45
Their Kingdom Panorama
“Whoa!” they cried in unison as they ran over toward her.
“I thought you forgot about us!” Eunhyuk called.
“Did you go somewhere yesterday?” Yesung questioned.
“You must have been busy,” Ryeowook commented.
A few others joined them by the back and Victoria assumed that most of them had gotten used to her presence since she’d appeared so often.
“So, what were you up to yesterday?” Eunhyuk re-asked the question.
“Was trying to do some good deed, but I don’t know if it was even effective,” Victoria honestly answered, “sometimes people are just so darn stubborn! I feel like wringing their neck sometimes.”
“Like this?” Yesung moved his hands in opposite directions.
“Yes!”
“She was being sarcastic with you,” Ryeowook added.
“Good deeds are hard. You never know if they’re meaningful to a person or not,” Eunhyuk nodded his head while observing the chicken in his hand.
“Eh, so do you ever see Donghae around?” Yesung wondered.
“Why?” Victoria asked.
“Because, Wook, here would like to do something for his birthday.” Yesung explained.
“Uh…yes…” Ryeowook shyly agreed, “it’s just he’s never around during his birthdays, so we’re never able to celebrate it for him. We feel kind of bad.”
Victoria felt her heart melt from his kindheartedness and half turned away. If they knew how Donghae was right now, would they feel as betrayed as she had a while ago? But they were guys, would it give them a much harsher blow?
She was unable to share with them the truth, so she lied, “If I ever do see him on the streets, I’ll let him know you guys are waiting for him.”
“Psh! Who’s waiting for him?” Eunhyuk mustered.
Victoria reached a hand out and pushed his head to the side.
“Did you have a good trip last night? Mi Sun called and said there was a storm last night so you weren’t able to come home,” her father said at the dinner table.
“I had fun,” Victoria nodded.
“Did Kyuhyun take you there or did you have some business with Mi Sun?” her father curiously asked. “You never met Mi Sun before, right?”
“Uh…” Victoria hesitated between the truth or lie, “um…” Victoria’s eyes moved toward So Rae’s empty seat then said, “I just wanted to go see stepmother and talk to her.”
Honesty was a much better option, right? Although she’d lied to the Three Musketeers, it wouldn’t help if she lied to her family, right? If she lied, things might perhaps just turn out the same way it had between So Rae and her father. That was the last thing Victoria wanted.
“Why would you do that?” her father sounded as if he was against her.
“Because So Rae unnie will be upset that her mother left without a word, not even a farewell. After the divorce, her mother won’t eve come back,” Victoria explained, “as a child, mother is the most important, isn’t that right, father?”
Her father put a hand on her shoulder. “Ok, I understand you.”
“Father, you should also open up more to So Rae and talk to her about the things you don’t like. It would be nice that you compliment her once in a while, she is your daughter after all,” Victoria insisted. “A daughter also wants adoration from her father…”
“Ok, ok, just eat now,” her father urged ignorantly.
Was it impossible to get through to anyone in the family? Victoria picked up her spoon helplessly and began eating.
/\_____/\
So Rae stood at the doorway remaining hidden from sight, a firm line marking her strained lips. Whether her face had gone red from blunt anger, she wasn’t sure, but she was sure of one thing, she was absolutely annoyed.
Was Victoria trying to play the good innocent girl now? Was she trying to get her father to be on her side? So Rae swallowed lightly bit her tongue before walking into the dining room.
Sitting at the table quietly as usual she picked up her chopsticks and began eating.
When Victoria made her way up the stairs, So Rae followed her.
“What are you?” So Rae started.
Victoria stopped by the top of the stairs and turned back. So Rae walked up the rest of the steps and turned to face Victoria when they were on equal ground.
“Why did you go see my mother? So you were with Kyuhyun all night? Are you trying to brag about it?!” So Rae ranted suddenly feeling her blood boil with just the thought of Victoria and Kyuhyun.
“Unnie,” Victoria began, “because you are angry,” she emphasized the ‘are’ before going on, “why are you hiding it? Why are you lying when it’s written all over your face!”
So Rae stared back with fierce eyes.
“What would you know about mothers when you never had one?” So Rae shot back.
