\\\\\

When his eyes opened that morning he was alone in the bedroom. The door had been left a crack open. The woman he’d went to bed with was now gone.

His eyes roved over to the cold spot his arm lay on and he thought back to how impulsive he’d been with her last night. When he noticed the scar on her shoulder, it was already too late.

Who was she? This spitting image of Choonhee? And how ever had he started being attracted to her?

Rising up he looked around the room, scanning the mess of his clothes on the ground. She’d picked up well after herself, but had dismissed his. Getting up he headed into the bathroom to shower and as the water rained over him, he thought about the upcoming dinner meeting that night that would decide the fate of Kai and Choonhee’s marriage.

Sehun merely wanted to scoff. Kai would be marrying a woman he didn’t know a thing about. Should he still bother stopping the wedding? Or not?

\\\\\

“You’re home?” Eungi greeted when she walked through the door. There was that glamorous smile on her dolled up face. Today her hair was pulled back tidily and she was dressed in one of her favorite dresses for show.

“Where’ve you been?” Lee Kwan questioned, agitated with her late appearance. “You should be more careful. People will start talking if you continue to do as you like.”

“She’s probably nervous about the wedding,” Eungi cooed gently, “let her be.”

Holding her purse low in hopes of blocking the marks on her legs Namjoo awkwardly pulled on a half-smile. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright. Go on upstairs and get some rest. We’re going out to get your makeup done and find a dress for you. Tonight’s dinner is extremely important.”

Heading toward the staircase Namjoo bounded up to her twin’s room and immediately locked the door. Throwing herself onto the bed she curled up atop the large fluffy blanket and held herself. Her body still throbbed, especially down there, although not as hard as that morning. Namjoo wished the pain would go away.

As she lay there all she could think about was how Sehun would confront her, and she was scared with what he would say to her. Would he find some way to throw her in jail after proving her a fake? What if…what if he made her do a DNA test?

The fear pumped her heart disturbingly. What was she going to do? What lie would she make up?

None!

He saw the mark on her shoulder after undressing her and he’d made love to her because his body’s urges required him to. And they hadn’t stopped. Namjoo gripped the blanket into her fist, hating herself for letting him have her.

She was dirty! She was filthy!

He knew she was a lie!

Namjoo began to drift off and awoke when her phone started ringing.

It was Hayoung.

“Where are you?” the woman demanded loudly.

Holding the phone from her ear she said, “Home.”

“You better be home.” she stated, anger toning her voice. “If you’re still in Incheon with Sehun, I’m not letting you off.”

“Why would I lie?”

“Don’t pretend with me,” Hayoung warned, “I know you both met with Professor Gong yesterday and never came back. Don’t you forget you’re getting married and what role you’re playing. If you dare to have an affair, get ready to go to court first.”

Namjoo pressed her teeth together at the threat that was somehow going to happen. She feared it. She hadn’t chosen to do this. Why should she go to jail? Her insides wailed.

“Tonight your wedding date is going to be declared, so after that don’t meet with Sehun anymore.”

She hung up abruptly. Tossing the phone aside Namjoo flipped over and pulled the blanket over her. It was so taxing being Choonhee that she would immediately give up if given the chance.

Whatever, she decided as her mind started to doze off, she would deal with everything when she woke up. The wedding, Choonhee’s people, and her own life. She hadn’t slept well last night and she suddenly felt more tired than expected.

She was awoken several hours later by Choonhee’s mother. Pulling out a pair of pants and pulling on a long sleeve blouse they headed to the salon together. Makeup took nearly three hours before they headed for the store. Namjoo barely screamed her head off when Eungi pulled out a knee length dress, insisting she wear it to dinner. Namjoo wanted a long dress, but Choonhee’s mother was a stubborn bull so after much persuasion Namjoo bought nylons.

The day’s hours flew by at the speed of light and before she knew it they were on the way toward the restaurant where a private room was reserved for them. Namjoo’s palms were sweaty and her heart raced anxiously. She would interrupt and tell them the wedding couldn’t go on. Yes, that was what she was going to say. Now that she thought it over, she just couldn’t go through with it.

How much worse would it be being confronted by Kai after Sehun blasted her head off? Namjoo was scared of it, she didn’t want to go through it. Doom day was getting nearer. Namjoo could no longer bear it; the pressure and the fear chasing her like a shadow. After this…she’d somehow disappear. Forget Choonhee. She would find some way to run away in the middle of the night, leave everything behind and never be seen again. This time, she would make sure she hid well.

She would do just that.

“I forgot something in the car, why don’t you go on up first?” Choonhee’s mother suggested when they were near the entrance then turned to her husband, “Come on, honey. I need your keys.”

