Misconceptions
Chapter Thirteen:
Rude Awakening
Kouga squeezed his phone forcefully as if to crush it. No a call—not one call. She must have been really mad. From what Carissa told him, she had found her way to Seoul for a while and would be back in a couple of days.
"What's cookin' good lookin'," Ai teased as she slid her shoes off at the door and set her hand-bag down next to them.
Kouga shook his self free of his thoughts.
"How's Ayame doing? Hana got pretty rough with her."
"I wouldn't know. She's in Seoul."
Ai raised a brow. "She moved to Korea just to get away from you?"
He rolled his eyes. "No, she just went for a week."
"Oh, that explains a lot. So I'm guessing your mom decided that I should surprise you by telling you she planned dinner for us. In fact, with both our families."
"Oh joy," he countered in a bored voice.
"Yeah, I know how you feel. Look, Kouga . . . I know this isn't your first idea of relationships. My parents married out of business just like yours. And I guess they decided to plan the same fate for both of us, but I'm trying to make it right."
"Don't you see by living up to what they want they'll always win?"
She crossed her arms over her chest. "I understand that you're mad, okay. I'm mad too. I feel like a Barbie doll that has to marry Ken just because they do. You could at least try to make it work."
"I don't want to."
"Well, you should! You know if it doesn't work out with me then your parents will just find another girl who's got the same bank account and future. You think just because you and Ayame have something special it makes excuses. You aren't the only one who has feelings for someone."
"You—you have feelings for someone else." He chuckled. "Wow, so who's the unlucky bastard?"
"That's none of your business. Now, maybe you'd like to get ready for dinner. You don't exactly have much of a choice."
.o0o.
"Hey Loser. How's the city been treating you?" Carissa greeted into the phone as she jumped over the cord. "What'd you buy me?"
Ayame laughed into the phone. "It's actually been going great. I haven't gotten run-over once. It's pretty much like Tokyo."
"Great—now what'd you buy me?"
Ayame sighed. "It's a surprise. How are you doing living alone for a week? I'm sure you miss your roommate."
"Eh, I can do with out her," she teased. "I've actually been rooming with Hideki the whole time. Unlike our fridge, his is pretty packed."
"That's because he's never home and you always eat our food," she noted with a giggle. She always found it amusing how Carissa's eating habits was off the charts and she didn't gain a pound.
"Whatever, bitch. I'm still hot. So how's Landon?"
"Fine—and no you can't talk to him. I bet you'll turn it into some odd phone-sex thing and I'll never look at my phone the same way again."
Carissa rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah, I probably would. Anyway, I can't wait till you get home—and give me my gift. It better be good too. Daddy sent some chocolates from Switzerland and Germany. We can get fat off of it when you get home. But you better hurry or I'll end up eating them alone."
"Sounds good. I better go. I promised I'd meet Burke—I mean my Dad for dinner."
"Alright, don't get lost, Bitch."
"Thanks, I'll do my best," She closed her Motorola and stuffed it into her pocket. She looked behind her at Landon who waved at her from a distance to hurry and catch up with him. She ran out of the lobby and exited to through the automatic doors to get to him. "Sorry, Carissa called me."
"It's fine. The restaurant is only a block down. I doubt you really want to hurt the environment and take a cab there."
Ayame smiled at him. "Yeah, that would truly be a waste. Let's go."
It didn't take long for them to reach their destination as they managed to push past the crowd of people who also wanted to get somewhere. "Shoot," Ayame let out as her phone vibrated. "I'll meet you guys inside," she said.
Landon nodded and made his way inside the large fancy place.
Just as she took her phone out it collided with the concrete. She cursed herself inwardly and picked up to see the damages. Luckily it was only a few scratches—but she did miss her call. "Ugh," She viewed her calls, still crouched on the ground.
"Vorena," A man called to her.
She turned around, her waves whipping her in the face as she stood. "Excuse me?"
A handsome man looked back at her. He had short, dark hair—almost shaved and light shadow of hair on his face. He looked a little older than her and his amazing almost-metallic eyes seemed to sparkle in her presence. He was in one word beautiful.
Ayame looked behind her and next to her to see if he was talk to someone else. "I'm sorry," she spoke in Korean.
