A Summer Duet in Korea

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the final chapter of my Duet series! Thank you for being patient with me as I wrapped up this story. I hope very much that you enjoy this final entry and that you enjoyed Ella's year in Korea as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Please feel free to comment or message me with any kind words or constructive criticisms; the more messages of encouragement I get the faster I seem to write! And if I feel inspired to produce more works, feel free to follow me on Literotica to see when I post another story that happens to pop into my head. With that said, please enjoy!

MaiaEmpire

***

Hye-Jin and I stood absolutely stunned as her father stood beneath the privacy curtain which served as the entry to behind the stage. A thousand chaotic images went through my head, as I am sure it did to Hye-Jin as well, as we simultaneously squeezed each other's hand. Mr. Lee, his eyes wide behind his thick glasses, carefully set the bouquet of roses he was holding on a nearby crate, and stepped backwards to allow the curtain to fall back into place. There was a moment of panicked silence as the two of us processed that we had been discovered, before time snapped forward and Hye-Jin dropped my hand.

"Appa, jamkkanmanyo!" she called out, her voice shaking, as she approached the curtain to chase after her father.

She made it halfway to the curtain when it pulled back once again, as someone else entered backstage. He was a younger Korean man, with a sort of pompadour and a pair of loud white-brimmed glasses. He bombastically called out Hye-Jin's name and a few words of Korean before he noticed my dumb-founded face and immediately switched into English.

"Ah, Miss Erra as well," he exclaimed, while taking Hye-Jin's hand and shaking it vigorously. "It was a wonderful show, please let me introduce. I am Jin-ho Min, a producer for KBS. I was told I would to interview you for our segment?"

We had known that the Korean Broadcasting System, one of the big TV networks, would be filming our show as sort of a human-interest story; it was sort of a curiosity that a Korean and an American were performing publicly regularly, though as I rarely watched Korean television I was only vaguely aware of our modest celebrity status. It was also the furthest thing on my mind, seeing as how I had just been outed to the very last person I wanted to know and was still reeling from the shock.

I saw Hye-Jin flinch briefly at the curtain, but immediately collected herself. "Of course, Mr. Min. I was told that you wanted to meet with us." When was Hye-Jin going to mention this to me?

A cameraman with his gear ducked under the curtain as well, as Mr. Min positioned us for the best lighting, though Hye-Jin kept glancing at the exit. She played it cool, but I could hear the slight quiver in her voice. Mr. Min asked us several questions, mostly in Korean, about how we met and began performing together, allowing me to answer in English as he explained they would translate my answers for the broadcast. It was mostly about why I came to Korea and about Iowa and my family. He repeatedly assured us not to be nervous, as I am sure that is how he took our pensive responses to his interview questions.

When he finished, he earnestly shook both of our hands, and once again congratulated us on the performance. He briefly mentioned that he would like to invite us to be in the studio for the program, which was some Korean variety show I was unfamiliar with. He liked our story and felt that it would definitely be entertaining to have us on. He handed us his card and assured us that he would be in touch soon. We thanked him, and once they left we collapsed against the stage, neither of us speaking. We wore forced smiles for when we met with the staff and some of the audience members until we managed to escape home hours later.

The rest of the weekend was particularly tense for both of us. Hye-Jin vainly tried to text her father, but there was no response. We spent most of the weekend curled up together in bed, sometimes crying, sometimes panicking, and mostly dreading the coming week. Her father held my work visa to stay in Korea -- would he force me to leave the country? Would he never speak to Hye-jin again, disowning her and booting her from her little apartment? One hundred different scenarios crashed through our frightened skulls. The only solace we had was that the two of us were not alone.

Monday arrived with no word from Mr. Lee, and with great trepidation I arrived at the school for a regular day of work around noon. I hadn't seen Hye-Jin since she left earlier in the morning, and I forced myself to breathe while I walked to work. My heart ran a mile a minute as I cautiously scanned the office for signs of my boss, of which there were none. I tried to remain invisible as I peered across the desks, and I jumped when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ella, I didn't mean to startle you." It was Lukas, the newest English teacher who started two months ago.

"Oh, Lukas, I'm sorry. I didn't sleep well last night."

"Understandable," he replied in his slight German accent. "I wanted to say to you that Elsie and I loved your performance on Friday. I didn't realize you were so accomplished on the violin!"

