My Korean Guy II

Chapter One-300th day

300 days. How time flies. It just seemed like yesterday when Jin Ho showed up in my office with his nephew. It seemed just like in a flash that he professed his love for me and promised me "the works". Charlie Puth's One Call Away suddenly brought me back to reality. I fished for the ringing phone in my bag. I couldn't help but grin at Jin Ho's wacky picture which flashed on my screen.

"Jagi ya?" said the deep voice at the other end of the line.

"Yes?" I answered. The mere sound of that term of endearment always gave me a warm feeling.

"Are you on your way here?"

"Yes. I'm almost there. I'll be at the parking lot in less than ten minutes. What's the rush?"

"Nothing really. Can't wait til you get here." He replied.

The elevator to the penthouse seemed to take forever as it slowly climbed up to the 35th floor of the condominium. I tapped my feet impatiently. The bottles of soju clinked as I shifted my weight to my left. Before I left the center today, Jin Ho reminded me to buy soju at the nearby Korean grocery on my way to his flat. "Hmmm. Dinner with soju. I wonder what he cooked for us this time." The elevator stopped to a halt at the designated floor and I stepped out. Jin Ho's condo unit was at the end of the hallway.

I rang the bell and heard the scuffling of feet towards the door. There he was with his mysterious smile and the same twinkle in his eyes as he kissed me. "Come in, please."

"I didn't forget." I bragged to him and lifted the bag..

"It seems so. Here let me take that." He replied. He took the eco-bag and led me to the sofa. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

"Do you need any help?" I asked and noticed the music playing on the background was Lifehouse's You and Me; one of our favorite songs.

"Nope. I got it covered." He bellowed from the kitchen.

"Okay." I yelled back to ensure that he heard me despite the music that filled the entire loft. I made my way to the photos on the wall. They were pictures taken from all the trips we had in the past year. True to his word, Jin Ho went through the motions of courtship. Despite his busy schedule and his frequent trips to Korea and Manila, he managed to spend most of his days with me. On the sixth month, I finally agreed to be his girlfriend. But the courtship, the works never died out. He always surprised me with something new, something I have never tried out before.

"Dinner's served." I heard Jin Ho say as he placed the last of the banchan on the dining table.

As I approached the table, I gasped. "LJ, this food can feed an army. Did you make this all by yourself? Or did you hire someone to help you, like little elves perhaps?"

He laughed at my remark and pulled out a chair for me. "Your comment's really amusing considering that Christmas is just in a few days. What you don't know is that I have a hidden talent in cooking. Who says that only women know how to cook?"

"I know you can cook. I'm just saying that this is the first time I've seen you cook a lot."

"Well, there's a special occasion." He remarked as he poured soju into the shot glass I held with both hands. I poured him some soju into his shot glass.

"Geon bae! Cheers to our 300th day!" He quipped.

"Geon bae!" I replied and gave a toast to our celebration. Filipinos normally celebrate anniversaries by months or years, or decades. For Koreans, the 100th, 200th, and 300th days are extremely important.

"I know this is a little early but I want to give you your Christmas present." He took out a green envelope with a red ribbon tied to it and slid it on the table.

"But I didn't bring your Christmas present yet. If only I knew..." I protested.

"It doesn't matter. I just want to give you my gift early. Open it."

I gingerly held the envelope in my hand, thinking what was inside. I tentatively untied the ribbon and opened the flap. One round trip ticket to Korea stared at me in the face. I sighed.

"You didn't like it?" Jin Ho looked at me with worry written all over his face.

"I-I like it. It's my chance to see your country, your hometown, meet your friends, your family." I stammered, uncertainty in my voice.

"I'd love for you to meet my friends, see my hometown, and all. But what I was really hoping for is that you'd take some time off in April. I'd want to take you to the Cherry Blossoms Festival."

"Is it all right if I think about it first?" I peered into his face waiting for any sign of disappointment but there was none. My namjachingu, my boyfriend, my Korean guy instead broke into a smile and leaned for a kiss.

"I never take no for an answer, remember? I will also do whatever it takes for me to convince you to say yes."

"LJ! Now that is unfair. I mean it. Give me some time to think about it. It's still a couple of months away anyway."

"The sooner you decide, the better. Now, let'seat. Na baegopa. I'm so hungry."