A Winter Duet in Korea

Hye-Jin and I started practicing in earnest for the next few weeks of December. We finalized our set list for the performance, and started nailing the songs one by one. Somehow it seemed even more productive than when we practiced before, seeing as how we had a project to work on. It also helped that I had always really gotten into the Christmas season, something that Hye-Jin found very amusing.

We had gone out for a nice dinner on Christmas Eve, and on the morning of Christmas Hye-Jin snuck out of bed early to make me a holiday breakfast. My dad always made cheesy eggs and bacon on Christmas morning, and once I told her about that tradition Hye-Jin insisted on making it for me. The big variation was that we had a side of kimchi with it. While we ate, we exchanged gifts; I got her a makeup palette from her favorite brand and she got me a novel from one of my favorite authors. All in all, it was a nice little Christmas for the two of us.

We spent most of the day getting ready for the party. In the afternoon, Mr. Hyun stopped by to pick us up and to help carry Hye-Jin's keyboard to Blues Sanjo. The venue was in the middle of being set up, with Mrs. Hyun hanging up decorations and stacks of borrowed chairs being unloaded for the event. Hye-Jin and I helped them set up the chairs and the stage area while Mr. Hyun hooked up her keyboard to the sound system. We did some sound tests and practiced a bit while the Hyuns served some tea and some snacks.

Night fell and show time was fast approaching. The Hyuns allowed us to use their house, which was behind the property, to get ready. We had packed the same-styled dresses we bought together into our bag; long-sleeved tight dresses with mine being green and hers being red, and we both wore white tights with black low-heel shoes. We each fussed over our makeup and hair, and could hear the guests start to fill into the garden outside.

The performance was scheduled for 7:00, and people were piling early and mingling outside. With roughly ten minutes to go, I started fiddling with my bow for about the fiftieth time. I was beginning to get a little bit of stage fright, and feeling way out of my league, even though I had performed live like this literally dozens of times before. Hye-Jin seemed to sense this, and approached me coquettishly in her red dress as I paced. She took my free hand in hers.

"Are you okay?" she asked, squeezing my fingers.

I nodded quickly. "I'm fine, just a little bit of the last-minute butterflies."

Hye-Jin slid her arm around my waist, hugging me close. "Oh, Ella. You'll be good tonight."

I pressed my forehead against hers. "I would so kiss you right now, but I don't want to smudge my lipstick!"

"Lots of time after," she smiled.

We held each other like this, our eyes closed and our faces lightly touching. Her dress felt so silky against mine, and her perfume smelled fresh and lively. We heard Mr. Hyun start to call for everyone to be seated as he served their drinks. It got quiet, as Mr. Hyun addressed the crowd -- half in Korean, and half in broken English. Mrs. Hyun lightly rapped on the door, signaling it was time to go. With one final squeeze, Hye-Jin and I exited and made our way to the stage.

The garden was packed, with every chair occupied and many more standing in the back. Despite the blinding lights aimed at the stage, I recognized pretty much all of the Wonju expats. When Hye-Jin and I emerged the audience stood and applauded, and I even made out Richard loudly whistle with his fingers sitting with Jim, Maretha, and Stuart in the front row. I shyly smiled and stood stage left, and Hye-Jin took her seat stage right, smoothing her dress under her as she sat. Once the audience settled, I put my violin under my chin, Hye-Jin nodded to me, and we began our set.

Our opening piece was a Korean song called Merry and Happy, a Korean song that Hye-Jin liked and a song that I had to learn fresh. It was an energetic piece, and the arrangement we made for piano and violin was actually pretty tricky. Luckily, I liked showing off a bit, and my bow flashed across my strings with the bouncy melody. When the song dropped and finished, the audience burst into clapping. I have to say, Hye-Jin picked a good opener.

After the first song, I took it down a bit and went right into It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas followed by Jingle Bell Rock. I had performed these in years past, so they were kind of old hat for me. Hye-Jin led us into Silent Night and Dreaming of a White Christmas next, to get that mid-show slowness to relax the crowd. Those were followed by another Korean song she picked called Goodbye Christmas, which was the second song I had to learn from scratch. The audience applauded between each piece.

To pick it back up, the next song I chose for our playlist was Santa Baby. Hye-Jin accompanied me, and I sultrily played to the crowd for this one. I got a little flirty with this one, playing to the front row and maybe gyrating my hips a touch. Richard playfully swooned when I got to him, and when I wrapped up the song, Hye-Jin gave me a little smirk. The audience hooted at me, and I have to admit I got a little rush from playing that song.

The final song was All I Want for Christmas, which was probably a bit cliché, but you know what? I liked that song. Hye-Jin played the intro, and though I eased into it, I chose to go very high energy into it. I went high tempo, really working my fingers and embellishing it. I hit the ending hard, feeling a couple of tendrils of sweat on my forehead, and I hit the ending hard. Almost immediately, the audience stood and cheered as I caught my breath. Hye-Jin stood up, and taking my hand, we bowed as they hollered and shouted. I glanced over at her, as she did the same, and we quickly hugged each other as we stood on stage while the crowd roared.

