At
the Grand Hotel
Daren,
a good looking and well-built guy looked around at the people
in the plane. He was always curious about what was happening around
him and now everybody in the plane to Je-ju looked excited and
elated. So was he. This was his first trip to the beautiful Je-ju
Island with his friends and his sister. Je-ju is the biggest and
most fantastic island in Korea and surrounded by very beautiful
sapphire blue seas.
In
the centre of the island is Mt. Hanra, the highest mountain in
South Korea. It was formed by a volcanic eruption and has many
rare trees and animals. It is unlike any other cities or villages
in Korea, mainly because of its unusual climate and its volcanic
energy. There are palm and pineapple trees all along the roads
on the island and Koreans along with foreign travelers enjoy the
semi-tropical atmosphere.
Daren
arrived at The Grand in the hotel's courtesy bus. At this particular
time of year, springtime, many married couples stay on Je-ju for
their honeymoon, which means all the rooms are booked up for them
and other travelers. It is the peak holiday season and sometimes
booking mistakes can happen.
Unfortunately,
the hotel manager mistook Daren and his sister for a married couple
and they were booked into a double bedroom and he was now frantically
trying to find them a twin bedroom. Finally he turned to Daren
and Rosemary, smiling awkwardly and said,
"I
apologize for keeping you waiting so long, Mr. Kim. This is the
key to your room. I hope you have a wonderful time here and I've
paged a porter to take your luggage up to your room. He'll show
you the way, and I apologize again for any inconvenience. Enjoy
your stay."”
Rosemary
angrily grabbed the key to the room off the check-in counter and
turned to her brother and his friends, Alfred and Shawn, and said.
"It
is quite a nuisance, you know, and then we have to wait all this
time to change the room! I actually wanted him to give us a discount
instead of changing our room!"
The
boys laughed and Daren said,
"In
one bed with you? No way! How lucky am I that I don't have to
suffer your practice kicks in bed, Rosy! You play Tae-Kwon-Do
when you sleep, sis!" He loves his sister and likes to make
fun of her.
"Oh,
I didn't know that Rosy practiced Tae-Kwon-Do against you! Be
careful or you may get up in the morning with a black eye and
a split lip, Daren," said Shawn laughing.
They
followed the porter into the elevator and up to the tenth floor
and then through the dimly-lit narrow red carpeted corridor, and
headed for their room 1007. They passed room 1002 which had been
originally booked for them. Daren and Rosemary entered their room
which was a nice and generous space. Rosemary opened the large
glass window and walked out onto the terrace and sighed at the
lonely white chairs and table placed there.
"Daren,
this room is not where I wanted to stay! We can't even see the
beach because of that building over there!" She complained.
"We
don't have any other choice. If we don't take in this room, we'd
have to stay on the beach, you know, and anyway we can walk to
the beach. It's good exercise, sis!" Daren replied while
putting his bags away in the dressing room and trying to calm
his sister.
.....
That
night, Daren, Rosemary, Shawn and Alfred decided to go to the
hotel nightclub to enjoy the first night of their trip. The nightclub
was crowded with couples with loud music playing. As they approached
they could feel the heat and exciting atmosphere from the entrance
of the club. A waiter led them to a table in the corner which
was in the back of the room.
"Have
a wonderful time, sir! And if you need me to be of service to
you, just push this green button here, please!" The waiter
had to shout over the music as he took out a lighter to light
a candle on their table.
"Thanks!"
Daren shouted, smiling back at him while also glimpsing at a man
sitting alone at the table next to theirs.
"Shawn,
do you see that couple wearing the same colored shirts and jeans?
They look just like cheerleader girls!" Daren and Shawn both
giggled.
"No,
no! Don't look at them! Just enjoy our company, tonight OK!"
Rosemary said frowning at Daren.
"Hey
guys, shall we dance?" Rosemary stood up from her chair and
winked at Daren and his friends.
They
all walked up to the dance floor and began to dance to the music.
Rosemary's movement was gorgeous but Alfred moved quickly back
and forth, with no rhythm and was swinging his hips like a duck.
He was trying to follow Rosemary's fluid steps but he was so awkward.
Daren turned his face to hide his laughter and giggles.
When
they returned to their table, Daren was hot and thirsty and he
gulped down a glass of cool beer quickly while looking at all
the action around him.
"Hey,
Rosy, look at that man! He was alone when we came here and he's
still by himself! What do you think of him? Why don't you try
and be his partner tonight?”
"Stop
it, Daren! Will you lower your voice, he might hear you!"
Rosemary looked at Daren feeling extremely annoyed.
"Yeah
... he looks like he's waiting for someone!" Alfred joined
in.
.....
They
danced until midnight but Daren and his friends didn't feel tired,
however Rosemary began to feel sleepy. They went back to their
table and Rosemary persuaded Daren to go to bed early so they
could feel good for the next day.
"OK.
Let's go back to the room. We do have tomorrow!" They all
stood up and picked up their jackets and bags but Daren couldn't
resist the temptation to look back over his shoulder. The lonely
man was still there, drinking beer. On the dance floor, many people
were still moving; having a wonderful time, swinging their heads
and hips frantically.
On
their way back to their rooms they passed by a door which was
half-opened. Daren stopped and tried to look inside quickly, but
he could see nothing because it was dark inside. Rosemary immediately
grabbed his arm to stop him from staring inside into the darkness.
"No
way! You're always like this! You'll get us all into trouble,
someday." Rosemary whispered angrily.
"You
know what?" Daren said, ignoring her. "This room was
supposed to be ours. It's Room 1002 ... There's not a sound in
there. Don't you think it's strange for a door to be open like
that, with no light on at midnight? Welcome ... Mr. Burglar!?"
Daren leaned his head towards Rosemary and stared directly at
her.
"It's
none of your business, Daren!" Rosemary grabbed his arm tightly
and pulled him past the room.
"Good
night, Daren! Good night, Rosy! I'm not sure if I'll sleep very
well, because I'm really excited," said Alfred whose restless
mind held high expectations for a fantastic holiday with his friends.
"Good
night! Come to our room at twelve tomorrow. Don't wake me up in
the morning. I need a deep, long sleep." Daren yawned, blinking
quickly and rubbed his tired eyes.
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