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Hongjoong agreed. It took a while to get him on board with the idea, seeing as he was very adamant about keeping Mari away from both his house and his father. But after a couple of precisely planned arguments and an unfortunate amount of guilt tripping, she was able to make him agree. Despite everything that had happened after the attack on the Seo Manor, she was still mad at him though it may not look like it. So she ended up using that source of anger and frustration as leverage over Hongjoong, just this once.
She knew that it wasn't the greatest way to go about things as she knew that manipulating people into doing things they don't like didn't usually end well. But Hongjoong had tried to kill her on multiple occasions so... she was just going to pay it forward this way.
"They're not sane," Hongjoong had told her over the phone, attempting to prep her the impromptu dinner. "They hide it well, how much they analyze people. If they ask you any questions deflect it with another question, or give a question that satisfies their needs just enough. Watch what you say, how you act, what you see, they're always trying to keep control of what's going on in that house. That includes trying to control their guests who visit as well."
She could see why Hongjoong constantly escaped to Mingi's house when he was talking. They were control freaks, constantly trying to dictate what was happening in that house whether or not something was breathing or not. It didn't matter if you were under the Kim Faction or not, if you had a conscience that could be manipulated they'd take their chances. They were like the bars to a bird's cage, constantly trying to keep their son's free spirit behind lock and key so he couldn't escape again.
And Hongjoong had the audacity to let Mari rant about her family? He had it far worse than her, he had her worst nightmare. There's no doubt about it that everything Hongjoong was doing now to this day was an act of defiance to make his parents realize he was not a piece of property that they could change and control.
"This is going to be... much harder than I thought it would be," Mari mumbled, sitting in the back of the Rolls Royce with her feet kicked up on the passenger's seat. She really shouldn't be, seeing as she was wearing a white dress thanks to the formal dress code Hongjoong's father had pushed on them, but it's not like her driver was going to look at her. They had to keep their eyes on the road and if they didn't? That would be weird. "The fact that returning home isn't my biggest problem is extremely scary."
No one in the faction knew where she was going exactly, except for San and most likely Yeosang by now. The Seo Faction didn't have nearly as much intel as the Kim Faction did on their home base and family residence, so she had the ability to openly talk about the address to Hongjoong's home without worry. To everyone else, it just seemed as though she was going out to do the normal teenaged activities and definitely not potentially leading herself to her demise.
Though if Yeosang had known where she was going before she left, he would most likely have tried to stop. Probably going to spill her plans to the Consigliere or Underboss in order to keep her from jumping headfirst into the dangers of the Kim Faction place of living. He wanted her to sit back and think first so bad, but Mari just doesn't use her brain like that. Consequences always come after her actions, so why should she be thinking about them first.
Flawed logic but that's just how Mari operated, no matter how hard she tried to change. And trust and believe she's tried to change.
"Ms. Seo?" The driver spoke as the car began to slow down, the blurred view of the trees becoming clearer as they neared a stop. Mari immediately sat up straight with wide eyes as she scrambled over towards the window, glued to the view of the outdoors like a child. She stood up on her knees with her face pressed against the glass like a child, pure wonder and disbelief coaxing her expression as the driver spoke again. "We have arrived at your destination... this is the right place, correct?"
"I'd be damned if it wasn't..." She mumbled back in reply. Mari's manor was rather large in size before it was burned down, having the ability to house a good portion of the Seo Faction inside of it. But this? This was on another level of money. It's like she was face to face with a glass castle, shining under the sunset's light and towering over her like it was the Eiffel Tower. The lights in the house were on as well, signaling that the Kim residence was active inside for the day and Mari felt her heart drop for a moment.
A little sting of regret was circulating through her veins as the driver turned onto their wrap around driveway, passing the garden fountain centerpiece to pull up to their front door. Hongjoong's house was much grander than Mingi's home yet seemed more expensive and larger than her old one. It was intimidating to even stand in front of the building, how was she going to navigate it on her own time?
When the Rolls Royce came to a full stop Mari cautiously opened the door to let herself out. Her steps were light and anxious like a cat, jerking away and back into the car seat at the slightest movement from the windows. Something about this place felt off despite its grand and luxurious design but she supposed that's why Hongjoong constantly ran away from it. The atmosphere was tense and threatening whether or not she was arriving in terms of a stranger or the enemy. As if there were eyes burning big and dark holes into the back of her head watching her every movement.
"This is going to be a challenge," The girl repeated from earlier as a little courage began to bubble inside of her, willing herself to walk towards the door.
It was a large rounded iron door with stained glass to block the view of the inside of the house. It provided enough security and safety away from average strangers while adding a sort of dungeon like aura to the already intense house of horrors. Beside the door was the doorbell for her to ring so she didn't potentially hurt her fingers on the iron bars, but for some reason, it felt like the doorbell was more menacing than the iron door itself. Like pressing it would open a door under her feet and let her fall to her doom.
