Years ago
Hyun-woo closed one eye and raised his thumb to cover the moon, a playful grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Amirah looked up at him, taking in his side profile as she watched a small smile flicker across his lips.
"Do I look that good?" he asked, turning to meet her eyes eventually.
Amirah scoffed softly and folded her arms across her chest, her full Afro puffs swaying gently in the evening breeze as she turned her head away towards the lapping waves.
"Whatever," she muttered under her breath, fighting to suppress a smile of her own.
Hyun-woo chuckled warmly, as he began strolling backwards - hands tucked casually into the pockets of his impeccably tailored slacks.
"Why?" His full lips curved into a devastating grin as intense eyes danced with impish delight. "Is it really that hard for you to just admit you adore me?"
Lifting her chin fractionally, she pointed one finger towards nothing directly in Hyun-woo's trajectory.
"You're going to hit something if you keep walking like that," she teased.
Rather than heed her warning, Hyun-woo simply angled his body infinitesimally closer - leaning down to better meet her upturned gaze as the smile curving his mouth kicked up another rakish notch.
"Is that really what you're worried about right now?" he murmured, voice dropping to a lower register that somehow managed to caress every syllable as his gaze dropped meaningfully to her lips. "Or is this just...a diversion? Hmm?"
Amirah felt her face warming treacherously as she struggled to maintain her composure. Heart thundering in her ears.
"I...w-we should..." she stammered, reflexively gesturing towards the parking lot where his car was visible. "Maybe we should just go to the store, hm?"
Not waiting for him to respond, Amirah began striding towards the vehicle. She could feel the heat of Hyun-woo's gaze lingering on her retreating form like a physical caress.
Only once she'd settled herself into the passenger seat did she dare glance over to find him still standing on the boardwalk.
Hyun-woo simply watched her retreating form with undisguised appreciation, hands still tucked lazily into his pockets as another low chuckle rumbled forth.
Then, shaking his head with a softly muttered "Stubborn woman..."
Some time later, as they wandered the brightly lit aisles of the grocery store in a comfortable silence, the quiet was abruptly shattered by a familiar voice calling out across the produce section.
"Oppa! Hyun-woo oppa, is that you?"
He turned to find Soo-jin approaching, the gauzy fabric of her sundress swirling about her calves as she beamed at him in obvious delight. A handsome young man followed half a pace behind, exuding an air of casual entitlement that seemed to emanate from every indolent line of his posture.
Offering Soo-jin a polite nod of acknowledgment, Hyun-woo's gaze drifted briefly to the stranger at her side before sliding towards their cart and the miscellany of items tucked within.
Soo-jin's lips curved in an equally enigmatic smile as she glided closer, eyes drifting briefly towards the cart Hyun-woo gripped with one hand.
"Doing some shopping alone, I see?"
Hyun-woo opened his mouth to respond, only to falter as he scanned their surroundings in search of Amirah's familiar form.
"No, actually I'm here wi—"
He turned again slightly, gaze sweeping the aisle only to find her conspicuously absent.
Frown deepening, Hyun-woo craned his neck and scrutinized their surroundings more intently - eventually catching a fleeting glimpse of what looked like Amirah's distinctive Afro puffs disappearing around a far corner in one of the security mirror's reflections.
Suppressing an exasperated sigh, Hyun-woo refocused on Soo-jin and her companion with an apologetic dip of his chin. "I should get going," he stated, voice emerging clipped though polite. "It was nice seeing you again."
Without waiting for a response, he fished his phone from his pocket and rapidly tapped out a text to Amirah - 'Car's unlocked.'
Hyun-woo turned and headed for the checkout lanes.
Some time later, as Hyun-woo unloaded the last of the grocery bags into the backseat, he glanced up just in time to see Amirah slipping silently into the front passenger seat from the far side. Her features were carefully composed, betraying nothing of where she'd disappeared to moments before inside the store.
Sighing softly, Hyun-woo simply shook his head and climbed behind the wheel beside her. The ride back to his penthouse flat.
Not until they were ensconced in the quiet solitude of his living room, side by side on the sofa with the muted sounds of some forgettable drama flickering across the enormous flatscreen, did Hyun-woo finally allow the undercurrent of discontent to make itself known.
"You ran off back there," he stated lightly. "Did I make you uncomfortable earlier?"
