"I'll call you later" She said as she kissed my face.
"Don't cry, Jisoo. You are making me cry too" I giggled to brush off the sadness that already waiting to burst out.
Dad couldn't send me to the airport since he needed to wait for mum at my place. But I bid my goodbye to him and mum who didn't even want to kiss me before I left. But that was okay, it was like what dad used to say to me back then; she will forgive me, because she is a mother. One fine day, mum would understand, hopefully.
Leon didn't really talk to me ever since we were in the car. He kept on talking to himself and complaining about someone who didn't want to answer phone calls. I wondered who he had been calling for the past hours.
He came to Sydney yesterday just to take me back to Seoul, along with his PA and 3 bodyguards. I told him that I could fly alone when I gave him a yes to Melissa's proposal. I didn't need anyone to assist me all the time. But he said it was Melissa who insisted for me to be escorted, for my own safety. So I didn't argue much. I would just follow what she asked, making the process easier for both of us.
"Rosé"
I heard a familiar voice called for me, blowing panic in my nerves.
"Kookie!" Jisoo exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"
"Not your business" He answered her coldly and I felt someone pulled me by the wrist, taking me away from where I was standing.
"Let me go" I said while his grip was hurting me because of the struggle I put to free myself.
"Rosé, listen to me"
"How do you know I'm here?"
"Your mum called me when I was going to work. Look, Rosie" He moved his hands, gripping my shoulders instead. "You don't have to do this"
"I have to,"
"It's not too late to-"
"I love her, Kookie" I said softly. "I love her so much, please understand"
"But-" His speech was interrupted. "Don't go, Rosie. We can figure out the other ways about the money"
"It's not about-"
"I can help with the money too, just, please don't go"
I smiled a little as I didn't want to entertain him anymore. I was so tired to explain why I made this decision. My explanation was short and brief; I love her. But sometimes people just didn't like simplicity, they would make it as complicated as it possibly could.
This was why I forbid Jisoo to tell him about my departure. I wanted to avoid this begging kind of session in front of people, and it might affect my emotions since Jeongkook had been so unpredictable after I rejected him. He might say mean things at any time and I really didn't need to hear them now. But it was mum who called him.
Then I heard footsteps approaching us, and I was saved.
"Rosé, we have to go" Leon said.
I stepped forward and gave Jeongkook a hug. I could feel that he was suffering. His heartbeat was so fast at that time as I rested the side of my face against his chest, praying for his fresh wound to be easy on him. All he ever done was loving someone, and that someone couldn't love him back.
"Be happy for me, Kookie"
Jeongkook didn't give me any response. I wasn't hoping for one either. I was already at the stage of not listening to anybody. I heard them but I would forget later on. The reason was I got so nervous to come back to Korea after so long. And of course, because I was anxious, yet excited to meet Melissa after all these years.
I walked together with Leon as he put his arm around my shoulder, guiding me back to the place we gathered earlier. I thought we were supposed to be rushing but his walk was slow and steady. I was about to ask him if we already had to get in the immigration section, but his phone rang.
"Do you know how many times I called you?!"
He answered the call straight away, talking that way without a hello or any salutation. He sounded pretty mad.
"We are going in now" He paused, probably listening to call. "You better be there at the airport when we arrive"
Leon sounded like there was something bothering his mind, worrying about our arrival in Seoul later.
"You can ask your executive to attend the meeting, Lisa!"
I knew now who he had been calling and never got answered earlier. He was trying to reach his sister but only got his chance after a thousand calls I guessed. A softer hand wrapped around my forearm after, catching my attention instantly since I recognised whose grip was that. It was definitely Jisoo's.
"Are you kidding me right now?! Li-" Leon didn't get to finish her name. "Hello?! Lisa?!" His voice went louder, grunting. "Hang up on me! She always does this!"
He projected his frustration. Well, he should be. He had been trying to call her for hours but only managed to talk for not more than a minute. That was how much time Melissa willed to spend for a call to her brother, someone who was on his way to bring her soon to be wife.
