25
Their Kingdom Panorama
He looked up at her to find that she was avoiding him by keeping her head down and pretending to concentrate on the pamphlet she was folding up. Donghae thought it was a silly move, but didn’t say anything afraid that he might shatter her ‘cool act’.
“What night?” he asked playing stupid.
Victoria looked up at him with a frown and when he looked at her she turned her head back down.
“The soju tent when I was drinking,” Victoria told, “I found the extra cash in my wallet.”
“Ah…that?” Donghae nodded his head. “Of course, because I’m cool that way. Now you have to agree that I’m handsome, right?”
“Handsome? Where?” she asked still not looking up.
“Such a poor sport,” he muttered then cleared his throat. “Yes, I paid for you Miss Song.”
“Then…when we get our first pay I’ll treat you out to a drink,” she suggested.
“What?” he asked surprised with her offer. “No, don’t even worry about it!”
“Why?” she looked up at him confused about why he seemed so panicked.
“Nothing,” he denied still scared about how he’d been caught off guard by her that night in the car. “Lets just go eat some street snacks together then. It feels better that way.”
“Is it?” she eyed him before leaning back in her chair. “Did something happen that night?”
“What?” he asked shocked by her question. “Nothing! I told you nothing!”
“Really? How come I don’t remember anything?” she seemed to be asking herself.
“You were heavily drunk,” he nodded his head lying.
Victoria raised an eyebrow at him before continuing her work.
He looked up at her with a smirk growing on his face. If only she wasn’t so mean and was a little bit more like So Rae he was sure maybe he’d appreciate her more. So Rae’s office door opened and she stepped out. Donghae turned around to look at her.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“You can get off work early,” she didn’t answer his question then walked pass him.
Victoria watched as Donghae’s head turned to see her go.
“Hold on,” he told Victoria before getting up and following So Rae down the hallway. “Where are you going?”
So Rae didn’t reply but waited quietly for the elevator lift to arrive. He could sense that she wasn’t in a good mood. Since when had he seen her in a good mood anyway?
“I’ll drive you,” he offered.
It wasn’t that late nor was it that early, late afternoon perhaps. So Rae sat silently in the back of the car staring out at the boring scenery they were passing. She hadn’t spoken about a destination even though he’d asked her like 5 times already.
Donghae cleared his throat and the radio.
“Turn it off,” So Rae ordered.
He turned it off and drove on in quiet silence feeling the bumpy streets shakily rock him back and forth in his seat. Stepping on the brake he stared ahead at the red lights trying to discreetly stare into his rearview mirror.
“You said I could talk to you if I have problems,” So Rae began, “so where is a good place to talk?”
“Eh?” he asked surprised that she’d even taken his words into consideration.
/\_____/\
Donghae didn’t return and Victoria found herself sitting there bored with no one to talk to. They’d been having the perfect conversation and she wasn’t even about to argue with him either. Lightly biting her bottom lip she glanced toward So Rae’s door worried and confused about why So Rae seemed to dislike her so much…that it even felt like she hated her.
Eyeing the ground Victoria felt a little more lonely. It felt no different from being locked up in a prison with no one to talk to. And worst yet, Donghae even seemed to have a silly crush on So Rae. It made Victoria feel more upset.
“That idiot,” she muttered.
“What?”
Looking up surprised she found Kyuhyun standing there coolly with a hand tucked in his pocket as if he were posing. She watched as he took Donghae’s seat and look at the half folded pamphlet Donghae had left behind so rudely. Victoria pressed her lips together with the hopes of forgetting that he had ever been there helping her.
“What are you doing?” Victoria asked.
He shrugged, “There was really nothing to do. I’m a specialist at loitering in this building.”
Victoria laughed at his joke.
“What’s this? Who are you doing it for?” he wondered holding up the pamphlet Donghae had left.
“A meeting.”
“Hmmm…seems to be a lot. Are you sure you can finish it up before nighttime?” he asked.
Victoria smiled and shrugged. “I had help, but seems like there was something more important to him.”
His smiled softened toward her and Victoria felt embarrassed wondering if he’d sensed her disappointment toward Donghae.
“My hands are extremely quick with these things,” he told starting to fold the paper, “I’ve had experience with these sort of thing. I’ve started helping my father do these things at the age of 2.”
“What? Nuh-uh.” Victoria denied.
He laughed, “I lied.”
“Liar, liar pants on fire,” Victoria sung.
“We used to do that all the time at school,” he pointed out.
Victoria laughed in return. Sure, maybe she didn’t know her brother-in-law very well, but he seemed extremely playful. At least he had a mindset not to ditch others, she thought while glancing toward the hallway.
/\_____/\
Donghae hurried back to the empty playground where So Rae was currently in. The sky seemed heavier now and since the kids were nowhere to be seen he guessed that dinner was getting ready to be served by mothers. Fathers were returning from work to a nice warm and comfy home full of laughter. He, on the other hand, hadn’t bothered with such thoughts. Growing up in an orphanage was pretty much growing up the same way Victoria had with her grandmother. It left him with a heart, but not much loneliness to ponder about since he’d never had anyone or been with anyone.
The rusting monkey bars started to look more dull as he walked pass it. He hadn’t remembered playing on such equipment ever. Or if he had then he’d forgotten.
“Here,” Donghae held out the warm cup of coffee to her.
So Rae grabbed it silently from him and took a small sip. The slide next to them grabbed his attention. It was…too blue, he decided.
