\\\\\

As Namjoo sat alone in Choonhee’s room befuddled, silence gathered around her like waiting servants. She was so certain earlier on that she wasn’t supposed to attend the opening, but everyone prompted her to go. Now it was intensely the opposite. A voice at the back of her mind insisted she go.

What was going on?

“Listen, Choonhee,” he spoke more seriously, “I’m telling you not to go. Can’t you listen to me for once? Attending the opening won’t be beneficial to you in any way. It could even hurt you later down the road. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Did Sehun mean it? But why would she get hurt later on? What did they know that she didn’t know? Why the warning?

Namjoo didn’t want to think ill of Hayoung, but now she had to wonder if she was in on everything else with those two guys. The so-called friend was as suspicious as anyone around Choonhee.

She should have talked to Tao earlier, but everything had so abruptly happened she’d lacked time. Namjoo regretted not taking action sooner. Now it was dark and wherever he was and whatever he was doing, he was probably getting ready to sleep. 

Climbing off the bed Namjoo stepped toward the window to gaze at the empty yard outside. This picturesque view would be hers for the time being. While standing there she wondered how Choonhee had felt when she stood in the same exact spot. Satisfied with her life? Or did she feel that something was missing? Or did she know what went on at all between the others, including herself?

Namjoo allowed her eyes to rove over the skyline and spotted the Milky Way. Tonight it appeared spectacular and fragile. Stars, she recalled, never lived quite long but people still said that after death a soul would become one. Was Choonhee up there? Did the dead twin know that she was in her spot at this moment?

Turning away Namjoo walked toward the bed again and sat down. Slightly twisting her neck to the side she stared at the velvety box sitting on the desk. She felt guilty for even having brought it back. To soothe her guilt, Namjoo persuaded herself that she’d done the least by bringing it into Choonhee’s home, where the twin could posses it in spirit. Despite all the effort to eliminate her guilt she kept thinking about the money used to purchase the jewelry. If Kai was willing to spend that much he must have liked Choonhee…a lot. Would that make him suspect number one?

Namjoo couldn’t be sure. Part of her didn’t want to make him a suspect. Even now she couldn’t forget the way he had made her feel, but that wasn’t enough of a reason to leave him out.

“No, no,” she muttered to herself and shook her head. She couldn’t let herself be stupid and use her emotions as an excuse. Because what if…what if Kai was the one who’d done something to Choonhee?  

Get the necklace out of sight, she told herself. Standing up again she pulled the drawer open and rashly tossed the box inside. Namjoo came to an abrupt pause just a second before slamming the drawer close.

Among the contents of papers, pens, a pencil sharpener, and stickers lay a framed picture of the twin. Sitting at a picnic table with eyes set prettily on the camera, a wide grin splashed across her face. This was Lee Choonhee, her replica, her twin. Namjoo recognized the natural dark brown hair wavy and spilling over her shoulders, the cheekbones, and the lips. Those traits were also hers.

Unlike the portrait downstairs her smile appeared genuine. She looked graceful and happy. Namjoo could simply tell by the shine in her eyes, the way the corner of her lips spread upwards because it was her face and she could feel it instinctively. She could be laughing in the photo, Namjoo thought.

It was a pity to have it left in some dark place, she deemed without questioning why it was in the drawer in the first place. Grabbing the picture she neatly displayed it atop the desk, stood back and glanced at it satisfied. Finally turning the light off Namjoo crawled into bed to sleep, wishing that tomorrow would be a better day.

She was totally wrong when she woke the next morning and joined Choonhee’s parents for breakfast.

“Get dressed after you eat,” Choonhee’s mother instructed. “We need to go buy dresses to wear for the opening this Saturday.”

“Uh…” she breathed, “but I saw that there are plenty in the closet.”

“You can’t go wearing something others have seen you in before,” her mother shook her head, rattling her pure white pearl earrings. “We need you to be the best dressed this weekend. Don’t forget that first impressions are always the most important. You have to look good in front of the board members.”

