STAR: BELLE OF THE BALL - PART 2
Keyword: Was
"Dakota?" A man muttered a metre away from Mingyu, squinting his eyes to where Diana was disappearing out of sight. "No fucking way..."
Mingyu didn't take any notice at first, he was too busy gearing himself up to confess his infidelity to Satine. It wasn't until the stranger called over to him that his attention was really seized.
"Hey, excuse me, do you know that girl? The little one, brunette... smokin' bod."
Furrowing his brows, Mingyu nodded. "Erm, yeah, she's my frie-" No. He was done pretending. "She's my girl."
"Dakota's your girlfriend?" The man appeared concerned, enough to make Mingyu listen.
He looked back over to the staircase, trying to search for another woman the newcomer may have mistaken her for, but the space was only filled with businessmen.
"Dakota? Who the hell is Dakota, bro? Her name's Diana." Mingyu tried to walk away again.
"I don't think so. I'd recognise that face anywhere. I went to school with her... slept with her too." He tried to wink but failed miserably. There was no way Diana would be foolish enough to sleep with such a weasel.
"Sorry, but who the fuck are you?" To say Mingyu was confused was an understatement.
The man ran a hand through his gelled blonde locks before holding it out for Mingyu to shake. "Berry Miller, I'm here on behalf of my father. I'm sure you know him, Robert Miller? He invented-"
"Not being funny, man, I don't give a fuck who your dad is. I'm waiting for a better explanation as to how you know Di?"
Mingyu never had time for the rich; he found them all completely insufferable, and this one was no exception. All he cared about was why this up-tight buffoon was talking shit about his girl.
"Like I said, I went to school with Dakota. She was obsessed with me for a bit, can't say I blame her." He was waiting for Mingyu to join in on the laddy banter, but when he only responded with a blank face Berry's back straightened.
"Where are you from exactly?" Mingyu asked, scrunching his nose up at the guy's accent. His voice sounded strange... high... rehearsed.
"New Orleans."
"The south?"
"Yes..."
His heart was beating rapidly. Surely this was all a misunderstanding. Diana was Diana, not Dakota, and she was from Boston, not Louisiana.
"Is this some sort of prank? Maybe you're mistaking her for someone that looks similar." Who was he kidding? There was no one like Diana, she was one of a kind.
"Look bro, I don't know how many times I need to say it, but that's Dakota Murphy. Her face is plastered all over the newspapers back home."
And so the plot thickens.
"What, why?"
"They say she killed her ex-boyfriend." The guy spoke so casually about such a fucked-up piece of information, about a lie.
Shaking his head and finally letting out a small scoff, Mingyu started to cotton on. "Alright, very funny. Did she put you up to this? Haha, you got me."
Berry joined in, chuckling along awkwardly. "What are we laughing about? The fact that your girlfriend has been accused of murder? I should really call the cops dude; they've been searching for her for months."
It was all getting a bit too serious.
"Woah, calm down. Hasn't this prank gone a little too far?"
"What fucking prank? That cheap ass piece of junk she used to drive was caught on security footage driving out of town on the same night he was killed. Then she never came back, sounds guilty if you ask me."
It wasn't a joke.
It wasn't a fucking joke.
Never would Mingyu have expected to be standing there on the brink of organ failure as his heart began to race at a dangerous speed. It was brutal and agonisingly painful. Not just the shock, but the realisation that that gorgeous, funny, bright light of a human being, was nothing but a fraud. He should have asked her before jumping to conclusions; that's what any sane person would have done, but as Berry delved deeper into what happened to this Austin Martinez, the truth was abundantly clear.
The correlation - everything matched up.
"There's a warrant out for her arrest, man. The poor guy was shot in the head and tossed into Silver Creek. It was staged as a suicide, but it was quite clearly a crime of passion." Berry fiddled with the engraved gold chain around his neck, and let his eyes flicker off into the distance like he was in some type of crappy TV drama.
Suicide, Newtown Creek. The detective turning up on his doorstep. Suspected homicide.
Mingyu held up his hand for Berry to stop. There was that disgusting feeling in his mouth - one that told him to find a bathroom because in less than five seconds he was going to hurl all over the place.
"She shouldn't get away with it. He was a good guy, fixed my car so many times free of charge." Berry brought his cell out and started dialling 911.
"No!" Mingyu finally came back to his senses in time to cover his phone. "Let me talk to her, I beg you! Please!" He was on the verge of a breakdown. The gruesome images of Wonwoo lying on the morgue table all swollen and deformed flickered through his mind, making his throat swell up.
