5
Their Kingdom Panorama
Before he could retort Victoria pulled him away and down the block. Confusion climbed through his brain as he tried to make sense of the situation. But…why were they running?
“Where’d you come from?!” Donghae shouted struggling for his breath. “Why are we running?!”
“Behind you…..behind…” Victoria answered with a muffled voice.
“What?” Donghae asked twisting his head around to see two men fast on their tail. “Yah! What’s this?! You didn’t by any chance ask for money from loan sharks?”
“Yah…not loan sharks…”
“What? I can’t hear you!” Donghae said urging his legs to move faster so that he could catch up to her.
“They’re…gonna kill us!” Victoria shouted.
“What?!!” Donghae asked then turned around again to look at them.
Now that he was able to make eye contact the men did look scary. Their small black eyes sent the chill through him. How he wished the guard from earlier was with him. Noticing how slow Victoria had become he ran pass her taking the lead. His arm slid out of her grasp and in exchange he grabbed a hold of her hand. People became blurs and the strong wind felt great on a hot day. Others turned to look at them curiously without word.
A long bridge extended ahead and underneath it was where a slimy river ran. Practically dragging Victoria after him he jumped down the small hilly slope and hid. For minutes they sat next to each other each trying to catch their own breaths. Donghae was able to start breathing normally after 2 minutes, however, Victoria beside him was still breathing so heavily.
Turning to look at her he found that sweat had formed so heavily on her forehead that even the roots of her hair were visibly wet. Turning away he stared at the slimy river running beneath them. The bottom of the bridge curbed a bit at the bottom so that they didn’t need to get themselves wet. A few fat rocks also sat below to prevent any falls if possible.
Victoria withdrew her hand from his without comment and ran it from her forehead back through her hair.
“Just exactly how long have you been running?” he asked. “You look like you’re going to die.”
“I almost did,” Victoria muttered leaning her head back still heaving.
He frowned at her and looked around. The cracked road was empty and the old cars in the lot were clear of any living soul.
“So…what did you need to talk about?” Donghae wondered turning back. “I thought you said that we weren’t to see each other again.”
“I wouldn’t want to see you either,” Victoria stated. “The necklace, where’s the necklace?”
“Necklace?” he repeated. “I returned it like you told me to.”
“What?!” Victoria almost screamed then placed both hands over her face.
“Why? Didn’t you tell me to do it? Why are you PMS-ing on me?”
Victoria bit the bottom of her lip and turned to look at him. “We’re going to die if we don’t get that necklace back.”
Donghae stared at her for a long time then cocked his head. “Huh?”
“Ah!!” Victoria slapped her face gently then turned to him and grabbed his jacket. “They saw us yesterday! They were watching us all along! That means they saw you call the cops!”
Donghae laughed, “So? What can they do to us now that the necklace isn’t here?”
“Exactly!” Victoria yelped. “They want that necklace!”
“But….they’re only going to kill you, right?” Donghae asked. “I mean since you’re the only one they’ve seen so far.”
Victoria felt her face darken and leaned in toward him so that they were face to face. “They saw you too, didn’t they? Just a moment ago you looked back.”
Donghae stared at her. “No.”
“You did, too!” Victoria knew she was right.
He turned away. “Well, I’m not in danger. What reason would they have to be after me? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Victoria blew at her bangs and climbed out from underneath the bridge. “If you happen to return home and find a black Sedan waiting for you don’t you dare say that I didn’t warn you.”
He watched her walk away. “Not that I have a home to return to. I live in public.”
/\_____/\
“Seriously, how can there be someone so foolish!” Victoria mumbled. “Eesh!”
She tossed her hair off her shoulder and walked down the street toward home promising herself that if those two men came she’d certainly be ready for them. Now because of all that running she was becoming hungry. Her stomach growled as she searched for cheap food along the busy street. Discovering a food stall near the market Victoria sat down and enjoyed a bowl of soup along with a dish of rice.
An hour later after getting off the bus she had boarded earlier Victoria caught her breath outside of the outlet store she was standing in front of. It loomed over her like a giant casting its large shadow over her tiny self. It’d been so long since she’d seen a store that she felt as if she’d been reborn anew. The feeling was just great. Standing in the open air with no limited space made her feel special to the bone.
Finally walking through the automatic doors she was met with a cold wind. A smile brightened her face when she saw all the aisles of so much different home supplies. Fancy chandeliers, spinning ceiling fans, and lights streaming from above gave out rays of the rainbow. It was all so fascinating. Gliding through the aisles stopping every moment to look at each and everything Victoria felt a slight rush storm through her. However, when her eyes landed on the price tags her heart sunk knowing that it was impossible to purchase the beautiful items.
