Park Jimin stood at the end of the hallway, slightly dumbfounded that he was left in the dust. Did she just abandon him? His brows furrowed together and he walked down the hallway to lean on the wall and wait for her.
Running a hand through his hair, he couldn’t believe he was waiting outside of the bathroom for a woman. He felt like a giddy high school boy waiting for his crush to give her his handkerchief.
The minute Rosé Yang walked into the bathroom, she undid her hair. She sighed to herself when her raven locks tumbled down her back, few droplets of wine falling from it. She winced at the heavy stench of alcohol that reeked from her body.
Rosé Yang expected her night to brim with backstabbing and gossip left and right, but she didn’t expect it to turn sour in ten minutes.
"Whatever, at least I gave Yuna her gift." She muttered as she began to clean her face and hair. The water and soap had left her hair in an awkward texture, but at least the smell was gone. The water had washed off her makeup, leaving her face bare of any products.
Rosé Yang cringed at the eye bags underneath her eyes. From all the endless nights of tossing and turning, she rarely had a good night of sleep. That’s why she usually woke up in the afternoon — she only fell asleep after lying in bed for at least a good few hours.
Just when she was about to step out of the bathroom, Chou Tzuyu walked in. She seemed occupied with wiping the tears from her eyes, sniffling to herself as she held her dress to walk easier.
Rosé Yang eyed the distraught woman in front of her. The two were alone in the enormous bathroom that was twice the size of a moderate bedroom.
She remembered the last time they were ever alone together. It was the same night that Rosé Yang confronted Chou Tzuyu with the discovery of her real birth parents. Her father didn’t leave her. As a matter of fact, he was desperately trying to contact Chou Tzuyu but the woman refused to meet her birth-father.
And when Tzuyu found out Rosé knew the truth, she immediately sought Jeong Jaehyun's help. One thing leads to another, and soon, Rosé Yang was stripped and thrown out of his house.
When Rosé Yang lifted her head and took a few steps back. Her mouth was parted in shock, as if not believing she was alone with Rosé Yang.
Rosé Yang crossed her arms and raised a brow. Why was she pretending to be surprised to see her? She knew Chou Tzuyu wasn’t deaf nor did she have any hearing problems. Park Jimin announced he was going to take her to the bathroom, so Chou Tzuyu should’ve known she was already inside.
"H-hello." Chou Tzuyu timidly greeted her, her head slightly tucked to portray a demure and wholesome woman.
Rosé Yang noticed the tears and quivering lips. She already knew what happened.
As always, Chou Tzuyu couldn’t handle the insults from her peers after Park Jimin pointed out how distasteful her dress was. The people probably tore her apart and once again, the female lead couldn’t handle the criticism of her peers.
Chou Tzuyu was always portrayed to be a gentle, sweet, and simply too innocuous woman. She couldn’t handle the harsh and backstabbing upper society.
She sniffled. "I’m sorry to have worn the same dress as you—"
"It’s not your fault." Rosé Yang said with a frown. Why was this woman apologizing? Her dress was publicly announced on national television, shouldn’t Rosé Yang be the one to apologize?
"Oh, I-I guess you’re right." Chou Tzuyu nervously babbled. "Then I apologize for Jaehyun's behavior. You know, he’s usually not bad-tempered and mean—"
"Save it." Rosé Yang sighed, not wanting to hear the excuses. Of course, she would know he was usually not bad tempered, Jeong Jaehyun only showed his nice side to her. Rosé Yang got the harsher end of the stick.
She couldn’t help but question Chou Tzuyu's behavior. Why was Chou Tzuyu always so kind? She was the polar opposite of Rosé Yang. Instead of fierce independence, Tzuyu oozed that soothing sweetness that draws men closer. She apologized for the things that weren’t her fault, and would gladly take the blame and fall for something.
Rosé Yang bitterly thought to herself, was that why Jeong Jaehyun loved her so much? Because Chou Tzuyu was so naive and pure, filled with sugar and everything good?
When Rosé Yang realized how awkward the atmosphere was, she decided it was time to leave. "Enjoy the rest of your night here." She curtly said, walking past her, but the minute she did so, Chou Tzuyu hurriedly grabbed her forearm in panic.
"Wait! Don’t go— oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just wanted to grab your attention. I just wanted to clear up the misunderstandings-"
"Let go of me!" Rosé Yang ignored Chou Tzuyu's frantic ramble. Hissing in pain, she yanked her arm back. Damn it, did she have to grab the same arm that Jeong Jaehyun harshly gripped?
