Time seemed to stop. Seon-jae saw Hye-won's ex-husband at the same time that he saw Hye-won - gave a visible jolt - then turned his head to speak to his mother. His mother paid her respects to every member of the family, while pointedly excluding Hye-won from her bows and Kang did the same. Seon-jae could feel his blood pump harder into his neck and his pulse race with rage, that such disrespect should be shown to his love, especially on such a day as this. He shifted in his seat to move towards her but Ji-soo gently put her hand on his arm and when he glanced to her, she just lightly inclined her head in Hye-won's direction. He knew what she was indicating - that Hye-won was fine, that she would rise above this as she had done so many times in the past and that he should trust his love - and he knew that she was right but still it was so hard to remain on the side-lines and watch as this woman - who held his heart in the palm of her hand - was served such abominable treatment. He carefully watched her outwardly calm expression, trying to gauge whether she was feeling the effects as little as her mien portrayed but from this distance, it was hard to be sure. He was just about to give in to his anxiety and stand to walk to her when he saw Kang beckon Hye-won summarily towards the door. She calmly turned to her aunt and spoke a few, quiet words to her and then she looked directly into Seon-jae's eyes - this is ok, this is fine. She didn't wait for a response and followed Kang out of the room and out of sight.
---
Seon-jae looked to the 2 children who were giggling with the older children and sipping their drinks happily and then gave a look to Ji-soo, which told her that he was just going to check and return immediately.
'Go and check - I'll watch the babies - but remember, Seon-jae,' and she put her hand on his arm again and he looked to her, 'the last thing Hye-won would want is a scene.'
He nodded, knowing that she was completely correct she hates that kind of fuss but also determined in his decision to check that she was ok. After all, he has a long history of treating her badly. He walked to the door to the corridor and from there, he could see the 2, Hye-won with her back to him, her head slightly dipped, as though she were looking at her shoes, and Kang - obviously annoyed - using big hand gestures and with a face full of anger. Seon-jae couldn't hear any of what was being said but he could well imagine the content of it.
It was clear that Kang was getting no satisfaction from Hye-won though, as he spat something clearly derogatory in her direction, before stomping off down the corridor. Seon-jae watched Hye-won view his retreat for a moment before he turned and walked back towards his friends.
Ji-soo looked nervous: 'everything ok?'
'He was being his usual, obnoxious self but she seemed fine.'
In-seo's tone was soothing: 'she has always known that his bark is worse than his bite.'
Seon-jae nodded, watching the door for the re-entrance of Hye-won. When she re-appeared - a few moments later - she smiled over to him, her eyes trying to reassure him that she was unharmed but there was a tiredness in her aspect and a droop in her shoulders that hadn't been there before and Seon-jae's heart pained to see it. He smiled gently to her and she returned to join her aunt, a few words passing between them but something in Seon-jae hardened and with a quick look to the children and a smile to Ji-soo to keep an eye to them, he walked casually to the door and down the corridor in the direction that Kang had walked.
---
It was not hard to imagine where Kang had gone and indeed, there he was in the men's room, washing his hands and peering carefully at his reflection in the mirror. His shock as Seon-jae walked in behind him was palpable, though he tried to hide it and dropped his eyes, pretending not to recognise his former student. Seon-jae stood behind him and waited for him to make eye contact in the mirror again. Kang delayed by washing his hands as laboriously as he could but eventually, he had to lift his head and their eyes connected.
'Ah, the young sindong - genius - what a surprise to see you here - I thought you would be too busy off conquering the world to waste your precious time.'
Perhaps if Kang had taken a more temperate approach, Seon-jae's response might have been less explosive - at least, that was what he told himself afterwards - but the snarling tone and petty-mindedness - not to mention the dis-respect to Hye-won, implying that Seon-jae should have better things to do than accompany her to pay last respects to her mother - sent a rush of hot blood straight to his head and in a single action, he gripped Kang's jacket between the shoulders and yanked him backwards from the basin, frog-marched him - 1 step, 2 - into the nearest cubicle, then slammed and locked the door, so that they were faced off in the tightest of spaces, both panting - 1 with fright, the other with fight.
---
'Now say all that again to me.'
Seon-jae's voice was a low, menacing rumble and his eyes were spitting fire. Kang couldn't quite believe what had just happened but his attempts to regain his dignity both failed miserably. First, he tried to leave but Seon-jae's imposing frame blocked the door and that impediment showed no signs of being removed, barring a head-long tackle - which would have risked Kang's dignity even more. Second, he tried to speak but all he managed to emit was a hoarse squeak, followed by an attempt to clear his throat to cover his embarrassment, though neither was fooled.
Seon-jae waited, outwardly unflapped but inwardly, so full of loathing that his breath was racing. In silence, Kang assessed the situation - Seon-jae's body full of tension, only barely tethered, his expression steely and unflinching - and attempted his usual route out of trouble, which seemed to work with most people - he smiled, somewhat awkwardly, and held up his hands in surrender: 'aish - gosh - I was just joking, don't be so sensitive.'
Seon-jae wasn't sure whether it was the patronising words or the blatant lie or the submissive gesture or the wheedling tone that annoyed him most, though in reality, it was a combination of all of these, along with the contempt shown by both Kang and his mother, not to mention the wonder of loving and being loved by Oh Hye-won and the bewilderment that this fool facing him had treated her so badly for so long and then discarded her, when she was at her lowest.
'No, you weren't and neither am I.'
A fraught tension, full of unspoken threat.
'Now, what did you just say to my Goddess, though you don't deserve to even look at her, never mind speak to her?'
Kang considered and rejected the flippant reply that rose to his tongue and answered in an oily tone: 'nothing that concerns you - just...,' then he couldn't help himself, 'married couple stuff.'
