Sad Korean Love Story
Part 17 to 18

What I Did For Love Part 1,2,3 | 4,5,6 | 7,8,9 | 10,11 | 12 | 13,14 |
15,16 | 17,18 | 19,20 | 21,22 | 23,24 | 25,26 | 27,28 | 29.30 | 31,32 | 33 | 34,35 | 36

Part 17

I finally made it to Chejudo, Korea. I didn’t know where to look for Ji Won so anywhere is fine. I was never a lucky person. I couldn’t find any signs of Ji Won there so I traveled to Inchun City.
My search for Ji Won continued for another year. During that time I had traveled to many cities like Guam, Pusan, etc. It must have been a gift from God because one day my search was over…

November 21, 1998
I had just finish my overtime shift at the Nam Hotel. It was pretty ironic because my whole family spend their lives working in hotels and the biggest hotel in Seoul has our family name. I went into the workers' lounge to take a break and pour myself some tea. I sat down and read the headlines.

‘Sechskies are to open a conference broadcasting live on Channel 6 today’ I rolled my eyes. Not them again. They were the notorious mafia lead by Matthew Eun. I shuddered. I can’t believe the leader has the same last name as my beloved Ji Won.

Actually Sechskies was controlled by 6 leaders. They committed a lot of crimes and were always challenging the authorities. They had a lot of power and no one could take their pictures without their consent. However, a lot of people knew what they looked like. I didn’t care. I was too busy looking for Ji Won to notice them.

A fellow worker named So Kyung Hee came in.
“Hey,” she said, patting me lightly on the knee.
“On break?” I took a sip and nodded.
“Me too,” she said smiling. I smiled back at her. Kyung Hee was actually one of the nicest people at the hotel. Most of them are cold and distant and are just worried about how much tips they can get. Kyung Hee picked up the TV remote and turned to Channel 6.
“Hey Mina, they are supposed to show the Sechskies conference today. I wonder how they look like.” I nodded and watched with her. When the clock struck 9, I felt my heart had stopped and it was not from my heart problems. I stared at the face that was giving a cocky smile to the camera. Ji Won. Slowly the camera pulled out revealing the 5 other leaders of Sechskies. I recognized Sung Hoon. He and Ji Won looked completely different but I still recognized them. Ji Won had his hair dyed completely blonde while Sung Hoon’s hair was streaked. Kyung Hee and I watched them in silence as they began to talk. Ji Won and the others introduced themselves. Then the camera pointed directly at Ji Won.

To most people he would appear to be like an evil gang leader but in my eyes he was a beautiful angel. If it was ever possible, Ji Won looked finer than ever before.
“Mina, are you okay?” asked Kyung Hee, as she waved a hand in front of my face.
“Huh?” I asked looking at her.
“Oh, I’m fine. Just listening to what they have to say.” I pointed to Ji Won on the screen.
“Who is he?”
“That’s Matthew Eun,” she answered me. I stared at Ji Won somemore. He had changed his name and so did Sung Hoon. No wonder I couldn’t find them. Kyung Hee caught me staring so she smiled at me.
“The leader is cute huh?” I blushed.
“Yeah.”
“Too bad in real life he’s such a jerk.”
“He is not!” I yelled at her. Kyung Hee scooted her seat away in shock. I apologized right away.
“Sorry Kyung Hee, I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
She had a confused look on her face but she said, “Uh, it’s okay Mina.”
I pulled a finger to my lips.
“Shh… Let’s listen to what they have to say…” Ji Won began talking.
“This is Sechskies speaking to all you losers out there watching us. We just want to say that we’re open to hiring new ‘employees’. We usually travel around to our many hotels but you’ll find us if you have the right connections. Also a word to the police of Korea. Why are you picking on us?“ Ji Won asked sarcastically. “We’re good, law-abiding citizens.” Ji Won folded his hands together and gave a little bow. Then all of the Sechskies leaders started laughing.
“Oh my gosh! Look at him!” yelled Kyung Hee and pointed to Sung Hoon on the T.V. screen.
“Look at that stupid smile and that perverted laugh. Kekeke…” Kyung Hee made a poor impression of Sung Hoon’s laugh and it made me laugh.
‘Geez’, I thought.
‘Sung Hoon would kill her if he knew she made fun of his trademark smile’. The show ended a little too soon for me but Ji Won did say he would be visiting many hotels and the hotel I'm working for is the biggest one of them all. He has to come here. I went back to work and waited for him to come.

Part 18

Ji Won entered the main doors of the Nam Hotel and headed towards the lobby. He let out a sigh. Being in a hotel brought a lot of memories back to him. He remembered how he would take Mina to the hotels to trash it or slide down the long stairway banisters. But those carefree days are over. His only love had died and he no longer has the heart to love anyone else.

Ever since the news of Mina’s death, Ji Won began to develop a passion for anything he thinks is related to her. The things include stuff like her hairbrush, the same type of lip gloss she uses, her little respirator, etc. There were times when he had to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation if there's no respirator around. Ji Won smiled as he remembered that she had told him that she gave him her first kiss. Mina never went out with any guys so it made him really happy but he also found it very strange. He didn’t want to give her any ideas about dating other guys so he never asked.

Ji Won had changed his name to Matthew. It’s to symbolize that Ji Won died with Mina and Matthew replaced him. He chose the name Matthew because of Mina’s initial ‘M’ and if anyone asked, the ‘M’ represents Matthew. Sung Hoon wanted to change his name to Ricky but Ji Won wouldn’t let him. Ji Won only allowed him to change it if it had the letter ‘M’ so Sung Hoon ended up changing it to Mickey instead.

“Hey hyung! Over here!” shouted Sung Hoon. Ji Won looked over at his five friends. He walked over to them and was surprised at what he saw.
“What the hell is this?” he asked angrily. Every single one of them had a girl in each arms.
“What do you guys think you’re doing?” he asked as he strode over to them.
“Come on hyung,” said Jae Duc.
“Lighten up.”
“Yeah,” said Jae Jin.
“We worked hard all day and now let’s have a little fun.” Ji Won rolled his eyes and then he saw two girls wrap their arms around him. He smiled. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Alright!” they all shouted. They like it when Ji Won is in a good mood.

From where I was standing, I felt as though someone had stabbed me with a knife. Ji Won looked so happy with those 2 girls sitting on both sides of his lap. I stared at my reflection in the hotel mirror. Big, glassy eyes, pale skin and waist-length black hair. I looked kind of like a ghost. 'Not much to look at,' I thought sighing sadly. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder and I slowly turned around.

What I Did For Love Part 1,2,3 | 4,5,6 | 7,8,9 | 10,11 | 12 | 13,14 |
15,16 | 17,18 | 19,20 | 21,22 | 23,24 | 25,26 | 27,28 | 29.30 | 31,32 | 33 | 34,35 | 36