67
Their Kingdom Panorama
How many years ago had it been when he’d been walking alone dreaming about his food-filled future? He never thought that having someone by his side like this would ever feel so good. Victoria, the most perfect being alive, was his world. She made him feel so great, like he was the luckiest man alive. And he could feel his heart beating wildly for her every time a second passed.
Suddenly, he felt glad that they’d been kidnapped together. Glad that Victoria always brought him to his senses.
An angel would definitely be lost without its wings.
“We’re here,” Victoria’s voice pierced through his mind.
Donghae broke out of his thoughts to find that they’d reached her house.
“So soon?”
“I’ll see you at work anyway. Have a good night.”
She loosened her grip on his hand, but he didn’t want to see her off yet. Keeping his grip on her he pulled her back gently.
“What?” she wondered.
He pointed toward his lip and Victoria’s eyes marked an angry frown.
“No! I don’t want to.”
“Why!” he pouted.
“I just don’t want to. You’re always asking for one!”
“Is it wrong for a boyfriend to want to kiss his girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
He let out a loud gasp unable to believe the answer that just came from her.
“See you.”
She tried walking away, but his grip on her tightened. Victoria heaved a loud sigh. Pivoting her feet abruptly she gave him a quick peck on the lips. When she turned away he was sure that he could feel her heart racing. A shy smile lit his lips before he wrapped an arm around her and leaned his head on the back of her shoulder.
“You’re completely dying of happiness,” he teased.
“You are too. Don’t think that I can’t feel yours.” she shot back.
Practically squeezing her he removed his arm with a smile.
“Good night.”
/\_____/\
A squeal left Victoria’s mouth when she escaped into her room. Running over to the mirror she reached her fingers up to her lips. Sitting down dreamily, her mind drifted off into space.
/\_____/\
So Rae watched Victoria run up the stairs with a wide grin from the opposite end of the hallway with a tiny glare in her eyes. Seeing Victoria happy made her feel so angry. Why was it that when nothing was going right in her world, could Victoria still be so cheerful even after everything that had happened? It wasn’t fair.
When she opened the gate door that morning she found Donghae standing outside the car gazing toward the house with a hearty smile on his face. Seeing him smile particularly annoyed her as well.
“Is that something to be happy about?” she asked walking toward him.
“No.” he simply replied as she walked pass without turning his head to see her.
Something was up. Her instincts were poking at her.
“Lets leave.” she told.
He didn’t reply. After she opened the backseat she turned to see that Donghae hadn’t moved an inch from his spot. So Rae followed his eyes toward the house. Victoria appeared in her mind and she began wondering if something was really going on between the two of them.
When she’d warned him against liking Victoria, his surprised reaction had been hard for her to read. At the engagement ceremony as well. She’d specifically stated that he couldn’t go after her, to stay rooted in his seat, but in the end he’d got up to go after her. Why? Was he really worried about his friend? Or had there been other reasons? And the way Victoria had reacted to seeing Donghae in her office still remained clear in her head. The two had been together from the beginning and she’d offered them jobs in the company.
Why was she only thinking about this now? They obviously had feelings for each other since the beginning.
No matter what, she couldn’t let Victoria be happy even if it meant destroying someone else’s as well. And she wouldn’t be sorry because seeing Victoria burdened made her feel so much greater. Even if she lost Donghae, she still had Kyuhyun. Even Kyuhyun was too much for her. Victoria didn’t deserve Kyuhyun, but there was no way So Rae could take Kyuhyun. Their parents had already decided it all and she couldn’t go as high as to ruin Kyuhyun.
/\_____/\
Donghae had watched So Rae go to her office before making his way toward the front doors. He wanted to wait for Victoria, but as he reached the front doors his excitement apparently dissolved. Kyuhyun had been leaning against the wall looking so suave with a hand tucked into his pocket. When their eyes met he smiled and walked toward Donghae.
Feelings of uneasiness crept into Donghae. Surely, Kyuhyun wasn’t here to see Victoria.
“Morning.” Kyuhyun greeted.
Donghae only nodded his head.
Kyuhyun laughed amused, “I had lunch with Victoria yesterday and I’m going to eat lunch with her again today and the day after.”
