13 Yunjae Kang

"Ms. Yanee Lee, it's me!"

Huh?

Yanee's eyes widened in shock as the realization hit her.

Yunjae Kang. The beautiful woman was indeed waving at her, and she's the one she came here to meet and interview.

Oh dear God…

She nervously looked at the thin strap of platinum on her wrist to check the time and was confused to see that it was still thirty minutes before their meeting time. She came early to check out the place and to choose a good spot that's good for a conversation, but it seemed it was still not early enough.

Seeing her perplexity, the beautiful woman let out a chuckle as she walked towards her, and touched her arm.

"Relax Yanee – I can call you Yanee, right?"Yunjae asked and the other was not able to do anything else but nod as she let herself be ushered towards the table. "I really came here very early as I'm very excited to meet you."

Huh? What's going on?

Yanee was totally confused as Yunjae made her sit on the chair and then sat on the opposite side. The table they chose was the one under the stairs with the very cute fish chandelier above them.

"I know it's too early for dinner, but you're not against very late snacks, right?" Mrs. Kang asked her in a very friendly manner.

Yanee who had finally recovered from her initial surprise finally returned the smile. It's only half-past five in the afternoon. They were supposed to meet at six, and so yes, it was early. She's not against having snacks though.

"Y-yes. I was actually thinking of having something while waiting for you," she said sheepishly.

Yunjae Kang seemed to realize why she was flustered laughed again. "Sorry again for coming so early. I didn't have anything to do today and I was really looking forward to finally meeting you."

Huh?

She didn't understand why, but the way Yunjae talked was as if she knew a lot of things about Yanee, and that she had been waiting to see her for a long, long time.

"Er… Thank you," Yanee said, although she was not really sure if that was the correct reply. However, Mrs. Kang didn't mind, and so she felt relieved.

"The homemade tarts here are good," Yunjae told her, and Yanee nodded in agreement.

She had actually read about the café's specialty before coming here and was planning to try it out as she waited. Seeing as the other seemed to want to have some as well, she didn't hesitate to order tarts with their house tea.

She liked coffee, but she preferred to have tea today as she needed to be able to sleep properly. She reckoned, she'd just indulge with coffee when she started writing later, back in Japan. Working on a book she hated, she'd need the boost of caffeine in her system.

"Wow, they really look nice," Yanee commented as soon as the pastries were served. Totally enticed by the smell and visual of the food, she picked up a tart and bit on it.

Surprise and delight lit up her face, making Mrs. Kang laugh at her again.

"It's so good, right? I'm a regular here," the beautiful housewife confessed. "It's my guilty pleasure. Sometimes I get carried away I could eat a whole box of this in one sitting."

With her words, Yanee finally laughed, her body relaxing.

So, it was the tart! She was wondering why Mrs. Kang hurried to their meeting place. She thought it was something else, but as it turned out she was crazy about the café's pastries.

"I'm so sorry for being rude. I didn't really introduce myself properly Mrs. Kang," Yanee said apologetically, but the other waved her apology away.

"It's fine – and it's Yunjae. You don't have to be so formal with me. After all," her voice trailed off as mischief danced in her beautiful doe eyes. "We are going to be discussing a very private matter."

Yanee smiled. She didn't know why, but hearing this made her blush. She was right, of course. They would be discussing personal matters, and so, it would be better for them to be at ease with each other.  Her gaze settled on the pretty lady in front of her and she wondered how lucky she was again that the first woman she would interview was this friendly.

In spite of the fact that she still disliked this assignment, at least she wouldn't be so stressed with the process – not to mention that she felt she's being pampered as well.

"It's still early compared to the time we discussed Yunjae. Would you like to do the interview earlier too since we're both here already?" she asked after finishing her second tart.

Yunjae smiled but shook her head. "Actually, I planned to meet you here but not have the interview itself in the café."

Ha?

Yanee was dumbfounded, but thinking about it, it made sense. She had thought she would be doing the interview at the place, although she had to admit it would be tricky since the café seemed popular and it wouldn't be comfortable to talk about personal things.

"Where would you like to transfer then?" she asked, and as if the other was waiting for her to throw that question, Yunjae grinned.

"Somewhere we can be totally comfortable," she answered enigmatically before ushering Yanee out of the place towards her waiting car.

"Don't worry, it's a nice place," Yunjae told her as soon as they got in the vehicle.

Soon, the vehicle stopped in a huge private residence in Gangnam, and Yanee was totally impressed. Having a property in this area in Seoul was like a status symbol to the locals, and owning a huge one such as this was amazing. But what amazed the writer more was the Olympic-size pool in the yard.

Er…

Then she remembered that Yunjae was the wife of Jinho Kang, a former athlete and owned different businesses related to sports.

"It's big, right?" Yunjae asked with a grin, referring to the pool as they stepped out of the car. "We're training our kids to be swimmers too," she added as she ushered Yanee inside of her three-story mansion.

Yanee trailed after the beautiful lady as her eyes appreciated the place. The house was big but very homey. It's not one of those palace-like places that seemed so cold and distant. Yunjae Kang's house was an epitome of a well-lived and loved home.

Soon, the two of them sat at the balcony on the second floor. Yunjae had asked one of the maids to bring them drinks and more of the tarts they Mrs. Kang bought from the café, as well as other snacks.

Yanee, sensing that the interview would start soon, took out her voice recorder, notebook, and pen.

Seeing as she was prepared, Yunjae Kang smiled mischievously at her. "Are you that eager to hear my love story?" she teased.

Yanee smiled. "Well, I'm sure it would be a very interesting story," she admitted.

Even if she was not a fan of romance, Yanee had to admit that she became curious about her life upon seeing her.

"Your editor said you're not a fan of romance. Won't you be stressed listening to me blab on about my life?"Mrs. Kang added, surprising Yanee.

WHAT? She couldn't believe the potato told her that. She laughed nervously.

"That's not really true. I'm okay listening to other people's stories. I'm just not a fan of romance for myself. I'm planning to be single for long while," Yanee told her, making Yunjae laugh.

"I hope not. You'll make the man who likes you cry when he hears that," Yunjae told her meaningfully, but she didn't really understand what she meant by that.

"I assure you that there's no such man like that," Yanee told her matter-of-factly, but Mrs. Kang just smiled at her again.

"Oh well, are you ready?" Yunjae asked, and when Yanee nodded, she smiled again as she turned to look at the swimming pool below. "My story is about a butterfly…"

Yanee inclined her head as if she misheard. "A butterfly?" she prompted, and Yunjae nodded with a smile as she looked at her this time.

"That's right. A broken butterfly…" Yunjae Kang added before beginning her story.