Chapter 6

The guests that paid the Cha family a visit were no others than Yu Jin, Jun Ho and their parents. Mrs. Cha was chatting in a charming and lively way to the Lee couple, enjoying tea and cupcakes and chatting over business related matters as in how to make the Lee group buy more shares from her company and so on.

Yu Jin and Jun Ho were getting showed around the house –as asked by Mr. Lee and his wife, by the two girls.

“Oh, how annoying.” Jun Ho was complaining loudly as Yoon Yi dragged him around. He somehow fell overwhelmed by her strong perfume aroma to the extent of dizziness. As for Yu Jin, he kept looking interestingly at the different pictures and frames thinking that he might spot something that could lead him into finding the hidden truth of the lost daughter.

They went to the 2^nd floor next, and Yu Jin just remembered the artifact that Jang Mi broke earlier that day. “So, what do you think Yu Jin-ssi, do I get to be taken out for dinner by you?” Yoon Song who tried so hard to link her arm with his but he managed to get himself out of it so naturally. She never doubted that he didn’t like close contacts or girls who would lie with a wide grin on their faces. Jun Ho however was best at being straightforward and blunt.

“Oh” Yoon Yi suddenly halted in the hall, staring at the fancy wooden table. “Tch” Jun Ho clasped his hands behind his head. “What a bad taste, this table is so out of the place” he shrugged with a mocking tone.

“Watch your mouth,”  Yu Jin turned to look at him but then gaped as he spotted Yoon Yi staring puzzled at the table.

“Wait now… this should be holding the expensive vase.. that dad won on his last auction…!” she spat with a loud gasp.

“What?” Yoon Song rushed to stand by her sister, now both of them stood by the table. “No way!”

Yu Jin paced with a composed face at the three. Jun Ho meanwhile burst out laughing:

“Ha! Apparently, someone broke in and stole it, let’s just hope it wasn’t that expensive”

“I-It.. was”  Yoon Yi covered “That vase is worth more than 80 million won!”

Yu Jin’s eyes went wide.

“Then call the police, I’m really sure that it’s a thief that snuck in while all of you were outside” Jun Ho added.

The two sisters looked at each other, gritting their teeth, then excused themselves for a second.

“Humph, we got rid of them, let’s go out and smell some fresh air hyung” he smiled.

“Could they really be…” Yu Jin however was drawn in his thoughts, but he shot his face up at the higher floor, knitting his brows he uttered at his brother: “Go on first, and I’ll join you later” he patted Jun Ho’s shoulder then pushed him, as if to urge him to go. “I’ll first go to the bathroom”

Jun Ho nodded and didn’t think twice before going down the stairs leading to the back door that lead on its turn to the back garden.

Yu Jin then followed after the sisters, knowing that the only place in which Era could be staying was the loft.  

***

The door of the room slammed open loudly as the two girls barged in, Jang Mi was lying down on her bed and she got up to the loud noise, looking to see them.

“You piece of crap! Did you finally manage to slack off and head somewhere else while we were out earlier?”  Yoon Song grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her up, Jang Mi was so stunned and then realized that this had to be related to the vase.

“Don’t give me that innocent annoying face and say, where have you gone so that someone managed to break into the house and steal the lovely vase that my mother cherished?!” Yoon Song shook her violently, that her worn-out shirt started to rip off slightly, and Yoon Song found herself pushing Jang Mi to the floor, didn’t actually want for her clothes to be damaged because they will have to buy her new ones.

“Say something already! You’re pissing me off!” the older daughter shouted with rage, “Do you know how expensive that artifact was?” she was too frustrated even when Jang Mi was on the ground, shivering. She picked her up once again by the shoulder and slapped her on the face, a deadly glare in her eyes: “Well done now, this way mom won’t buy me a new car since she’ll be replacing that stolen vase!”

Jang Mi kept her face dropped down as started to bleed already, but she bit into her lips, not bringing herself to utter a single word to defend herself because she knew that it was her fault that the vase was lost.

“You’re so damn annoying! Are you dumb?!” she clenched her fists as she yelled even louder.

“Keep your voice down, Yoon Song, they may hear you downstairs” Yoon Yi who looked rather troubled tried to pat her sister on the back.

“I’m so angry!” she gritted her teeth, glaring down at Jang Mi.

“I..I’m sorry but” The girl apologized, trying to explain that it was an accident but then suddenly, Yoon Yi gasped and covered .

“Humph, you deserve this” Yoon Song just picked up a glass filled with water which Jang Mi kept a red rose in to decorate her room, and then spilled that water on her, and threw the glass on the floor that it broke with a loud breaking sound near the squatting girl who shielded herself with her arms.

“Let’s go, Yoon Yi, mom needs to know about this later even without us telling her” Yoon Song pulled her sister -who looked just surprised, by the hand and dragged her out of the room. “B-But..” Even though she kept aiming her finger at Jang Mi and they left without closing the door.

Jang Mi was still trembling, some glass pieces inflicted scars on her arms and she slowly pulled her knees closer to her chest and hugged them, looking at the mess she was in as her picture was reflected on the mirror: wet, clothes stained with blood from the scars and her face all pale. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks, swallowing her sobs silently.

Meanwhile outside of her room, Yu Jin who was standing by the wall and who hid as soon as the sisters left, peeked at the room and got all shocked to the sight. His eyes scanned everything in the room and fell on the girl that curved her body as she sat on the floor.

Is this… the real face of the Cha family?

He was so shocked to the core, after hearing all of the conversation. He clenched his fists.

Is this how they’re really treating that girl?

He recalled how terrified she looked earlier as she broke the damned jug, and looking at her now, everything became clear to him.

His fists were shaking, and he was about to go in the room, grab Era by the hand and take her away from these monsters, but just as he was about to do it, his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was his father.

He cursed for not being able to hang up on him, and after a long inner-conflict, he went downstairs and picked up, with one idea left in his mind despite everything: there’s no way for him to work with such people.

***

Jang Mi raised her face gradually to see the red rose on the floor, surrounded with the glass slivers in her dimly-lit room. A thin smile crept into her lips as her eyes stared at the rose, then to her arms that had some blood almost dry from minutes ago.

“My blood and the color of this rose’s petals is exactly the same” her voice was cheerful in a forced way.

She reached her hand and picked the rose up, to get suddenly pricked by its thorn.

“Haha, even a mere flower can hurt you Jang Mi… and cause you to bleed”

Her voice was rather deep, and that phrase echoed in the back of her mind.

You’ve always been that clueless, that naïve, that crybaby, and anyone can hurt you easily… Are you happy about that?

Do you want to keep going deeper into that dark path?

She suddenly crushed the petals of the flower in her fists, so firmly, that even the stinging of the thorns was no longer painful to her.

“I had enough with this family… already 3 years of sufferance is more than enough…”

I’m 19 years old, I’m not a kid anymore.. If I’m planning to carry on with this kind of life my sorrow will never end and it might remain that way until I can no longer take it and decide to end my own life… and I bet that’s what this woman and her daughters are hoping for.

She rose up to her feet, and went toward her window. She opened it and the cold night breeze infiltrated the room. She reached her clenched fist out and then opened her hand to allow the rose petals to fall from it and get taken by the wind, she saw the guests leaving and walking toward their car but she didn’t care.

She went back inside and for a second, Yu Jin raised his head up, thought he heard some noise, but then Jun Ho raised his face up as well and said as he reached up his palm:

“Whoa, red petals” he grinned.

Yu Jin looked at the petals that swayed along with the wind then got taken away. He said to himself:

“I promise that I will release you from that hell… just you wait Era.”

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