Chapter 31: Her Name Is Lee Nana.

Tan closed his eyes when he saw the caller ID, and it was Ji-Tae again. What was so crucial that Ji-Tae was calling almost daily now? Tan asked himself as he took the call.

"What is it this time? I thought I already told you I would let you know when I make up my mind?" He asked impatiently, as he glanced at a load of paperwork on his desk he still needed to sort through.

"You won't believe what happened last night!" Ji-Tae said, running his fingers through his short mop of black hair in frustration.

"In as much as I would have loved to indulge you in the guessing game, I suggest you go straight to the point. I'm staring at a mountain of paper works on my desk," He said.

"Sorry about that. You know you're the only one I can talk to. I can call back if it's the wrong time," Ji-Tae said, slightly disappointed.

Tan knew that voice, and so he stood up, dropping his pen. Talking to his best friend for some minutes wasn't going to change much anyway. "I'm sorry I sounded impatient. You can go on now. What happened last night?" He asked.

"You won't believe my mother is trying to matchmake me with someone!" He said, sounding very upset.

"Well, it's not surprising. Your mother has always loved pulling every string in your life. So it is expected she would want to pick your wife herself," Tan said logically.

"That's not the only problem, and you can't imagine who the lady she chose was," Ji-Tae said, pacing around his room.

"Who?" Tan asked, trying to imagine who the lady in question was to make Ji-Tae so unsettled.

"it's Kang Jin-A!" He exclaimed, "Can you believe it? Your Kang Jin-A," He repeated, making Tan pause.

"What do you mean by 'Your Kang Jin-A' ?" Tan asked with irritation. Ji-Tae knew better than anyone else that he had no feelings whatsoever for Jin-A.

"You have to help a brother out, please. Jin-A is only doing this because she thinks you have a girlfriend. Please can I send her back to you? You can deceive her just long enough for me to get married to my girlfriend, and then you can let her go," Ji-Tae asked hopefully.

"Hold on a second, get married to your girlfriend? You have a serious girlfriend already?" Tan asked in disbelief. Who would believe a player such as Ji-tae would be the first to be settling down between them? He had always had the sweet notion of love, marriage, and family. Ji-Tae had been every girl's man and loved every attention he got from all ladies. Ji-Tae had always shied away from any emotional commitment with ladies.

"Yes, I wanted you to meet her before I proposed. She's the reason I invited you over. You're going to love her, I promise," Ji-Tae said, smiling as he thought of Nana.

"Wow! it seems you're really in love with this one. What's she like?" He asked, suddenly curious for reasons he didn't understand.

"Her Name is Lee Nana. She's beautiful, simple, stubborn, naive, and independent. She's a realtor," Ji-Tae said.

Tan could hear the smile in Ji-Tae's voice. He suddenly felt envious. Where was Min-Jung? What was she up to? He asked himself.

"That's interesting, you sound pleased and in love," Tan said, happy for his friend. He always felt like his best friend could do better in that department of his life. It is never too late to turn things around.

"Since she's a realtor, how about you text her company details to me so I forward them to Mi Cha? She needs a house in Seoul," Tan said, thinking fast.

"Mi Cha? She's back from the states? How come you're now sounding like a big bro all of a sudden, you're cool with having a kid sister now?" Ji-Tae asked, momentarily forgetting his predicament.

"She's a cool kid. I could get used to having her around," Tan said with a shrug, as though Ji-Tae was there to see it.

"Bro, you didn't say anything about Jin-A. Can I at least tell her you're single?" Ji-Tae asked, revisiting the subject.

"No, you can't. I'm in love with someone already," Tan said reluctantly.

"No way! Don't tell me you fell for your hired girlfriend. We need to meet and discuss this. Please tell me you're still coming this week?" He asked.

"I would love to stand here chatting with you all day, but I've got work to get back to. Don't forget to send your angel's company details to me. I'll likely be coming over with Mi Cha," Tan said, hanging up the call before Ji-Tae could say anything else.

**********

Min-jung knew she had avoided Nana long enough. It was time to see her and talk with her. Maybe she would go over to Ji-Tae's office first in the morning, and then after meeting with him, she would stop by Nana's office during lunchtime to chat with Nana.

"Min-Jung, I need to speak with you," Her mother said, walking into Min-Jung's room.

"Ok, I'm listening. I'm going out soon though. So, you will have to go straight to the point," Min-Jung said to her mother as she sorted through her clothes.

"I've wanted to ask you this question since you returned from your trip. What is going on between you and Nana? She has been your friend for as long as I can remember, so what was your possible reason for lying to her?" Min-Jung's mother asked with concern.

"It's personal, Mom. We have a little misunderstanding," She lied.

"I think that was more than a misunderstanding. I hope for your sake that you're not doing anything stupid," Her mother warned.

"I'm not. Besides, I'm going over to her place of work tomorrow to have lunch with her. We are cool. It is just a misunderstanding, that's all," Min-Jung said with a smile.

"What's that smell?" Min-Jung suddenly asked, wrinkling her nose. The smell made her nauseous.

"It's Nabak Kimchi. What's wrong?" Her mother asked, looking at her suspiciously.

"It's upsetting my stomach. It's nauseating," Min-Jung said, still sorting through her clothes. She fought the urge to run out of the room and throw up.

"Are you pregnant?" Her mother asked, walking towards her to look at her.

Min-Jung gave a nervous laugh, not knowing what to say. "Why would you think that?" She asked her mother nervously. She hadn't planned on her mother finding out about it until she had resolved things with Ji-tae.

"Because that's a telltale pregnancy sign in our family. The smell of any kimchi is disgusting to us when we are pregnant. So, could you sit down and tell me the truth? Are you pregnant?" Her mother asked again with a look that told her she was in trouble.

comment 8 comment

Vote

SEND GIFT

Load failed, please RETRY