Beautiful Escape (Discontinued)

Part 9: What I Wanted To Say

Shin and Ian had a quick tour to Ripley's Museum. The tour was said to take about three hours to see everything in the museum but since they only have two hours to tour they had to cut it off. Mr. Kim guided them inside and assisted them.

It was already dark when they drove back to the hotel. They decided to have dinner outdoor for a change. They found one near the beach.

"Did you have fun?" Ian asked when they finished eating.

Shin smiled at him and nodded. "Yeah. It was much better than I expected. It was fun, much better than going alone. Except that guy incident."

Ian remembered the incident and he felt bad again. "Sorry about that. I promise to keep you company while we are here."

Shin reached for his hand on the table. "It's okay. Don't think about it now. I'm okay." She said with an assuring smile.

Ian smiled in return and held Shin's hand. He turned to the view in front of them, the beach.

True to his words, Ian didn't let Shin walk alone for the rest of their trip. He made sure he was beside her or she's just in sight.

"Do you wanna take a walk by the shore?" He asked Shin.

"Sure. Gotta burn some fats." Shin agreed and they both smiled.

They went to the beach and walk by the shore. They walk with a comfortable silence and sometimes glancing at each other.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" Ian asked.

"I want to do some water sports. But I also want to see more Jeju. I already told you that." Shin chuckled.

Ian smiled. "Given a week you want to see everything Jeju has to offer."

Shin nodded. "I have make the most out of it." Then smiled.

"Good point." He agreed. "I'll see what I can do about it."

"Oh shut up. We can't have it all."

"If there's a will, there's a way."

Ian took a deep breath and slowly took Shin's free hand and intertwined with his. He smiled to himself when Shin didn't pulled it back.

Shin on the other hand was confused when Ian held her hand but didn't pulled back. She actually like how it felt when he held her hand. She just smiled to herself.

"Remember how people thought we are a couple today?" Ian asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

Ian smiled still looking straight ahead. "Is this how it feels like, peaceful and nice? I wonder if being in a relationship feels like this."

"You haven't been in a relationship?" Shin asked.

Ian chuckled and glanced at Shin. "I did, but it never felt like this. It was always chaotic. It was loud. When it felt nice and peaceful it was always interrupted."

Shin stared at him for a moment.

"Hey!"

Someone shouted behind them. They saw foreign guy running to them.

"You left this on the chair in the resto. I was next to your table." He handed them Ian's camera.

Ian let go of Shin's hand and took it and chuckled. "Yeah, thank you. Thank you very much. I completely forgot."

The guy smiled and turned to Shin. "I can't blame you. You have a beautiful lady beside you."

Ian quickly placed his arm around Shin's shoulder and pulled her closer to him. "This is Shin, my wife. I am Ian." He said a little serious now.

The guy chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "Okay? I am Albert." The guy offered his hand.

Ian let go of Shin again and shook his hand.

They guy moved closer to Ian and whispered. "I'll pretend I didn't here anything, Mr. Bautista. I've never heard the asia's romantic balladeer and the international theater performer from the Philippines tied the knot." He said and pulled back.

Ian was stunned for a moment and alarmed. He didn't know how to react. Someone recognized them. He just stared at the guy while his hand turned into fist.

The guy smirked at him. "Nice meeting you too. Have a lovely night, Shin and Ian." He said and walked away.

Ian just nodded at the guy and watched him walk away.

"Hey." Shin poked Ian when the guy was already out of sight.

Ian turned to Shin. "Hmm?"

"Are you okay?" Shin asked when she notice the change in Ian's mood.

Ian just nodded. "Yeah, I'm good." He said plainly.

"You look bothered, though. What is it?"

Ian smiled lightly. "It's nothing. I'm really okay."

Shin turned to Ian. "He told you something, I saw it."

The wind kept on blowing and Ian saw how Shin was enduring the cold winds. He decided to take off his coat and put it around her.

"It's cold. Let's go." He told her, now his expression softening. He held her hand and lead her back to the hotel.

"What's wrong? What did he tell you?" Shin stopped him.

"Let's get back inside first and I will tell you everything." Ian told her and walked again.

"He did tell you something." Shin confirmed.

Shin just followed him until they reach the garden area. They found a bench on the side sat there.

"Now, tell what's going on." Shin faced him.

Ian took a deep breath and faced Shin. He is hesitating whether to tell her or not. "I'm not sure I should tell you but I think I have to."

"Is it something serious?"

"It depends on your perspective."

Shin rolled her eyes impatiently. "You're scaring me for no reason. Are you gonna tell me or not?"

"Are you gonna tell me who you are or not?" Ian asked back while staring at Shin intently.

Shin was caught off guard and stared back at Ian questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"You only told me your name and mentioned your job but you never told me what you do and what you are. The same way I never told you mine." Ian said softly.

"So what? That's how I planned my vacation."

"I know, me too. I understand because that's how I planned mine too. But Shin, some things just won't go the way we want them to."

"So you are saying that you actually know me and pretended that you didn't" Shin concluded.

"Like how you knew me and pretended you didn't. Now, let's stop dancing around each other and be real. I don't want to regret anything after meeting you here." Ian said calmly.

"Okay. But I was just asking you about that guy earlier. How did our convo went this way?"

"I don't know. Maybe because I think we found something here, or maybe it's just me but I have a feeling that we are starting something here and I want to do everything I can to protect it and let it be what it is supposed to be because I care for it, I care for us... and because I care for you."

Shin avoided Ian's eye and looked down. "What does it have to do with him?"

Ian faced Shin. "That guy... he knew me."

It made Shin look at Ian again. "Knew you... knew who you are."

"He said he'll pretend not hearing what I said. And Shin, he knew you too."

P.S.

Sorry po super late update.