36
Their Kingdom Panorama
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Victoria walked up the street alongside Kyuhyun glad that he’d chosen to take the walk with her instead of driving the fast car. Some air felt calming and nice.
“Should I come pick you up tomorrow then?” Kyuhyun asked.
Victoria thought about her dad then to So Rae. It would be strange and tense riding with them. And of course, she’d never ever ride in Donghae’s car…ever.
“Sure,” she easily replied.
He smiled then it disappeared when he looked straight ahead. When Victoria followed his gaze she found out why. Leaning against the brick wall was Donghae. The sight of him filled her with angry hatred. She wanted to gnash her teeth, but turned to Kyuhyun.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” she told.
“Is everything ok?” Kyuhyun asked worried.
“Nothing’s wrong for what I know,” Victoria assured, “he’s probably here for So Rae unnie or something.”
Kyuhyun nodded certainly not swayed by her words, but turned around nonetheless. When he disappeared around the bend Victoria turned around with eyes on the ground and headed toward the black door on Donghae’s left, which only meant she would have to pass him first.
“You’re really not stopping?” asked Donghae.
Victoria paused in her steps and turned to look at him with a smile, “Why? Aren’t you here for someone else?”
“Look, I just want to talk,” he explained.
“There’s nothing to talk about, what’s said has been said,” Victoria reasoned before taking another step.
“You better stop right there,” he called out.
Biting onto her bottom lip Victoria turned to him.
“What do you want this time? You planning to pick another fight?” she questioned.
“Tsh…is that all you can think about?”
“There you go again,” Victoria said glaring at him before reaching for the door.
Donghae walked away from the wall.
“Yah!” he called. “I just want to know if you’re having a hard time in that house.”
Victoria felt an exasperated laugh escape her mockingly, “Worry? You worrying about me? I don’t need you to worry about me, you awful jerk. Why don’t you go worry about your So Rae instead?”
“Victoria,” he said her name for the first time in the longest time.
Well it certainly felt like the longest time since she’d heard her own name being said by him. It felt…somewhat strange.
“You started acting this way first,” Victoria pointed out, “leave me alone. I’m 10 times thicker than this brick wall, so don’t worry about anybody crushing me. Because surely, I won’t cry, not even when the world ends.”
With that she opened the door and walked in slamming it behind her.
“Pure son of a jerk!” she screamed before running up the stairs.
When Victoria walked into the house, a voice called her name. Slipping her feet into her slippers she looked up to find So Rae’s mother standing before her. She held such a high presence of authority that even looking at her eyes made Victoria unable to breathe.
“Follow me,” she shortly said.
The stern woman led the way down a hall Victoria did not recognize. Among the white walls Victoria couldn’t see even a picture carrying with it the feel of a loving family. There had only been one picture along the hallway and it had been that of an iceberg somewhere in the ocean waters. A door creaked open and Victoria turned to follow her stepmother into a small office.
A brown wooden desk sat against the wall accompanied by the friendship of a next door neighbor crimson bookshelf. A circular table sat behind it and the woman motioned Victoria to join her there. Sitting down Victoria couldn’t help but feel a slight awkwardness shroud the room. The woman had never talked to her personally so far and all Victoria remembered receiving from her were scolding, or orders.
“You must know that ever since you’ve stepped into this family, your fate has been ordained,” the woman spoke, the fake nails on her fingers shining dimly under the light, “and so if you’re wishing for happiness you must either leave or let yourself fall.”
Where was she meaning to take this talk?
“I hope that you don’t leave,” the woman told.
Victoria felt surprised. She’d never expected that from her stepmother. In a way, she’d expected the woman to tell her to leave and give up everything for So Rae since everybody was always leaning toward So Rae.
“No matter how tortured you will start to feel later, go along with the plans your father has drawn out for you. So Rae will now or later learn to stand by you. Because our care for her has been bad she is now being worse than stubborn. If she wants something from you, give way for her. She is your older sister, after all, even if you two come from different mothers she is still your older sister. Heed her requests because that is the role of a younger sister.”
Really? Wasn’t it the other way around? Wasn’t the older sister supposed to heed the younger sister’s needs? Just what was this woman talking about?
“The pain in the family is meant to be carried by you, not So Rae,” Hee Young foretold, “so don’t ever let me know that So Rae is not in good hands. There is one thing that will always separate you two and that is the fact that she still has a mother who will speak up for her in the times of need, but you will never have a mother to stand up for you. You understand me?”