From the corner of his eye, Hyun-woo saw Amirah tense almost imperceptibly. Her jaw tightened as she continued staring ahead at the television for a protracted beat. Then, finally...
"I didn't feel like running into anyone tonight," Amirah muttered, sinking deeper into the cushions as her body seemed to fold in on itself in a subtle withdrawal. "That's all."
Hyun-woo's expression softened with understanding as he leaned back into the sofa, angling himself to better study her downturned profile. One arm draped casually along the backrest as he propped his head against his palm.
"Hey..." he murmured, reaching out to brush a few stray curls away from her face. "You know there's nothing at all between Soo-jin and me anymore, right?"
Amirah remained silent, seeming to focus intently on the flickering images still playing out across the television screen. Finally, she exhaled a soft breath.
"I do."
Hyun-woo smiled faintly at her clipped acknowledgment.
"I'm serious, Amirah-ah." Hyun-woo leaned in closer, his deep voice taking on an insistent edge as he fought for her full attention. "There isn't anything there, not even a tiny speck of feelings left over."
At this, Amirah couldn't quite smother the eruption of amusement, as she twisted to face him more fully with dancing eyes and a wry twist to her lips.
"Yah, I know already," she chided through her amusement, reaching out to give his knee a gentle swat. "You can stop repeating yourself now. I'm trying to focus."
Grinning rakishly at her playful admonition, Hyun-woo didn't so much as twitch at the light reprimand. Instead, he simply reached for the remote and paused the drama streaming across the screen.
Then, still smiling softly, he shifted until he was fully facing her - one hand coming up to gently cup the line of her jaw and guide her gaze towards his.
"Amirah-ah...look at me for a sec?" he began, holding her stare as his thumb traced idle circles against the apple of her cheek. "I need you to know something."
She opened her mouth as if to protest, but subsided at the look of tender intensity flickering behind his eyes. Pursing her lips, Amirah simply nodded for him to continue.
Seemingly reassured by her acquiescence, Hyun-woo smiled warmly.
"I don't ever want you to feel like you need to hide or withdraw from me," he began, reaching out to take her hand in his. "I really wanted you by my side when we ran into Soo-jin earlier. I won't lie, it kind of hurt when I turned and you weren't there."
Amirah's mouth opened slightly, as if to defend herself, but Hyun-woo gently squeezed her fingers before she could speak.
"But I get it," he assured her, mouth quirking up wryly. "So let me just get this out while I have the nerve, okay?" He paused, almost talking to himself now. "Amirah-ah, I want - no, I need you to be able to trust me fully. I need you to know there isn't a single thing I wouldn't do to protect you, to make you feel cherished and adored exactly as you are."
His thumb traced idle, soothing arcs along her cheekbone as he seemed to await her response with bated breath.
For a long moment, Amirah could only stare back at him, awed into stillness by the profound resonance of his vow. Finally, she blinked rapidly against the telltale prickling warmth gathering at the corners of her eyes.
"You don't understand," she scoffed, though her tone held no real bite. "It's not that I don't trust you. It's..."
Pausing, she wrapped her smaller hand around his wrist, anchoring the hand cradling her face as she gathered her thoughts on a shuddering exhale.
"It's a pride thing for me, I suppose," Amirah confessed at last. "As confident and self-assured as I try to be, your world - your family's world...I don't ever want them to look at me and think less of me. Let me put it this way - I don't want there to be any built-up resentment. I don't want to be the reason you get attacked or disparaged by them." She worried her lower lip momentarily. "I'm not from the same background or social circles. I'm not wealthy like your family. I just didn't feel ready to meet anyone until it was on my own terms. I started walking away before I could even fully register what was happening...so it's maybe a tiny insecurity problem too, if I'm being honest."
She offered a small, self-deprecating chuckle as her gaze skittered away momentarily. "I know how vapid and foolish that must sound. Believe me, I'm well aware of my own worth as an educated, driven woman. But..." Amirah paused, chewing on her lower lip briefly. "I'll be successful one day. Wildly so. Just...give me a little time to gain that confidence fully, okay? To warm up to the idea of meeting your family on my own terms."
Trailing off, she shook her head slowly - words seeming to fail her as a look of quavering vulnerability flickered across her features.
Hyun-woo watched the warring emotions play out across her expression, his brows knitting incrementally as understanding seemed to dawn in his eyes. When she finally met his tender gaze once more, he simply studied her for a suspended moment before the corners of his mouth quirked up in a small, teasing smile.
