My small lips covered with gloss, eye lids touched with an earthy brown and cheek bones outlined slightly in a soft blush, I looked like Erika Lee version 2.0. I was on my twelfth outfit of the day, long black suede pants with a netted long sleeved top in which my black brassiere could prominently be seen through. The photographer asked me to turn my back towards him and tilt my face suggestively to the side, in order to show the low v cut at the back. 

‘Ok, give me more expressions,” the photographer said. I did as I was told and slightly moved my head and face muscles, playing with the light which shone from above. A few more standing and sitting shots, some where I lay down and was shot from above, and I was finished. My limbs ached from holding positions for too long and my skin was hot from constantly being placed under the artificial lighting, but for what I lacked in skill I was going to make up for with effort. These small pains were nothing I couldn’t handle. Happy with all the shots, the editor popped by the studio to tell me that it would be released sometime next month then had me on my way home. The movement of the car lulled me quickly to sleep.

There was not a single trace of Ji Yong around the house when I awoke the next morning, and the days went by like that. Somehow, we always missed each other. A few texts here and there, calls that lasted for little over five minutes, and that was all I could be satisfied with for the time being. Funny isn’t it, I moved thousands and thousands of miles in order to stay together, yet it feels as if there’s this humungous wall between the two of us now.

I awoke on a beautiful Friday once day to a note on my pillow. On it was an address and a time, along with a sweet ‘I Love You’ at the bottom. I smiled at that, and my eyelids heavily fell once again over my tired eyes. I’ve been having only three to four hours’ worth of sleep lately, so I was thankful that I finally got my day off today. There wasn’t even any energy left in me to remember my dreams.

It was seven at night, and with a little cocktail dress gifted to me by one of the designer’s I had a pleasure of meeting a few days earlier, I felt rejuvenated and my body was tingling with excitement as I got into the sedan. Hae Jin had offered to drive me to the meeting place, in a nice area south of the Han River, and I was only glad that I didn’t have to go around the block looking for a free cab in pumps.

“Is it a special occasion?” he asked me on the drive there.

“We haven’t had a date in a while…” I said. “But it’s officially our third anniversary today.”

“Already? Congratulations nuna!”

“Thank you.” Time does fly quite quickly, I realized. Another milestone has passed in our relationship, and now I was engaged, living in South Korea and trying my best at a career path which I had never thought possible. I smooth down the front of my dress, stiff and long-sleeved to fight against the night chill despite the fact that my legs were bare from my mid-thigh. It was a plain off-white colour, to fit perfectly with my make up, so that focus fell on my bright coloured Louboutins that I fell in love with on my first month in London. It was a small conciliation prize I bought for myself upon arrival.

A valet opened the car door for me in front of a small building, made up of an eclectic mixture of glass and bricks which had been decorated in fairy light for what seemed like a special event. I glanced around nervously, unsure whether I was in the right place. I was expecting a quiet restaurant or a small bar but not a private house party of socialites. The concierge asked for my name, and as soon as Ji Yong’s name escaped my lips he had one of the waiter’s me inside and up the stairs onto a platform which jutted out of the house and gave a direct view of the city. It was a beautiful sight, and I would’ve happily taken it in had it not been for the group of people which lounged in front of me on the white leather sofa. Men with more piercings on their ears than I thought possible, some wearing loosened suits and others carrying their own unique fashion styles, sat around casually, sounds of chatter and the constant clinking of glass imminent. Two or three half-drunk girls leaned against them. The table in front was littered with expensive alcohol in all its shapes and sizes along with two or three ash trays half full of dead cigarette stubs, and that was more than enough to light the warning bells in my head telling me to turn around and get out of here.

I consciously shifted my skirt down, aware that some of their eyes had moved onto the unknown figure which just arrived in their midst, and prepared to leave when the slurring speech of someone familiar caught my attention.

“Ri Ah,” he said. I almost believe that I heard wrong.

“Ri Ah-ya,” Ji Yong’s voice called out again. My eyes searched around and fell towards him, in the middle of all the wretchedness that was going on, with two fingers of whisky in his hand. With little effort, he rose from the couch and walked towards me to the dismay of his friends. From the way Ji Yong’s eyes never left mine, I was glad that he was not completely drunk. Not yet at least.

“What’s going on?” I asked him, my voice as grave as I could make it. The effect was minimal, because he didn’t answer and instead placed his hand on the small of my back to lead me towards the awaiting crowd.

“Guys meet Erika, my fiancé,” Ji Yong said. I was taken aback by his announcement. What, were we proclaiming this to the world now? The reaction was a little mixed. Some choked on their drinks in surprise, others congratulated us immediately, while a good few just kept silent with little expressions on their faces. To the ones that offered me their hand, I smiled politely and asked for their names. This was a gentleman’s club, I finally realized after hearing their backgrounds and associations to Ji Yong; a place where those who made more than a couple of millions a year came together to flaunt their money and display their prestige. There was no doubt Ji Yong was one of them, but I never imagined he was the type of person to like to bask in his wealth. He was an artist; the money just luckily came along with his occupation.

Ji Yong sat down on the couch and then pulled me onto his lap where he put one hand around my waist and the other on my thigh to the joy of his ‘friends’ who cat called. I looked at him, bewildered. What had gotten into him? We were an affectionate couple that much I couldn’t deny, but the both of us kept in private and I liked it that way. As ironic as this sounded, considering his occupation, our love wasn’t for public display.

“Ya, what’d you do to get her? Give her your royalties?” a voice called out from opposite the table.

“She’s hot man!” another said.

“How much did you pay the plastic surgeon to give her that face!?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Ji Yong joked back. I sat frozen on his lap throughout this entire ordeal, completely speechless. I didn’t know what to think. Never in my life did I imagine myself placed in a position where I was turned into something so insignificant; like an object. Trying to hold my temper I turned to look at Ji Yong who still had a goofy grin on his face, except this time it did little to please me.

“What are we doing here?” I asked him, between gritted teeth.

“We’re here to have fun, babe. I wanted to introduce you to my friends,” he said nonchalantly. “I wanted to show you off.” I looked at the state of the people around me, making out with what I could only assume were call girls, drinking and smoking like there was no tomorrow.

“So beautiful, what do you do?” a man in what looked like an extremely expensive suit asked from beside me.

“Hyung, she’s going to be a model. You don’t know? People are going crazy about her,” Ji Yong answered. “She wants to be famous she said, so that she can be like me.”

I tried to convince myself that it was only the alcohol talking. Then when I felt his hand reach further up my thigh, his mouth moving seductively down my jaw line, the smell of alcohol thick on his breath, I realized I was at my limit. A part of me wanted to punch him, but that came with a black eye which he might need explaining for at the company tomorrow, so I just got off his lap and walked out. In this state, Ji Yong wasn’t even worth talking to.

I could barely see where I was walking, my vision blurry with tears of anger and frustration. Who was that man upstairs? Where the hell is the adoring and sweet Ji Yong I knew? Seeing the familiar front door with the concierge, I blindly walked towards my escape and was a little relieved to feel the cold night wind hitting my face as the doors opened.

“Taxi…” I mumbled to the man, and he nodded in understanding. 

AN: Exam period guys... expect the next one in a week maybe. Depends how I do with my studying... Thanks again everyone!!