The final chapter came out so long that i had to split it into three because I didn't want it to end with an odd number of chapters. So there will be two more to go. Enjoy!

For the first time in weeks, I slept long in warmth and comfort, huddled in soft sheets, engulfed in the purest sense of home. The sun had raised and was balmily glimmering down through the crystal clear windowpanes, and for once I could hear the soundly chirping of the birds and trees rustling far off outside. It was slightly chilly but just the right amount, and there was a scrumptious aroma of a proper cooking meal wafting around. I woke up and laid in bed, just lying and basking in the moment for a long, long time. Suddenly I felt I was the twenty year old me. Still fresh in college, still living with my brother, waking up to his breakfast every morning and his warm words though I had never really noticed the significance of it all. At that point I realized just how all these tiny things really mattered, because I missed it being there, being the twenty year old me.

I finally sat up, stretching my limbs, still clad in an extra pair of Chorong’s pajamas and my hair in a mess of a crow’s nest and looked at my surrounding in new found curiosity. I was given one of the many spare rooms in Woohyun’s humongous new house which was donned in coffee colored furniture and pastel cream walls. The curtains and sheets had the same floral designs in brown and there was a painting of two teddies in ballet gowns hung above the bed’s headrest, which was rather peculiar. It had its own attached bathroom; the balcony overlooked the lawn and the city far out. All in all, despite its surprising monstrosity, Woohyun’s house was just fine.

After having spent days in the discomfiting space of the reception cushions and the confines of my personal office, I couldn’t bring myself to detach from the bed. It felt so different that it was almost surreal to me. It felt eerily similar to my younger days, when I used to wake up every morning in a similar manner to be greeted by Woohyun’s delightful cooking, humming and the clutter in the kitchen. The hectic life the thirty year old me had spent for almost far too long began to feel meaningless in so many ways that I couldn’t even begin to describe them. In the end I managed to shake all the unnecessary thoughts away and trotted off into the bathroom.

Finally upon arriving at the kitchen I was warmly greeted by the delicious scent of pancakes which made my stomach turn. Woohyun made pancakes without egg in them because I hated how they stench after cooling off; it was surprising that he had actually carried it on as a habit. I could say it by what I felt, and it gave me a strange sense of delight. He was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping on a steaming mug of coffee, his eye focused far ahead. I cleared my throat to gain his attention, he looked up and gave me a smile.

“You’re up”

“What’s for breakfast?” I asked, looking through the content of the fridge though inside I was straining to make a run for the pancakes.

“I made pancakes” he said as though on cue. “I put apple sauce, since you don’t like eggs”

I almost said that I knew, but I was too prideful to admit it that I merely shrugged and sat down before him. He looked up briefly and had a sip of coffee. “Going to work?”

I glared at him in response. “I have a case”

Woohyun’s smile naturally appeared, as though it was a secret we shared. “Of course you do”

But of course, I didn’t have any. Nonetheless, I found it unnecessary to admit that Sung Jong and I had our days free at the office more often than not. And also, embarrassing.

“Ah, by the way” he added, reaching over and placing a yellow melamine plate before me. “You got a call in the morning, I picked up”

“And?” I asked without much care while stacking my plate with the still warm delicacy, trying to show not too much of my pleasure of having a proper breakfast in days.

Woohyun cleared his throat. “It was from Harvey and Kim”

I dropped the fork in my hand with a clatter, my eyes widened in surprise, and soon, worried if he’d catch a trace of what he didn’t need to know, I quickly composed myself. “Ah…what did they say?”

Woohyun shrugged. “Didn’t say anything. They might call again”

I nodded.

“Maybe they want you back” Woohyun added into my silence. “Maybe they realized that they couldn’t go on without you, you know”

I threw at him a playful glare. “Woohyun”, and it earned a soft chuckle from his part before we succumbed into utter silence.

