Bloodshed | Ryeji

24 | doubts

Yeji

"Miss Shin is waiting for you upstairs." Entering her house, two housekeepers welcomed me with a bow. I did the same, earning a smile from them.

"Follow me, Miss Hwang." I was surprised that they know who I was, but I guess Ryujin told them. After all, I told her I'd be picking her up. We headed upstairs and stopped at a white door. The housekeeper bowed to me once more then left. I took a deep breath and knocked, a sudden feeling of nervousness entering my system.

For some reason, the cold surroundings made me feel giddy. Are the ACs turned on everyday?

"Ryujin?" I slowly opened the door and took a peek, seeing her typing something on her laptop. Her body was covered with bandages, and the bruises on her face are more evident.

"Oh, hey. You're here." She immediately stood up but winced in pain. I quickly went towards her and held her sides in case she falls down.

"Slowly." I whispered. "Don't force yourself, ryu."

She chuckled and playfully pushed me away. "This sucks." She sat on her bed and looked at me. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this."

"You're still pretty, don't worry." I told her.

Geez. What am I even saying?

"You think I'm pretty?"

"Everyone thinks so." I replied.

"But do you?"

It was silence after that. She looked away, and despite only seeing half of her face covered with her locks, I knew she was hiding a smile. I didn't really give her my answer, but I do hope she knew that I do find her.... attractive.

"You should rest, ryujin. It'll do you no good if you force yourself to work in that condition. If they see you all bruised and patched up, i'm sure your employees will gossip about it."

"I don't care for what they have to say. All I care about is my work and the things needed to get done."

"Then do it here."

"You're so persistent aren't you, yeddeong?" Her little nickname made my heart jump. She caught me off guard.

"With a stubborn ryuddaeng? I surely have to keep up." I said back. "Now please just lay down and wait until you're all good. Give it a week, please?"

"I'll just send an email." She stood up once more when her legs gave up on her. I caught her in time, and I just realized how warm she is.

"Jesus, Ryujin. You're burning."

She tried to push me off once more when I carried her up and placed her on her bed myself. "Yeji—"

"I'm not having any of your stubborn self. You listen to me today." I plopped her down gently and grabbed her laptop sitting on her table. I had it placed beside her instead. I didn't want her to move around so much.

"Yeji, I'm fine." She started. "I can manage. I'm already on my office clothes, see?"

"Hmm...is this your closet?" I walked towards a huge wardrobe and opened it.

"What are you doing?"

I grabbed a pair of her pajamas and threw it on her bed. "You're not going anywhere so might as well change up."

"You're so bossy."

"Coming from you, Miss Shin?"

"Excuse me?"

I smirked. "You heard me."

"This is why I don't work for anyone." She mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" She said and slowly stood up. She grabbed the pajamas and started to remove her office clothes and I just—

I immediately turned around.

"Can't you change inside the bathroom?" I asked her, slightly annoyed.

"This is my room, yeddeong. I do whatever I want."

"I'm starting to hate you once again."

"Cute."

What?

"Ryu—"

"I'm all done. You can turn around now." She said and chuckled. "I can't believe I'm not going to the office today."

"Well, I still have to. I guess I'll just stop by once I'm done. You better rest up." I sat on the edge of her bed and felt how comfortable it is.

"Not happening. You stay here with me."

"I can't."

"I'm your boss. Where I am, you're there. So no, you're not going anywhere but here."

"God you're so bossy."

"Are you copying me?"

Laughing, her lips started pouting. "Maybe."

--

After hours of working on her laptop, she eventually gave in and fell back asleep. Her dedication and hard work is really impressive, but she really should rest up even for a while. Her small figure wouldn't be able to keep up with everything she does nowadays.

I'm still inside her gray themed room. I also worked on her desk using my laptop, and now I decided to wander a little bit. I never really paid attention to the minor details but there's a lot to know about her even on the smallest figurines displayed on her shelves.

For starters, she owns a pile of hollywood movies. I don't understand why she has them when she can literally stream them all online. I guess she's into collecting items. The movie covers itself looked fancy.

I also noticed her fondness for science. She has the entire collection of it; from usborne, monroe, kaku to national geographic— I'd say she's a big science geek back then. With the specs of dust on them, it's obvious that she hasn't touched them recently and had been sitting on the shelves for quite a long time.

What stood out the most was a picture frame of a younger version of herself, and her mother holding her tight. With her recent death, a lot of things changed within their family. I noticed how guarded they are, and Ryujin clearly wasn't an exception. Just a few blocks outside her house were two black polestar 2 models that were very familiar. It follows her everywhere.

Her mom's passing was an indication that no matter what, danger trails behind their backs. Set I for an example. I was sent here to kill her father and get the revenge we always craved for. But now that I think about it... at what cost?

I looked at her sleeping figure and realized that she'd do anything for her family. I know she wanted to make her father proud despite their differences, and now that she's on the top of their hierarchy, her approach especially to blood wars will make her walk on thin ice. She's a pacifist. The entire opposite.

I let out a sigh.

Maybe...maybe her ways are what's best. Afterall, we've all had enough bloodshed. I may have lost my parents on her father's hands, but she lost someone, too.

No...

I can't just abandon my mission, can I?

But Ryujin...

Ah, fuck. This is hurting my head.

I sat down on the other side of the bed and started to think things through. My brother and I had been waiting for this moment. How can I suddenly have a change of heart? Why am I starting to doubt everything I had hoped and trained for?

Why does it scare me to lose her when I had hated the name she carried all her life?