Title: Black and Gold (2/?)
Pairing/s: Luda/Dawon, OT13 and a lot of side pairings
A/N: this cra!au grew as a story with multiple plot lines/pairings and POVs revolving around Luda/Dawon, so yes, let's keep the drama coming. i'm also still very slowly working on the rest of my longer fics so please wait on that, too.      coherent story-telling? huh? beta? what beta? i don't have time for that.

CSJ

On the second floor of the Sono Felice Country clubhouse, Chu Sojung is seated on a upholstered ivory fabric and walnut and oak dining chair, sipping her steaming mug of civet coffee. Past the viewing windows, her vision stretches to a vivid landscape of trees and rolling hills. She watches two stallions gracefully trot side-by-side, one with snow white coat and the other a classic gold Palomino.

It’s spring already, and spring means she should be in Japan for the cherry blossoms and not stuck watching horses in Vivaldi Park.

Not that she’s complaining. Equestrian gave her many firsts—her first sport, her first dislocated knee. It was on this spot more than ten years ago that she met her first friend in Seoul: the quiet Kim Hyunjung who turned out to be the youngest daughter of the oldest real estate family in the country, her first and last horse, a temperamental Friesian black stallion, Midnight, who got too playful and almost kicked her small head off her neck, and her first heartbreak, since her mother had the poor horse shipped back to Russia the very next day (that didn’t stop her from hanging out with Hyunjung, though).

Sojung moved on to music next, needing something her parents could brag about during gatherings (aside from the fact that she’s playmates with Kim Hyunjung). The thing was, Sojung was the most talented kid the family had seen in generations; piano, violin, cello—even singing, she was good in everything. She was a fast-learner, witty, creative, and very sociable. Every kid in school knew her. Most kids in nearby schools knew her as well. She liked a lot of things and was good in all of them.

She had gotten too good and all over the place nobody knew where to put her. Between her older sister, who just graduated on the top of her class from Stanford, and her genius younger brother, everyone said Chu Sojung would be the last person to inherit the family business.

But when her brother left for the military, what should be a temporary space to fill became a permanent job. The stars burst with light, the planets aligned. She loved being surrounded by people, had a knack for marketing cars, and with a of luck, it turned out that her brother despised the business. Flash forward several years later, Sojung easily became her father’s, and CGen Motors' right hand.

Better to invest in cars than horses, if you ask her.

At least they won’t kick you in the face when you’re not looking.

She turns back to the scene outside the windows. Everything is picturesque; the riders and their beautiful bodylines, the sophisticated custom-tailored velvet show coat, black over Hyunjung’s white turtleneck and white over Dawon’s burgundy turtleneck. The Pikuer Ciara Coriander breeches. The Parlanti dressage boots.

“Wow. So elegant,” she says, framing them with her hands, “like a scene out of a movie.”

“Hyunjung unnie is something. She and Dawon look like royalties,” Kim Jiyeon agrees. She sits opposite Sojung, grabbing the served iced Americano.

“I meant the horse,” Sojung laughs. She looks up and down Jiyeon’s white satin turtleneck dress and the red trench coat that the staff takes from her shoulders. “Miracle’s doing a lot better ever since Hyunjung unnie decided to come back here at least twice a month.”

Jiyeon slaps her on the arm so hard it almost knocks the mug out of her hand. “You won’t believe how persuasive Dawon can be. She even convinced Dayoung to take up the sport soon,” Her awry smile turns cheeky. She looks outside and waves to Hyunjung and Dawon, who wave back, “Guess who booked me for early 2020?”

Sojung tries to think but the memory jumps right in front of her. She sits up straight, “Your meeting with the writer and director from SKY Castle was today?”

Jiyeon eyes the several slices of assorted cake and pastries spread out on the table. She reaches for a slice of Black Forest on her left and leaves Sojung hanging. Acting goddess be damned, with her back-to-back tear-jerking Daesang-winning performances in Girls’ Generation 1979 (2017) and Your House Helper (2018), the last time Sojung checked, Jiyeon was sitting pretty on the 9th spot of 2018 Korea Power Celebrity list right under Suzy. “I’m neither confirming nor denying anything. I just said I’m booked.” Jiyeon waves her fork, “anyway, Jisoo told me she saw Soobin on her way out of the Millennium this morning. You wouldn’t happen to know why she was there, would you?”

Sojung forces a laugh, “No? Why would I?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone,” Jiyeon smiles in her coffee. "Different hotels, huh."

“Absolutely not. Listen—”

“It’s fine, Sojung. You’re getting too defensive it’s cute.”