I chewed on my food quietly, allowing for the moment to last longer. I could feel Woohyun steal glances then and there, and instinctively I was thinking back to the days we lived together; our quiet meals sitting in one table, and sometimes we would fight for the last piece of toast or who gets to use the bathroom first. There were moments we’d suddenly break out into laughter, and also the moments where my anger will erupt and I would stomp off without a word, only to have Woohyun rushing back, always, and telling me he would give me a ride though we were from the same university. I suddenly realized that I actually missed living with him, missed having him there. I should probably have done this sooner, then I wouldn’t have gone into insanity.

After I had finished, I realized that Woohyun had finished his coffee too. He waited silently, in fact, he’d been waiting silently until I was done as though he was anticipating some sort of an explanation from my part. I knew I should be giving him just that at this point, because I hadn’t said a word to him the previous night when I crashed into the house in the storm as a weeping wreck, and went straight to bed with no explanations. But I couldn’t bring myself to. It felt too embarrassing and unlike myself to give explanations and admit things. I felt I’d rather keep everything to myself. This thought actually made me move quite soon, because I didn’t feel comfortable sitting there with Woohyun waiting for me to speak. Instinctively, as though in compensation, I reached across the table to gather Woohyun’s mug and all the empty plates. I didn’t even realize it when his hand reached out and tightly grasped onto mine. Upon looking up, what I witnessed was Woohyun’s horror stricken eyes. I followed Woohyun’s gaze, and it didn’t even require my attention for the fact to finally hit me.

Out of impulse, I struggled my hand out of his grasp and made a quick beeline to the kitchen sink, trying to busy myself with dishes which I didn’t intend to wash. And then, as though on cue, Woohyun’s cheerful morning demeanor fell, being replaced by his worried, concerned self.

“Eunji, are-are those…?”

I turned up the tap and held a plate under the flowing water to stop his voice coming to me. Suddenly, it was all coming back to me, in a surge of vicious emotions. The breakdown, Sung Gyu’s revelation, Sung Gyu’s derailed marriage, Sung Gyu’s spontaneous note, Sung Gyu’s eyes, Sung Gyu’s touch…Sung Gyu.

And being left alone by the people who suddenly meant the world for me.

“Eunji, speak to me” Woohyun tried again, his voice was calm, but I could easily catch the quiver in it. “Are those…?” Then he reached out, trying to grasp my hand again, but I pulled away and went on washing the same plate over and over again, my mind in hay wires, my patience on hilt.

“Eunji, are those cigarette burns on your hand?” he finally breathed out as though he gained his strength only then. “Eunji, why are there cigarette burns on your wrist? What did you try to do?!?”

“Nothing” I muttered, applied liquid soap onto the plate and began to rub it with bare hands.

“How could it be nothing? It doesn’t seem like nothing to me!”

I sighed heavily, feeling slightly exhausted and spared a slightest glance at his direction. “It is nothing, Woohyun”

“Let me see at least” He said, trying to reach over once more, but I stubbornly pulled away and applied more soap to the plate. It somehow got onto the still pink and raw line of cigarette burns, and the skin began to sting and prickle as though I was being stung on them by thousand bees. Tears welled up in my eyes before I could stop myself, and Woohyun took the opportunity to grasp me by my arm; in turn I dropped the dish in my slippery bare hands. The plate crashed into fragments in a loud collision; the pieces of the broken glass were still twirling by my feet, the sound of the crash still echoing around us. It must have been the effects of this, I couldn’t tell. It must have been the shock induced by the noise, that I couldn’t even bring myself to stop it. In a matter of minutes, I was crying.

“Oh my god, Eunji” Woohyun was saying on my side, his warm hand pulling me towards him. “Oh god, oh my god, this can’t be happening…”

I could hear it in his voice, the fear, as though the one thing he had always been horrified of was finally happening now. I felt embarrassed at my own impulsive behavior, doing something I should have never done. There was shame, regret and a sense of defeat, whirling inside me in a relentless rush, running through my veins in a way that I could barely hold it up. Woohyun tried to hold me against him, but with much struggle I pushed him away and crouched down to gather the broken pieces by my feet.

“No stop” Woohyun said and kneeled down before me. “Leave it, I’ll clean it up”

I nodded, wiped my face with the back of my hand and got up on my feet.

