24K Magic for a Perfect Illusion

Ch 37: I Just Want You Alone

Basically, it was still Hearthof’s birthday that day so they celebrated the party until midnight.

Married couples shared a tent except for Jiyoung and his wife as they’re still not in good terms with each other so Hara, Jiyoung’s wife shared the tent with Hestia.

Hearthof wanted to take the opportunity to be with Hestia alone but he could only sigh helplessly when she went inside with his friend’s wife in the tent that supposed to be theirs.

“Myungwoo and Wonha are probably having fun with their wives right now.” Jiyoung said while staring at the tent’s roof. “Why can’t she understand me? I’m just fooling around with those women and they don’t mean anything to me. She’s my wife, she already has my last name, she’s the only woman who can have my child and no one else, yet she’s asking for more.”

“Even I don’t understand you.” Hearthof responded. “Why aren’t you satisfied with your wife? You’re even a father to a daughter now and to be honest you’re not setting a good example to her.”

“That’s not true, Hayoung is my treasure. I can lose everything but not my child and … her mother. They’re the only family I have left, I can’t lose both of them.” Jiyoung stated truthfully.

“Then what the f*ck are you doing? You’re pushing your wife away by fooling around with other women. You think she ain’t capable of getting hurt and she’ll just accept what you’re doing. You even have the audacity to complain that she can’t understand you. The likes of you drag the reputation of men down.” Hearthof clenched his fists while giving his piece of mind to his lost friend.

Jiyoung looked at Hearthof and felt like the man beside him wants to beat him up into pulp. “Hey, how did I provoke you?”

“It’s your way of thinking man.” Hearthof glanced coldly at Jiyoung. “Because of jerks like you there are women out there who thinks that there’s no more good guy left. They think that men aren’t reliable and will only hurt them, leave them with broken heart and lost their souls.”

Upon listening to Hearthof, Jiyoung realized that he wasn’t just scolding him but also telling him his worries. “Is that why you’re still stuck being friends with the young lady?”

“She’s afraid to fall in love and she gave me a lot of reasons why we can’t be together without the facts about me but only about her dilemma about love.” Hearthof remembered how Hestia rejected his confession without actually rejecting him.

“Women are really troublesome but us men like getting into trouble.” Jiyoung said with a faint smile. “Sometimes it could even lead into war when we lose control of the situation.”

“Like your cold war with your wife.” Hearthof teased. “I should be with Hestia at this moment and yet I’m here stuck with you.”

“Ha! As if she’ll let you sleep in the tent with her?” Jiyoung countered. “The chance of me sleeping with my wife right now is higher than yours. Even if she’s mad at me, we’re still sharing a bond that can’t be broken easily since we already tied the knot.”

Hearthof wanted to refute but Jiyoung isn’t wrong entirely since his status with his woman is married but what about him to Hestia, they’re aren’t just friends and neither lovers, he could only act shamelessly when he gets intimate with her.

Meanwhile, Hara is telling the same issue to Hestia and the latter could only listen to the woman’s ranting since she also sympathizes with her a bit as a fellow woman.

“If not for Hayoung, I’ll leave that scum and forget about everything I’ve been through to become his wife.” Hara ranted.

“Is being his wife that important to you?” Hestia questioned while staring at the dim light hanging on their tent.

“I … I honestly don’t know anymore the only thing I know is I have to protect our family.” Hara wiped the tear that stubbornly fell from her eye despite of holding back herself from crying. “I was raised in a single parent family. My mother left my father after she caught him with his mistress. She got depression after that but she tried so hard to raise me up and taught me how to be strong.” she laughed sarcastically. “Sounds ironic right, a weak woman like her wants her daughter to be strong. I only realized that she taught me well when Hayoung came into my life.”

Hestia wanted to advised her to leave her marriage since she’s having a hard time staying but when she heard her story, she doesn’t know what to say to her anymore.

If only she could give Hara a psychological test at the moment and there are categories that she can measure to derive a conclusion to her problem then she already done it.

But choices in life doesn’t have fixed standards that can be measured accurately, there are a lot of variables to be considered and assessments are subject to changes.

After a long silence, Hestia pursed her lips and said, “I’m sorry I haven’t been in a relationship before neither I have my own family right now therefore, I don’t know what to advice you in regards to your marriage but do what you think is good than being right.”

Hara looked at Hestia with comfortability like she found a sense of peace with her, most people will talk like they know-it-all and say things without thinking carefully with their words.

Hara smiled and wiped away her tears, “People either say I should fight or flight on my marriage. This is the first time I heard something different although it made me confuse about the difference of good and right. Aren’t they the same thing?”

“Not at all.” Hestia shook her head. “Good may be wrong sometimes and right isn’t always good.”

“Ha! Talking to a young yet smart woman like you is enlightening.”

“Geez. You make it sound like you’re too old when you’re only two or three years older than me.” Hestia snorted.

“Eh?? Aren’t you a college student? I saw your poster on the KU walls recently.” Hara looked at Hestia incredulously.

“I graduated from KU four years ago, I’m actually turning 26 next month.” Hestia stated as a matter-of-fact.

“Really??” Hara still couldn’t believe that Hestia is already on her mid-20’s as the latter looked like someone on their late teenage years. “Will you tell me your skin care routine?”

And the rest of their conversation turned into beautification until they both called it a night and sleep tight.

