#wisefools

The idea of liking Choi Young Do should have been an unpleasant one. And yet, not only did Rachel have no problem with the idea of liking him, many of the things that others would think about in such a circumstance--especially whether he was a good person or not--didn’t seem to be considerations. Rachel had no problem with the idea of liking Young Do, but she just had no idea whether she did like him.

But a memory came to mind. A memory of being with Hyo Shin sunbae and feeling the same thing for him as she did for Young Do.

Friendship.

The feeling must be friendship.

And so, slowly and carefully, realisation had and decision made, Rachel stepped towards the man standing across the rooftop, ready to have a very difficult conversation.

While breaking his heart, Yoo Rachel was extremely kind and magnanimous. But every so often as she calmly and quietly explained herself, he could see pity in her eyes. Apology and sadness and more pity. A vicious cycle that made him feel a lot worse than her words and his outward appearance belied.

After she finished speaking, there was a cold silence for a few seconds, before Young Do smirked coldly. Brutally.

“I’m sorry that you had to go ahead and say all of that, but this isn’t what you thought. It’s a birthday celebration. I was unsure of what to do, so I asked my staff to help. It seems that they misunderstood my intentions.”

He could do this. He could act like it was nothing.

Rachel nodded, looking eager to accept his explanation. Young Do winced inwardly at the relief in her eyes.

He could do this.

He could act like his feelings were friendship, not love.

“Shall we sit?”

Rachel had been considerably relieved, if not slightly embarrassed, that she had misunderstood the situation.

Of course Young Do didn’t like her. They were friends. Good friends, in fact, it seemed.

So she forgot about her worry and her misunderstanding. She enjoyed the birthday celebrations, even the cake that gave her a headache later that night from so much sugar. She enjoyed Young Do’s playful teasing about her thinking that he liked her. She enjoyed going back to her suite and finding some of the flowers and balloons from upstairs.

She enjoyed herself and forgot her worry that Young Do might like her, and forgot that she had nothing against the possibility of liking Young Do. They were friends, and that was all it was, but she didn’t hate the idea. That realisation slightly scared her.

In the days that followed, Rachel began searching for a future plan. Something that she could do with her life, now that her mother had no say in anything she did. Something that she herself wanted to do.

It was a surprise, therefore, after days, even weeks, of being unsuccessful, that a plan fell right into her lap in the form of Lee Hyun Jin.

Bo Na’s brother, who had missed his sister’s wedding in favour of business meetings overseas, had recently returned. His parents, not only to celebrate what appeared to be a business success but also his return, were throwing a party.

As Rachel sat, partially obscured by the small group of people gathering to greet the hosts, she was approached by a man in a suit with an earpiece.

“Yoo Rachel?”

She nodded, wary. News hadn’t really spread that she had stepped out from Esther’s umbrella, that she was no longer a parachute, but she was afraid that soon it would, and people would be clamouring to her for answers. Answers that she had no idea how to give.

“Director Lee wishes to speak with you in his father’s study.”

Gesturing in the direction of the door, the man bowed. Rachel rose slowly, pursed her lips as if it were a huge chore to move, and made her way through the familiar home.

Rachel had not seen Bo Na’s brother in a long time. She had never been close to him--their ages were too far apart to have ever been at school together--but they had always had a cordial, if impersonal, relationship. 

Lee Hyun Jin was taller than she remembered. His back was to her as he leaned over the desk from the front, examining something. He wore a suit, but a tie lay over the back of an armchair, carefully placed but clearly discarded.

The man with the earpiece had left her just outside the door, so Rachel announced her arrival with a small cough.

Lee Hyun Jin smiled pleasantly as he turned, bowing his head slightly, but not much further than one would to a distant friend. So it was not business that he called me in for, Rachel thought.

Greetings were exchanged, small talk was accomplished, and he cut to the chase. Rachel silently appreciated that. After all, she was becoming more and more curious as to what he had to say.

Hyun Jin sighed, and looked at her earnestly.

It was still cool outside the morning Rachel left Bo Na’s house for good. The wintry weather of early spring had morphed into pleasant days of sun, but the cool morning belied the change and Rachel shivered as she strugged with her bags.

Several days after the incident with Esther, her belongings had been delivered to Bo Na’s. As if her mother knew exactly where she was, what she was doing, as if she cared. But they were done, and now all Rachel had left were the contents of a few bags, of clothes that Esther had deemed appropriate to gift to her newly disowned daughter.

Young Do pulled up in a car just as she reached the sidewalk, and leapt to help her. His driver moved to get out of the car, but he dismissed him with a shake of the head. There wasn’t much to begin with.

