“Where is it?” he blurted out without thinking.

Seeming surprised, Namjoo stared at him. When their eyes met he felt a flame of unexpected agitation sweep through him. It was then that he felt like shaking her awake. Who did she think she was?! Why were his emotions still running over someone like this?!

“What are you talking about?” and it made him angrier. If it weren’t for the nephew in the room, Jongin would have started screaming his head off at her.

After all he’d gone through because of her he was still pathetically going through coasters of emotions again.

“Your ring,” he hissed.

Her eyes darted down to her ring finger then to him, the gaze in her eyes as untouchable as the sun in day. “I sold it.”

Heat spiraled through him and he would have literally grasped her arm to shake her madly. Instead, he gripped his hand into a fist. “You…sold it?”

“I did.” Her eyes wavered slightly from his. Shoving the duffel bag into her arms he turned around to walk out, closing the door loudly behind him. Groaning and grumbling he speed walked to the elevator and strutted out of the building with fire on his trail.

Damn Namjoo! He was even angrier with himself for thinking they might still be able to ignite something again. He was naïve, still a fool!

~~~~~

Like the good boy he once was, Jaegeun immediately went to bed when asked but Namjoo lie there wide awake. Jongin finally noticed she was without the wedding ring. She had in fact, sold it. It came as no surprise that money had always been an issue for her. When she no longer wanted to use Kyung’s money for textbooks, school supplies, and even a bit of her tuition she’d had no choice but to sell the ring. The money had come to good use, and especially because she didn’t believe she would cross roads with Jongin ever again, she tried not to be guilty.

Tonight, he noticed and he was angry. His precious money had been spent on a ring that amounted to a few thousands – maybe the reason pertaining his anger toward her. Jongin had spent so much on her. But, she wondered, why would he still wear his? And why did it matter whether she still had the ring anyway? They’d broken up two years ago.

Waking up extra early the next morning, she prepared a healthy breakfast for Jaegeun, dressed, and drove him home where the driver would take him to school later in the day.

“Aren’t you coming with me?” Jaegeun wondered on the front doorstep, his puppy eyes pouring into her soul.

Crouching down, Namjoo took his hands and looked into his face. “Jaegeun, this is your home. Auntie’s home is where we just came from.”

“Why?” his face broke. “I don’t understand. This is Auntie’s home. You live here.”

Namjoo pulled a smile on and touched his hair, “Auntie doesn’t live here anymore, Jaegeun. Sometimes, people just don’t live together.”

“Is it because of my Uncle? He’s mean and bad.”

“Don’t talk about him like that,” Namjoo said. “Be patient with him. Auntie lives in the same city. If you want to play, we can play whenever you want. I promise. I’m not going anywhere again. Here,” she took his hand and locked their pinkies, “I’ll always be here. Can you promise me that you’ll be a good boy and you’ll be nice to your uncle?”

His eyes welled up with tears and it pained her to see him this way. What exactly happened to make him so unbelievably sad?

“Come here,” Namjoo opened her arms and waited for him to come forward then hugged him tightly. “Everything will be ok, Jaegeun. You’re a strong boy.” Withdrawing from him she smiled to assure him as she wiped his baby tears. “Go on inside. Auntie needs to go to work now.”

“Will you ever come home again?” he cried, his heart pouring through.

“Go inside, Jaegeun.” Namjoo pressed the doorbell and waited for it to open before turning around to leave, her chest aching. Before entering her car she turned around to get a full view of the house. Here, she had shared a place with Jongin – the good times. It all but felt like a misty dream now. Then she turned away.

This place wasn’t her home. Home wasn’t a place.

~~~~~

Her first stop before work was the hostel. She wanted to see whether there had really been a fire two years ago, maybe get some information about it to better understand why Jongin had thought she was dead. Shock slapped her fiercely in the face when she came upon a completely different building. A strong concrete structure with wide rectangular windows made up a new apartment building and there was even a basketball court on the side. The automatic doors busily opened and closed as people came and went.

Stepping out of her car she tilted her head back to get a full view of what was once her hostel. There had been a fire after all. The realization was daunting.

On that night two years ago, had Jongin really come here to witness the burning building? He’d really believed she’d gone in and never came back out? Why would he think that? Who would have held the funeral for her when Joohwan knew she was alive?