Oh, he was just so hateful. Donghae hated hearing Victoria’s name coming from his mouth.
“We both should get along for Victoria’s sake,” he suggested.
Confusion shook Donghae.
“Lets both compete for Victoria fairly.”
“Excuse me?” Donghae’s voice went from low to high like a roller coaster.
Kyuhyun smiled. His smile was really annoying Donghae at the moment. How could someone want to compete for someone’s girlfriend? Was he in his right mind?!
Donghae sent him a short glare before turning around and treading back down the hallway. Kyuhyun’s footsteps followed him diligently. Oh, he really wanted to compete did he? Donghae wasn’t about to give up just yet.
Quickening his pace he walked through the relaxation room and pulled out a chair to distract Kyuhyun. Slightly turning back he saw Kyuhyun making his way around the chair. If he wanted an obstacle, Donghae would create one for him.
At his next step he could feel someone grab his jacket from behind and pull him back.
The sound “Ah” escaped from him before he found himself being into a chair. Kyuhyun ran past him with a wave.
/\_____/\
Footsteps could be heard in the hallway and Victoria expected to see Donghae. However, when she looked up she saw Kyuhyun walking toward her with a cheeky smile.
“Oh? What are you doing here?” Victoria questioned standing up.
Kyuhyun slightly glanced behind him.
“You know…to inform your friend about the competition.”
Victoria’s jaw dropped. It had completely slipped her mind last night. Donghae would surely kill her when he arrived.
“Ah…is that so?” Victoria questioned flustered.
Kyuhyun turned around again when he heard rushed footsteps in the hallway.
“He’s here.”
As if Victoria needed to know that.
“I’ll see you later.” Kyuhyun waved before turning around.
She watched as Donghae slightly glared at Kyuhyun while he walked past him and when Kyuhyun disappeared his gaze landed on her. Victoria bit her bottom lip.
“Yah! You!” he half shouted.
“I…I can explain.” she started as he walked toward her.
Grabbing her hand he led her out to the balcony.
“Explain.” he demanded crossing his arms like an angry girl.
“Um…well,” Victoria tilted her head up to the sky. “You see, thing is…he thinks we have an ambiguous relationship.”
“What?” his mouth dropped open unable to believe what he was hearing.
“You know…like friends with benefits,” Victoria explained.
“But you didn’t clarify to him that we’re already seeing each other?”
Now was the hard part.
Victoria swallowed and tried to smile, “I…kinda tried.”
“You what?!” he raised his voice.
“Sorry!”
“You think saying that helps now?” Donghae questioned. “I can’t believe you!”
“Just go along with it, ok?”
“Go along with it? You want me to play in a game where my girlfriend is setting herself up at the stake? Psh…I’m really easy to you huh?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Donghae glared at her.
Victoria heaved a sigh and reached for his hand, “It’s not like he can become my angel. If I decided otherwise, I wouldn’t have run away that time.”
His glare softened, “Ok, I’ll play along in this stupid game of his. I prohibit you from holding hands with him and no body touching, that is totally off limits.”
Victoria let out a small laugh.
/\_____/\
“They’re seeing each other, aren’t they?” So Rae questioned.
Mi Sun glanced toward the office door.
“You know, don’t you?” So Rae assumed.
“As far as I know, he’s told me he has feelings for her.” Mi Sun answered.
So Rae let out a small snort.
“Why? What are you going to do about it?” Mi Sun asked.
So Rae didn’t quite respond.
“You know Victoria will eventually marry Kyuhyun anyway, so why bother with the trouble?” Mi Sun was curious.
“I only want to make things worse,” So Rae told. “I won’t let them be happy. Before Kyuhyun disrupts them, I’ll have to ruin them first.”
Mi Sun lowered her gaze. So Rae was so pitiful in her eyes.
“I asked my father about Man Shik last night, I couldn’t get a thing out of him.” So Rae started. “I think there’s something about his identity.”
“Maybe, you should stop being curious about who he was to your parents,” Mi Sun suggested.
“You want me to stop after telling me about all this? You even told me to go ask my mother,” So Rae sounded angry.
