[2] The Vicious Wife

Fraternal twins

Roseanne smiled the moment she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was her husband staring at her lovingly. The fact that his head was propped on his hand as a blissful smile graced his face suggested that he'd been up worshipping her for some time. "Are you going to just stare at me all day? What about breakfast?" Roseanne asked with laughter apparent in her tone.

"Done," he answered before his lips captured hers. "Do you have plans for today?" he asked.

"What kind of question is that? It's Tuesday, I am planning to go to work. Don't you have plans to go to work today?"

"I'm not talking about work," he clarified before handing a folder to Roseanne. She lazily arched an eyebrow as she accepted the folder and opened it.

"Christopher hacked into your computer?"

Park Jimin nodded. "He made sure to let me know that it was him. What a jerk."

"And did he find anything important?" she asked.

"Nah... the jerk lacked the skills to breach my firewall. Turns out that the trouble that I encountered with the back security yesterday was also him. I was able to trace it to his place. The jerk happily sent me some emojis. I can see him enjoying this. Aside from having mental issues, he must not be in demand as an actor as he clearly has loads of free time," Park Jimin said as he let his petty side roam freely.

"Hmmm..." Roseanne nodded. "Well... I will take this one step at a time. Someday, the truth will reveal itself." The first thing she needed to do was talk with Christopher and clarify his purpose in looking for her.

"Do you know where he's staying?" she asked while staring straight into Park Jimin's eyes. Roseanne had seen Christopher in Lotte a few months back, but who knows if her brother had already shifted to some other place?

***
Meanwhile Christopher Li was livid.

The only reason Roseanne recognized him was because he was wearing the same disguise as when he first met her in the elevator and when he visited the bar. It was all a coincidence — a lucky coincidence.

Christopher let out a loud sigh of frustration as he eyed the different set of wigs and prosthetic materials on one of his tables. He then looked at his face in the mirror. The face that was identical to Roseanne.

"Fraternal twins," he uttered before he stroking his jaw. He narrowed his eyes as he remembered Roseanne's expression when she saw him. She had suffered so much, he thought inwardly. The naïve and dumb woman as described by his uncle was nowhere to be seen. In her place was someone calm and collected, smart and cunning, kind but devious.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone knock loudly on his door. Who the hell would knock at this time of the day? He let out another curse before grabbing one of his wigs and a black contact lenses to hide his true eye color. He quickly donned a pair of glasses and a baggy knitted sweater with 'Made by mom' knitted into the pattern in a larger than life size.

He heard another loud knock as he examined himself. He looked just like the nerdy mama's boy that he wanted to portray when he rented this place months ago. He checked his laptop one more time and made sure that no one was standing in the corridor before he decided to walk out of his room.

A loud knock echoed for the third time. "What the..." he did not complete his sentence. Was someone trying to destroy his door? He hastily closed the door and proceeded to walk towards the living room to check the front door.

He looked through the peephole, and just as he expected the owner was standing there with a slight smile on his chubby face. Without a second thought he opened the door, "It is still early in the morning. What are you..."

"Hello... brother."

Christopher Li was unable to complete his sentence as his eyes widened at the woman who was smiling sweetly at him.

"Why are you here?" He carefully checked both ends of the hallway and nearby doorways for any evidence that Roseanne was being followed before pulling her inside, glancing around once again to make sure that no one else was aware of them. He nailed his landlord with a deadly stare before slamming the apartment door in his face.

"I own this place... I mean my husband does," Roseanne explained before her greedy side kicked in. "But well... it's mine now," She beamed with the glowing smile of a true money lover.

"Why are you here? And why are you acting all friendly with me?" he asked, irritation evident in his tone. His plan was to pay a visit to Roseanne first.

He does not like it when his machinations are interrupted or changed by others. In this case, Roseanne's unexpected arrival completely ruined the grandiose way in which he'd planned to reveal his true identity.

"First of all... you are just weird," Roseanne said as she eyed his living room. There were two shoes that were neatly placed just below the TV. On the walls hung two frames that were perfectly aligned in a geometrically symmetrical proximity to each other. Roseanne's expressive eyebrow lifted in silent judgement. Everything was neatly arranged - too neatly. Everything was also grouped by two's. "Second, well there is no second. You are just weird. Period."

Roseanne sat, uninvited, on his couch and smiled at him. "I was not expecting that you would look exactly like me." The first thing she noticed the moment she saw him was their resemblance. This was not the case when she saw him days ago. Now, however, the man had simply donned a wig and some glasses and suddenly the resemblance was just too uncanny.

"That is not the answer to my question...," he said as he sat across from Roseanne. "...but I would assume that you've already found out about me being your brother. With your husband's influence, how long did it take? Twelve? Or twenty-four hours?"

Roseanne didn't answer him. Instead, she just stared at him as he removed his disguise. He carefully placed his wig on the coffee table in front of them, then he aligned the glasses neatly below the wig so that they were perfectly centered under the tips of the wig. His movements were quick and precise, making Roseanne realise that he was experienced in frequently removing his disguises with speed and with great attention to detail to avoid being found out. Clearly he's been doing this for quite some time.

This man must be a neat freak too, Roseanne thought as she continued to stare at his little ritual.

"Staring is kind of rude," he said. "Aren't you going to give me a hug? A tear, maybe? You've finally found your long lost relative."

"You are such a jerk," Roseanne belittled him as a sister would do.

"And you are stupid to come here alone. Who knows if I am your enemy? I could kill you right now and your lover boy wouldn't be able to save you from me," he countered, earning a chuckle from Roseanne.

"He is just outside. But... because of what you said..." Roseanne tilted her head and looked at the door that was just kicked in, revealing Park Jimin with a murderous look on his face. "See?" Roseanne lifted an eyebrow at her brother's reaction.

She wanted to have a private conversation with Christopher but Park Jimin insisted on coming along for protection. Roseanne felt that a conversation with just her and Christopher would be much more productive without her husband, however Park Jimin had no interest in going along with that plan and insisted on tagging along. To be fair, neither of them knew what Christopher's agenda was so it was best to follow him to ensure her safety.

The only reason why she entered alone was because she agreed to bring a Taser and an audio recorder, allowing her husband to monitor her conversation with Christopher. The second Christopher uttered those words, Roseanne knew that Park Jimin would not let it pass.