A Grey Maze

At midnight,

It was pouring down, the blustering wind carried the frenzied drops in wild swirling one moment and the other moment it was washing Seoul so beautifully. However, it was not glorious for Jin-Ae.

The sound of raindrops is a meticulous lullaby, everyone loves listening and relishing it whereas, it was a trouble for her.

Every drop was miserable and disastrous for Jin-Ae. She ran behind a tesla, barefoot, weeping and not caring about being a total mess.

Peeking at the figure from the mirror running behind the car, the old woman asked the driver to stop.

She immediately ran to the window begging her to open it and listen to her once.

The old woman opened the window, annoyed not even a little worried about her daughter's condition.

"Mom, please save my dad, it's you who can save him". Jae-Ae entreated.

"There's no way he'll be saved now-haha" the old woman replied with a weird smirk on her face.

"Mom, the doctors are willing to save him. Nothing's impossible, only if we pay them on time. One Million. Mom! One Million. You can save him, please don't let him die", Jin-Ae choked on a sob, roughly wiping away the tears that blurred her vision.

The old woman came out of the car and clenched her teeth that made her wrinkles more visible, she pulled her closer with a tight grip.

Suddenly, her face turned soft looking at the glossy beautiful eyes that resembled her older daughter and mumbled: "Jin-Ae, you can save your dad but in return, you'll own me a favour, ANY favour." She flinched as the old woman raised her voice a bit.

Without giving this a second thought, she accepted to return any favour her mom wanted. Jin-Ae wanted to save her dad no matter what it takes. As it was just a matter of a little favour, Jin-Ae said yes.

Jin-Ae's mom asked her to get inside the car and instructed the driver to leave. Not knowing what she's gonna ask for, her heart thudded terribly as panic started to grow inside her. The old woman validated her words and taped it as evidence so she doesn't refute it afterwards.

"That's like a good girl", the old woman patted her head.

"I promise I'll transfer the money immediately only if you do what I ask you of." The old woman narrowed her brows for a reply and then, evilly grinned looking away towards the window.

She stared at her mom blankly and blinked several times trying to figure out the vibes she gave her. She had no idea what was going on inside her mind.

The old woman noticed Jin-Ae's utterance and wickedly smiled under her hat. She took the advantage of her nervousness and asserted, "Well, you are fully aware of the marriage agreement between your sister's and Park's family."

Jin-Ae confusedly responded with a small nod, while her eyes were about to give up the ocean she was holding onto with all of her remaining strength. She was drenched and shivering from cold but her mother doesn't care about her, even when she could see her struggling to breathe.

"Great! the Prince is a devotee for cleanliness and he doesn't know that your sister isn't a virgin." The old woman let out a big sigh in the end.

Jin-Ae immediately opened her eyes wide which was now filled with rage.

She got the idea. She got it. Now she knew what favour her mother was yearning from her.

She started tearing up as her mind started playing games at the wrong time. She zoned out ruminating on her existence.

She was never treated the right way but why? She was theirs, a part of their blood, piece of them; it was always her father who stood for her and protected her. A huge loud thunderclap made her come back to the sad and the most unfortunate reality of her life.

"NO! this is no good!", Jin-Ae whispered whilst she swallowed her anxious breaths.

"Okay! then don't expect me to help you save your father, to speak of reality, it's just a waste of money." She laughed evilly.

She was puzzled and didn't know what to do. She looked at her mom then, her drenched self trying to find answers, answers of unknown questions, mysterious feelings and unsung moments.

"You need to go there in her place and it's just for one night, that's it. You can decide what you want, I won't use this recording against you but if you miss this chance, you know what you lose babe", the old woman adjusted her black hat and slightly touched Jin-Ae face with her long, recently done acrylic nails.

Jin-Ae was at the urge of a breakdown, with each thunderclap outside her heart shattered into pieces. Her emotions were all over the place. She needed to decide as it's a case of life and death of her father. It was now or never. She could do anything for him.

The shine in her eyes faded, she anxiously sighed and said ,"there's no other choice, I'm ready for this."

The old woman laughed and patted her head again. Her mom gave her a card and said ,"Get your dress from here, don't mess up and dress like a princess. He is Park's Family son. I know you will enjoy this." The old woman guffawed horribly and left abandoning Jin-Ae in the centre of a busy road without any last look or concern.

Every girl in the country dreamt of having something like this with Park's Family son 'Woojin'. Whilst she was vacant but a little relieved that a nightstand can save her dad's life.

The next day,

Jin-Ae visited her dad, before going to the shop. She sat next to him, held his hand tightly and assured him that when she'll be back, that she'll bring him years of happiness and sweet moments of him eating chicken and having a soda with her.

Although her dad wasn't in a condition to respond back to her, but he somehow managed to smiled at her in tiny.

She then, took the dress from the mentioned shop and got ready.

In no time, she looked like a fairy-tale princess. An off-shoulder white lace dress with pearls on the side, no doubt it was aesthetically beautiful.

She gaped in the mirror adjusting her heels. Jin-Ae looked like a heavenly beauty but deep inside she was crushed and torn.

In a blink of an eye, she reached the luxurious hotel that she always dreamt of visiting as a kid.

Her older sister was always offered the best whereas, she was treated ignobly and lowly.

She shrugged off all these thoughts off her mind and went inside the royal suite hiding her face so no one can spot any difference.

She paddled to the instructed room number and opened the door slowly as her heart thudded loudly.

Dim lights, romantic rose-scented candles, a nostalgic playlist playing in the background. Jin-Ae was in the state of absolute bliss for a second. It felt like a dream but at the same time, she was terrified. She tried to calm herself down by mumbling her slowed and reverbed songs but that didn't help her in any way. Her anxiety made her qualm her presence and the reason to why she settled to it. But now, it's done.

She was busy, trying to pull all these thoughts out of her mind when she saw a figure come inside the room.

With him entering the room, everything changed. The aroma, the rose-scented room now smelt like a flower garden.

He was wearing something formal. Woojin tried to switch on the lights but wasn't able to do that.

After trying for what felt like an eternity to Jin-Ae, he walked towards where all the alcohol and drinks were kept. He took out two glasses intending to pour some wine for both of them.

He took a sip and was coming towards her, when Jin-Ae gathered all of her courage and tiptoed from the bed to him, not wanting to get drunk she hugged him and now her arms were around Woojin's neck. The cologne, the aroma was something that did tricks on her heart.

It didn't get too long, Woojin couldn't control the strong wave of desire any longer as he kissed her, a passionate kiss. Slowly, her hand reached out for his jaw to hold him. The soft squishy skin reminded her of mochi. After the kiss, she kept panicking, stretching her cold shaking hands, and praying for anything not to go wrong.

He led her whilst she submitted herself to him to avoid any mistake that would make him suspicious of her.

Woojin's presence, the aura, the moments made her blank, deep down she wanted to run and scream like an a 10-year-old girl but knowing he belongs to her sister and this would ruin a lot of love and life situations, she restrained herself.

Then, her body was pressed against the bed, her being kissed everywhere now, the night gets darker and scarier as everything flowed with a rhythm.

This was her first time, as pain turned into a headache and the grey side of the night vanished away just like that, making her cry in silence not wanting to wake the charming man sleeping beside her up.

The nightmare was over now. She can now go and save her dad.

Jin-Ae checked her phone.

It was 3 in the morning. She looked at the charming, warm figure next to her one last time and slowly crawled to the door to get out of there without any trace.

But before she could stand and adjust herself, she saw a familiar shadow..