CHAPTER 2

SHADOWS OF THE PAST 

The honeymoon suite was a testimony to lavish excess, but it seemed painfully bare. Chaewon stood before the city's dazzling expanse, the view softening what churned in her heart. She was trapped, a golden captive in her own cage, the weight of her arranged engagement descending on her.

The door creaked open, and Jian entered. He walked with silent grace that was in contrast with the raw power that charged the air with tension. He was not loud; he was a quiet, pervading force.

"Champagne?" he offered softly in what resembled one low rush of sound that filled the room.

Chaewon nodded briefly, accepting the glass he offered. Her hand brushed against his, and a shock of electricity—tension or maybe something powerful?—shot through between them.

"A toast?" Jian suggested, raising his glass.

"So to what?" Chaewon scold

"At the beginning," he answered, directly looking into her eyes.

"To the beginning of what?" she repeated, the words suspended in the air. "A strategic partnership, you said. A business arrangement."

He drank slowly from his glass of champagne and watched her. "Your father believes that is all there is. A simple combination of assets."

"And you?" she insisted, her heart thudding.

He set down his glass on the table, the light in his eyes unreadable. "I believe things are not what they seem, Chaewon. Appearances are very highly constructed looks, intended to mislead."

"So what is reality?" She whispered barely above a breath.

He gestured towards the sweeping city vista below, bathed in the light of the moon. "The truth is more than what your father is a aware of. The truth is… dangerous."

"What are you suggesting?" Chaewon inquired, her stomach tightening with uncertainty.

He moved towards his desk with smooth steps, like those of a cat. He paused, with one hand resting on what seemed like a plain drawer. He slide the drawer back with ease, and in the secret place was found a tarnished silver locket, cold to the touch.

"This," he whispered, softly, "is a key. A key to unlocking secrets more treacherous than those of our own union."

"What is it?" She spoke, her voice trembling.

"A relic. A heirloom. A secret," he murmured, handing it to her. "In this locket is concealed a truth that will unravel all that you think that you know."

Chaewon paused before grabbing the locket. It was cold to the touch, yet it seemed to emit this strange energy. She opened it and there was a photo inside that was faded. It was a picture of a woman who appeared nearly as if she were herself, eyes that blazed with the same violence that blazed in Chaewon.

"Who is this?" She inquired, a wave of foreboding sweeping through her.

"A cousin by blood who will share your destiny," he stated, his eyes scanning her actions. "The record of your ancestors is not what you believe it is, Chaewon. It is far more complicated, far more.dangerous."

"What are you even saying?" She demanded, her voice laced with apprehension.

Jian sat down in a chair and placed himself across from her. "In pursuing power, your father overlooked some very ill-timed realities. Realities that are going to cost you much more than your imagination."

"What truth?" Chaewon asked.

“The truth about that locket. The truth about your heritage. And the truth about what lies beneath the veneer of that so-called perfect marriage." He paused, not looking away. "The truth, Chaewon, is always more unsettling than what is taught in books."

"But how is all of this any of my business?" She spoke in hard voice.

Jian stepped closer, and in his eyes there flashed cold violence. "It has all to do with you. This locket is not only the gateway to the buried history, but to the dangerous present that is more than you probably ever dared imagine. And it’s the key to what we will have in the coming time, together."

The conversation turned to uncovering the mystery of the locket. It led them to one hidden corridor and ultimately to a series of caves. Jian took her through the dark, twisting tunnels, the only light from Jian's flashlight, the light dancing like a ghost. They descended and passed through constricting corridors. There was a dampness in the air filled with the earthy odor and something else, something old and troubling.

"It's been hidden for centuries," Jian whispered and his voice echoed in the room. "It’s been concealed as a secret passed down through generations, and the secret that has been hidden by your family."

"What secret?" She whispered in a voice not quite louder than dripping water.

"A secret about your own kim and far more significant conspiracy in which you are now entangled," Jian answered.

They came to a gigantic cave, the walls of which were ornamented with strange markings that glowed softly in the flashbeam of light. There was in the center of the cave a large rock altar, and on the altar was one solitary, elaborate box.

“This is it,” Jian spoke softly, the voice filled with overwhelm and laced with terror. "The heart of the secret."

"What's in the box?" Chaewon asked, her heart pounding.

He did not answer right away, but instead paced back and forth in the box reading the symbols on the room walls and muttering to himself. He appeared to be upset. He removed the tarnished silver locket that was concealed and placed it aside next to the box on the altar. The walls became immediately more active with the symbols shining with greater strength. The ground beneath shook.

"We need to leave here," Jian said, with fear in his voice that he hadn't expressed before. "This is more dangerous than I believed it was going to be. The secret is greater than I suspected."

As they were about to leave, they heard the sound—the rumble and subsequent crashing that shook the walls of the cave. Stones began falling.

"What was that?" Chaewon cried in terror, her fear nearly noticeable.

"I don't know!" Jian shouted back, "But we must flee now!" He grabbed her hand, pulled her towards the door. The shaking continued, the cave was collapsing in. Their way out seemed unlikely. 

From the darkness in front of them came the enormous and terrifying shape, standing in the way. The shape towered above, covered in darkness. A deafening roar came from the beast and the earth beneath it shook. They were left trapped, the way out was blocked, and the cave system was collapsing. And in the way was a terrifying beast…

They both ran though the other corner and showed light out of the cave.