Heaving a sigh and grumbling, her husband followed telling her, “Go on up first.”

Fall was kicking in and summer had already been kicked out of the sphere. Chilly evening winds slapped her face, forcing her to hurry inside. Accommodating herself to how lavishly the rich lived, eating out at some five star hotel just for a meeting left her in a stupor. It must cost a lot of money for reservation and such a meal but like that mattered to the rich.

Namjoo stared at the golden doors of the elevator while waiting for her ride up and raised her hand up to touch her hair. The stylist had used so much hair spray that her hair had gone stiff, barely moving when the wind blew at her. Choonhee’s life and clothes were transforming her looks at such high extent, would she still recognize herself after leaving this life?

Curious to see herself again, even though she’d spent a good hour watching herself become pretty at the hands of a professional, she pulled her phone out as she stepped into the elevator. The sound of footsteps hurrying toward the closing elevator surprised her causing her to quickly lower her phone. A hand shot through the doors to keep them open and as they widened she saw Sehun on the other side.

All senses of time vanished from her head and she lost the ability to function when he looked back at her. Shrinking in spot, Namjoo took a step closer to the wall with her head lowered and heart racing in both panic and embarrassment. Without meaning, she began to sweat deliriously.

“Nice seeing you here,” he greeted coolly.

Namjoo wondered if it was a harmless tease or if there was a double meaning attached to the greeting. With breath stuck in she couldn’t say a thing. If he wanted to chew her out, she wished he’d quickly do it so she could avoid going to the dinner meeting. The suspense of what he had hidden up his sleeve had her heart pounding so hard she could barely breathe right.

The organ in her chest ached with utter shame. Just a few hours ago they’d been together and now they were standing together with a separate schedule. Namjoo wanted to hide so bad.

From the corner of her eyes she could see him checking her out, the corner of his lips smugly smirking when he saw her black nylons. She couldn’t tell whether he was satisfied with her attire or if he was laughing at her for her attempt to cover up.

Once the doors opened Namjoo immediately walked out while biting her lips. A private dining hall opened up to her behind a circular door. A long table decked with empty plates and wine glasses was neatly sorted throughout in wait of its customers. The room was as empty as her stomach, just the two of them. Slithering away from him toward a chair she sat down, praying the rest would be fast to arrive.

Namjoo gulped another time when Sehun sat down beside her with a dignified aura of authority, pride, and greed. Then the door opened and Kai and his parents walked in. Namjoo let out a breath of relief then silently whined.

Seulgi, Kai’s mother, warmly greeted her. Getting up to her feet she greeted his parents in return not forgetting how polite she should be while putting on a charade. As she sat back down she wondered if Choonhee had known about the plans of a wedding. If she did, how had she felt about it?

From the very beginning she had lacked control of anything, and from here on out it would only continue to spiral out of control if she couldn’t do something. All the chatter as one by one, the board members and her parents arrived eased her that she was out of attention, but made her stand on tiptoes. She had to be alert. What they all said, what they all wanted was perhaps the root cause of why Choonhee had had no voice.

Which one of these two, between Kai and Sehun, had impregnated her sister and told her to kill the baby if she still wanted him?

Which one?

“We went to a fortune teller with Kai and Choonhee’s birthdays and horoscopes,” Kai’s mother explained, “he said we should have their wedding within the next three or four months. It’ll bring them prosperity and good luck. He also said next month is the best time to conceive or it’ll become difficult after that.”

Namjoo’s fingers curled up on her lap. Concieve?!

“Well…” Eungi hesitated, “that’s quite…soon. I don’t know what to say. What do you think, honey?” she turned to her husband for a sense of direction in decision making.

“Wouldn’t having a child be too soon? Having a child before marriage is uncalled for, don’t you think?” Lee Kwan shook his head in dire disagreement.

“Then have the engagement,” one of fellow board members spoke, “it will still give them the right. And engagement is just a pre-marriage – it’s just says you’re mine before we walk the aisle.”

Someone else laughed dryly, “They’ll be getting married anyway. Who doesn’t know that? What’s there to worry about?”

“What about Kai?” his mother asked. “Your father and I already talked it through, and we’re ok with it. How about getting engaged first? Choonhee can move in with us and we can start from there.”

Namjoo’s eyes widened in despair and shock.

“Choonhee’s parents have been good friends and business partners with us for a long time.” his mother graciously continued, as if giving a sermon. “We’ll take good care of her.” she turned to Choonhee’s parents with a smile of guarantee. Turning back to Kai, “Listen to us, ok?”

“Mom,” Kai called.

“Just think about it. Doesn’t it sound exciting?” the woman ranted excitedly, all in her own world. “I’ll finally be getting a grandchild.”