Victoria’s eyes bore into the woman’s. Was the woman asking her to be a scapegoat for every forthcoming sign of trouble? No wonder the woman didn’t want her to leave. She wanted her to suffer in So Rae’s stead and allow So Rae to live a great carefree life. So in this case, Victoria was supposed to fall in the end?
“Did you hear me?” the woman’s voice became more fierce.
“What do I get in return?”
“You’ll get So Rae’s fiancé, won’t you?”
Victoria’s eyebrow cringed at her words. Why was everybody assuming she was glad just because she was marrying him? No one ever asked for her opinion so she could couldn’t say that she never wanted it in the first place.
“You’ll get a life full of benefits,” her stepmother said, “everything that should have been So Rae’s is now in your hands. So how do you think you should treat So Rae from here on?”
A moment of silence.
“Think about it.”
She got up from the table and started for the door leaving Victoria to stare down at the table.
“Am I the reason for the divorce?” Victoria asked.
The woman turned to look at Victoria.
“Why don’t you think about it,” Hee Young open endedly left the question.
Victoria finally turned when the woman walked out of the door. What had been the point of her entering the family then?
After making her way up the stairs she passed her father’s office and took a peek in. The door had been slightly left open and Victoria glanced in through the crack to see her father sitting behind his grand desk. A long window glimmered with the sun and her father suddenly looked like he was glowing.
That’s right. She’d never had a time to talk to him heart to heart. He was always too busy or there was always something going on. There was always something happening in this family she’d entered. One thing always came up after another. When would the surprises stop?
Victoria turned around to walk away.
“Victoria?” her father called out.
She turned back and to find her father opening the door.
“What are you doing? Why don’t you come in?”
“I thought you were busy,” Victoria said, half hoping he’d just let her go.
Instead he smiled and put a hand on her shoulder and led her into the office seating her on a thick cushioned chair at the side. She realized it was a pretty small room, but it looked the most comfortable out of all the other waiting rooms downstairs. She found herself hoping that her father wouldn’t be one of those people who made her feel bad.
“I usually come up where when I want some peace to myself,” he explained sitting on the seat adjacent to her, “because this room used to belong to my mother. So just like you, I grew up under the wings of my father.”
Was that how it had been?
“I met your mother in high school, but she didn’t live a particularly good life,” he went on, “but I persisted. Somehow at the end, I ended up marrying So Rae’s mother and never knew of your existence. So, when I found out that your mother had passed and had left a note for me to look for you, I started searching for you.”
Really? Had it been like that?
“No matter what, I feel like the happiest father alive now that I have my daughter with me,” he told, “I know a lot has happened in this house and that I can’t be around most the time to care for you like an ordinary father would, but I’ll do my best to ensure you the best future. I want to make up for the time we’ve spent apart.”
“I know,” Victoria sympathized, “I understand father’s intentions.”
“I’m sorry if you’re having a hard time,” he apologized.
Victoria could feel her heart melt in distress. For once, she wanted to be a little girl who could hug and cry in her father’s arms, but she was all too big now. Too much pride held her back from even showing the least tad bit of emotion she was feeling.
Closing the door to her father’s office Victoria walked only two steps forward when she noticed So Rae standing far from her. The stare in her eyes was familiar to that look of resentment Victoria had always been receiving.
So Rae let out a bitter laugh turning half her face to the side, “Even you’ve gotten the privilege to walk into father’s study?”
Victoria didn’t see what was so wrong about that.
“Does it make you feel good if I tell you that I’ve never been allowed there even once?”
So that was why So Rae seemed so pissed off? Or was it some other reason?
“So I should feel good knowing that you’ve never been where I have?” Victoria asked calmly.
It had been a question meant to tick her sister off and it seemed to work.
“You feel great, don’t you?” So Rae tried. “Your days will soon be over. You’ll find yourself back in your grandmother’s home.”
“I can’t wait,” Victoria told, “that house, even if it’s a third grade one, is still much better than here.
So Rae narrowed her eyes.
“Till then, we’ll see if I will really leave or not,” Victoria stated, “I hope you realize one day, So Rae unnie, that I’m staying for your sake, not mine.”
***Ouch! So Rae's mother is such a **************** Don't you agree?
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