CHAPTER 15: CALM BEFORE THE STORM

 

 

Do you know the feeling after a well-slept night, when it’s actually very nice to wake up, with sunlight playing on every surface and birds singing? Well, this wasn’t exactly that but it was no doubt one of the most comfortable mornings I’d had in a while. I didn’t wake up because of a nightmare, covered in sweat, or I wasn’t horribly stressed the moment I woke up because of my mission or the fact I had been lying to someone. I lied on the bed, on my stomach, still eyes closed, but could feel the sunlight reaching my face and lingering on my eyelids. I might have been imagining but it was like the beams of sunlight actually felt warm on my skin. It was almost like someone was my face gently.

Maybe someone was. I slowly opened my eyes to see Myungjun lying on his side, resting his head on his hand – the other hand was reached out towards me, his fingers brushing strands of hair away from my face. As he noticed my eyes opening, he flashed me a smile. Only then I was fully awake and my eyes widened.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

The boy tilted his head a little bit. “Did you forget about the two weeks you promised me?”

I tried to wiggle further away from the boy. “I did, actually.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that”, the boy said and fell back to the bed, pretending to sleep. I snorted as I sat up and gently hit the boy with my pillow.

“Behave, please”, I sighed.

I got up from the bed, stepping out of the room and heading to the bathroom. I couldn’t deny I had been a bit taken aback. I had indeed forgotten about the whole two weeks Myungjun had asked for. I wasn’t even sure what he meant by the two weeks. Was he going to make me fall for him in that time, or was he going to act as my husband for that time and then end the contract? I wasn’t sure at all. I hadn’t even agreed to his wish. After mentioning the two weeks, he had just locked himself behind the bathroom’s door. Angering, almost. He never listened to me.

I let out a sigh as I stepped into the shower and let the hot water flow, cleansing both my body and mind. To be honest, I hadn’t been this relaxed in a while. I had only one worry – how to get Chanmi out of the tunnels, but since I was out of ideas, I couldn’t even stress about it too much. After taking the shower and changing my clothes I walked into the kitchen, finding no one but Miyeon there.

“Good morning”, she said as she put her dishes away.

“Morning”, I replied. “Where are Bin and Minhyuk?”

“They’re on a mission, guarding duty I heard”, Miyeon said. “I’ll head out soon too.”

I nodded. I looked at the girl, still dressed in his pastel pink, fluffy pyjamas. I felt a little bad for her. We had become relatively close during the week before my and Myungjun’s wedding. But after that we had drifted apart a little bit – we hadn’t had much time to spend together because she was busy with her missions and I had been busy cleaning after the mess I had created.

“So you and Myungjun reconciled?” Miyeon asked as I took the rest of the bacon and eggs from the frying pan to my plate.

“I think so”, I said. “At least he’s not mad at me anymore.”

“He forgave you quite quickly”, Miyeon stated as she sat down next to me. “He tends to be long angry. He’s a bit sensitive, you know.”

I nodded. “I know. I’m pretty relieved we’re not fighting anymore.”

The kitchen got silent as I ate my breakfast and Miyeon sat silently next to me. This proved how well our chemistries met. We hadn’t known for very long but sitting side by side, completely silent, wasn’t the least bit awkward for us.

“I think he actually likes you”, Miyeon suddenly said, breaking the silence.

“What?” That was the stupidest reply ever. Like I hadn’t noticed, he had been confessing to me multiple times now. If I hadn’t noticed, I’d have been a complete idiot. Yet, still the fact made me act foolishly when it was mentioned.

“Myungjun”, Miyeon continued. “He treats you differently.”

I looked down at my plate. I felt an uncomfortable twist in my stomach. I wasn’t sure why but knowing the fact about the boy’s feelings made me feel very uneasy. Maybe it was because I was so sorry to the boy. I had just stepped into his life, he was forced to marry me, afterwards he fell for me and then became betrayed by me. I had just caused him harm. I was about to open my mouth and say something as Miyeon’s eyes wandered to the doorframe of the kitchen and I noticed Myungjun walking into the room.

He smiled at both of us. “Morning.”

Miyeon glanced at me, expressing her cringe, before getting up and leaving the kitchen. We were left alone again. I glanced at the boy who was busy making himself breakfast. I wished he hadn’t heard our conversation. It was nothing harmful, but still.

