Baek Ha Rim
i silently took a deep breath as i got ready to get out of the car. spending the night with yoo kihyun felt magical, but i had to leave because the night wasn't getting any younger.
"you can drop me off here." i suddenly spoke, causing kihyun to look at me in confusion.
"is your house around this area? i can drive you all the way home." he asked, slowing down the car with concern after my abrupt notice.
"there's no need. my father's quite strict, he might not appreciate seeing me with a man just yet. i'd prefer to walk all the way home." i made up an excuse.
i secretly thought that i was getting better at lying.
although yoo kihyun didn't understand why, it wasn't something he could argue with. i quickly unbuckled my seatbelt and got ready to unlock the car door on my side.
"hold on, i haven't fulfilled my third purpose of meeting you yet." kihyun suddenly stopped me.
i quickly covered my lips with the back of my hand in surprise. i didn't know why it was quick of me to assume he was going to kiss me again, but i soon realized how embarrassing of a reaction it was.
"wait, don't tell me you thought i was gonna.." kihyun started.
in just a second after he realized, he bursted out laughing. my cheeks turned hot as i regretted why i reacted that way. it was definitely a moment of vulnerability. i froze on my spot, awkwardly waiting for him to stop laughing.
thankfully, kihyun soon calmed down and looked at me in amusement.
"don't worry about that, ha rim-ssi. although it's not like i would mind kissing you again, you seem to have your guard up tonight. i'll tell you quickly what my last purpose was." he took out a bag from the seat behind us and handed it to me.
i looked at it in my hands, wondering what was inside. the moment i soon noticed that there was a piece of clothing, i turned to look at kihyun, feeling flustered.
"i can't accept this." i tried to give it back to him.
"i can't take no for an answer, ha rim-ssi." he declined.
"yk hotel is going to be having a celebration after our ribbon cutting ceremony for the new extension we've just finished building. i hope you'd accept my personal invitation for you to come. i really want you to be the one to accompany me in this significant event." he spoke.
i felt as if i couldn't decide. i wanted to grab onto this opportunity, but i didn't want the spotlight on me. how worthy was i to be right beside ceo yoo? the more people are gonna notice me, the harder it is to hide once things go wrong.
"think about it once you get to wear that dress on. make sure i see you come wearing it on that special night." he added.
"alright.. thanks for tonight, kihyun-ssi. go home safely." i gave him a nod and decided to bid him goodbye as i pushed the car door open and got out with the shopping bag in my hands.
Mr. Baek
"i can't believe i have to call you on a night like this, mr. baek... but isn't the young girl you have in your house named ha rim, if i could recall?"
i furrowed my brows at the sudden way my old colleague brought up my daughter. we haven't spoken to each other for years, so i found it odd how he contacted me out of the blue to ask about her.
"yes, her name's ha rim." i replied shortly, still a bit suspicious.
"ah.. the seo family's ha rim which you adopted, right? it's been a long time."
"i prefer we don't talk about those things from the past, mr. kwon. you know how it's a sensitive matter for my daughter." i tried to bury a piece of memory he was trying to open.
"i haven't started on anything yet, mr. baek." he suddenly started chuckling on the other line. i decided to meet him with deafening silence to get him to cut to the chase.
i wasn't playing any of his games.
"you see, mr. baek, you need to teach your adopted one not to meddle with anyone's affairs." his warning eventually came.
"mr. kwon, as far as i know, ha rim knows where she stands."
"oh really? then do you support how she's coming in between my daughter's engagement?"
i frowned the moment i heard his accusation against ha rim.
"what do you mean? sorry, but ha rim has more important matters to take care of." i asked, wanting him to clear it up.
"mr. baek, my daughter kwon eun gyeol is engaged to mr. chae's son, chae hyungwon. tonight, i found my daughter heartbroken. she revealed to me that it was baek ha rim who was leeching onto hyungwon like a third party in their relationship."
my lips slightly parted in shock and in displease of what i have just heard. never have i imagined ha rim to be involved with chae's son in this manner.
"you know how i hate it when the princess of our family is hurt. since her childhood days, she's been devoted to pursuing mr. chae's son. why is your adopted daughter suddenly growing a closer relationship with him now?"
i tightened my grip on the phone in rage. i was extremely disappointed in ha rim.
"i know she's the daughter of the seo family but since you took her in, you're accountable for raising her correctly. if matters get worse, i won't just sit back and let ha rim destroy my daughter's long-awaited wedding, mr. baek."
i was speechless. i found it hard to control the disappointment and anger i felt towards my daughter. immediately, i hung up on mr. kwon and tried to look for ha rim around the house.
"good evening, i'm home!" i eventually heard my daughter's notice as she pushed the front door open.