"She is a pain in the ass! You better have enough patience, Rosé, or else you will get high blood pressure like me"
I could only smile to that. I had heard stories about her, mostly bad ones. But since Leon was with me, I started to hear even more. Still, I didn't let those bad impressions towards Melissa destroyed my excitement. I was nervous, yes. But I didn't want anyone to scare me with these stories about how bad she had been. I would need to meet her first, only then I would drop my judgement.
As for the time being, she was still the same Melissa I bear in mind 10 years ago until our meeting soon proved me wrong.
"Take care of yourself, okay?" Jisoo's voice woke me.
"It's only for 2 weeks," I said playfully to make her feel better. "You take care too" I gave her one last hug that felt like I would be away longer than I should be. "Thank you, Jisoo"
"I'll visit your mum after work for you"
I nodded against her shoulder and I finally made my way in, leaving Sydney with love and hopes.
That almost eleven hours of flight time finally ended. The flight was smooth and comfortable since I had never flown in business class in my entire life. I had a good sleep, good food on board and freshened myself up before landing. I even put a perfume that I had stopped wearing ever since I left Seoul, thinking that Melissa might love it, because she used to.
I had my favourite perfume, wearing the same scent for 5 years. But just because I knew I would be meeting Melissa, I went to a perfume shop with Jisoo 3 days ago to look for a new one with cherry blossom scent to it. And I was lucky that I found a brand that smelled almost the same like the one I used to wear 10 years ago.
Jisoo even suggested to buy one set, along with body lotion and bath. It was perfect for honeymoon later she said, which made me feel embarrassed. And I did buy one set, just for Lisa.
I couldn't stop hearing Leon's grunts and curse words as we walked through Incheon International Airport. He was trying to reach Melissa again but only met failure.
He already tried calling Melissa's trusted man, Jongnam, but that approach was also a disappointment since that man would wait outside of the room whenever she was having a meeting. So he couldn't take the phone to her because he wasn't allowed to disturb Melissa, unless she gave him an exception like 'Only calls from Leon', considering her brother was bringing an important person with him. But Jongnam didn't receive any order regarding that, so there was nothing he could do to help us in reaching Melissa.
"Fuck this!" Leon gave up when Jongnam already confirmed with us that Melissa wasn't at the airport. "Call for transport, Nam-Gi" He gave out an order to his own dependable man and we went to a coffee shop inside the terminal for him to have a fresh coffee.
He offered me if I wanted to have anything, but I was still full from the in-flight meal. So I just sat and waited for him to finish his coffee and also for the transport to pick us up. I had begun to feel offended actually. Is Lisa really don't care? I was coming to her but she put everything else more important than my arrival.
I knew it was a sudden plan. She only had a week to think about marrying me before sending Leon to Seoul to meet me and my dad. This wedding wasn't planned a year ago. She must already had plans in her schedule at least a month in advance that she needed to follow. But it was just for today. It was just for a day. Why couldn't she free her schedule for me?
I brushed off those thoughts. I was going to meet her, so I didn't want to act cold or anything just because I got offended. It was like what Leon told me; I need to have enough patience in handling Melissa, so I guessed this was just a start. There would be more to come and I would need to put up with her later.
Our transport had arrived. I thought it was just going to be one car. But our luggages didn't take the same car as the one we were in. They had different cars just to carry our things.
"Where to, Sir Leon?"
I heard the driver's voice once we were all ready to move out from the pick up area.
"I have no idea because that lion is the one who supposed to pick our guest up. Just drive first, I'll call her again"
The wheels started to spin and we were now heading to somewhere undecided.
Did he just address Lisa as a lion?
I kept being silent, playing with my fingers as I rested my head against that comfortable head rest. This felt like an expensive car. The ride was so smooth I could barely feel hard impact on the road.
"Lisa!" Leon exclaimed. I guessed his sister finally picked up her phone.
"Which hotel we should take her?"
"Are you out of your mind? She's tired from the flight and you want me to take her to the office?"
Leon's speech met a pause for a while as I heard Melissa's indistinct voice in the phone, probably giving out instructions to him. Even listening to the unclear sound of her already made me flutter in the stomach, heart beating faster in an instant.
"Fine! Tell your guys to get the red pass ready. We don't want any trouble with your security later because it will be an apocalypse to call you again!"
