“This is new, right?” I walk forward, pasting on a smile, and pull at his collar as though it’s twisted and I’m being helpful while it’s an excuse to drag out this conversation. Checking closer that I genuinely have never seen this jacket.
“Hmmm” He pulls the fabric out of my hands, shrugging me away as though he can’t stand my closeness, and fixes it himself, stepping away from me. The wall is going up, and his signals are screaming that he wants space.
“When did you pick it up. It’s not a brand you normally shop for.” I eye up the branded bag, not recognizing it at all, but the quality seems high-end and not high street.
“It was a gift. Nothing wrong with trying something different for a change.” He turns and throws me a brief, strange look. A weird glance as though telling me something but not committing to look at me and then walks off. Leaving me in here as he goes back into his office without a backward glance.
My heart flips over, that insane gut feeling from the night he took out his sports car hits me again, and I find myself impulsively leaning out to look inside the bag for any kind of card or note and find nothing. The bag is empty save from some tissue paper, yet the faint scent of familiar perfume lingers around it.
I freeze up. My hand is on the edge of the thick paper, and my stomach lurches up into my mouth as I stand there motionless for a blank second. It’s the perfume I wear, and I know where I smelled it once before. It’s a sensation like a sucker punch to the gut and ice-cold water thrown in my face simultaneously as my brain puts two and two together and gets a complicated response.
My hand shakes, and I straighten myself up, my legs suddenly weak, arguing with my flawed sense of logic that I’m overreacting and being overly suspicious, but I can’t stop the growing nausea inside of me. I turn and walk after him into the bright room, and he’s already at his desk, leaning over and putting things in order so he can leave.
“Who gifted something so expensive? Something so not you? A client? A friend? Why am I only just hearing this?” I sound exactly like one of those over-possessive jealous wives in movies and hate myself for letting this crack in my mask show. Pushing down nausea and rising hysteria.
“Don’t ask me about my personal life, and I won’t ask you about yours. What is this now, Sohla?” he doesn’t look at me, only picks up his cell and car keys and slides them in his pocket before straightening up. It only pushes me into further madness as I swirl uncontrollably inside, and my entire mental state rocks.
“A woman? It smells like perfume… my perfume.” I spit in accusation, breathless.
“It sat in our wardrobe the last few days; it probably smells of your perfume. That’s where you put it on. Don’t do this.” He dodges me again, his tone unconvincing, and I have the urge to run over and shake him. A violent hurt racking up from my toes, and I want to scream the words out at him to answer the fucking question.
“You’re saying it’s not from a woman?” I state through gritted teeth to keep my cool, panic gripping my heart.
“I’m leaving. Please don’t start this. We don’t have that kind of relationship, and I’m not in the mood to be interrogated.” Jyeon doesn’t give me another second of his time. He flips his laptop shut in haste and stalks off out of the room, leaving the door to swing shut behind him, and yet like a sad, pathetic, desperate lover, I follow him. I clench my fists and try to calm my erratic breathing.
“You can’t leave. We have a crisis meeting to call. We have issues with the distribution chain for the flex company.” I’m grasping at straws, deep down knowing I don’t want him to go to wherever he’s going and whoever gave him that jacket. IT’s intuition, a heart begging another heart not to betray them.
“You handle it. You always do just fine without me. You always will.” It’s a weird tone, lacking emotion, and I finally get another look thrown back my way. Only it’s a wary and dark expression that I can’t read, and I feel like he’s giving me subtle messages.
I want to scream at him, run after him, and cling to him, but I’m aware of the receptionist right at my left and how quickly rumor would fly if I behaved in any kind of insane manner. I take a deep breath and paste on a blank expression, steeling my inward trembles and pulling a carefree attitude from god knows where. Reverting to the cold and bland me that I know Jyeon hates the most.
“I’ll see you at two pm then,” I call after him, and Jyeon doesn’t acknowledge me at all. Just walks away.
I wait until he’s out of sight and turn and stalk back into his office, bee-lining right for the dressing room and I yank the bag out of the chair and tip it upside down. So all the tissue paper falls out, and I shake it ruthlessly to dislodge anything inside, finding nothing at all.
The smell of my perfume is ingrained into it as though it’s been held by someone wearing it, or maybe he’s right, and I didn’t see it in our walk-in closet, and it absorbed my perfume from the air. I turn it back over and flip it, so the brand name faces me, pulling out my cell phone and g****e it. Knowing I’m being stupid, it’s like I’m possessed.