Baek Ha Rim
"good evening, i'm home!" i took my shoes off and switched to my slippers as i got in the house absent-mindedly.
to my surprise, however, i was met with a strong slap across my face. i immediately lost balance and fell down to floor in shock. as the pain hit me, i started feeling my left cheek burn.
it happened all too quick for me to process, but the first thing i recognized was my furious father who was already standing right in front of me.
"dad..." my heart broke with the way greeted me roughly without letting me know what was wrong first.
"ha rim-ah!" changkyun caught sight of me from a distance and started running towards me in an attempt to protect and shield me from my father.
"you had my trust, but all you've done is waste your time and flirt with the mayor's son! you've been betraying us and your true family by doing this behind our backs!" my dad yelled, pointing his finger at me.
"tell me in a way i could understand!" my voice cracked as i felt how unfair it was to be suddenly accused.
"you thought i'd never know what you were doing? a colleague called and claimed you were coming in between chae hyungwon and his fiancée! i didn't allow you to work in that stupid company to beat around the bush and give me a bad reputation!" he scolded.
i suddenly felt tears streaming down my cheeks as i cried in hurt and frustration. changkyun held me close to him and served like a pillar i could lean on because i was now weak and in shock.
"i'd beat you up if i could because you're good for nothing. changkyun, lock her up in the storage room! you're in charge of keeping her alive there, and you better make sure i don't see her face!"
"dad, please! i have to go to work! please don't do this to me!" i cried out as he stormed off.
from a distance, i recognized wonho observing the scene despite my clouded vision. even in this situation, he consistently showed how much he disliked me. he chuckled at the helpless sight of me, feeling no pity at all.
"after what you did, don't think about getting to call my father as your dad. you're just one big disgrace and failure." he snickered.
"this isn't the time for those remarks!" changkyun suddenly raised his voice and snapped at wonho, eventually losing his patience.
i held changkyun's arm and tried to calm him down. changkyun never raised his voice at my stepfather's son, but because of me, he was now doing so. tonight felt like a nightmare. i simply felt wronged and abandoned by the person i've considered as my father for many years of my life.
______________________________
Im Changkyun
"are you really gonna leave me here?" ha rim's weak voice asked.
i just finished setting up her alternative bed by transferring an old foam of mattress into the storage room. i did the best that i could to keep her comfortable and to prevent her from sleeping on the cold floor.
"i have to at least obey mr. baek's orders." i spoke objectively.
i sat on the foam in front of ha rim with my legs crossed. i was facing a situation of compromise. i felt hurt that she was hurting, but i also feared getting on mr. baek's bad side.
i had to make it all work somehow.
"he didn't even hear me out. i'm really mad about it deep inside. he doesn't understand anything because he doesn't care to know my efforts. all he wants are results."
"let's go back to the reason why he's angered. have you and chae hyungwon really gotten closer?" i asked.
"kyun, i can't determine what other kind of relationship we're supposed to have other than a ceo-employee one."
"then how come his fiancée perceives you as a threat?"
ha rim took a moment to answer that question. she paused in silence, immersing in the thoughts that ran across her mind.
"chae hyungwon and i... we're nothing. at least that's for a fact." she cleared.
"i've told you before, the more you grow fond of him, the harder it will be to take revenge. even if your target is mr. chae, can you really manage hurting a person you care for? i don't think you'd have the guts to harm someone important to them." ha rim sat in silence as i spoke.
"the people we've dealt with before and disposed for mr. baek, they've all been somebody. that's why we don't bother learning about them because our emotions will get in the way. it's important to keep emotionally distant and see them as mere numbers or obstacles to get rid of." i added.
i looked around and caught sight of the shopping bag i recognized from earlier. i realized that ha rim had brought it here with her.
"who gave you that?" i asked, looking at the bag.
"it's from yoo kihyun. i spent time with him before i got here.. that's also why you don't have to worry about me caring for hyungwon. it's more likely i'd fall for someone like kihyun after having a date with him twice already." she answered.
suddenly, she brought her head down and placed her hands at the sides of her head.
"oh, goodness! this is why i can't be locked up here!" a moment of realization hit her.
"yoo kihyun's gonna wonder where i am. he invited me to an important event, kyun-ah. i have to be there!" a troubled look spread across her face.
i carefully observed ha rim's eyes in the midst of it all. it was all in her eyes. i sat in silence gazing at her as i distinguished what was bothering me all along. i now understood why despite all those denials, i still knew where this was leading to.
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yay! got to finish this update! my days have been filled with online meetings xD i've been such a busy person but i love getting to finish and update chapters the most! ❤
i will be updating after i reach 18 votes on this chapter! that would buy me just enough time to draft the next one.
if you guys want the next chapter up sooner, just leave a vote so i could double-time on updating the next one! thank you!