Domino | hongjoong

forty four ▋be our guest

Though if Yeosang had known where she was going before she left, he would most likely have tried to stop. Probably going to spill her plans to the Consigliere or Underboss in order to keep her from jumping headfirst into the dangers of the Kim Faction place of living. He wanted her to sit back and think first so bad, but Mari just doesn't use her brain like that. Consequences always come after her actions, so why should she be thinking about them first.

Flawed logic but that's just how Mari operated, no matter how hard she tried to change. And trust and believe she's tried to change.

"Ms. Seo?" The driver spoke as the car began to slow down, the blurred view of the trees becoming clearer as they neared a stop. Mari immediately sat up straight with wide eyes as she scrambled over towards the window, glued to the view of the outdoors like a child. She stood up on her knees with her face pressed against the glass like a child, pure wonder and disbelief coaxing her expression as the driver spoke again. "We have arrived at your destination... this is the right place, correct?"

"I'd be damned if it wasn't..." She mumbled back in reply. Mari's manor was rather large in size before it was burned down, having the ability to house a good portion of the Seo Faction inside of it. But this? This was on another level of money. It's like she was face to face with a glass castle, shining under the sunset's light and towering over her like it was the Eiffel Tower. The lights in the house were on as well, signaling that the Kim residence was active inside for the day and Mari felt her heart drop for a moment.

A little sting of regret was circulating through her veins as the driver turned onto their wrap around driveway, passing the garden fountain centerpiece to pull up to their front door. Hongjoong's house was much grander than Mingi's home yet seemed more expensive and larger than her old one. It was intimidating to even stand in front of the building, how was she going to navigate it on her own time?

When the Rolls Royce came to a full stop Mari cautiously opened the door to let herself out. Her steps were light and anxious like a cat, jerking away and back into the car seat at the slightest movement from the windows. Something about this place felt off despite its grand and luxurious design but she supposed that's why Hongjoong constantly ran away from it. The atmosphere was tense and threatening whether or not she was arriving in terms of a stranger or the enemy. As if there were eyes burning big and dark holes into the back of her head watching her every movement.

"This is going to be a challenge," The girl repeated from earlier as a little courage began to bubble inside of her, willing herself to walk towards the door.

It was a large rounded iron door with stained glass to block the view of the inside of the house. It provided enough security and safety away from average strangers while adding a sort of dungeon like aura to the already intense house of horrors. Beside the door was the doorbell for her to ring so she didn't potentially hurt her fingers on the iron bars, but for some reason, it felt like the doorbell was more menacing than the iron door itself. Like pressing it would open a door under her feet and let her fall to her doom.

"You can do this, Mari," She reminded herself, patting down the fabric of her dress as she tried to boost her overall confidence. "This was your idea, you don't have the option to back down. Get your information, have dinner with his father, leave the house. That's the plan, stick to the plan." With a deep breath and a reluctance movement of her fingers, she pressed the bell.

A long and strenuous ding echoed through the building after she pressed the doorbell, so loud that it nearly toppled Mari off of her own two feet. She had never heard a doorbell that deep and strong before, so there was absolutely no way for them to miss her arrival now. "God I regret this so much. This was the worst idea possible. I should have just listened to Yeosang and waited this out," She blurted under her breath, starting to break a sweat when she saw a figure approach the door from the inside.