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When she exited the cafe, the figure couched in shadows waiting for her by the corner of the building on her route back home did not surprise her. The zing of a thrill which followed, however, gave her momentary pause.
“Kang Kwon Joo-sshi, let me walk you back home. It is not safe so late at night,” he offered soicitiously.
She ignored him, gingerly moving past some late night revellers.
He followed but kept an arms length distance between them.
When a group of drunk men barreled past her, laughing and being rowdy, she was suddenly pulled to the side, her back going up against another person’s solid chest.
Once the group moved past, she hastily stepped away, already knowing who had pulled her aside. She simply nodded in thanks at his direction and continued her brisk walk. He followed.
Given their brief but unsavoury history, she was not at all comfortable having him so near. As it was, his presence here was alarming.
What could he still want with her?
“Mo Tae Gu-sshi, I am sure a person of your standing must be very busy, there is no need for you to accompany me back,” she said without looking at him.
“Oh, but I am also on my way back to my place, and it just so happened to be this route as well,” he answered easily.
Her steps faltered at that answer. What was he implying? The area around here was mostly populated by students and working class residents. By any stretch of the imagination, the more luxurious residential areas facing the ocean would be more his style.
His steps next to hers was a distraction she was glad to focus on as she forged on, determined to ignore him. Him being here at all did not augur well for her, and she was uncertain as to whether more drastic, but necessary steps would need to be taken when it came to protection for herself. Perhaps it would be best to confront him. While she highly doubted he would be upfront with her regarding his motivations, it would still help with her decision making.
He broke her reverie with a casual, “Tonight is a lovely evening for a romantic walk, isn’t it?” She side-eyed him, but did not deign to respond, keeping her pace brisk.
Indecision plagued her until hey were passing by the small park near her apartment. In a matter of minutes, she would be arriving at her door step. Mind made up, she stopped and turned to face him. He stopped as she did, a short arm’s length away.
Before she could say anything, however, he apologized, “Kang Kwon Joo-sshi, I am sorry for the proposition I made via my bodyguard that evening in Ulsan city, and for any distress caused. I hope you can forgive me for my trespass.”
She gazed quizzically at him, slightly nonplussed by his sudden apology. While she was appreciative of his gesture, it did not lessen her suspicions of him at all, instead increasing her concerns.
“Your proposition was highly inappropriate, unwelcomed and appalling, but it was in the past and I accept your apology,” she answered frankly. “And if you came all the way from South Korea just to apologise, consider that fracas settled. However, I sincerely wish that was not behaviour you exhibit on a regular basis, Mo Tae Gu-sshi,” she continued calmly, not hiding her distaste for his actions.
“Thank you for your understanding and acceptance, I will be forever grateful,” he replied soberly.
“I hope this means that we will no longer have anything to do with each other, and the last I will see of you. Can you promise me this, Mo Tae Gu-sshi?” she prompted boldly. There would be no use in trying to beat around the bush. The circumstances she found herself in did not lend well to attempts at diplomacy. Not when her peace of mind and safety were in question.
The answering slow, deliberately wolfish grin he returned, however, set alarm bells blaring in her mind.
“I am sorry, Kang Kwon Joo-sshi, but that is one promise I will not be able to keep. I wanted to apologize, yes, but I am standing in front of you now not because of my remorse. I am here because it is my wish to court the Mo family’s new bride. You,” he declared with a flourish.
Did she hear right? This man was clearly unhinged. She looked at him levelly, “That was not a funny joke, Mo Tae Gu-sshi.”
He returned her gaze somberly, “I have never been as earnest as I am now, Kang Kwon Joo-sshi. Why did you think I propositioned you in the first place.”
“I would not condescend to presume what goes on in the mind of a privileged man when it comes to women and sex,” her voice composed but scathing. “I have no wish to involve myself with you, and I hope you can respect that,” she continued.