“You better stay home today Eunji” Woohyun said from where he was. “You don’t look like you’re up to it today”

I opened my mouth to respond, to tell him that I was fine, that I’d rather if he didn’t worry about it, but I couldn’t bring myself to, as though I knew it myself that my life, at the moment, had fallen into the rock bottom of insanity. Instead I wordlessly reached the kitchen table and watched him as Woohyun carefully gathered the pieces of glass and proceeded to sweep them off and thought of just how much of a mental turbulence I was being to him. In a way, what Sung gyu told me was indeed the truth. I too, myself, felt sorry for him that he had a sister as myself; someone so terrible and loathsome, someone whose he had to pick up despite whether she liked it or not, simply because she was incapable of doing that. I looked down at my still soapy hands, the burn wounds and the protruding veins on my pale skin. They were all traces of me, of what I had become, and nobody else was at fault for that. They shouldn’t be. It was I who was destroying everything for myself.

Just like Sung Gyu said the previous night, I was indeed a hateful, pathetic weakling. There was no way that I could deny that one fact.

A moment later I felt presence beside me. Woohyun had finally cleaned up and was sitting in the chair next to mine, expectantly waiting for me to speak. But only, I wasn’t going to. I wanted to leave.

After a few seconds of stoic silence, I got up on my feet. “I got to go”

Woohyun sighed audibly on my right. “No, Eunji, Listen-,”

But he couldn’t continue, because, as though to come to my rescue, my phone began to ring on top of the oven when Woohyun had left it, thus I made a quick beeline in silence and picked up the call without checking the caller ID.

On the other side was a voice I couldn’t recognize.

“Hello? Is this Miss Jung Eunji?”

I frowned and looked down at the phone display. It was an unknown number. Still perplexed, I pressed the phone to my ear. “Yes? Whom am I speaking to?”

“I’m detective Yoon from the national police agency. Are you available for a few words?”

Instinctively I knew that it was about what Sung gyu had unveiled the previous day, and feeling slightly annoyed, I threw a quick glance at Woohyun and walked off to the spare room.

“Yes, sir” I replied, once the door was shut behind me. “What would this be about?”

“Yes, miss, in fact, there’s been a few concerns regarding the firm you previously worked at where you have been subjected to maltreatment…” And so the police officer proceeded to repeat to me half of the exact details Sung Gyu was telling me the night before. I was half listening, half tentative and warily keeping my mind in place without allowing it to wander off to Sung gyu, to wonder about how he might have done it all in a matter of few hours and why he dragged an entire corruption scheme of their rival firm into light despite his personal troubles with his marriage. In the end, I had muttered yes’s and no’s subconsciously and had agreed to come to the firm later that day for further investigations. It was in a daze that I put down the phone and slumped into the bed.

It was all starting. I was thinking while my mind pounded in rage. It was all being pulled out the rug. Now there will be police investigations and phone calls and interrogations and never ending strings of trials. It all now seemed like a whole big mesh of problems for me, into which I had been unwillingly thrown into. I couldn’t help but be angry at Sung Gyu for doing all that to me. But then, before I even realized it, a thought emerged like a tortoise out of the sea bed for a breath of fresh air.

‘It was all going to end’.

*

The entire day, as I had assumed, was spent for the so-called investigation of the corruption scheme. I was taken into interrogations and my personal computer at the office (Which had been given to another new attorney by the name of Kim Sojin) was taken into police custody for investigations. I was questioned on and on by many official personals; detectives, representatives of the human resource department, and even the press. I had to repeat the same story on and on, about the Tesco case and about how I never billed billions as it was said in the memo and how the memo could have been fabricated and placed in the computer without my knowledge. The Tesco officials were interrogated too, because it was where it all started. I was where it all started.

Howon was taken into investigation as well. I had only a glimpse of him, hurrying off to the interrogation room with his head high as though he never meant any harm to anybody and as though he should be prideful of his doing. Yong Hwa too, was taken in, who went past me without so much as a glance on my direction as though I did not exist. Hours and hours were spent in the police and the firm back and forth, I was served cups of coffee until I got tired of it and there were papers being signed and talks of further investigations and trials. All in all, it was all a mayhem with me centered with a few other attorneys who were served with similar injustice. At the end of the day, I was exhausted beyond belief and angered, enraged. I couldn’t help but blame it all on Kim Sung Gyu.

