Windows of The Heart

Chapter Thirty-Four MARRY ME, RIELLE Recommended background music: I Cry by Westlife

In her vision, Rielle was quiet in the car, sniffling and recalling the film Hwan Chul showed them. She felt helpless because she wanted to return to that time. If only she could remember that event with Hwan Chul, nothing in her mind would come out. In her eagerness to remember that occasion, imagining that scene Hwan Chul and she was dancing happily and lovingly, she banged her head with her clasped fist, crying out loud that Hyun-Ki forcibly stops the car and hold Rielle's hand to keep from hurting herself.

"Why can't I remember that huh? What was Hwan Chul doing to me? Is that real? Or did he film it using filters to show that I was there, Hyun??! Answer me, please!!!" Hyun-Ki could not give her a logical answer. Instead, he hugged her to comfort her from crying.

Hyun-Ki droves home after she stopped crying, and a deafening silence stood between them until Rielle alighted from Hyun-Ki's car. While standing by the gate, waiting to open, Hyun-Ki was caressing her hair, comforting her without speaking. And when Mrs. Calma opened the gate, Hyun-Ki bowed to Rielle's mom as he greeted her and left quietly.

Mrs. Calma cannot understand how the two looked, asking herself if they had a petty quarrel. "Rielle, has anything bad come between you and Hyun-Ki? You are both so quiet as if you are both grieving." And no answer came from Rielle, so the mother continued, "Has someone died?" and that particular question made Rielle reply: "I wish!" came her angry tone.

Mrs. Calma was shocked! And as she wanted to ask again, Rielle dashed to her bedroom, lay in her bed face down, weeping again. Sitting on her bed reading a book, Donna was troubled by her constant crying.

"What's the matter, Rielle? Why are you crying your heart out?" asked Donna with a worried tone.

"I wish I were dead! I wish no one had been saved from that accident you told me! And now look at me (turning her head to Donna). I would have been better off but dead!" Mrs. Calma, who followed to her room, and Donna became hesitant about what they heard from Rielle.

"Have the two of you broke up, Rielle? Why did you mention the accident? Did something happen to you or what, Rielle? Explain to us and make us understand!" Mrs. Calma was already anxious and angry at Rielle's comment.

"It was about Hwan Chul, mom!" as she was to continue, Mrs. Calma interrupted her nervously. "Hwan Chul? What about Hwan Chul? Is he alive?" Just mentioning his name made Mrs. Calma angry.

"It's a long story, mom, but the thing is, I do not nor cannot remember him, but he was insistent that we were once lovers, that I accepted him as my boyfriend during that Prom Night, which I can never recall either!" Rielle was very angry and kept on crying helplessly. Mrs. Calma took hold of her shoulders and asked angrily: "Where and how did you meet? Why is he now disturbing your peace? Tell me!" Rielle cannot speak because he was also thinking of Hyun-Ki's situation; once they know about his relationship with Hwan Chul, all hell would break loose!

"Mom, let me take care of this, okay? I was crying now because I felt so bad. he accused me of losing him, like cheating on him, you know, because of another man! But what would I know when I cannot honestly and sincerely remember him!" Mrs. Calma walked out of the room, then a little later, she had with her a plastic bag, and inside it was Rielle's things she had carried with her during that fatal accident. Mrs. Calma handed it to her, already in tears. Rielle stared at her mom with furrowed brows, then intently looked at the plastic bag and took out a purse covered with dried blood. Rielle flinched and dropped the purse covered in blood. She looked so scared and flustered.

"What is this mom, why did you keep this silly thing, and you didn't even bother to wash it?" Rielle uttered in bewilderment. "What does this thing have to do with me?"

"That was your purse when they rescued you in that fatal car accident, and I didn't wash it to make me and you even remember that tragic incident because that incident almost made me die, Rielle, and you were almost dying when the ambulance picked you up, together with that Hwan Chul boy!" Mrs. Calma said with ferocity. Rielle picked it up again and looked inside it. The first thing she took from the bag was a passport also covered in blood. As she was browsing the pages, a flash came into her vision.

The face of Hwan Chul appeared in her vision, giving her the passport for their elopement. "Elope?" Gabrielle repeatedly said the word, which made her sit on the floor and try to pull together the key and the voice that said, 'we will elope.' Mrs. Calma was disturbed by what she heard from Rielle. "You and Hwan Chul thought of eloping? With that passport meaning going out of the country??!" Mrs. Calma now got the first piece of the cause of their accident.

"Rielle, you must try to pick up the pieces of this mystery that brought you and Hwan Chul into that accident! You said yourself that Hwan Chul is alive, right? He showed up after all these years! I must see him, Rielle; I must find out what happened!" Rielle worried because it would only complicate things, and she didn't want to drag Hyun-Ki into this trouble. Now she regretted letting them know about Hwan Chul. 'Me and my big mouth!' in her thoughts. Rielle put back the passport and the blooded purse in the plastic bag, placed it under her pillow, thinking it might help open her senses and then went to bed for the night.