“Alright now, calm down,” Sungsik patted her arm. Returning to the matter at hand, “About the wedding, since it’ll be too cold in December lets have a November wedding.”

“November sounds good,” Choonhee’s father agreed with a nod. “Since you’re the groom’s side, why don’t you decide?”

“Then lets do it the first weekend of that month,” Kai’s father suggested, “it’ll give Choonhee time to settle down.”

It sounded like they were all talking this through without thought, but why were they making the decision when this was about Choonhee and Kai’s life?! Why weren’t they asking her for her opinon?!

“What settling down?” Kai’s mother proceeded to say, sarcastically. “She can move in this weekend.”

“Lets not push them just yet,” Eungi tried. “They’re still young.”

“A woman beyond thirty will have trouble conceiving,” Kai’s mother pointed out, determined. “It’ll be hard on Choonhee if they wait. If we want multiple grandchildren, we should start now. What if Choonhee has difficulty conceiving later? Plus, Kai will be working longer hours at the company.”

“Yes, yes, there will be an expansion in China. We’re still currently working on research labs...” someone spoke, their voices thin throughout the double conversations going on. Someone else was laughing haughtily. All the voices made Namjooo’s ears ache.

“I know,” Eungi added, “but Choonhee’s a healthy girl. What difficulty will she have later? I also want a grandchild…”

“There’s nothing else to say,” Kai’s mother waved the woman’s oppositions off, “Choonhee is just like my daughter. I will look after her well, don’t worry.” Turning to her son, she asked, “How about it?”

Namjoo’s heart began pulsating within her chest. She was drowned out throughout the turmoil of a thousand voices. No one had noticed her. She was invisible. She didn’t matter.

Wasn’t a wedding a big event for a girl? Wasn’t it supposed to be her dream event? A one time thing?

Choonhee had had her own free will to love, but had that been manipulated and taken control of? How had Choonhee lived her life? Why was the relationship with her parents so far flung? Why had she left Sehun? How did Hayoung and Tao fit into the puzzle? What kind of link did they have to her pregnancy and her death? Why had Choonhee felt the need to hide her pregnancy? Had her life been controlled by these money hungry mongrels? Or had she made the decisions that turned her life upside down?

All the million thoughts zipped through Namjoo’s mind. She was so confused, more than she had ever been.

“I can surely tell you that those guys aren’t as innocent as they seem. They have reasons for being magnets to Choonhee.”

“Then that’s it. He hated Choonhee, because he couldn’t get what he wanted from her. He was after something only Choonhee had.”

Then it hit her like a block to the head. All along, Tao had been repeating it to her.

Money…

Choonhee’s parents were millionaires. They had adopted her…maybe because Eungi couldn’t give birth. And if they died…the money…where would it go? Obviously their kid would inherit it.

Choonhee.

“I have a headache,” Kai spoke up. “Since the wedding date has been finalized, I’m going to take Choonhee out for some air. I’ll return her home later.”

Sliding his chair back he stood to his feet, made his way around the table, and took her hand. All the while this happened, Namjoo too stunned by her thoughts, didn’t manage to do anything.

She couldn’t understand the logic. Sehun and Kai were already rich. They had money already. Just how much more did they need in order to be satisfied? Which one of them had done that to Choonhee? The cruel words of I don’t want the baby.

Her heart twisted into dozens of knots. She was…so lost.

“Come on, lets go,” his voice coaxed her.

He had sounded so nice at first. Namjoo had liked listening to him, but she suddenly wondered if he was putting on a façade.

Her legs stood up automatically upon his gentle pull. She was ready to follow him out, but immediately jerked back. They turned to find Sehun holding onto her other arm.

The room silenced, filling with tension and awkwardness.

Namjoo’s heart beat harder. Nothing ever calmed down in Choonhee’s world! She wanted to cry in complaint. Why was this happening to her?!

“The wedding’s not happening,” Sehun spoke up, his eyes very coolly rested on the mahogany colored walls.

She was dumbfounded.

“What are you talking about?” Kai asked, failing to hide the irritation in his voice. “Let go of her.”

As if rebelling, Sehun interlocked his fingers with hers and pulled it toward his heart. “I have feelings for her.”

“Sehun!” Kai yelled.

“Why don’t you consider telling everyone the truth first?” Sehun’s cold gaze stared at him.

Namjoo’s mind blanked and she turned to look at Kai, seeking his face for an answer. What was Sehun implying? What truth?

“What is he talking about?” Kai’s mother questioned, curious. “Kai, what truth?”

Kai’s eyes roamed the room, avoiding hers and anyone else’s. What was going on?