To be honest, I couldn’t understand him and what his reasons may be to get involved in this whole scam and pull the entire thing out of the rugs. It wasn’t anything related to him the first place, unless it was about his wife who was only another one of the small, insignificant pawns on the chess board of a propaganda who was monopolized by higher ups of a much larger foundation, which, in my opinion, didn’t supply him so much of motivation to be involved in a dirt scheme and get his hands on dirt. It was the kind of a thing a man would generally evade, unless, of course if he had some kind of a weird knack for them, which might as well be, in Sung Gyu’s case.

He was indescribable, incomprehensible. And I despised him for that.

And then he said his reasons were obvious. What was so obvious there if it did not directly involved his wife? What was so obvious that he would get so infuriated by it when I couldn’t understand him and call me ignorant? Sung Gyu was, by far the most ambiguous person I had ever met. It was as though he was expecting me to read his mind, and I hated it.

I considered going back to the office that night since I wished I could get my required time alone. For a few lazy minutes, I sat down on a plastic bench in the bus stop and just waited, thinking of just what bus to take. Buses came and wet. People got on and off, crowd gathered and dispersed away and the evening turned into night, making the street lights glimmer even brightly. I stared up at the empty sky, wondering if another autumn rain was coming, and reached into my pocket to produce another cigarette. I did realize that I smoked much too often now, than I used to. It should be bit of a concern, especially given that it harmed my lady-like posture much. But for my exhausted, derailed, enraged mind, a smoke was only what which could help.

After a few puffs of heat, I pressed the ember onto the bench and stuffed the remainder into my pocket. Then I thought about the other night, about everything that conspired, about what which came of myself, of the pain when Sung Gyu left out the door, leaving me behind in the dark. I thought of the crunched up note, about monsters, I thought of the pain it inflicted on my unblemished skin when the cigarette burned me harshly. A bus arrived at the stop just that instant, I recognized the number. So I gathered my stuff, found my card, took a deep, cold breath and finally climbed in.

Upon arriving at Woohyun’s house, I realized, things were not entirely in their definitive form. All the lights in the house were turned up, including the garden lights and the fairy lights in the trees, and many shadows of people seemed to move back and forth inside. I hurried along the tarmac path, my eyes narrowed in alert, and in further inspection I learned what exactly was going on there. On the side of the tarmac path were two familiar vehicles parked. It took so much of self-control and patience for me to keep myself steady and not barge in and commit possible murder. It was last of what I needed right now. Twice, I considered making a detour to my office, twice, I considered just sleeping on the road if I had to. But just as I was about to turn around and leave, the front door was pulled open and Woohyun, dressed in a white sweater and jeans, his dark hair ruffled on the top, stepped out and caught me standing there on the path to his house.

“Ah, Eunji” His voice echoed through the silence in an almost business-like manner. “You’re home. Good. We were just about to call you. Come on in”

*

For five minutes, I sat down in the kitchen and tried to pull myself together. I was on the edge of my patience, any minute I would up and go yell at everyone in sight, possibly hurting everyone’s good reasons and after last night I had learned that it was one thing I should avoid at all costs. To do that, I had escaped to the solitary of the kitchen confines and tried my best to keep my mind straight.

Outside, in the living room were conversations going on. There was Woohyun; confused and straining to bombard me with questions which had possibly been haunting for all this time. There was Howon; angered and betrayed who had come to the premises under Woohyun’s request. I assume he couldn’t help but bequeath us with his presence because he had so proudly announced that he would do anything for Woohyun who was his ‘friend’. There was Yoon Bomi; tear faced, perplexed and incensed but her usual plastic smile on display as though everything in her life was currently in perfect state. I was sure she was weeping inside despite her rather calm demeanor. Then there was Sung Gyu, Kim Sung Gyu; looking as calm and composed as he had ever been and maybe victorious and accomplished despite having been abandoned by his wife whom he so many times tried to get back to his side. All in all, it was a perfect combination. Perfect combination to drive me into complete, utter insanity. I wished many times that I had simply taken the next bus and gone to my own homely office.

