago.

They were both in Daegu for the last leg of The Negotiation's promotion. Ye-Jin had planned to stay in Daegu for the week to spend time with her family. Hyun Bin was going to stay for a couple of days to meet Ye-Jin's family. He wanted to stay for the week but unfortunately had to rush back to Seoul to continue filming for Memories of Alhambra.

Ye-Jin had asked Hyun Bin if he would like to stay over at her parent's place since there was a spare guest room he could use. Hyun Bin would have loved to but he knew it wouldn't be appropriate since it's his first meeting with them. He told Ye-Jin that he'll check into a hotel and meet them tomorrow instead. Dong Wan had driven his car to Daegu today so transportation wasn't a problem.

He sighed again, the problem was he already missed her. It's going to be a long night.

Ye-Jin's parents house

Everyone was in the house when Ye-Jin arrived home. Her sister's family had arrived yesterday and the house was full of laughter as her niece and nephew entertained the adults with their antics. Ye-Jin was very fond of the two little imps and really missed them.

That night, the two sisters sat down in the garden, catching up over a can of beer. They have always been close even if they don't get to see each other as frequently in recent years.

"I can tell he makes you happy, Eon-Jin," Eon-Hye remarked. "You're glowing."

"Onni," Ye-Jin laughed. "Glowing? We're not filming a drama here."

"I'm not joking." Eon-Hye smiled. "You have the glow of a woman in love. Plus you're bringing him home after barely four months. That is a record for anyone, especially you."

Ye-Jin smiled and slowly nodded her head. It was definitely a record for her.

Eon-Hye looked fondly at her baby sister. Ye-Jin has always been a sensitive and tenderhearted child. Their family had been surprised when she chose to become an actor. On one hand, her sensitivity was key to her success as an actor. But on the other hand, it was also her achilles heel. Her early years were lonely. It was a competitive industry and there were not many people Ye-Jin could trust, much less rely on. She was young, beautiful and powerless, susceptible to being taken advantage of. As much as Eon-Hye's heart ached for her, there was nothing Eon-Hye could do to help. She could only lend an ear when Ye-Jin wanted to share her thoughts and a shoulder when she wanted to cry. It still pained her that she couldn't do more.

Ye-Jin has developed many shields over the years. Ironically, people who meet her usually perceive her as out-going and direct. In truth, this persona was part of her shield to protect herself. Not many people knew the real Son Eon-Jin, the one who found it hard to trust but was yet so beautiful in her simplicity. The Eon-Jin who was happy with a home-cooked meal, happy in her jeans and T-shirt and happy just spending a day at home with people she loves.

Eon-Jin had so much love in her but has never met the right person. Eon-Hye is praying hard that Hyun Bin will be that right person, despite her reservations.

Eon-Hye has heard enough of the entertainment industry from Eon-Jin to know that its often just a beautifully packaged facade. There's not much sincerity and truth in it. She's worried of course, what is the real Hyun Bin like, does he really love Eon-Jin, is he a good person. Eon-Hye had so many questions and no answers.

"What's different about him, Eon-Jin? Why do you love him?" Eon-Hye asked.

Ye-Jin paused as she considered how to answer her sister. "I was very apprehensive at the beginning, Onni. But it was very strange, everything somehow just worked out, almost magically sometimes. Even when I thought the timing was bad, it turned out to be perfect. It's almost as if fate had arranged everything." Ye-Jin gave a little self-deprecating laugh. "I sound crazy right."