95
Their Kingdom Panorama
/\_____/\
The hospital door opened and her father walked in.
“Are you feeling better?” he questioned running a hand through her hair.
Victoria smiled at him with her bruised up a face.
“I’m ok.”
Although, her entire body was covered in bruises she couldn’t have felt any better to be out of the small room that had served as her jail for 4 days.
“Father, are you ok?” Victoria asked.
She hadn’t heard anything from him concerning his right hand man’s betrayal.
“When you come home, I’ll have ahjumma cook up a variety of dishes for you,” he switched the subject before the door opened again.
They turned to find Kyuhyun standing at the entrance.
“I’ll leave you two alone now,” her father told getting up.
When he left and Kyuhyun entered the room all Victoria could do was smile.
“Are you better? It looks like it hurts a lot.”
“At first it did, but now it’s better,” Victoria replied with a soft smile just glad to see him. “Sorry, for not contacting you.”
“Don’t be,” he shook his head before making a reach for her hand. “My mother once said that hands aren’t just meant for toiling day and night. They’re supposed to help you create memories that can give you happiness.”
Victoria watched him quietly and felt utterly surprised when he took the ring from her finger.
“What are you doing?” she wondered alarmed.
“It’s off,” Kyuhyun told. “I’m talking to my father tonight to make it official.”
“Cho Kyuhyun.”
“I’m sorry, for making things unbearably hard. I know you don’t accept apologies, but there’s no other way of really doing it. You’re a really great person, Victoria. A lot of things brought you down, but you withstood it bravely. Thanks for showing me the innocent side of yourself. I respected you, I always did.”
Victoria stared at him feeling touched with his words. Disappointment and feelings of being sorry brought slight tears to her eyes.
“You suffered a lot during this period. I’m leaving you in Lee Donghae’s care,” he finished, “be good to him.”
He lightly gripped her hand before leaving.
Mi Sun stopped by just before visiting hours ended to inform her that she’d dialed for the cops before she, So Rae, and Donghae had made the trip to Myung Soo’s just in case anything were to happen. The necklace had been retrieved and Myung Soo would be investigated starting tomorrow morning. So Rae had found out about Man Shik and had gone quiet afterward, and Lee Donghae was resting in a room one floor away from her. Mi Sun had asked if she wanted to see Donghae and after a moment of hesitation, Victoria declined.
/ / / / /
So Rae was sitting alone outside when Mi Sun reached their house. She’d often played in the open yard with So Rae as a little girl, but as they grew up and So Rae started changing her ways, they stopped playing.
Coming to a brief stop at the top of the rock stairs she stared at So Rae’s downcast gaze. She was too focused on the green grass. After taking a breath Mi Sun headed over and took a seat beside So Rae on the bench.
“How does it feel seeing me like this?” So Rae asked.
“Not that great, actually.” Mi Sun tilted her head up toward the clear sky. “I’m sorry.”
A tear dropped down So Rae’s face.
“Father hasn’t talked to me,” So Rae said. “He’s been here for so long that it feels so strange now. I can’t stay here.”
Mi Sun turned to So Rae feeling sorrier than ever.
Putting an arm around her shoulder, Mi Sun comforted, “President Bang hasn’t realized it yet, but he still looks at you like you’re his daughter.”
“No he doesn’t,” So Rae shook her head as her shoulders shook.
“So Rae,” Mi Sun began, “it’s time to grow up. Your father is becoming an old man, he can’t baby you forever.”
“My father’s dead. Do you know how it feels? To know that my mother had an affair? That I’ve been kept in the dark? That I’ve been calling the wrong person father? I have no father, Mi Sun!”
Mi Sun gripped her shoulders, “No matter what, you still see him as your father. I know you do. Perk up, So Rae. You shouldn’t dwell over this forever. I’m sorry to say it, but it’s the truth. You’re an adult, face it maturely. Think about all the things that are still out there because there’s someone who possibly needs you at this moment.”
Tears still dropped from So Rae’s eyes.
“Don’t you think there’s someone who needs you to strengthen her up?” Mi Sun asked. “Victoria, you’ve given her such a hard time and in the end it was all for nothing. She didn’t deserve anything that happened to her, but it happened to her. So Rae, you didn’t lose anything, but Victoria lost the person who meant most to her and she lost her mother without even knowing about her. That necklace almost killed her, So Rae.”
“What do you want me to do? It’s not like anyone will listen to me now. I’m just an evil witch…”
“Just apologize. It doesn’t heal one’s heart, but the person you’ve hurt will know that you’ve realized you’ve done wrong.” Mi Sun added. “You should apologize to Victoria. All she ever wanted was an older sister, but instead she had to carry the burden your mother left her. That must have been hard for her. And, you should apologize to Lee Donghae.”
