24
Their Kingdom Panorama
/\_____/\
Donghae had wanted to ask if Victoria had returned safely last night, but seeing her stiff angry face in the morning told him the better of it. The long silent drive to the office bustled inside the car before they finally made it.
“I’m going out to do something first,” Donghae told.
So Rae didn’t reply but got out silently. He watched her head toward the elevator before driving back out. After a while he found himself browsing at the phones inside the store before deciding on two.
/\_____/\
“What’s this?” Victoria looked up at Donghae.
He held out the phone in his hand, “A phone.”
“Well…of course,” Victoria told. “Who wouldn’t know that it’s a phone, what I’m asking is what are you doing with one?”
“Not just one, see,” he held out his.
“Then what’s this?”
“Here,” Donghae held it out toward her again.
“Why’d you buy couple phones?” Victoria questioned.
He was strange suddenly bringing to her a phone. She recalled how he hadn’t had one the first time they’d met. Or was he trying to make up for the insult he’d given her yesterday?
A smirk grew on the corner of her lips.
“They’re not couple phones!” he denied. “They’re phones…that look-a-like!”
“Look-a-like?” Victoria repeated. “Then why are you giving me a phone that looks like yours?”
“Because you went missing last night and So Rae got blamed for it. We were looking for you, but couldn’t find you,” Donghae explained.
“So, you’re keeping a tab on me? Just so your So Rae won’t get into trouble the next time?” Victoria summarized it.
“Of course,” Donghae smiled broadly.
How she hated the sight of his smile.
“I don’t want it. Take it away!” she told turning back to her computer.
His mouth dropped open, “Tsh! Look at you. You think you’re so great.”
Victoria turned back to him with an angry frown, “Yes, I’m great! So what!”
Donghae scowled at her and set the phone down on her desk angrily before walking away.
“What the heck is his problem!” Victoria shouted a loud holding a fist up in the air before glancing at the phone he’d set down.
A snort escaped her.
“If you said something like you were worried I wouldn’t have screamed at you either, idiot,” Victoria muttered before slipping the phone into her pocket.
/\_____/\
“Goodness! Just how hard is it to be nice?!” Donghae muttered halfway down the hallway before bumping into someone.
When he looked up he found that it was no other than Cho Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun greeted him before making his way down the hallway.
Donghae paused and turned around, “Are you going to go see Victoria?”
Kyuhyun paused in his steps and turned around.
“I’m here to work too,” he responded.
“Good,” Donghae commented, “I hope you don’t run into that cat. If I were you I would want to marry So Rae instead.”
Kyuhyun chuckled, “Why would you say that?”
“It’s because she’s good at camouflaging herself,” Donghae replied.
He laughed at Donghae’s remark.
“You’re lucky to have grown up with someone like So Rae,” Donghae told, “well, anyway have fun.”
Donghae turned around to head down the stairs. He wanted breakfast from the cafeteria and since it was free he wasn’t afraid to use it to his advantage.
/\_____/\
Kyuhyun found Victoria staring down intensely at some papers on her desk when he stepped around the corner. Looking at her he found that she and So Rae did not look alike at all. Not one single thing about the two of them was similar. Even siblings who didn’t look very much alike would have some features in common such as the shape of their nose or the look in their eyes, but So Rae and Victoria were not like that at all.
So Rae’s hot temper was something he knew she’d gotten from her mother and when she got angry she would glare and become sullen. He was aware of the fact that he didn’t know Victoria well at all, but she had something in common with her dad. It wasn’t how they looked but the kind of feelings they gave him. Victoria and her father gave off a kind of intimidating feeling when he first met them, but there was also a light happy aura that poured off them making it easy to get near them.
Victoria’s father also had a hot temper, but ever since Kyuhyun knew him he’d only seen her father break once and that was when he’d bundled too many things inside. Would there also be a day when he’d see Victoria that angry? If there was, would it mean that he’d gotten to know her well enough to see her become angry?
A loud shout came from Victoria before he arrived back onto planet Earth.
“You scared me,” she commented looking at him.
“Did I?” he asked.
“What are you doing?” she wondered.
She was pretty. It was something else from So Rae. He found it more comfortable to be with her than with So Rae because he knew So Rae too well. The two of them had grown up together after all, so that made it impossible to see So Rae as someone other than just a friend.
“What?” Victoria asked wondering why he seemed to be spacing out.
“Nothing,” he shook his head with a smile.