I didn’t know exactly what the conversations were referring to; whether they were discussing our rather strange formation of affairs and broken marriages or our even stranger involvement of a disruptive scheme. Nonetheless, I had no keenness to get myself involved in any form or manner. I would rather keep myself hidden, somewhere far off from where I could hear their echoing voices. But much to my chagrin, I could hear them speaking fairly well. And my body was betraying my conscious by slowly moving towards the door and pressing my ear onto it as though I were a sneaky housewife trying to locate clues of a steamy affair.

“How is it my fault all the damn time?” Howon. I could easily grasp her voice. “She’s at fault too, Woohyun. As a wife, a fiancé, she had her responsibility which she constantly failed to overtake”

It was about the marriages. I realized. But it didn’t stop me from listening. “What I don’t understand is, why am I here?” Howon went on.

“You sick bastard” Sung Gyu’s voice breezed out, but he sounded like he was talking of dinner plans, rather than calling someone bad names. “You lead my wife to get involved in wrong doings and you did wrong to Eunji. Of course you shouldn’t be here, you should be in jail!”

“Stop, Sung gyu!” Bomi’s voice sounded then, which was completely different from what I have heard before.

“You all please calm down for a bit and let’s settle this properly.” Woohyun spoke out then, sounding exhausted. “Poor Eunji went through a lot and I don’t want to unsettle her anymore”

At this moment, I actually felt as if it was my cue to burst out of the door and demand everyone to leave and dramatically explain that I wasn’t in fact, as he claimed, poor and unsettled. I knew I should be out there and show everyone that I wasn’t the kind of petty person that they thought I was, crying over a man I would never want to be involved again and feeling overwhelmed by a law-firm scandal which I hardly gave a single about, except for the fact that it was wasting all my time and energy, but then, something was stopping me. Something was telling me to just halt and listen. Something was telling me that for once I should just admit it because it was the truth. I was tired and unsettled, and I needed my much needed healing. It shouldn’t be about trying to be strong anymore.

Nonetheless I just opened the door a crack and slipped out before heading towards the hallway. Woohyun’s house wasn’t open planned like our former condo was, so I could sit on the staircase and listen to every word they said without having to hide behind walls. The conversations were distinct and clear to where I sat, almost resonant and I listened closely as I sat.

“…it was a lie, a scam, and it all started with Howon planting a damned memo in Eunji’s computer” Sung Gyu was explained patiently, his voice mismatched with his words. “Although Howon is not responsible for the entire scheme, as Eunji’s fiancé, a closest, trusted person of hers, its wrong, Lee Howon”

There was silence and someone was mumbling something, and then I could hear Howon scoff. “You cannot make false claims without evidence. Besides, why, Kim Sung Gyu? You suddenly sound very possessive of her?”

There was urgency in Sung Gyu’s voice as he spoke. “It will be proved as it is the truth. And I, Howon am only concerned with serving her the justice she deserves”

“Doesn’t sound like it for me” Said Howon.

“ off” Sung Gyu replied, still in his calm tone, and was followed by a moment of silence until Woohyun spoke again.

“So you say she was slacked and she did nothing about it”

“That’s about it.” Sung Gyu replied. “She took the slack and walked away”

I could almost see Howon snickering as he responded. “Of course, bloody typical her, so ing prideful”

There was silence for a moment, and then Sung Gyu responded in a different, rather surprising manner;

“ing shut it, Howon”

“See, I said you are oddly possessive-,”

“I said ing shut up!” Sung Gyu bellowed loudly this time that I too clambered on my feet in surprise. I didn’t think he would ever react in that way, especially given that he was in the presence of his wife, the marriage with whom he always wanted to salvage. In a way, it was quite odd when I thought of it. He did sound…possessive. Which he shouldn’t.