It’s a local domestic brand with one store because they’re an up-and-coming small boutique that hand makes everything they sell. The very upside is that they boast unique and one-of-a-kind items, so no two are the same, making this easier to track. My finger hovers over the listed phone number, and I mentally pause. Shaking from head to toe and telling myself not to do this.
Live in ignorance, don’t scratch the surface. Let it go. We can go on living as we are, and that’s enough. I can leave this boat unrocked and ignore this feeling inside of me. It’s better to look the other way and act like there’s nothing there for my sanity.
His weird behavior lately, distracted focus, and veiled messages whenever we talk. The gut feeling inside of me not only started recently but lingered from just before he had that girl in his office. I’ve felt it for weeks, that something is off, and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
I press it despite myself and hold my cell to my ear with ice-cold hands and a pit growing so heavy inside of me I feel like my legs may cave in.
“Hello, Favcoanda designer clothing. How can I help you?”
“Hello there, I’m calling to find out if you have a purchase record on a coat that was left in my company by mistake. It has your brand on the label and seems very expensive, but we have no way to source the owner.” I coolly lie through my teeth. Bold in doing so, I have to lean my hand against the wall to steady myself as dizziness takes hold. My heart hammering painfully inside my chest.
“Oh, if you brought it to the store, we could see if we have the payment record for that transaction, but we only have that on a non-cash transaction. We don’t keep records for every item.” She has a bubbly, upbeat voice of a young person, and I close my eyes to simmer my tone.
“Can’t I just describe it, and you could tell me who owns it, we’re a massive and busy company, and I want to return it before the end of the day.”
“I’m sorry we can’t hand out customer's details, but we’d be happy to contact them and have them collect from here if you have someone drop it off.”
I chew my lip, cursing under my breath, and know when I’m defeated. Mentally wracking my brain on how to find out and knowing I would have to take it from Jyeon when he didn’t notice to have them check.
“Right. I’ll do that. Thank you for your time.”
After cutting the call, I throw the bag down and kick it across the floor in aggravation. Leaving it there as I walk out in anger and push through the outer door to go. Stamping my steps and growing heated with everyone.
I catch sight of his receptionist in my peripheral, recoiling away from me and shriveling small to go unseen, and she irritates me. That meek personality doesn’t seem to annoy him in the slightest among our female staff, and I just don’t get it. I swing past and then stop dead in my tracks as a thought hits me right in the forehead.
“Dee?” I pause, stilling every nerve in my body, and turn to her with a suddenly very smiling and probably terrifying demeanor. I usually never give this girl the time of day.
“Yes, Vice President Park?” She blinks rapidly, like a rabbit caught in the headlights, intimidated and afraid of me. Shocked I would directly address her.
“Do you know who he is meeting for lunch? He forgot to specify.” I ask outright, daring her to try and lie to me, and she seems to pale visibly.
“Ummmm, the liaison for a company we’re investing in, I believe. He arranged it himself today.”
My heart almost stops in my chest. I falter, blink, and then catch myself before it’s obvious and smile even brighter.
“Biochem?” I state it blankly, devoid of reaction, even if my heart turns to rock in my chest and ceases to beat. A fluttering yet also painful stab inside of me.
“I think so.”
I watch Jyeon from my seat at the board meeting. Sitting next to his chair at the head, he’s up and walking around as he talks out what he has on the projector, yet I can’t focus on what he’s saying. All day it’s been eating away at me, ripping me into pieces, and I can’t think of anything else no matter how I try. I’m distraught inside.I watch him closely for signs, changes, and anything to help clear this muddy mess out of my brain and find myself hating him for making me feel this way. Despising the very ground he walks on.He came back around two, and I happened to be in the parking garage when he pulled in. I wish I hadn’t been, but it was a coincidence as I was returning from an onsite inspection.I saw them. Together. That b
The heavy silence is, of course, I know, all men turning to look Jyeon’s way in question that he would act so personally with a spokesperson of a company we haven’t yet taken control of. There’s a process to things, and it’s known that my job as VP is that I should be the one taking her to lunch when the time is right. This raises so many questions for him.“Claire White? Why is that name familiar?” Yoonha forgets this is a board meeting and verbalizes his thoughts. It's a bad habit he’s had since he was a kid, and it’s why he’s unable ever to keep himself in his own lane when it comes to Jyeon’s and my problems. “Let’s call it a day and reconvene when we have more definite answers. Sohla, my office. We need to talk about this.”