Joohwan…

Namjoo turned around to look behind her as if she might find her younger brother standing there. Her heart raced and she hurried back into her car and sped down the road while fumbling for her phone. Joohwan’s line was busy which meant he was either talking to a client or Inha. Hanging up she rushed to work. She wanted an explanation from Jongin himself about what he’d seen that night. Was he pissed off because he believed she was dead but now found out she’d been alive all along? Did that have to do with the resentment she saw in his eyes? Did that also count toward the fact why he constantly hovered around her like he wanted to take something from her? Had she really ruined his life?

~~~~~

Rushing from the lobby up to Jongin’s office she swung his door open and stepped inside abruptly calling, “Jong…” and immediately shut up when someone stood up from the sitting area that was her current work place.

Goo Yeji stared back with wide eyes as if she’d just seen the ghost of death. Taken aback, Namjoo froze and felt her eyes hover toward the ground, her brows twisting together as her hand slipped from the doorknob.

Yeji was still here. Yeji was still around Jongin. It wasn’t supposed to be a surprise, but to see the fact right upfront made her feel a complex set of emotions. This was reality.

After a moment of silence she looked back up to see Yeji up on her feet, a step away from where she’d been sitting.

“You…” she breathed in disbelief.

Pressing her lips together Namjoo let the door close and step in. There was nothing to run from. There was also no reason to act shocked or be bewildered by the sight of some other woman in Jongin’s office early in the morning. She had expected them to already be on the trip to Vegas together but of course Jongin wasn’t divorced yet and he had believed she was dead. Despite their breakup, it was norm to grieve and she had held him back from strolling the road with Yeji.

Namjoo wanted to laugh when she realized a mess had come to the surface unintentionally because of her.

“Hello,” Namjoo greeted her. After sweeping her eyes over the pretty figure she said, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Who are you?” then she shook her head. “It’s not possible. You’re dead.”

“Well, surprise. I’m not dead.” Namjoo cocked her head then glanced at the empty desk behind her. “You’re here for him?”

The woman uncontrollably gasped with surprise and seemed to fall forward panicked, as if realizing the sudden situation she was in. With insistency she stated, “I’m going to marry him.” Namjoo’s eyes traced back to the beautiful woman standing opposite her. “While your post was empty, we’re already in the talks of it. You showed up too late.”

~~~~~

“What’s going on?” his mother worriedly asked over the phone. “Jaegeun came home this morning crying. Jongin, where exactly did he go last night?”

“He’s just…he’s just having a hard time,” Jongin spoke into the phone unsure about what to exactly say. He hadn’t expected that Namjoo would drop him off this early at home. She should’ve kept him until afternoon at least. He would grind her when he saw her.

“I’m worried. At this rate Jaegeun might get ill again.”

“All right. I know.” Jongin tried helplessly droning over the fact that Namjoo was supposed to keep him longer. “Just let him be. He’ll come around. I’ll call to check up on him later. I have to go now.”

Turning around the corner he walked up to his office and opened the door. Namjoo would be inside. He could feel it, and once they were in the privacy of his office, he’d demand to know why she’d dumped Jaegeun so quickly that morning. All inquiring thoughts flushed out when he saw that Namjoo wasn’t alone.

Heaving a breath of complaint he squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead.

Goo Yeji.

What was she doing here? She wasn’t supposed to be here!

Both women turned to look at him but the gazes in their eyes were each different. Namjoo coolly looked away with what he thought was a snort of incredulity. Then she turned and walked toward him. “I’ll let you two talk.” With just that she brushed by and he felt anger wade over him with how she just treated him like air.

“What’s going on?” Yeji drew his attention back, her voice demanding.

Jongin’s first thought was to drag Namjoo back into the office, force her to sit down and listen to his conversation with Yeji. If she wasn’t here she would really believe there had been something going on between him and this woman. Yet, he was upset that Namjoo acted like she didn’t care a bit about him. These emotions always going at each other were driving him nuts.

“I asked you a question,” Yeji deepened her voice, her eyes wide and hard on him. “Is this why you disrespect my father?! Why you ignore my feelings?! You knew she was alive!”

“So what if she is?” Jongin asked. “It has nothing to do with you.”

“It has everything to do with me!” she didn’t hold back from raising her voice. “You’re going to be my husband! Why is she here? Do you think that by pushing her in my face I’ll completely drop the pending marriage with you?”

Jongin’s brow twitched.

“Then you completely don’t understand how it works,” Yeji stepped toward him. “It’s too late Jongin. If you were hiding her, you should have brought her out earlier. My father has already set his eyes on you and he’s done waiting for you to come around. Your business? If my father refuses to hold hands with you in the future, do you know how many supporters you’ll lose? Then your father’s hard work will amount to nothing because you’re still a fool.”

His blood boiled as she continued to spit fire at him. Jongin gritted his teeth in order to keep from lashing out at her.

“You’re lucky my father has never met your dead wife.”

His hand jumped forward to grip her arm and he warned underneath his breath, “Don’t talk about her that way.”