Sojung’s expression drops. She grabs her phone and types, but stops midway. No, she wouldn’t be the one to succumb this time. “Okay, why are you even here? Aren’t you supposed to be having your shopping splurges in Paris this time of the year?”

“My shopping buddy's so busy these days we barely even talk. Last I heard of Xuan Yi, she was excited to dethrone the current tallest building in Beijing.”

“Doesn’t her father own the current tallest building in Beijing?” Sojung asks, quizzically.

“Typical family drama, I guess,” Jiyeon shrugs, popping another slice of chocolate cake. She leans away from her seat and looks around, “No Luda today?”

“How would I know? You’ve been hanging out with Luda more than me these days.”

“It’s not my fault you’re out of the country five days a week. Dawon’s been bringing her everywhere,” Jiyeon takes a heavy pause. “She doesn’t hate you, by the way.”

“I really hope she doesn’t,” Sojung sighs.

In the distance, the show continues, the stallions prancing, their riders pausing every now and then to engage in conversations. Sojung drains the last of her coffee. It’s been a month since Jeju, and Dawon might act like nothing happened but Sojung knows her too well to sense the disappointment. She was on the last leg of her Caribbean cruise, three days before Jeju, when Dawon called. Sojung was a little past tipsy, clinking glasses with Thai royalties and high-profile socialites from Singapore. When she woke up the next day, all she remembered about what Dawon said was her girlfriend’s name is Lee Luda and some heavy academic credentials.

She called people up, but Hyunjung was adamant on refusing to give an opinion about Luda until Sojung meets her, and Soobin sounded overly-confident when she said Luda is a literal nobody that Sojung thought she was being sarcastic. Of course, how in the world would Dawon have a girlfriend who’s not going to inherit a corporation or doesn't have a blinding string of digits attached to her name?

Sojung apologized to both Dawon and Luda before the day ended. It was an honest mistake, but the damage was already done. They started off in the wrong foot and everything after that was just a mess of awkward walking. Waddling, even, like a toddler’s first steps; treading carefully because ten years ago, during the financial crisis, aside from Hyunjung’s family, it was Dawon’s family who helped pave the way for CGen Motors.

As it turns out, everyone was actually okay with Luda. A level above the tolerable okay because she’s cute, adorable, and has a winning personality.

“Well, Dawon’s already wealthy enough for both of them. At the very least, Lee Luda sounds like a rich name.” Sojung grins, but she could feel something in her hollow out. Maybe her gut instinct sliding out of place.

Jiyeon sterns her with a look, “Not funny.”

“I think it’s hilarious. The way things are getting bad, everyone’s pointing fingers at Luda,” Sojung begins. “Yeoreum and Yeonjung could care less about some stocks diving because of the abundance of their blue-chips, but others are worried. When Schwans almost pulled out from SsonHotels last week Juyeon asked help from her eldest sister. You remember the one managing an entire casino tower in Macau? OMMedia from CJ Group, too. Soobin was seething. I just know she went nuts during the board meeting.”

“Isn’t OMMedia one of CJ Group’s biggest investors?”

“The biggest one. I have no idea about their deal but Soobin said their youngest son believed he had a shot at marrying Dawon in ten years if he allied himself with the CJ Group.”

“I don’t run companies like you do. I’m just an actress but I wish the rest of them are as unbothered as you are.”

“Pft. Just an actress, my . You're a household name and you make what, say nearly forty million won per episode? We’re not even counting endorsements yet,” Sojung forks on a slice of vanilla sponge cake. “From what I've been hearing, aside from Dawon, you spend the most time with Luda. What do you think about her?”

Jiyeon sweeps her hair to one side and adjusts her dress, “I think Dawon dating Luda shouldn’t even be an issue in the first place. Luda is a nice person. She’s making an effort to do good by all of you. You should give her a fair shot.”

Sojung shrugs. Like Soobin, her biggest worry is Dawon making the right choices for herself. Everything feels too rushed and the timing is almost impeccable. Dawon, who was seldom seen in social events, has outed herself to the upper echelon by constantly showing up in galas and functions with Luda in hand. When they went as VVIPS in a private function in Beijing that shocked even Xuan Yi and Yeoreum, it raised a lot of question marks.

The sharp look in Luda's eyes doesn’t help either. There's something in it that's equal parts of cold and calculating that puts Sojung at a constant state of unease, because not only has Luda managed to charm nearly everyone, she also has Dawon wrapped around her fingers. At this early stage, she’s right smack in the middle of their circle, in the most strategic place in the world, playing the role of Dawon’s beloved.

Even Hyunjung, who has always been aloof and wary of new people, who has never welcomed a stranger with open arms, had melted, turned so