After a while the boy sat down, across the table, facing me, and started stuffing his face. I didn’t dare to get up and leave him alone so he wouldn’t think something was wrong – I noticed myself starting to overanalyse things, which was completely unusual for me. I was the most practical creature in the world yet I was overanalysing? Definitely weird.

“What should we do today?” Myungjun asked.

I glanced at him. “Why? Don’t you have any missions?”

Myungjun shook his head. “I guess dad wants us to spend time together, there hasn’t been any messages from him.”

I sighed. The CEO had really grown fond of me. He was liking the idea of having a daughter-in-law. The man had expressed genuine happiness since the moment we signed the marriage contract. As much as I disliked the idea of him pairing me up with his son without even trying to hide it, I didn’t want to disappoint the man who had forgiven me and given me so many new chances.

“Should we just have fun today?” Myungjun asked. “Our first date day.”

“Didn’t we have our first “date” back in Jeju?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“No, it was a honeymoon”, the boy replied, looking serious. “Let’s have the first date today.”

I sighed. “Alright then. You seem to be fond of the two weeks you’re having.”

The boy stopped eating for a moment. “The two weeks we are having.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, yes. So, what are we going to do?”

 

My husband sure was full of ideas. After he had finished his breakfast and taken a shower, we went out. We stepped into the familiar white Mercedes Benz that drove us to Incheon, Wolmi Theme Park. As weird as it sounds, I had never been to an amusement park before. That’s why my reaction when seeing the huge rides all around the park was to just stare around with large eyes. I almost felt my knees shaking. Attending dangerous missions hadn’t been a problem for me but these rides made me shake like a coward. How pitiful.

“What ride should we take first?” Myungjun asked with a smirk on his face. He had no idea of my fear and I wasn’t intending on revealing it to him so I just shrugged my shoulders.

“The Viking?” he asked. “It shouldn’t be too rough for you.”

I flashed a glare at the boy but followed him. It was a chilly and an early Friday afternoon so there weren’t that many people in the park. Most people were still in school or work so the lines weren’t too long and it didn’t take long to get to the rides. The first few weren’t too bad and I was able to withstand the dizziness they made me feel – I actually enjoyed the adrenaline rush I got from them. But as we got to an extremely high ride that had seats that went up to the highs and then dropped low in very fast speed, I felt my knees starting to shake again. Still, I was too stubborn and proud to tell Myungjun to not go there.

As we sat down and the safety bars were protecting us from sliding off the seats, I felt my stomach twisting and making me feel sick. I looked down while we were slowly going up from the ground and had to swallow and close my eyes. I really wasn’t feeling that good.

“Are you okay?” I heard Myungjun’s voice asking.

I opened my eyes and glanced at him. I shook my head briefly, embarrassed. The boy sighed and grabbed my hand. He intertwined our fingers and held tight, flashing me a smile. “I’ll hold your hand.”

I didn’t even get to roll my eyes as the seats suddenly started going down. The speed felt extreme and I thought my hair would be ripped off my scalp by the wind. The drop made my stomach turn and twist in every possible way and I really thought I’d throw up. I was so unwell I couldn’t even scream. Myungjun instead was having the time of his life, he was shouting, excited – but his hand never left mine.

When we were securely on the ground again, I didn’t seem to find my balance right away. After I stepped off the seat and took a few shaky steps, I had to stop for a second. Myungjun glanced at me, now he looked worried. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and as I leaned against him, he helped me walk to the nearest bench. I sat down and crouched on the bench, burying my head into my hands. Myungjun was gently patting my back.

“Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well?” he asked.

I let out a sigh. “I don’t know. I didn’t even know I had a fear of heights.”

The boy let out a very silent chuckle. “It does make sense. You were born and raised under the ground. Going that high isn’t natural for you. I actually wondered how you managed to live with us in the 25^th floor at first.”

What Myungjun said made perfect sense. I hadn’t ever really thought about it – I didn’t know of my fear so I probably didn’t think about it and because of that, could live in the skyscraper. I coughed a little bit. My mouth and throat were feeling extremely dry.

“Should we get you something to eat or drink?” Myungjun asked.

I glanced at him and nodded. “Something to drink, please. I don’t think I can handle any food right now.”

“Alright”, Myungjun said and helped me stand up. After taking a couple of steps, I lost my balance for a second again and he had to hold me by my arm. “Should I hold your hand so you won’t fall?”

