It was a warm afternoon, bright and sunny, but in her mind, it was raining, chaotic, flashes of white hot lightning clashing in the sky. Jumin said it had been a while since she had proper sunlight, and he needed her to be healthy.
"There's someone coming for us tomorrow. I'll pick out a dress for you and see that you look appropriate for this." he sighed thoughtfully.
She barely heard him, lost in the haze of her thoughts, absentmindedly fidgeting with her sleeve. "Ah? Who…"
"Oh, nothing to worry about. A painter, I thought it would be fitting to have a nice painting to commemorate our love." he told her. "What do you- oh, excuse me."
His phone rang, and he took a few steps away to answer it privately. She could only pick up part of what he said, guessing it must have been Jaehee on the other end.
"Hm? No. I won't be in today or tomorrow. Take as long as you feel like, right now I can't handle distractions, so as long as your work is done well, I don't care." he said.
That was all she managed to pick up on, watching him walk further away, as if purposely trying not to let her hear any of it. So he wasn't planning on leaving for a few days...That wasn't a very comfortable thought. Jaehee was probably incredibly busy without him at the office, and it wasn't fair to her. Her presence was supposed to comfort him, encourage his return to work, but it seemed her arrival had only contributed to worsening the problem. Jumin returned after a bit, pocketing his phone, nodding his head towards the door.
"It's been long enough, right? Ready to go back inside? Lunch should arrive soon enough, I've selected something that should be sufficient to your current dietary requirements." he explained, offering his arm.
She held back a sigh, slipping her arm in his, following his lead back inside. Her picky taste in food made no difference when he was in control, he picked based on what was best at the moment, regardless of whether or not she personally liked it, and she knew he wouldn't stop watching her until she finished, in case she was tempted to do something else with it. Even her parents weren't quite so stern, when she was younger, they tried to cajole her into eating properly, but never went to such lengths to disrespect her in such a way. Her health mattered too, but they had been the type to let her become her own woman, with personal likes and dislikes, though she was now fairly sure they had no idea what had happened to her, since it had been months since they spoke. Maybe they even thought her dead.
"You look tense. Perhaps I should arrange for some relaxing activities for you. Or if you prefer, I could take care of you myself? I'm not properly trained for such things, but that's what couples do, isn't it?" he wondered.
If she had to pick between the two, a day of relaxation sounded better, but she couldn't just tell him that. "Whatever you think is best, I trust your judgment."
His hand came up, twisting a loose lock of her hair between his fingers, sighing. "You're so perfect for me. I'm quite happy you belong to me."
He said something that struck her as odd, but unusual enough to store it away for later, in case it might somehow prove useful. "If anyone else had...well, it doesn't matter, you're mine. Just realize I wouldn't have pursued you if you were someone else's. I'll never have to worry about that. You'll be at my side and tied to me soon enough. We'll be happy together, I'll make sure of it."
That was all it would have taken? Her being involved with someone else? For a moment, she again thought of Zen, if she had only expressed her feelings for him sooner, this could have been avoided entirely. If that was no longer an option, perhaps somehow she could convince Seven to, and the idea disgusted her more than being involved in a marriage she didn't want, but he knew people, maybe he could find a way to see her quickly married before Jumin had a chance to find her. Ugh. At the same time, better the demon you know than the one you don't, after all. At least with him, she knew the kind of trouble he was.
"I'm already so happy." she lied.
"I'm pleased to hear you say that. Although...I'm still not sure my efforts have taken. After lunch, I feel like we should try again." he told her distractedly.
He appeared to be looking over some manner of paper chart as he spoke to her, something that was probably important, though she didn't feel comfortable asking what it was. Part of her worried it was about her. Her life on paper, that seemed depressing.
Jaehee exited the car, sending the driver away, sitting across from two strangely dressed figures, shrouded in the shade.
"What's the word?" the first asked.
"He won't be coming to work until the day after tomorrow." she replied.
"Hm… That's a little more time than I expected. At least it will give me a chance to review the details and make sure it's still a sound plan." he said.
"I have to be honest. I don't like waiting so long, who knows what he could do to her in that time… Jaehee isn't there any other way?" the second man asked.
"I wish there was, I don't like it either, but he won't change his mind once he's made plans. I feel like he's up to something suspicious…" she admitted.
"It will be more suspicious if anything were to happen to that jerk. Hey, your plan, no one's going to get hurt, will they?" he asked the other man.
"No one, just my poor baby…" he lamented.
"You're that worried about her?" the second man asked curiously.
"Well, her too, but I wasn't calling her my baby. The problem is where to take her. Jumin doesn't know where the apartment is, but the two of you can't know either. It's risky, I won't be able to respond quickly if something happens, and if he does find her, it's all over." he explained.
"And the office is no good either, he would find her in a matter of minutes." Jaehee added.
"There's no choice then. I'll bring her to my place. I won't let him in even if he does show up, and I can hide her. If he tries anything, I can just call the police. Even with work, I can still take care of her." the second man sighed.
"I understand how you feel about her, but please think clearly. Not only could that be catastrophic for your career, but there's so much potential for her and you to get hurt if she stays with you, Zen." Jaehee said.
He shook his head negatively. "I'm not sure you do understand how I feel about her. I failed to protect her once, and I refuse to make that mistake this time. Look, my career is important, but if I have to put it off to keep her safe, she's worth more to me. I'll always get another role, but there's only one of her."
"You've never even seen her, I don't understand how you feel anything for someone you don't know…" she protested.
Zen gestured to the man beside him. "He's the only one aside from Jumin that has actually seen her. You're worried for her too, isn't that strange too, worrying for someone you don't know? If you think about it, if it weren't for you, she would never have gone, we'd have met her at the party, and I could have talked her out of seeing him then…"
"I need to go, I'm in the middle of important work, but I need to do a little more research. I'll be ready in time, count on me. Don't fight, we have a common goal. Either way, it'll look suspicious if we're seen together like this, so we need to split up for now." Seven said.
Please...don't forget about me, even though I don't deserve to be saved from this, please...just don't forget me…
Glancing across the table, her eyes fixed on the ring he slid on her finger. It was lovely, normally anyone would be ecstatic, but to her, it was just another cage, except there was still a chance to be free of this one, this was more of a leash, with a promise to be caged soon. Her eyes wandered up to meet his, forcing a smile to mirror his own.
"I picked it to complement your beauty. It suits you. I hope you like it." he said gently.
"I do, you have such a wonderful eye for details, my love." she said.
It was so hard to say that without her voice shaking. If she got free of him, perhaps she could become an actress, she was certainly developing a talent for it. She didn't have Zen's passion for it, but it was something to think about, anyway...