She was ushered upstairs after her meal and came back down after dressing. Without saying a thing she joined her mother in the back of the car. They sat in complete silence. It was insanely awkward for Namjoo. Dozens of times she wondered what ran through Lee Eungi’s mind. The petite woman appeared content, utmost comfortable without word with her – who was supposed to be her daughter. The air was as cold as if they were strangers, a bit weird for what was supposed to be mother and daughter.

The car finally came to a halt and she followed the mother out. Instead of the store, like she expected, they were at some sophisticated salon with bordered windows and a staircase. Without saying anything she followed, deeming that she would figure everything out when she went in. And she did.

The moment Namjoo walked in the scent of hair spray, heat exuding from hair tools, and shampoo flourished the salon. She spotted leather chairs and single mirrors settled in front of every seat, the desks and tables overwhelmed with hair supplies and makeup. Lee Eungi settled down into an empty chair and a woman came to her immediate attendance, leaving her there awkwardly.

“Take a seat,” a voice said from behind her. Swerving around she spotted a woman with a bob standing nearby. She had a plastic towel in hand and a soft smile on her face.

“What are you doing?” Lee Eungi wondered. So as not to draw unwanted attention Namjoo immediately sunk down into the chair beside the mother. The woman with the short bob wrapped the plastic sheet around her and pulled her hair out. It felt nice, but at the same time out of her routine. Namjoo never prettied up.

For an hour and a half she sat in the chair staring at herself while the stylist curled her hair then moved on to put makeup on her.

“Open your eyes and look at the ceiling,” the stylist instructed. Namjoo followed the orders, but for a first timer wearing eyeliner she couldn’t help but blink from the strange sensation. When the stylist pulled away Namjoo felt teardrops slither down her face.

“That’s weird,” the stylist commented. “This isn’t your first time putting makeup on.”

“Ah…” Namjoo quickly wiped the tears away and lied, “must be allergies that’s making me sensitive. Sorry.” Averting her eyes she stared at the tabletop before catching Eungi’s curious stare. Gulping, Namjoo turned her face away.

They were finally at the shopping department an hour later. Namjoo was marveled by the gazillion dresses surrounding her, all of them unique in design and color. Her eyes nearly swirled from the variety and barely choked when she saw the price tags.

“So?” Eungi asked. “What about this one? I think this color would look good on you. Oh, did Kai say what he was wearing? You should wear something that would match with him.”

Namjoo turned away from the rack she was at and glanced at her mother. Why would she bother matching her outfit with him?

“He didn’t say anything to you?” Eungi raised a brow, as if Kai should have already said something to her. Namjoo felt like she was a daughter in trouble for not getting some piece of information expected of her without her knowing about it.

“No,” she shook her head.

“Well then,” her mother placed the dress back and pulled out a white one, “wear this one. White goes with anything.”

In the end Namjoo wondered if there was any meaning in her coming along when she didn’t even do the shopping for herself. They strutted out of the store with her carrying both her and her mother’s bags. Assuming they would head home Namjoo quickly laid out the rest of the day’s plans. She would contact Tao before the day ended and meet up with him. She had to talk with him. She needed desperate answers and a plan in store before the opening.

“You’re here?” Eungi called out, her face immediately becoming uplifted with a dainty smile. Namjoo stopped behind her to see the mother waving at another woman dressed in a classy outfit, seated inside the cozy café beside them. Determining from her matching skirt and shirt, curled hair, and makeup Namjoo assumed she was of the exact same class as Lee Eungu, and hopefully, not the same type of woman.

“What are you doing? Hurry up,” Eungi whispered back before walking into the café. Confused, Namjoo quietly followed. “Did you wait long?”

“Of course not. I just barely got here,” the curled hair woman greeted then glanced at her with a very gleeful grin. “How was shopping?”