"Vorena," he whispered again, this time softer. It was as if he'd seen a ghost.
Ayame shook her head. "I'm sorry but I don't know who Vorena is. My name is Ayame—not Vorena."
"You . . ." He began softly. He suddenly looked dumb stricken. "Your face is so . . . similar." She shook himself out of his daze and smiled at her. "Forgive you just look . . . like someone I know."
Ayame watched the stranger walk away. He looked back at her with lost eyes. Ayame jumped as she felt a tap on her shoulder.
Landon looked at her confused. "Are you okay?"
"Huh . . . oh, yes I'm fine. I just—never mind."
"Who was that?"
She shrugged. "I don't know . . . he seemed to think I was someone else. I guess I could have a Korean twin," she teased herself.
Landon chuckled. "Come on, Dork. I'm hungry."
.o0o.
Ayame managed to pack her belongings. Sure, she had a few days till she left in Seoul, but she felt a little home sick. And packing up made her feel better. She loved spending time with Landon and her father, but she missed Carissa whining as she told her about al her little sexcapades. And she missed Kagome mothering the two of them as she cleaned up after them. She had to admit, she was a pure Tokyo girl. But most of all . . . she missed fighting with Kouga.
As weird as it sounded, she missed having a reason to ignore him . . . but it would have to stop.
While in Seoul she got see so many things that amazed her and left her dumbfounded. She saw the Han River with Landon. The water was different from Tokyo—it looked the same . . . but it was so different. She saw a few temples, and visited the War Museum and the National Museum of Korea.
Everything was fun yet educational—exactly how Kagome would have wanted it. Ayame sighed as she threw a photo album she'd been fancying onto her bed and stuck an ear phone of her iPod into her ear. "Sang-Min, can you tell Dad I went for a walk?" She asked the tall man that stood in front of the door to their suite.
He nodded and returned to his stern position.
Ayame resisted laughing and made her way down to the lobby where she began to stretch. She went up to the employee behind the counter. "Hi, Again. I was wondering if you had any mail for my Dad."
The woman smiled. "He usually comes down to get it," she noted while looking in a bin.
Ayame smiled and sighed. "Well I figured if I'm going down here, I might as well get the mail."
"That's nice. I'm sorry, but there's nothing today."
Ayame nodded. "I see, thank you." She turned to leave only to be face-to-face with another woman. "Sorry,"
The woman only gaped at her as she took her ear away from the phone. She had long brown hair that lay over her shoulders in two loose, thick braids and a thin, pale face. Her eyes were golden and large. She somehow reminded Ayame of Carissa—carelessly beautiful. She looked so put-together with a plain tank-top, a tight black cardigan, and tight blue jeans. Her stilettos matched her cardigan.
Ayame realized she had stared back at the woman too long and quickly averted her eyes.
"V-Vorena?" The woman whispered as if every last breath had been sucked out of her.
Ayame's eyes widened. "Excuse me?" Had she heard wrong?
"Oh . . . oh my—it's you. But you—Vorena!"
Ayame shook her head. "I'm sorry, but that's not my name."
"No, Vorena . . . Vorena—you are. I can't believe this."
"I'm sorry, Miss. My name isn't Vorena. You must have me confused."
"Jin," Called a man from a far. It was him—the man from yesterday.
.o0o.
"Thank you," Ayame said as the waitress handed her a coffee. "I'm sorry I can't control what my face looks like." She smiled. "I don't who this Vorena is that you and that man you were thinking I am, but I can guarantee I am not her."
Jin smiled as light reflected off her glass-glossed lips. She rubbed her back as she sipped her soy latte. "I guess my mind is just playing games with me. I hope you don't mind but I had to lie to Bin and I didn't invite him."
"Bin?"
"Yes, he was the man I was with at the hotel this morning."
"Oh," Ayame remembered. "I actually ran into him earlier the day before yesterday. He seemed to have me confused with this Vorena also."
Jin nodded. "I suppose you'd love to know who exactly we are all convinced you are."
Ayame nodded.
