My Perfect Lady

He still could not recall the entire chain of events, only that they had been drinking a lot, and pulling at each other"s leg, of course. Someone had called Miya manly, and he had defended her like a stupid a.s.s in love. And then somehow, the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds had convinced him to give her a call.

Jim"s heart froze even as he recalled the incidents in his brain.

How could he be so d.a.m.ned stupid?!

He had made the call, d.a.m.n it, and he couldn"t recall what exactly it was that he had said to the girl. He hoped to heaven it wasn"t what those idiots had suggested. Had he actually told her that he liked her?

Jimmy would have held his head in his hands, when he remembered in a flash. He had lost his guts at the exact moment, and had told her that he was hungry instead. Oh, man.

This was embarra.s.sing!

He shouldn"t ever be allowed to drink in the company of those horrendous freaks!

But now that he thought about it, Jim couldn"t understand how Park fit into the entire picture. How did he know what had happened? Or that he had told Miya that he was hungry?

Wait a minute.

Unless he had made a drunk call to Park as well?

Jimmy hit his head. He must be a sad person with an even sadder life. To make a drunk call to his butler in the middle of the night. He needed to reconsider his life!

Meanwhile, Mr. Park watched the young master with slight amuse. It was evident that Jim was recalling the events of last night, and from his expression, he didn"t look happy with them too. Mr. Park was somewhat satisfied, and his anger dwindled a little.

But that didn"t mean he wouldn"t tell the guy off.

"Sit down, Jim," he said quietly, and Jim dragged a chair and sat in front of Park.

"How do you know about the call?" Jim asked as soon as he was seated, his expression beyond worried, for he had no remembrance of the rest of the night.

Mr. Park sighed.

"How do you think?"

"I made a drunk call to you too?"

Park scoffed.

"No. You made one to Miya, that was enough. She figured you were drunk, and then you told her you were hungry. She got worried and gave me a call. She was afraid you were too drunk and were probably lying in some drain. She wanted me to help her rescue you."

Jim"s face darkened.

Even if he were dead drunk, why would he be lying in a drain?

"Turns out," Mr. Park said with a bit of a chuckle, which immediately p.i.s.sed off Jimmy, "Your girl doesn"t attribute a lot of cla.s.s to you, now does she Jim? Anyway, I convinced her that you definitely wouldn"t be in a drain, and that I alone could rescue you, she needn"t come. When she was satisfied, I went to the Diamond Royale, and well, there you were, drunk and lying on the floor in a heap with all your friends. To be very short, I dragged you home after that."

Jim swallowed. He had definitely said something controversial while in the company of Park last night, that he couldn"t recall right then. That was the only explanation as to why the old man was angry with him.

"Now Jim,�� Park continued, "Not that I can"t guess, but I still want to ask. When you called Miya last night, what was it that you wanted to say?"

"Erm… She makes excellent food, I-I remembered it –"

"Jim. The truth, please."

"Don"t talk to me in that tone, Park."

Silence pervaded between the two as they stared at each other.

After a minute though, Park sighed tiredly.

"I wouldn"t have to Jim," he said in a forced, but comforting voice, "If you were using even half the brain that you usually do, I wouldn"t have to."

Looking at the exhaustion written all over the old man"s face, Jim immediately felt guilty. For someone fifty six, Park worked too hard, and was pretty much brilliant at his job. But that didn"t mean he wasn"t old.

"I"m sorry," Jim said instantly, and then looked up at the man, "But really, I don"t understand what you"re so mad about."

"Don"t you, Jim? It"s about your obsession with that girl, of course."

Jim frowned.

"What of it? And it"s not obsession, just –"

"Not obsession?! You called her in the middle of the night to confess! You kept complaining to me, all the way in the car, that she wouldn"t hug you voluntarily. And how long have you known her, sir? A day! Not to mention, we both have a pretty good idea of what her history hides. Have you considered the remotest possibility that the woman could be a spy, used by one of your enemies? Or maybe a part of the underworld? Or that the entire list of possible bride candidates that we were given to us, in the first place, was actually a fraud?"

Jim"s face lost its colour. He actually had not thought of that as a possibility.

Park grimaced.

"That look of shock…! Jim, normally, you"d take that into consideration yourself, had you not been infatuated with the girl to such an extent. Also, such a shady person is best stayed away from, till you know better. But stay away, my foot! You called to tell her you loved her!"

Jim sat stiffly at each of Park"s words, agreeing and accepting all of them. Park was right. He usually didn"t underperform. However, once he heard "loved", his face turned red and he howled disapprovingly, "Not l-love! I was going to say "I like you!" But I backed out, so it shouldn"t be a problem. And it"s not l-love, old man, just a physical thing." That"s what Garret or Hartley or someone from the gang had a.s.sured him, anyway.

"Don"t even get me started on that," Park retorted grimly, "I don"t even know why you feel that way. I don"t mean to be offending, but what"s so attractive about that girl? If you felt considerate, that, I get. But attracted?"

"Why would I feel considerate? I"m 31, not 56."

Park ignored him.

