It was the morning after the auction ended.
I was organizing my luggage in the hotel room. I had been putting clothes into my suitcase when I suddenly looked out the window and saw Victoria Harbour slowly revealing itself through the morning mist. Last night, Hong Kong’s nightscape had glittered over that harbor, but now, beneath the gray sky, only quiet ripples moved across the water.
“Chloe would’ve liked this.”
The words slipped out before I knew it. She had wanted to come too, but with work piled up like a mountain, she hadn’t been able to make time. There was the pear harvest waiting in September, and more than anything, now that she had become the cooperative chair, she was at a point where she had to oversee and manage the grafting work for the members. She couldn’t just follow her boyfriend to Hong Kong.
Just then, my phone rang. It was my father.
“Brian, yesterday’s auction was incredible. The response from Hong Kong is enormous. We’ve been getting order inquiries nonstop since this morning.”
“Really? Which one are they asking about the most?”
“Aeshlon is getting the most, then Sylphid, then Quiet Hill. We don’t have any volume for Aether or Astra Veil, so we can’t sell those... But Brian, can you increase our allocation a bit next year? After this auction, demand in Asia has completely changed. I think we need at least thirty percent more.”
“Thirty percent is a little tight. If we pull volume from White & Co. Wine Trading, they’re not going to like it. So I’d have to make more on my end, but last year I kept the grape contracts as they were...”
“Ah... I see.”
“I’ll talk to Mr. Christopher White for now. But it might be difficult.”
“If it’s difficult, then it can’t be helped.”
“Instead, I’ll try signing additional Pinot Noir contracts starting this year. I’ll first see if we can add contracts with the existing vineyards, and if not, I’ll look into whether there are any vineyards in the Russian River Valley that can contract with us.”
“But can you produce more? Do you have room in the tanks?”
“There’s space for one or two more ten-thousand-liter tanks. Anything beyond that will increase a lot once the current construction is completed.”
“Then I suppose we’ll have to go on like this until next year. It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped.”
“Exactly.”
Just when it seemed like the call was about to end, my father drew in a short breath and said,
“Oh, and by the way...”
“Yes.”
“When are you going to marry Chloe?”
I froze, still holding the jacket I had been halfway through putting into the suitcase.
“Wait, what... Why all of a sudden?”
“It’s not all of a sudden. How long have you two been dating? I’m honestly curious too.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Don’t just think about it. Do it. Chloe is kind, and she only has eyes for you. How long are you going to make her wait? And your mother is secretly hoping for grandchildren too.”
“Grandchildren? Come on... I’m not even thirty yet.”
“In Korea, thirty might still be young, but you know how it is here. Plenty of your friends are already married...”
“That’s true.”
“So I’d like you to settle down soon too. That’s all. You’re stable now, and are you really going to let Chloe slip away like this? She may not have as much time to spare as you do.”
“Mm... All right. I’ll think about it.”
After hanging up, I sat down on the edge of the bed.
When I thought about it, it wasn’t such a strange thing. Especially considering how long Chloe and I had been dating... Both of us were settling into our places in life. And when the Sotheby’s auction ended last night, the first thing I had wanted to do was call Chloe.
Then why had I never thought about it seriously?
No, it wasn’t that I hadn’t thought about it. I had. Vaguely. Someday, I would have to... I had simply never decided when exactly that someday would be.
I put the jacket into the suitcase and stood up. There was still time until my flight this afternoon, so I could pack later.
The streets of Hong Kong Central were crowded from the morning.
I began walking without any particular destination. At first, I had only come out to get some air, but as I walked, my feet naturally carried me toward the Landmark shopping mall.
Once I entered the mall, familiar luxury brands lined up before me. Cartier, Bulgari, Harry Winston. Beyond the show windows, glittering things were displayed beneath the lights.
Without realizing it, I stopped in front of the Cartier store. It wasn’t as if I had a plan. I just thought I might as well go in. When a staff member greeted me with a smile, I said casually,
“I’d like to look at some rings.” “What kind are you looking for?”
“An engagement ring.”
After saying it, I was the one more surprised. The words had come out far more naturally than I expected.