"So let me get this straight," he began slowly, a hint of playfulness entering his tone. "What you're really saying is...you're just so utterly, ridiculously in love with me that you want to protect me at all costs, hm?"
Rather than bristle at his gentle ribbing, Amirah felt her lips twitching upwards in response to the glint of fond amusement sparkling in his brown eyes.
Affecting an exaggerated pout, she threw her hands up in feigned exasperation.
"Don't make fun of me," she mock-scolded, unable to fully smother her own burgeoning grin. "I'm pouring my heart out here and you're just going to tease me about it?"
Hyun-woo didn't so much as attempt to mask the low chuckle rumbling up from his chest then. Shaking his head slowly, he leaned in closer until their faces were a scant handful of inches apart - his expression awash with undisguised tenderness.
"I'm not teasing," he murmured, the endearment seeming to caress the words as they spilled forth in a warm exhale. "I find your protective spirit incredibly endearing, if I'm being honest. Though hopefully one day soon you'll realize I'm more than capable of handling anything my family might throw our way."
Cupping her face in his palms, Hyun-woo held her gaze as his smile softened into something achingly sincere.
"For now, just know that I'll wait as long as you need me to," he vowed simply. "No rush at all. You'll be the most successful, accomplished person out there - I have no doubt about that whatsoever. And when that day comes, I'll be right here beside you basking in each and every one of your brilliant achievements."
He paused for a moment, thumb caressing the swell of her cheekbone with infinite tenderness. "Does that sound good to you, hm?"
Amirah could only nod mutely, utterly transfixed by the reverent sincerity burning in the depths of his eyes. Her breath emerged in a tremulous wisp as she found herself leaning infinitesimally closer, drawn towards him like a moth to a searing flame.
As if moving through molten honey, Hyun-woo bridged the scant distance still separating them - his gaze flickering down to linger on the lush curves of her parted lips for a suspended heartbeat. Then, with aching slowness, he slanted his mouth across hers in a devastatingly intimate kiss.
Amirah sighed into the electrifying caress, all the anxieties and protective urges thrumming beneath the surface seeming to melt away in the scorching wake of Hyun-woo's ardent attentions.
Her hands drifted up to splay across the twin planes of his chest, fingertips kneading and clutching at the soft fabric bunched there as if to anchor herself against the searing riptide of sensation threatening to sweep her under.
For his part, Hyun-woo didn't so much as pause to draw breath - merely groaning deep in his throat as he angled them both onto the couch more fully. His palms skimmed deftly down the slopes of her neck and along the shapely curve of her shoulder, leaving blazing trails of liquid heat in their wake until his fingers finally tangled in the wild tumble of her coils.
When they finally parted, chests heaving and lips softly swollen, Amirah was beaming up at him with eyes slightly dazed - totally lost to the world beyond the blissful moment they'd spun around themselves.
Hyun-woo's gaze shone just as bright, thumb tracing idle patterns along the line of her jaw as he held her suspended there.
"I love you, Amirah-ah," he rasped, the simple declaration resounding with profundity despite its hushed reverence. "Every single part of you."
Then, never wavering from the steady affirmation blazing in his eyes, Hyun-woo sealed their mouths together once more - pouring the depths of his devotion into a kiss designed to unmake her down to her very foundations...only to re-sculpt her atoms into an expression of his singular adoration.
"What are you over there thinking about?" Yun asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled over the room as Amirah stared pensively at a box of old photos before her.
Amirah glanced up, blinking rapidly as if jarred from deep memory. A soft smile curved her lips as she reached into the box, carefully extracting a well-creased photograph.
"Look at this," she murmured, handing the picture to Yun. It showed Hyun-woo cradling a tiny, blanket-wrapped bundle - newborn Dami - against his chest.
"Mi-ok took this right after Dami was born," Amirah continued, tender affection warming her voice.
"Hyun-woo was just...obsessed with him from that very first moment."
Movement in her peripheral vision drew Amirah's gaze towards the bedroom doorway, where Seul-hee stood watching them, an indecipherable look on her elegant features. As their eyes met, the older woman crossed the room in a few graceful strides and settled onto the bed beside Amirah.
"Sounds like he'd do anything for you two," she stated, her voice tinged with a vague melancholy.
