Chapter 3: Elusive

Yuri was quiet, chewing on her bacon in serious contemplation.

“Yuri?”

She blinked. “Yes Dad?”

“You’re quiet again today.”

“Oh, um, yeah. Just thinking about some stuff.”

Her father didn’t say anything more, but from the corner of her eyes, Yuri saw his expressions and movements. He had his doubts.

“I heard you went to Allure last night.”

She froze for just a fraction and continued cutting her sunny-side up like nothing was wrong.

“Yeah. I dropped by before I came home.”

“I thought you said you were tired.”

“I was.”

“You didn’t come back home till late last night.”

Yuri swallowed her food and took a sip of her orange juice.

“I had some things to tend to.”

“At Allure?”

Yuri frowned at her father’s tone of disbelief.

“Yes.”

“Okay,” he conceded. He dabbed his mouth with his napkin and stood up. “I’ll be heading off first then. Remember dinner tonight with the partners.”

“Yes Dad.”

Yuri got up from the dining table the moment her father was out of sight, suddenly having no appetite to finish the rest of her breakfast.

* * *

When Yuri strode into her office, Taeyeon was already waiting for her, sitting lazily on the sofa.

“Yo Yuri.”

She sighed taking off her coat and dropping them next to Taeyeon. It was hardly business if her best friend sought her out first thing in the morning. It’s usually about one of her endeavours, or one of the beautiful girls she met the night before that she couldn’t stop thinking about.

“Sometimes I wonder how I came to the decision to appoint you as Vice-President with the way you behave.”

“Because I am your best friend,” Taeyeon smugly said.

“More reason for me to not appoint you as Vice-President.”

“I get my job done. Fast, and efficient.”

Yuri sat down at her desk and opened the folder that was placed on it.

“So why are you here today?”

Taeyeon jumped up from the sofa like she had been waiting for her to ask that question the entire morning.

“Thursday.”

“What about Thursday?” she replied, not bothering to look up from her document.

“Wendy told me I had to take over your schedule that night.”

“Yes.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because.”

Yuri glared at Taeyeon who had her palm to her chin, her fingers drumming idly, and a sweet smile on her face.

“If this is because of one of your parties you absolutely must attend, no.”

“Aww Yul!”

“No.”

“Well, you can’t cancel your schedule on Thursday anyway.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s a party.”

“Party?”

“Party. Like, it's the grand-opening-of-the-largest-mall-in-Korea party.”

Yuri twirled her pen. She completely forgot about it.

“I guess I don't have a choice."

Taeyeon fist pumped silently.

"Anything else?"

"Oh yeah. I wanted to tell you something."

"What?"

"There's a few...strange things going on the company lately..."

Yuri pursed her lips. "What strange things?"

Taeyeon had her arms folded, staring hard at the floor like she was trying to figure something out.

"I don't know. I could just be over thinking, but as of now there's nothing solid yet. I'll let you know if I find anything else. I'm off. See ya!"

Yuri had never seen such a serious look on her best friend's face in a long time. The last time she was this serious was when her father passed away. Whatever Taeyeon's suspicion was, Yuri hoped it wasn’t as bad as she imagined.

* * *

It was hard entertaining guests, having to smile, saying polite things, and pretending to be interested, but she had to. Yuri convinced herself that it was all just for networking.

She smiled as she shook a man's hand, already forgetting the name he just mentioned. He lingered around, asking her questions she was accustomed to answering. Young men like him were always pushy, arrogant, and annoying. Yuri laughed when he mentioned something he thought was funny, and answered his questions curtly. She was restless tonight, and her mind frustratingly drifted towards thoughts that she shouldn't be having. This just wasn’t the place she wanted to be at tonight.

She sipped her champagne and glanced around the ballroom when he wasn't looking. She doesn't know what she is looking for, but when a striking red dress caught her eye, Yuri found exactly what she needed tonight.

She turned her attention back to the young man, smiling sweetly as he mentioned something about his yatch. She interrupted him mid-sentence and excused herself, promising to “talk again soon”, elegantly slipping away into the crowd.