Jin sighed and drank some more of her drink. "Vorena and Bin were lovers—in fact they were married for a short period of time. They met in California. Bin went on a business trip and ended up falling a for a small college girl. After a year of knowing each other, they were so deep in love and we all knew they were just meant to be married. Anyway, Vorena moved to Korea with Bin and they were perfect."
"But . . ." Ayame encouraged.
Jin smiled sadly. "One day Vorena was upset and Bin wanted to take her out for a drive—he planned on proposing. It turned out that there was some rode block or something and truck came out of no where. Bin tried to avoid it and the car flipped. Vorena died on impact. There isn't' a day that goes by where Bin doesn't regret that day."
"I-I'm so sorry." It was all Ayame could say at the moment. "The story is . . . terrible. No one should have to go through that."
Jin nodded and sighed. "You understand why when we saw your face; a sudden hope came over us."
"Yes," Ayame agreed. "I know it's weird, but in a way I feel a bit guilty because I couldn't be her for you."
"It means a lot." Jin stood and grabbed her large polka-dotted duffle bag. "It was nice meeting you, Ayame. I have to apologize for my mistake—and cousin's."
.o0o.
"Where've you been?" Burke asked nonchalantly as he flipped the page of his paper. "Sang-Min said you went for a walk."
"I did," she fibbed.
"For tow hours—I don't think so. Now, what's going on? Is there anything I should be concerned about?"
Ayame shook her head and fiddled with the long sleeves of her polo. "I did go for a walk. I like walking so I took a lot longer."
"Are you sure that's all?"
She suddenly laughed. "What—do you want me to tell you I'm having a secret affair with the pool boy and we plan on running away to Paris together or something?"
Burke smirked. "Or something along those lines would be good."
She laughed again. "Alright sounds like a plan."
"So why would you choose Paris of all places in the world to run away."
She shrugged. "I like fashion. The fashion in Paris is amazing—from what I hear. I'd love to just sit on the balcony of my thirty-room mansion and draw all the girls rushing by because their fashion would be amazing. Their accessories would be amazing, and their hair would be so gorgeous that's you'd wonder if it was fake."
"Seems like someone likes to draw. Do you sketch and paint also?
"Yeah, I doodle a lot. I'm almost like an art nomad. I never stick with one thing for too long. Sometimes I sketch, sometimes I experiment with oil paints and sometimes I just draw to my little heart's desire. Carissa actually inspired me a lot. She's amazing with her fashion. It's like you look at a simple dress she makes and see an incredible story. She helped me get into my art. She's not good at designing by drawing and coloring so she left that to me. But her designs are still pure genius—sketches or not. She doesn't need paper to prove herself." Ayame sighed. "Sorry, I'm talking a lot aren't I?"
Burke shook his head. "Not at all. I like hearing about your life and your friends. It makes me feel like I've actually been there all your life. Can I see your art?"
Ayame nodded. "Sure, there's actually a sketch book on the coffee table."
Burke picked it up delicately and lifted the cover to reveal a sketch of a hand holding a necklace. Most of them were of Carissa's designs. "Who's this?" He asked point to a picture of a male looking into a night sky while a gust of wind blew behind him.
Ayame smiled nervously. "That's just some guy named Kouga."
'Hana,' Burked thought. "Kouga," he repeated. "Is that your boyfriend or something?"
Ayame scoffed. "Please, don't insult me."
"Ouch, I take it you don't get along."
"It's not that we don't get along it just . . . well yeah, we don't get along. We're just so different. Let's just leave it at: we argue a lot."
Burke chuckled and looked over some more of her work. "You seem to have an infatuation with drawing that boy."
Small warmth crept up her cheeks. "He's just easy to draw . . . I guess."
.o0o.
"Yeah . . . yeah, just say bye Daddy and let it be," Carissa teased with a giggled. "I love you two, bye." She stuck the phone back on the charger. She sighed as she threw herself on the couch next to Hideki who stretched as she swung her legs over his lap. "What time does your ship start?" She asked as she fiddled with his hands.
He groaned. "I have an hour to kill."
"Poor baby," she cooed and caressed his cheek. "You barely got any sleep. Aren't you tired."
Hideki shook his head. "Youkai don't get tired as easily like humans."
"Hm, lucky me."
