August Ballet (12 Months Series - Part 1)

Chapter 16

Hak Yeon is sitting in the plane heading to Seoul. Victoria's head is placed on his shoulder and she is peacefully sleeping. Hak Yeon doesn't blame her.
It was a crazy month. They met his family and Victoria was nervous but as the time went on, she found a lot in common with Hak Yeon's mother and there was some mysterious mutual sympathy between them. That was lucky, thought Hak Yeon, because his mom could be a bit sharp if she doesn't like someone. However the dinner went well and the wedding ceremony was smooth as well the next day. Grace was present and so was Victoria's other sister Charlotte, currently visiting their cousin Isobel in Seoul. The both ladies came to the wedding to congratulate them. Isobel was accompanied by her son and suprisingly by Kim Minseok from EXO. Hak Yeon was pleased to see him. It seemed like Xiumin himself would like to stand on Hak Yeon's place soon but with different Arran girl. Charlotte was happy to see her sister happy and Hak Yeon assured her he has only the best intentions with not just Victoria but he intends to treat well all her sisters. Charlotte seemed to be a little bit surprised by such kindness. Grace's hay fever disappeared as soon as they landed in Seoul. She was apparently allergic to some kind of a pollen that couldn't be found in Korea so she could finaly breath freely. In short - everything was going extremely well for them. Hak Yeon persuaded Grace to stay in his apartment while Victoria and he are on their honeymoon. Leo promised to check on her from time to time and help with anything needed. When all was settled Hak Yeon and Victoria could leave for their around the world trip. It was nearly scary how well all this went, too. Victoria was happy and lovely company even on the journey. She never complaint about anything, she patiently tried all the clothes Hak Yeon picked for her and was wearing them. She slowly learned the basics of fashion and soon she was even able to pick her own outfit all by herself. She laughed when Hak Yeon complimented her about it and applauded for her. She didn't consider it to be a real achievement but Hak Yeon was still proud of her. He also learned a lot about his new wife. He got used to sleeping in a lit up room but that wasn't all he discovered. The one thing that was worrying him and he decided to work hard on improvement of it, was Victoria's, and her sister's, self-esteem. He found out, that no one ever praised them and encouraged them in other way then their work. Victoria's whole self-esteem was standing solely on the success at work. She was unable to even see that she is an amazing person herself. She couldn't appreciate herself. Hak Yeon kept on falling in love with himself throughout his whole life every time he looked in the mirror. This was something unbelievable for him. And potentially dangerous. If something happened and Victoria would have to leave her job, or if she experienced some major failure in it, she would probably break down entirely. Hak Yeon started to see as his main task to build Victoria's self-confidence based on her personal virtues to secure her happiness. And after visiting his two estates and meeting all the sisters and dragon mother Valeria, he could see all the girls are severally vulnerable and in need of help.
His first encounter with Valeria was fierce. The woman was a master of psychological games, she spent the life manipulating her lovers and abusing her daughters. However Hak Yeon was neither of that and he was able to face her and declare his position. For a moment it even seemed that lady Valeria is looking at him with admiration. However it was difficult to tell her emotions. Hak Yeon wasn't naive to think they will get along well but at least he achieved to be respected and accepted by her. His Rigantona estate was in a good shape and Hak Yeon himself was astonished by this magical hidden kingdom. He met young queen of Rigantona, lady Megan, and her much older husband Ari Setti. Ari Setti was tall and muscular man, he was very rich and powerful. Before he married lady Megan, he was known for his weapon trading empire. After the wedding he changed and invested into a world wide web of pet rescue centres and animal shelters. His laboratories also came with new inventions which were used exclusively in Rigantona and turned the country stuck in medieval ages into an ultra-modern nature friendly kingdom with clean electricity and pollution free trains. It was apparent Ari Setti invested a fortune into it and other projects. And Hak Yeon could also see why he did so. Even though Ari Setti looked like some ancient Egyptian demon craving for blood and souls, he was watching his young wife with such admiration and love. Lady Megan was his true opposite, she was as white as morning mist, her hair was nearly silver, she had bright turquoise eyes and light pink lips. She had full figure, looked so soft and squishy. Hak Yeon was wondering how these two could even meet. However he couldn't spend enough time to find out in Rigantona because there was still the other estate he had to visit. Gealach Dubh Manor in Scotland wasn't nearly as well secured and governed as the grange in Rigantona. The old manor was shabby and unkempt, there were only 5 aging employees. Victoria warned him, that former dukes didn't pay attention to this estate because it was located in the cold north of the Scotland. However Hak Yeon could see some potential here and also his active and responsible nature wouldn't let him to just neglect his duty towards the people and the estate. Hak Yeon spent two days walking all around the area with Victoria, making lists of things needing to be mended. Vicotoria was astonished by his attitude and she promised to secure the support from the whole family.

Hak Yeon kisses Victoria's head and gets back to his laptop. He is working with excel to sum up all the tasks standing in front of him and to decide about all the small steps needed. It resembles compiling a choreography in a way. He needs the initial idea about the theme and then come up with the individual steps, perfectly calculated and with the right timing. Hak Yeon knows this is a big challenge and a huge responsibility but he somehow feels more alive than ever. This is something new, something he can try and explore, something to occupy his mind. He is excited to prove that he excels in everything he does. There is even a little bit of him, who genuinely wishes to show that arrogant William Lane that Hak Yeon can play with the big boys, he can even win over them and set new rules. He trusted his intentions to Ari Setti and lady Megan and they assured him about their support. They actually tagged him a member of family. Ari Setti was interested in his occupation and the entertainment business in general and Hak Yeon is suspecting him from intending widening his range of commercial activities to this field. However only time will show the truth about that. The first task standing in front of Hak Yeon is to help Victoria accommodate in Seoul. As soon as the news about their marriage hit the front pages, Victoria got several offers from clinics to operate there as residing psychiatrist. She got offer from military as well but she decided to decline this one and Hak Yeon was glad. The image of his lovely wife dealing with mentally unstable soldiers trained to kill in a second was haunting him in his dreams. Victoria herself was keen to accept a job in modern private clinic with a long term awareness programme providing information and guidance in the matter of mental illness and especially the spreading depression. Hak Yeon was supporting this one, too. He was aware that many of his colleagues in the show business suffer from depressions and Victoria could be the one they might trust and come for her help.
Hak Yeon closes the excel programme on his laptop and tilts his head to one side to place it on Victoria's hair. He's tired, too. He closes the laptop and gets more comfortable on the seat and with his arm around his wife. Such a simple word, yet Hak Yeon has to smile and then he floats away into the slumber.