"Thank you, Lukas," I replied, momentarily touched. "It was probably our most complicated show to date."

"I could tell," Lukas laughed, his blue eyes matching his friendly smile. "My aunt enjoyed it as well; I sent a video of your solo to her."

"Your aunt?"

"Yes, the one I told you about a couple of weeks ago? She is the orchestral coordinator for her music company back home."

I remembered a quick conversation we had had at a noisy bar during one of the Wonju ex-pat outings. Apparently Lukas's family had a bit of a music background, even if he didn't play himself. "Oh right! The one who lives in Hamburg!"

"Yes, she was impressed. If you'd like, I could give you her contact information. I know you are thinking about when your contract ends in July..."

I attempted to answer him, when I finally saw Mr. Lee enter through the far doors. His eyes were downcast, and he quickly stepped into his office. He didn't even look in my direction. I thought that I should probably say something to him, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do.

"That would be nice," I said absently. "Can you excuse me, I need to speak to Mr. Lee about something."

Lukas held up his hand. "Not a problem. I should go too, I hear we have a dozen new students who enrolled today. But I will send her an email this week. Once again, fantastic show!"

I smiled weakly, and grudgingly made my way to Mr. Lee's door. I was literally shaking, and it took a moment for me to lightly knock on his door. I heard a quiet approval to enter from inside.

"Mr. Lee," I stammered as I opened the door. I realized only then that I had no idea what I was going to say.

Mr. Lee stood with his eyes downcast as he pulled out paperwork from his briefcase and was arranging it on his desk. "Erra," he said simply and bluntly.

The door softly shut behind me. "Have you spoken to Hye-jin?"

"I did." His eyes were drilling holes into his desk.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened..."

"Nothing happened."

"Yes, but..."

"Nothing happened!" he barked suddenly, his fist slamming on his desk.

I yelped, suddenly fearful for my life. My shaking only continued as I stood facing Mr. Lee, who still refused to look at me. We stood there, with me shivering and Mr. Lee leaning against his desk, for quite some time. Eventually, I managed to speak, despite the quavering of my voice and the tears forming in my eyes.

"Am...am...am I fired, Mr. Lee?"

"No, you are not fired." Mr. Lee took a deep breath, and slowly took his seat. "I cannot make for new teachers now, we having many new students this morning."

"Thank you, sir," I sniffled. Thank god I was too expensive to replace as an employee.

Mr Lee finally raised his finger quickly. "But more not performances at Lotte Mart. Hye-jin said about KBS, but Lotte Mart ends now."

I nodded quickly, not daring to disagree with him.

"Take a tissue," he ordered, gesturing to a box on his desk. I wasn't aware that tears were flowing down my cheeks. "Wipe, then going for work. There is no more talking."

With that, he opened one of his ledgers and began to work, as I blew into the tissue and made myself as presentable as possible. Without a glance in my direction, I slunk out the door and prayed no one noticed how shaken I was. For the rest of the day I saw neither hair nor hide of Mr. Lee, and it was perhaps the most miserable day of work I had ever had. It should have been one of the best, with the cheerful faces of Maretha, Richard, and the rest of the staff all brightly congratulating me for the show, but though I had a smile plastered on my face, my stomach was a cluster of knots.

I managed to trudge through the rest of the day, and at the first opportunity I bolted from the school to my apartment. After spending the entire day on the brink of tears, they poured down my face by the time I arrived home, and quickly into the arms of Hye-jin. She held me softly as I whimpered into her shoulder, and she stroked my hair. I could sense that Hye-jin had had a similarly stressful day, but for my sake she held me fast. Eventually I stopped sobbing, and Hye-jin held my cheeks and kissed me lovingly.

"Did you talk to Appa?" she asked between kisses.

"I'm not fired," I hiccuped, "at least not today."

"I finally talked to him before work this morning," she explained. "I begged him not to punish you. He didn't say much else to me, but he said he wouldn't."

I nodded softly, burying my face into her chest. I think I had gotten it all out of my system, but I just wanted to hold Hye-jin close to me. "What are we going to do next?" I asked her.

"I don't know, Ella my love," she murmured. "But I did receive an email from Mr. Min. They want us to go to the studio in Seoul in two weeks to record us."

