A week had gone by and Yul was yet to get any response from Liya. It was Saturday evening and they had to attend dinner at uncle Janid's house. Yul had informed Liya and Inu to be ready by the time he came back to pick them. So Liya was going through her wardrobe checking on which dress to wear. She remembered how Janid had indirectly ridiculed Yul for her inabilities. She didn't want to show up casually and add to his troubles. But nothing in her wardrobe satisfied her.
Liya was used to wear loose comfortable clothes than stylish ones. Naturally all the dress she had suited that taste of hers. And none of it was good enough to be worn for the dinner tonight. She pondered on whether she should go and buy a new one, or just make do with the best she had. Suddenly her phone rang and she was startled. It was Yul.
"Have you gotten ready?" Yul asked.
"No, not yet... Did you arrive already? Liya wondered if he was already waiting outside for them. So she ran to the door and checked if Yul was there. But no one was to be seen.
"No... I will be back only in about an hour..."Yul said and this relaxed Liya.
"Oh! okay...Then what is it?" She asked wondering why he had called then.
"What I called for is that..., if you aren't changed yet, and... if... if...you would like...then I have brought something for you... It's in my room. Take a look..." Yul stammered at first and then finished the rest quickly and cut the phone.
Liya didn't get the time to ask what it was or what she had to do with it. Anyway she decided to check it out. She went to Yul's room and looked around. Although Yul never locked his room, Liya never went inside that room before, thinking she should never cross the line.
As she went inside, she saw one of the family photos that Ginny took, hung near the bedside. Then on his study there were two photo frames. One was a picture of a woman, in her late thirties, but very charismatic. Liya guessed that it was Yul's mother. But it was the other photo that surprised her. It was hers. But not any of the ones that Ginny took. It was an old one, from the time she was working at the hospital. 'How did he get this?' Liya wondered but then dismissed the thought as Devin would have arranged it as convincing evidence.
Little did she know that it was not arranged by Devin and has been there for more than five years!
Liya looked around but didn't see anything that seemed to be left for her. So she decided to check the wardrobe. As she opened it, she was stunned by the scene inside. It was the wardrobe itself that Yul had prepared for her.
Along with Yul's clothes, there was a section which was meticulously prepared for Liya. Every dress inside matched along the trends and was carefully selected to match her taste, neither too bright nor too stylish; simple but elegant.
Liya stood there with her mouth wide open without able to choose one from it. Yul always made sure that nothing ever lacked in that house for Liya and Inu. She had already seen how much effort Yul had given in preparing everything in Inu's room. But there wasn't much in hers and had thought that it was Inu that only mattered.
But now she realized that it wasn't the case though she didn't understand why this was kept in Yul's room instead of hers. 'Maybe he didn't want me to feel forced. He sure is interesting.' Liya said to herself and picked a brown long dress out of it and went to change.
By the time Yul arrived, Liya and Inu were both waiting for him in the living room. Yul became very happy to see Liya wearing something from what he had prepared. "You look beautiful," he said and went inside to get freshen up.
Inu turned to look at Liya who looked different from her usual self, on hearing Yul.
"What are you looking at?" Liya asked Inu, seeing his eyes getting bigger with curiosity.
"Mom is really beautiful today." Inu said without taking his eyes of her.
"Don't learn things like this from your dad..." She replied as she felt embarrassed.
Yul came back quickly after changing. He was wearing a new shirt that matched Liya's dress with a simple overcoat. It was totally unlike his usual suited up appearance that Liya was familiar with. He brought two windbreakers along and gave it to Liya to hold.
Yul inspected Liya carefully and hesitated to do something. Liya also felt uncomfortable on being checked out by Yul especially at a close distance.
"What is it? Is anything wrong?" Liya asked unable to stand it anymore.
"Not really...but..." Yul said and raised his hand over Liya's head. Liya stepped back in defense automatically. But Yul pulled her back saying, "Don't move..."
Yul carefully removed the hairclip and let Liya's hair loose. It had become a habit of hers to tie her hair up into a bun from the time she worked. It was also convenient when doing household chores. So she seldom let it loose.
Liya was flabbergasted by Yul's actions and stood there paused. But Yul was beaming with joy and adjusted her hair to make her look prettier.
"I told you I like your long hair. Don't tie it up always..." He said as if it was a casual remark and then picked up Inu. He walked towards the car, but Liya was yet to register what just happened.