A moment later I could hear scrambling and stuttering inside. I sat back on the staircase after I had heftily stood up upon Sung Gyu’s outburst. Soon enough the door was pushed open and the very subject of my thoughts emerged, running his slender fingers through his dark hair and face clouded in apprehension. I sat still, holding my breath as though a single sound I would make would break his stance and watched him as he soundlessly made it towards the door. As though on cue, Bomi slipped out, dressed in a smart beige suit, her hair in a chignon and an exhausted face. She followed after her husband who in reflex turned to her. There was an enigmatic exchange of wordless emotions, something I could say was between the married partners and Sung Gyu stepped back, running a hand down his face.

“That-that bastard…what did you see in him, Bomi? Really?” Sung Gyu’s voice was calm as he spoke, and hoarse. Nonetheless his irritation was evident in his undertone.

“What is your problem?” Bomi hissed in return. “Going gaga over some girl? Maybe she deserved it!”

Sung Gyu gave a mocking snort. “Please. Look where you stand now”

Bomi looked up at him in disbelief, her hands resting on her hips and she huffed. “Wow, Sung gyu, are you seriously taking her side over me now?”

Sung gyu sighed and turned to fully face his wife. “Look, you’re not all goody-two-shoes yourself, now are you? You got into a scam, you got into a scammer’s pants. Do you really expect me to take your side?”

Bomi was relentless. It was as if there was nothing which could bring her down. “Shouldn’t you? I’m your wife. For someone like you, it’s odd. Shouldn’t you stick to traditions?”

“I’d rather not” He replied, matching the sound of her tone. “Because traditionally, I must take the righteous side. You, Bomi, after all you have done…” He trailed off then and ed his hand through his hair. “Ah, never mind”

“Don’t act like it’s all my fault now”

Sung Gyu turned slowly, as though he was just told the most outrageous thing in the world. “W-what?” he muttered, his face slowly darkening.

“It’s not entirely my fault! Our marriage I mean. Why it failed”

Sung gyu merely blinked, as though in disbelief. He was silent for a moment, just staring, and heaved a sigh in the end. “Yoon Bomi. Our marriage didn’t fail. It didn’t end. We’re in a bad pitch, that’s all”

“A bad pitch?” Bomi echoed incredulously as though it was a sour word to say, and with her hands still on her hips, she slightly bent forwards and straightened up with a groan. “I can’t believe this”

On reflex, I had a raging urge to stomp over to Bomi and possibly hit her head on a wall continuously until she come to her sane senses. She must be absolutely insane to pick someone so narrow-minded like Howon over Sung Gyu, she must be absolutely crazy to still not realize what a treasure Sung Gyu was in comparison to Howon. In fact, they weren’t even comparable. It’s an insult to compare solemn perfection with severely flawed and I wanted to point this out to her, scream it out if I wanted to. But at that moment, I knew my place, which was to stay in the shadows as though I were an inexistent silhouette myself. Therefore, with much relentless effort, I kept still.

“You might have done wrong, and I forgive you. We can fix everything” Sung gyu was saying in a gentler tone and put his hands on both her shoulders. “Whatever happens, though I wouldn’t take your side in a wrong place, I will help you to fix this together. Leave that lying bastard and come back to me”

There was a moment of silence, and I could see hope and anticipation in Sung Gyu’s eyes, glimmering softly like candle lights which would die under one harsh blow. In a way, though it was cruel of me, I wanted Bomi to walk away, stick with Howon if she really had to. But I could see her faltering. The enigmatic exchange was there again and it was almost beautiful, perfect on Sung Gyu’s part, but then Bomi shook raised her head and responded with spite.

“You’re such an embarrassment, Sung Gyu”

The glimmer in Sung Gyu’s eyes vanished in a matter of seconds, the candle lights of hope were blown off and soon he was taken over by utter darkness. His hands dropped limply and he took a cautious step back.

“W-what?” He managed in the end, his voice almost a whisper.

“You” Bomi repeated, this time a little more confidently. “Do you realize how bloody stupid, pathetic…” Bomi trailed off and stomped a circle around herself as though she was a child throwing a tantrum.