The next morning, Hestia woke up alone in the tent, the sun was yet to rise when she went to the bathroom in the hut.

Hestia waited for a while in the dining area while watching the children sleep peacefully before the bathroom door opened.

Hearthof was surprised to see Hestia up before sunrise but then he realized that the latter didn’t sleep well because of her surroundings, “Morning.”

“Morning.” Hestia replied while yawning. “I wanted to fix the children’s position as they’re all over the place but I’m afraid that I’ll wake them up during the process.” she looked back at the children sleeping on the king size bed at the middle of the room-sized hut. “My siblings and I were like this before when we were in the Philippines. The six of us were sharing a huge bed as well as the bedroom but our cousins Iap and Leto had their own rooms for themselves. I didn’t get envy though; my friends back there also share beds with their siblings too and some with their parents too.” she suddenly got nostalgic while watching the children.

“Good old days, huh?” Hearthof stood beside Hestia while staring at her features lovingly.

“Yeah.” Hestia nodded before she turned to walked towards the bathroom. “I’ll go wash my face first.”

“Sure.” Hearthof looked at the closed bathroom door for a while then turned to the children. “Sooner or later we’ll have children on our own.” he muttered to himself.

After ten minutes, Hestia went out from the bathroom and saw the children lying orderly on the bed.

A smile appeared on her face as she realized what Hearthof did while she’s in the bathroom.

She only needed to say a word and Hearthof make it done for her.

When she heard the noises at the back kitchen, she thought that the wives of Hearthof’s friends are preparing breakfast so she walked towards the back but it was Hearthof and his men who were moving like chefs in the kitchen.

“You, cook?” Hestia stood beside Hearthof. “Should I ask my ladies to lend you guys a hand here?”

“No need.” Hearthof shook his head in refusal. “Me and my men will handle our breakfast. Just go and relax with the others.”

Hestia picked a chopped carrot on the board and put it in her mouth. “Are you sure you don’t need help here?”

“I’m positive. Leave it to us.” Hearthof put his hands on Hestia’s shoulders, turned her around and walked her out from the busy kitchen. “Breakfast will be ready soon.”

“If you say so.” Hestia made a few steps forward before she turned to look at the kitchen. “I’ve been kicked out from the kitchen.” she pouted her lips like a child that if Hearthof saw will make his heart melt.

Edith, Irene, and Sharon accompanied Hestia to stroll around the area, since Baby and Roro were on watched last night so they’re both still sleeping in one of the tents.

“Does anyone of you saw were Hara went? I woke up alone in the tent and we both slept late last night.” Hestia inquired.

“She went out an hour before you went to the hut.” Edith said.

“Sir Jiyoung followed her and they both went to the woods.” Sharon continued. “Then I heard noises after that.”

“Oh, they reconciled.” Hestia uttered with her head lowered.

The island is too small that anyone can go on circle around it in just an hour and there’s nothing much to see aside from the clear blue water and white sands, then trees around the hut, just a simple paradise that distanced anyone from the busy city life.

The children woke up one by one before they had a sumptuous breakfast and enjoyed the beach until afternoon.

The men were prepared with their swimming trunks, their wives were on their bikinis except for Hara who wore Jiyoung’s shirt on top of her undergarments since she said she was conservative although everyone already knows that she was trying to cover-up the marks on her body that Jiyoung left that morning.

As for Hestia, Hearthof handed her a one-piece red swimsuit that doesn’t even have straps and look exactly like the sexy dress she wore on the hotel’s anniversary except for the extra fabric on the side which served as the side skirt.

With the striking red swimwear and flawless white skin, Hestia attracted everyone attention as soon as she walked out from the hut after changing her clothes.

“That’s a goddess you got there, man.” Wonha nudged Hearthof who seemed to be frozen on the spot.

“I just cleared things with Hara this morning, I can’t commit another sin again.” Jiyoung uttered as he hesitantly withdrew his gaze from Hestia’s hourglass body.

“I need my wife right now.” Myungwoo turned around to find his wife because of a sudden emergency with his lower abdomen.

Indeed, Hestia is a goddess, in fact she and her sisters are known as the three beauties of Seoul, although people said that it is the second sister who’s the most beautiful among the three, the eldest in the middle while Hestia is on the third place, still her ethereal beauty never failed to catch men’s hearts.

Hestia walked towards Hearthof with a glass of watermelon juice and pineapple juice, “Hey, what do you want to drink watermelon or pineapple?” she raised the two glasses in her hands.

Hearthof absentmindedly said, “I just want you alone.”

Hestia raised her eyebrow and responded with a hint of annoyance, “What did you just say?”

Hearthof realized that his words slipped out of his mouth so he tried to salvage the situation, “I’ll have the pineapple, thanks!” he took the juice immediately and drank the whole content like an extremely thirsty man.

“There’s more on the table, help yourself.” Hestia turned around and fanned herself as she suddenly felt hot on her face.

She clearly saw the lust on Hearthof’s eyes but instead of disgust, she actually felt nervous and shy at the same time.

She usually ignored the stares that people throw at her all the time, though the attention sometimes bothers her specially if there’s an issue involved but can’t easily ignore the attention, she’s getting from the man who currently pursues her.

The things that she used to before when they were clearly just friends has changed and she can’t help but to notice all his actions, she become wary of his existence.