Inviting an unknown woman into his home without parents home was uncalled for. Maintaining his street smarts he gestured his head to the front where a playground was nearby. Crossing the road they made way toward the swing sets where he found it unfit to sit with her but seeing that there was no bench, sat on the swing. As if deeming it unnecessary she remained standing, which left him feeling awkward. Instead of rising up to his feet Kyung remained on the swing.

“My name is Goo Yeji.” She directly started with introducing herself. “Pardon me if my question holds any offense, but I’d like to know what your relationship with the Chairman’s wife is.”

Kyung barely choked on the spit at the back of his throat. Chairman?! Wife?! No, no. Certainly he hadn’t gotten into any kind of scuffle to create any kind of scandal with the higher up.

“Excuse me?” he asked baffled. “I think you’ve got the wrong person. I’m plenty sure there are a lot of Han Kyungmo’s in this city. I’m…I’m just a student.”

Yeji smiled coyly, her eyes never moving from his. “I’m pretty confident I’m not wrong. Unless, that is, you weren’t the person with her at the smoothie bar yesterday?”

Alert, Kyung jumped up to his feet. “Who are you?”

“Goo Yeji. My father is Chairman of J.K. Constructions. He’s an important business partner to Jongin’s father, has built and will continue building their shopping malls into the future.” she sounded like she’d perfected her speech on the way to meet him, but other than her speech Kyung was severely taken aback by the discovery of her big identity.

“Kim Namjoo has stepped into a minefield,” Yeji honestly continued, tipping him off. “Your relationship to her is a crucial key to the relationship between our industries. Who is she to you?”

“I believe I don’t have to answer you,” Kyung stood his ground. “Unless this is a crime and you bring me a warrant, my lips are sealed. Who are you to her?”

The coy smile resumed building up on Yeji’s smile. Whether she’d grown impatient with his refusal to answer her question yet again was unseen on her expression. Kyung knew well that those who kept anger hidden behind masks of calm were the most dangerous. His instincts all screeched she was not one to talk to if she was digging about Namjoo, and it also meant his Namjoo wasn’t in a particular good standing at the moment.

“Not her, but her husband, Kim Jongin. I believe you know of him.”

Deciding that it was no use to deny the truth Kyung responded stiffly, “I do.”

“I’ll be honest,” Yeji sincerely explained, “Jongin and I were set up for marriage most possibly before he even met his little wife, but Chairman Kim was severely ill and passed away on their wedding day. I believe, without a doubt, that he would have preferred a spouse more befit for the business environment over someone he’s never heard of. Now that he’s passed, the business is barely in shambles. It is now in my father and I’s hands to rebuild the corporation.”

Kyung never heard this before. Not like Namjoo had shared anything with him but to hear these kinds of things from another woman’s mouth and that woman being the one Jongin should have married. He didn’t like how she made Namjoo sound like a penny compared to a dollar bill.

“So?” he asked coolly. “And what does that have to do with Namjoo?”

“You must care for her,” she stated, noting the note of defense in his voice. Kyung felt his expression constrict with annoyance but did not confirm her suspicion. “Jongin needs someone capable other than a woman waiting at home.”

“Their marriage is not your business.” He hissed.

“No, I believe it is.” She refuted him as coolly. “How Jongin performs as Chairman affects the company, and how the company performs will affect J.K. Construction’s partnership with them. Namjoo is not a necessity in this picture.”

“That’s not for you to decide.”

“I am Jongin’s advisor,” she raised her head, signaling authority. “Jongin is vulnerable, is and has always been it. Mr. Han, I believe you know so that Jongin stands on a deeper level in their relationship than it seems compared to his other half. I don’t doubt the legality of their marriage, but I can’t believe Namjoo. What we want always stand in the gray area. An abandoned animal will fall into the arms of a mother not of its kind and stay there the rest of its life. Do you understand what I’m saying?” 

Kyung bit his tongue to keep from commenting immaturely. If she was saying Namjoo was taking advantage of Jongin’s situation and feelings in order to stay in his family, he was about nearly pissed off. Though he knew Namjoo had gone after him to gain a fortune, he was still upset to be hearing this.

“Jongin is worth more than a few dimes and light always finds a way into a dark room. I believe you won’t disagree with me on that one. I suggest that before the situation becomes risky for Namjoo, for you to make her listen to you, Mr. Han Kyungmo.” Yeji advised. “You are a law student after all, and you know the law always judges fairly.”

Pressing his lips together he remained standing there mute.

