You Had Me At Annyeong! by Malini Banerjee

Author:Malini Banerjee [Banerjee, Malini]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Published: 2025-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Jeju, Korea

‘Can’t sleep?’ Haneul’s baritone is oozing warmth, and oodles of it at that.

‘Ah, you! Um, yeah. I always find it tough to sleep in a new place. What about you? It’s been a long day and we have an early start tomorrow. Shouldn’t you be asleep, Daepyonim?’

Hanee has been enjoying a little time alone. Sitting on a white wicker chair close to the private beach of the resort they are staying at, she has been listening to the sound of waves and breathing in copious amounts of the salty fragrance of the sea.

‘Of late, I find myself doing the exact opposite of all that I should be doing. Some would even say that lately I haven’t at all been myself. What do you reckon? Do I seem different?’

Haneul is half-serious, half-flirtatious.

Timira looks up from her glass of green-apple-flavoured sparkling water with incredulous eyes.

‘Me? What do I reckon? I barely even know you!’ she exclaims in a tone that Haneul can’t quite decide is incredulous or scoffing.

Haneul, having realized how silly his question must’ve seemed to Timira, feels a little shy and laughs nervously, all the while staring at his feet and twisting his toes around the sandal post.

They sit in silence, Timira biting the straw inside her now-empty glass and Haneul sighing every few seconds, leaning a little further back against the lounge chair with each sigh. The air smells of the sea, a fragrance Timira is familiar with, having spent decades living in a coastal city, but the breeze blowing over is cold and unfamiliar. Timira shivers under her cotton sweatshirt.

SO FRICKKINNNN COLD! Aaaah, I want to head in. Why is this man sitting here looking like a gorgeous, ethereal creature in this gorgeous, ethereal moonlight? Isey thand nahin lagti kya? Kaise baitha hai aise chaddi pehenkar nangi taange nikaalkar! Look at those calves … uff! Pucca bachpan mein athlete raha hoga. Lagta bhi hai. Full player. Kahan yeh khiladi, aur kahan main anari …

She starts to hum the title track of Main Khiladi Tu Anari and giggles as she recalls the dance steps that were wildly popular in her childhood.

‘What is that you are singing?’

Haneul interrupts her performance with an amused smile and curious eyes.

‘What? Uh, did you say something?’

‘I asked about the tune you were humming …’

‘Oh, that. Um, nothing much, it’s a song everybody back home sings all the time. A motivational song that’s taught in every school. It talks of brotherhood, respect and sportsman spirit.’

‘Really?’ Haneul doesn’t believe a word she has just said. She had been enjoying it far too much for it to have been a motivational anthem. But he decides to play along, chuffed that Timira is in a playful mood and teasing him. Such feelings are new to him and he’s eager to learn more about himself and what he’s capable of feeling.

‘Geureomyo! I’d teach you but it requires in-depth knowledge of ancient Indian arts.’

‘Of course. Knowledge that you possess, obviously.’

‘You bet!’

‘How might one acquire such knowledge?’

‘I’d tell you, but it takes years.

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