“What are you talking about?” Sung Gyu muttered, perplexed. Bomi, at this point stopped her stomping hysterics and turned to face him. “Lee Howon might be lying alright. And he might be a bastard to you. But he’s confident, he knows what he’s doing”

Sung Gyu narrowed his eyes. “And the point is?”

“You aren’t confident!” Bomi exclaimed in rage. “You were offered a perfect opportunity. The raise of position, the raise of salary, all the privileges, all the power…and you simply kicked it all away because you’re just bloody…” Bomi trailed off and pressed both her palms to her face. A long, pregnant silence followed after, a moment of realization, a moment of truth. I could see it all in Sung Gyu’s eyes, the shock of the unexpected revelation, frantic thoughts running through his mind in a flood of lone emotions. His seemed a little appalled, but his confidence, though Bomi believed otherwise, amazed me.

“So that’s what it was all about?” Sung Gyu said his voice still firm despite his emotions, which weren’t obvious, but I could read through the lines. “It was all about me not accepting the partnership”

“Mother and father were furious!” Bomi went on, her high pitched voice echoing across the hallway. “They couldn’t believe you actually did that. What man in his right mind would refuse a partnership?”

Sung Gyu was silent for a moment as I waited in the dark expectantly. He looked up at the roof for a second, heaved a deep breath and finally turned to his wife. “Howon is a partner then?” he asked calmly, in the end.

“He’s getting there” was Bomi’s haughty response. “And he’s putting effort into it. At least he’s not cowardly like you, running away from opportunities”

Sung Gyu’s eyes were throwing icy daggers as he watched like a quiet hawk. But Bomi wasn’t taking notice, as though she was lost and drowned in her train of thoughts by herself. “You, the son of a bestowed, popular barrister, a talented lawyer. With all the hard work and effort you put into each and every case…I can’t believe it!” She threw her hands in the air and rested them again on her waist before turning to face him.  “Are you really an idiot? Didn’t you realize what you were so deliberately throwing away? Or were you just plain stupid?”

“Why does it bother you so much?” Sung gyu questioned in a gentle voice. “It didn’t bother my father a least bit”

“Why?” Bomi echoed in her dramatic manner of exclaiming things. “Don’t you get it? The power! You had it all in your hand! You could have gone up there and played the strings in all the right ways, you could have gotten everything in your hands, you could have easily gotten me up there on a partnership! That’s how things work in this world, Sung gyu, if you haven’t realized yet. You just have to monopolize things, play the cards right. Its law, for heaven’s sake!”

Sung Gyu’s face was stone hard at that point, almost demonic. He was a Sung Gyu that I had never seen before. As though he had been suddenly taken over by another being. He pursed his lips, had his eyes closed for a long time and spoke in a calm gentle voice which didn’t go with his façade at all. It was so surreal that he seemed almost like he was possessed. It was strangely beautiful.

“Yoon Bomi” he said, his voice breezy and smooth, sliding through the cold autumn air. “I did what I wanted to do, and I do not anyone’s silly, nonsensical opinions regarding the things I do, which, I think are right. And no, I certainly don’t need power, or the monopoly of it. I just want to live my life the way I prefer to live it, and that does not involve playing strings the right way so that my wife would receive her much wished but definitely not deserved partnership. I work for serving justice, Bomi, and that’s what doing law means. I suppose you wanted it all for you, wasn’t it?”

Bomi dramatically rolled her eyes, and at that point, both the men who were arguing in the living room in lowly voices had begun to emerge from the confines.

“That’s all bull!” Bomi bellowed, throwing her hands in the air. “You and your bloody justice! There’s no such a thing as justice Sung Gyu, there’s only power, and if you can’t understand that single fact-,”

“Is that why you married me?” Sung gyu suddenly interjected, and it stopped Bomi from going any further. She pursed her lips, eyes slightly widened, but she was rendered speechless, in the same manner that I was. “Is that why you married me, Bomi? Because you thought I had power? Because you thought I would…?” He trailed off and glanced at Woohyun who stood on the doorway. I was directly behind him, huddled in the shadows without making a sound and I had to squeeze myself in even more so I could go unseen. I could see it all in his eyes however. The realization, the regret. He was looking at Woohyun apologetically as though he knew all along. Nobody said a word. Even the rather nosy bastard Howon seemed to have lost his words. I realized that what might have started on with myself being the center of discussion had now escalated to a moment of outrageous revelations and slipping slender secrets. I wouldn’t have minded it, but I did, because in turn I felt as though it was all my fault though it wasn’t at all.

