The perfume of love (rain-bi)

chapter 14

For a reason she couldn't define, it was important to her to disabuse this man of the idea that she was the empty- headed, flighty little 'swinger' which they all... not only dong won.... appeared to have been expecting.

"it seems lovely here to me, even if it is a bit more built up than i expected. coming from Korea, in November, i find all this brilliance and warmth, and the wonderful flowers, even lovelier than i expected. you're used to it, of course, and perhaps you tend to notice only the changes for the worse, as one does on one's home ground. there's a lot about Seoul which hasn't improved in my lifetime. but in a good summer the backs...the college gardens.... are still amazingly beautiful."

without thinking, as she was talking, she had propped her elbows on the top bar behind her and rested one foot on the bottom rail. it wasn't intended to be a provocative pose, but it seemed he took it as one. again his cool gaze travelled downwards, making her sharply aware that her posture threw out her chest and, unintentionally, drew attention to her breasts and navel.

jung jihoon's appraisal was not the slow lustful leer which, several times during lunch, the Radio Officer had directed at hana. it wasn't a leer at all.

they're all as randy as hell... even Captain jung, her sister had told her.

but however long it had been since the man beside her had held a woman in his arms, his desires were considerably less inflammable than those of his amorous subordinate. the expression on his face seemed to say that if she wanted to flaunt herself she was free to do so, but she was wasting her time with him. she wasn't his type.

quickly she put her foot back on the deck and removed her elbows from the bar. at that moment she would have given a great deal to be covered from neck to knee by the converted dress shirt.

she would have excused herself and hurried away, but he said, "you grew up in Seoul? i had the idea you and your sister came from Busan."

"hana worked in Busan for a time,but I've never lived anywhere but in seoul. my father was a professor at one of the colleges" she added explanatorily, although it surprised her to find herself telling him these personal details. "he died a few weeks ago"

"and your mother?"

"i never knew her, and my sister has only faint memories of her." she was already regretting telling him even these few facts. 

"if you'll excuse me, i have to go and get changed."

but when she would have walked away, he forced her to linger by saying, "have you other sisters and brothers?"

she shook her head.

"how old are you, jenna?"

"I'm twenty."

"you look younger... too young to be on your own in the world."

"I'm not on my own, Captain jung. i have a very dear sister" she replied, with a level look. "although we haven't seen much of each other just recently, we've always been very close, hana and I. being four years older, she was almost like a mother to me when we were children. i could never feel alone in the world with my sister to turn to."

the fiercely angry reaction she was prepared to let loose if, by so much as the lift of an eyebrow, he showed what he thought of her sister, was never put to the test.

his expression remained inscrutable. he made no comment on her statement. his reply was, "there's no need to keep calling me Captain jung. my name is jihoon... or you can call me rain my friends call me that"

with a slight nod, he turned away, leaving her free to go below.

on closer inspection, Lahaina seemed to jenna to retain considerable character in spite of too many shops selling tawdry souvenirs and too many tourists seeking things to take home.

from an open downstairs window of the Pioneer Inn, the hotel she had noticed yesterday, came the strum of a guitar and the pleasant voice of a young man singing to people in the bar. at the other end of the building she caught a glimpse of a dining-room where, later, some of the diners would eat their meal sitting in high backed wing chairs whose shabby, sun faded covers gave the room a down at heel charm.

today being less tired than yesterday, she was better able to resist her sister's attempts to make her buy things she didn't like.

"I shan't need an extensive wardrobe, hana" she said firmly.

"a couple of cool, simple dresses to wear in the evening, and a basic minimum of beach clothes. to buy more would be a waste of money."

they were having iced drinks in one of the cafe- bars on the seaward side of front street. the incoming tide was lapping against the pilings supporting the balustrade beside their table. at another table a man in a yellow singlet and a blue baseball cap was focusing his camera on Ocean Wanderer while his friends and their wives speculated about the yacht's ownership.

hana listened in to some of their conversation before she returned her attention to her sister. it was clear to jenna that hana had got a big kick from their envious remarks. perhaps it was because, at rock bottom, she had no real confidence in herself that she found it satisfying to be part of a rich man's entourage and to bask in reflected prestige.

"listen, jenna, i didn't have to invite you to join us. but you are my sister and i didn't like the idea of you being on your own, especially at christmas. but if you're going to make snide remarks all the time, i could begin to regret asking you out here."

"did you realy expect me to take the situation in my stride?" jenna countered.

"No, perhaps not. as you've spent your entire life with father, it would be surprising if some of his narrow attitudes hadn't rubbed of on you. but he's dead and you're here, and you're just going to have to accept that I'm living my life my way. it's not for you to sit in moral judgment."

jenna knew this wasn't the time or the place to try to persuade hana to see that her way was a path which, as her looks deteriorated, could only lead downhill. she said, "you can't expect me to be happy about accepting Mr Dennison's hospitality."

"i don't see why not. he knows it makes me happy to have you here... or it would if you'd stop being so bloody censorious. nobody's asking you to do anything immoral, for heaven's sake!"

it seemed to jenna that, in this last remark, there was a tacit admission that hana wasn't entirely comfortable with her role as joon's girlfriend. if that was the case, there was hope that, given time, she could be persuaded to give it up.

later, when they were back on board and she was alone in her cabin, preparing for her first encounter with the man who was keeping her sister, jenna spent some time thoughtfully re-examining her motives for deciding to stay on the yacht.

how much was she influenced by the fact that if she returned to Korea now she would be giving up weeks of luxurious living in a wonderful climate for a solitary existence in a dismal bedsitter at a time of year when grey skies and rain were the norm?

on the other hand, to remain was to put herself in the position of being thought to condone her sister's relationship. they might not show it, but she would be constantly aware that jung jihoon, most of his officers and some if not all the other guests had a low opinion of both kim girls.

at the end of her deliberations, when it was almost time to go on deck, she had come to the conclusion that if she went back to Korea it would be the end between her and her sister. if she stayed there was a chance they would salvage the strong affection which had once bound them. surely to recover that was worth a try, no matter what the cost in private humiliation?

nevertheless it was with great reluctance that she left her cabin and made her way up to the lounge deck to meet joon Dennison.