“It was just an act during the moment,” Mi Sun tried, “it’s one of those impulses, you know?”
“Well, it’s too late.” So Rae snapped. “Tomorrow, I won’t give them a chance to be together. I’m going to see my mother at her gallery, and you should inform Kyuhyun that they’re seeing each other.”
/\_____/\
Two cheery laughs coming from two old men poured throughout the room.
“Lets talk about the children now,” Chairman Cho suggested. “How about the wedding? Do you think Victoria is ready?”
“About that…” President Bang started off, “she’s still adapting to this new life of hers. I guess it’s been pretty hard for her so I want to let her have some space.”
“If you give a child too much space, they’ll start doing things on their own. What if Victoria meets someone else?”
President Bang shifted in his seat uncomfortably, “Can’t be. My daughter isn’t like that.”
“You can talk to her about the wedding and we can start preparing for it slowly. She doesn’t have to rush into it like what we did for the engagement ceremony.” Chairman Cho explained. “Victoria can take all the time she needs. Just convince her that she needs to marry my son.”
Bang Dae Jung fell into silent thought.
“I don’t want to pressure her.”
“I can tell that my son is really in love with your daughter. My wife adores her and the ahjumma in our household like her company as well. There’s nothing to lose if she joins our family,” Chairman Cho continued, “she’s going to gain everything she’s never had. Isn’t this the ideal kind of life you want for your daughter?”
Dae Jung nodded.
“I’ll speak to Victoria. We can talk about the wedding, but as you said, lets not rush it just yet.”
/\_____/\
After Donghae dropped So Rae off he drove back to the company where Victoria was waiting for him.
When she got into the car she questioned, “Where are we going?”
“Somewhere.”
“Just ‘somewhere’?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
“Have I been there before?”
“Nope.”
“Then, where is it?”
“Shh!” Donghae told.
Moments later he parked his car in the lot and started toward the hotel. Victoria followed beside him.
“What are we doing at a hotel?” she asked staring at its large sign. “You’re not going to do what I’m thinking, are you?”
“Do you think I’m that despicable?” he asked with a frown.
Victoria shrugged.
“I can’t read your mind. How would I know?”
Donghae heaved a sigh, took her hand, and led her in.
“You’ll see in a moment.”
“Is it that you’ve prepared a surprise for me?” Victoria asked.
Donghae shook his head.
“So, what exactly are we doing here?” Victoria wondered aloud in the elevator.
“Why can’t you just keep quiet?” he questioned.
“Because you’re acting suspicious!” Victoria pointed out.
“I’m not going to do what you’re thinking,” he stated.
Victoria eyed him before the elevator doors opened and he led her down the hallway. He finally stopped in front of his door and unlocked it by swiping his card.
“Oh! That’s so cool!” Victoria remarked amazed.
It made him feel all cool and proud.
Opening the door he pulled her in, “This is where I live.”
“Whoa!” she didn’t speak the words but her eyes grew wide in shock and surprise.
“Isn’t it nice?” he asked with a wide smile.
Victoria glanced around from the kitchen to the ceiling and everywhere else as she walked forward. She was quieter than he’d expected her to be.
“Is this…really where you live?” she asked.
“Yep!” he proudly answered.
Her eyes ran over the comfy sofa, the HD TV, the broad window with the greatest view of Seoul she’d ever seen, and toward the rooms to the side. Donghae really was living in luxury. No wonder he’d left behind the homeless shelter that couldn’t support him with walls or a bed. The Three Musketeers floated into her mind. They were poor with only 2 meals a day, yet they were still full and content with what they had. She felt…so bad for them.
If Victoria had been given a choice between the shelter and a luxurious suite, she definitely would have chosen the luxurious suite without hesitation. From another point of view, she was no different from Donghae who had left behind his friends for the better life. The only difference was…she had no friends to begin with. But Donghae’s life, she never knew how it had been. So who was she to judge?
Pushing the white door open she glanced into Donghae’s large bedroom. Painted in white and decorated by a white closet, a desk, and a large bed draped in white bed sheets sitting against the wall opposite of her. Stepping in she found that it was as empty as her room. Empty of warmth.
How did he feel living alone here?
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