The love story of Lee Seon-jae and Oh Hye-won of the top Korean drama series 'Secret Love Affair' continues...
This story is dedicated to my friend and visual collaborator Tess Angeles, whose edited pictures are almost as beautiful as her sweet natu...
Sharing such stirring sentiment meant that sleep was not top of the agenda for the couple when they had cleared away their tea things and by mutual agreement, they moved to the piano. Playing for each other was a great pleasure for both and Seon-jae especially liked to play tricky passages that had been testing him that day to get feedback and advice from Hye-won. Sometimes, it was just the act of playing the section again that helped but often, she would make a suggestion or they would talk through the snag and find a workable solution. These sessions might just take a short period of minutes but some evenings, they spent a few hours, playing for, and often, with, each other.
Tonight, Seon-jae took her hand and led her to sit comfortably on the sofa, telling her that he wanted to play one of the Chopin Études that he was working on - the Opus 10, no 6 - then he caught her eye cheekily: 'maybe it will remind you of something else I once played for you.'
The sonorous, lulling sounds of the étude began - a sparse, restrained melody in the right hand won over by the more persuasive, smoothly-changing, arpeggiated chords in the left, inducing a mood of thoughtful contemplation - and Hye-won found herself back in Day 1 - listening to Seon-jae playing, hardly able to believe what her ears and eyes - every sense really, if I'm honest - were telling her. Now, as then, she allowed her gaze to travel downwards to where his feet rested away from the pedals and recalled herself asking - why don't you play the pedals? - and the response, surprising in its assurance - to hear between the notes. She remembered her small snort of appreciative mirth. Again, Seon-jae used almost no pedal and produced a still clearness in the sound that was attractively child-like - a clean sound somehow. Hye-won closed her eyes, immersing herself, a gentle smile - of recollection, as well as enjoyment - playing across her face.
When the music faded, she took a moment - eyes closed - to emerge from her trance but murmured as she did, 'so Chopin...between the notes again?' She heard it - of course she did. She heard a light chuckle, as Seon-jae wordlessly shared her memory. Opening her eyes, she looked at his lowered head nodding as he sat slowly rubbing his long, splayed fingers together, a smile of pleasure playing on his features too and then he lifted his eyes to hers and their thoughts were obvious to each other - a lifetime ago - I know.
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Bed beckoned more readily after that and soon, they were nestled in cosy comfort, Seon-jae's cheek resting lightly on Hye-won's chest - his hand fanned across her navel - while she stroked his head, hypnotically. No more was said for now, as they both thought back over the evening, then Seon-jae's voice sounded, low and rumbling through her rib-cage: 'why do people even set up such stupid websites anyway?'
Easy to see the photo is still pre-occupying his thoughts - 'for fun, I suppose - maybe some people are happy to share everything online with strangers?'
Her quizzical tone made it clear that she could not understand this sentiment, then her hand paused in its thoughtful rubbing and her voice came to his ears, quieter than before: 'being private doesn't mean the same thing to everyone.'