The two of us were the night's celebrities, as Hye-Jin and I made the rounds. Everyone seemed to want to congratulate us, and we were arm in arm as we went from person to person. Maybe it was just me, but I felt like the guys were far less flirty with me -- not that I cared. Word travels quickly, so perhaps it got out that Hye-Jin and I were together. I actually would have kind of liked it if that were the case, though I was worried about how Hye-Jin would feel about it. She was Korean after all, and there was that cultural aspect to it. Being "out" was probably not a great thing for her, even though a foreigner like me could get away with it. But she seemed very happy.

The night was an absolute treasure. Everyone was in a very festive mood, and once the chairs were cleared away Mr. Hyun set up a couple of fire pits. The Aussies started singing Christmas songs as the night got drunker and drunker, and a few times I whipped out the violin to accompany them. The Brits had gotten a hold of some Christmas crackers and were passing them out to each other, with those silly paper hats they insisted everyone wear.

It was beginning to get late, and the Canadians began assembling to go downtown and start hitting the bars and karaoke rooms in earnest. Everyone insisted that the ladies of the hour join them, but I simply leaned against Hye-Jin in front of one of the fires. I insisted that I needed to help Mr. Hyun clean up, though in all fairness I wasn't exactly in the mood to go bar hopping. But cleaning up was my excuse, and I insisted that we would meet up with the group later. Ever so slowly, people began filtering out into taxis.

It was pretty much the Hyuns, Hye-Jin, and I along with a few other stragglers left. Maretha and Richard were the last two to congratulate us and wish us a Merry Christmas as I walked with them to their taxi. Once they headed out, I adjusted my dress and went back to start helping the Hyuns clean up. I walked back into the courtyard, and saw Hye-Jin sitting in front of the fire, her hair tossed over one shoulder and looking like a vision in her red dress in the firelight. She gave me such an intense look that my stomach may have flipped a few times.

She stood as I approached her, and I took her hands into mine. The light from the bonfire highlighted both of us, and Hye-Jin quietly moved to my ear.

"Take me home, Ella," she whispered simply.

I went to fetch our bags as Hye-Jin checked in with the Hyuns, who insisted that our gear could stay there and they would be happy to drop them off tomorrow. We threw on our coats, and hand in hand waited for our taxi to drive us home. When it finally arrived, it was hell sitting next to her and keeping my hands off of her. The elderly driver wasn't paying that much attention, but I'm sure he would have if the pretty foreign girl jumped the pretty Korean girl in his backseat.

As soon as the taxi drove off, my lips were on Hye-Jin's as we walked through the front door of our building and into the little entry area. I was definitely buzzed from the excitement of the evening along with the booze, and I pressed her against the wall as my hands slipped behind her. Her hands went to my hair, and it was a struggle for us to make it up the stairs to the second floor. Our lips went non-stop as we stumbled up the steps and somehow unlocked the door to Hye-Jin's apartment.

I almost fell backwards on the little step when we threw open the door to her place and we kicked off our low-heeled shoes. We threw off our coats on the floor along with our purses, our hands roaming the skin-hugging fabric of our dresses. Smiling into my mouth, Hye-Jin pulled me on top of her onto her bed. We made out like this for some time, my hands snaking between her and the mattress, and her hands going to my lower back and my grasping my ass.

Eventually, I found the zipper on the back of her dress, and I slowly unzipped her. She sucked on my shoulder as she reached behind me to do the same to mine. I briefly got to my hands and knees over her, looking down on her deliciously disheveled frame below me, and began pulling her dress down her body. She quickly pulled her arms out of the sleeves, and I slid the dress past her bra and her tights-clad legs. I tossed it across the room, hoping I wouldn't wrinkle it.

I saw Hye-Jin reach behind her to undo her bra, and I took the moment to sit up to unsnap my own and pull my own dress down to my waist. Hye-Jin reached to the band of her white tights and start to fold them down, and I clumsily hooked my fingers in them to pull them and her panties down for her. They started to bunch awkwardly around her knees, and I unfortunately rolled off the bed trying to unbunch them. Luckily, I landed on one of her floor cushions.

Hye-Jin laughed once she saw I was fine, and I smirked awkwardly as I got to my feet. Not wanting to fiddle any more with clothing, I pulled my dress, my tights, and my panties down to my ankles and stepped out of them. Hye-Jin had pulled her tights off and laying on her side, as naked as I was, she scooched under the blanket and made space for me next to her. I slipped in facing her, inches away from her as I stroked her hair behind her ear. She closed her eyes and inhaled softly through her nose. She was so beautiful in the middle of the night like this with me, and I held her cheek in my hand.

"Hye-Jin," I whispered for the first time, "I love you."

Her eyes opened, and her clear, brown eyes looked square into mine. I stroked her jawline, feeling exposed by my words, being naked in the dark like this with her. But I didn't care.

"I love you so much, Hye-Jin. I've never felt this way about anyone before, and maybe it's crazy, but --"

She gently placed her fingertips on my lips. "I love you too, Ella. So much. Very much."

Feeling my eyes water, I gasped and moved against her, kissing her hard and feeling her arms wrap around me. We pressed against each other, our legs adjusting against each other as we melted into one. We ignored the tears welling up in our eyes as we kissed into the night.

Into the night, both of us with the woman we loved.

To be continued.