"And about the fact that you didn"t confess to her, I guess I have your gutless spine to thank. Had you not been so lousy in dealing with women, you"d have said the words. Not because you made a smart decision, but because you have no courage."

Jim didn"t know whether Park was praising him for not having gone through with the plan, or scolding him because he had acted gutless.

Park, meanwhile, continued.

"And really, young man, I"m also a.s.suming it was one of those four dumb friends of yours, who thought you should call her. Jim, I"m not asking you to distrust your closest friends, but if someday, one of them decided to go behind your back, you"d screw up just because you trusted too much. You"re 31, not a child that I have to explain this to you. Can you please be more careful?"

Jim"s face had darkened. That was a lot of possibilities that Park had laid out right there. It was almost as if the old man was a watchful hound, protecting him all this while, as he, the prodigal son, was wasting time.

He nodded solemnly, but it hit Jim hard, how thoughtless he had been.

"I promise," he said, "I"ll put a hold on this Miya thing. It won"t make me act so stupidly again."

Park softened in his words.

"I don"t mind you liking her, Jimmy, just put a hold on those feelings till we have clear information on who she is. If she comes clean, I"ll be happier than all those friends of yours, and you can feel whatever you like. Till then, though…"

Jimmy nodded again, and then fell into thought.

"Park," he then said, "There"s just something… Look, I know she must be shady, but just don"t be mean to her because… well, because she"s poor."

Mr. Park raised his brows. Now this was a new turn of events.

"That brings me to my next question," the old man said, "What are you going to do about your "perfect" plan?"

Jim frowned. Park rolled his eyes.

"The one where you and Hartley Greene decided you"d get back at your father by marrying a pauper and having her insulted at his hands. What about it Jim? I"m guessing you don"t want that to happen anymore."

Oh, no.

Jimmy had completely forgotten about that! If his father, indeed insulted Miya, he wasn"t sure he"d like that. He was ready to control whatever the h.e.l.l he felt for the girl, but to have her insulted outright was something he wouldn"t approve of. But old Mr. Hunter was going to be mean to her anyway, because she was way below their cla.s.s. And if Jim defended her, his father would only trouble the girl more.

Mr. Park read the confusion on his face. He sighed.

"I suggest," he then said seriously, "You step aside and not say anything. As a warning, let Miya know beforehand. Now, we could dress her up lady-like, but she still wouldn"t pa.s.s off as one. You would definitely have to stay at Hunter manor for a few days, and we"d be found out either way. Best would be to just let him blast off. And as far as I know, maybe the girl would be able to hold her own."

Jim didn"t know what to feel. Distressed, he nodded in agreement. He seriously hadn"t expected things to f*** up like this.

"What is father up to these days?" Jim asked though, and surprisingly, Mr. Park chuckled.

"The usual. He"s troubled too, since he couldn"t find anything about his new daughter-in-law. I"ve put a tight security around the girl, so there"s nothing to know until he actually meets her. I heard he was flying kites all day yesterday, to let off the frustration."

Jimmy looked up at Park, and suddenly, laughed.

That was the only good thing he had heard since the morning.

"Father"s a weirdo," he said joyfully, "Remember the time, when he decided he needed to do laundry to let off his anger?"

Park snickered.

"Yeah. He put my shoes in the machine. And looked severely unhappy when I wouldn"t hand over my undergarments to him. But then again, at least he wasn"t drunk."

Jim"s jaw dropped, and he looked at Park indignantly.

"I already apologized!"

"Yes, you did. And you"re forgiven. Children are bound to make mistakes. Adults are there to look after, either way."

"I am not a child!"

"I can see that."

Jimmy was positively displeased now. Sulking, he decided to change the topic. Then he remembered Park had never actually made the promise to not ill-treat Miya.

"Hey," he said accusingly, "You didn"t promise not to be mean to the missus."

Mr. Park smirked.

"What are you talking about? Why would I be mean to the girl? I like her, to be honest. She"s kind of adorable too. Last night, the way she made a fuss over making me eat something, after dumping you on the bed, of course, was a whole other thing. She just bustled about until she found instant cup noodles. And when she cooked, and I had eaten, she was happy enough to make me want to die from laughter."

Jim was instantly surprised. This man had just been lecturing him over not liking the girl!

Mr. Park read Jim"s accusing look and gave him a half-smirk.

"It"s different for me, young man," he said, "I can like her, because I"m not married to her AND I don"t have any inappropriate feelings for her. You on the other hand, need to hold it in. The girl is cute. And her boy, he is charming too. You, stay away."

Jim pouted.

It was like in just one night of him being out, Mr. Park had managed to become better friends with both the mother and the son. He was kind of jealous of Park, for Miya seemed to like him enough to cook for him, and then abandon Jim to get scolded. He was also slightly jealous of Miya, for Park spoke of her very affectionately.

He only used such a kind tone while talking about Jimmy. He didn"t want Mr. Park to have another favourite.

Sulking, and not at all happy with the morning conversation, Jimmy went to have breakfast. Later, they had to visit old Mr. Hunter, after all.