There was no explanation as to why Berry decided to agree, he just did, almost too quickly. "Only if you get her to come and speak to me." He held out his hand again for Mingyu to shake. "I've sure missed little Dotty's company."
Mingyu stumbled toward the stairs with tunnel vision. How was he going to tackle this? He had never felt so ill. The colour had completely washed from his face, his skin was damp and sticky, and his vision was a hazy blue as if he had just woken up from a nightmare.
Truthfully, he was still in fact in one.
His Diana, the sweetest, most purest woman out there, she couldn't have been capable of any of it, surely? If what Berry said was true, his whole world was about to be flipped.
Jeonghan watched curiously from the far corner of the room, excusing himself from his conversation to stop him on the second floor.
"Hey, you okay?" He called out. Don't have him fooled, his concern had nothing to do with Mingyu and everything to do with Satine.
Mingyu wasn't in his right mind; especially to deal with one of the most infuriating people he had ever met. So, snapping his body around, he grabbed Jeonghan by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
"Leave me the fuck alone or I swear to fucking God!" he seethed.
Finding the position sort of arousing, Jeonghan's eyes lit up. "Or what? Or what, Kim? You gonna kill me? There was a long pause before Jeonghan's smile transformed into something much more sinister. "You gonna kill me like you did your daddy?"
The silence was deafening.
He couldn't deal with this right now.
"How-"
"How do I know your biggest secret?" Jeonghan's tongue rested against his top set of teeth. "Seriously? Is that really your first question? Mine would have been does Satine know?"
See, there was a major difference between the two men and their priorities.
Shaking his head as tears brimmed his eyes, Mingyu's voice broke. "You don't know me; you have no idea what happened-"
The one thing you should learn from this story is that there's always someone watching and there's always someone with the money and connections to destroy you.
"Mingyu Kim, born 30th December 1973 in Chicago, Illinois to Han-Gyeol and Nari Kim." It was as if he was reciting his birth certificate. "Nari Kim, died 1987. Cause of death: Brain injury. Cracked skull from falling down the stairs. Han-Gyeol Kim, died 1992. Cause of death: Multiple stab wounds to the stomach and chest. Mugging."
"Shut up," Mingyu whispered.
"You're a hard guy to dig up dirt on, you know? Not as hard as some people but getting security footage from almost six years ago was difficult." He wasn't blinking, there was a maddened gleam in Jeonghan's eyes as he continued to taunt him so brutally. "Okay, let me get this straight, your father beat your poor old mum to death; cracked her skull literally in two? The pictures were disgusting by the way, I bet you threw up for weeks after witnessing that." Fucking psychopath. "Then your dad covered it up and pretended like she fell down the stairs. Textbook." He rolled his eyes.
Mingyu was unwillingly being dragged back to the worst day of his life.
"You didn't speak up, did you? You let your dad get away with it."
He was shaking with fury, foaming at the mouth as Jeonghan stepped forward.
"You didn't speak up because you were planning on taking the law into your own hands. Waited until your dad was coming back from work late at night and followed him down the alleyway to your block of apartments. He had twenty-four stab wounds; how insane must you be?"
"Shutup! Shutup!" Mingyu bellowed, finally snapping. He tried to grab onto Jeonghan's neck but was too slow, the CEO had already stepped back and watched Mingyu drop to his knees with a thump. "Why are you doing this to me? What the fuck do you want from me?"
That's when it hit him, this was way deeper than some workplace crush. What he thought was his worst fear had finally been confirmed.
It's not what he wanted; it was who.
"This is all because of Satine, isn't it? You're in love with her," he whispered.
It had all been meticulously planned out since day one.
Jeonghan sighed and cracked his neck. "That obvious?" The sarcasm in his tone was uncanny. "Of course, I'm in love with her. Who isn't? I'm mad about her, quite literally, and I won't risk her life being put on the line by an unstable man who grew up in an abusive home. The apple never falls too far from the tree." He spoke calmly with no sense of emotion.
"I'd never hurt her." Mingyu knew that was a lie because he already had; she just didn't know it yet.
"Is that what you tell yourself when you're not in bed with her best friend? Satine can handle a lot of things, she could literally walk out of a beating looking just as magnificent as before. But finding out that the love of her life-" Jeonghan seemed to find that statement painful by the screw of his face, "-has been having an affair with her best friend. No, that would absolutely crucify her."
It already had.
"Does she-"
"Does she know that you're nothing but a dirty cheat?" Jeonghan rather enjoyed the new nickname; it had a nice ring. "No, she doesn't, at least not yet." The lie rolled off of his tongue.