“Oh…uh…fine.” Namjoo nervously replied and received a short glance from Eungi, but the woman remained utterly cheerful. It made her uncomfortable.

“Sit down,” the woman offered. When they were all seated she started, “I was looking forward to seeing you yesterday, but Kai just had to steal you. I hope you two had fun, because you’ll be pretty busy this weekend.”

Yesterday…Namjoo had to think about it before catching on, like a fool. Kai’s mother. This woman was the one who birthed Kai. Right.

Staring at her face Namjoo recognized the nose and the lips she had seen on Kai’s face. Their smile was almost the same.

“Shall we have lunch? I heard there are pretty tasty sandwiches here,” Kai’s mother, Kim Seulgi, said.

They went for another round of intense shopping and Namjoo was barely dead when they returned home. Her feet were so intensely sore she couldn’t bear standing for even a minute. Curling up on Choonhee’s bed with knees tucked against her chest she stared miserably out the window whose drapes she never bothered putting down. She was too tired to even move, but thank goodness she wasn’t being hassled by the others.

Promising herself to contact Tao in the morning she drifted off to sleep. To her convenience it was her father who urged her out with him the next day. Golfing, he said, was her expertise. And he wanted a game with her and President Kim, Kai’s father. Just how close the families were was something Namjoo couldn’t determine well, but they were too close for her comfort. The entire day the men laughed right and left into her ears. She could barely golf right, didn’t even know the damn rules. Every time she swung the club so hard she only ended up hitting the grass. She went back home beat from the trip, nearly passing out from the drinks the men urged her to have after late dinner.

She awoke feeling like a slog the next day and remained sick in bed. Hayoung even bothered calling to remind her to show up at the opening. And before she knew it the opening was less than two hours away.

\\\\\

“Are you sure she won’t show up tomorrow?” Hayoung asked. She was sitting at an outside table on the deck of a coffee shop, Sehun just opposite her. He looked busy, lost in thought. In her entire life he was one who studied hard and well, was always focused with eyes on goals always too farfetched.

Today, he seemed dazed. Oh Sehun was never dazed nor did he bother daydreaming. He was a number one realist who lived in the present and only in the present.

“Hey, are you listening?” she questioned, tone louder.

“Of course,” he swiveled his eyes her way then away again. “I heard you.”

“So what did you say to her the other day?” Hayoung asked, curious. “Did you threaten her?”

“Threaten?” he repeated then shifted in his chair and rubbed a thumb underneath his chin. “Maybe I should have.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Finally turning toward her he leaned forward, “Why are you so worried? Are you that threatened by Choonhee’s presence?”

Taken aback she stuttered, “Wha…n…no, of course not! Why would you think that?”

He shrugged, “Weren’t you adamant to make Choonhee go to the opening? Why, all of a sudden, don’t you want her to? I mean, things could turn out interesting.”

“Interesting?” Hayoung narrowed her eyes.

She watched a faint smile climb onto his lips. Looking aloof again he went on, “If she shows up, I’ll take care of her.”

This time she couldn’t help but let her brows furrow deep down into her face. He was up to something and her instincts told her it wasn’t anything she would like. One reason why she was urged to intervene, because she didn’t want him to get close to Choonhee. For one thing it wasn’t Choonhee, but Namjoo.

“Choonhee will be joining Kai’s publishing team, did you know?” she asked.

Sehun turned to her, “Is she?”

“Aren’t you bothered? Your ex will be working with one of your best friends?” Hayoung tried.

“Well,” he breathed, “we’ll have to see how I do feel about it.”

He was up to something. She could feel it. What was he planning on doing to Namjoo if she went to the opening? Would her reverse psychology work on that girl?

\\\\\

Namjoo was woken up early that weekend, not on her own but by Auntie Shin who knocked deliriously on her door. She was refused breakfast, being told she would get something to eat at the opening. Immediately told to shower and dress she did as told.

