Calmly turning around to meet with his fiery eyes, Namjoo first averted her gaze before moving toward the table to push the chairs in.

“You enjoy talking behind my back, don’t you?” he asked irate.

“That’s why you should have left when I told you to,” Namjoo said without looking at him.

“You love acting like a daughter-in-law, don’t you?” he asked bitterly. “Now you want that lawyer’s mother too? If you asked my mother she’d make you a whole table of food, but you want someone else’s mother’s food?”

Gripping the chair nearest her she looked up at him, “What is your problem, Jongin? If you want to talk, say whatever you came here for; otherwise, I have no patience for you.”

“Oh? So now you’re willing to talk?”

“I had guests over this morning if you would stop being so rude!” she raised her voice.

“They aren’t guests!” he raised his voice in turn. “They’re the family you want to be a part of!”

Namjoo furrowed her brows, wondering why the hell he was so damn upset suddenly.

“If you think I’m going to consent sending you to that man you act so lovey-dovey with, then you’re just stupid.”

“His name is Kyung.” she snarled.

“I don’t care what his name is,” his breath shaky, “all I know is that he’s the man you spent two years with! That's more time than you ever spent with me!”

“Is that it? What’s bugging you?” Namjoo narrowed her eyes. “Is it my fault I spent two years with him? Is that your topic of conversation today? Oh, you want to spend the entire day talking about Kyung? You want to know how I lived with him the past two years, is it?”

“Namjoo!”

“Then what?!” she yelled. “What do you want from me?! Ok,” she breathed heavily, “I admit, I used your money to my heart’s content, I lived comfortably without even lifting a finger in your home. I liked it. I planned on using the rest of your money to clear the debt I created. I wanted to use you to clean up my dirty life and start anew because I was greedy. I was desperate for a turnaround at something I’ve never had. I wanted to hit the jackpot, and I did. I was selfish, I became greedier but I left! Was that not good enough for you? Tell me Jongin, do you want me to disappear again? Is that it?”

“Shut up.” he demanded, his eyes stern.

“No?” Namjoo stared angrily. “Then what is it you want? I see. You want to be the one who’s angry. You want to be the one to look for a divorce lawyer? If you want to stop me, go ahead and find one first. I’m sure Yeji can easily help you. Ah…it’s because two years ago you couldn’t have the life you wanted because you were so sad I was dead. Well I’m sorry Jongin. I already apologized to you for it. If it’s not enough that you’ve already given Kyung a crappy job and made me feel guilty for it, then what more do you want from me? Do you want money back? Then I’ll pay you.”

Her heart rammed against her chest madly when, in the blink of an eye, he walked around the table to shove her against the fridge behind her. In that moment she feared she’d touched a nerve she shouldn’t have and she’d hurt Jongin unintentionally. All those things she’d sputtered just flew out of without thinking, and she kind of regretted it.

Jongin was frustrating her. She didn’t understand why he was so vexed with her, why he kept coming to her to taunt her unhappily. And each time he came near, he only seemed angrier. It made her angry too, because being around him made her sensitive.

For a duration of time he spent it staring holes into her eyes. First he squeezed her arm with his hand then slid it down to snatch her hand and abruptly led her toward her bedroom. Namjoo’s first instinct was to struggle, wondering if it was the bed he wanted with her. She wasn’t in the mood and she didn’t want to sleep with him.

When they got there he didn’t push her down but instead, started going through the closet and the drawer as she watched. Ripping a blouse off the hook and finding a pair of black pants he tossed them at her. Namjoo felt her face burn, ridiculed.

“Get out of that dress,” Jongin steely demanded. “Don’t wear something he’s seen you in.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Namjoo breathed through clenched teeth.

The room swirled with volcanic anger about to erupt in hellish fire. Namjoo refused to back down with her ferocious gaze, and Jongin didn’t seem like he would easily quit battling her either. A breath pulsed out of her when he stomped toward her, snagged her waist, and began searching for the zipper at her back.

“Leave me alone!” Namjoo shrieked fighting to push him off. Her elbows buckled against his chest as he held her prisoner within his arms. Unable to relinquish herself she bit his shoulder and shoved him back forcefully when he yelped. Now seething with dire anger, Namjoo wished she could have slapped him instead for trying to take her dress off without her consent.

Spinning around on her heels she grabbed the purse she’d earlier tossed on the bed and turned to walk out. Snatching phone off the kitchen countertop she slipped into sandals at the doorway and flung the door open. First thing that came to mind was to call Kyung and meet him somewhere in order to throw Jongin off her tail. She swung the door close behind her but it never closed and opened again a second later. Jongin was hot on her trail when she glanced back, so quickening her pace she sought for the door to the stairway.

He was totally getting on her nerves today and she might just put in her resignation letter tomorrow when she went in to work. Jongin was intent on driving her to the edge of insane anger. Namjoo was one floor down the stairs when Jongin yanked her back.

“I told you to spend the day with me,” he reminded, usurped by his now short temperament.

“Let go!” Namjoo continued screaming as he hauled her after him forcefully. “Jongin, let go! I can put a restraining order on you! I can call the cops!”

