Namjoo stared blankly at him, needing a moment to process his words into her mind.

“So you’re saying, he didn’t like her but she liked him? Then why do you hate him? Jealousy?”

Groaning loudly, Tao slammed the broccoli in his hand onto the other greens, “You don’t get it? That guy was only in the relationship to gain something out of it.”

“Did she tell you that?”

Tao rolled his eyes. “Then you judge him for yourself. You’ve been around him plenty, haven’t you?”

Namjoo shook her head, “I don’t know. He said he hates me.”

Tao scoffed loudly, then tossed the broccoli into the bag in hand, “Then that’s it. He hated Choonhee, because he couldn’t get what he wanted from her. He was after something only Choonhee had.”

“How do you know?” Namjoo asked, confused and lost about how he’d come to this conclusion. “That he wanted something from her? If he wanted it, couldn’t he have gone a different route to get it?”

“You,” Tao stepped closer, “are you implying that he’s her murderer?”

Taken aback Namjoo quickly shook her head, “Of course not, but I can’t jump to conclusion without some form of evidence. Don’t you watch police shows? It’s always the evidence that counts! And I’m very limited with information. I don’t know anything.”

“What exactly have you been doing?” Tao asked. “You’ve been staging yourself as Choonhee, so what exactly have you been doing? Aren’t you constantly around those people? Get them something through them! Are you stupid?”

“Well…” Namjoo scratched her head, “I’m not exactly what anyone would call smart.” She watched him close his eyes to calm himself down. Feeling sorry, she told him, “I know Kai really wants to go on with the engagement. Sehun keeps telling me not to do it and Hayoung, well…she won’t let me get out of it. I’m in a bind, you know? What can I do when the engagement is the most crucial thing everyone is focused on?”

She watched him look at her intensely with brows furrowed, like the wings of flying birds. Tao narrowed his eyes once then smiled a bit. “I think I have an idea.”

“You do?” she raised her brows.

“Come on,” turning the cart around he put an arm around her to lead her along.

\\\\\

Hayoung was restless behind her desk. There were no phone calls coming in and Sehun hadn’t left his office once. It all but made her wonder if he was avoiding her, but why?

She was both irritated and frustrated. She had let him have Choonhee but after breaking up thought there was an opportunity for her. Only, she was so wrong about that. She hated herself for finding that girl, for listening to Choonhee talk nonsense to her about a twin. If not for that, Sehun wouldn’t be turning so absentminded.

It was unfair that after so long when she’d known him and waited, she had to watch him pine for another girl again. Rustling her hair with both hands to release her frustration she heaved a groan and abruptly dropped back into her seat, feeling helpless and bombarded by the complexity of everything.

Her eyes sat on the marble wall ahead of her, fresh and in good shape, as her mind continued running. If she thought about it carefully Sehun only approached Choonhee because of her money. That was the only reason why Choonhee was so precious, why her existence was like a diamond in a minefield. She had served as his stepping ladder, but now she was dead.

Hayoung could feel the wheels of her brain churning, her thoughts becoming quicker. The direction of her thoughts heated up.  

That was right. Choonhee only meant something to him because of her money. Wouldn’t Namjoo count as the same kind of useful person, just she wasn’t Choonhee? But…would he still care about her if he found out she wasn’t Choonhee?

Hayoung thought hard about what just came to her. An imaginary bulb lit up above her head. It went against her plan in all ways, especially if she was to get Namjoo married off to Kai, but that was the second step to all of it.

First, she needed to stop Sehun from interfering and keep him a distance from Namjoo. She decided that now she didn’t need him to take her from Kai anymore, even if he already wasn’t going along with her plan. If she moved along carefully none of them would figure out what she was doing.

Who cared, now that the company hadn’t started off too bad? In soon time it would reach stability and Namjoo as Choonhee wouldn’t even need to show her face. She would, as planned, disappear behind the sidelines. As long as Kai remained clueless to everything, she would still have what she wanted.

Kai and Namjoo married, Sehun and the Lee’s inheritance.

\\\\\

“What?!” Namjoo shrieked in front of the meat corner where they were waiting for their pork belly to be bagged up.

Tao furrowed his eyebrows sternly at her, warning her not to raise her voice any louder. Shoppers passing by stopped to stare at them. Feeling apologetic she pressed her hands around her lips and nodded in apology.

Clearing she repeated in a hushed whisper with utter disbelief, “You want me to get close to him?!”

His expression calmed and he straightened up, “Why not?”

Namjoo breathed out a short laugh, “Hey…you…you’re joking, right?”

“Why do you think it’s a joke? He’s Choonhee’s ex, isn’t he?” Tao asked. “That means he was close to her at one point and he knows stuff. To get more information about Choonhee’s relationship with him and everyone else, you need to be more daring. He’ll eventually talk and spill something. They all think you’re Choonhee, don’t they?”