The staff member opened a glass case and took out several types to show me. There were various designs, from classic ones with solitaire diamonds to others with small side settings. Each time one was placed on the case, the light reflected off it and spread in dazzling flashes.
I could tell they were pretty, but I didn’t know whether they would suit Chloe.
I tried to think about what kind of style Chloe liked, but I drew a blank. When she worked at Harris Farm, she wore work clothes, and when she was in business meetings, she dressed neatly. Had I ever seen her wearing a ring? Maybe I had, maybe I hadn’t.
“What size does she wear?”
When the staff member asked, I was flustered again.
“Ah, well... I’m not sure.”
Come to think of it, I had given her plenty of other gifts, but never a ring. She had never said anything either, but... even if she hadn’t said anything, I felt like there was no excuse for not buying her a ring after we had been dating for so long.
I lowered my head for no reason, and the staff member smiled as she said,
“If you don’t know the size, you can bring in another ring of your girlfriend’s, and we can match the size for you.”
“I don’t think she has... any other rings either.”
The staff member smiled kindly. It seemed this sort of situation wasn’t new to her.
I stared for a long while, then left the store, thinking it still didn’t feel quite right.
The next place I entered was Bulgari.
It felt a bit more intense than Cartier. Bold, thick designs caught my eye. I thought maybe this side might suit Chloe better, then thought perhaps not. Chloe was someone who liked practical things more than flashy ones.
I stared at the ring cases for a long time, and while I listened to the staff member’s explanation, my mind was actually elsewhere.
How should I propose?
Should I get down on one knee? Should I do it somewhere special? Or should I just bring it up naturally? Chloe didn’t like anything too noisy, but if it was too plain, it might seem insincere...
In the end, I left there empty-handed as well.
I started walking down the street again.
I was turning toward Tsim Sha Tsui when, as I passed an alley, a small shop caught my eye. Old-looking watches were displayed inside the show window. It didn’t seem to be a luxury brand store, but rather a shop specializing in vintage watches.
I entered without much thought, and the inside was wider than I expected. Each glass case was packed full of old watches. An old man who looked to be the owner, around seventy or so, was peering into one of the cases with a magnifying glass.
I slowly looked through the cases, then stopped in front of one watch. It was a 1960s Piaget ladies’ watch. The case was clean, and the color of the dial had faded slightly, but that only gave it a strangely beautiful charm.
“You have a good eye.”
The old man came up beside me and spoke in English tinged with a Cantonese accent.
“Is this watch special?”
“This watch was sold in Hong Kong in 1967. There’s an engraving on the back of the case.”
The old man took out the watch and showed me the back. A few Chinese characters were engraved there.
“What does it mean?”
“It means, ‘All the time I spend with you.’”
I stared at those words for a moment.
The time I had spent with Chloe passed through my mind. The cherry orchard at Harris Farm. The wine we had drunk on Redwood Terrace. The times we had laughed at each other after being ruined by cold damage, heat waves, and torrential rain...
“How much is it?”
For now, a ring was a ring, but I decided I had to buy this watch. As for the ring, it seemed right to choose it together with Chloe after I went back. I didn’t know her size, and I needed to check her taste directly.
It was afternoon by the time I returned to the hotel. After hesitating for a moment, I sent Chloe a text.
‘The auction ended well. I’ll be back tomorrow.’
A short while later, a reply came.
‘I know. I saw the news. Congratulations.’
Then another line arrived.
‘There’s something I want to talk about when you get back.’
I stopped for a moment as I looked at the message, then sent a reply.
‘Me too.’
“Haa... This is so annoying...!”
After returning from helping with grafting at a cooperative member’s farm, she sat there with her lips stuck out, looking thoroughly sulky.
She had reason to sulk. There was the fact that she had sent Brian to Hong Kong alone, and as she kept getting older, Brian still didn’t seem to have any thought of proposing. That made it even worse.
In truth, it was something she had thought about for a long time. The vague ideas she’d had from the moment she started dating Brian had become more and more concrete as time passed. She had assumed that someday, Brian would bring it up first, but that someday kept being pushed further back.