I wanted to punch the smirk off the boy’s face but it was true I was still feeling dizzy. I let out a sigh but didn’t protest as the boy intertwined our fingers again and walked me to the closest stall that sold beverages and snacks. He bought me a bottle of Pepsi and as we continued our way, I saw him smirking by himself.

“What?” I asked.

“The Pepsi bottle reminds me of our honeymoon”, he chuckled. “I haven’t bought any soda after that.”

I thought back to the night we had played truth or dare and fallen asleep on the sofa. It made me cringe a little bit. It seemed like the night was so far in the past but in reality, it hadn’t been that long. I took a sip of the soda and rolled my eyes. Then we continued our first date in more pleasant way, staying away from the scarier rides.

At some point, we passed an another stall that was selling accessories, couple items and cute headbands. I couldn’t help but to smile a little bit as Myungjun led me to the stall and after a while of thinking, placed a cat headband over my head. We were doing the exact same thing as we had done in Jeju on our honeymoon, but this time we were actually having more fun. Now we knew each other better and didn’t exactly dislike each other either – at least Myungjun surely didn’t.

“Are you sad there are no wolf headbands?” I asked teasingly. “Since I’m a beast.”

The boy shook his head. “You might be a beast but you have a softer side too, like a kitten. That’s cute.”

I stared at the boy as he positioned the cat headband better on my head and then put a matching one on himself. I felt my expression change, the playful smirk on my face slowly withered into a wistful expression as I stared at the boy searching for his phone.

“We have to take a new selfie”, he stated. “This time with a real smile. You didn’t look very convincing last time.”

I snorted and as Myungjun pulled me under his arm, flashed a smile at the camera. The second he took the picture, I felt his lips brushing against my cheek and my eyes widened. The camera’s shutter sound was the background music for us as I stared at the boy in shock for a short moment before frowning a little bit.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked.

Myungjun flashed his trademark smirk at me. “Kissing your cheek. Why?”

I felt my cheeks getting red from the embarrassment. “Do you think you’re allowed to do that?”

“I have my two weeks”, he stated and still smirking, put his phone back to his pocket.

I glared at the boy for a moment as he took the headband off him and put it back to the stall before continuing his way. After staring after him for a second I put my headband back too and followed his lead. I was taken aback by his sudden actions but I didn’t let it affect me too much. It would just cause harm.

 

After a couple of hours, we returned back to the corporation’s headquarters. I managed to fall asleep in the car on our way back and Myungjun had to wake me up. Still sleepy, I got out of the car and after thanking the driver, followed the boy inside the building. As we walked to the elevator, it almost felt like the amusement park had been a safe haven for me, protecting me from my stress and problems. The moment we stepped into the elevator I felt the worry about Chanmi spreading in my thoughts again.

“I think I succeeded today”, I heard Myungjun say. “You seemed to have fun.”

“Yeah, I guess”, I mumbled. “Thank you.”

The boy smirked and turned to look at me. “So, are my chances to win you over higher now?”

“No”, I replied quickly, rolling my eyes at the boy.

He pouted at me before continuing his smirking. The elevator’s doors opened and we were about to step out just to find Minhyuk who was rushing inside the elevator. He startled both of us, but what worried me more was his expression. He looked very concerned, and his eyes gleamed a bit as he saw us.

“What’s wrong?” Myungjun asked him.

“I was just coming to find you”, the boy said with a serious face. “That woman is here.”

“What woman?” Myungjun was tilting his head but I already had a hunch of who’d it be.

“It’s her. Hwang Yikyung”, I said quietly and Minhyuk nodded.

The boy glanced at Myungjun and then turned to look at me. “I think you should go to Mr. Kim’s office.”

I let out a deep sigh but proceeded to nod. I couldn’t run away anyway, so what other chance did I have? I’d go.

“I’ll come with you”, Myungjun stated.

“No”, I replied, shaking my head. “I have to go alone.”

Myungjun stared at me, clearly not wanting to leave me alone, but Minhyuk pulled him out of the elevator just seconds before the doors closed and I was on my way to the 4^th floor and to my father-in-law’s office. I had to close my eyes and lean against the cool mirror surface of the elevator’s wall. Things were getting out of hand if Yikyung dared to come here on her own. What would she do next? Have someone assassinate me in my sleep? Blackmail someone from the corporation to kidnap me and take me back to the tunnels? I wouldn’t have been surprised.