“Then,” she nodded, “I shall end my visit here.”

~~~~~

A shopping spree well done had left Namjoo’s arms weak and tired from carrying bags of dresses, brand name totes and purses, along with a few new heels she wanted to try walking in. After completing the run to the bedroom and sorting everything away she found Jaegeun in the living room immersed in a Spiderman movie.

“Jaegeun!” Namjoo stuck the toy model in front of his face from behind the sofa. “Look what Auntie bought you.”

She listened to him scream deliriously before snatching it from her. The four-year-old admired the model before leaning up to kiss her cheek, leaving her dumbfounded. Catching herself she smiled and rubbed his head.

“Say, I saw an ice cream vendor nearby. Do you want to go eat ice cream with Auntie?” she asked.

No less than a few minutes later Namjoo was paying the stall owner a few dollars for their ice cream. Her phone began ringing shortly a few seconds later.

Kyung urgently began saying, “Where are you? We need to talk now. Give me your location and I’ll come pick you up.”

“I’m outside with Jongin’s nephew. What’s wrong?” she wondered and hoped it had nothing to do with Joohwan.

“Then where are you?”

Confused, she looked around, “A few blocks away from Jongin’s house. Why…”

He immediately cut her off, “I’m coming. Stay there.”

Hanging up she glanced down at Jaegeun to find him as immersed in his ice cream as he had been in his cartoon earlier. Minutes ticked by before Kyung drove up in his hot red Sedan and urged them in.

“What’s going on?” she wondered with no longer an appetite for the cone in her hand. “Why aren’t you talking to me?”

“I think, right now, you’re the one who has some explaining to do.” He breathed without looking at her. Frowning, she watched him turn the wheel as they drove around the bend and several silences later came upon a children’s park where she let Jaegeun join other children on the playground after he ate her ice cream.

“Some woman came to find me and she didn’t say anything good about you.”

“A woman?” Namjoo repeated still lost. “Who?”

“Said her name is Goo Yeji, daughter of Chairman of J.K. Construction; that ring a bell?”

Namjoo’s brow twitched. She felt Kyung study her observantly. “Yes, I know her. And?”

He narrowed his eyes slightly, “You never mentioned that Jongin was going to get married to someone else.”

“They weren’t!” she defended herself, instinctively raising her voice to protest. Softening her tone after catching herself she quickly explained, “There were arrangements…there was a blind date…that’s all, but it was his father that changed his mind...”

“So what did you do? You knew about it?”

Namjoo bit her tongue and glanced down at the concrete beneath her sneakers.

“Namjoo,” he pressed on.

“Yes,” she gave in. “I knew.”

Astonished by the truth she strayed her eyes from his reaction. “You intentionally got in between them.”

“I did not!” Namjoo refuted loudly again then quieted her tone at once. Did she? She’d known he was meeting Yeji at that time. Chanyeol had informed her. That day she’d purposely gone to stop Jongin from attending that date…

Exasperated, Kyung reached a hand up to massage his forehead. “And you took advantage of Jongin.”

It was a thunderous blow to her head. Namjoo felt struck by a blade of lightning. This horrible sensation seeping through her made her feel pathetic. Kyung, trusted friend and brother from another mother, had known her motive but was also discovering everything else layer by layer.

“Namjoo, what are you doing?” he asked her, his voice hot with sincerity and concern. “You need to leave that house before this blows up.”

“No!” she raised her voice yet again then quickly sought the playground for Jaegeun to see him running up the stairs to the go down the slide again. Turning back to Kyung she shook her head, “I can’t.”

“Why?” he wanted to know. “You don’t love him. You never did. Or do you?”

The words that wanted to come through never did. Her mind was a jumbled jar of shards and shambles of her righteous conscience and many other things she so desired. Her feelings, what were they? Those things in her heart, what were they?

“That woman is onto you,” Kyung warned, “Joohwan wants you out of there. Know this Namjoo, lies, no matter how deep one hides them, always come to the fore. So please, before you get hurt, remove yourself. Disappear, do whatever. They’re powerful people Namjoo, who knows what they’ll do. You’ve been hurt before, if you have an ounce of pity for Jongin who’s already lost his father, don’t use him.”

~~~~~

By late afternoon Jongin finally made it back to the sanctity of what used to be his father’s second home, his office. Loosening his tie the second he slumped down into the overly large leather comfort seat his phone rang, signaling an oncoming message. Reaching for the phone he’d left behind on the desk top he unlocked it to find a message from the bank notifying him about a withdrawal he was sure he hadn’t made. His eyes slowly widened upon the amount noted and felt his mouth prop open.

Two thousand dollars!!

He hadn’t laid a finger on his account, Jongin was confident about that. Then…Namjoo?

He had no way to verify until he made it home later in the evening. It didn’t so as much matter to him whether she used his money, but two thousand dollars wasn’t just a tiny amount. What had she bought that would amount to so much? Surely even his pampered aunt’s wardrobe was not that expensive.