A kind of guilt embraced her and she slightly shrank back; that being Tao’s answer.

“Then get close to him. It shouldn’t be that hard,” Tao insisted. “And if you need help, I’m here.”

“It’s all done, sir. That’ll be around twenty bucks.” The butcher behind the glass display said, handing over a transparent bag with meat wrapped up nicely inside.

Leaning over for it Tao asked while ignoring the anxious expression on her face, opting to tell him she didn’t want to be daring. “Do I pay here or upfront?”

\\\\\

“You’re here?” Choonhee’s mother greeted Hayoung at the front door. “Come in, come in.”

Hayoung pretentiously looked around and asked, “Is Choonhee not in?”

“Choonhee?” her mother stopped in the middle of the hallway and spun around to look at her. “Shouldn’t she still be at work?”

“Ah…” Hayoung slightly laughed, “Kai said that she wasn’t feeling well, so I assumed she came home to rest. I wonder where she would have gone.”

“She should be home shortly,” her mother assumed without worry, like always. “Why don’t you go sit down? I’ll have Auntie Shin bring you some tea. You came at a busy time. I was still writing up a contract for an upcoming proposal. It might be a while. Why don’t you call Choonhee and tell her to come home?”

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about me,” Hayoung assured.

“I’ll try to finish this up quickly. Go sit down.” Eungi urged kindly and walked away from her.

Hayoung watched her disappear behind a door further down the looming hallway of painted flowers then turned and made herself at home in the lounge room. It was relaxingly peaceful. The sun was still high in the sky, burning heat through the large window that overlooked the front yard. The large tree outside was gladly shading a part of the home from the immense heat, but the tiny birds perched on its aged branches were chirping in harmony.

Sinking into the large velvety couch she sighed gladly, always wanting to live in a luxurious home like this. Instead, her parents had owned a tarnished home in the countryside with the chickens yick-yacking every morning and the dogs horridly barking at nighttime. The beds were hard and the blankets utterly thin with moth holes. Elementary school was a walking distance and to get there she’d have to walk through puddles of mud during the rainy seasons.

Hayoung had hated such life. No one was available to teach high school, so she adamantly pleaded her father and came to Seoul, staying with her aunt throughout her school years. Her ill-mannered aunt hadn’t liked her either, always being too busy with her men, who all thought she was a nuisance. But now she was here, in a much better world than they. And it made her feel good, proud of herself, and prideful. Her family would be jealous.

“I’m sorry, I hope it’s not too hot,” Auntie Shin hurried in with a tray of tea. “I took the kettle off the stove earlier since the Madam didn’t want anything, and just put it back on. You might have to let it cook for a few minutes.”

Hayoung watched the elder woman set down the tray with elegance in the way she’d been taught from a young girl. Her life was not of anything Hayoung envied, serving others for the rest of her lifetime. No, she would have others serve her.

Smiling gladly Hayoung thanked her. Then a thought lit up her mind just as the woman turned to leave.

“Auntie Shin,” she called.

“Yes?” the woman turned, her long blue dress spinning with her movements. Her favorite white apron was clean as ever, Hayoung supposed from a late night chore of laundry.

“I was worried about Choonhee.” Hayoung spoke. “Have you noticed anything strange about her lately?”

“Well…now that you say it.” she seemed to think to herself. “She has been a little different. In the mornings she never asks for coffee and she never complains about the food. She has always been picky, I found it strange that she also eats her parents serving and doesn’t leave the table before they do.”

“Is that right?” Hayoung asked with a tiny discreet smile on her face, satisfied that she’d implanted suspicion into Auntie Shin.

\\\\\

Again in the single seat at the table she watched Tao chop up the meat, some veggies, and heat a pan up all so skillfully. The moment of awe quickly passed before she began worrying over his plan.

“I’m,” she started, “not totally sure about your plan. Do you really think I can do it?”

“I won’t say it again,” Tao slightly glanced back, “you have to be more daring if you want to find more answers. Didn’t you say Hayoung won’t open for you? Then it’s this or nothing.”

Namjoo groaned from within and leaned down against her fist, “I’m really nervous. I’m so nervous every day I feel like I’ll get sick.”  

“You just have to play it well,” Tao persuaded. “You’ve been doing it so far. Look, no one’s found out yet. That shows you’ve been doing a good job. This time instead of sitting back and waiting for them to call you out, you initiate it.”

“But how will I bring it up?” Namjoo wondered. “You don’t know Sehun. His eyes are scary. They’re always judging you, looking for an opening to attack you.”

“Then get to know him first,” Tao urged. “Observe him and find out what he likes and doesn’t like. Once you have his trust, dive in and ask about the relationship. It’s not that hard. Can’t you even think of this yourself?”