The car warm and comfortable, but all Rachel could think of was the last time she’d been in a similar car...

She grabbed a bottle of water and began to drink. 

Calm down.

“I had a room reserved for you under a different name. I assumed you wouldn’t like people to know you’re living in the same hotel as me,” Young Do announced with a glimmer of amusement in his eye. “Your name is Jo Myung Sook if anyone asks.”

Rachel laughed, spurting water at his face and all over his clothes.

“I’m so sorry,” she managed, before continuing to laugh. “Am I Myung Soo’s sister or just an unfortunately named stranger?”

Grinning as he flicked some water off, Young Do chuckled, “Whichever you prefer.”

They arrived at Zeus and Rachel realised that she hadn’t thought about her mother again since they’d started talking.

It was getting better.

She was going to be fine on her own.

Step One: Find a place to live.

Check.

The staff looked surprised as she entered with Young Do, their eyes curious as the pair made their way to an elevator. Whispers would already be starting. 

How long until they figured out that Jo Myung Sook was Yoo Rachel? Hopefully a while. Maybe she would wear sunglasses when she went out. Did sunglasses hide identities as well as dramas and movies suggested they did? 

Maybe a hat as well?

The suite was on the floor below Young Do’s, and much larger than she had anticipated or needed. When Rachel opened her mouth to protect, she was quelled into silence with a fierce look. He wouldn’t budge on this.

Her room would be cleaned but not tidied. She could request to have it done more or less frequently. Young Do’s room was 2703 and she could come by whenever she needed.

He kept talking but Rachel’s mind drifted. Absorbing but not fully paying attention. She’d remember when she actually needed the information... probably.

Young Do smiled at her absent look and left her to her new home.

Two weeks passed with Rachel’s identity remaining secret. The staff seemed oblivious to her secret now that they assumed she was a distant relative of the friend of their hotel’s owner. A complicated mess, but somehow believable.

The charade ended on the night of Rachel’s birthday.

She had decided to stay at home and relax, still trying to figure out what she wanted to do in life. It had been two weeks of the same job interviews, the fact that no one wanted to hire Lee Esther’s daughter, and the fact that there were honestly better qualified people that were younger than her. It was debilitating and Rachel wasn’t even sure she wanted to stay in the fashion business.

She had to think.

Relax.

And it was her birthday, so she deserved a break.

But when a note fro Young Do arrived mid-afternoon, Rachel was happy to change her plans.

Don’t be alone on your birthday. Come to the rooftop at 8. Dress up.

Young Do had been planning for thirteen days. 

It had started the day after Rachel moved in, when he not only remembered that it was her birthday, but that he realised that she needed to know how he felt.

So he had done everything himself.

He had called florists, and party goods shops. He had arranged a cake. There were going to have been some swans, but Young Do had read on a website that they tended to get violent and he wasn’t sure that they were necessary after that piece of knowledge.

He had planned the perfect birthday dinner.

The perfect place to confess his feelings.

The rooftop was in darkness.

Rachel wondered, as she stepped through the door and into the pitch black, barely lit by the lights of shorter buildings, whether Young Do had invited all her friends.

But then, six steps from the door, the lights came on and she gasped.

Fairy lights and flowers. 

Everywhere.

A table, two chairs, a cake.

A... heart made out of flowers?

Balloons... in the shape of hearts?

Rachel’s eyes flicked to the centre of it all, where Young Do stood holding a bouquet of roses.

Oh god.

It was beautiful and magnificent and heartwarming.

It was everything she would ever have wanted in her wildest dreams.

“Everything is going to be fine,” Young Do murmured, his lips close to her ear.

“Thank you,” she smiled, pulling away almost reluctantly. He was so warm. At her words, Young Do shook his head, as if it was nothing, as if he hadn’t looked after her all night, as if he hadn’t comforted her when she was about to freak out. “No, really, thank you.”

He stepped back, returning to their usual several feet of distance apart, but he returned her smile.

“I may not be your closest friend, so I may not be the most qualified person to tell you this, but I’m incredibly proud of you. I’m jealous of you. I’m scared of you. It’s a brave thing that you’ve done, Rachel, and I honestly struggle to comprehend whether I could do the same. You are amazing and everything is going to be fine.”

Rachel didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

As little as she wanted to admit it, as little as she imagined anyone wanted to admit it, she had needed this. Validation. Someone to tell her that it was the right thing to do. That throwing everything away for the sake of her own sanity and happiness was the right thing to do. That they would support her in her decision. That she had chosen well.

And someone had.