Victoria bit her teeth together, “Exactly it, because I’ve never had one, so you should be honest with your mother while you still have one, unnie.”
Unable to understand the idiot sister in front of her, So Rae spun around and walked down the hallway shutting her door behind her. Talk to her mother? Who was Victoria kidding? A mother who’d long ago left her in a home alone would suddenly understand her emotions? What a joke!
/\_____/\
Breakfast was unavoidable. So Rae’s silent aura was filled with fury. Only when she left the table early did Victoria feel like she was able to breathe.
“I have a meeting this morning, do you want to leave with me?” her father asked.
Victoria was about to object, but suddenly recalling that she’d never ridden in a car with her father to work before she agreed.
The ride started off silent before she turned around at her father’s voice, “Do you want to stop by for some sweets? There’s a store around the corner of the street.”
“Really?” Victoria questioned.
Her father nodded and Victoria found herself browsing the glowing childish candy store for 10 minutes. The sweet scent of everything left her drooling as she paced aisle after aisle touching everything she could. She’d never been in a candy store before, but looking at it from afar had always been something she’d done as a child. For a moment she wondered if she was dreaming. The blending colors of everything swirled into a confusing whirlpool before Victoria caught herself.
Picking up a handful of this here and there she walked up to the front counter. As a treat, her father paid at the front counter.
“Are you going to eat all of that?” her father questioned.
“Most of it,” Victoria smiled hugging the large bag to herself, “but I’ll share some with friends and father.”
With a cheerful smile she handed him a candy hearts package and entered the car.
“Why don’t you and So Rae ever go to work in the same car?” Victoria wondered aloud.
“We’ve always gone to work separately.”
Victoria guessed that that ended the conversation there. When she climbed up the steps to the 5th floor she discovered Donghae sitting at her desk as if he dominated it.
“Are you taking over my job now?” Victoria asked.
He looked up with a small smile which turned into a short glare, “Yah! Where’ve you been?!”
“Oh?” Victoria asked setting her bag of candies down upon the desk.
Donghae’s eyes lit up and he reached a hand forward for it, but Victoria picked up the bag and held it away from him.
“Give me some!” he cried.
“You were bored without me, weren’t you?” Victoria teased.
“How’d you come up with such a lie?” Donghae asked standing up. “If you stand too long your legs might get fat.”
Victoria made a face at him as she walked around the desk toward the chair. When she finally sat down she tossed a large pack of candy toward him.
“Think fast!” she called.
Dongahe stared at her lost as the pack of candy bounced off his chest and onto the ground.
“I said think fast,” Victoria stated.
“You’re so mean,” Donghae cussed picking the candy up.
“If I’m not mean, you’d be suspicious of me.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“Have you been doing my job for me?” Victoria asked throwing a jellybean into .
“No.”
“Then how come there’s nothing on my desk.”
“Ask your sister.” Donghae turned his face away.
“Tsh…” Victoria snorted.
“Where’ve you been, though? Skipping work like you own this place.”
“Uh…cause as a matter of fact, I do kinda own this place.” Victoria shrugged.
“No, you don’t.” he dragged a chair over.
“What?” Victoria asked.
“So what happened yesterday and the day before that that you found it so important not to come to work?”
“Don’t be nosey,” Victoria shot back. “Go do your job and stand in the corner.”
Donghae just silently stared back. It left Victoria’s breath hanging in the air as she silently glanced at his perfect features.
“What are you doing?” Victoria asked.
“I was thinking about how we met,” Donghae randomly started, “it was really fun back then.”
“Huh?”
Donghae just smiled before getting up from his chair and moved over to the couch by the corner. A small frown fell over her face as she slightly glanced back at him.
“You’re already here,” Kyuhyun interrupted.
Victoria turned back to the front to see him making his way toward her desk.
“Morning,” Victoria gladly treated. “Do you want some candy?”
“You have good sense. I didn’t have to say it for you to know,” he joked holding out his hand.
“Take any you want,” Victoria told then heard a snort at the back.
She noticed Kyuhyun’s gaze move toward the back.
“Ignore him,” she whispered.
“Lunch today? You pay for this round, though,” he suggested.
“Ok!” she answered with her hand.
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