While lying in her bed, she felt so worried about Hyun-Ki. 'no, he must be out of this,' she thought told her. And she dreamed of another vision when her eyes were about to fall to slumber. She saw in her eyes the idea of that fatal accident and looked grim and terrified when she saw Hwan Chul drenched in blood and herself profusely bleeding. She wanted to scream but felt excruciating pain all over her body, and she could not move. Her head felt tied to the car seat, and her feet felt like a heavy rock had run over them. She was crying as she saw Hwan Chul bloodied over and not breathing anymore. She was awakened by her sisters Zia and Donna, breathing heavily with a deep moan.

Zia was shaking her to break from that bad dream, and when she did, she took short deep breaths like she was chased after. Donna dashed to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. When she was awake and recovered from that dream, she wept. Donna tapped her back, comforting her, encouraging her to tell of her vision. She only said a tiger chased her; she lied because she didn't want to complicate things unless the pieces of her memory were complete.

The following day, it was already past eight, and Rielle was still fast asleep when a doorbell rang. Donna thought it could be Hyun-Ki's driver to pick up Rielle, but when she opened the gate, a messenger with a bouquet of lavender stood. He asked for Rielle to sign and receive the praise as per instruction from the sender. Zia dashed to Rielle and woke her up.

"There's a messenger instructed that you have to sign and receive the package personally, so better stand up and do as well, Rielle," Zia commanded. Rielle stood up, rubbing her sleepy eyes, flailing her arms, and kicking her legs to keep herself get up to her feet, and when she met the messenger, she happily smiled when Rielle read the 'I missed you' note because she knew who sent the bouquet. After signing and taking the scent, Rielle decided to dress up. She hurriedly ran to the bathroom, dressed casually, and brought the compliment; she called for a cab and bid her mom goodbye. They wondered where she was going but said she'd be back tonight.

Rielle arrived at Hyun-Ki's condo. She unlocked the door knowing the password of the place, and then looked around, thinking about what she would do. She first put the lavender flowers in the vase and placed them in the living area. She wanted to surprise Hyun-Ki, so she looked inside the fridge and, in the cupboards, before going to the supermarket and preparing a good meal for them both. After shopping, she decided to make clean-up up the place. She changed her clothes, wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt, and then began. She vacuumed the living, dining, and bedrooms floor, then dusted the furniture pieces and glass windows. Lunchtime came, so she prepared her green salad and fried some bacon, then started marinating her rosemary chicken for baking at six in the evening, on time for Hyun-Ki's coming home. After her chores in the kitchen, she took a shower and changed into fresh clothes. Later thinking the time was long, she took a nap in the bedroom.

At Hyun-Ki's Office that morning, Hyun-Ki's mood was hard to tell. He was quiet, and his energy was low. He was not the same as when he was with Rielle. He seated himself by his desk, his face looking severe when Alexis knocked and entered his Office.

"Sir, I think Miss Rielle is not coming today. Here is your today's schedule, Sir. Would you like me to enumerate them to you?" Alexis is somehow nervous seeing him so severe and doesn't even smile.

"No, never mind, Alexis. Did she call?" asked Hyun-Ki.

"She didn't, Sir. That's why I took this chance to tell you today's schedule that you might want to know. And you have no appointments for today, too, Sir." Alexis said.

"That's better then. And by the way, will you inform my brother that I would want to see him here in my Office right now." Demanded Hyun-Ki.

Hyun-Ki could not concentrate on the papers he was working on; his mind was full of Rielle. He thought Rielle seemed distant; was it because she was bothered by Hwan Chul's inexplicable behaviors? He put away his pen, set aside the papers he was studying, and stopped what he was doing. He stood up, looked by the window, and thought deeply when Hwan Chul came in.

"You called for me, Hyeong?" asked Hwan cautiously.

"Yes, Chul namdongsaeng, let's talk." Hyun-Ki said. Looking at his brother eye-to-eye, Hyun-Ki warned Chul, "Stop all this nonsense, Chul. You're not getting anywhere and adding more fear and injury to Rielle than good." Hyun-Ki was pleading for Rielle's peace of mind.

"No, I can't. I love Rielle, Hyun. How can I give up someone like Gabrielle?" insisted Hwan.

"Don't you think it was fate that stopped you two with your plan of eloping? Look it this way. Your passport was why you had to go back home only to see dad there waiting for you when you thought Dad was in the main Office all that time. And remember what you told me? That the worst part was when dad told you that Chun-Hei and her family were there making arrangements for your wedding with her. And when you refused, Chun-Hei revealed in front of Gabrielle that you were cheating on her, that every time you and Rielle had some misunderstandings or when you quarreled and stayed away from her for weeks, that's the time you were spending time with Chun-Hei, right? That's what you told me, Chul. And what was painful for Rielle to hear was dad insulting her in front of the guests and calling her a gold-digger! It was you who related that to me, Chul! Wasn't the worst thing to happen to Gabrielle adding to her injured heart to know that you cheated on her?"