But he ignored her and continued dragging her after him like she was his luggage. Disregarding the stares they received as she continued screaming, he led her through the parking lot to his car, once again forcing her inside. This time the passenger’s door was on child lock and she was left pounding on the window angrily.

“Put your seatbelt on,” he ordered when he started the engine.

“No.” she refused.

“I said put your seatbelt on,” he demanded through gritted teeth this time.

Ignoring him, she continued sitting there staring out the window pretentiously acting like he’d never spoken to her.

“I warned you.”

Leaning over, Jongin pressed himself against her. This time Namjoo didn’t hold back and threw him back with full force. He let out a shout when her nails ended up scraping his neck. Breathing angrily he glared at her without offering her the chance to feel guilty. Biting from inside she turned away and aggressively pulled the seatbelt over herself.

They were on the road and then the highway. Continuously darting her eyes back and forth she wondered if he was going to take her somewhere, lock her up. Talking to him was a last resort but it didn’t look like she had many options. She had to find out where he was taking her so if she needed to, she could call Kyung.

“Where are you taking me?” she questioned.

“I’m not answering you.”

“You just did,” she pointed out. Jongin turned to shoot her a stare before turning to the road, ignoring her some more. Namjoo chewed her lower lip tense and anxious.

What the hell was he up to? She couldn’t stand being in this car with him.

Half an hour later they reached Incheon. In total silence Namjoo stared out the window, watching buildings pass and curiously stared at those streaming through the roads like they owned it. The busy roads soon became cut off by a quiet, barren street that seemed isolated from the rest of the world. They drove past hedgerows and high trees before a high rise building came into view. Namjoo’s eyes circulated the rich concrete building up ahead with wide squared French paned windows.

Jongin halted his car at the black iron gates at the front before they automatically opened for him. Along the long driveway Namjoo became more curious, wondering whether Jongin had brought her to see some of his relatives without telling her. Then ahead in front of the short flight of marble stairs she spotted a car and a man waiting for them at the front. When they neared she recognized Secretary Hong. Did Jongin drag her here for some kind of business he was going to conduct?

The vehicle parked behind Secretary Hong’s and Namjoo followed Jongin out. Secretary Hong greeted them formally and she saw that he had a large orange envelope in hand. Left clueless they turned to walk up to the tall doors and rang the bell. A housemaid opened it for them, greeting them quietly. The wide corridors left Namjoo’s eyes bulging. She felt completely lost and out of the world.

Lights indoors were of golden bulbs, allowing them to mimic rays of outdoor sunshine. The marble walls and floors were waxed and polished, so clean that she could see her reflection staring back at her. Each empty room she passed was beyond spacious, with high ceilings, top grade furniture, and seemed a waste of space with no one tending to them. This manor was superbly large, built from first grade construction material, and even bigger than Jongin’s home. It definitely belonged to some rich monster.

“Madam, the guests have arrived,” the housemaid spoke politely when they turned into a waiting room. Namjoo watched the housemaid shuffle by before she turned and felt her blood run cold. dropped open in shock, noises became drowned out by the thundering of her heart, and eyes widened. A bombshell exploded overhead, her hands trembled, and knees threatened to give way.

Namjoo was violently jolted awake, forgetting the earlier argument with Jongin as she stared at the formidable Aunt comfortably sitting in her chair like a queen. How?! her insides screamed.

The elder woman was aged, her face sunken, her cheekbones tauter, and her fashion of the highest fashion brand. And the way she stared back told Namjoo she knew just who she was.

In the village the woman had owned a tiny farm house with broken windows they often boarded up with pieces of wood to keep the insects out. Beds old and blankets smelly. There hadn’t been enough to pass around, so Namjoo and her brother slept on self-made pillows from old shirts and pants. Blankets were old curtains with holes and mothballs. They had shared the smallest room, had meals on the floor because the table wasn’t big enough, and ate with their hands because they were told some thief had stolen spoons and forks but the family had had utensils.

Now the home was some high rise building with a security alarm, wide windows, rich unused rooms, and service provided by hired housekeepers.

A sense far beyond what betrayal really was shot a bullet through Namjoo’s wounded heart.

The aunt and her family were in no village. They lived a life of comfort without ever seeking her and Joohwan out.

On the walls certificates and graduation diplomas sat plastered behind glass frames, proudly establishing the family honor that Namjoo and Joohwan had never been a part of.