Mingyu couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. There was still time to fix things.
"But take my advice and leave before she finds out. I know what you're afraid of and why you've been stringing her along as your little fuckbuddy. There is no future for you two, you will end up just like your father, you are incapable of love, and you will ruin her. She has so much potential, so much love to give and you don't deserve any of it. You and her-" He pointed up to the roof where Diana was. "-You two deserve each other."
Jeonghan had given up with his plan the moment Satine's lips touched his. He remembered the feeling vividly- the spark that ignited it all. With a business full of risks, he thought he'd be used to it, but no. The woman of his dreams was in the palm of his hand and there was no way he was letting her go. The stakes were too high. Jeonghan had seen the way she looked at him, the way her gloved hands closed so tightly around his cheap suit - she was still in love and always would be.
It was time for him to go. She would never understand that he was nothing but a struggling musician without a little push. So that's what Jeonghan was doing - initiating the final push.
Walking back towards the stairs where the music and chatter masked their quarrel, Jeonghan left Mingyu with a wink and the final words to have any man trembling with fury. "Enjoy the rest of your evening. I'll be with Satine. She looks so beautiful draped over a bathroom counter, doesn't she?"
Mingyu could have killed him, but he stayed glued to his spot.
His anger often erupted like a volcano, and his last encounter with his father proved it. He convinced himself that every time he ever boiled over, the other person asked for it, until Satine. She didn't deserve any of the pain he had caused her, she was perfection in human form. As much as he wanted to destroy Jeonghan for all he was worth - he was right. His Red Sonja was better off without him.
Breathing out, he squeezed his eyes closed to try and block out his rival. His hatred for Jeonghan wasn't important right now and finding Diana was. He needed answers and he needed them quickly.
His neck rolled to the fire exit door leading to the roof, and the anger settled into pure agony.
He thought about her, the woman waiting for him with no clue that he'd found out everything. The woman he realised he loved with every fibre of his being. The person he was willing to throw everything away for.
Did he make the right decision?
Fuck, this was it, this was doomsday.
***
At the bottom of the stairs, leaning gorgeously against the statue of Aphrodite, was Satine. Her fiery red hair cascaded over her shoulder and down her arm, highlighting her warm skin, and her black dress smoothly skimmed her curves, showing way too much thigh for Jeonghan to think straight. She knew how dangerous she was, and she wore that attitude fiercely well.
"Hey, mister."
His smile broke through his lips, turning Satine's legs to jelly.
"Hey," he spoke warmly, lovingly, like a husband would to his newly wedded wife. He serenaded her with his eyes, drinking in her perfection whilst sweetly squeezing her chin. "Wanna dance?"
She nodded keenly, slyly eyeing up the path he had just returned from, before taking his hand.
Jeonghan twirled her first before pulling her into a firm hold, and Satine gushed, laughing sweetly as their chests pressed together and their lips hovered inches apart.
"He dances?"
"He's rather skilled at the art," Jeonghan confirmed before dipping her.
Satine always had a fondness for dancing, especially ballroom. Back when she was little, her father would glide around the porch with her on his toes. It was one of the only good memories she had of him in recent years. Jeonghan reminded her of him sometimes, but unlike her father, he actually cared.
Swaying to the music, Satine rested her chin on Jeonghan's shoulder, just enjoying the little time she had left with him.
"So, what did you say to Mingyu?"
"Oh nothing..." Jeonghan smirked into her. "Just initiating some friendly competition." His hand travelled down to the small in her back to hold her in place.
The air thickened after that, and Satine was forced to look at him front on.
"What do you mean? You didn't tell him about us, did you?"
"Not directly, Coquette, I wouldn't do such a thing... No matter how badly I want you to myself." Her happiness always came first. "I only spoke the truth; that he should let you go."
It was time for Satine to come face to face with reality.
"What? Why would you say that? I thought you were supposed to be helping me get him back?" She went to walk off, but Jeonghan caught her hand.
This was his last chance.
"I thought after everything, after the week we've shared, you would realise who made you truly happy?"
Looking down to where Jeonghan's fingers were tightening around her wrist, Satine tried to snatch it away. "I told you I'd have to come to the conclusion myself. I love him, Jeonghan, those kinds of feelings don't just disappear."
She was desperate to find her crow, to tell him it was all just a misunderstanding.
"Where is he? On the roof?"
He took a painful breath. "With her, yes."
Satine's Jimmy Choos took another step before the anguish in Jeonghan's tone shook her to her core. The pain in his voice was unlike anything she had heard before.