“S-Sung Gyu…” Bomi stammered out in the end and took a slow step towards him. It was as though all her dirty secrets were all thrown out on display and she was trying all the right ways to hide them, but she was failing miserably. There was no going back now. Sung Gyu merely shook his head. “It’s not a bad pitch after all, I suppose, Yoon Bomi” He said in the end; his calm voice ripping through the silence like blazing fire. “I should have realized it sooner. But I just never thought…” He let out a heavy sigh and ran his slender fingers through his hair. Then the whole room drowned in silence for a moment, and I gazed at Sung gyu, the Sung Gyu who had deliberately stolen my stone-cold heart in his gentle ways. I suddenly wished I could comfort him now, and my conscious was mutual as myself. His head lowered and a moment later he looked up again, the confidence returning to him as though nothing really ever happened. “It’s all over now, then. It’s all over…”

“Hyung” Woohyun mumbled for the first time for the long minutes we spent and he took a cautious step towards him. But Sung gyu only smiled and shook his head. “There’s still much to discuss, Woohyun”

“B-but?”

“Come on now. Your sister needs to be served justice”

I couldn’t believe how calm and composed he could be just now. After all the times he suffered, after all the times he spent mourning and pondering about his broken marriage, trying to pick up the pieces and put it back together as it was, though he clearly knew he’d fail. After all the effort he put into it, after all the hopes and wishes, he was walking away, leaving me in the dark.

I didn’t even realize that the thought even occurred to me until it began to float in the air between us. He was trying to save a marriage which had already shattered into impalpable shards. In the process of locating the fragments to mend, a new form was born. The circle was a ing hexagon now. Shouldn’t the phrase be interpreted in different ways? I was maddened by it that he was just walking away. He should have said that he weren’t alone. He should have said that nobody was. But no, he was leaving the hexagon to rot in the dark.

Without thinking, I finally stood up, and made my way down the darkened stairs towards the gathered four. Woohyun and Sung gyu had already made it to the living room while Howon and Bomi stood in the hallway, befuddled. I walked straight towards Sung gyu and he looked up and down at me as though I was some sort of an alien form. “You’re just walking away?” I asked.

Sung gyu simply caught up with me, which he might as well would, and gave me a perplexed look. “I thought you were asleep. Not lurking in the dark”

“You’re walking away? Just like that?”

To my utter surprise, Sung Gyu gave me a scoff and looked away. “So ignorant, so ing ignorant”

Stunned by his senseless words I widened my eyes. “What are you getting onto?”

He shrugged. “Nothing. Care to join the discussions? You brother expects some explanations”

I stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded and realized with a pang that what Woohyun had said was indeed the truth. I could see it in his very eyes, the glimmer; the reflection. My counterpart, it was him.

“No”. I said without a beat. “After you had poured it all out? Sticking your nose into my business? Do it your ing self”

Because you left me in the dark, because you called me ignorant. Because I couldn’t read what you are. Because you said it was obvious, but it wasn’t. Because I didn’t even know what it was?

I didn’t wait for him to say anything any further then, because I could feel the tight knot forming inside my throat. I didn’t know what my emotions meant; whether I was happy that he finally realized or sad that I wasn’t seeing what came next or angry at him that he poured it all out. Perhaps it was all of them. Perhaps it was all too much pressure that I was about to burst. Nonetheless, I wanted out. I wanted escape from reality. Thus I walked into my room and shut the door behind me.

Woohyun never told me that I wasn’t allowed to smoke in the house.

Or burn things with it if I had to.

I honestly don't know what I'm writing.