I looked up at her. "Your father said no more Lotte Mart, but he mentioned something about KBS. I wasn't exactly sure what he meant."

"I know," she replied. "They sent me the email while I met with Appa. We can stop Lotte Mart for now, but being on television...it will be fun, I think. Even Appa lit up when I told him that. Plus, there is good news. They are going to provide a hotel for us, and they said they would fly your family to Seoul for the recording."

I tilted my head. "Wait, I can invite my parents?"

Hye-jin shrugged. "It may be short notice, but they are offering to fly at least one of them for the show. This is KBS after all; they are a big network. I think they like the family-angle for us. Plus," she added quietly, "I would like to meet them."

"I want you to meet them too." I glanced at my phone. "It's the morning back in Iowa. I can give my mom a call and tell her about the show. Honestly, I could use a phone call with Mom right about now."

Hye-jin smiled at me and we shared another long, lingering kiss. "Call your mother, and I will call Mr. Min to make the arrangements. I love you, Ella."

"I love you too, Hye-jin."

With a small groan, I picked up my bag and went over to my apartment next door. I double-checked my face in the mirror to make sure I didn't look like an absolute wreck, and popped open my laptop to fire up a video call back home. Almost immediately, I was greeted with the smiling face of my mother, who was sitting in her home office.

"Ella, dear!" She exclaimed happily, "I wasn't expecting a call from you today! How are you, my darling?"

"I've been busy..."

"Oh I bet, I want to hear all about your little show! Did you receive the last care package I sent? I put your favorite gummies in it. That should hold you over until July, at the very least!"

I nodded. "I think so. Listen, Mom, it turns out something very big is going to happen...do you have any time off coming?"

I proceeded to tell her everything about the Children's Day show -- well, perhaps not everything, just the good parts. She mentioned that the excitement was probably why I looked so tired, and I did not correct her. I then told her about the upcoming TV performance, and she squealed in excitement.

"Oh my god Ella, that is wonderful! Of course I can take time off. Your father is a different story of course, since he has had so many patients to see at the clinic, but I have nothing but time to spare for my wonderful daughter! Oh honey, I am so excited!"

I was finally able to break into a smile of my own -- leave it to Mom to make me think that everything would be fine. The two of us chatted for quite some time, and we eventually said goodbye with a promise that I would be sending the relevant information to her. By the time I wandered back to Hye-jin's apartment, she had a pot of doenjang jjigae, a sort of soybean stew, boiling on the stove. For the first time in days, I felt as if it would all be okay.

The next couple of weeks at work were somewhat tense, and though I had figured that Mr. Lee would be abrasive and terse, he kept his distance for the most part. This of course meant that teacher meetings were actually shortened, as Maretha ran them in his stead. Mr. Lee was occupied with all of the new enrollments, so he left Maretha in charge of managing the academic side of things. Word had gotten out that I was going to be on TV, and the excitement caught on with my students. I hadn't even heard of the show that I would be on, let alone how to pronounce it, but it was one of those odd variety shows featuring Korean celebrities that was incredibly popular. All of the kids recognized it right away.

The network had sprung for the airfare, though only my mother was provided for. Dad was disappointed, but it was nearly impossible for him to cancel his patient appointments on such short notice, not to mention that he had a slight fear of flying. Mom was set to arrive at Incheon Airport on the Wednesday evening before we filmed the segment on Friday. I took all of those days off from work, because KBS was also springing for hotel rooms at the Seoul Hilton. I was starting to feel a little bit like a celebrity. Thankfully Maretha was the one in charge of approving the time off, and I didn't need to negotiate with Mr. Lee.

Since KBS also reserved a ride on the Korean Rail, we packed our bags and made it to Seoul in record time. I scolded myself for opting for the bus every time I went on day trips to Seoul since the train was so much faster and comfortable. We taxied to the Hilton near Gangnam and checked in at the spacious front desk. The friendly receptionist informed us that KBS had reserved two rooms for our party, so I casually mentioned that my mother would be taking the second room when she arrived that evening and the two of us would share. Hye-Jin gave me a quiet smirk, while the receptionist shrugged and handed us the keycard to the room.

