Chapter 9

“But why would Jang Mi buy such dresses? It’s not like she’s going to be able to wear them or anything.” Uttered Yoon Yi, having her nails done in a beauty center.

“It’s not like her mother could’ve owned such dresses before she passed away obviously,” Yoon Song laughed, as she was reading some fashion magazine. “I mean look, they say that in the whole country you can only buy such clothes from the stores that belong to the Lee. Corp!” She showed the magazine to her mother.

“How prestigious… that kid really knows how to make millions out of every deal” Mrs. Cha looked at Yu Jin’s picture that showed him shaking hands with a foreign designer.

“Oh my God, just imagine if I become his bride” Yoon Yi started to fan herself with her palm. And Yoon Song just laughed: “Yeah right, with your bad eating habits, we won’t be able to find you a fitting gown for the party” but Yoon Yi replied: “Ha, not anymore, thanks to the dresses we found.” She smiled.

“What?” The older sister was surprised. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll be wearing one of those dresses to the ball tomorrow, since the size fits well!” she bragged.

“Huh? No way! You fox think you can seduce him if you show up with a dress like that!?” Yoon Song stood up, pointing her finger at her sister who nodded with a smile. Sticking her tongue out.

“Oh my, why are you two always embarrassing me in front of everyone?” she hid her face with her palm and then added “Each one of you can wear a dress, now can you stop giving me this disgraceful image?”

They sat down, looking satisfied and they preceded with their beauty treatment.

****************

Era was crying as she kept on watching the workers move out her parents’ stuffs, but then saw them taking away her mother’s favorite painting. But she stopped in front of the man that was carrying it, she spread her arms open and yelled:

“Please sir… at least leave this painting! It’s priceless to me!” She was speaking among sobs.

“Step aside miss, I only have orders to get rid of everything for the lady who owns this house.” He looked a bit sorry for her.

“No! Please!” he walked past her but she grabbed the frame and tried to snatch it away from him:

“Please! This is something that my father spent years painting for my mother! Please! You can’t throw it away!” She tried to snatch it from his grip. But he pulled it away harshly, not paying attention, the painting slipped from his hands and its frame broke.

“Oh no!” she fell to her knees, and the man cursed as he tried to pick it up. “Hah!” He exhaled sharply “This needs to be cleaned up… we won’t be taking it away apparently, you take care of it yourself geez!”. The girl raised her face at him and he nodded at her with a small smile. She hurried to pick up the painting from the floor, separating it from what was left of the frame with the help of the man.

“Could that woman be your stepmother or something?” He asked.

She was about to nod but then recalled the fact that she was no longer living as Jang Mi. She clenched her fists and shook her head.

“Huh?” The man suddenly gasped. “An envelope?” he pulled out an envelope that looked very old and looked at it. “Well… I guess this should belong to that woman” he said but then Jang Mi’s eyes widened as she glimpsed the words written on it with some red ink: To my precious daughter.

She snatched it away from the man’s hands and said: “Y-You can carry on working, I’ll take care of the rest.” Her tone was hasty as she hurried back into the house.

No way… a letter… a letter from my… parents!

She tore away the edge of the wrapper and emptied its content on the dining table. She raised a brow at the big stack of papers she got out and which were put in a transparent keeper, and then found a folded piece of yellowish paper.

This is the letter?

She wondered as she slowly unfolded it, to get her eyes springing open as she read the content.

Just then, she started to hear screams and voices coming from the entrance so she quickly, as sweat ran down her forehead, hid everything back in the envelope and rushed upstairs to hide it somewhere under her bed.

Her hands were shaking, not believing what she just found. She jumped as she heard her stepmother’s voice calling at her from downstairs.

No… even though, I can’t do anything now… this really… has… to stay secret… yes…

She kept phrasing in her mind, trying to calm her wildly beating heart.

“Yes, m-ma’am?” She looked at her stepmother who looked dissatisfied for some reason.

“Where have you been? Do I have to raise my voice so that I can catch your attention?” She knitted her brows at her.

“Whatever, just prepare us some food, I’m so hungry!” Yoon Yi yawned as she went upstairs.

“Yeah, I’m hungry and tired too” Yoon Song went after her younger sister.

“Fine, fine, set the table, the girls are both hungry” she dismissed Era as she went to change her clothes.

Era took a deep breath saying in her mind:

Don’t worry, it’s a matter of days before things change for the best Era… just be patient.

 *********************

(In the Lee mansion)

A loud orchestral music was playing, people in dazzling clothes were filling the room, large tables with the fanciest kinds of food were set before them, and everyone seemed to have a great time. The Media were getting stopped by the guards from entering by the main gates so the reporters just assembled there and took pictures of every single car that stopped.

Yu Jin was adjusting his necktie, looking in the mirror and his brother was leaning against the wall:

“We get it, you’re very good-looking, now can we go already?” Jun Ho whined.

“Do you think I should put on the brown one?” he picked up another necktie, and Jun Ho facepalmed.

“Dude! Weren’t you opposing this whole idea?! What happened to make you change your mind?”

“Well… you don’t need to know” he smiled and teased.

“Damn you” Jun Ho grimaced before heading out.

Well, it’s true, I was and still am against the whole idea but… not with what will happen.

He smiled with confidence then gripped the edges of the counter and looked at his reflection:

“You better come Era, understand?”

**************

“And remember, you’re definitely prohibited from leaving the house ok?” Mouthed Mrs. Cha as she was about to get in the car as the driver waited by its door. That was her last instruction to Jang Mi. This latter nodded. “Good, now goodbye!”

