TALK OF THE TOWN HOW THE TWO OF YOU MET
SYNOPSIS: You planned a solo trip to Malaysia in an effort to get away from your family pervasive efforts of prying into your love life. Unbeknownst to you, the love of your life – whom you have yet to meet- is staying at the same resort for a friend’s wedding.
You checked yourself in at the Royal Villa Four Seasons Langkawi in Malaysia. “I need to get away”- You justified your solo trip. The white sandy beach and soaring limestone cliffs were a welcomed sight. The luxury of the resort was the feeling of never feeling crowded. You looked forward to going on long walks, relaxing in your villa, and enjoying the scenery.
Nighttime came and you were restless. You checked in on your friends, talked for hours on end and by the end of the calls your body still did not weaver. Its 3am and you wondered what the resort looked like at this time. You changed into a cotton fitted tee, long floral skirt and beach sandals. Took your paper shoot camera and decided that you would capture the spectacular view of the resort. You captured everything from the view of your villa which showed a glimpse of the sea, a few mirror selfies, your upper pavilion bathroom, the landscaped grounds, and everything in between as you made your destination towards the beach. The beach looked deserted from the lens of your camera. You continued walking and in the distance, stood a figure. Ethereal looking. Unreal. You lowered your camera to find that he’s much closer than you thought. He turns his head to face you.
He’s taken aback and gives you a warm smile. You don’t want to be rude so you give him an awkward smile and hastily try to walk past him.
“How to Disappear?” he says from behind you.
You turn your head to find him smiling again with a huge grin on his face. His voice was comforting and he had a distinct accent. This time you had the chance to observe him. He’s tall, has broad shoulders, obviously older than you, and you couldn’t help but think to yourself that he looks animated – just unreal. It then occurred to you that you did not answer this man.
“Gwaenchan euseyo, I mean are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m so sorry. You must think I’m rude”
“Not at all. So you are y/n?”
“Yeah that’s me. Although not a lot people liked or understood how to disappear” you defend your underrated work.
“I loved it” he reassured you.
There is awkward silence.
“Um I should get going. I…”
“I saw you taking pictures. I can take your pictures if you do not mind” he says politely as he gestures at your camera.
He laughs with a nod. He walks toward you to take the camera from your hands. You notice his long fingers and the slight feel of his touch leaves you giddy but you keep yourself composed. He holds the camera up and suddenly lowers it with an intrigued look on his face.
“Do you want to wait for sunrise?”
He nods enthusiastically.
“So what do I do until then?” you asked.
“We can sit and wait. If that’s okay with you”
You respond to his proposal by lowering yourself to sit on the sand and he follows suit.
“My name Ji Chul”. He extends his sandy hand.
“y/n” you say as you shake his hand.
“Well you know what I do for a living, what about you?”
“Oh I get paid to bring things to life”
“Like an art restorer?” you ask.
He laughs again and the two of you begin a playful banter as he alludes to his job description. The more he spoke, the more you focused on the details of his face. How childlike he appeared when he smiled and how it didn’t match the rest of his physique. Eventually he gave in and revealed that he’s an actor. You were partially surprised because although he looked the part, you always thought of actors as shallow and conceited.
“So what brings you here?”
“Are you the groom?” you almost shouted.
“No just a friend of the groom” He dawned a grim expression.
“I’m happy for him. I… just hate that people will ask me when I plan on getting married”.
“You know more people are opting out when it comes to marriage. You don’t have to walk down a path just because people expect you too”.
“Let me guess. You feel as though no one deserves you”.
“No I just want someone who is as devoted as I am. I don’t take marriage lightly. If I get married I don’t plan on getting divorced”.
He went on to describe the pressure he is experiencing from his family and how it seems to be getting worse with each year. You tried to cheer him up by mentioning that if he behaves this openly and vulnerably with every woman he dates he should have no trouble finding someone to marry.
“I’m not usually like this. It’s only because I know that you would rather choose yourself and be alone in unfamiliar territory than to pretend to be happy for familiar faces. That’s why I liked how to disappear”.
You were deeply touched but you couldn’t face him, so instead you looked at the sand in front of you. You could sense his gaze on you so you changed the subject by remarking on how beautiful the beach was.
“What about you?” he breaks the tension.
“What about me?” you slowly turn your head to face him.
“Why are you here?” he asks with his eyes firmly on yours
“It’s my well-deserved break”
“You’re here with family and friends?” he asks.
“No my friends were busy and my family is who I need a break from” you joked.
“What does a successful author do with her time?”
You talked briefly about your life, interests outside of work and even mentioned fears for the future”.
“You look at life negatively” he remarks
“It hasn’t always been sunshine and daisies”.
“I know where we can find them” he says.
“Daisies. You can take pictures with them when the sun rises”.
He stands and offers his hand to assist you with getting up on your feet. You accept and he leads you towards where he spotted the daisies. You notice your height difference as your walking beside him. He looks focused and determined.
“Over there” he points to a small sunflower flower pot.
You walk towards it and he picks one up and gestures that he wants to position it behind your ear. You hesitate at first but allow him to do so.
“We should get back. The sun will rise soon”.
He turns and heads back to the beach. You follow right behind him and remind your senses not to be swayed so easily. The sun was indeed about to rise. He has your camera ready and gestures that you stand next to the sea. You’re nervous as you believe you’re un-photogenic. Still, you face your camera and do what you always do. He snaps away and even moves around like a professional photographer. You laugh because it amuses you. He captures you, the sunrise and the sea in all your glory. The sun is now up and he tells you to greet the sun good morning. You can’t control your blush and continues to snap away.
“I hope you like them. I’m not the best photographer”. He says approaching you to hand you back your camera.
“Thank you. I’m sure they are lovely”.
“Uh…So uh. Are you busy later today? Because I thought maybe you’d like to, you know, um go to my friend’s wedding with me. You don’t have to take it serious. I just don’t want you to feel alone because, you know you said you’re here alone”.
‘So this is how he looks when he’s nervous. How cute’ you thought to yourself.
“Thank you for the invitation but I don’t think that would be appropriate”.
“But we can meet afterwards at the Kelapa Grill for dinner. Let’s say at 19:00. I’ll make a reservation under sunflower”.
“I’ll be there” he blushes.
“I look forward to it. See you then” you turn to the opposite direction to walk away but then you get an idea.
CLICK. You’ve captured a photo of him.
“It’s only fair” you say as you run away and in the background you hear him laugh.
“SEE YOU THEN” you shout once more from the distance.
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