ISLA
Chuseok, also known as Korean Thanksgiving Day, is one of the most important and festive holidays of the year. It was the right time for me to bond with my mom after waiting for too long.
My stepfather introduced us to the historical way how women in the family would get together to prepare labor-intensive dishes.
One of the dishes is called songpyeon or half-moon rice cakes filled with sesame seeds, red beans, brown sugar, chestnuts, or pine nuts.
It is the quintessential Chuseok food with other highlighted dishes including freshly harvested rice, fruits like Asian pears, apples, jujubes, and rice liquor.
While in the middle of preparing the dishes, my mom suddenly asked me about Eun-woo for unknown reasons.
"Dear," she said. "Have you noticed anything suspicious about Eun-woo?"
I glanced at her, cautiously. "Suspicious? What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know if you see it, but that stepbrother of yours is as good-looking as your stepfather–"
"Ew! Mom, can you stop?" I exclaimed as I looked away from her in disgust.
She chuckled. "What are you thinking? I was just complimenting them."
"You don't need to say such things mostly when you're trying to compare the dad and his son," I said.
"Don't you find Eun-woo handsome?" She suddenly asked, which caught me off-guard. I'm not sure how to answer that.
It's been a few months since that accident happened. And now that Eun-woo went back to his cold actions towards me, I don't think everything will go back to normal.
"I-I don't know, mom…" I even stammered.
"I admit that Eun-woo is really handsome. He looks like the younger version of Woo-jin," she said. "Whoever the girl my stepson would choose will be so lucky."
Yeah. Right.
"Isla, do you happen to know if he's currently dating anyone?" Mom continued.
"Why would you be so interested to know?" I asked her as I proceeded with wrapping the filling with a dumpling wrapper.
"Well, he might be telling you."
"News flash. He's not," I said. "I don't even think he would ever fall in love again after what hap–"
Crap. I almost forgot to zip my mouth about Chereen. But, should I hide it from my mom? I don't think she'll tell anyone.
"What do you mean he won't fall–"
"Mom, can we please stop talking about him? I'm here, your beloved daughter trying to use the time to hang out with you, okay?" I told her.
She was speechless at first before smiling at me happily. She put down the ingredients she was holding before approaching me for a hug.
"What are you doing?" I asked her lamely, as soon as she embraced me.
"Don't be upset and jealous of your stepbrother."
"I'm not," I said.
We broke the hug and she gently pinched my cheeks. Then, she went back to what she was doing.
"Anyway, Woo-jin gave you a present. It's in your bedroom," she said.
I glanced at her. "A present of what?"
"I don't know. Why don't you check it out?" She smiled. "You can take a break from what you're doing."
"Nah. I'm good. I'll check it later," I replied.
After a few hours of preparation, I decided to get ready as well. My stepfather had decided to hold Thanksgiving in the penthouse with a few guests from the company and his close friends, and some relatives.
I went back to my bedroom to finally open the present he gave me and it was surprisingly a hanbok. A traditional one. The colors were red and dark blue. I was too stunned to do anything except stare at it. I don't know how to properly wear it.
Later, a knock was heard outside my door and when I opened it, it was Soo-jin. She arrived early as one of the hosts of the event along with my stepfather and my mom knew she had to tell her to help me get ready.
In the middle of wearing the hanbok, Soo-jin opened up to me about something I didn't expect.
"How are you doing recently, Isla?" She asked as she tied the ribbons.
"Oh. I'm doing well," I replied.
"Is there anything bothering you?" She continued.
"What do you mean?"
"Well," she sighed. "I'm just going to tell you that I'm here whenever you need support. Mostly with your feelings and decisions. You can ask for advice from me."
With that being said, I couldn't help but feel like she knows something that has happened before. Wait, did she know about what happened between me and Eun-woo?
I just need to act cool so she won't be suspicious of anything.
"There. You're all done," she said before letting go of me.
I walked forward and away from her before turning around slowly, in front of the mirror. The huge skirt of the hanbok waved gracefully and it was so beautiful.
"You look good in Hanbok, Isla." I looked at Soo-jin and she was smiling at me.
"Thank you," I said.
"Come on. The party must be starting already," she said before opening the door for me.
As soon as we both got out of my room, we encountered Ji-hoon wearing a modernized hanbok suit. However, instead of me going first in terms of complimenting him, he was the one who did it to me.
"Wow," Ji-hoon said with a smile and sparks in his eyes. "You look really beautiful tonight, Isla."
"Thank you. You look good too, Ji-hoon," I responded.
"Anyway, Ji-hoon. Would you kindly assist Isla with tonight's event? I need to start receiving the guests downstairs," Soo-jin suddenly said.
"Sure. No problem," Ji-hoon said.
We both watched Soo-jin walk away from us. Then, Ji-hoon reached out his left arm for me to grab onto. I looked at him in confusion.
"Can I be your date for tonight?"
Did I hear that right?
"Um–"
"I may not be Eun-woo, but I assure you that you'll have a good time being with me," he continued.
I laughed awkwardly. "What are you saying? You don't need to compare yourself to Eun-woo."
He just smiled at me before I held his left arm, then we walked to the living room. Since my stepfather's guests were all present, Ji-hoon decided to introduce me to them.
They were all surprised to see me, mostly after knowing I'm the stepdaughter of a famous businessman. At the same time, it felt like a burden to me, like I was given an obligation.
My phone suddenly vibrates and when I look at it, I see Su-bin's text message.
I glanced at Ji-hoon. "Can I excuse myself for a minute?"
