Hye-jae: Book 2 - New Loves

New Adventures Part 17

As they crossed the foyer, Hye-won's transcendent beauty - colour-co-ordinated with her handsome partner - drew openly, appreciative looks.  Heads turned, eyes lingered.  A brief murmur to In-seo from Hye-won saw him diplomatically engineer a brief parting of the company, with Dieter, Ciara and himself taking the first taxi, so that Hye-won and Seon-jae could follow in the second.

In the hotel, Seon-jae had seemed shy - his mind in turmoil - but inside the taxi, his restraint fell away and he turned to his love and planted a forceful kiss on her delectable mouth, as though needing to dispel his awe of her.  She matched him as forcefully and when he broke the kiss, she waited, knowing that there was something he needed to say.

Close-up, he had an even truer appreciation of how magnificent she looked but he also saw the concern in her eyes and it bolstered his courage.

'Hye-wona, you look...absolutely...knock-out,' he inhaled dramatically,  'just...ravishing.'

Her smile only proved the point and he blinked in its spotlight.  

'I heard a song today and the lyrics could have been written to describe you.'  

The briefest smirk had Hye-won wondering if she had imagined it.  I'll tell you those lyrics later.

'There was one particular phrase that just seemed to sum you up and then I saw you...descended from heaven and I was...speechless,' he smirked openly now and she nudged his shoulder, as though to say - where is this going? - and he conceded: 'ok, I'll just say it.'

He took her 2 hands in his and rested his eyes on her beloved face.

'Well, the song is called God is a woman so of course, you came to mind immediately.'

Their shared laugh spoke volumes. 

'My one.'

She waited, not quite sure what he meant.

'It was when I heard those words - my one - that I knew.'  

She became more thoughtful now, finally realising the significance of this moment.  His eyes swept her features again, as he searched to find the exact words. 

'It struck me so hard and as soon as it did, I couldn't believe that I hadn't had this thought before.'

Tenderly, thoughtfully, he curled a fore-finger along the outer edge of her ear, then carefully held the drop ear-ring on a finger-tip for a moment.

'Hye-wona, my darling woman, you are my one, always and forever, you are my one.  And I know in my soul that I'm your one too.'

Her eyes couldn't lie.

'We are one, in this world and every world, in this life-time and every other that we may have.  We are one, Hye-wona.'

Her eyes were sparkling with tears as he inhaled loudly, as though he had forgotten to breathe.  Joy and awe - in equal parts - mixed in both, as his confession danced in the air - we are one - and it seemed as though they might never speak again, until - in a small voice of wonder - Seon-jae asked: 'so whether it's in a church, in a temple, in the Black Forest again,' he chuckled a little at that, remembering the blessing they had shared under the stars, 'the question, Oh Hye-won, is, will you marry me?'

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