Leon ended the call shortly after, telling the driver to take us to Maas Corps Head Quarters.
"I'm so sorry for everything, Rosé" He said softly with his husky voice. "Things didn't work out as planned"
Leon sounded apologetic, probably feeling guilty of how his sister acted. I didn't blame him though. As long as we were already here, I wouldn't mind about anything. I just wanted to meet Melissa.
"She's busy, Leon. I understand that"
"You know, I used to think that she's going to die as a virgin," He sounded mean this time, starting to talk bad about Lisa again. "Like seriously, who would ever want an asshole like her?"
Me. I would, always.
"To be honest, I didn't expect you to accept the ring" He chuckled a little. "Well, I'm sort of knew there was something between you guys back in high school"
I gave him my full attention now.
"But I'm glad she will settle down with the same person, because she can't just get along with anyone"
"Did she has anyone before?"
"She doesn't. Nobody likes her though, just her money I guess"
"Jennie Kaltz?"
I finally said that name. That woman used to be my friend too, and she once had history with someone I was going to marry. I had heard her name so often recently since she went to a lot of business events with Melissa. So I couldn't help to ask.
"That media girl? Yeah, she's the only friend who can stand with Lisa's attitude"
I was Melissa friend too, but we still had sexual encounters. Melissa wasn't a girl who would declare someone back then. That was why I assumed her and Jennie were sex partners now behind closed door and acted like friends in public.
I didn't even know why I felt jealous. I was aware that I shouldn't assume things. Melissa and Jennie could be real friends and not sleeping together.
"What's with you calling her lion?" I changed the subject to distract myself from thinking bad about Melissa. I didn't want to ruin my mood.
"Speaking of that lion," He scooted closer to me. "I have to warn you, Rosé" His voice was low now, making me nervous all of the sudden. "I don't call her that, the staffs do, and they have damn good reasons for that"
My eyes gone wider as I leaned in to hear him better.
"Lisa yells a lot even if she doesn't have any reason to, she will definitely find one" He said. "I don't know how she's going to react when she meets you later, but I just don't want you to get surprised by it, that's all"
To be frank, out of all bad stories I had heard about Melissa, that was by far the scariest one.
"Just be careful when she talks nicely, I mean, if she talks like a normal person. She's just eyeing on you first, then she will snap"
I was worried because Melissa once snapped at me in a toilet back at school. She made me cry because of that. My heart sank when she raised her voice at that time. So I pretty much knew how it felt to get yelled at.
"Even in meetings or business events, she doesn't talk. She has someone who will speak for her, she just doesn't do talking. Because each time she does, it's all anger"
I nodded as I was trying to absorb everything Leon just told me. I was nervous before, but now I started to get scared as well.
We finally arrived and went straight to the security department at ground level. Even the security guards were surprised when they received order from Melissa to give a red pass to someone named Ms. Roseanne Pearce. That was what they told Leon when we were at their desk earlier.
Leon later told me in the elevator about the red pass. It was a security card to be used to access Melissa's office, which belonged to her father, and grandfather before him. It was like a secret chamber. I was informed that there were only two red passes; one was in Melissa's keep for sure and another one was in the security department. Her office room was secured with a grade 1 security system, so the door wouldn't even open during fire, earthquake or anything.
Only the red pass could open the door.
And it was surprising for the staffs to receive such order from Melissa since a red pass was never been given to anyone except to the President itself for more than 50 years. That made this the first time ever for that holy pass to be in somebody's else keep.
Me.
Leon left me at the 27th floor, where the entire floor belonged to Melissa only. He asked Irene, Melissa's secretary to assist me before he left.
Irene took me to the door and explained on how to use the red pass. I just needed to find that tiny machine against the wall, and tap it until I heard a robotic sound. That meant the door was unlocked.
So I tried it, tapping the red pass and the door sounded like it was opened. But Irene jumped a little, taking a few steps back from me almost immediately like she was so scared of it.
"Irene?" I called out for her. "Could you please assist me in? Where should I sit?"
"I- I'm not allowed to enter, Ms. Pearce"
There was fear in her tone. Her voice was unstable when she replied to my request. That got me thinking about what Melissa did to her staffs until they were so scared of her.