"It's never going to be me, is it?" She felt his warmth on the bare skin of her shoulder as he spoke softly under his breath. "No matter how hard I try, no matter how much I sacrifice for you, it will always be him..."
Satine's chin pressed against her shoulder, watching as his head dropped.
"What are you talking about?"
"Even if I tell you right now that I love you... Is it still going to be him?" He sounded so ashamed and it didn't suit him one bit.
Embarrassment seeped through his pores as his confession lingered in the air.
"What is this?" Satine tried to laugh the sickness pooling in her gut off.
"I'm saying, Coquette, if you're going to leave right now, you're leaving knowing that I love you."
All of the blood in Satine's body had travelled back to her cold, dead heart and burst with life.
"In fact, I need you to know that I love you. I don't know if it'll make a difference but there it is. I love you as much as someone like me can love. And when I say that, I mean it. I'm not saying it to manipulate you into choosing me, I'm not saying it because I know it's what you're dying to hear, I'm telling you because I'm scared of losing the best thing in my life. I'm batshit crazy about you, Satine."
For once he showed his vulnerability and put himself first. But honestly, Satine didn't know what to do. She was at a loss for words. She had never heard those three words spoken so earnestly before. Her whole life she had devoted herself to men that never gave her what she truly wanted.
And there Jeonghan was, offering it up on a silver platter.
He traced down her arm to hold her hand, hoping that she would turn around.
"If you're going to go up there and continue to fight for him that's fine." He knew she would only be disappointed; Mingyu had already made his decision. "But I reserve the right to do the exact same thing. I love you, Coquette, and all I need I know is that you love me back, even a little bit." His whisper was almost inaudible. "Love me and I'll give you the world." His hands trembled along with the rest of his body. Who knew love would make him so weak?
Satine was afraid for once in her life. He always surprised her, even after she had planned the night out to a T.
"Love," she repeated flatly, snapping her body around to him. "You're not in love with me, Jeonghan."
The ice travelling down his back was disabling.
He cleared his throat as different expressions started running to and from his face in a mixture of confused emotions. "I don't think it's your place to say that."
"But you don't, you're in love with the idea of what we could be. With a future that is not yet determined. With a version of me that suits you."
Dumbfounded, he was absolutely dumbfounded. How could she be so blind? So offensive to herself.
He gripped onto her waist and pulled her in; the same passion as the night they shared sparking through the air between them.
"You're seriously not stupid enough to believe you were anything but your authentic self with me?"
She was herself with him - through and through. It's just that coming to the realisation and saying it aloud would have changed everything. She would have had to forget Mingyu and that just wasn't going to happen.
Satine backed away, glancing up at the ceiling, she frowned as a familiar feeling clung to her chest. It was empty but tight, hot but cold. It was the feeling she felt after seeing her crow roll his hips into her best friend.
Heartbreak.
And fuck, did it throw her off.
"Why now, Jeonghan?" She was more angry than upset. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? You act as if that week we shared felt like forever, so why didn't you tell me then? I may be smart, but I'm not a mind-fucking-reader." When he didn't respond, Satine just stood with her eyes closed for a second to compose herself. "You gonna answer? Because now Mingyu has waltzed back in here with her, and it makes me want him even more. You knew that would happen. God, is that why you followed him up there?"
The anger building up wasn't helpful, especially when it was directed at the only person she truly cared about. She had to remove herself before she said something she really regretted.
"Satine, stop. You can't go yet, just give me a second. Fuck!" Jeonghan was getting increasingly frustrated. "You waltzed your way into my life, made me fall in love with you, made me help you, and it was all for nothing. I don't believe that you still love him; I don't care if you're stubborn. You can't let him win." Satine was always the prize and Jeonghan couldn't bear to see anyone else hold his trophy.
"Fine," she snapped under her breath, noticing the other guests start to listen. "I do love you, Jeonghan, does that make you happy? Maybe I love you even more than I love him, but this goes deeper than you'll ever know. Now let me go, I'm running out of time."
"What? What are you talking about? I know everything about you, I know everything!"
That's what truly hurt - the fact that his diamond even hid things from him.
"I've got to go find them." She stood with glassy eyes. "I need this to be over once and for all. I can't live another day in this uncertainty - I won't do it." The waiter passed with a tray of champagne and Satine chugged the lot. "Oh, and I left you something in the board room. You'll know what to do with it." She reached up and stroked his cheek. "I'm sorry."
It's not every day that you break a millionaire's heart.
Then again, this was no average day. This was doomsday.
***