He made a show of tapping his chin with his forefinger, then rejoined, “Isn’t this too early days yet, Kang Kwon Joo-sshi? I respect you deeply, and have no intention of wanting to harm you in any way, but I will not forgo the chance to woo you without even trying. In spite of what you assumed, this is not a game. I simply wish to honour my feelings for you.”
He stepped closer. Unconsciously, she took a step back. His right hand reached towards her, tracing the silhouette of her hair and face, but not touching her.
“You underestimate yourself, Kang Kwon Joo-shhi. You are not just any woman, a vessel for meaningless sex.”
“You are special. No one else has ever moved me the way you do, all in the span of minutes. Before you, I have never known temptation. What it meant to ache, to need, to want,” he whispered, deep, low and intense.
“Have ever you known the gnawing desire to feel a touch? Crave the sound of the soft, lilting voice which seduced you into forgetting yourself?” he continued, ardent and direct.
She was rooted to her spot by the mesmerising texture of his velvety voice, the lure of his words, her heart hammering in her ribs, echoing the thundering beats she could discern from his.
He stared at her, gaze ravenous and fervid. She was not certain how long they stood simply gazing at each other in the deepening darkness, spellbound by his words.
After unheeded moments, he lowered his arm. “It is late, and I am sure you are busy with your studies. Let me see you to your front door. I will leave then,” he said carefully, his tone disarming.
Throughout the short distance to her unit, his quickened breathing and elevated pulse remained etched in her mind, the rhythm to the lyrics of his words.
A tempest was brewing in her heart and mind, uninvited. He was confusing her, when all she had wanted was to dismiss him from her life. Why was he making it so difficult?
He already seemed to know which unit she was housed in, so she did not bother to hide the information from him. After unlocking the front door, she turned around to thank him.
“We are from the same home-city and should look out for each other in this foreign land, don’t you think? I will be around,” he said before turning away, leaving her standing mutely by the door.
He was not being flippant when he said he would be around.
The next afternoon, he came by with some banchan. She was ready to refuse but her housemates happened to be around, and had accepted against her half-hearted attempts to decline his good will.
He left his business card and personal contact number with the food. Her housemates had teased her about a suitor, and she could only keep quiet. The man had been frank about his objectives right from the beginning, after all.
By evening, he had come around again to invite her to dinner with the ready excuse that she would need to eat, either way. He invited her housemates along as well, giving her no leeway to reject the invitation.
Throughout that first dinner, she observed him surreptitiously as he interacted with her housemates. Mo Tae Gu was a practiced charmer, smooth and beguiling. If she was not already armed with certain knowledge and information, she might have been easily captivated too.
He reminded her of those textbook cases of highly intelligent and successful psychopaths she had read about, men (and women) who sometimes occupied the highest rungs in their societies.
More relevant to her predicament, however, was the reality that as dangerous as some of these psychopaths could be to society and the people around them, more well adjusted ones could also form intimate and meaningful attachments with a few, and go on to lead meaningful, happy and satisfactory lives.
She stared at the book opened in front of her, the words on the pages seemingly unintelligible as thoughts swirled in her mind.
He had continued his constant orbiting around her. Coming around to her apartment offering food, patronizing the cafe she worked at and at times inviting her out for lunch and dinners. He had established a friendly rapport with her housemates too.
She could not say that she welcomed his attention but she was not disgusted or fearful either. Crucially, perhaps, was the fact that she was homesick, and he represented a familiar and comforting link to their city and homeland.
Someone she could speak Korean with. And the food he regularly brought over had the taste particular to their city and region, which she could not find for herself.
He had been respectful as well, never attempting to cross the boundaries she had established with him. Well, besides the pesky fact of him ignoring her request to leave her alone. Other than that, he had only been circumspect with his words and behaviour around her. Always polite and solicitous.
While she knew intellectually that it was perhaps just a strategy he was utilizing to make her lower her defenses, practically however, it had still worked. Her many concerns about him dwindled as weeks passed.
She shook her head. It was not the time to woolgather. She still had many books to go through. Time to refocus.
Fall deepened and the days grew colder, shorter. The decisive turn in his favour came much sooner than she could have anticipated.