Young Do had.

Young Do, the boy--the man--she had enlisted to help her get rid of her marriage prospects, had ended up helping her escape altogether. He had become her friend. He had become more than a friend. She’d even kissed him, albeit as a part of her plan.

Young Do had done everything right.

He had helped her, he had kissed her, he had comforted her, he had praised her. He had supported, and smiled, and laughed, and hugged her.

It was a shock to realise that there was no one else Rachel would rather with her in such a situation. Not Bo Na or... Cha Eun Sang. Somehow, over the weeks since they had first struck their pact, Young Do had become the person she wanted to talk things through with.

Rachel laughed, brushing off her thoughts, “Of course I’m amazing.”

He pulled on his jacket and moved toward the door.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Rachel. You had me scared for a while.”

She shrugged, following him to the door of the bedroom, “I’ll be fine. I’m sure Bo Na has some medicine somewhere here.”

“If you ever need somewhere to stay,” Young Do began, his face serious, “Just ask and there’ll be a room ready for you at Zeus.”

“Thank you, Young Do.”

Rachel leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek before pushing him out of the room.

He stood with his back against the closed door for several moments, wondering what had just happened.

Noises drifted through the thin walls and Young Do could vaguely hear Rachel remonstrate herself with “What the hell was that, Rachel? What were you thinking? What sort of ridiculous chaebol lurer possessed you to make you do that?”

He almost chuckled.

What the hell was that?

It wasn’t until he was halfway home that he realised he had never said goodbye.

What was she going to do?

How was she going to face Young Do?

She had kissed him on the cheek. As if it were something that she did often. As if they were actually dating and she were bidding him goodbye. As if she liked him.

Did she like him?

What was liking? Had she ever liked anyone? She had been obsessed by having Tan, but had she ever liked him? How could she tell?

“Rachel?”

“Hmm?”

The man standing in front of her smiled politely, “Hello.”

“I-I, uh, yes, hi.”

She was... nervous? She was fluttery?

The man gave her a funny look, “Are you alright?”

He was hot.

“Hot!” Rachel wanted to hit herself in the face, “I mean... I’m slightly warm.”

He looked like he wanted to laugh but held it in, “Do you want to go out onto the balcony?”

It was all she could do to nod. They walked slowly across the room before sliding out to the almost deserted balcony. 

The party was for someone’s engagement. The second daughter of some family. Kwon? Guk? Rachel had been friends with the elder daughter in elementary school. Everyone had clapped and congratulated the couple. They had toasted and smiled and laughed. The pair looked happy.

The man beside her shifted, leaning on the balcony rail, looking out over the city.

“Sorry, but who are you?” Rachel blurted. She was being shockingly inept at conversation tonight. Maybe it was her internal turmoil, or maybe it was the three champagnes she’d had in the last thirty minutes.

He raised an eyebrow, “You don’t remember your sunbae? I’m devastated.”

Rachel’s eyes widened. He was clearly Lee Hyo Shin. She might have been slightly out of it... but to forget someone she had known for years? They might not have seen each other since school, but it was sunbae. How had she forgotten Lee Hyo Shin?

“Is it the hair or the height? Or the sparkling look in my eyes that was somehow missing at Jeguk High?”

Rachel laughed despite herself. He was funny. How had she forgotten that he was funny?

“Must be the sparkling eyes. I was too dazzled to notice who you were.”

He laughed appreciatively, before speaking more seriously.

“So why are you here all alone? I would have thought your mother would have set you up with a date for an event like this. Anything to get a rich and qualified son-in-law...” She grimaced and he winced at her expression, “That bad?”

“My mother no longer has any control over my life. I am a free woman,” Rachel announced with a tight smile but clear eyes. She was happy, even if it was a difficult choice with even more difficult consequences.

“It’s hard, but it feels right, doesn’t it?” Hyo Shin asked knowingly. After enlisting straight out of school, he had dropped off the map for a long time and hadn’t returned into her sphere of gossip until a year or so before. The most coveted young drama director in the business, Rachel had heard him called. He still didn’t speak to his family much, but they claimed him proudly now. It would have been hard for him too. Likely harder.

“Yeah.”

He smiled, “I never would have expected it of you, honestly. I’ve got to say that I’m surprised. But, as your sunbae, equally proud.”

It was the same feeling. The one as she felt with Young Do.

Maybe it was just how it felt to be appreciated, to be praised. Maybe it was the feeling of true friendship. Maybe it was her being thankful.

But whatever it was, Rachel was no longer confused. If she felt it for sunbae, then she couldn’t like Young Do.