8
Their Kingdom Panorama
As promised they were let out to the bathroom an hour later. To Victoria’s disappointment the bathroom was another vicinity inside the shed, not outside as she’d pictured.
While waiting for Donghae to get out she glanced pass the rows of metal shelves and found the door all the way at the end. There was definitely no way she’d be able to creep pass to that opening at the end and get out unseen. Though the shelves provided her with a good cover so that she wouldn’t be seen it was still impossible at the end. Where the shelves lined up was a large empty area where the tall man resided. Obviously he was on the lookout 24/7.
The door finally opened and the tall man’s voice beckoned, “Are you going in or not?”
Victoria murmured to herself and walked into the bathroom closing the door behind her. Once she walked out they were sent back to the prison room.
Sitting once again on the stiff hay they remained silent. Both of them thinking about their morning failures.
“How does he expect one bowl of soup to do me any good?” Donghae asked. “He should have offered us two servings at the least.”
Victoria glanced at him with nothing more to say. That guy didn’t care about leaving. Getting up she paced back and forth a few times before finally sitting down in the far left side of the room. It was hot. So hot…but she could feel a warm breeze making its way through the wall…and below.
Scooting back Victoria swept some of the stiff hay back and discovered the worn out wooden floorboards underneath. She pulled at one and found that it was loose. After removing it she discovered a hole in the ground that was a feet wide. Victoria observed the wood that had been used to create the shed and also found that it was too old to stay in place. Besides the jagged marks on the bottom suggested that mice were often trespassers.
Victoria sat down again and placed the soles of her shoes against the wall while she grabbed the bottom of the wood and pulled. If possible, she could break off the bottom of the wall and create more space around the hole. After a few adjustments to her position she finally flocked back with a loud crack.
Lying on her back she glanced at Donghae who was looking over her.
“What’s that?” he asked.
Getting back up she crawled toward the hole. It was a bit bigger but it’d still be impossible for them, as full grown adults, to crawl through. She recalled watching a thai horror movie where in the beginning the kidnapped kid was trying to escape through a hole in the ground just beneath the wall of the shed. Victoria shrugged having forgotten the movie’s name and turned to Donghae.
“You’ve played in the mud when you were little? Good.” Victoria didn’t wait for his response and handed him the broken piece of the wall. “Dig. And keep at it till I tell you to stop.”
/\_____/\
So Rae walked glanced around taking in the dirty environment. She’d long forgotten that even Seoul provided some of the most dirty homes. She passed a wall full of graffiti painting and came across the fenced in area that had been described to her earlier.
From outside she could see a bunch of men sitting around a table at a game of chess. Pressing her lips together So Rae opened the door and stepped in. Her loud heels first caught the attention of the surrounding men before they slowly nudged one another to stop their game.
The man divided into two lines as if creating an imaginary red carpeted aisle for her. She paused when she saw a man sitting at the table. He clearly looked like he was the one in charge.
“Are you the one in charge here?” So Rae asked holding onto here expensive branded bag tightly.
It felt disgusting to be standing there.
“No one’s in charge,” a broad shouldered man stepped out from the crowd.
A cotton navy green hat covered his probably bald head. The wrinkles in his face suggested that his youth had long ended a few years ago.
“Who are you?” he asked stepping forward till he was directly in front of her.
His presence felt scary but So Rae wouldn’t show that.
“You don’t need to know who I am,” she arrogantly replied. “Is Lee Donghae here?”
He smiled and stuck a hand into his pants pocket, “What business have you got with him?”
So Rae looked around uncomfortably. Without a word she reached into her purse and pulled out a business card.
“If he comes back tell him to come look for me.” she said handing him the business card.
Once he took it from her she turned around and walked away.
/\_____/\
Victoria sat quietly feeling a yawn come on. Of all the hours during the day she was still yawning in the afternoon. Being locked was doing her no good but make her drowsy. Victoria shook her head and glanced over at Donghae who was currently making paving a hole underneath the chipped wall.
The doorknob began to turn and Victoria hustled over pushing Donghae aside. Making a grab for the floorboard she placed it back in its spot and hid the chipped wall underneath the hay. It took only seconds before the door opened.
