The Reluctant Manny

Episode Thirty-Three

Weeks went by. Every day Minji's hand felt better and better. Stitches were removed, scars were massaged, and exercises for therapy were performed three times daily.

The time finally came when Minji felt comfortable enough to sit down at her tablet again. Picking up her stylus, she began to draw strokes, practicing and warming up. As she began to draw the characters she was so familiar with, her hand began to twinge and tremble a bit.

She sighed a heavy sigh and dropped her stylus to the desk. Leaning back in her chair, she massaged her hand while frowning at the lit screen. Her strokes were still jerky and looked like they had been done by Seojun or Yejun.

Park Minji may be known as an author, comic artist, and a host of other titles, but quitter was not one of them. Her lips pursed and her eyebrows knit together as she frowned deeply and picked up the stylus once more.

She made five hundred strokes, working on her control, stopping on occasion to flex and massage her hand.

After about five hundred more, she began to see progress. She was getting the feel of it again. Her hand throbbed, and she was sure Jin would disapprove of her pushing herself so hard, but she was seeing light at the end of a dark tunnel.

Characters emerged on her screen, emulating scenes that had played out in her own life over the last few weeks. The manny caring for his small family, nursing his lady back to health, caring for her children, taking them to practices, school, never complaining, tirelessly working for the ones he loved so much.

The female lead was not exactly like Minji though. She was a bit more dense and oblivious to her manny's feelings, if just to prolong the storyline a bit. It was only at this point in the story that she was beginning to truly see the acts her manny was doing, were not out of obligation, but out of a heart filled with pure love.

Minji was glad she and Jin had not been as clueless to their own feelings. She fell more in love with him each day, with each act of kindness he did for her and the twins. Every time she recreated his acts of love in her comic, she felt more love grow in her heart.

People are prone to believe that romance and love are displayed by large acts, expensive dinners, gifts, romantic getaways, along with a plethora of other things. But Minji knew better.

It was the small things, like bringing her favorite snack to the work room each afternoon, or folding her laundry for her, making dinner so she didn't have to, picking up forgotten grocery items that were overlooked on the list, massaging her hands, shoulders, and feet, even the more blatant display of punching out her ex.

Minji knew it was all the little things that helped keep the embers of love glowing and burning. Jin was a steady man, practical in how he showed his love, and chaste in how he confessed it and showed it physically.

Her cheeks heated. Minji was attracted more and more to Jin. His handsomeness, and even just the way he carried and conducted himself made her mind drift to more salacious things than she cared to admit.

But she wasn't ready for that. She had ideals that put marriage first. Sexual acts second. Especially after Soyi's misfortunes. But Jin did not seem in a hurry to propose. They had never even discussed the idea. She had been too shy to bring it up, and he simply never mentioned it.

Her stylus tapped lightly on the side of the tablet. Maybe she needed to be bold and make the first move. Jin's day off was the next day, so perhaps she could wheedle some thoughts out of him.

* * *

"Jin, can we take the twins to the park and have a picnic today?" Minji stood at the kitchen window, looking out at the last of the spring blooms.