Seul-hee's words seemed to remain in the air, weighted with untold implications. Amirah studied her carefully, able to sense the subtle message rippling beneath Seul-hee's composed exterior.
"Everything okay, unnie?" she asked gently.
Seul-hee offered a faint smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She gave a slow nod, seeming to withdraw into herself as the mellifluous murmurs of Amirah's memories continued to drift through the room like wisps of smoke.
Shifting her position on the bed, Seul-hee drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, chin coming to rest atop bent legs. Her eyes drifted shut, as she allowed the cadence of Amirah's voice to wash over her.
The recent late nights spent poring over documents and chasing down leads had clearly exacted their toll.
But rather than succumbing fully to exhaustion's pull, Seul-hee seemed content to simply bask in this fleeting pocket of peace and reminiscence for a few, stolen moments.
As her breathing softened and her posture melted into one of complete repose, the silent acknowledgment passed between Amirah and Yun - an unspoken agreement to allow the weary woman her respite.
So Amirah continued murmuring the cherished details, revisiting the harrowing yet beautiful night that had ushered her son into their lives. Yun listened raptly, occasionally reaching out to squeeze her friend's hand or brush away a stray tear.
And through it all, Seul-hee slumbered on in peaceful silence, features finally relaxing into an expression of hard-won serenity - if only for a few, precious heartbeats.
Elsewhere in Seoul —the hotel office was bathed, papers and files scattered across the broad desk in haphazard stacks. Tae-sik sat back in the leather executive chair, pinching the bridge of his nose as he studied the documents arrayed before him.
A soft rap at the door drew his attention upwards. "Mr. Jeong? Sir, there's a guest here for you," the hotel employee announced from the hallway.
Tae-sik waved a dismissive hand, eyes already dropping back to the paperwork. "Tell them I'm busy."
But before the worker could respond, the door swung open to admit a very familiar figure. Soo-jin swept into the room, perfectly coiffed hair swaying with each purposeful stride as she fixed her husband with an inscrutable stare.
"You're even avoiding me now?"
Tae-sik's he looked up at the sound of her voice, surprise flickering across his features before he recovered his usual composure.
"Ah, Soo-jin-ah..." He managed an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else."
Soo-jin drifted further into the room, trailing perfectly her fingertips along the edge of the desk as she circled behind him. "Are you sure about that?" she breathed, close enough that he could detect the faint citrusy notes of her perfume.
Tae-sik forced his attention back to the documents fanned out before him. "Of course," he assured her gruffly. "But I really am quite busy with work. I wouldn't lie to you."
He risked a glance up at her then. "How did you even find me here?"
But Soo-jin seemed not to hear the question. Wandering towards the windows, she stared sightlessly out at the twinkling city skyline, delicate shoulders rising and falling on a soft sigh.
" My father." She sighed at last. "I can't believe you came back to Seoul early and didn't even tell me," she murmured, more to herself than him.
Tae-sik's jaw tightened fractionally at the subtle rebuke. "Your father had me handling some...additional business matters for him," he explained in a clipped tone. "I didn't intend to keep it a secret."
Soo-jin acknowledged this with a slight nod, still facing away. Then, after a weighted pause, she spoke again - her voice emerging smaller with uncharacteristic vulnerability.
"Here I thought maybe you saw that awful video of me and were avoiding coming home..."
The words seemed to stretch from the silence into an aching void. Slowly, Tae-sik turned to regard his wife fully.
Rising from his seat, he moved to stand directly behind Soo-jin, hands settling gently on the rigid lines of her shoulders as he peered down at her averted profile.
"There's a video?" he prompted softly when she didn't continue.
Soo-jin could only nod mutely, lips compressed into a tight line as if struggling not to succumb to the shimmer of moisture gathering in her eyes.
Without another word, Tae-sik pulled her into the protective circle of his embrace, chin coming to rest atop her crown as her body melted infinitesimally against his solid warmth.
"You haven't seen it?" Soo-jin asked at last, tilting her head back to meet his concerned gaze. There was a hollowness to her voice that made his chest constrict.
"Very busy, I must've missed it," Tae-sik murmured an excuse, fingers drifting up to lightly trace the line of her jaw.
Soo-jin's lashes swept down as she considered his words. "Well, if you haven't seen it, then there's no reason to now," she decided with forced brightness. "It's probably just something that horrible woman fabricated, I'm sure. You know her husband supposedly went to jail for killing their grandson - can you believe it? That Wang family is so cursed." She shook her head in seeming disbelief.