She had tried not to show it, worried that she might burden Brian, but she couldn’t help growing more impatient. What if, later on, Brian’s parents suddenly brought over some Korean woman they knew and introduced her to him? Or what if, because of his fame, he went to Korea and fell for someone there?
How could she not feel anxious?
Chloe set down her pen, folded her arms, and leaned back in her chair.
“Should I just do it first?”
In truth, waiting wasn’t her style. Reading other people’s moods wasn’t her style either. If something was frustrating, she moved on her own. It was better to step forward and be wrong than to miss a chance while waiting.
Chloe picked up her notebook.
She already knew what she was going to say. There was no need for a long speech. She wasn’t the type to talk at length in the first place.
“The problem is where to do it...”
Redwood Terrace. The cherry orchard at Harris Farm. Any place Brian liked would probably do, but he liked so many places that it actually made choosing harder.
Chloe wrote down a few candidates in her notebook, then stopped.
The place where Brian felt most at ease. When she thought about it, there was only one answer.
Redwood Terrace.
He was the kind of person who always sat there in the evenings, looking out over the vineyard. When he sat in that spot with a glass of wine in hand, he wore the expression that was most like Brian.
“Good, the place is decided...”
Next was the gift.
Chloe folded her arms and thought for a moment. It wasn’t that she was wondering whether a gift was necessary for a proposal. She already had a sense of what to give. The problem was whether she was sure.
A ring.
She briefly wondered whether giving a man a ring was right, then decided to just do it. She was the one proposing, so there was no need to be cautious about what she gave him too.
Chloe picked up her phone and began searching. Men’s rings, proposal rings, Cartier men’s bands, Bulgari men’s rings.
After looking through various images, she stopped scrolling at the Love ring from one luxury brand. It wasn’t too thick and had a simple design. There was a screw detail shaped like a screw head, and while it wasn’t flashy, it was clearly a luxury design at a glance. It seemed like it would suit someone like Brian, who used his hands a lot. The thickness wouldn’t get in the way while he worked either.
“This is nice.”
Without delay, Chloe sprang to her feet and immediately got into her car. Brian was coming back tomorrow, so she didn’t have much time. When she entered the store, a staff member greeted her with a smile.
“What are you looking for?”
“I’d like to see Love rings. For men.”
The staff member opened the case and took out several types to show her. Yellow gold, white gold, rose gold. Chloe stopped in front of the white gold. This would suit Brian’s skin tone.
“What size does he wear?”
Chloe answered without the slightest hesitation.
“About... this much? His fingers are on the long and slender side. A little smaller than your ring finger?”
Since the staff member happened to be a man, it was easy to compare.
“You know quite precisely.”
“I’ve been looking at him for a long time.”
“We happen to have that size in stock.”
The staff member smiled and took out the correct size to show her. Chloe slipped it onto her own finger and looked at it in the mirror. It was much larger than her finger, but she could clearly imagine how it would look on Brian’s hand. It seemed like it would suit him.
“I’ll take this one. And one for me too.”
“Ah, then I’ll show you the women’s version.”
After the shopping was done and the staff member began wrapping the items, Chloe briefly looked at her own face reflected in the showcase glass. Her expression looked both a little funny and a little excited.
As she left the store, holding the small shopping bag, Chloe murmured,
“Now the place and the gift are settled.”
All that was left was for Brian to come back.
Just then, her phone vibrated. Funnily enough, it was a text from Brian at exactly that moment.
‘The auction ended well. I’ll be back tomorrow.’
Chloe sent a reply.
‘I know. I saw the news. Congratulations. There’s something I want to talk about when you get back.’
A short while later, Brian’s reply came.
‘Me too.’
Chloe stared blankly at those two words for a moment.
“Huh? What’s that?”
Then she let out a small laugh. It was obvious. He was probably going to boast about meeting someone important in the wine world in Hong Kong and drinking some incredible wine.
“Hehe, he’s going to be so surprised.”
She could practically see Brian’s flustered face. Perhaps because she wanted to see that adorable expression as soon as possible, her steps grew quicker.