In a couple of minutes, I reached the CEO’s office’s door, hesitating for a moment before ringing the doorbell. Mr. Kim was quick to open the door, and I could sense the tension in the office the moment I stepped in. The man looked straight into my eyes with a look that messages me he was very worried, before he invited me to sit down. I tried my best to hide my hesitation and bravely walked to the sofa, sitting down. The CEO followed right after me and sat next to me. I didn’t greet Yikyung but raised my chin to inform I had acknowledged her presence. She was dressed in a neat pencil skirt and a well suited jacket, and she was looking evil as ever.

“I see things have gone quite far since we three are sitting in the same room”, Mr. Kim said.

Yikyung snorted at the man’s words. “I’m more surprised about the fact the coward girl actually came here.”

I glared at the woman but understood to stay quiet, just judging her silently and wondering how would things go. How would this end? Would someone get hurt? And the most important question – when would this end?

“No matter how I look at this, I can’t see Aeri as a coward”, my father-in-law stated. “She was very brave to confess her wrongdoings.”

There was fire in Yikyung’s eyes as she glared at the man. She really had the nerve. “So you support a traitor?”

I felt an adrenaline rush in my veins. My blood was boiling with anger once again. I had to pinch my hand to stay in my place and to not attack the woman. Fortunately, Mr. Kim opened his mouth and saved me.

“No”, the CEO denied, and I felt his voice getting stronger. “I support a girl that has been blackmailed and used.”

Yikyung snorted. “You see, she’s too weak. If she was strong enough, it would have been impossible to blackmail or use her.”

There was a short staring battle between the two chiefs before Mr. Kim let out a unbelieving sound before raising his voice again. “Is this how you speak about the daughter of your previous chief, about the heiress? She’d be the chief right now if she wanted the position.”

The laugh Yikyung let out made me feel very uncomfortable. “I have no respect towards that man nor his pitiful daughters.”

I couldn’t hold back anymore. I was acting risky but I was standing on a safe ground for now – I had my father-in-law beside me and the building was buzzing with security men and other people who’d be more than pleased to break this woman’s neck if she’d cause any trouble. I stood up with the speed of a lightning, throwing lasers at Yikyung, glaring her with all the hate I had for her.

“I’m not the chief type, I’ve never been”, I hissed. “But right now I really regret that decision.”

“You can’t help it”, she grinned at me. “A weak person cannot lead a gang. Just like your father couldn’t.”

I was about to rush at the woman and slap the heck out of her but Mr. Kim’s voice stopped me.

“I can’t believe there is a person who talks ill of her previous chief, not to even mention someone who had to die in such a cruel way”, the man said in a low voice. I could hear the respect towards my father in his voice. I had never had the chance to ask why exactly he respected my father so greatly but it made me feel better and I looked at him for a while before turning to glare at Yikyung again.

“Why would I feel bad for him? I was the one responsible of the death of that pitiful fool.”

It took me a few seconds to comprehend the woman’s words and the meaning behind them. I stood still, just staring at the woman with my head tilted, not knowing how to react. The woman stared back at me, lifting up her chin and looking very smug, like she had just achieved her life goal. Right then the reality hit me and I felt my knees getting weak. It felt like the time had stopped completely, I heard nothing, saw nothing and felt nothing. Yikyung was the one who took my father away from me and Chanmi. She had killed him. It was her fault my and Chami’s lives became miserable. And she was the one to replace father. She. A murderer. My whole existence felt like coming crumbling down. I noticed a teardrop going down my cheek and falling on the floor. Then, with a disturbing ringing in my ears, the time continued flowing forwards and I got my senses back.

The moment the ground disappeared under my feet and I collapsed onto the floor, Myungjun threw the door open and stormed into the room, glaring at Yikyung furiously. Ignoring his father, he rushed to Yikyung and started raging at her. I couldn’t hear or comprehend even half of the words, but I could hear cussing and insults. I stared at the boy, feeling myself starting to shake violently. I had to close my eyes.

“Get the hell out here”, the boy yelled at the woman’s face. “And never come back. If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you myself.”

I didn’t know how or when, but when I opened my eyes the next time, Yikyung was gone. I was still lying on the floor, shaking and crying. I could feel someone lifting me up and lying me down on the sofa, then someone brushed his fingers against my cheeks and caressed my hair. At some point I lost my sense of time and perception completely. At some point I was too weak to cry anymore. At some point, I passed out.