“You probably have heard about me trying to win the business from my father or that I hate them and that I’m such a terrible person,” So Rae started off.
“I haven’t,” Donghae denied shaking his head.
She turned to look at him sternly.
“Rumors are just rumors,” he tried hoping that those words would comfort her a little.
So Rae turned from him to stare at the wavering tree branches ahead of them. Far beyond those green leaves was the falling sun. A mist of green blue sat around in the air as the white dots in the sky he’d marked down before became clearer and clearer.
“My father has never treated me like his daughter,” So Rae admitted, “and even my mother who used to be my mother isn’t around. Her gallery is more important than her own daughter.”
Donghae glanced at her feeling the bitterness flow through.
“Father searched for Victoria behind my back,” So Rae said, “I never knew about her until a friend informed me about it. And now that she’s found I’m just like a block of wood in the family.”
How was he to react?
“As you can see, I’m a very bitter person,” So Rae out rightly told, “you’ll probably never be able to understand me.”
Donghae pressed his lips together. It felt like a close friend was suddenly revealing a very surprising secret. Why did So Rae seem to be at her worse? She hadn’t seemed so bad from the start.
“I’ll never accept Victoria as my sister,” So Rae was determined, “Kyuhyun, her fiancé, was mine to begin with.”
The air above his head exploded loudly.
“What?” Donghae asked unsure if he’d heard her properly.
“Kyuhyun…” he thought he saw So Rae’s lips tremble from anger, “is supposed to be my husband. Not hers.”
/\_____/\
“Should I give you a ride home?” Kyuhyun offered outside.
Victoria contemplated his offer. So Rae had gotten in trouble with her yesterday because she hadn’t returned home with her as she said she would. If she went missing again tonight So Rae would probably get scolded by her father again.
“Sure,” Victoria replied.
She followed Kyuhyun toward the parking lot toward his car.
“Say, if you and So Rae grew up together you must know her pretty well, right?” Victoria questioned.
“Of course.”
“Then…can you tell me a few things about her?” Victoria wondered. “She seems so distant it’s kind of hard to talk to her.”
“She’s like that,” Kyuhyun commented, “but she’s not as bad as you think her to be. She’s just…”
She found him tilting his head toward the sky as if he was thinking of how to finish the rest of the sentence.
“Someone who’s deprived of love,” Kyuhyun finished before turning back to her.
“Why?”
“Lets just say that your father treats her much differently,” Kyuhyun told, “and her mother is always at her gallery. Rarely have I seen her at the house.”
“Are they divorced?” Victoria asked naively.
Kyuhyun laughed at her sudden guess, “No. I’m not sure why, but ever since her gallery opened up she’s always over there.”
“You must be close to her,” Victoria commented, “of course, you’re going to be my brother-in-law soon.”
Kyuhyun’s smile disappeared, but Victoria didn’t take note of it.
“Is there anything that So Rae unnie likes?” Victoria asked turning around when she reached the car.
“Flowers, she’s a feminine person like her mother,” Kyuhyun explained.
“Oh? How is her mother like?” Victoria asked.
“She’s…tall…you’ll see when you meet her,” Kyuhyun continued, “she’s also a bit intriguing and intimidating.”
Victoria nodded, “Doesn’t that make a person scary?”
Kyuhyun laughed as he got into his car.
“You’ll have to get to know her first,” he said.
She nodded.
When she arrived home she found that So Rae wasn’t home yet, which wasn’t very surprising.
“Victoria,” her father called her from the kitchen, “I was about to come call you.”
Victoria turned and walked toward him only to smell the scent of fresh cooked food come flying at her. He wanted to eat dinner with her. The old smile on his face never faded as he extended an arm out to take her arm. Leading her toward the table he questioned her about her day at work.
“Are we going to eat without So Rae unnie?” asked Victoria sitting down.
“I’m sure she can take care of herself,” her father assured sitting down.
“But what if she skips her meal?” Victoria asked.
Her father didn’t respond.
“Dad,” Victoria called again, “lets eat as a family tomorrow. Lets wait for So Rae to come home then eat. I’ll tell her about it, ok?”
“Ok, ok. Eat your dinner before the food gets cold,” her father told.
Nodding she did as told and after dinner she headed up to take a short shower before the idea popped up in her head. Going out to the backyard she plucked some fresh flowers from the garden and stuck them in an empty vase she found in one of the many closets around. Filling it up with water she made her way up the stairs toward So Rae’s room.
Once she stepped in she felt open in surprise at how neat and tidy her room was. Compared to hers it was much brighter thanks to the white walls and the homey lamp inside.
“So, unnie is like this too,” Victoria commented putting a hand over the teddy bear on So Rae’s bed.
Turning around she walked toward So Rae’s desk and found a picture frame of her young self and Kyuhyun standing together, smiles on their faces.
“This is cute,” she complimented, “I’ll set this here.”
“What are you doing?” So Rae’s solid voice rung through the air as Victoria placed down the vase of fresh flowers on her desk.
“Ah…unnie…” Victoria paused recalling So Rae’s warning about being called ‘unnie’. “I just wanted…”
“Get out!” So Rae scolded without hesitating.
Victoria opened to retort, “I thought some flowers would cheer you up. Because you never speak to me…”
“I said get out,” So Rae repeated.
Victoria pressed her lips together and walked out. Why was So Rae so hard to get through? Just what exactly was it that made her dislike her so much? If only So Rae would come out and tell her…
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