„ Look at this view dad, it's insane!“ Yeon Hee was leaning over the balcony and yelling back at her father who was in the joined room next to hers, currently unpacking his things. She took a deep breath and smiled happily, a faint smell of the sea lingering in her nostrils while her lungs tried to absorb as much of it as possible, making up for the days when she couldn't even breathe properly. It was gorgeous. The whole scenery was ing amazing.  Her balcony on the 14th floor offered a superb view of the shimmering sea in front of her, gardens with fountains down below and a forrest northwest from her which led to the mountain top, covered with snow. She could hardly stop smiling, feeling happiness blooming inside of her. She was finally at Jeju with her father and she was at a five star resort. Could life be any better than this? She was finally able to breathe, both literally and figuratively. Nobody was here to bend her life out of control.She was...free, even if it was just for a weekend.

„ Not too shabby, right?“ She heard her father's voice as he approached her, looking at the same sight. Yeon Hee shrugged her shoulders before brushing her hair from her face in an arrogant gesture.

„ I might have seen better after all.“ Her father smiled at her, recognizing the sarcasm in her voice before leaning on the bannister next to her. Yeon Hee leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed when she spoke again.

„ Mom would have loved this.“ She felt her father embracing her with his arm in a comforting manner.

„ She would. Especially the forrest. She would insist we should go hiking there.“ Yeon Hee rolled her eyes at the mere thought of her climbing up a mountain.

„ Don't remind me of that. I still have nightmares about the last time we came to Jeju. I was, 11 right? And she chose the hotel closest to the forrest, saying that she loved the smell of trees in the morning. And getting her poor child up that stinking mountain.My legs hurt for days.“

„ As I recall you were running to the beach the same day, so it couldn't be that bad, right?“

„ Tell that to my poor feet.“ Her father laughed, still looking at the sea in front of them.

„ She would be happy to see us back here together. I am happy to be here with my superbrat.“

„ Don't get all mushy on me ahjussi.“

„ Who is getting mushy?“

„ You. In more ways than one. Maybe you should hit the gym while we are here, that tummy is not looking too good.“

„ If you lead the way to the gym I will be happy to follow you.“ Well, then we will both get mushy, because I ain't hitting no gym. Any other physical activity other than the walk from the fridge to the bed is too much for me. He heard his cellphone ringing and he reached for it, answering it before going inside of the room again. Yeon Hee pulled out her cellphone from her pocket and took a picture of the horizon before sending it to Soo Ae and Ji An in their shared inbox.

Evil. You are just evil. Ji An anwered  while sending her a frowny emoticon. Yeon Hee laughed before writing her back.

Wish you were here. Ji An  send her a smiling emoticon this time, obviously satisfied with her message.

Better. Where are you?

The hotel is called Black Pearl. It's gorgeous. Maybe we can all go this summer?

I would love that. What are you doing now?

Going to go to the spa next. You?

Family chores. Scrubbing the floor with the dweeb.

Ah, you are like Cinderella, Ji An-ah. I can't even write because of the tears of sympathy in my eyes. Are you going to see Soo Ae later?

She is at the hairdresser this morning and she told me she was going to meet her mother later in the afternoon.

Ah, it's one of those weekends.

Yeah.

„ Brat?“

„ Yeah, dad?“ Yeon Hee turned at the sound of her father's voice when he walked out with a small frown on his face.

„ He wants me to join him immediately for an early lunch in the city after which we would go to the golf course. I feel bad for leaving you so soon, though.“ Yeon Hee smiled at her father before patting his shoulder.

„ Go, play your stupid golf and earn me a new pair of Converse sneakers.“

„ Don't you have fifty of them already?“ He asked with a raised eyebrow causing her to scoff back at him.

„ I damn sure I wish I did. I am serious dad, I'll be fine on my own. A sauna, a massage....yeah, I'll be more than fine.“ She winked at him before going in her room, sitting on her bed and writing to Ji An again.

I have to go have fun. Enjoy your chores.

And we are back to being evil again. Have fun for me, OK?

„ So you'll be alright without me?“ He asked, still looking worried. She put her cellphone away and nodded at him with an reassuring smile, tying her hair into a loose bun.

„ Dad, just go. Have fun. I know I will.“

„ I'll be back for dinner. 7 o'clock seems fine to you?“

„ Yes, maybe I'll go for a walk before dinner.“ He approached her and kissed her forehead, tapping her head lightly.

„ Don't get yourself into trouble while I am not here, alright?“

„ Me? Trouble? I don't know what you are talking about ahjussi.“ She smirked at him and waved as he left the room, sighing because of the superbrat his only daughter was.

Yeon Hee immediately started jumping on the bed like a kid, feeling ecstatic to finally be there. She giggled as she passed out on the comfortable bed and smelled the clean sheets. God, this felt right. She needed this. Desperately. She looked at her cellphone and pouted when she saw the hour. She was wasting precious time in her room, time she could be spending in the spa instead. She jumped off the bed, leaving the cellphone behind and taking just a keycard for her room, locking it as she went out. She walked over to the staircase and glanced at the elevator on her right, stopping abruptly in front of it. When she arrived to the hotel she chose to walk all 14 floors, barely forcing her father not to join her so he can take the elevator. But now she was all alone and the choice was all up to her. She crossed her arms, still glaring at the shaft of the elevator. Are you really such a coward Yeon Hee? That it scares after all this time?You can handle it. You must handle it. Show me that in the bathroom is a slip. Show me you are not that little girl anymore. She slowly approached it and pressed the button to call for the elevator, already feeling her heart beat speeding up in her chest. The door opened and showed her an empty glass elevator. She took a deep breath and wiped her hands on the jeans she wore before stepping in.