Hwan can't say anything. Yes, it was true. She hurt her, and they accused her as a gold-digger. And Hyun-Ki continued to strike his conscience and his guilt.

"Have you never thought or analyzed the facts around Rielle's loss of her memory? Why of all people, it was you whom she can never remember? The person she learned to love and trust only to discover that you cheated on her? Don't you think that the time you were arguing in the car triggered her emotions to get angry at you to the point of hating you? That when she was unconscious for six months, her brain was already burying deep and locking in her consciousness her memory of you because of the feeling of hurt, the pain, and the suffering she endured that you caused her?"

Silence stood between them until Hwan felt the guilt that he once denied and now came to haunt him. He could no longer hold himself, for he was full of emotions; his tears kept falling, causing him to cry for shame, sorrow, and regret. Hyun-Ki embraced his brother to comfort him, giving him his compassion and sympathy.

Hyun-Ki felt so tired and down that day because Rielle was not around. For him, Rielle keeps him on track in his Office routine and makes him active and high-spirited in everything he does; but today is different, he missed Rielle, and he cannot focus on his activities for the day. He wanted to call her, but she might not take the call because of her behavior last night. It is very lean that she might take his call, so it's enough for him to send that bouquet.

"Sir, will I fetch Rielle tomorrow?" asked Junie.

"I'll call you. I am not sure if Rielle's well enough to work." Hyun-Ki replied.

Junie parked the car in the basement after Hyun-Ki alighted. After Junie gave back the car keys to him, he took the elevator, and when he reached the floor, he unlocked the door of his condo. He was startled when Hyun-Ki saw the living area's lights on. He padded into the center and saw the lavender in the vase. He felt excited, feeling that Rielle was here in his place. He walked into the bedroom, and there she was, fast asleep. He grinned and padded close to Rielle, lay beside her body, and hugged her warmly and tightly. Rielle was startled at first but recognizing Hyun-Ki, she smiled meekly and returned his embrace.

"What made you come here, Sweetheart?" whispering gently.

"Don't you like me here? I can go home now." She replied in a provocative tone.

"I'll let you after I make love with you." Hyun-ki is in a romantic mood and starts kissing her passionately. "I missed you so much, Rielle, and I thought I won't hold you like this for a longer time." And he continued kissing her, touching her, until their emotions consumed them.

An hour later, Rielle remembered her marinated Rosemary Chicken. She rose, sprinting towards the kitchen. Her lady amused Hyun-Ki, and the more he admired and adored her. Hyun-Ki rose from the bed and looked at what Rielle was doing. He was watching her adorably and thought of capturing her on his camera. When it was about time to take the chicken out of the oven, Rielle accidentally burned her finger while trying to pull the tray out of the range.

"Ouch! I think I burned my finger!" sobbing like a child, teasing Hyun-Ki while Hyun-Ki was nervously worried about her accident. He blew her fingers, kissed them, and thought of applying an ointment, but Rielle stopped and kissed him instead. "I missed you so much, Hyun." They embraced again, and then, all of a sudden, Hyun-Ki whispered:

"Marry me, Rielle. Marry me?" Hyun-Ki stared at her, looking into her eyes, and repeated, "Marry me. Will you marry me, Rielle?" Rielle was at a loss of words. She kept her eyes on Hyun-Ki and said, "I cannot marry you, Hyun-Ki until my problem is resolved with Hwan Chul not ." Hyun-Ki was displeased at Rielle's revelation.

"Are you happy with me, Rielle?" Feeling disappointed, Hyun-Ki avoided her eyes, asking her, "Do you love me?" Hyun-Ki is looking unhappy now, waiting for Rielle's answer.

"I love you so much, Hyun. It's just that ---" Hyun-Ki interrupted her. "It is because of Hwan Chul! It is because of Hwan – Chul!!" Hyun-Ki was cursing in his language, which Rielle could not understand, but she knew he was cursing.

Hyun-Ki stood by the glass window, feeling hurt and disappointed, and had never thought that Rielle would decline his short proposal. Rielle stood behind him and put her arms around his waist, sobbing and sniffling.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you; I'm sorry if I hurt your pride, Love. I love you so ---" but Hyun-Ki stopped her. "Please don't add more hurt to injury, Rielle. Let us finish your chicken, and I'll bring you home." Both were not on speaking terms while eating, and Hyun-Ki avoided his eyes on Rielle.

When they finished eating, Rielle was collecting the dishes to wash them, but Hyun-Ki stopped her. "I'll do that later. Let us go; they must be waiting for you now." Said Hyun. Rielle was devastated by Hyun-Ki's attitude toward her. She felt so heartbroken. She felt like she was stabbed directly to her heart. She was on the verge of tears, but she didn't want Hyun-Ki to see her in this state.

"I'm coming tomorrow ready to work, Hyun." She said with a lump in her throat. Hyun-Ki stayed focused on his driving, still not minding her words. When they stopped by Rielle's house, Hyun-Ki only said a few words, "Junie will fetch you tomorrow." That's all he said, leaving without waiting for Rielle to enter the gate.