There was a knock on the door telling him that he needed to go out and survey the stores in what was now, his mall.

~~~~~

Namjoo just finished showering when he walked in, ready to give out for the night. The sight of her with her wet hair wound up in a towel made her look vulnerable, yet he wanted to bury his face in her shoulder to feel her comfort. That, he thought, would reenergize him from a full day of a back to back schedule.

“You’re home?” she greeted upon sighting him and smiled. “You’re early today.”

“I’ll try to be earlier in the next few days, maybe next week,” he promised positively. “Ah…did you withdraw some money today?”

He caught the expression of surprise lighting up her face. Guiltily, she murmured, “Yes…I did.” Hurrying toward the closet she opened it to show him the new dresses inside, “I just bought a few things. You said I could use it to do some shopping…I hope you don’t mind.”

She sounded nervous. It made him feel bad as if he was apprehending her for something that didn’t need to be mulled over. Two thousand dollars spent on some mere clothes? Jongin still found it unbelievable but decided not to press her. Maybe those dresses had been expensive, he persuaded himself. Namjoo had no reason to keep anything from him. His money was her money too. Since she’d already showed him how she’d spent it, it shouldn’t matter. Even as he tried convincing himself, there was a gut wrenching feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

Quickly dismissing his instincts he said, “I didn’t eat yet, but I didn’t want to eat alone. Want to sit with me? Unless…you plan to sleep first.”

“Of course not,” she gleamed. “I’ll be out in a bit.”

Smiling, he walked out and into the kitchen. Discovering leftovers waiting for him he reheated the foods and simply set the table for his late night dinner. Namjoo joined him a minute later. He looked up from the broth he was sipping to find her smiling at him.

With heart racing he broke into a smile as well. “What?”

Namjoo shrugged. “It’s good to see you after a long day.”

“It’s good to see you too. I’m glad I got back early.” Jongin watched her look away somewhat shyly before she slid a white jewelry box toward him.

“It’s a gift,” she told. “I didn’t use your money. It’d be like using your money to buy your own gift, so don’t worry. It’s from my Mr. Pizza savings.”

“You didn’t have to…” he hoped she wasn’t feeling pressured to meet up to the requirements of what the elders may want of her, status and all. Jongin didn’t give a damn about it. What if she was doing it out of duty or respect in order to ease her own mind of Yeji’s earlier nagging about Namjoo’s incapability of understanding his situation?

“If it’s because…”

She cut him off. “I want to. I just wanted to.”

Her eyes bore into his intensely and nodding he pulled the box over. Lifting off the lid he discovered a silver pendant inside with a piece dotted with sky blue diamonds prettily.

“You said you wanted to travel if it wasn’t for the company,” Namjoo said, amazing him with how she’d remembered his words. “Even if dreams are farfetched, I hope you don’t forget that dream.”

Leaning over he swept his hand up her face into her hair and kissed her proclaiming, “You’re the best.”

~~~~~

Right after today’s meeting ended he planned to arrive back home and pack with Namjoo, sleep early, and wake early for tomorrow’s event. They would be staying one night at the hotel where the welcoming party had been reserved and Jongin was sure it would be a long day. Definitely the welcoming event would last all the way into the night. Since reservations had been made for a room for them to rest a night they would take advantage of it. He knew he would.

He was midway through reading some outlines Yeji had dropped off on his desk that morning when an urgent knock on his door interrupted his concentration.

“Didn’t I ask not to be bothered?”Jongin stiffly asked the man at the door, a temporary secretary until Yeji officially transferred herself over to administrate his schedules and dealings.

“Yes, I’m very sorry,” he apologized.

Turning away from his papers he asked, “What is it?”

“It’s just…” the sleek man in a black suit a little too large for him looked away hesitantly then back to him, “there’s a man in the lobby. He wants to see you.”

“A man?” Jongin repeated. Who would look for him at work like this? “Who?”

“I’m not sure. The security guards can’t get rid of him. He’s been here this entire morning.”

“I asked who he is,” Jongin said more firmly.

The man hesitated for a brief moment then finally said it, “He claims he’s your brother-in-law.”

At once, Jongin jumped to his feet and scurried out the doorway. “Why didn’t you say that sooner!?”

Frustrated, he pushed the button to the elevator and waited for the lift to arrive. His mind raced for the disrespect his company had shown Namjoo’s dear younger brother. If she got note of this mistreatment he had no doubt she’d be upset with him and his employees. Without further thinking he rushed toward the lobby where he noted there was a scene being made. Business bystanders seemed taken aback, eyes gaping at the tall Joohwan fighting and arguing with the blue uniformed security guards to let him pass.

A rush of heat boiled up from his stomach and angry he rushed forward. “Stop! What are you doing?! Get your hands off him!”

Shocked with his sudden arrival the security guards withdrew at once and all eyes landed on him. Ignoring everyone else, Jongin’s eyes soaked in the sight of the uninjured man who seemed jilted, near the edge of impatience.

“I’m sorry,” Jongin apologized. “My employees were rude to you. Are you ok?”

“Forget me,” Joohwan stiffly stated. “I came here only for one thing.”

Nodding, Jongin stretched his arm out, “We can talk in my office.”

“Yes, lets talk.” He stared at him, eyes glazed with audacity.  

***Uh-oh...first Yeji, now Joohwan

***Yeji's metaphor: An abandoned animal (Jongin) will fall into the arms of a mother (Namjoo) not of its kind and stay there the rest of its life. Lets be real, Jongin is wounded emotionally in many areas (his loss of Shinae for example + his dad's death), he needs someone to give him comfort, and someone to rely on. He's vulnerable and prone to falling to Namjoo's bait because she's that stone ground he needs for comfort, affection, and solidarity along with security which he believes he has. Only it's kind of an illusion at the moment. More reasons to be pissed off when he finds out that Namjoo has continuously used and lied to him.