Our hotel room was a deluxe room, with a short wall partition that separated a small living area from the massive, white double bed. There was a very nice view of the city, seeing as we were many floors up, and the entire room had a light, modern feel to it. I propped my bags and my violin case next to the bed, and stepped into the fairly sizable bathroom to drop off my cosmetics bag.

Coming back into the main room, I saw Hye-Jin standing at the window admiring the view. I sauntered up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She sighed as I gently kissed her neck and hugged her close. Her hands rested on mine as she arched her neck to allow me to rest my head on her shoulder. We nuzzled like this for a few minutes, looking down on the city and stroking each other's arms.

"You know," I murmured with a peck under her ear, "that bed looks very cozy..."

Hye-Jin laughed, and moments later we moved to the bed, laying on our sides and started to playfully make out. Our frolicking became more hurried, and soon I felt Hye-Jin's hand slip under my blouse. As she nibbled my neck, I opened my eyes and saw the bright Seoul skyline through the glass of the window.

"Hye-Jin," I purred, "we should probably close the blinds."

"No, leave them open," she whispered back while pulling my top over my head. "I like you in the daylight."

I gasped a little, but Hye-Jin quickly and skillfully unsnapped my bra as her mouth descended on my nipple. The sun beaming down on us made me moan even louder than usual. I gripped her hair as she moved her tongue between my breasts, as I reached behind her to unzip the back of her white dress. She stood up on her knees, pulling the top of her dress down as she smiled at me. I took the opportunity to unbutton my jeans and pulled them off while taking my panties with them.

I quickly yanked my socks off before Hye-Jin, similarly naked, softly alighted on top of me with her mouth on mine. The linen of the blanket was soft against my backside as she lay on me and we wildly kissed with our breasts pressed against each other. I briefly considered getting under the covers with her, but it wasn't possible since we were in the middle of the bed. Besides, it was a bit kinky to make out while naked in front of an open window.

We kissed like this for a blissful eternity, and soon Hye-Jin was kissing her way down my body. I was breathing hot and heavily by the time she reached my pussy, and it was flared and wet by the time she sucked my clitoris into her mouth. I squirmed on the bed while I gripped my breasts and pinched my nipples. I came in no time at all, with Hye-Jin's head squeezed between my thighs, and once I released her she turned and swung her leg over me, easing her body onto mine as her own pussy descended onto my lips. I thrust my tongue into her wetness with the same fervor she did, and soon the room was filled with the sounds of moaning and panting.

Originally we had planned to spend the day roaming Seoul, but we ended up in bed for the majority of the afternoon. And even then, the only time we left the bed was when we decided to hop into the sizable bathtub. I ended up straddling and kissing her as the water rose in the tub, and our hands went wild underneath the bubbles. After a long bath we left the tub and dried off, but the second we hung our towels on the rack we took one look at each other's freshly washed bodies, grinned, and immediately jumped right back into bed, this time with me on top. We had been so busy preparing for this trip, and combined with the stress we had been going through, I think we had forgotten how pent-up and frisky we were.

Eventually, we ran out of steam as the sun began to set behind the buildings in the distance. We slipped underneath the sheets eventually, making a pile of pillows that we cuddled on as we flipped through channels on the TV. We were sort of dozing in each other's arms, when suddenly I heard my phone buzz on the nightstand. Dislodging from Hye-Jin, I groggily reached over to check my phone.

It was my mom,as she had just sent me a message saying that her plane had made good time and had just entered Korean air space an hour earlier than usual. I stood up with a squeal, the blanket slipping from my bare breasts, as I messaged her back to ask when she was arriving. Apparently, she was set to land in a little less than two hours! I squealed louder this time. Hye-Jin sat up, pressing the sheet to her chest and rubbing her eyes.

"What is it, Ella?" she asked sleepily.

"Mom's landing soon! We have to go!" I stammered as my naked self leapt out of bed.

Hye-Jin giggled at me from under the covers. "Ella, we have plenty of time!"

"No we don't! I smell like sweat and sex, and I'm going to be ticked off if we don't get to the arrival terminal before she does!" I bounded around the room, collecting my clothes before jumping into the shower. Hye-Jin smirked at me the entire time as she lounged in bed. She took a quick shower once I was finished, and after putting our clothes back on we helped fix each other's hair. I still felt like too much of a sticky, sexy mess to pick up my mother, but Hye-Jin assured me I looked fine as we piled out to the elevator.