“Do I need to repeat myself that I’m stupid?” Namjoo muttered, staring at his concentrated back. Then straightening up she asked, “Won’t that take too long? I don’t want to spend majority of my lifetime as Choonhee. What about the engagement?! Oh my god!”

She heard him sigh loudly before turning around to look at her, like she was one of the most pathetic persons he’d come across. “I told you to come up with an excuse to save yourself, didn’t I? How many times do I have to repeat myself?”

“But what kind of excuse!” she raised her voice then threw her arms out. “What am I supposed to say?! What would stop it from happening?!”

Tao merely stared her with his flat eyes. “Use Sehun.”

Silence dawned on Namjoo, made speechless by what he just said.

\\\\\

The sun was starting to set. A tinted pink glow lined the sky prettily while shadowing the buildings and trees around her. The roaring engine of Tao’s motorcycle disappeared off into the distance as Namjoo opened the door and stepped in.

Her heart was chilled constantly by the reality she was in. It was nothing to be afraid of, but it was immoral to pretend to be someone she wasn’t. It was a crime to be paid for and every time she thought of it, she couldn’t see what the end of the road had in store for her.

How would this come to an end?

Namjoo worried. She worried about herself. She worried about the dead Choonhee and her spirit. She worried constantly about when she would be found out. She worried about being near Kai and Sehun. And she worried contemptuously about spending the rest of her life in Choonhee’s skin; perhaps, married to Kai.

There was nowhere to run, but a long winding road behind her. She could turn back, but someone would come for her and they would find her in all the ways they could, because they were rich and had all the means.

It wasn’t fair.

Anxiously, Namjoo fiddled with her fingers as she slowly walked toward the manor standing in the growing darkness. The pinkish glow behind it appeared like a panorama.

Getting close to Sehun was something she couldn’t imagine doing, but she had no choice. Tao was right. She needed more than what she had now, limited information. She needed things to be happening and it wouldn’t happen if she didn’t do anything.

What if she was too daring and blew her cover?

Pausing in her steps Namjoo slapped both hands around her face to wake herself up. Shaking herself awake she continued walking toward the house, the long driveway feeling like an endless road into the woods of the unknown.

And again, she wondered why this was happening to her.

Namjoo sighed heavily when she opened the door and walked into the house. It was lonely. Emptiness welcomed her home. Not even Choonhee’s parents seemed to be around, and she wondered if they were ever home or ever bothered about their adopted daughter. Maybe it was no wonder they hadn’t caught on how different from Choonhee she was, because they didn’t know her.

As she walked further down the hallway she could hear pots and pans clattering in the kitchen. Pausing in front of the doorway she glanced in to find Auntie Shin alone at work.

“Why are you still working this late?” Namjoo wondered without being cautious about whether Choonhee ever conversed with the maid or not.

She seemed surprised upon hearing her voice, which made Namjoo feel bad. Offering an awkward smile Namjoo tried to apologize with a nod.

“I’ll go upstairs now. Good night.” Namjoo bid her farewell and quickly escaped upstairs.

\\\\\

Another day, same thing.

Namjoo sat up in bed with drowsy eyes threatening to close again. Sighing, she rubbed them awake and threw the covers off. After brushing her teeth and washing up she headed downstairs dressed in today’s outfit of blue pants and a fancy white blouse. Choonhee’s father was busy analyzing the paper for any news about his competitors. Eungi was immersed in talking to Auntie Shin about some flowers coming in. Neither talked to her and it was a blessing from above.

The butler was outside, ready to take her to work. And he didn’t seem to talk to her as well. Another blessing from above.

Kai was waiting for her outside the front doors when she arrived and she worked hard to put on a smile, just so that she seemed natural and eager to be at work which she was so not.

“Are you feeling better?” he wondered. “You rest a lot yesterday?”

“Of course,” Namjoo lied and thought about how she visited Tao, who they didn’t like instead. “Sorry, for leaving work early. It must have been a hassle for everybody.”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s what they’re here for,” Kai assured as they neared the elevator and pressed the arrow button for ‘up’. “Should we have dinner tonight? I have a lunch meeting, so I won’t be able to be with you. How about it?”

“Oh…” Namjoo managed to utter then nodded, because it wasn’t like there was any other option for her.

They entered the elevator quietly and stepped out in unison, slowing when they neared the department entrance. A cold wave of tension drifted out the open door. From where they stood they could see that everyone inside was as still as a statue, heads lowered like they were being reprimanded. They walked in confused and curious.

Namjoo felt her breath catch in when the tension grew heavier and her lungs weighed, like a thousand bricks. Panic uninvitingly crept up her spine. Her intuition told her something was wrong and it was bad. Suddenly, it felt like someone had turned the furnace on in the middle of late summer. Everyone’s eyes swerved her way. Namjoo uneasily flexed her fingers to feel sweat seeping from her palms.

“It was Choonhee. I remember she looked at those documents last.”