The flight back to South Korea in our private jet was dull and uneventful. Kang Seung seemed tired and he slept the entire time. While Min Ho had a pensive expression. He stared blankly at the window for nearly the whole 10-hour flight. He only moved to escort me to the bathroom or to test and taste my food, but even then, he was like a Zombie; moving automatically while his brain focused on something else.
It bothered me.
He had been dissociating like that since the morning, actually perhaps it started after he saw the news about the murder of John Kramer.
Min Ho's silence made me feel unsettled, the same way you feel when your favourite toy stops working. I had put so much time and effort into crafting Min Ho into my personal dog, he was proof of my success in manipulating the human mind. If he started having issues I would take it as a personal offence.
I wanted to question him and get to the bottom of his mood, but we were within earshot of Kang Seung, his secretary and bodyguard, and other staff members on the private flight. I had my own room to sleep in onboard, but it would have looked strange to others if Min Ho followed me in there, and the walls were thin.
In the end, I gave up on the notion of talking to him on the plane. I ended up falling asleep.
They played music by Ludovico Einaudi on the flight, and his soulful piano drifted into my dream.
I felt tranquil, I was floating on top of the clouds. At first, I was alone, but then there was someone with me. I couldn't clearly make out their face, and I wasn't aware of when they appeared, but they had large black wings that spanned the length of the whole cloud.
They spoke to me, but I couldn't quite hear their words, but for some reason, I was happy and laughing with them. I crawled closer and reached to touch one of their wings out of curiosity....but then I began to feel like Icarus. The Sun appeared much closer. My back became hot and the cloud underneath me suddenly dissipated. Unable to grab anything I was falling and falling and...
"We've landed young master, it's time to leave the plane" Min Ho gently woke me up.
My face was flushed, and I felt a cold sweat envelope my body. Where was this fear coming from? Why did I feel so anxious, like my heart was about to explode from my chest? Death didn't scare, nor did people, yet there was something off...something I was missing. Was I getting too comfortable, was I soaring too near to the sun...who was that person?
Maybe that dream was a warning to be more careful. If something is too good to be true it usually is, life had become too convenient for me. I needed to put my guard up.
Falling for a false sense of security is what ruins people.
"Are you okay?" Min Ho asked, "You seem a bit flushed," he touched my forehead, "but you don't have a fever."
"I'm just very hot" I lied with a sweet smile.
When I left the plane, emerging from arrivals with Kang Seung and the others, hoards of people were there to greet me.
I was shocked as hundreds of Cameras flashed, bright lights beaming in my face. There were fans who held up signs, shouting for my attention. Reporters screamed my name, hurtling questions about my engagement. I even noticed a few broadcasters, a KBS and SBS news reporter talking about my return to Korea. I wondered who would be watching the news at 3 am, but then again they would probably repeat the footage at a later time slot.
Thankfully, our security was good and many of them were waiting for us at the airport. They held back the large crowd while we exited and walked towards our cars.
Kang Seung giggled, "Well that was a rush, but I'm not surprised, you're a little celebrity."
I was going to cheekily reply to that comment but then I noticed Kang Seung sharply look ahead with an annoyed frown. I turned up to see what had happened, and soon enough we were both wearing the same expression.
"Joon-Ki?" Kang Seung raised a brow when he saw my Father standing in front of our Limousine.
"What are you doing here, why am I seeing your wretched face? It's been more than six years since you left. I thought you had run away to waste your days in the Caribbean!"
Joon-Ki immediately got on his knees, the fakest tears I had ever seen before spilt from his eyes. "You're right Dad. I've made so many mistakes, that was irresponsible of me. I wasn't feeling well after what happened to Yong Myeong and I needed to escape it all, but I've finally got my head straight again. I'm back for good now Dad."
I rolled my eyes.
It was clearly all bullshit. Joon-Ki might have felt a bit of guilt about what happened to Yong Myeong but it was obvious that he ran away to avoid the bad press and his falling reputation. He probably also wanted to avoid dealing with Yong Bon-Hwa. There was only one reason a useless coward like him would come home, he got into trouble and he had run out of money.
Kang Seung let out a long and tired sigh.
I wanted him to kick Kang Joon-ki to the curb and leave him behind, but unfortunately, everyone knew that Kang Seung had a soft spot for his son. With a deep groan, he simply said, "We'll talk back at the Estate."
To Joon-Ki that was clearly a green light and he smiled brightly, "I missed you Dad, and" he looked at me, "I missed you too little guy."
He reached out to touch me but I hid behind Kang Seung's legs and gave him a scared look, "Who are you? Who is he, Grandpa?"
Joon-Ki made a comically shocked face and Kang Seung sniggered, the other staff members and bodyguards present who were very much aware of the family situation, struggled to hold in their laughter.
"Y-you don't remember me?"
"Why would he remember you Joon-Ki?" Kang Seung sneered, "My little Ho may be a genius but you were never in his life. Is he expected to remember a man he hasn't seen or heard of since he was barely a year old? You reap what you sow."
I continued to give Joon-ki a confused and fearful expression, and I enjoyed the look of anguish that this created on his face.