The car soon drove off and left by the gate. Era just stood there and gazed at her palm.

“A ball…”

She murmured, then closed her eyes and sat down on the stairs.

“It’s like the royal balls you used to read about in fairytales, but well…” she sobbed. “Even Cinderella had her fairy godmother to give her a dress and prepare her for the party… and you Jang Mi…”

She took off her glove, and gazed at her ring.

“Even the dresses that you bought for me… they took them away” she broke into tears. “This is more than what I can take” she covered her face.

Just then, a car pulled off and its lights were blinding for a bit. She raised her gaze to see a fancy black car stopping before her. She quickly got up to her feet, and wiped her tears. And a middle aged man hopped out of it, bowed before her that she jerked back in surprise.

“Are you Miss Era?”

She nodded in disbelief:

“I came here following the orders of my master, to take you to the ball” he bowed and reached his hand out at her.

“Wait… what are you saying?” she couldn’t grasp what his words meant.

“I said, Master Lee wants you, Era, to come to the ball”

She backed off and let out a snore:

“It’s not… possible now is it?” she blinked.

“Well, I am here just to execute orders, and I can tell you for sure that you are invited to the ball personally by Mr. Lee himself.”

“But I have never met him before! How can he invite me to his ball?! And besides…” she dropped her head.

“I believe you have all what you need to attend the ball, so Mr. Hwa said that you should only put on one of the dresses you got as presents and come with me” he didn’t stop smiling kindly.

She clenched her fists.

“I’m sorry…”

It suddenly started to rain, heavily, and it was drenching the man so she quickly apologized at him and went back in the house. Shutting the door close.

Who am I fooling? Even if I manage to take back my dresses, it’s not like my looks would fit such a place.

*****

Yu Jin was leaning over the fences as he watched how smoothly his ball went, he looked at his golden watch and sighed.

“Where is she now?” he muttered.

Just then someone patted him on the shoulder, he glanced back and saw that it was his driver whom he sent to pick up Era.

“What? Where’s the girl?” he looked around.

“I’m sorry sir…” he dropped his head. “She refused to come”

He couldn’t believe his ears, and then he turned around to see Mrs. Cha and her two daughters wearing the dresses that he supposedly bought for Era. His blood started to boil, he clenched his fist hard, the girls waved at him but he looked away, ignoring them and then started to head downstairs.

“Hm? Why did he just…” Yoon Yi blinked.

“Maybe he didn’t see you, haha” the mother seemed to be enjoying her chatter with the refined men she found, so she pushed her daughters by the shoulders and said “You should catch the prince’s attention” she winked at them. “And let mom enjoy this party”

“Are you sure we can really approach him?” Yoon Yi whispered at her sister.

“I don’t know… he has been drinking repeatedly for some reason…” she bit her thumbnail as she watched Yu Jin take another full gulp of whine. “Oh my goodness… he’s so hot”

“Hey… stop drinking, you’re drawing too much attention” Jun Ho whispered at his brother.

“I don’t… care” he had the barman fill another glass for him. “This ball is meaningless if she’s not…”

Jun Ho bit his lips as he looked around, helping his brother to keep standing still.

“I can’t believe I’m the one who’ll clean after your mess this time” Jun Ho smiled. “I might die to know the identity of this girl who took over your heart… and mind” he snorted.

“Shut up…” his voice was lazy, and he punched his arm lightly.

*****************

“Pfff, what a big disappointment” Yoon Yi sighed.

“Yeah, the prince kept drinking and none of the girls had the time to talk to him” Yoon Song added with a similar tone.

“Haha, no don’t feel down my dears, I’m sure you can talk to him tomorrow” Mrs. Cha was laughing.

“Well somebody partied so hard” Yoon Yi scoffed.

“Yeah, you’re not one to talk mom.”

Era could barely hear their voices from her room. She then went to sit on her bed. Looked at the painting and said with a murmur:

“Apparently the ball wasn’t as beautiful as I imagined it would be…” she touched the texture of the beautiful face of her mother’s painting. “They deserved it for what they did to me… right mom?” she bit her lips. “Even though, they’re so lucky that they could attend. I envy them” she heard footsteps coming upstairs so she quickly rubbed her eyes, slipped the painting down her bed and pretended to be asleep.

“Humm guess our Era is asleep” Yoon Yi stole a glimpse from the creaking door.

“Yeah, what else did you expect? Like some flying horse and a fairy could come and take her to the ball?” said Yoon Song harshly.

“You’re no fun, sis” she pouted.

They shut the door close, and Jang Mi buried her face in her pillow.

***

Her clock’s hands pointed at midnight as she still couldn’t sleep, she seated herself up and went to open the window, trying to smell some fresh air, she looked down at the garden and she thought she saw some silhouette. She rubbed her eyes but then it disappeared. She closed the window and went to lie down on her cold bed.

Just then, she heard footsteps so she jumped up, getting a bit scared, she hid behind the door. And indeed, her room’s door was slammed open, and someone came in. She covered because even if the lights were off, she could tell that it was not one of the three women. She clasped her hands on but then she heard that man utter:

“Damn it…” he dropped his head down. “Coming all the way to take you to the damned party myself… and you don’t show up”

She couldn’t believe her eyes, as she hid behind that door, she heard a familiar voice:

“Era… where the hell are you?” he said, with a desperate voice. “Please come out”

****