17
Their Kingdom Panorama
/\_____/\
Donghae parked the car by the gate and hurried out to open the door for her. So Rae stepped out in a silent manner and opened the door.
“Come inside,” she ordered without looking back.
He first glanced at her unsure if he’d heard right, but when he saw that the door had been left open he walked inside and gazed around. A wave of amazement flashed through him making him speechless with what he saw. When he turned he saw So Rae nearly at the top of the stairs and hurriedly followed her.
Even with the night view of the yard and the home he could still feel his mouth drop open in awe.
“I have some papers for you to drop off at the post office before coming here tomorrow morning,” she instructed. “You wait here.”
Standing inside the large hallway he watched her go up the stairs and turned to gaze around curiously.
“Wow,” he felt the words come out.
Clasping his hands in front of him he tapped his foot restlessly against the ground and began whistling a little wondering why it was so empty. His eyes ran over the empty walls and down to the end of the hallway.
The silence in the hallway buzzed through his ears. He had thought he might at least see an old maid cleaning up the home, but no one had gone by at all. If he left his spot to browse around it would be alright, wouldn’t it? The need to go explore was strongly jabbing at him from inside.
“It must be great here.” he uttered taking a step forward.
Footsteps neared him and he turned to expecting to see So Rae walking toward him, but instead when he slowly turned he saw someone standing on the staircase looking back at him.
The silence continued even when their eyes met. Victoria looked the same, but her stare was quiet and unreadable. So Rae suddenly appeared at the top of the steps with a quiet pause before she made the rest of the way down with an orange packet in her hands.
Handing it to him she reminded, “Remember to drop it off tomorrow morning before coming here.”
He nodded unable to give her the enthusiastic farewell he had prepared. Before walking out he half glanced back to see Victoria walk down across the hallway into another room. She didn’t appear again.
Without word he made his way toward the front door and down the stone steps toward the car.
Donghae stopped by the corner of the street near where he used to live: the shelter. Questions ran through his mind and he hesitated about whether he should drop in on them or not. At the end, he decided not to. They’d jump on him with questions and probably even make him stay the whole night.
Driving off he reached his suite safely. Dropping his suit jacket on the sofa he jumped onto it to lie down and stared up at the ceiling with arms flung out.
If he had to live the rest of his life in luxury he didn’t mind. If it was like this then he enjoyed it. He liked the feeling of being rich and having an easy job that didn’t require much from him. He liked the fact that he was no longer at the shelter sleeping on newspapers.
And what would perfect everything was if he married So Rae. The one woman he’d been crushing on ever since hearing of her.
/\_____/\
So Rae stared heavily at the two before her. Her eyes in the shape of a strong glare full of resentment. There had been no effort made to hide it. She was sure that even her father was aware of her feelings.
The room spun around them, circled around them. Victoria’s innocent eyes beamed back full of many questions and wonders, but neither of them spoke. The arm of her father that gently rested around Victoria’s shoulders made So Rae even angrier. Not once had she felt the arms of her father comfort her. What made her so different from this girl?
“This is your younger sister, Victoria,” her father’s voice introduced happily.
So Rae pressed her lips together.
What a funny way of introducing her. So Rae scowled inside and laughed sarcastically to herself. Why had she found her sister? Why had she even brought her into the company? Oh yes, she’d done it to provoke her father only, in the end, to bring both father and daughter together.
The need to slap oneself was heavy. It felt like a heavy anchor hanging off a loose line ready to break. And once it snapped it didn’t matter how much was destroyed underneath.
What had she done to herself?
“Dinner is ready,” the cooking maid interrupted the silence between them.
“Lets go eat dinner. You must be hungry,” So Rae heard her father say.
Of course, there’d been no need to invite her. When her father wheeled the silent Victoria toward the kitchen So Rae spun around to head to her room.
“Aren’t you going to eat with your father?” the cooking maid’s voice stopped her.
So Rae paused in her steps before quietly moving on.
A loud scream neutralized the room after the door slammed shut behind her. Tossing her pillow aside she stared so hard at the covers on her bed that she thought she could feel them burn.
“Younger sister?” she repeated through gritted teeth.
Any other older sister who found their lost younger sister would have jumped in joy or cried over such a miracle. Why was it that such things were so different for her? There was no bitter joy but only bitterness that swept over her eyes.
So Rae tightened her grip on the covers over bed till her knuckles turned white.
Why was it so obvious that things would fall out of her grasp?
/\_____/\
Victoria stared down at the elegant dishes that had been prepared especially for her. Even though the food looked delicious she couldn’t find her hands to take her chopsticks. She felt weird, uncomfortable sitting somewhere so high class. It was weird because she should have been jumping in joy and smiling so fully, but instead she felt energy-less as if discovering that the President was her father really bothered her.
In fact, maybe that was it. Someone who owned the strongest investment business, someone who reigned over others, someone who had strong authority, someone high who would dislike the poor like she…were her father?
He didn’t know her. If he knew her, Victoria knew that he would kick her out immediately.
“Go ahead and eat, aren’t you hungry?” her father asked. “Make yourself at home. This is your home too.”
Victoria nodded her head with an awkward smile and was only able to force down a few of this and that down .
