also threw in a couple of outfits on the higher end that a person on her income would have to save for. One of them was a snappy little black long-sleeve dress that plunged ridiculously low in the back. It also came with matching black scarf that the model wore around her shoulders like a drape.
Only someone with breasts that didn't sag could pull that look off, because there was no way to wear a bra in it. Cristal sighed. But it was oh, so chic. She could just see herself wearing it to some fancy event with a pair of black stilettos and carrying a tiny black clutch. Cristal chuckled to herself.
Where was she going to wear something like that in Osaka?
Yi-jun had disappeared during the intermission and had not returned, leaving her time to take good notes that would hopefully enable her to write a good article and satisfy Mr.
Niigata.
Yi-jun returned after the show had ended without a reason for his disappearance, and she wasn't about to ask. "Did you miss me?"
Cristal rolled her eyes at him. "I've been a little busy," she replied as she put down her tablet and followed it up by storing her cameras and equipment back in their cases.
Yi-jun rested his hand atop hers. It was the first showing of intimacy toward her since he'd left her bed earlier that morning.
Cristal quickly snatched her hand away. "We need to get out of here. I have to type up my notes and finish my article."
"How long is that going to take?" Yi-jun asked. "It's our last night in France." He sounded a bit disappointed.
"A couple of hours, maybe," Cristal answered. "Why?"
"I thought you might like to go out with me to see some more of France, and then maybe a candlelight dinner, and then..."
"Forget it," Cristal replied. "The last time we went out we ended up..."
"What?" Yi-jun asked, looking at her with those intense eyes.
"You know." It wasn't like her to be embarrassed about such things like sex.
Yi-jun chuckled weakly. "You can't beat a man for trying.
Listen, about last night..."
Cristal put her finger to his lips. "I know. It didn't mean a thing to you. Don't worry - I won't get all emotional and clingy just because you are the best lover ever. I'm a big girl. I know it was a spur-of-the-moment thing and I was handy."
She rose and walked down the aisle of the empty room before he could see the shame she felt.
Yi-jun caught with her outside, touching her elbow. "You have it all wrong."
Why is he being like this?
"Let's not argue on our last day here. Tomorrow we'll be on our way back to Korea and we won't have a lot of time to be together."
He would be working on another movie, and she would be preparing to go off to China with Aomori. Maybe it would be for the best to end it now before anything started...before she lost her heart to him. "Okay, I'll try to finish this up quickly.
But just a tour of the town," she told him. There was no way he could be interested in her romantically with all the beautiful women he came in contact with on a daily basis.
Beatrice arrived with the limousine, and Yi-jun helped her in and then climbed in behind her. He didn't say too much, just fiddled with his laptop that he had retrieved from under the seat in the limousine as they headed back to the hotel.
"What are you doing?" Cristal asked after watching him for several minutes.
"Making arrangements for this evening and for our return trip back home," he answered, closing the laptop and pushing it back under his seat. "The plane will be ready to leave around eight in the morning."
"Okay," Cristal replied. "I'll be ready. I plan to be in bed early."
"Me too," Yi-jun replied, setting back in his seat. "I won't keep you out late."
Cristal sat back in her seat. She guessed he was pissed off at her now. She sighed. It was all his fault anyway for taking her out of Korea. She bet he was wishing now that he'd taken someone who was a lot more fun.
"She is the most exasperating woman I know," Yi-jun said to Dong Kobayashi, his agent, once he was back in his room after seeing Cristal to hers.
"Whom are we discussing?" Dong asked. "You've been through so many women I can't keep track of their names."
Yi-jun frowned at the phone. He didn't have time for Dong's sarcastic