The office door opened and So Rae half stepped out, but stopped when she noticed him. Kyuhyun wanted to talk to her on friendly terms, but he was too aware that So Rae was still upset with him. Her anger never subsided unless he did what he wanted her to. Without a word So Rae walked back into her office door closing the door.
“Oh…I forgot. I need to go finish making copies of the pamphlet,” Victoria told grabbing some papers. “I’ll see you later.”
He watched her run off and turned toward So Rae’s office. Walking toward the door he opened it without a knock and found So Rae sitting behind her large desk with a pen in hand.
“How long are you planning to stay in here?” he questioned entering the office uninvited.
She turned her face away from him and stared down at the calendar on her desk. He didn’t find her reaction surprising. Heading over to the couch in the middle of the room he leaned against it and turned back to watch her.
“You don’t want to talk to me?” he tried.
So Rae remained quiet.
“Are you angry because I never wrote you or are you upset about your younger sister?” Kyuhyun asked directly.
He saw So Rae’s eyebrow twitch.
“Both?” he said.
She still, however, refused to answer.
“Then we shall play this game of silence and see who speaks first,” Kyuhyun told. “Ok, you win because I spoke first.”
Her reaction was the same as before. Quiet.
Kyuhyun found himself half sighing unsure of what to do anymore. So Rae had always been so stubborn and if he got mad at her he’d be made into the bad guy.
“You know the wedding date hasn’t even been finalized and your sister knows nothing about it. So what are you actually angry about?” Kyuhyun asked. “You don’t hold grudges for all I know, but you’re one to keep her anger hidden deep inside. You have to let me know what the problem is so that I can stay clear of it. Or do you want me to apologize for being ignorant while I was abroad?”
So Rae pressed her lips tightly wondering why he didn’t just leave.
“We used to talk better than this,” Kyuhyun reminded, “are you really going to keep on being like this? If you are then I’m sorry to say that this is really immature, Bang So Rae.”
“If you can’t stand me then get out of here,” she snapped under her breath.
He stared at her amazed at how angry she was.
“I don’t know why you’re angry, but is this why you got drunk the other night?” Kyuhyun inquired.
“If I drown myself in alcohol, would that concern you? Why would it concern you, Cho Kyuhyun?” So Rae looked up at him her eyes full of fierceness.
“Childish, you’re even worse than before,” Kyuhyun bit back.
So Rae stared back at him.
“What has gotten into you?” Kyuhyun asked with a frown. “You were never like this.”
“Maybe you should ask yourself why I’m like this,” So Rae stated.
Kyuhyun felt shocked with her statement.
“I’m going to go all the way to the end and make sure that she goes back to where she belongs,” So Rae vowed, “not in my house, not in this business.”
“Bang So Rae! What nonsense do you think you’re talking about?” Kyuhyun raised his voice.
She went on fearlessly, “Go ahead and marry her, go ahead and leave me. Go ahead and play it like we were never once engaged. I’m not doing this for you, this isn’t revenge. It’s pure rage. I’m going to climb to the top and watch everyone else fall.”
Kyuhyun’s face arched into a deep frown before the phone rang interrupting them. They stared at each other before So Rae answered it. His mind swerved in circles confused, surprised, and shocked with her. He’d never known her to be so distant. Had he really done something to hurt her so bad?
/\_____/\
Donghae stepped back surprised when the door opened and he stared at Kyuhyun surprised to see that he had been there. Kyuhyun returned him the surprised stare before walking off silently. Turning around to watch Kyuhyun disappear down the hallway he wondered what he and So Rae had just talked about.
Footsteps neared and he turned to see Victoria walking back with a stack of papers in her hands.
“Where’d you just come from?” Donghae wondered.
“To finish the business you didn’t,” she answered.
He watched her set the papers down on the desk and walked over.
“What are these for?” he asked curious.
“Pamphlets for the meeting,” Victoria told holding up the original, “want to help me fold them up?”
“Why me?”
“Cause you’re not doing anything,” she sounded as if she were speaking through gritted teeth.
Clearing his throat he crossed his arms, “Manners.”
“What?”
“You should at least add a ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ to it,” he turned his head so that she was only visible through the corner of his eyes.
Victoria laughed with a snort, “Go away then.”
He turned around to look at her, “You’re really not going to ask me to do it?”
She stared at him with unmoved eyes.
“Since I’m so nice I’ll help you do at least a quarter of it,” he offered.
Dragging a chair over he sat at the end of her desk and they silently started on the pamphlets.
“But…the other night…did you pay for my share?” she asked.
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