"You can do this, Mari," She reminded herself, patting down the fabric of her dress as she tried to boost her overall confidence. "This was your idea, you don't have the option to back down. Get your information, have dinner with his father, leave the house. That's the plan, stick to the plan." With a deep breath and a reluctance movement of her fingers, she pressed the bell.
A long and strenuous ding echoed through the building after she pressed the doorbell, so loud that it nearly toppled Mari off of her own two feet. She had never heard a doorbell that deep and strong before, so there was absolutely no way for them to miss her arrival now. "God I regret this so much. This was the worst idea possible. I should have just listened to Yeosang and waited this out," She blurted under her breath, starting to break a sweat when she saw a figure approach the door from the inside.
Though when the door creaked open just enough for a head to peer through the crack, she let out a relieved sigh. There stood her fiery redheaded host for the night, dressing in all black formal wear in stark contrast to Mari's nearly pure white dress. "Hongjoong! Thank god you're the one that answered the door, I would have literally collapsed if I was face to face with your father, I wouldn't be able to do it." She ranted, stumbling over her words as he opened the door for her. "I mean... I would have to do it eventually but like if I'm gonna be honest he's a little scary? Like I know you know that but like all the times I've—"
"Mari," He interrupted an amused smile on his face. The girl immediately covered her mouth with her hands upon realizing what she had done. Curse this unfortunate habit of hers, having her ramble on in such nonsensical manor. Honestly, how did people even deal with her when she suddenly shot off at the mouth? Hongjoong glanced at her chosen attire before his smile grew even wider. "You look nice, aside from the fact that you decided to wear flats."
"Really?" Mari asked him, looking down at the dress she wore and completely ignoring his jab at her choice in shoes. After the masquerade party, the Seo Faction had held, she wasn't ever going to wear heels again. Either way, the girl anxiously picked at the hem of the dress with an unsatisfied huff before turning back towards him, "I don't know... I feel kinda stupid in this? I'm not very used to wearing skirts and dresses like that so I feel extremely out of place right now."
"You wear a skirt to school all of the time now, how is that any different from this?" He questioned her, closing the door behind her as Mari finally took a step inside of his home.
"That's different, its apart of the uniform so I'll be punished if I don't wear..." She began, though trailing off once she turned her attention to her surroundings. The glass palace left her in awe once more, making her feel like she was a mere peasant who had somehow walked into the house of royalty. The floor was made of shining white marble, reflecting the image of Mari and Hongjoong in the ground while blinding lights of a chandelier hung above them.
On both sides of the wall were marble spiral staircases that led to the upstairs floor, wood railing following suit of their path. In the middle of the room were two large pillars that surrounded the chandelier above, where the staircases met and split into two separate hallways. The pillars held up a mezzanine balcony that hung over them, giving whoever was up top a full view of everything below in this main lobby like room. "You live like this?" Mari asked him, though it was more of a rhetorical question as she continued to take in the castle-like interior.
She wished she wasn't surprised but this was nothing like Mingi's house, this was nothing like her house. To think that a place this grand held some of Hongjoong's worse memories that Mari didn't even want to try and dive into. "Yeah," He responded reluctantly, definitely not getting the same feeling of amazement as she was. "It's only been like... maybe two years since we've moved here? Though it's never really felt like home, that's why I was always at Mingi's house."
"How much money do you really have anyway?" She asked him as he began to walk up the stairs, a cheeky smile on his face as he turned back to her.
"Enough to get me another motorcycle if I really wanted to," He responded, indirectly answering her question but not in the way she wanted him to. With an annoyed huff, Mari began climbing the stairs after him, ready to pester him with millions of questions she just needed to be answered at that moment. Sure she was in his house so that she would rather have any sort of information his father may have on Wooyoung's whereabouts but she was curious!
Did they always have giant houses like these? How did they gain enough money to even afford the place? If she disguised herself well enough could she get an internship from the Kim Faction and work for their money? Don't get her wrong, the Seo Faction has plenty of money themselves, but Hongjoong's wealth was absolutely insane. It was without a doubt that his faction rivaled the Lee Faction in terms of finances.
"Oh, look at you two! You're like two peas in a pod, little yin and yangs!" A feminine spoke behind them, interrupting their conversation to force themselves in. Mari was the first to turn around, a confused yet slightly annoyed frown donning her face and she was met face to face with an older woman. Thanks to the heels on her feet she towered over Mari without a little problem, giving her a sickly sweet smile similar to the one that Jung Chaeyeon would always wear. How they didn't hear her approach was one thing, but she did give off a level of intensity that was close to Hongjoong's father so Mari could only assume—
"Mari, this is my mother," Hongjoong quickly introduced, placing himself in between the two women very cautiously. The woman smiled at Mari with a mischievous glint in her eyes as she played with the wedding ring on her finger as if she was scanning and assessing every little piece of personality Mari offered to put on a show. The girl recalled Hongjoong calling his mother a watered-down version of his father so this would be an interesting interaction. Seeing as Mari always has interesting interactions with the boy's father.