"You don't say," he replied neutrally, allowing her to continue fussing over his appearance for a few beats. "The more I hear about them, the happier I am that you chose me instead." Tae-sik's lips curved into a tight smile, uttering the words he knew she wanted to hear.
Patting his chest softly, Soo-jin nodded in agreement. She punctuated the breezy observation by reaching up to smooth his tie, deft fingers straightening the silk against his collar as she took in his familiar features with an indulgent smile.
Then, unable to resist any longer, he gently captured her hands in his, stilling their restless movements.
"Soo-jin-ah..." He searched her averted features intently. "I was wondering. Did you ever find that necklace you lost?"
She stilled, the rigid line of her shoulders seeming to broadcast her sudden discomfiture loud and clear. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, Soo-jin shook her head.
"Maybe the kid took it," she muttered at last with a shrug, attempting nonchalance despite the tremor underpinning the words.
Tae-sik absorbed this in silence for a long moment, gaze boring into her as if he could discern every secret roiling beneath her polished veneer by sheer force of will.
"Probably," he agreed finally, the syllable emerging clipped and devoid of any real conviction.
Drawing her close once more, Tae-sik clasped her shoulders and forced a reassuring smile. "Well, we should get you a new one then," he continued in a lighter tone. "There's something coming up at the end of the month that I want you to wear it to."
Soo-jin frowned up at him in confusion. "What do you mean? What's happening?"
"After I return from Singapore again," Tae-sik pressed on, purposefully vague. "There will be a shareholders' gala of some importance that your father mentioned."
She snorted indelicately at that. "But you're not a shareholder, oppa," Soo-jin pointed out with mild exasperation. "How could you receive an invitation?"
Rather than rising to the bait, Tae-sik simply smiled - a tight, impenetrable curve of his lips that somehow conveyed none of his usual warmth or fond amusement.
"I received a personal invitation," he stated simply, gesturing towards the innocuous embossed card resting beside his laptop.
Soo-jin followed the line of his hand, narrowing slightly as her gaze fell upon the tastefully designed invitation. ' Mia Bancroft' it read.
For several heartbeats, Tae-sik could practically see the gears turning in her mind as she tried to make sense of this new wrinkle.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, her expression cleared and she refocused on him with one elegant shoulder raised in an artfully choreographed shrug of capitulation.
"Araseo," she murmured, leaning up to drop the ghost of a kiss against the corner of his jaw. "If you say so, oppa. I'll have Yura make arrangements to buy me something new and suitable for the occasion."
With that, Soo-jin turned and slipped from the office, leaving Tae-sik staring after her retreating form.
Only once she'd disappeared from sight entirely did he allow the facade to crumble, jaw clenching against the roiling storm of self-loathing and bitter disillusionment that threatened to crash over him in waves.
Sinking back into his chair, he stayed like that for an indeterminable stretch, utterly undone.
He reached for the laptop and thumbed it awake, eyes skimming sightlessly across the innocuous document open before him. Financial projections, budget audits, tedious balance sheet minutiae...
What a blissfully delusional fool he'd been...to fall for someone like Soo-jin. He should have known better from the start. Maybe it was guilt that had blinded him for so long - allowed him to ignore or explain away her darkest impulses time and again.
A desperate, ill-conceived gambit to potentially redeem himself from...what? His own professional and moral turpitude? The damning role he'd blindly played in enabling this entire legacy of madness to fester unchecked?
Tae-sik scoffed mirthlessly into the empty office. He'd spent years simply doing as instructed, turning a willfully blind eye to the truth lurking beneath every impeccably polished lie. Averting his gaze, never questioning, scarcely even caring to know the full extent of the depravities he was empowering through his silence and inaction.
That had been his job - his singular purpose within this suffocating dynasty. To simply follow orders without protest, no matter how soul-corroding the ultimate cost.
And in doing so, had he not fashioned himself into an accomplice just as monstrous as the woman he now professed to loathe?
Soo-jin may have been the one reveling openly in acts of cruelty and malice. But Tae-sik had indirectly participated in cultivating the very monster she had become through his chronic failure to intervene.
"I sure hope you knew what you were doing, Hyun-woo..." he sighed, gaze drifting unseeingly over the paperwork still open before him as regret washed over him in cold, lapping waves.
Vote & comment ❤️