But…if she found a good job with a good pay she’d be able to save and redecorate the home her grandmother had left behind. Yes, she could do that indeed. The only problem was that she didn’t know what kind of a job would want her. She hadn’t gone to college nor had she earned a degree. She only had a high school diploma…and going back to school right then…would be a waste of money and time. It would be another four years before she’d graduate and be able to support herself financially. She couldn’t waste the time she had now…
Victoria left the store and stared back desperately. She definitely needed to find a job somewhere…
Heading back downtown Victoria found stores with opening positions, which all rejected her help. She took free newspapers from the stands and skimmed through each one however all the business jobs required a resume or a college degree. It would have been possible for her to create a resume but there wasn’t enough information she could put on it that would help her get a position.
“Aish…it’s hopeless…” Victoria moaned as she stumbled back toward home.
As she treaded down the street Victoria glanced up at the sun half wondering why things were the way they were. The laugher of children brought her eyes back down so that she was now looking down the street. Girls and boys played in front of their houses, ran down the blocks underneath the breezy green trees. They were so carefree.
“Watch where you’re going! Don’t run into the street!” a mother shouted from the front door.
If only Victoria had had parents from the day she was born. If only she had had a parent at school for parent’s day instead of her old grandmother, who stood in place of them. If only she had parents she wouldn’t have been belittled. If she had parents maybe she wouldn’t have become a delinquent. If she had parents she probably wouldn’t yearn for other student’s homes. If she had parents she would have grown up with morals and a stronger pride.
But the fact was strong and conscious in her head.
She had no parents.
Where she came from she didn’t know.
If she had parents she wouldn’t have to be chased down by people she didn’t know for doing something she thought was right. If she had parents she’d have someone to protect her.
Unlike the children running the streets freely she had started to fend for herself since young. Why couldn’t she have had parents?
Victoria’s heart ached. She hated the cruel world. Then for a moment she resented the reason that her grandmother had died and left her to be alone. There was no one she knew. No one she could run to. No one to make her feel secure or safe. Practically she was on her own again. Friendless. Helpless.
Just a girl she was on her own.
Other parents, she was sure of, wouldn’t leave their daughters to fend for themselves. Why had her parents left her behind? Had she been a mistake? Or had she done something so wrong? Why didn’t anyone come back to look for her? Why didn’t anyone come and say, “You’re my long lost daughter. I’m so sorry for leaving you alone.” Why didn’t anyone come to her aid?
/\_____/\
So Rae walked up the grand white staircase that had been carefully swept and mopped till it shone. Swerving she headed down the longest hall of the mansion and paused at the second door. The whiteness of the pure wooden door almost showed her reflection as she reached for the golden handle. Taking a breath she pushed the door open into the empty room that had been waiting for its owner for 24 years.
The boxed window glinted in the sunlight. The white drapes had been pulled aside by the maid who’d diligently cleaned the room everyday. So Rae looked about the room with a kind of longing and resentment. Her half forlorn eyes glided over the oval carpet on the ground before the queen sized bed with pale pink sheets and a small teddy bear that sat in between the fluffy pillows. Turning around she looked at the circular oak table that was so clean not even a speckle of dust was visible. Two matching chairs had been set around it. The white walls, the clean floor, the paintings that hung on the wall all showed something of homeliness - something that no one else had shown her.
All her life all she’d received the things she’d wanted. Everything had been items without sincerity. Yet, even when she’d owned so many things she didn’t receive an ounce of affection from the father she lived with. Her mother was a gallery who didn’t bother to stay home. Instead banquets and parties were all her mother attended. It was her father who’d brought her into business. So Rae had been determined to make him proud and when he’d thrown her a party for taking over the investment she indeed actually felt, for the first time, that he cared.
Things only fell apart for her the day after the party. It had been something suggested by her father’s right hand man, Park Mung Soo. Yet, that wasn’t all she’d found out that day. The reason why the second room down the longest hall was always cleaned was because her father’s supposedly ex-girlfriend had had his daughter. 5 years ago after she’d died she had left her father a message. A message to look for their daughter.
It had sent So Rae bittersweet feelings. Her father was actually putting effort into looking for someone he didn’t even know.
So Rae gripped onto the jewelry box she’d received earlier in the day and stared at the floor with hard eyes gleaming of wet anger.
The younger sister she had was the center of attention now. Her spot in the company didn’t matter anymore. No one thought of her.
/\_____/\
Donghae slipped both hands into his jacket and walked back toward his so-called home. The other guys were standing around huddled in a group by the corner. Wondering what they were up to Donghae opened the fenced door and headed toward them.
“What’s going on? Did something happen?” he asked then hurried toward them with loud steps. “Or did you find ‘that’ magazine?!”
The guys stared back at him with quivering eyes.
“Why?” Donghae asked.
The guys suddenly split up and Donghae saw a man in a black suit sitting on the box that belonged to the skinny guy he always saw. Donghae observed him blinking his eyes clueless for a few seconds.
A nervous smile climbed onto his face, “Didn’t I just see you a few minutes earlier?”
Donghae searched from the corner of his eyes and spotted the black Sedan Victoria had warned him about.
“Lets go on a trip.” the man said cracking his knuckles.
Donghae gulped taking a step back, however, he only bumped into the other guy.
“Where’s your accomplice?”
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