Jongin, without invitation, comfortably sunk into the empty couch beside her and extended his hand out for the envelope Secretary Hong carried. And instead of the husband, the secretary supported her from the side so she wouldn’t collapse.

~~~~~

“I’ll first introduce myself so I won’t look like I’ve intruded on your family affair,” Jongin coolly started, “and in case you think I’m trespassing on family grounds without any rights. I am Namjoo’s husband, this, Secretary Hong, today is my witness in the case that I may need a lawyer in the certain future. Should I call you Aunt? Or Mrs. Kim?”

Defensive the woman demanded, “What do you want?”

Raising a brow, Jongin nodded and immediately pulled papers out of the orange envelope. Crossing his legs he calmly shook his feet and propped his elbow up onto the arm of the couch then rubbed his temple. “I have in papers here that this house was built by an architect you hired nine years ago.”

“Yes.”

“How did you get the money?” Jongin glanced up interrogatively at the elder woman whose Namjoo’s eyes hadn’t yet left.

Her heart trembled in madness and pain while she listened to Jongin interrogate the aunt. He was going to nail her. He was going to make her fess up and apologize for the mistreatment his mother, Namjoo, and Joohwan had to bear.

“I don’t think that’s your business. Please leave.” She ordered. “I will not tolerate rude guests.”

“I looked at your bank records and in the past 13 years you received quite a sum from an anonymous account, would you care to explain from who it was? And why you received that money?”

The woman’s face constricted now upset by him. “I will call the cops if you don’t leave.”

“Go ahead, ma’am,” he urged. “If you pick up your phone, I’ll correctly assume that you’re hiding something.”

The woman’s expression twisted and gripped her hand into a fist. “Is it money you want?”

“I don’t need money, ma’am,” remaining completely indifferent Jongin pressed on, “according to some research, I already know where the money came from and for what its purpose was.”

Namjoo’s aunt was more stubborn than he’d expected.

Holding his head up high Jongin said, “When Namjoo and her brother left your home, why didn’t you look for them?”

“Why is it my responsibility to look after some scoundrels? They weren’t my children, they had nothing to do with me.” the woman’s eyes shifted over to Namjoo and Jongin saw hatred. “Some parentless kids who’ve been abandoned were only a waste of space and food, and they did nothing but cry! Why would I keep them?”

Jongin glanced at Namjoo through the corner of his eyes. She was relatively frozen, unmoved but staring hard at the aunt she’d lived with.

“They were minors.” Jongin said with eyes turning fierce. “The money you received was meant to support, clothe, and send them to school. I’m asking you again, what did you do with it?”

“I won’t answer you. I have the right to keep my silence.”

His patience wouldn’t hold much longer with this woman.

“Then we can go to court and settle this,” Jongin stated keeping his anger at bay, “hear that, Secretary Hong? Please contact Attorney Cha to prepare materials for court. We’re going to sue for embezzlement of funds and child neglect.”

Kim Hyeja’s eyes widened. Jumping up from her seat at once she screamed, “You can’t! You won’t!”

Stuffing the papers of the bank records into the orange envelope Jongin stood to his feet, “I will and I can. The right of the money belongs to Namjoo and her brother. This house is rightfully theirs. What you took from them,” his voice shook, “I’ll make you pay it back four folds!”

“Namjoo!” the aunt turned to her, begging. “Don’t you forget that I let you live in my home. You and your brother ate my food and my money! Do you remember your little sickly cousin? The money for her medicine all went to food you and your brother devoured in my house! Don’t you feel bad for her? I never told you and your brother to run away. I was going to take care of you once things got better. Don’t you know how hard times were in that tiny village? Don’t tell me you don’t remember. You can’t do this to me right now. Not after so long when I finally managed to give my children a better life. You understand me, don’t you? Don’t you have children? Look, if you wait just a few hours more, your cousins will be back from university. Wait and see how big they’ve gotten, how successful they finally are. When you have children of your own too, you’ll know how hard it is to be a mother. I was all alone, too, like your mother but I never left you. Namjoo, please. If you want, I can also give you some money. You and Joohwan both.”

Gritting his teeth, Jongin turned to look at Namjoo silently hoping she would have enough wrath to fight back, take what was rightfully hers. Because he so much wanted to punish the woman who had allowed her to leave home, resort to an orphanage for food, and suffer while making sure her sibling had what she hadn’t. And he wanted to return the money their mother put so much effort into sending to the village in hopes that Namjoo and Joohwan would lead good lives. Most of all, he wanted to fix a part of her wounded heart not in hopes of looking good to her, but in hopes that she would make peace with her mother.

As if hit by a bat, Namjoo’s face was flooded with a blankness from the shock of what just traveled through her ears. She didn’t move nor did she say anything. After a second she just turned and walked out. Jongin’s eyes turned to follow her then turned to Secretary Hong, “Get in touch with Attorney Cha.” and hurried after Namjoo.

She was down the driveway when he reached the front doors and with haste, entered the car. Driving slowly after her he called out, “Get in the car, Namjoo.”

“Leave me alone.” she muttered.

Jongin didn’t know for how long he drove after Namjoo at zero miles per hour or how many cars honked at him from behind and called him names, but he followed her all the way to a waterway. When she finally sat quietly on the grass and stared out at the horizon he parked and left the car. He wanted to go near her and if she cried, he would comfort her but he found it difficult to approach her. Standing far from her he watched regretfully when she buried her face into her hands and her body shook as she sobbed.

***Namjoo has a bitter past that leaves a lot of anguish in her heart :(

***I miss this story ;; I think about it all the time. I never really liked Kai and Namjoo together but I think I secretly like them just as much as HunJoo. Here's me silently shipping notp's