So Rae’s shoulder stopped shaking by now.
“By apologizing, by making them feel better, you can lighten the sorrow on your shoulders too. It’ll get better with time.”
/ / / / /
She returned home the next day with her father and finally met So Rae who was waiting at the front steps for them.
Dinner was an icy cold one that night.
As forks clattered against the ceramic plates, Victoria stole glances at So Rae’s downcast face. Her father didn’t talk either. Were they both upset about Myung Soo’s betrayal and their ability of not being able to predict it beforehand? Did her father know of So Rae’s knowledge about her parent’s past?
Victoria had spent a lot of time lying awake in the hospital going through the list of wrongs she’d committed, So Rae had committed, her father had committed, as well as Hee Young. All the unbearable decisions they had made which brought around the consequences they didn’t like. It was all because they didn’t communicate with each other. All because one thought not saying anything would perhaps better the already worsened situation, but they didn’t understand it.
So Rae was hurt in the process of growing up under lies and had come to grow up with a negative view of the world. With this view, she was always wanting to crush those who were able to experience it even when they were in pain. Victoria had decided that So Rae was jealous. All this time, she was jealous because she had never had anything her way even if she had everything she wanted. But she lacked the love, the care, and the real friendship everybody else possessed. In this way, So Rae had filled herself up with hate, grudges. She was pitiful. As Mi Sun had said, she was pitiful.
In the end after all the suffering, So Rae had a family she didn’t really belong to when Victoria who had suffered just the same amount of injustice was about to reach her point of peace. So Rae must hate her for that.
How hard had she cried knowing that her biological father was dead? How painful it must have been when she discovered that the father she worshipped wasn’t really her own father?
“Lets talk after this meal,” Victoria spoke up.
No one replied, she took it as a yes.
The three of them joined together in the meeting room, all sitting away from each other. It felt awkward and tense. Victoria got up first and stared at the two before her.
With a bow she apologized, “I’m sorry, for causing so much trouble.”
Her father quickly got up to his feet.
“Father, you should apologize to So Rae unnie,” Victoria said, “you know, she always looked up to you, and even if you don’t share one drop of blood with her, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care. Father, if it were me, I’d be disappointed in the way you raised me. Unnie has been very lonely because of you and step-mother. Did you know that?”
Her father changed his gaze elsewhere before turning back to her.
So Rae remained indistinctively still.
As he gripped her hand, he promised, “I know, I’ll do better from now on.”
Victoria turned to So Rae figuring that she wouldn’t approach her first.
“Unnie, I’m sorry. Lets forget it all, ok?”
Though there was still some evident distance between them. Victoria didn’t know what else to say.
When they separated, Victoria headed upstairs to take a shower. As the warm water ran down her body and she thought back to the night when she’d been blindfolded, she could still hear the gasps of pain belonging to the one person who’d entered the room. Donghae, it had been Donghae for sure. Even when she thought of him, her heart still ached. All that had happened was still unforgettable and Victoria didn’t feel ready for a new start yet.
The unfairness that she’d experienced still rubbed her with pain.
After settling down into her room, the door opened and she turned to find So Rae standing in the doorway. Shifting in her chair so that she could see So Rae better, Victoria could only wonder what she wanted from her.
“I’m sorry,” So Rae apologized.
Victoria’s eyes grew wide at what she was hearing. The two words coming from her were shocking, surprising, unexpected.
“For hurting you and taking Lee Donghae away. I’m sorry, for purposely hurting you every time I had the chance to. I’m an awful person. Please don’t hate me, I don’t want to be alone. I’m so scared of being left alone.”
Every little sting she’d received from So Rae emitted itself into her memory and Victoria could feel tears crawling into the corners of her eyes. So Rae, who she’d come to hate so much, was apologizing. The tears began to fall one by one and Victoria felt the pain lurch through her body again. The day she’d seen So Rae and Donghae together in his suite had been engraved so deeply into her heart that it had severely scarred her. She couldn’t forget it and she still couldn’t let it go. Tears dropped uselessly one by one and all the hate she had had for So Rae flew back. Victoria had gone through so much and at the end there was only a “sorry” waiting for her? Why couldn’t So Rae have burned in a fire? Why couldn’t she have fired So Rae from her job?
“Unnie…you hurt me much more than you think you did,” Victoria tried through her thick sobs, “you hurt me so bad and I was alone all the time, and you’re saying you’re scared to be alone?”
She watched as So Rae’s face became streaked into sobs.