They had spent the whole time shacking up at each other's places. They took advantage of Ayame's trip by spending more time together. They'd managed to get closer in so many ways. It was so odd for Carissa; she wasn't used to an actual relationship. Nothing really lasted more than a week for her—and that's how she liked it.
Hideki laid his head in the crook of her neck and shut his eyes. "This is much better than sleep."
Carissa smiled and began massaging his scalp. "This is so weird," she admitted.
"What's weird?"
"This—us. When I dated someone the deal was pretty much put out or get out."
"Guys were that mean?"
She laughed. "No, I was that mean. I never really had boyfriends just boy toys. Don't' get me wrong they were sweethearts . . . but they were such bitches."
"You're starting to sound like you're using the wrong side of your brain."
"Maybe I am using the wrong side of my brain."
"Am I your bitch?" he joked.
"Do you wanna be my bitch?"
Hideki laughed. "Maybe I do."
"You're hired." The trill of the phone broke through their laughs. "Hello?"
"Hey stranger, did you miss me?"
"Aya! What are you doing?"
"I'm getting ready to leave Seoul. I'm heading back to Tokyo today."
"Good, with my gift, right?"
Ayame laughed. "Of course. I could never forget your gift. I just wanted to call and warn you ahead of time unless you were doing something . . . or someone. So please make sure everyone's dressed when I get home."
"Okay, Ill wait for you naked," she joked.
"Kami, I hope you're kidding. Anyway, I better go. I'll call you when I'm home bye."
.o0o.
Ayame grunted as she struggled with her duffle bag. She had so much junk in there that a family of hamsters could live in there and she wouldn't have noticed. She should have taken Sang-Min up on his offer to help her with her bags. She suddenly felt dumb.
"I'll go check us in," Burke offered taking her ticket.
"Oh no," Ayame let out, suddenly realizing she left the nail polish she borrowed from Carissa on some bench. She growled.
"What's wrong" Landon asked.
"I left something behind. I'll be right back."
"You want me to go with you?"
She shook her head. "No, I've got it. Can you just watch my bags for a minute?" Before she could get an answer she rushed off. Out of no where, a gasp escaped her lips as she came face to face with the man again. "Bin—I-I mean, I-I'm sorry."
Bin smiled sadly at her. "You know my name?"
Ayame nodded slowly. "I spoke with your friend Jin for a bit."
"So then I'm guessing you know a little about my story."
She nodded honestly. "Yes, I do, and I'm sorry."
"Thank you. I take it you aren't Korean."
"No, do I look Korean? I'm Japanese. I came here for a small business trip with my father so I'm going back to Japan now."
"Ah, I see. Well your Korean is very good."
"Thanks." She flashed him a smile and sighed. "I better get going. Have a nice day." She waved and began walking away.
"It was nice meeting you, Ayame."
She froze and turned to face him. She flashed another smile a nodded and then walked away again.
Bin snapped his fingers at the man behind him. "I want you find out anything you can on that girl."
"Do you know her?" The man asked. "She looks a lot like—"
"I know," He interrupted. "Look, just do me a favor and find out anything you can on that girl. Something just . . . doesn't seem right."
.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.
A/n:
YES! It's a new chapter! Lol. Okay, so thanks for all your reviews. And to one reviewer, I'm in total love with Korean guys too. They are so hot. I'm currently in love with Hero Kim Jaejoong, he's from a band called DBSK and this band mates are also pretty adorable looking. Anyway, their a Korean 5-person group and their music is amazing! Oh and to another reviewer, I'm sorry I tried adding in a few sights to see, but I'm not that great with research. So I just added some main stuff in there.
Thanks for all your reviews. KEEP THEM UP! I'm happy to say I'm doing a lot better at updating all thanks to your guys. Lots of love! Take care! And stay tuned for next chapter.
Spoilers…sort of: Okay, this time Hana officially threatens Burke, but how? And what's up with this Bin guy? Besides the fact that Ayame looks exactly like his dead almost-fiancé, what does he want? He's going to be a huge factor in later chapters. And how will Kouga react to Ayame coming back in town? What will happen between the two? Can Burke protect Ayame from Hana's manipulating ways? STAY TUNED!