"I really don't want to knock anything in the room, Irene. She wouldn't know if you are in, she's not here right?"
"Ms. Pearce, there are security cameras everywhere" Irene began to explain. "It's a serious offence to enter, I might go to jail if I got caught"
I sighed as I opened my handbag, grabbing my walking stick as the red pass was still in my hand. Taking a few seconds more, I finally stepped in.
The room smelled like files and papers, just like a regular office. But there was a small scent of perfume, which I assumed was Melissa's, giving me an idea that she was in the room before. The scent was slowly fading anyway and no longer that strong.
I made my way further in with my walking stick until I found my stop. I bent down a little bit, touching with my fingers and was confirmed that it was a couch. I sat down carefully, placing my handbag next to me and I put the red pass on my thigh. I needed to fold my walking stick back and I couldn't do that with one hand.
I shoved it in my handbag, zipping the zipper and I heard the robotic sound again, and the door opened shortly after.
My breath quickened as my heart was hammering against my chest. The blood in me ran faster in a race stream, sending pressure to my head. The air it produced escaped only through my mouth and no longer my nose, causing it to slowly become audible.
I heard her footsteps, high heels to be exact. She sounded like a typical office woman, walking around in Houghton Mifflin office that I was familiar with. But her steps were different. She was walking like she was hesitated; slow and not firmly pressed on the tiled floor. The sound was like it made exactly by the heels, and not the front of the shoes as well.
I heard her steps so many times but she didn't come at me. She was still there at the door as the sound of her heels didn't travel to where I was sitting. Melissa sounded like she was walking back and forth, struggling to meet me in person after all these years.
Lisa, it's okay. Come here.
I heard her sigh, loud enough to spark my racing heart. I wasn't even lying, I could literally hear my own heartbeat in my ears now when she finally moved from there, walking towards me.
My muscles stressed as her heels came closer and I started to smell her scent. It was a different perfume that I couldn't recognise. But that scent grew stronger, flooding me with added adrenaline as I knew she was close until she stopped. My mouth began to tremble and my eyes blinking uncontrollably, just like how I failed to control how nervous and anxious I was right now, digging my nails on my handbag that was still in my grip.
She didn't make any move, not by her heels or her mouth either. As far as I got so nervous, there were still sanity and common sense working inside my cold iced brain at the moment, making me realise that I needed to greet her first. She was the owner of this office, she would get the respect she deserved from me.
So I forced my tight muscles to work extra harder, standing up clumsily from my sitting position to greet her with a bow as I used to, but I heard another noise that broke the silence; a sound of something flat fell on the floor.
The pass. The red pass was on my thigh!
I couldn't move anymore as that sound immobilised me straight away. Panic started to rush in while I held my own fingers because I was shaking. Then I heard her heels again, taking a few steps in front of me and I began to see her shadow, blocking the light from entering my eyes.
She was standing, right there, in front of me. Lisa was so close until I could hear her heavy breath, just as same as mine currently. My attention went to the sound she made by those irregular pattern of breathing, until I felt a soft touch against my chest, which felt like the flat pass I dropped.
Tears finally formed in my eyes. They were so fast in doing their job, sending a sharp pain in my nose almost immediately. This situation felt so familiar, so close to my heart and to my memory, and I felt that sudden sadness began to overpower my nervousness.
I took a deep breath before I could lift my shaky hand, gripping on the card only with the tips of my fingers as they brushed against her hand.
Another spark hit me when I felt her skin. It was so soft, just like the last time I remembered it. I pulled the pass softly towards me, being careful with my movement, but it got stuck when Lisa refused to let go.
I really missed you doing this, Lisa.
I was trying so hard not to frown as I was at the edge of crying. Our skin was touching each other's and I felt her breath brushed against it. It was warm and calming, reminding me back of how she didn't change much. Only this time, she smelled different.
I didn't let go of the card, yet, and so did she. We stayed like that for so long that I couldn't even realise how many seconds it took. And just when I thought my life couldn't be any darker than this, she sent me back to the world we were once in, that I had left behind since it was already empty, just by a touch of her signature move that I loved the most.
"Roseanne..."