Sungjae took Suzy over to the stables and saddled a sleek mare for her. "She's a beauty, isn't she?" he said as Suzy stroked the horse's shiny dark brown coat. "She was my mother's."
"She's gorgeous," Suzy said softly.
"She's also the most good-natured. She won't give you any trouble." Sungjae handed the reins to Suzy, who started leading the horse outside. As she was passing one of the boxes, the horse inside neighed and kicked his door. Suzy jumped slightly, but the mare seemed unperturbed.
"That's Luna," Sungjse said. "He's Hyung's. He doesn't let anyone else ride him. Abeoji tried to sell him, but the buyers always came back with him. If it weren't for the fact that our mother bought that horse for him, Abeoji probably would have had him put down by now."
Suzy peered inside the box. Luna's coat looked more like a panther's than anything else. He had a raven-like mane and his eyes seemed to be just as black. Yes, this was definitely Vincent's horse.
Sungjae soon joined her outside with his own horse, a brown Calabrese and they set off in a trot.
"Did you often go out riding together, you and Vincent?" Suzy asked as they were riding along a small trail.
"All the time," he smiled. "We would race, of course. First one to the barn, first one to the well, first one to the lake..."
"There's a lake near here?"
"About an hour's ride from the house, yes. Would you like to see it?"
"No, that's ok. So, what type of grapes do you grow?"
Sungjae went into a detailed account of how wine is produced and Suzy found herself relaxing in his company. He had a pleasant voice and he seemed very dedicated to his work. They eventually drifted over to discussing books and music, and Stefan listened attentively to Suzy's description of her work at the publishing house.
"So you've been working for Vincent for over three years and he still hasn't promoted you?"
"He would have, I'm sure, but when we started dating, we just felt it would look bad if he promoted me."
"Was that your decision or his?"
"Does it matter?"
"I just don't see you as the kind of person who would give up her career for a man."
"That's not what I'm doing."
"Well, good," he smiled. "I would hate to see you sell yourself short."
Suzy frowned at the expression. Was that what it would look like to their colleagues once she got the promotion? Like she had sold herself? Of course that was not what he meant by the phrase, but the thought still bothered her.
"Suzyssi?"
Suzy blinked and found Sungjae eyeing her suspiciously.
"Uh... sorry," she shook her head to rid herself of her troubled thoughts.
"Is everything all right?"
"Yes. I'm just... I guess I'm not used to the sun, is all."
"Come, there is a tree over there. We can let the horses rest for awhile," he gestured towards a large oak and steered his stallion over there.
He jumped off and tied his horse to a thick branch, then walked up to Suzy's horse and held out his arms to help her down. Suzy was perfectly capable of getting off herself, but she allowed him to lift her down. She realized her mistake when his hands lingered on her hips a little too long and she turned away to discretely free herself of his grip. He took the hint and let go.
"I'm sorry, I should have thought to bring a water bottle," Sungjae said as Suzy sat down, leaning against the tree trunk.
"It's fine. The shade helps. I'll be fine in a minute." Suzy smiled politely and Sungjae sat down beside her.
"Did you have a chance to spend some time with halmeoni yet?" Sungjae asked casually.
"I did," she smiled, her face lighting up at the mention of halmeoni. "She's amazing."
"She is," Sungjae agreed. "But Hyung was always her favorite. I never really had the chance to get to know her."
"There's still time."
"Yes, but... I'm afraid she had made her mind up about me."
"Like your father has about Vincent?" Suzy said, knowing that their father always favored Sungjae. If their father could play favorites, why couldn't their grandmother?
"Abeoji had high hopes for Hyung. He wanted him to take the estate into the next century."
"But it wasn't what Vincent wanted," Suzy defended him. "Should he cave to his father's wishes only to be miserable for the rest of his life?"
"Do you think this life is so bad?"
"No, of course not. But if you are forced to live your life according to someone else's plan, you'll be miserable no matter how beautiful the place."
"But if Hyung chose this life, of his own will, would you share it with him? Would you give up your career to follow him?"
"Vincent and I share similar goals." She shrugged.
"Right now..."
"I have no reason to believe that will change."
"But if it should?"
"Then we'll discuss it."
Truth was, if Vincent decided to go back to Italy, there would be no need for this charade to continue. Still, her first reaction to Sungjae's question had been the feeling that she would follow Vincent to the ends of the world if he asked her to. Suzy quickly shook off that thought, along with the chilling sensation that she was in way over her head.
Sungjae steered the conversation back to less personal topics and when Suzy felt cooler again, they headed back to the estate. When they approached the stables, Suzy spotted Vincent coming to meet them.
The mare halted when he approached and let him pat her forehead. "Hey, girl," he said softly. "How've you been?"
"How'd it go with father?" Sungjae asked as he leapt off his horse.
"I don't really want to get into that just now," he said and turned his attention to Suzy. "Did you have a nice ride?"
"I did."
Vincent reached out to help her down and Suzy let him. His hands didn't linger long enough on her hips, Suzy found herself thinking.
"So... it's almost lunch time. Would you like to go for a drive into town?"
"I'd love to. Let me just get changed first, okay?"
"Sure. I'll wait here," Vincent said and watched her go.
Suzy, having her back turned, didn't notice the expression on Vincent's face as she walked away. Nor did she notice the stains on her back from where she had leaned against the tree. Her white sundress - not an appropriate riding attire - was soiled.
"What the hell, Sungjae-ya?" he growled as soon as Suzy was out of earshot, shoving his brother.
"What? I took her riding."
"You took her for a ride, you mean?"
"Oh, come on, how insecure are you?" Sungjae rolled his eyes.
"How did she get the stains on her back, Sungjae-ya?"
"Aside from the fact that you apparently have so little faith in the woman you're supposedly marrying, how could you think I would do that to you?"
"Don't play games with me. I know what you are."
"What I am?" Sungjae raised his eyebrows. "This should be good..."
"You think I don't know that Soo-young isn't the first girl you've gotten pregnant? That Abeoji is almost broke because of all the money he's had to lay down to keep your indiscretions quiet?"
"Oh, is that what you and Abeoji have been discussing today? My love life?"
"No, we've discussed how you've run this place into the ground with your reckless behavior. We've discussed how I'm going to have to straighten out your mess for you."
"You're moving back?"
"No. I'm appointing a receiver to assess the financial situation and manage the estate until you are equipped to do so."
"You've got some nerve, Hyung!" He growled. "You think you're better than me, is that it? Well, if you're so great, how come you have to bribe a woman to marry you?"
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"No? She doesn't love you, Hyung. You obviously know that, too, or else you wouldn't be so worried that she'd end up on her back whenever she's alone with me."
Punch.