The perfume of love (rain-bi)

chapter 11

at the other end of the table, her sister was carrying on a separate conversation with the two youngest officers. jenna had expected that hana would be opposite her in the chair now occupied by the Engineer. but although the Captain's subordinates had waited for her to choose where she wanted to sit before taking there places, she had selected the place furthest from jenna. but not for that reason, probably. it was also the furthest away from Captain jung whom clearly, she disliked as much as he disliked her.

"how long has this island been popular with tourists, Captain jung?" jenna asked, after young ji had placed a bowl of fruit salad infront of her.

"the sixties were the beginning of it. discriminating canadians were the ones who put Maui on the map, and then people from Alaska began to spend pipeline money here"

"the place has been ruined, if you ask me" was the Engineer's sudden gruff comment. he had refused the fruit salad and now he pushed back his chair.

"you'll excuse me, Captain...Miss jenna...." he left the table.

she was charmed by the old- fashioned courtesy of the way he addressed her. when he had gone, she said "Mr shin isn't a korean, is he?" she thought her ear had detected a slight difference between his accent and that of the first officer.

"no, shin dong is a kiwi... a New Zealander" he told her.

"we're a mixed bunch aboard Ocean Wanderer not all of us are korean even we have all korean names. now there's a country you must see while you are in the southern hemisphere... New Zealand. to my mind it's one of the most beautiful places on earth"

"I'd like to see it very much, but unfortunately i shan't have time. i have to go back to korea and earn my living"

"what is your occupation?" the question came from the man on her left.

"at the moment i haven't one" she admitted reluctantly.

"then why must you go back to korea? why not see how you like living in a better climate?" suggested the first officer.

"aren't there restrictions on people going to live in Australia and New Zealand?" she asked him.

before he could answer, the Captain said, "indeed there are, and they favour immigrants with useful qualifications. i don't think jenna would stand much chance of being allowed in without any specialised skills" he added sardonically.

his thinly veiled antagonsim was beginning to get to her.

"and i strike you as a potential whinger, do i Captain?" she asked, with a sparkle in her eyes.

"i didn't say that.... merely that some of your compatriots have that unfortunate tendency" was his cool response.

"I'll have coffee in my quarters, young ji. would you excuse me, Miss kim?"

as the Engineer had before him, the Captain rose from his place and left the table.

from behind his shoulders looked even broader than from a frontal view. as he walked away she found herself studying the way his back tapered to a lean waist. his white shorts were short and close-fitting, outlining his hard male backside and exposing the backs of his thighs, only lightly furred with dark hair. below the turned-down tops of his immaculate stockings, musculars claves stretched the knitted fabric. but his ankles were slimmer and more elegant than those of his officers. there was no denying his physical magnetism. in that respect she had reluctantly to admit that he came very close to personifying her idea of a supremely attractive man. but his personality didn't match his good looks. in that respect she found him extremely dislikeable; critical, sarcastic, cold.

"how long are we staying here yong?" she asked.

"at least until the weekend when some more guests arrive, and then possibly most of next week to give them time to look around this area before we move on to the other end of the island where the terrain is different"

"how many passengers can Ocean Wanderer carry?"

"there are eight double cabins apart from the owner's suite. it's not often they're all occupied, but i understand they will be for our christmas cruise through the yasawas. they're a group of a small Fijin islands, one of which is young ji's home island, so we always get a special welcome there"

although she found him a pleasant companion, the person jenna was longing to talk to was her sister. but hana seemed in no hurry to break off her chat with the two younger men.

since the Captain's departure their conversation had become noticeably livelier. from snatches she over heard, jenna had the impression that hana was flirting with them. with her coffee she was sipping another Mai Tai. remembering what lee yong had said about them, jenna wondered if it was the second potent drink which was making her sister behave in such a provocative way.

most of her alluring smiles seemed to be directed at dong ha rather than dong won, and dong ha wasn't hiding the fact that he found her desirable. twice, as she flashed a quick, troubled glance in their direction, jenna saw the radio officer give her sister an openly undressing look. she hoped lee yong wasn't aware of what was going on nearby.

perhaps he was. the next time there was a break in the other's conversation, he said to them, "I'm sure hana and jenna must be looking forward to a private chat, and the rest of us have things to do."

he rose to his feet, giving a clear intimation to the two junior officers that they were to leave the table.

when the men had gone, hana said, "let's go and relax under the awning."

drink in hand, she led the way to the lounge area where she curled on a white cushioned sofa.

"I'm sorry i wasn't around when you woke up. i had an appointment to have my legs waxed and i thought you'd sleep most of the morning."

"hana, is there somewhere where we could talk privately?"

"why not here? the stewards have almost finished."

hana looked towards the dining saloon where young ji and his assistant were clearing the table.

"it's not very private here. we could be overheard by someone on the deck below. i think my cabin would be better" said jenna

her sister looked puzzled; but after a moment she shrugged and uncurled herself. "if you have something that private to say we'll go to mine. i can get ready to sunbathe while you lay bare your dark secrets."