The glorious summer was beginning to fade right before Choi Young Do’s eyes. The days were losing light sooner, the rays of sun were losing the intensity that had warmed even the weariest of souls and the green of the leaves was turning a light shade of yellow. As was customary, he had pulled out a heavier jacket for his evening do. It was a dressy number that he often donned it whenever he was on the ‘hunt’. It was a dark shade of blue-grey embossed with an intricate but very subtle pattern. He wanted to feel at his confident best. He was determined to shake off the painful frustration that mired his heart. It was time to have some fun and feel alive again. Though it was not necessary, he was not averse to ending the evening with a warm body next to him on the bed. In fact, that might just do the trick, he thought to himself, to free his heart.

It was a party being hosted by his father for his business associates and he had issued a missive for his son to be present by his side. He never let Choi Young Do forget the vise like grip he had over his life and destiny, even from afar. Young Do wondered if he tested his power from time to time by checking if he could still make his son jump at his command. As much as he hated falling into his trap, Young Do was a realist and knew that his independence was at the mercy of his father. Atlantis Suites was a wholly owned subsidiary of Zeus and he couldn’t refuse to toe the line. But he picked his battles wisely, in a passive aggressive way, to counter his father’s demands. He gave in when he also stood to gain from the ‘meet and greet’ affairs, extending his network among the powerful people, establishing rapport with possible future allies and most importantly, knowing who were his father’s enemies.

He started doing the rounds of the crowd, stuck to his father’s side, playing the dutiful son to his father’s proud sire routine. He smiled, exchanged pleasantries and chatted, all the while taking mental notes and filing away significant names in his memory. That’s when he noticed her. Dressed in an emerald green dress that reached mid length below her knees, she stood next to an elegant lady. Her hair was worn in a short ponytail, which managed to look sophisticated enough in spite of its casual styling and there was a crystal encrusted clip that burnished bright against her dark hair. He couldn’t figure out why she was here and why she had not notified him about her presence at the party.

Not that they had been communicating lately. Young Do really had indeed gone cold turkey and was in the process of reeducating himself about the futility of aspiring for something that was always elusive. But after a couple of weeks, since that weekend meeting, it was she, who had opened the channel of communication with a seemingly well intentioned and casual text that had seen Young Do react rather ungraciously.

“Hi! How are you? Everything alright?”

“What do you want?”

“Nothing. I just received my test scores after the first set of exams. 3.5 GPA. Yay!”

“OK. Good for you.”

“Are you busy?”

“I am always busy. What’s your point?”

“Alright. I will leave you to it.”

After a week, in the dead of the night came another text that he saw only the next morning.

“I just spoke to hyung and Yoon Chan-young. The first phase of the treatment is over. By all accounts, he has taken it well but he is exhausted and weak. They are going to take him home and care for him. I am glad that he will be among familiar faces and people, who sincerely care for him. I wish I could go and stay with him. But he says I should hold the fort here.”

He had not answered that text. In his mind he rationalized that the text was not a question, did not have any action point for him, so technically speaking did not require an answer. She had not texted again. But that did not stop him from checking his phone once in a while. The lady accompanying Cha Eun Sang was the epitome of elegance that comes with generational old money. She seemed to be leading Cha Eun Sang, whispering to her once in a while as she circulated among the guests. It was obvious that she was taking pains to introduce Cha Eun Sang to the people they were meeting. People were a little inquisitive about this odd pair of guests but they were, as usual, polite and subtle in their reaction. But that was never Choi Young Do’s father’s forte.

“That’s Chairman Kim Won’s wife, Madame Yang. She has accepted the invitation on Kim Won’s behalf. Her family holds quite a bit of shares in Jeguk as well as in Zeus group. The girl next to her is Kim Won’s brother’s widow. Rags to riches by marriage. Quite a catch it was.”

Chairman Choi hissed as he looked at the ladies critically, “Wonder if she is looking for another husband. Has a tagalong son though.” He scoffed.