Lunch was served.
/\_____/\
“Is anybody home?” So Rae knocked on the door continuously.
After a minute of standing in front of the home she stepped down the stairs and toward the car where the driver was waiting patiently. Before reaching the door her phone began to ring.
“Hello? Yes, I remember. I’ll be at the airport shortly,” So Rae nodded and turned to her driver. “The airport.”
Through the crowd of people waiting around the gates So Rae found her father and his secretary waiting in the middle. His black-now graying hair-was recognizable even in the distance. Though the tall height of his secretary stood out the most amongst the crowd.
“Is he out yet, father?” she asked.
“What took you so long?” he questioned. “You should have been here 15 minutes ago.”
“I was still running some errands,” So Rae lied. “If you’re tired go back home first. I’ll be sure to drop him off at aunt’s place.”
“No,” he rejected her offer, “I only want you to greet your brother in law before anyone else.”
“Because you want to remind me that my husband-to-be has been handed down to my sister?” So Rae defiantly whispered at the back of her mind.
However, a smile covered her face.
“Yes, father.”
Ever since childhood So Rae had come to know Kyuhyun as a silent boy. He never talked to her much but she had admired him gravely. Cho Kyuhyun was talented with instruments. By far his greatest love - the love that should have been her - was a guitar handed to him by his father.
Then another grave thought entered her mind.
If only her father loved her just as much.
The gates opened and one by one children, parents, and relatives made their way through to be greeted by the arms of loved ones.
When the pack died down So Rae finally saw him. Dark brown shades covered his eyes as he walked out wheeling his large suitcase after him. Even just a faded orange t-shirt and blue jeans made him look good. His curvy hair accentuated his face in a friendly way.
He approached them with a smile.
“How did your studies go?” So Rae’s father questioned. “You’re definitely in good shape.”
“Yes, father.” he smiled.
He turned to her and nodded without the warm smile he’d shed to her father.
“You look like you had a good trip.” So Rae said bitterly and nicely.
“Your mother is at home resting. Her condition has improved these past weeks. She’ll be glad to see you.” President Bang explained.
As So Rae gazed out at the flower garden from the large window inside she couldn’t help but feel a bit of jealousy. The garden had been planted specifically for Kyuhyun’s mother. Because she loved flowers so much, once she fell ill and was incapable of traveling outside, the maids and her husband and even her father helped plant the flowers outside.
Once her mind floated back to the present she was aware of the presence standing far behind her. The white interior of the room illuminated the room into an even brighter atmosphere that didn’t suit her taste. The comfy furniture that had been spread about the room made her want to lie down without getting back up.
“What are you doing?” So Rae questioned. “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
She spun around to find Kyuhyun staring back at her without much of an expression.
“Not one phone call, I didn’t even see one e-mail from you, and not one post card came in the mail for me.” So Rae stated.
“I was busy, sorry.” he apologized. “There were a lot of things to do abroad. I didn’t want to miss anything.”
So Rae snorted, “Forget it.” she turned to the side so that only half her face was visible to him. “Your face from 5 years ago…I can’t forget it.”
Kyuhyun was at a loss of words. He had nothing to say that would defend himself from her harsh words.
“You knew, I told you already,” Kyuhyun said. “I don’t have feelings for you.”
/\_____/\
There was a knock behind the secured brown door. An almost bald man looked up from behind the desk.
“Yes?” he called out.
The door opened and the two kidnappers walked in calmly. The bald man stood up immediately and walked around his desk quickly locking the door.
“Haven’t I told you before not to just walk in casually like that?!” he scolded loudly but still kept his voice under volume so that anyone outside would not hear.
“We’ve got them,” the buff man stated. “What else do you want us to do with them?”
“Have they told you where the necklace is?” the man questioned.
“They swear that they don’t have it.”
“I don’t know if we should believe them.” the other guy chipped in.
“Keep a hold of them. I won’t be able to head there until tomorrow night.” the man said cautiously glancing around. “Get the things ready. If they know something we’ll have to get it out of them and finish them off. And if we’ve caught the wrong people we need to make sure they don’t leave any traces behind.”
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