Yuri turned around, searching the crowd for Red Lace. She found her exactly where she was before, standing beautifully next to Mr Cho, who had his arm wrapped around her waist possessively. Red Lace turned and met her gaze, as if she was expecting it, and allowed a small smirk to spread on her lips. She looked away shyly, whispering into Mr Cho's ears. He looked a little disappointed, but he allowed her to go anyway, letting his hand slide down to brush against her bottom.

Red Lace walked away, glancing behind, beckoning Yuri to follow. She downed the rest of her champagne, placing the glass on the tray of a passing waiter, and made her way towards the edge of the room. A few people stopped her on the way, and she smiled as sweetly as she could, trying to shorten their conversation as much as possible, and excused herself politely, quickly. Keeping up with the stripper was hard with a large crowd, but she found her anyway lounging at the bar.

Yuri slid onto the tall stool next to Red Lace who twirled a glass of martini in her hand. The stripper smiled at her presence.

“Ms Kwon, how nice of you to join me.”

Yuri returned the smile. “It’s a little unfair isn’t it, that people know my name and I don’t seem to know theirs.”

Red Lace chuckled. “That tends to be the case when you’re the talk of the night, Ms Kwon.” Red Lace paused, observing her. “The name is Tiffany. Hwang Tiffany.”

“Would you like something to drink, Ms Kwon?” the bartender interrupted.

“Whiskey, on the rocks,” she ordered in slight annoyance.

“A woman who fancies strong drinks, I like that,” Tiffany purred.

“You’re quite the strong drinker yourself.”

Tiffany laughed softly. “It helps me sleep.”

The bartender set the cup of whiskey down. Yuri took it as she observed Tiffany across from her, sipping her drink.

“So Tiffany, what brings you to my party tonight?”

“Oh, nothing,” she shrugged. “I thought I ought to come, since I was invited.”

“Strange, I don’t recall seeing your name on the list.”

Tiffany chuckled. “Mr Cho invited me,” she said, setting her glass down. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all. Though I wonder what prompted you to accept the invitation.”

Tiffany traced the rim of her glass, her tongue the edge of her lips. “I was…interested. Curious more like it…”

“About?”

“About the Kwons…and if what they say about a particular Kwon is true…”

“Mmm,” Yuri hummed. “What have people been saying?”

The brown orbs flickered towards her under the lashes. “That she is…charming.”

“Oh? I hear people say that she is a person with a cold heart.”

“Oh no, not at all, Ms Kwon,” Tiffany disagreed, crossing her legs, leaning forward. “I think they are absolutely mistaken.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Why?”

Alluring brown orbs met her gaze knowingly. “Because I can see it.”

Yuri took another drink of her whiskey. “What do you see?”

Tiffany smiled softly, her eyes forlorn. “A hollow heart.”

Yuri her dry lips. “What makes you think so?”

“It’s the reason why you’re drinking whiskey tonight, isn’t it, Ms Kwon?”

“And it’s the reason why you’re drinking a martini.”

“Perhaps,” Tiffany purred, sipping her drink. “There are many reasons why people drink.”

“So why do you drink?”

Tiffany blinked, the playful smile on her lips faltering. “I drink to forget.”

“What are you trying to forget?”

Tiffany look past her nervously, the lips pulled into a fleeting smile that mocked a wistful thought. “It doesn’t matter.” She finished the rest of her martini and stood. “I’m sorry, I have to go."

She grabbed Tiffany’s wrist as she brushed past her pulling her close. Tiffany fought against her grip, startled by the gesture, but she held on tighter and wrapped her arm around Tiffany’s waist.

“Tell me,” she whispered.

The red lips parted, but the brown eyes Yuri looked into was filled with restrained desire and pain, that she felt it in her heart too—the torturous longing she buried deep within.

“What does it matter?” Tiffany breathed. “It is something I can never have.”

Tiffany pressed her lips into a thin line and slipped from her grasp easily.

Yuri stared at the space where Tiffany stood just seconds ago. The years of sorrow buried deep resurfaced, and she felt her heart beat with a dull, painful ache again. She could still catch the intoxicating perfume that lingered around her, and picture her eyes as she walked away—Tiffany was crying. 

A/N: Finally done with 3 midterms in a row. Psst, thank you Silky =)