Something Beautiful
Chapter - 37

While standing in front of the window watching Lisa galloping along the driveway in bright blue riding clothes, yugyeom glanced at her grandmother who was next to her. "It's amazing," he said flatly. "In one year she's bloomed into a very beautiful woman."

"Actually not very amazing" said the grandmother faithfully. "He does have good bones and a beautiful figure, he's just too thin and too young. His body is not yet contained, I myself am also a bit slow growing."

"really?" said Yugyeom while grinning.

"True," the woman replied firmly, then she was suddenly sad. "He still brought flowers to be placed on the Mingyu inscriptions every day. Last winter, I thought I'd cry when I saw her wading through the snow while carrying flowers from the greenhouse."

"I know," said Yugyeom softly. Her eyes looked back at the window while Lisa waved towards them and handed Ruu to the stewardess. His hair that was shiny and tangled from being blown by the wind was now long and bumpy all the way to his back. His skin was pink, and his dense eyelashes overshadowed his large eyes and glowed like emerald in the dark.

Mingyu had once thought he was a boy, but now the bright blue riding suit showed the seductive body of a woman with beautiful curves in the right place. Yugyeom's eyes follow the gentle swing of Lisa's hips as she steps up the front steps, admiring how her long legs move gracefully. Everything about that woman now could attract the attention of men.

"A few weeks away, when he made his debut," Yugyeom said, "We were forced to banish his fans with sticks and extra security."

***

"Yugyeom," called the grandmother as she walked nervously along the sitting room in her silvery satin dress. "Do you think I made the mistake of not hiring a younger woman to teach Lisa the manners of the upper class?"

Yugyeom flipped from the mirror where she tidied the intricate folds of her clean white tie, then smiled sympathetically at her grandmother's panic ahead of Lisa's final moments of debut tonight. "It's too late to change it now."

"Well, who else is better than me at doing manners?" The grandmother reminded Yugyeom bluntly, reversing her first opinion, "I'm considered a good role model for manners among nobles, right?"

"True," replied Yugyeom, dismissing his grandmother's wish that he should not have taught Lisa to imitate the behavior of a seventy-year-old woman.

"I can't go through this," said the grandmother suddenly, then sat down in her chair, her expression completely anxious.

Yugyeom approached the anxious woman. The woman who had eyes lit up like lightning, tongue as sharp as razor, and cold as an iceberg, feared by all the upper classes and their families, except Mingyu, for five decades. For the first time in his life, Yugyeom spontaneously kissed the woman's forehead. "Nobody would dare to accuse you of insulting Lisa, even though they suspect her origins. You can do this job well. A weak woman may fail, but you don't, Grandmama. You're a very influential and powerful woman."

The granny digested the statement for a moment then slowly tilted her silver-haired head to give a thoughtful nod, "You're completely right, sure."

"Sure," said Yugyeom, hiding his smile. "And you don't have to worry about Lisa revealing her own background."

"I'm more worried that he's revealing what's on his mind than his background. I don't know what his grandfather thought when he smeared the boy's head with all the nonsense from the book. You know," I'm that woman with anxiety, "I really wish she had a wonderful season, admired people because of herself, and then managed to get a good soul mate. If Joshua hadn't proposed to the girl last week, Joshua would have been the only dignified nobleman in Britain unmarried. And that meant Lisa had to settle for an unknown noble or lesser one, as long as she had a good background."

"If that's your hope, Grandmama, it looks like you will be disappointed," Yugyeom said with a sigh. "Lisa has no interest in anyone this season nor wants to be admired by any city man."

"Don't be silly. He's been trying, studying, and waiting for this month to come!"

"But not for the reason you think," Yugyeom replied calmly. "He was here because you assured him that Mingyu wanted him to earn a decent place among the nobility as his wife. For these few months he worked hard just for one reason, that he deserved that honor. He has no interest in marrying again. He told me last night. I think she convinced herself that Mingyu loved her, and she was absolutely determined to sacrifice herself for her dead husband."

"Geez!" said the grandmother, angry. "It's only nineteen years old! Of course she should get married. What did you say to her?"

"Nothing" replied Yugyeom jail. "How can I say that in order to be accepted by the Mingyu social environment he must learn to seduce and cheat, instead of studying the conversation in the sitting room and the Debrett's Peerage."

"Go, Yugyeom!" sigh of grandma. "You're making me anxious. Let's go and see what makes Lisa so old. It's time we left."

In the corridor in front of her bedroom, Lisa stands in front of a small painting with a photo of Mingyu she found in an abandoned room when they first arrived in London. And he had the painting hung there, where he could see it every time he passed the corridor. The painting was made two years ago. On the portrait Mingyu bent one of his legs upward, his wrists casually placed on his knees, gazing towards the painter. Lisa liked the lifelike, non-rigid painting, but it was Mingyu's expression that drew her like a magnet and her heart was beating fast, because in the painting, it was, mingyu's expression resembled the man's expression when he wanted to kiss her. His gray eyes looked cute, understanding, and a lazy smile full of consideration slanted on his lips that were ready to move. Lisa took out a hand, touching the lips with her trembling finger, "Tonight for us, my husband," she whispered. "You won't be ashamed to give me a wife. I promise."

From the corner of his eyes he saw Yugyeom coming towards him and he quickly pulled his hand. Without taking his eyes off the charming Mingyu figure, he said, "The painter who painted this photo is very talented, but I can't read his name. Who's she?"

"Jung Una" replied Yugyeom ketus.