"Sure," Ji-hoon replied before I walked away from them.
I went back inside my bedroom and called Su-bin. The reason was that he texted me to call him, which I'm about to do.
The call was immediately answered, but instead of hearing his voice, I heard someone else's voice. It was a woman.
"Hello…?" I said.
"Hello," she answered. "Who is this?"
I don't know if I should answer her question or not. It's like I don't want to know, but, at the same time, I also wanted to. Badly.
I gulped. "I should be the one to ask you that question."
"Oh…" She laughed.
"Where is Su-bin?"
"He's in the shower," she replied. "Do you want to talk to him?"
I couldn't help but feel the heat in my body because of anger, anxiety, and jealousy.
"Who are you? Why do you have my boyfriend's phone?" I courageously asked her.
"Me?" She laughed again. "I'm the next person to get in the shower after your boyfriend."
"I'm not playing around," I said.
"Wasn't that supposed to be my line?" She asked. "I told you to stay away from him, didn't I?"
Because of those lines, I finally realized I'm talking to Na-bi. Why can't she just give up?!
"Na-bi, when will you stop?" I asked her. "Su-bin and I are already together. There's no way for you to take him away from me–"
"I hold the cards here, Isla. I have something that will probably ruin you if you don't let go of Su-bin," she replied.
I gulped. "What do you mean?"
"I'm pretty sure we both know what it exactly means," Na-bi continued. "You choose wisely."
After that call, she immediately ended the call and I was left blank. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. I don't know what's stopping me.
During the Thanksgiving dinner, we were all gathered at the table. They have all come to converse about work-related stuff while some of us remained quiet.
I noticed that Eun-woo wasn't at home yet by just looking at the empty chair beside Soo-jin's. Where could he be?
A little later, everyone's attention was immediately caught by Eun-woo's arrival… together with a familiar woman. I think I saw her before, I just couldn't remember where.
"Oh," Mr. Woo-jin called his attention. "My son. I'm glad to see you with Kaye."
Wait. Could she be the fashion designer that Lav admired so much?
"Hello, everyone. Thank you all for having me," Kaye told them with a bright smile. Her beautifully designed hanbok complements her beautiful face.
I can't believe I'm witnessing two gorgeous people standing next to each other. They're both glowing.
The dinner continued until my mom and stepdad opened up about Eun-woo's destiny to become the next successor of the company. Until his arranged marriage was suddenly brought up to the table.
"Are you two planning to officially announce your marriage?" One of the guests asked both Kaye and Eun-woo.
I looked at Eun-woo and he was just quietly looking down on his plate while Kaye was talking.
"Our families were expecting for us to get married after Eun-woo's graduation coming this year," she explained. "I hope you could be there."
“Of course. It would surely be the marriage of the century.”
Kaye smiled happily to the other guests before looking at Eun-woo, then taking a glance at me. I have no idea why she would be looking at me like that, it’s like she dislikes me. Both her and Na-bi share the same vibe. Bitchy girls.
“By the way,” my mom suddenly interfered, the reason everyone’s attention was all on her. “I’ve been meaning to ask if Eun-woo is allowed to marry someone who has a different nationality. Just like his father.”
“Based on the Korean tradition, I believe he is not allowed to marry someone who is non-Korean. Mostly, he is the firstborn in the family,” Soo-jin replied.
But, what if Eun-woo really falls in love with someone who is not of the same nationality as him? Would he just sacrifice what he wants just to obey what is needed? I don’t think that’s the right thing to do.
“What if I wanted to marry someone else? The person I really love,” Eun-woo suddenly asked them.
Gosh. I can’t believe he would even try to say that at the moment. It was really brave of him and awkward for us.
“She must be from a Korean family–”
“What if she’s not?” Eun-woo continued. “Won’t I be considered Lee Woo-jin’s son anymore?”
“Eun-woo, I think that’s enough.”
I badly wanted to leave the dinner because it was getting awkward. But then, Ji-hoon suddenly whispered to me, secretly.
“...this should be the time for you to get Eun-woo the hell out of this place.”
I glanced at Ji-hoon curiously. “What?”
He just stared at me without saying additional information. Feeling the urge to do so, I decided to suddenly get up from my seat, getting everyone’s attention.
“Isla, baby. Is there something wrong?” Mom suddenly asked me.
I honestly don’t know what to tell her. What am I even doing?!
I licked my lips before looking at my troubled stepbrother. “We need to go.”
I walked away from my chair and approached his side while he was staring at me cluelessly. I reached out my right hand in front of him.
“They’re waiting for us already! Did you forget?” I asked him. Actually, I don’t even know what I’m saying since I need to pretend we have to meet with our friends for tonight’s Thanksgiving.
His facial expression remained confused, that’s why I decided to grab his hand and pull him from his seat. Then, I looked at everyone and vowed. I felt so ashamed of what I’m doing. But, I know Eun-woo needed this. The chance to escape from something he doesn’t want.
I led the way out of the penthouse until we got downstairs after riding the elevator. As soon as we got outside the penthouse, I let go of his hand. I can’t even face him because I felt so guilty leading him again, just like when I accidentally kissed him.
Oh, come on, Isla. We both know it wasn’t an accident. You did it because you felt like doing it.
I gulped nervously. “I know it was rude for me to just drag you in the middle of a supposed formal dinner with your father’s guests and your fianceé, but–”
I was suddenly interrupted from speaking after Eun-woo pulled me from behind and embraced me tightly in his arms in the middle of a cold wind breeze.
“Let’s get out of here.”