With hair still damp and clinging to her skin she rummaged through her closet for the appropriate things to wear. There was a shoebox at the top of a shelf above the rack. Curious about what shoe was hidden in there she stood on tiptoes and extended her arm up as far as possible. It literally felt like an entire morning’s stretch. Whilst and groaning she finally managed to pull the box near the edge, tipping it over. As the contents inside spilled out she let out a shout when something thudded against the roof of her head, clattering against the ground.

“What the hell…” she muttered, rubbing her head. Glancing down she caught a tiny book the shape of a journal. Beside it lay a bundle of pictures. The top most picture was of younger versions of Choonhee, Kai, Sehun, and Hayoung. Grabbing the photo from the ground Namjoo stared at the innocent smiles plastered over the young adult’s faces, Choonhee seated between the two men, her arms around their necks while Hayoung sat on the outside by Sehun.

The four of them… She let the picture sink in before the knock at the door interrupted her. “Choonhee, are you done?” It was Eungi.

“Oh…yea, yes!” Namjoo screamed back. Quickly bending down she piled the pictures up and stuck them back into the journal. Throwing everything into the shoebox she tossed it into the rack of clothes, hurriedly grabbed the dress, a random pair of heels, and was out the door.

\\\\\

The future handlings of the merge of Power Printings and LJ Group would take place in the new building, where more than half of the work force would be transferring. This would be where Sehun would get his Vice CEO position and where Kai’s publication group would start off new. A glass building with the windows tinted a shade of blue from outside. Whatever went on inside the building no one would see from outside. It was the kind of privacy Sehun liked.

All the office supplies had been transferred the last two weeks. The starting Monday everything would be good to go and he would be the first person to sit in his chair as Vice CEO. The adrenaline in his blood made him more than excited. Sehun was pumped to get started, but it would only be better if it lasted. And that, he’d make sure.

Today the front of the street was decorated with colorful streamers and a red tape with bows of flowers, where Kai, Choonhee, and President Kim Sungsik would cut the tape to announce the official opening of business. Balloons had been brought over as well as wreaths of flowers sent in from friends and supporting family in congratulations of the merge. Dining and snack tables were set up in the empty back yard.  

Everything was well in view. Sehun stood alone in his future office, the smell of his new desk was fresh and strong in the air. The leather furniture was twice as clean as the ones in his room. He liked the office. The creamy beige walls, the new carpet, and the soundproof door.

Sehun watched as a car stopped below. Choonhee and her parents climbed out with rapid smiles on their faces. He couldn’t help but scoff at them before his eyes roved over the beauty dressed in white. The contemptuous smile failed to stay on his face when he thought about the tiny flutter he’d felt the other day when she’d stared at him.

Cameras flashed and reporters crowded around them outside. His eyes zoomed in on the ex-girlfriend, watching as she tried smiling into the cameras. A second later Kai arrived with his parents. A momentarily speech followed, prepared by both sides and they finally proceeded to cut the tape. Turning around he walked out of the office, his mind dropping all thoughts of how he had been earlier excited to have the room has Vice CEO.

Arriving on the first floor he stepped out into the lobby and watched as the press followed the two families out back. His head turned while watching Choonhee through the glass follow the bunch out back. All he had to do to win was to keep her and Kai from getting together.

That was pretty simple.

Stepping out of the building he started toward her. Choonhee wasn’t attentive to her surroundings, being too focused on being with the group. Finally catching up to her he grabbed her arm. Surprised, she spun around with her long straight hair flailing around her shoulders.

No, he was sure he wasn’t confused.

For a second he stared at her. Choonhee’s bedazzled eyes stared back at him, befuddled.

“Wha…” she began, but he pulled her after him cutting her off. He caught her tiny shout from barely tripping as he lugged her along.

“Come with me,” he ushered with his heart committing a strange act he couldn’t entirely explain. And he was sure he had never before been attracted to Lee Choonhee.