“What’s going on with you two lately? It feels like the frosty atmosphere between you is more glacier than normal, and neither of you is speaking up about it.” Yoonha prods me in the back of the head as he passes behind me at the breakfast table. Being his usual annoying self. I tense up, but act flippant, not ready to share anything with him yet. If Yoonha knows, he will make everything worse, and I need to get a handle on what I’m going to do when I know for sure. I don’t even know what to do.“Nothing. You know how it is when we get into the new financial year. So much more stress for a few weeks. It’ll pass.” I brush it off and focus on pushing oatmeal into my mouth despite my zero appetite and can barely swallow it. I’m in jogging clothes as it’s my day off, and my routine is an early morning workout, followed by breakfast, and then a run. I’m trying to stay as normal as possible to keep up appearances.
“I’m sorry. I know this must be very hard for you, but in divorce cases, adultery will work in your favor.” His words are like lead to me, dropping heavily onto my brain and weighing me down.“This is the additional information you wanted. Her movements, schedules, home address, etc. She has an apartment not far from here. I came from there before meeting you.”I nod numbly, unable to take it in, and force all my efforts into not breaking down in front of this stranger. My heart is broken into a million pieces, and I don’t know how to react when it’s so plainly in my face. I can’t deny it or make excuses, and my gut was right from god knows when. Deep down, I knew, and I hate that I knew.“If you want to confront your husband, he’s there now.”His added afterthought makes the breath hitch in my throat, and I turn and blink at him.“What?” It’s a raspy, hoarse questi
I burst into our bedroom, still in the same emotional mess I was running all the way here, and somehow managed to get in and up here without alerting Yoonie or mother to my presence. A fire coursing through my veins, yet my mind’s a blistering mess of utter chaos, and I can’t think or see straight. The pain is unbearable, and years' worth of bottled-up feelings are spewing out of me like someone turned on a tap. I’m a volcano that finally erupted.I’m breathing in short raspy gulps, wiping my snot and tear-drenched face with the back of my hand, yet more keeps coming, and I hiccup up with every few gasps. I rake my fingers through my hair, which is tied up in a messy bunny, yanking it down with my erratic movements and adding to the despairing image of myself. Caked in dried blood and grime and emotional ruin. Rubbing my fingers over my face and down my throat as I try to reel my mind back from its shattered pieces. My entire world has come tumbling do
“Let her go, right now. Jyeon …NOW!” Mother commands him, and after a second of hesitation and reluctance, he slowly puts me on my own feet and loosens his hold lightly. I don’t wait for him to fully let go and burst out of his arms, turning on him and start bashing his chest with my fists. Only I have no more energy or strength, and they are feeble attempts through sodden choked tears, and I end up sliding down in a horrific heap, gulping, blubbering. Only seconds of an assault that didn’t move him an inch.Jyeon takes it without reacting. Stood there and braces himself while I hit him, yet it doesn’t help me. I don’t feel any better, I don’t hate him less, and I’m still just as broken.“Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on? What this mess is? What exactly has happened?” Mother’s cold and biting tone brings sense back into mayhem. Her no-nonsense fierce momma attitude comes out i
I sit in my car, staring at the alleyway from this morning and taking slow even breaths. Steadying my nerves and thinking through my purpose here. My plan. My head is swimming, yet I am wholly composed compared to earlier. Dressed in a killer black fitted pantsuit, spike heels, styled hair hanging perfectly around my shoulders, and I have my war face on. Everything tucked back in behind my mask and ready to rumble. Bringing out the real Vice President Park and what she’s famed for.It’s like earlier didn’t happen at all, and all my cuts and scrapes are concealed by what I’m wearing, not even on a pain scale anymore; their effect on me is minimal.My mind is a jumble of thoughts, but my mother-in-law’s words are ringing the loudest and clearest inside my head. I feel like I’m hanging on to them by a thread in a bid to hold it all together.‘Fix this by any means.’She knows it’s what I’m good at.
“I can save him, or I can destroy him. That goes for you too. I’m a major shareholder of OLO, and this is enough to not only dissolve the investment deal with Biochem but to see you struck off and held liable for the losses while never working in this industry again. You’ll be tied up in court for years, and I’ll take every penny I can from him that I know he won’t let you pay alone. Jyeon will still have some money, of course, but adultery and mixing business with smut is still a big no-no in this culture. The board of directors will silence him as a non-active shareholder, take away his control and leave it all to me. He can thank you for that. With his fame in the business world, he won’t be able to escape it.” It’s delivered smugly, as though this really is the best punishment for both of them.“You really are as awful as he said you were. How could you be this manipulative? This heartless and cruel.” her rolling