“If there’s anything you need feel free to ask anyone you see. I’ll make sure that they get you everything,” he assured her before watching her go up the stairs.
Climbing up the grand staircase Victoria found herself face to face with the large hall ahead of her and the halls to her left and right. Where was her bedroom again?
Her head cocked to the side when she saw So Rae walking down the hall already changed out of her business uniform. The t-shirt and sweats she wore made her look prettier than when she sat in the office behind her desk scribbling all day. Finally seeing that So Rae had tied her hair up into a pony tail Victoria felt awed by just her presence.
It was just like those girls on the streets. All simply dressed up, their faces beautified, and their faces all smiley and happy. So Rae looked like one of them, the girls in which Victoria had admired when she’d arrived into town.
The shape of her unnie’s face was so well refined that Victoria felt insecure about herself.
She couldn’t move, she hadn’t taken a step forward yet. Still staring ahead Victoria saw So Rae come to a stop and look up. Her still fierce eyes from earlier stared back and Victoria was unsure why she looked at her that way.
For once, she wanted to be liked. Especially by the older sister who’d really become the sibling she’d always wanted.
This was her sister, right?
“Unnie…” Victoria tried.
So Rae turned her face away and started walking pass her.
Victoria felt drop in disappointment, but decided to try to talk to her again.
“Unnie,” Victoria called again, “are you…upset with me? Why?”
So Rae’s back was only visible to her and Victoria was almost positive that she would start walking away again, but So Rae turned around to look at her. Neither a smile or a warm welcoming came from her.
What had she expected from So Rae anyway?
“Upset? Am I that low to be upset with someone who just stepped into my home as my sister?” So Rae raised one of her eyebrows. “Don’t call me ‘unnie’ anywhere in public nor in this house. I don’t like the sound of your voice when you say it.”
Victoria only became even more confused as So Rae turned around to walk off. When she disappeared around the hallway Victoria felt even more hopeless.
Had she done something wrong by stepping into their house? But on the other hand, she had an even bigger problem. Where was her room?
After many twists and turns on the empty second floor Victoria finally came across the room she found familiar to the one her father had shown her earlier. Assuming she was in the right room and hoping that her intuition was right she headed over to the large fluffy bed. Grabbing the stuffed animal sitting by the pillows she ran her hand through its hair.
She’d never received a brand new one even while growing up. This was her first time in her 25 years of life that she finally had one that belonged to just her. Setting it aside she stood up and walked over to the sliding closet to the right of her bed. Cautiously opening the door she found it already filled with clothes inside.
“Whoa…” the sound escaped her surprised lips as she checked out each one.
A knock on the door surprised her and she spun around. The cooking maid from earlier appeared through the crack of the door.
“Have you taken a bath yet?” she asked.
Carrying a soft towel she followed the nanny down the hallway to a door somewhat down the hallway.
“This is your bathroom. I’ve already prepared your pajamas for you,” she told before slowly walking away.
Victoria watched her trod down the hall before poking her head in. It was spacious. The tiled floors were bright and shiny just as the lights above were. She felt blinded by them as she walked in. A marble counter surrounded the modest sink and its silver faucet. Walking pass she turned to stare into the large mirror in front of the sink. Finally turning back to the front she found a white tub by the wall and the shower a few feet away from it.
Shampoo, body soap, face wash, and all other necessities were neatly piled atop the counter that ran against the wall.
“This is as big as grandma’s home.” she muttered feeling the room spin around her.
/\_____/\
Kyuhyun turned around from his desk and set aside his music book when the door to his bedroom opened and his caretaker from since he was young walked in. Her hair had grayed into an almost white shade. She had gotten so old over the years he was absent. The wrinkles along her face made her look pitiful, yet at the same time kind. There had always been a warmth in her eyes that touched Kyuhyun. After his sick mother, she was like his second mother.
“Are you practicing a new song?” his nanny questioned walking in.
Her long dress flailing at her feet. He could tell that her dress was old and promised that he’d soon buy her a new one.
“I’m working on it,” he replied with a gentle smile.
“Did you see your mother, yet?”
He nodded. “I saw her when I got back.”
“She’s been waiting for you after your father sent you abroad,” his nanny told. “My…you’ve grown into such a fine young man.”
Kyuhyun smiled at the woman.
“Did you miss me?” he teased. “I heard that you got a few days off to yourself. Did you go see your family?”
The nanny smiled. “I’m looking forward to the day you’ll have a family of your own someday.” there was a pause before she shouted in surprise. “Did you hear?”
Kyuhyun slightly shifted his head with a raised eyebrow.
“So Rae’s younger sister has returned.”
“Younger sister? How?”
A tinge of excitement tickled him inside.
“I heard that she’s been working inside the company and they only found her today. Poor thing…I wonder how many hardships she’s gone through alone.” the nanny seem to fall off into thought.
She’d been working inside the company? Kyuhyun checked back into his memory. He hadn’t gotten around well enough to get to know any female employees, but there was one girl in particular that had caught his attention.
“What’s her name?” Kyuhyun questioned.
“Ah…I forgot,” the grandma replied hopelessly. “She should be at the house tomorrow. Why don’t you drop in on her and say hi? I wonder how our future bride looks like. Definitely, she must be someone good.”
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