“Your apology can’t fix it,” Victoria stated sobbing so hard. “Do you really remember all the pain you gave me, unnie? It’s much worse than you finding out about father. It’s much worse than you growing up with lies.” Victoria shook her head. “I’m sorry, I lied, I don’t think I can forget it all just yet. Recalling how awful it’s been for me…I can’t forget it. Unnie…I can’t forgive you.”
So Rae’s cold fingers reached for her hands desperately. Victoria pulled them back but So Rae grabbed them again.
“I’m sorry, Victoria, that that’s all I can say. I’m really sorry.”
Victoria’s cries became louder as she wept out all her sorrow. The breakup with Donghae, the ruined engagement, the hate she had received, all the pressure that had landed upon her, and all the eyes that had been watching her expectantly immediately filled her mind. They’d given it to her so hard. It had been so hard for her that it was unfair. So unfair.
Every event possible flashed through her mind horribly. Why in the world did she have to go through all that? Why in the world did she have to suffer all that pain? Victoria couldn’t come to any conclusion, but to one that she was so disappointed. So disappointed in everything.
Her chest throbbed and for once she realized that what hurt most was holding onto the unforgettable pain. But how to let it go when she couldn’t? Everything and everyone had been so important to her and yet all that importance had at least once stabbed her. How could she let it go, then?
When the tear streaked So Rae hugged her, Victoria finally felt herself fall forward into her unnie’s arms. Would she finally have the real family she’d been asking for?
Their sobs penetrated the room into desolate sadness.
Later that night, she awoke to hear So Rae and her father speaking in his study room. As a sobbing So Rae went on about her disappointments, her father sat nearby rubbing her back in comfort.
/\_____/\
Donghae had returned to his empty suite that evening a little disappointed that Victoria hadn’t stopped by. Other than a few bruises, he felt quite well physically, but emotionally tired. Sitting down on the couch he turned around after a few seconds and later found himself lying on the ground.
Perhaps, reliving his memories was better than living in a reality where he actually had nothing. Closing his eyes he promised that he’d go to see Victoria the next day.
/\_____/\
“Father, lets cancel the wedding,” Kyuhyun suggested in the library that night.
His father set down the newspaper he was reading.
“Why?”
“Victoria is emotionally exhausted and I’m not willing to go any further with this,” Kyuhyun started, “I don’t feel the same anymore and neither does Victoria. I’ll be grateful to you if you listen to me this once.”
“Your mother has said the same thing to me, too,” his father said after a few seconds. “Ok, if you’re begging this much.”
“Thank you, father.”
His father smiled and placed an arm around him.
“You’ve had a hard time.” his father said.
/\_____/\
Victoria stopped by the Three Musketeers the next morning. They all jumped in surprise when they spotted her bruised face.
“Ooh? What happened?” Ryeowook questioned concerned.
“A riot broke out,” Victoria joked.
“That’s not funny,” Yesung remarked.
Ryeowook elbowed him.
Victoria face became solemn before she smiled, “I’ll explain later, lets go eat.”
After a meal and explanation of her abduction she took the Three Musketeers shopping. Their faces flushed mad red when Victoria tossed packs of underwear at them.
“But what’s with all this?” questioned Eunhyuk as they started back toward the shelter.
“Keep them well and use them,” Victoria told. “When I’m not here, you have to take care of yourselves.”
“Oh? Are you going somewhere?” Yesung asked surprisingly catching on quickly.
Eunhyuk’s expression changed.
Victoria pretended to take no notice of it, “Promise me, ok?”
They were silent. Eunhyuk stepped up and dragged her aside.
“What do you mean? Where are you going?” he questioned.
Victoria put a hand on his shoulder, “I’m feeling tired, so I’m going to take some time to myself. You can take care of yourselves, right? Don’t wait for the start of the new week to go to the public bath, don’t sleep on the ground too much - borrow a bench if you have to, and don’t eat so little every day. You can do that much, right?”
“What’s with you?”
“Thank you for everything, you were the first real friend I’ve come across,” Victoria hugged him.
That night after dinner, Victoria followed her father up into his study room.
“Is there something you need?” he asked her.
“I want to talk to you about something,” Victoria told.
Sitting down in her usual spot she started.
“Father, I want to go study abroad.”
“Study abroad?”
She nodded, “I want to enhance my skills and further my studies so I can do better…and I also want some time away.”
“Is staying here making you uncomfortable?”
Victoria felt herself become saddened and tears threatened to vent. She slowly looked at him and nodded.
***So, I extended this chapter somewhat. The finale will be the next chapter. I hope I'll still see you all wonderful readers around :D
***Sorry, that this was all I could come up with for So Rae :/ Seriously, I couldn't find any exact reason to send her off to jail either. And having a car hit her is too...cliche in stories and dramas.
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