Evenstar

32. Catching Up

Taehyung sat on a stool at the kitchen island as Dae Eun laid a generous spread before him.

"Stop, I already ate the porridge you sent. Do-Hyun hyung and I did."

"No, Oppa. Please eat. We have so much food here." It was unacceptable, his gaunt face alarmed her. "I made this earlier. It's supposed to be delivered tomorrow."

Taehyung helped her take the dish out from the oven. It was braised beef, galbi jjim. And with the doen jang-guk, rice and side dishes on the table, it looked like a small feast. Dae Eun began putting meat on his rice bowl.

"Eat please, Oppa."

She looked at him earnestly and he couldn't do anything but comply. It was actually very good, and he felt his body returning to normal as he enjoyed what she had prepared.

"How did you know I wasn't feeling well, Dae Eun?" he asked in between sips of the hot soybean paste soup.

"You called me, Oppa."

"I did?" He took his phone out and checked, and sure enough he made an outgoing call at three in the morning that day. "I'm sorry."

His voice really reached out to her and she wanted to leave for Seoul that very minute, but it would alarm her appa and she wouldn't know how to explain to him that she felt Taehyung needed her. She finally worked out the schedule so she could be close to him at least.

"I just wanted to be near, and we have so many orders anyway. I can't let those two do it by themselves. They need a place to rest and recharge before the next deliveries. It's all because of you, Oppa. These orders are from your friends, and their friends. We're almost running out of produce to deliver."

"Really? I'm glad business is doing well. But why are you leasing my apartment? You can just stay here as long as you need it."

"This is a business. How will we know how well your investment is doing if you rent your apartment out for free?" Dae Eun put more vegetables in his rice bowl. "This is ripe kimchi, three years old. It may be a bit spicy though."

Taehyung tasted it. It was spicy, but very good.

"I've made a batch that's not spicy and will store it for three years." Dae Eun looked at him, wondering, hoping they would still be together by then.

"Still, you can use this apartment whenever you need it. No charge."

"I'll take it into consideration, Oppa." She smiled and poured him some herb tea.

"What have you been doing all this time?" He had lost touch with her since he stopped calling and didn't want to bring up the subject of his absence. It must have been confusing for her.

"Autumn is always a busy time on the farm. We harvested all the fruits and vegetables we could and stored them for winter. We covered all the sensitive crops and planted winter vegetables, made jams and kimchi. Next time I'll bring you some yellow peaches - you won't believe how good they are. I didn't even sell them. We want them all to ourselves."

With lowered eyes, Dae Eun tried her best to look happy as she told him of her activities for the past two months. She didn't want him to see how hurt she was when she couldn't reach him anymore. She had wanted to go to Seoul everyday so she could find him and only her pride stopped her.

"I'm sorry, Dae Eun." Taehyung stopped her hand, busy with bringing food to his plate, and held it. He could feel he'd really hurt her.

"I know, you told me." His voice sounded so bad then, she thought he was crying when he called her.

"Why can't I remember it?"

Dae Eun touched his forehead with her palm. It was warm, but normal. "Maybe you had a fever then. Oppa, why are you working so hard?"

"I'm not. It's just that the schedules ended up this way."

"I only have one request. I hope you'll take it seriously."

Taehyung already knew. He stopped eating and drew her close so he could hug her again.

"I need you to take care of yourself." She meant it. She couldn't always be around him and it tore her up when he wasn't doing well.

"I do... I will." It was a promise he didn't know he could keep, what with a tough tour coming, but he would try his best.

She looked into his eyes, trying to see if he understood. She felt she would go crazy if something happened to him. "I made cake," she said to lighten the mood.

"Eun-ah! I can't gain too much weight. I have another series to shoot after this, and a tour."

"You won't, well not that much anyway." She had made her version of a Christmas cake she hoped he would like and brought it out from the ref.

He laughed. Was it possible to gain ten pounds overnight? But he was happy to be so doted upon and he hoped for the chance to return her love.

"Is it okay for you to be here at Christmas? Aren't you supposed to be with your family?"

"Believe it or not, this season is still a busy time for my appa and brothers. There's a high demand from our western partners. It seems that people there would like to give ginseng as gifts for the new year, for longevity. And Appa doesn't like to be idle at Christmas. He misses Eomma more when he's not busy with work."

"It must be hard." Taehyung couldn't imagine how it must feel to lose your partner in life. He was glad that his parents were both together.

Dae Eun cut a small slice of cake and started feeding him again.

"Eun-ah, I'm full!" he protested.

"Just a little bit." She placed a spoonful into his mouth and kissed it.

*****

Taehyung was back at his apartment before daybreak. He found his parents cuddled together on the couch in front of the TV screen, watching a Christmas program.

"Hey, where have you been? Do-Hyun said filming ended early last night." His dad asked as he walked in and squeezed himself between them on the couch.

"I was with Dae Eun, Appa. She gave me food."

"Taehyung-ah, this girl feels right for you?" his Eomma asked and he just nodded as he leaned his head to the back of the couch beside hers.

"Do you like her?"  his appa asked.

Taehyung nodded again and held both his parents' hands. "I love you, Appa, Eomma," he said as he kissed each hand before getting up to go to his room to catch up on sleep.

"Merry Christmas, Taehyung-ah!" They shouted simultaneously.

"You'll meet her before New Year's!" he shouted back.

His parents looked at each other and giggled, trying not to make a sound.

When he had showered and was ready for bed it was already 8 AM. He would probably be called to the set again before evening if it wasn't snowing. He stared at the ceiling as he lay down and thought of Dae Eun. He wanted to marry her soon. He had wasted too much time already, but maybe the most possible date he could set was next year after their tour. The tour would end in Paris before the final in Seoul. He planned to take her with him and propose to her there. Where would be a nice place? He would ask his friends.

Before his eyelids grew too heavy, he sent her a message.

"Je t'aime, Kwan Dae Eun. Let's take a walk at the Jardin des Tuileries next year."