47
Their Kingdom Panorama
/\_____/\
“This? This is all I got?” Donghae glanced at the small packet of candy in his hand.
Pouting, he tossed it onto the couch and picked it up after a second.
“That idiot, seriously.” he mumbled before throwing himself onto the couch then sat up. “But what am I doing thinking about this? Ahh! Lee Donghae!”
Throwing both hands up he ruffled up his own hair crazily.
“No,” he told himself. “What am I going to do about So Rae, though?”
Running back into his thoughts he wondered if she’d gotten angry with him. She’d been super silent on the ride to her home and hadn’t said a word. Or was she angry that she’d seen Kyuhyun and Victoria together on the balcony during work hours?
“Yes, she’s probably angry because of that,” Donghae nodded and sighed before laying down on the luxurious couch. “If I’m not supposed to be on Victoria’s side, which I am absolutely not, then in what way am I supposed to talk to her? Maybe So Rae likes me, that’s why she doesn’t want me to befriend Victoria.”
Donghae muffled a laugh to himself before suddenly becoming quiet.
“Seriously, Donghae,” he told himself, “what are you going to do?”
“Yes, I like you. Is it so hard to believe that these dumb words are actually coming out of my mouth?” she asked.
“You can’t like Victoria,” So Rae stated.
“What are you thinking?” Donghae asked himself aloud before curling up on the couch.
/\_____/\
“Saying that…is kind of rough,” Donghae told, “at least you have a mother to be angry about. I never had one to begin with, so I don’t know how it feels. I’d say, having a mother to hate is much better than not having one. You won’t know how lonely it feels sometimes.”
How could what Donghae had said sound so similar to the words Victoria had shot at her?
Opening the window in her room, So Rae stared out at the full moon.
/\_____/\
Folding up the dry scarf carefully she laid it carefully into the box she’d especially bought for it. Before placing the lid on it she turned to glance at the bag full of candies her father had bought for her.
“Maybe that jerk wanted some more,” Victoria thought then reached for another pack of the candy.
After a slight moment Victoria reached for another pack of the candy and strung a ribbon through it.
/\_____/\
When So Rae opened the door that morning she heard a light “clank” against her door. Spinning around she looked around to discover a small bag of candy hanging on her doorknob. A frown creased her face as she reached for it.
When she headed downstairs she sighted Victoria eating joyfully with her dad. Turning her face away from them she walked in to join them at the table. It suddenly became silent as she picked up her chopsticks.
“Did you have a good sleep?” Victoria greeted.
So Rae didn’t respond. She wanted to hear her father greet her first. From the corner of her eyes she could see Victoria glance at her before eating the rest of her breakfast coolly.
As the first to finish her breakfast, So Rae walked up the stairs to grab her bag and after a long moment of debate grabbed the candy she’d tossed aside. When she opened the front door she found Kyuhyun walking across the lawn. That cheery smile was always on his face recently. She felt a bit bitter about the fact about how he never showed it to her.
“Morning!” he called with a small wave.
“You don’t have to greet me.”
“Why not?” he asked stopping by her. “I’m moving over to my father’s company next week.”
So Rae looked up at him feeling somewhat disheartened hearing it.
He playfully flicked her forehead.
“Ah!” she moaned.
Kyuhyun smiled, “We can still meet up for lunch. Just let me knew beforehand.”
“Why would you want to have lunch with me?” she wondered. “I probably won’t be as entertaining as your future bride.”
Kyuhyun’s face became flat expressionless before he smiled again, “Whoever said that? I think you’re fun. It’s just that no one knows you.”
“Is it?” So Rae questioned half turning away. “You sound almost like someone I know.”
“Who?”
“He’s a nobody,” So Rae replied.
“Oh, I see your ride’s out there waiting,” Kyuhyun commented, “he’s always pretty early.”
So Rae muttered a small smile before walking off. When she opened the gate door she spotted Donghae’s car parked by the side waiting silently for her.
“Do you really have to be so punctual with the time?” she wondered.
/\_____/\
“What are you doing here?” Victoria asked surprised to see Kyuhyun standing by the front door.
“Waiting for you.”
“Why?” Victoria asked.
“So we can head to the office together.”
“I was planning to ride with my father this morning.”
“Oh really?”
“No, no. You two go ahead together. It’s more important for Victoria to be going with you instead of me,” President Bang explained.
“Then we’re heading off,” Kyuhyun waved.
Victoria frowned at him before following him across the lawn and down the stone stairs.
“Is there some kind of special occasion this morning?” Victoria wondered.
“No,” he answered, “I just want to spend some time with you before I start working for my father next week. My career as a loiterer is now over.”
“You’ve finally got a real job?” Victoria’s eyes went wide. “Well, isn’t that good for you?”
“So this is your reaction?”
“Huh?”
He chuckled then opened the door for her, “It’s nothing. Get in.”
Victoria half frowned at him before getting in.
When she got up to the 5th floor she found Donghae sitting on the couch in the corner.
“That’s strange. You’re not at my desk this morning,” Victoria commented, “are you in a good mood today?”
He glanced at her silently.
Victoria smiled, “I’ll take it as a no.”
Sitting down on her chair she turned her computer on and stretched her arms out.
“You’re not up to anything tomorrow, are you?” she curiously asked.
“Why? Do you have something tricks up your sleeve you want to share with me?”
“No.” Victoria turned back around with a secret smile.
Before promising to meet up with Kyuhyun for lunch, Victoria made a trip down to the mail room. When she dropped off the envelopes into a white bin, she headed back out and stopped abruptly in the hallway when one of the men called out her name. Spinning around she glanced at one of the half bald man and found him almost familiar.
“It’s polite to greet an elder first,” he told with a smile.
If he was scolding her, Victoria didn’t know it. She nodded and greeted him.
“You don’t remember me?” he questioned.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I do.” Victoria said.
“I’m your father’s right hand man, Park Mung Soo. I’m somewhat like your uncle,” he explained.
“Ah…I remember,” Victoria nodded.
She watched him silently wondering what he wanted from her. He didn’t seem like the original kind of nice uncle she’d see anywhere. As a delinquent she’d often been able to distinct the bad from the good and this guy seemed like one of the mysterious bad ones. But he was her father’s right hand man…
He took a step toward her, the two man behind him watching carefully. They looked like a mob, she found herself thinking.
“You’re the one who called for the cops, right?”
“Excuse me?”
His voice sounded raspy, dangerous. “Bang In Tak, So Rae’s dead uncle, the one you discovered in the courtyard.”
“Yes…that was me…” Victoria suddenly began wondering if she should have told him that.
Mung Soo smile looked more like a sneer, “What a coincidence it is that you’re actually In Tak’s niece.”
Victoria stared into his eyes.
“I heard there was a necklace you received on site,” Mung Soo went on, “does your father have it?”
“Why?” Victoria asked cautiously.
“I’m just wondering if it’s in safe hands. It’s an expensive piece,” Mung Soo explained. “It can either help you or me benefit in the future.”
“I’m not sure. I thought So Rae had it,” Victoria honestly replied. “But…why would it be a fortune for you or me?”
“Maybe sometime in the future you’ll understand what I mean,” Mung Soo smiled before patting her arm. “Lets leave it at that for now.”
Victoria turned to watch as the man paced down the hallway with his two scary looking men following.
“What was that about?” she wondered.
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