Choi Young Do felt goose bumps on his skin and a cold sensation that cascaded down his back. He had to fight the nauseating thought that his remorseless womanizer father was appraising Cha Eun Sang like a piece of meat, evaluating her worth. He wanted to slug him. He refused to look at his father because he knew his eyes would give away his revulsion and rage. His fingers clenched around the glass of champagne as he fought to control his reckless impulse.

Chairman Choi continued unaware, “She is worthless though without that son. As far I know, she owns no stock, so authority and only recently been introduced to the office. All the shares of Kim Tan have passed onto his son. And the way things are going, Kim Won most probably will leave his shares to Kim Tan’s son too.” He paused to take a sip from his single malt.

Choi Young Do felt bile rising in his throat and his ears buzzing as his head felt like it was about to explode. His father was still staring at Cha Eun Sang and cocked his head to the side as his eyes glinted with a light that Choi Young Do was very familiar with. It was greed……. greed. Be it for a woman’s flesh, ill-gotten profits, pleasure of destroying anybody he viewed as competition or just controlling his son’s destiny. He got off on control and power. His mind was forever busy coming up with new machinations to grab more.

“But if Kim Won is introducing her to the corporate life, he probably intends to give her some authority and who knows, probably some shares too. Then she might be worth something.” Right then, as if on cue, Cha Eun Sang turned her head and fixed her eyes on the father and son duo. She nodded almost imperceptibly at them. Chairman Choi’s lips twitched in a half smile of anticipation before he walked away.

The drone of low murmur and hushed conversation that filled the huge ballroom was barely interrupted by the sound of shattering glass hitting the marble floor. Only a few people turned to seek the source of the sound. It took them and even Choi Young Do a few seconds to notice that he was the cause of the accident. His right hand was bloody and at his feet lay the broken fragments of the champagne glass. He did not feel any pain but he knew that it was going to hurt like hell once the shock wore off. He stared motionless at the mess at his feet and his bloody palm. A senior waiter materialized at his side and took in the scene. People around Choi Young Do were beginning to stare at the spectacle and whisper. The middle aged waiter took out a large serving napkin from the pocket of his waist apron and respectfully held it out to Choi Young Do.

Choi Young Do looked up but found the waiter’s gaze was fixed onto the floor at his feet. He grabbed the napkin and wrapped it around his wounded palm. He caught the curious glances around him and forced an embarrassed smile.

“Sorry, quite clumsy of me. Just a small cut. Please enjoy yourselves. I will attend to this.” He said as he turned towards the nearest door.

He managed to keep his injured palm hidden close to his body and nodded and smiled till he stepped into the corridor that led to the bank of elevators. He fished out his phone, dialed David’s number and told him to get hold of a first aid kit. Only when he stopped speaking, did he realize a presence behind him, at a polite distance. It was her, with a look of concern on her face.

He turned and felt a wave of misplaced anger swell in his head.

“Why are you here?” He practically gritted out between clenched teeth.

“You cut your hand, didn’t you? Yah! How careless can you be?” Her voice showed anxiety.

“None of your business. I will take care of it. Just get out of here.” He hissed.

“Choi Young Do! Are you crazy? Does it help you feel better if you hurt others?” She sounded hurt and her eyes blazed with resentment.

There was a sound of footsteps at the far end of the corridor, which preempted whatever Choi Young Do was about to say. He rushed at her, grabbed her upper arm with his good hand and opened the door to the staircase that ran the entire height of the huge hotel, seldom used but a fire safety necessity. He closed the door behind him and released her with an uncalled for force. She yelped as she turned to face him.

“Why are you here? Since when do you do the party circuit? Why did you not tell me that you would be here?” He got angrier and angrier as he rattled off the questions.

She exhaled in exasperation and spoke quietly, undercutting Choi Young Do’s inexplicable ire.

“The invitation was meant for hyung and Madame Yang. Generally only hyung attends these parties. But Mr.Yoon spoke to hyung and they decided that I should get introduced to some of their important business associates. Madame Yang very kindly agreed to attend with me to familiarize me with some of Jeguk’s important business associates. I only got to know about the party when she arrived this evening at the house”