At a quarter to three, Seong Jae burst into her bedroom just as So Ri finished throwing the last of her clothing into a large suitcase. Her perfumes, shoes, makeup, and personal effects lay scattered all over the bed and the floor. After the suprise announcement of Yi Jeong's engagement to his secret girlfriend, she'd sneaked out of the media frenzy as soon as possible. Arriving at Seong Jae's house, she'd thrown open all her drawers and emptied them, one by one, her movements sloppy and rushed. Her efforts to contact Madeleine had been for naught. Stupid girl had her phone turned off. She supposed she'd have to go by Madeleine's apartment on the way to the airport and drag her out.
She'd been trying to put a finger on the reason for the anger coursing through her. She'd gotten what she wanted, at least in part, but now she felt more frustrated than she had at the beginning of the night.
Because So Yeong-cheol knew what Seong Jae had been planning, and now they were more vulnerable than ever if they stayed here.
Because now both of them were angry, and there was no telling what would happen to anyone involved.
Because for a split second she thought she saw herself up on that stage, twenty years younger.
Because she had needed him to be brave for her, and he had failed her.
Because he had failed her, and she was on the losing end again.
"What are you doing?" Seong Jae slurred, leaning against the bedroom door.
"What does it look like?"
"Running off to be with your ex-lover? Or should I drop the ex?"
"I'm going back to Paris."
"Like hell you are."
"Well, I'm certainly not going to stick around here to clean up the mess you've created." Shoving her suitcase closed, she clicked the lock shut and smoothed down her skirt.
"You knew about this, didn't you?" Seong Jae rounded on her, pushing her back into the dresser, causing some of her jewelry to slip to the floor. Crushing a bracelet underfoot, she pushed him off of her. His suit reeked of liquor, the cheap kind.
"I went to the bathroom for five minutes, and when I got back the whole place—"
"You were with him, weren't you? What he did say? Was that freak show back there his idea?"
So Ri scoffed.
"He said the old man is onto us. He knows everything! But you were so careful with all your little details, weren't you? Even I didn't know. Well, it's over. We've got no reason to wait around hoping he won't expose us. And he will. I'm leaving. Now."
Grabbing her arm so hard it hurt, he forced it away from the handle of her carry-on.
"See that's where you're wrong. You don't know what the old man bargained with for that marriage arrangement. You don't know what he's got to lose."
"So Yeong-cheol never has anything to lose."
"How about his reputation? His financial security? His legacy? How would everyone like to find out his precious museum's nothing but a sham?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm not the only one who dabbles in forgeries, my dear."
So Ri slapped his hand away.
"What?"
"And then there is that little matter of your history with his son. But that was just the icing on the cake."
"You told him?...You told him?! You bastard!" So Ri lunged at him, aiming at his chest with her fists only to be stopped by his hands on her wrist. Twisting her arms back towards her, they engaged in a heated tug of war for some moments before he pushed her back into the dresser again. A sharp pain shot up her back, and she kicked at his leg until he pinned her more firmly so that she was wedged between him and the dresser.
"I wonder...Does So Hyun Sub know?" Seong Jae continued, his voice deceptively calm.
"You bastard. You promised!"
"You promised yourself to me, but you never wanted me, did you?" He dropped his voice lower, and she flinched when his breath tickled her ear. "Tell me, when we made love, did you close your eyes and imagine him?"
"Stop it."
"When you met him at the hotel the other night, did you go down on him like a common whore? Don't look so surprised. It's my business to know who comes and goes out of my own hotel. Or for that matter, my own wife."
"What if I did?" So Ri spat. "Are you going to do something about it? What? You want me to get down on my knees and beg forgiveness?"
"You ought to be down on your knees thanking me! I married you when no one else would have, and you know it. I raised his son in my own damn house!"
"Oh, aren't you just the Good Samaritan! I know damn well what you married me for. Tell me. Did you always intend to blackmail the old man? Or was it just my father's money you were after?"
"Well, it certainly wasn't your winning disposition."
"And now you're punishing me. That's what this is, isn't it?"
"Do you know how much I had to lie each time you had a nervous breakdown? And it was him you were crying over the whole time. Wasn't it? Wasn't it?!" He shook her and swung her around so that her back faced the bed.
"I hate you." she choked out. "I hate you so much I could kill you."
"Say it! Tell me you're still in love with him!"
"I hate you! I hate him! I hate everyone! Why can't you just leave me alone?!"
Seong Jae gripped her shoulders harder, and the blood rushed to his face.
"Oh hit me why don't you?! Go ahead!" she cried out, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "Or why don't you just...like you did...like you did..."
He squeezed her tighter, his hands trembling and his forehead creased with rage. Just when she thought he might actually do it, he released her.
She collapsed on the bed, unable to finish the sentence. Rubbing at the stitches on the quilted bedspread, she tried to swallow the memory back down with the bile rising in her throat. Her eyes squeezed shut, then opened again.
"It takes two, my dear." Seong Jae said quietly, his black dress shoes receding on the carpet beneath her.
When So Ri looked up, he had his hand on the door handle.
"I hope your daughter knows what you're capable of by the end of this," she whispered. "And I hope she hates you for it."
Seong Jae merely stared, meeting the challenge in her gaze with evident amusement.
When he at last disappeared into the hallway, shutting the door much too quietly behind him, she let out a labored breath she didn't know she'd been holding, the gasp hollow and much too loud in the empty room, like a pinprick in her vacant heart.
