The perfume of love (rain-bi)

chapter 39

"Jihoon was certain youngji would relent if we were together," said Eleni.

"but I've been on board for a week and each day he's colder towards me. I'm afraid he may not care for me anymore."

Under their double fringe of lashes, jenna's eyes widened incredulously as she took in the implications of Eleni's statement.

"you mean it's youngji you want to marry?"

"But of course it's youngji. Who else could it be?"

"I thought it was jihoon!"
Eleni looked baffled. "jihoon? What ever gave you that strange idea?"

"You did.... He did. The evening you came on board I couldn't help overhearing what you said to each other on the quay. It sounded as if it were jihoon your parents disapproved of as a husband for you."

"But jihoon and I are like brother and sister. He was the first person to guess how I felt about youngji.... And how he felt about me."

"And still does! I'm quite sure of that," jenna told her, with conviction.

"If you could have seen him watching you during the meke you'd have no doubts at all, Eleni. I did see him, and it worried me. I felt for them both to be in love with you must create tremendous difficulties, especially with this partnership they're planning."

"But if he does love me, why is he always so hostile? I'm making no headway at all," Eleni wailed despairingly.

"He used to have the idea that he wasn't good enough for me because his father was a greaser and he's only a steward; and those were two of the reasons my parents disapproved," she added.

"But surely I've proved beyond doubt that they aren't important to me? Jihoon is in favour of our marriage. If he hadn't been, he wouldn't have arranged for me to replace the stewardess who was taken ill."

"I'm sure, if you stick it out, youngji will admit he loves you and wants to marry you," said jenna.

Although she tried not to show it, her own spirits had been soaring since the discovery of her misunderstanding of the real relationship between jihoon and Eleni.

Now she was filled with fresh hope that, if she were to follow the advice she had given the other girl and accepted jihoon's offer to fix an au pair position in Sydney for her, there might yet be a happy future for her.

Then, like a douche of cold water, came the memory of how, to save face, she had told him she was still in love with someone in Korea.

How could she retract that misleading white lie?

Later, going on deck with the end of her tail in her hand and her face a mask of white make-up with a wide Minnie Mouse mouth lipsticked over her own, she thought with regret of some of the flattering and alluring costumes she could have devised if only Eleni's revelation had come a day sooner.

That she was awarded one of the prizes which the over-bountiful joon handed out during the evening was smal consolation for seeing in the New Year with a ping-pong ball taped to her nose.

And when, after Auld Lang Syne, many people hugged and kissed her as they wished her a happy New Year, jihoon confined himself to shaking hands.

Ten days later he asked her if she would like to be on the bridge when the yacht entered Sydney's famous harbour.
Jenna accepted the invitation eagerly, but she didn't delude herself that it had any special significance. Throughout the voyage from Fiji he had never been more than ordinarily friendly; and she had failed to think of any way she could make plain that there wasn't and never had been a man in Korea who had held her heart, even briefly.
Eleni, too, was still in a state of suspense. She couldn't bring herself to force youngji's hand by telling him she loved him. She felt that her presence on Ocean Wanderer spoke for itself. The rest was up to him.