The perfume of love (rain-bi)

chapter 12

it wasn't a surprise to jenna to find herself, a short time later in what was recognisably the owner's suit. from the luxuriously appointed private sitting room, hana took herself into an adjoining large stateroom furnished with a king size double bed.

her sister unfastened her sandals and kicked them off, leaving them lying on the champagne coloured carpet.

"i hope it doesn't shock you to find that joon and I sleep togother" she remarked, unzipping her shorts. "or have you managed to grow up with reasonably up to date idea in spite of father's puritanical influence?"

"i think so." jenna watched her wriggle the shorts over her hips and when they had dropped around her feet, step out of them, leaving them there.

hana started unbuttoning her shirt. " i suppose shut up with father all this time, you haven't had many boyfriends"

"i haven't had any" the younger girl answered.

"but i haven't lost the chance. I'm still only twenty. there's time"

"yes, but what a waste of those years! Never mind; it's all over now and you can start having a good time. but don't let young dong won try to coax you into a fling with him. he's as randy as hell.they all are... even Captain jung."

"i don't know about the Captain, but it's fairly obvious the Radio Officer is" jenna said dryly.

"hana, when i mentioned to dong won this morning that i hadn't yet met your fiance, he didn't know you were engaged. don't you think you should wear your ring at times? to make it clear you are joon's future wife, not just.... a temporary companion?"

her sister rummaged in a drawer and brought out a handful of blue cotton crochet. "there is no ring" she said flatly.

"i made that up on the spur of the moment. i didn't want you to start making a fuss. in fact i hoped it wouldn't be necessary to have a showdown for some time. but as dong won has let the cat out of the bag....." she stopped and gave an irritable sigh. " i told you a white lie, jenna, but i did it with the best of intentions. i was afraid if you knew the real set up, you wouldn't come."

jenna stared at her, appalled. at length she said, in a low voice, "do you love him?"

hana was adjusting the minimal bikini which was what the two wisps of crochet had turned out to be.

"No, i don't love him" she answered.

"but I'd marry him tomorrow if he asked me. he's a kind, generous man who's treated me better than any of the other men I've known."

jenna felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. coming at the end of a long period of stress, and at a time when her whole system was thrown out of balance by jet-lag,a shock of this order was hard to take calmly.

she said "you're right: i wouldn't have come... and i can't possibly stay. i shouldn't feel comfortable. I..... I don't know how you can be"

her sister's blue eyes flashed angrily. she put her hands on her hips and, standing with arms akimbo, she snapped, "before you start taking a holier than thou attitude, just you listen to me for a minute! while you've been living in seoul, I've been out in the world; and, believe me, it's a bloody tough world for a girl on her own. you think you've had a hard time looking after father, but it's been no picnic for me since he threw me out, i was pregnant. you didn't know that, did you? i sneaked out to a party one night and somebody's idea of fun was to make the drinks extra strong, and the next thing i knew i was preggo. it happens all the time" she added bitterly.