Shrugging herself out of his grasp her eyes turned even angrier, “She’s long dead, Jongin. Even my father believes she’s dead. You have nowhere to turn. Do you understand me? You can’t divorce a dead woman, so get rid of her and burn your ring. Namjoo might be alive, but she doesn’t exist anymore. And our wedding will happen.”

~~~~~

Moving down the hallway Namjoo stopped at the end and found herself glancing back in the direction of Jongin’s office. Whatever went on between him and Yeji had nothing to do with her. It was no longer relevant. There were other matters she needed to see to before worrying about Jongin.

Pulling her phone out she finally reached Joohwan. “Yejun’s got a fever, so I picked her up from Inha’s parents. I’m on my way home.”

“Do you mind if I stop by?”

“You’re not at work?”

“I’m,” Namjoo’s eyes dashed to the side, “on a break.”

“Then come over.”

Hanging up she turned around and left the building. The drive to Joohwan’s house didn’t take her even half an hour thanks to light traffic. He was in and bouncing Yejun in his arms to lull her into sleep. The sight of the chubby niece made her heart flutter. She was such a tiny, little thing at twenty four months. Namjoo found it incredible that looking at her made her feel amazingly proud and happy, almost as if Yejun were her own.

“She’s so pretty,” Namjoo gladly grabbed her small hand and felt her tiny fingers clench hers in return.

“She’s been crabby all day.” Joohwan told her then spoke to his daughter, “Look who’s here? Your aunt came to see you.” but Yejun continued snoozing in the security of her father’s arms. Turning back to her he promised, “I’ll put her in the crib and be back out.”

Nodding she watched him go and return seconds later. She watched him close the door but not all the way behind him. “You hungry?”

“No. I just…I called this morning.”

“I saw. Sorry I couldn’t take it.” he apologized. “You can sit down you know.”

Namjoo looked at the couch but didn’t move toward it. She looked back at her brother. “Hwan. Did you know there was a fire at my hostel two years ago?”

Something in his eyes flared differently. As if distressed at her mention of it he turned to walk away. Namjoo followed him, wondering why he was being like this.

“Did you know about it?” she asked, stopping behind him at the table.

“Yea.” His reply was quiet but she caught him gripping onto the back of the wooden chair.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Namjoo asked.

“You didn’t need to know. It was just a petty thing.”

“Jongin thought I was dead. Did you know about that?” her younger brother remained silent. “Hwan, did you know?”

“I knew,” he spun around irritated.

Taken aback by the sudden confession Namjoo didn’t know why she was even feeling shock wash over her. Because she entirely believed in her brother? Or was she stupefied and struck by the fact that her younger brother let his brother-in-law believe she had passed away? Or was it that she felt hurt Jongin really believed she had died – that she had let him believe it?

“Why?” her voice came out weak. “Why didn’t you tell him I wasn’t dead? He thought I was dead. He spent two years mourning…”

“Why do you care?” Joohwan asked angrily. Namjoo stared at him stunned by his insensitivity. “Namjoo, why do you even care what he thinks about you?”

“It’s not right.” She merely breathed as a sense of guilt swallowed her whole. Jongin thought she was dead…

“Why do you still care about him?” he demanded loudly. “I didn’t tell him because it was better he thought you were dead. If he loved you, would he have done that to you?! He should have given you one more try, but he gave up. If he loved you, Namjoo,” her brother’s voice trembled with agony and fury, “he could have tried once more to talk to you, to ask you to tell him the truth. You could have slept separately, not talk to each other for a few days, but he told to you to leave his home! He was your husband! If not me, he’s your sole protector! But was he the man he promised to be?! Did he love you the way I thought he would have?! You were chased out like a dog from a home! To a man that treats you like that, to a man who can so easily get rid of you, tell you to leave without a second thought, and you think he loves you? I don’t think so. He dared utter those words to you, his wife! To my sister who already lost her youth because of me, to see her treated like a piece of garbage again, it infuriates me that I just stood by again! You left that night, and I didn’t even know what happened.

“The moment you left that home, the moment he came to my doorstep to tell me what he did to you, from that moment on you were already dead to him! And you care about how he might have spent the last two years grieving for you?! I want you to think about yourself first. Do you know what you went through?! Don’t think that I don’t know. I know everything! That you couldn’t eat or sleep, that you got so ill even the doctor didn’t know what was wrong with you anymore! Kyung said you cried for no reason sometimes and you refused to talk to the school counselor. While I’m rotting inside here because I could do nothing for my sister, you think I’d care about him?

“I don’t regret it. Since you got married, Namjoo, sometimes when I look at you, I don’t see my sister anymore and it hurts me. You’re all I have, and if Kyung didn’t take you that day, if you did die in that fire, I wouldn’t be here. I would have taken Jongin with me to my grave, and I would make him apologize for saying those things to you.”

***In the end, things were also kept from Namjoo ;; but her brother's anger is understandable. I won't even make arguments about sibling protection. But Yeji too -.-