Stumbling in her heels, Ga Eul nearly crashed into Yi Jeong when he paused at the door to his apartment and fished his keys out of his suit pocket. She felt like she had been walking on needles—both literally and metaphorically—all night, and now she only wanted to take these blistering heels off and fall into a deep, numbing sleep. Unfortunately, the awkwardness between her and Yi Jeong had only grown during the car ride back to his apartment, where she would be spending the night. He'd said three words to her the entire time and only to ask if she was cold.
It was cold, she thought, following him inside. He must be mad at her still, though his face gave nothing away.
Or maybe just tired, she thought again, noting the sluggish way he shrugged off his shoes and coat.
Mumbling something about taking a shower, he disappeared into his bedroom, leaving her with only Milo circling her legs.
Picking up the excited feline, she combed his soft fur over one way, then the other. A large glittering diamond weighed heavily on her ring finger, its presence not unwelcome but not yet familiar. When Yi Jeong had given it to her in Hyun's Sub's study, having sneaked up to the offices on the pretense of collecting his father, he told her they could exchange it later if she didn't like it. Truthfully, she would have been happy with something much simpler, but she supposed she wasn't the one who needed to be impressed, and, after all, he had picked it out. It reminded her of him, radiant and larger-than-life.
She couldn't blame Yi Jeong for wanting to be alone. Perhaps being alone was better. They could sort things out in the morning. After all, they'd hardly gotten to talk about anything that had transpired in the past week, and she doubted either one of them would be up to it tonight.
Still, she stood there for a few minutes, glancing between his bedroom and the guest room, too uncertain to move one way or the other.
Just when she had decided to put her things in the guest room and squirrel herself away with only Milo for company, he reappeared in the doorway, wearing only his dress pants and frowning.
"You coming?"
Ga Eul set Milo down uncertainly.
"What?"
"You look tired. I thought you might like to take your shower first."
"Oh."
She didn't move. If she said anything else she might cry.
"Ga Eul-yang?"
Averting her gaze to the shoes on the floor, she nudged her heels into a symmetrical line with his, her fingers gripping the sides of her gown. One of the shoes tipped over, and after a few moments of fumbling, she flipped it back again with her toes.
There. Perfect.
She stepped back.
"I..." Swallowing, she ran her trembling fingers through her hair. "I'm sorry."
She barely realized that Yi Jeong had crossed the room until he stood in front of her, touching her cheek. When he pulled his hand away, his fingers were wet.
"Don't."
Don't? Don't what?
Another apology tumbled past her lips, followed by a series of babbled thoughts, only half-intelligible to her. Guilt and fear and a whole host of other emotions she couldn't comprehend yet pressed in on her, as if she were carved out of shadow and her soul contained nothing but grief. Eventually she realized he was hugging her and mumbling his own apologies.
How long they stood there, overcome by exhaustion and need for each other, she didn't know. Then she felt a warm hand dancing over her spine, finally landing on the zipper at the back of her dress. Tugging gently at the catch, Yi Jeong guided it down her back until the dress slipped effortlessly from her body. Relieved of its weight, she stepped out of it as Yi Jeong pulled her forward, kissing her lips and her cheeks and her neck. He lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Still kissing her as she clung onto him, he backed them into the bedroom and kicked the door shut on the poor cat. Her back hit the bed. His belt hit the floor with a clink, followed by his pants. Then his mouth found hers again, and her body arched into his with equal desperation as he whispered in her ear that no one was allowed to take off her dress but him.
Soft morning light peeked through the tiny slit between the light gray curtains in Yi Jeong's bedroom. The clock by the bed told her it was quite early yet, but she knew eventually she would have to get up and face the outside world again.
She wasn't ready yet. Not yet.
Slipping her bare shoulders beneath the soft navy blue silk sheets, she closed her eyes and listened to Yi Jeong tread softly back and forth, opening and closing drawers, disappearing into the bathroom and then coming out again. Finally she heard his bedroom door open and shut, and when she rolled over there was a note lying on his side of the bed.
Didn't want to disturb your sleep. I am going to a meeting (not with my grandfather, so don't worry). I should be back before lunch. Make yourself at home, but please stay here. There's no telling how many reporters are lurking around my apartment building right now. I'll see you when I get back, and we can talk. Sorry for leaving so early. Love you, Yi Jeong
"Meeting?" Ga Eul mumbled.
When Madeleine woke, her entire body ached as if she'd been batted around all night. Shifting her stiff neck groggily, she half-opened her eyes, raising her hand to rub at them only to realize she couldn't. Her wrists slammed against metal as she jerked them forward, and her back hit a hard wood surface.
Snapping her eyes wide open, she realized she wasn't in her bedroom. In front of her and on every side, she saw nothing but shadow and rusted metal walls. Beneath her, gray paint peeled from a dirty floor like overgrown tree lichen.
She wasn't lying in her bed. Instead, she sat on a wooden chair in the middle of a dark, expansive room, handcuffed, with her legs bound to the bottom of the chair.
Worse than that, she knew she wasn't alone. She heard rustling all around her, but from who or what she couldn't say.
"W-who's there?" she whispered hoarsely, her throat dry and sore in the cold air.
Shivering in her thin pajamas, she tilted her head back and squinted in the direction of the noise.
A single light bulb hung over her head, dangling from a yellowed string, and above that...
She screamed.