She pressed the button for the ground floor and backed away from the door, grabbing the bannister on the other end of the elevator, turning her back to the door and closing her eyes. Breathe, Yeon Hee. Breathe. You can do this. Calm yourself down. The door suddenly stopped and someone joined her in it. She didn't even bother opening her eyes to look at her company but she smelled a strong scent of a very expensive, very floral perfume. Must be a fancy woman for sure. She continued to breathe evenly, feeling the shivers running down her back as she listened to every ping the elevator made until she reached her destination. When the elevator finally stopped she opened her eyes to see her knuckles being completely white from the grip she had on the bannister and she barely separated them from the cold metal before following the woman out of the elevator. She couldn't see her face but she could see that her original assumption was right. A fancy woman with the hair colour Soo Ae would kill for, slightly reddish with some traces of orange in it, in a designer dress and hills to kill for, walked, no...wobbled her way in front of her. Like she was...tipsy.  Yeon Hee followed slowly, unwillingly entertained at the reactions the woman caused when she passed the recepcionist of the spa center without even looking at her. When she entered the door to the spa, the recepcionist grabbed her phone and dialed a number, hissing in a low voice.

„ She is here. I know. Trouble.“ She immediately stopped talking on the phone when she saw Yeon Hee approach the counter. The pretty receptionist, a woman in her thirties bowed deeply at her with a polite smile on her face.

„ Good day, customer, welcome to Black Pearl spa and fitness centar. What can I do for you?“

„ Good day. I would like a spa treatmant, a massage, sauna...“

„ Would you be interested in body treatmants?“ Yeon Hee frowned a little, raising her eyebrow in suspicion.

„ What kind of body treatmants?“

„ Body wrapping for example. With seaweed.“ Girl, I can tell you a million and one reason why that is a bad idea. But I'll give you two. 1. I would be in a tight space unable to move. 2. Her captor would be seaweed which she doesn't like to eat and much less wrapped around her. Don't you have wrapping with chocolate leaves or something? She would be down for that.

„ No, thank you.“

„ Aromatherapy?“ Ah, why the hell not.

„ Yes.“

„ Facial, waxing, hair appointment, fitness workout, skin exfollation, manicure and pedicure?“ Jesus, what don't you do here? Most of that sounds like something out of a horror torture movie.

„ Ahm, hair and maybe a manicure, and pedicure?“ But fitness, waxing, exfollation? Man... the inquisition has nothing on you guys. The receptionist typed it all down before smiling at her.

„ Your keycard please.“ Yeon Hee gave her the keycard and the receptionist did something with it before she grabbed a key behind her and gave it to her, bowing at her again.

„ Very well, miss Moon, just go forward and you will see a changing room. In the locker with your number you will see everything you need for your treatment. Just get changed and our consultants will take care of you.“ Yeon Hee nodded back at the receptionist while taking the key.

„ Thank you.“ She walked to the changing room, which was thankfully empty at the moment. She changed in her bathrobe and slippers and walked out, gripping the hand towels she was given to her chest in discomfort. Nothing to see here. Just a half girl, walking around, half . She left the room and was immediately startled by a consultant who held a tablet in her arms like it was her firstborn.

„ Miss Moon? Your first appointment is massage. Follow me please.“  Yeon Hee pressed her lips and followed her to a large open space with gentle sweet music playing in the background and massage tables spread around the room. Some of them were already taken but the consultant led her to a table almost all the way in the end where a rather...big woman just cracked her knuckles while looking at Yeon Hee. Oh, mommy, what did I get myself into?

„ Tae Hee is going to take good care of you, miss Moon.“ Isn't that what gangsters say in a movie and then have their neck cracked?

„ Come here, Miss, please.“ Yeon Hee nodded, looking just a tiny bit scared while praying to get out of this alive. After 20 minutes of her massage Yeon Hee winced again while Tae Hee was showing her the very definition of tough love. God, I think something cracked in my back.

„ Miss, you are completely in knots. Why are you so tense?“ Well the biggest in Korea has been making my life a living hell recently, breathing down my neck all the time and destroying everything he touches. But other than that, I am just peachy.

„ I hit a rough patch lately.“

„ And your body knows it.“ Yeon Hee whimpered in pain when she felt Tae Hee squeeze her shoulders roughly. Pain. So much pain.

„ It's going to hurt until I get rid of these knots. But I assure you,miss, you will feel heavenly after I am done with you.“ Please God, make it so. She heard Tae Hee humming something in her chin as she continued to work on her.

„ Is that a song from Jeju? Are you a native here?“ Tae Hee smiled at her and pressed her back even harder than before. If I manage to walk away without broken bones...I'll be thrilled.

„ Yes. 7 generations of my family lived here. My grandmother spoke only in Jeju dialect until she died. She actually taught me how to do this massage, she called it the „ path to heaven through hell.“ Hell, indeed. Focus, Yeon Hee. Focus on the conversation.

„ Do you know Jeju dialect?“ She asked, barely keeping her voice stable as Tae Hee found a particularly painful spot on her back.

„ A little. Not much, people are already forgetting it.“ Yeon Hee closed her eyes before silently murmuring back.

„ It's sad to think how many things are being forgotten.“ Tae Hee nodded in agreement and continued to hum when Yeon Hee suddenly jumped up at the sensation.

„ I am sorry Miss, did I hurt you?“ Yeon Hee bit her lip before she sh