His mother stood straight up and held her hand out for Mari to shake, the edges of her eyes crinkling as her smile grew even wider. "Mari... ah yes, I remember now! My husband has spoken of your existence before after meeting you and what a lovely girl he made you out to be! I can't believe Hongjoong tried to hide you from us, you seem like such a wonderful person."
"Oh really..." Mari replied, glancing between Hongjoong and the woman. "He's talked about me...?" She knew that Hongjoong would talk about her to his little group of friends, but his father? Somehow that felt more disturbing to her than it actually sounded.
"Of course! You know I was rather skeptical at first, seeing as Hongjoong isn't very social with the girls I've tried to introduce him to," She explained, lamenting over her most likely several failed attempts to try and put Hongjoong and Jaerin together. "But you, I can see why he seems to have a sorta affinity for you. His father had told me you're a very strong-willed girl, a little bit of an attitude on the side but just enough to make it endearing and entertaining to watch."
Her smiled donned into a sinister grin as she took a strand of Mari's hair in her hands, rubbing her hands to feel the texture and glancing down at her appearance. "My gosh, how could I even forget? You're so very beautiful as well, who could forget that factor. Your dress, your face, your hair, everything about you makes you simply... stunning. Tell me, Mari, you must get your looks from your mother, don't you? A daughter who takes after her mother is always the best of their kind, dead or alive."
"That's enough," Hongjoong tried to intervene, but he reaction time didn't match her immediate reflexes.
Goosebumps ran marathons down her back as she grabbed a hold of the woman's wrist, her nails threatening to dig deep into her skin and draw blood. Something about his mother's words made Mari jump headfirst into survival mode, desperate to escape a situation she wanted no part in. Just the thought of that woman touching her again made her stomach twist and turn with horror and disgust, threatening to throw the girl into a sickness right where she stood.
"My, my, what a strong grip you have there," She mused, taking her hand away from Mari. The girl dropped her grip once his mother finally moved away, the ground swaying under her feet and a lightheaded feeling aching in her mind. She didn't want that woman touching her ever again. "Are you okay, Mari? You don't look so well anymore. We don't want you passing out before dinner, do we?"
Hongjoong eyes narrowed at the woman who stood in front of them, her smiling and batting her eyes innocently back at her son. "She's fine," He responded after a few seconds of silence, holding his hand out to Mari for her to take ahold of. "Just give us a few minutes and she'll be back on her feet in no time." He lied, trying to put distance between his mother and Mari.
Her whole face lit up at the thought of the two alone and immediately waved them off. "Oh but of course! No worries, I'll leave you two alone now. Just don't be late, dinner will be ready soon and your father is dying just to speak to Mari once again. He finds you so intriguing and I can already see why!"
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Mari snapped, unable to keep up the fake endearment to match his mother's tone.
"It can be if you want to," She sneered in response, a annoying smirk on her face as she dug under Mari's skin. Hongjoong's mother was like a older version of Jaerin, able to attack her where it hurts and antagonizing her until they got the reaction they wanted. Just when she thought that the Lee Faction heir was gone for good, she just had to come back in the form of woman she didn't have the ability to disrespect. Mari hated it so much that it made her blood boil.
Though the woman laughed at her reaction, brushing aside her quick-tempered attitude and walking down the hall past them. However she stopped in her tracks to look behind her shoulder, glancing towards Mari's dress with a slight judging look. "Oh I almost forgot to tell you. Red is much more your color Mari, you should try it. Maybe next time you come around we can go shopping at boutique and find you a nice red gown just for you."
Mari took a threatening step towards the woman, a malicious gaze in her eyes that was just waiting to tear her apart. Though Hongjoong held her back, grabbing a hold of her shoulders and keeping her in place so that she didn't chase after his mother. They watched her disappear down the corridor, the tension in the atmosphere immediately dropping as soon as his mother was out of sight. "If that wasn't your mother, trust and believe that I would have punched her by now. No that's too kind of a word, I would have killed her by now."
"I would give you full permission to do so if we weren't trying to do something really dangerous right now," Hongjoong reassured her, trying to shake off the interaction as best as he possibly could. "She's only a taste of what's to come, we've got the whole night ahead of still. I hope you can keep that impatient trait of yours at bay no matter what's going to be thrown your way."
Mari snorted, regaining her normal self as she resisted the urge to crack her knuckles. "No promises. If she so dares to try and lay a finger on me one more time I'm going to go absolutely feral, and there's no stopping me then."
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junior year is making
my monkey brain
burn out so I'm
sorry if this is really
confusing >:((