"I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean to!" Chou Tzuyu cried out, her voice rising higher than ever. Her lips quivered in guilt, her eyes wobbled, and she seemed to be on the verge of another breakdown.
Jeong Jaehyun, who had been waiting outside of the bathroom door, immediately banged the bathroom door when he heard the loud commotion inside.
"Sweetheart, are you alright?" He worriedly asked. He wanted to walk in there, but Park Jimin was right down the hall watching him.
Rosé Yang felt her gaze darken at his tone. Even when she was in the hospital for three weeks, after a horrific accident, Jeong Jaehyun didn’t even have that level of worry and fear in his voice.
Yet, Chou Tzuyu only needed to change the tone of her voice, and he’d immediately panic?
Rosé Yang frowned at the light prickle in her heart. She thought she had moved on from this man, but it seemed a tiny part of her still loved him.
"Y-yes I’m fine. I-I just tripped on some tissue paper." Chou Tzuyu nervously laughed, her lie obvious.
"Are you sure?" Jeong Jaehyun worriedly asked, beckoning one of his female bodyguards forward.
"Yes, don’t worry." Chou Tzuyu quickly answered.
Rosé Yang couldn’t handle this mushy and painful scene anymore. She wanted to leave, but her dress was heavy and was beginning to weigh her down. Speaking of the dress, she already had a sneaky intuition on who sent it to her.
Who else could easily replicate an expensive designer dress? It was none other than Song Yeri who loved to copy Chou Tzuyu's style. She might’ve pretended to be shocked that Rosé Yang wore the same dress when in reality, she was the one that fabricated the entire thing.
Not wanting the weight of the dress to drag her down further, Rosé Yang grabbed the small dagger hidden in her purse. She made a few slits at the bottom of the dress and tore off the long mermaid train.
Chou Tzuyu was startled at the loud sound of fabric ripping. She stood there, stunned that Rosé Yang would rip such an expensive dress into pieces. ’Oh right, she’s rich. She can afford to ruin it.’ She bitterly thought to herself.
When Jeong Jaehyun heard the sound of fabric ripping, he grew worried. Was she ruining her dress? Was it because of what the people said? He knew he would need to have a good, thorough talk with Park Jimin.
"Are you sure you’re alright?" He asked, but just then, the bathroom door swung open.
"No, she’s not fine. She was crying." Rosé Yang deadpanned.
Jeong Jaehyun was surprised to see Rosé Yang, but his anger washed over him. Did this girl do something to his Tzuyu?
"What did you do to Tzuyu?" He snarled, reaching over to grab her, but Rosé Yang twirled the knife in her hand and then pointed it at him.
"Don’t test me, President Jeong." She smiled, the knife catching the light of the chandeliers.
He was startled to see a knife and the way she fluently twirled it as if she was familiar with it. When was she well-acquainted with the handling knives?
Jeong Jaehyun chuckled and within seconds, he pulled out a gun hidden in his waist pants, twirling the weapon by its handle.
"You have a lot of nerves to be threatening me." He mused, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
When he glanced down at Rosé Yang, he was taken back by her nonchalant expression. Most people would’ve frozen in fear or turned pale at the sight of a weapon that could kill in less than 5 seconds.
But there she stood, completely unfazed by it. As a matter of fact, she looked unimpressed.
"Really, President Jeong? Out of all of the weapons you could’ve used, you decide to use a puny pistol? How embarrassing." Rosé Yang mused, clearly knowing the brand and model of the gun.
"I recommend the Desert Eagle Mark XIX Pistol. It can do more damage than the useless pistol in your hand. One bullet can instantly kill a bear." Rosé Yang chuckled, brushing past him like a crazy woman.
Jeong Jaehyun blinked in surprise. Since when did she become knowledgeable in guns? Just who was this woman standing in front of her.
"Hold it, where do you think you’re going?" Jeong Jaehyun reached over to roughly grab Rosé Yang when he saw the arrogant expression on her face. How did the tables turn on him so fast? Wasn’t she scared of him? He remembered how she used to quiver and shake in his presence.
But Jeong Jaehyun's hand didn’t reach her skin. Instead, he was met with a rough shove from Park Jimin who glared at him. "Don’t touch her so easily. Especially with your dirty hands." His voice was a clear warning, and if his gaze wasn’t enough to terrify Jeong Jaehyun, the slightly revealed XIX Pistol in his waistband was enough to do so.
Jeong Jaehyun's jaw clenched in anger. He didn’t expect his friend to betray him for a simple woman.