He might as well have said - adult stuff - for Seon-jae's purposes, who - already close - moved closer and laid a forearm across Kang's chest and forcefully pushed him back against the wall. He spat his words, like an advance party of vipers: 'you 2 might have been married...but you were...never...ever...a couple.'
---
The intimacy of this forceful body contact - eye to eye, breath on breath - stunned Kang into silence. This close, he could feel the waves of tension running from Seon-jae's body through his but also the sheer power in the arm pinning him tightly. Seon-jae's eyes were lit coals and they hardly seemed to blink, as they bore into him. Whatever strategies Kang had used in the past to weasel his way out of awkward situations were defunct in this unprecedented scenario and he felt his breath hop erratically in his chest.
The longer the silence persisted, the more enraged Seon-jae became inside and the more his grip strengthened and eventually, Kang fell back on his old, reliable get-out-of-jail-free-card - he attempted a strained smile and a strangled little laugh.
'Well, this is a bit like old times, I suppose, seeing as our first time meeting was in the men's room, locked in a cubicle just like this.'
Seon-jae knew well that Kang was trying to use emotional blackmail by reminding him that on that day, he had needed Kang's help and accepted it. Seon-jae also knew that this help had been given only because, in Kang's eyes, this young prodigy had represented an opportunity to boost his own career and reputation. There was nothing that Kang could say now that would persuade Seon-jae that he was anything other than self-serving and sanctimonious, even if he hadn't also known from his love some of his more awful actions behind closed doors. He waited, knowing that Kang would try again. And he did.
'Funny to think that I helped you that day, man to man, before you even knew of the existence of Hye-wona.'
As soon as the words left his lips, he realised that saying her name aloud - and with the familiarisation - was a massive mistake. Seon-jae's nostrils flared with disgust and his eyes narrowed to slits. Without missing a beat, he pushed his arm upwards until it was tight under Kang's chin and leaning on his larynx. Then he pushed his head so close to Kang's that they could have been lovers about to kiss. Instead though, he hissed in clipped tones: 'do...not...say...her...name...and if you ever call her that again...I promise you...,' and his arm got just that bit heavier, 'it will be your last time to speak.'
Kang's eyes widened and Seon-jae saw the first, real signs of fear. Good, that's a taste of your own medicine.
'Ok, ok, I won't but you know, you have only been together - what, 2, 3 years? Wait until you have lived with her for as long as I did and then talk to me - believe me, the physical side gets boring very fast.'
Seon-jae felt himself get very hot and then very cold in an instant and now, he felt completely free. He shoved hard so that Kang really couldn't breathe or speak easily now, with the sustained pressure on his throat: 'enough - not another word - not 1 single other word should come from that evil little mouth of yours. Really, the way I feel now, I want to shut it forever.'
His breath was hot upon Kang's face and Kang believed he was so enraged that he might actually follow-through on his threat. Fear gripped his stomach tightly and he squirmed with the discomfort of Seon-jae's strong arm pushing on his voice-box and his powerful body forcing him tighter against the wall.
'You are a worm, Kang - a small-minded, arrogant, little worm. You were never worthy of her and she knows that now because she and I adore each other, like only true soul-mates can.'
His next words were uttered with a sneer: 'and we have 2 incredible children who adore their Mommy and who tell her so, every single day. And she is a wonderful mother - a natural, unlike you. We know that children were not something you could have ever given her - though you liked to pretend otherwise.'
Kang's eyes betrayed his shock that Hye-won had revealed this fact from their past but Seon-jae was in full flow now and nothing could have dissuaded him from a full confession: 'and as you dare to mention the physical side - though that makes me so angry, I could knock you out right here - I will say one thing on that. We've been reunited now for 5 years,' he dropped his mouth to Kang's ear, the sibilant hissing impossible to escape: 'and every time we make love, believe me - it's out-of-this-world - like nothing she ever had with you and like nothing you could ever imagine.'
Kang's breath came in a hot pant, as the audacity of what he was hearing struck him hard. He wished that he could make a snide comment of his own but he had neither the voice nor the stomach for it, as Seon-jae's voice built to a fierce growl: 'and I know what you did to her that night - even if you would like to pretend to the world and yourself that it didn't happen - and that evil in itself is enough for me to end you.'
He lifted his head and saw real, deep-seated fear in Kang's eyes now: 'yes, scary isn't it - to be physically over-powered by someone stronger, someone with no mercy, and to have no way to get help, as you feel fear for your life? That's what you did to my beautiful lady that night, so if you ever come near her again, it will be the last thing you do.'
Seon-jae pulled back just a little and his face showed the physical disgust that he felt: 'now, I'm sick of you - being so close to a worm like you makes my skin crawl - so just nod to the next thing I say and I might just let you live. You will go, collect your mother and leave this place without another glance at my Goddess and you will never attempt to contact her again. Now nod, like the scared little worm that you are.'
And Kang didn't even hesitate, nodding as much as the constricting choke-hold would allow, his eyes bubbling with anxiety. Seon-jae finally relented and lifted his arm and Kang - with a hand to his throat - scuttled from the cubicle, his shoes clacking loudly on the tiles, as he rushed from the bathroom. Slowly, Seon-jae released a deep, cleansing breath what a horrible little man he is and then emerged from the cubicle to walk to the basin to wash the smell of that horrible little man away. The door behind swung open and In-seo entered, an expression of bemusement on his face: 'I just saw Joon-hyung practically run down the corridor - everything ok in here?'
Seon-jae calmly rinsed his washed hands under the cleansing water, as he met his friend's eye in the mirror, with a smug smile: 'yes, everything is just fine in here.' Now.