Chapter 7: I killed Peter Pan

“Tink was not all bad: or, rather, she was all bad just now, but, on the other hand, sometimes she was all good. Fairies have to be one thing or the other because being so small they unfortunately have room for one feeling only at a time. They are, however, allowed to change, only it must be a complete change.” 

- J.M. Barrie

*

I had somehow fallen asleep on the couch and when I woke up Seung-Hyun was gone without a word – just like Ji Yong. He had covered me with a comforter and even bandaged my ankle. His wet clothes were still lying on the floor in my walk-in-closet and I decided to wash them in the case he demanded them back, they seemed expensive. While washing them, I thought about what had happened the previous day, going through every single conversation. But the more I thought about it the more confused I got. My gaze fell on the bandaged foot, walking wasn’t painful so I figured it was just a light sprain that would heal soon.

Such a gesture from him troubled me. It was still unclear whether he wanted to sell me to a brothel or not, but I slowly started to believe he didn’t want to sell me anywhere. In fact, it didn’t seem like he wanted to hurt me at all. But then again, what if he was only playing mind games with me? What if he was just waiting for the right moment to reveal his true nature? Even though I am safe today everything could change tomorrow.

Then what about Ji Yong? Where was he now and what was his relationship with Seung-Hyun? And did he even know about Daesung and Seung-Hyun following me? Why were they always following me, anyway? What about Paradise Kiss? What kind of place was it exactly and would I really meet Ji Yong there? Just what in the name of is going on and do I even want to find out?

Only then it crossed my mind to actually search Seung-Hyun on the Internet. After hanging the clothes to dry, I grabbed my laptop and made myself comfortable on the couch, resting my feet on the coffee table. Let’s see…

It turned out Seung-Hyun was fairly famous. Okay, it was not a big surprise taking in account his face and body, I expected him to be ‘an ullzzang’ the least. But he was so much more. He was a chaebol – the only son of the owner of one of the biggest business conglomerates of South Korea. He even had a fan club.

Damn, should actually be honored of the fact that his royal has touched the pillows of my couch?

After browsing through a few bull interviews, I learned that Seung-Hyun’s hobby was to collect books and work out at the gym. Keeping in shape was the most important thing for him. But collecting books? Did it mean he just collected them or did he read them too? And if no, then why would he collect them in the first place? See, the more you find out about him the more confused you get!

The next thing that piqued my interest was his taste in women, he preferred a good sense of humor and laid back attitude instead of good looks. He preferred someone imperfect because he wasn’t perfect either – insert a modest chuckle here – and he wanted to meet someone who would embrace him as he was. A erted confusing jerk? Good luck with that!

“I’m not looking for a princess. A fairy would be much more interesting”, I read his comment aloud. Strange…

Seung-Hyun worked for his father in the finance department – not a big surprise. He had graduated with international trade degree from Harvard in just four years. He admitted to being ‘such a nerd’ back in the days.  “I wasn’t this handsome then, just a skinny nerd with no friends.” His comment made me cringe because once again I was reminded of Ji Yong. But WHY?! Someone, please tell me why?!

What surprised me was that he actually had a fiancée, but then I thought back at the photo I had seen on his bedside table. I shouldn’t have been so surprised. He was rich, successful and handsome so no doubt he would also be taken. And his fiancée was a fashion model, Choi Mina. She was hot lately, her face was everywhere on the covers of fashion magazines, the TV, all over the Internet and billboards. Wow, this Seung-Hyun guy has it going pretty well for him.

Right after high school, he was admitted to Harvard; four years later at the age of 23, he came back holding a master’s degree and then went straight to the army. At the age of 25, he started working at his father’s company and that’s also when he got engaged, now he was 27 years old. Only two years older than me.

He is not a man but a monster! How in the world did he pull that? A master’s degree in 4 years? Is that even possible? Apparently, it was. He must have studied like there is no tomorrow…

Suddenly my respects for Seung-Hyun rose. He hadn’t started working at the top tier of the company but from the bottom and swiftly moved up the ladder. Internet was full of success stories about him and he didn’t seem to have any haters. Then again, who would hate such a handsome man, anyway?

His public image was perfect and that made him seem even more suspicious; because no one can be perfect. It was hard to dig any dirt on him and all I could find was just some articles about him being a playboy, it wasn’t much of a flaw. Heck, if I was him I’d be a playboy too. On his fan club site, there was a list of clubs where he would be much likely seen, a collection of his likes and dislikes, photos, fanfiction and bunch of other crap I didn’t care about. And for all that I had to make an account…

It was only later when I realized that there were no photos or information about his childhood. The earliest articles were from the time when he came back to Korea from Harvard. And he never spoke about his past, no one asked him about it either. Maybe no one cared? Or was there another reason for him to act secretive about it? All perfect people had some kind of dirty secret from the past and I was sure about Seung-Hyun having one too. Damn, let’s not get too curious, it’s Ji Yong I’m interested in, not Seung-Hyun.  For me Seung-Hyun was only a tool to get to Ji Yong, that’s all. Right?

*

In the late afternoon, on my way to the old lady’s restaurant I was stopped by a random man who asked for directions. While I was explaining to him how to find the place, a car with tinted windows parked on the curb and suddenly I was lying on the backseat with a rug covering my mouth and nose. Then I out.

Can you believe what just happened?

In the broad daylight, I was kidnapped in the most movie-like manner. And why would anyone want to kidnap me? Maybe three weeks ago no one would have wanted to but now everything was different.

I dreamed about Ji Yong, perhaps because I had been thinking about him a lot lately. Going back to our first meeting, back then he was this small and feeble little boy hiding behind his mother’s legs. He was quiet and reserved at first but once he got used to me and my father he opened up. And what a beautiful little boy he was, always smiling happily, always positive and friendly. It’s a pity that back then I didn’t appreciate any of those qualities. And when I started to appreciate him for who he was he changed into a rude bastard who never smiled.

We used to share the same room when we were kids, starting from when I was five and he was four. We’d sleep on futons next to each other. Though, at first, I ordered him to move his futon to the other side of the room because I was used to sleeping alone and his presence bothered me. But Ji Yong often saw nightmares and woke up crying in the middle of the night. It was irritating, but I also pitied him because he would make such a miserable face. Eventually, I moved my futon next to his and held his hand