A citrus and red velvet aroma soothed Kang Yung Jae's nostrils, the fragrance that he loved, the perfume that he missed, the scent of his step-sister, Kang Chae Wo.
It had been a year since he moved out from his parent's house. Since then, they rarely met as they were busy with daily routines.
Sure, they kept in touch online but online didn't give Yung Jae a sensation on his belly, a triumph of butterflies tickling his belly
Checking her, he couldn't believe Chae Wo sat in the driving seat and they shared the same air. He hoped it never ended.
"What's with your smile?" She moved her raven eyes on its tail for a while. A sweet smile appeared on her thin pink lips as her cheery voice continued. "Let me guess. Because of opening animations for The World?"
"You got me." Wrong, but okay. She better be kept in the dark about his true feelings.
However, her guess poured a twinkling sweet on his earlobe. It proved she cared and always kept in touch with his career.
As a junior animator programmer, Yung Jae was hardly mentioned in any of his projects. If he were lucky, the Team Nine name would appear on the credit menu—his team.
"You rich now, buy me dinner." She said, "I want beef steak." Her tickling index landed on his cheek for a brief moment.
"Sure," He said. "Next time, I'll cook for you."
"You? Cook? Oh wow, I can't wait to taste your beef steak." Her voice teased him. "So, the ads give you a lot?"
"Not really." Yung Jae singing with a fake coughing. "It paid my living expenses for a year."
"Oh wow, that much?" She pitched Yung Jae's snoot. "I changed my mind. Buy me Gucci."
Yung Jae chuckled. "I only buy that for my girlfriend or wife."
"Cheapskate boy. But seriously, your animation—"
"Team Nine, we work together."
"Right, your Team Nine works great." She said, "Thanks for them. Little Jo Wo wanted to play The World. He had a big bang with his father."
"Jo Wo win?" He knew the answer already.
"Absolutely."
Yung Jae chuckled and imagined his nephew getting into a heated argument with Jae Jin, Yung Jae's older brother. Both had wretched temperaments. His house must become a Titanic.
As they chatted, Yung Jae marveled at her charming cupid face, her well-groomed alabaster skin, her long umber wave hair, and her challenged pear beneath an onyx midi dress she wore.
He knew it was wrong and might be taboo, but for him, Kang Chae Wo was the sun for his day, the moon for his night, and the star for his heart. Yet, the fate was cruel.
It was unfair.
First, fate claimed his Mom. Soon, it will claim Chae Wo forever. Everyone he loved would be gone.
"I wish to play games with you sometime." Her tips lips up as a sweet dimple on her cheek pops up
"Seriously? You and me?" his eyebrows rose. "How about your film? Your shooting?"
She nodded many times. "I got a contract for The World promotion," she said. "There is an event this midnight in The World that I must attend. But I am worried. Some said The World was too real."
"Yeah, it is," Yung Jae nodded. "But that is what makes The World great."
"It is?" She glimpsed at him briefly, then focussed on their way in front.
Yung Jae hand gagged while explaining like a teacher teaching students in class. "The wind, the fire, the knife slice, and death is real," he said. "Rest assured, I will teach and protect you like you did when we were children."
"Sure," Chae Wo chuckled. "I'm sure I'll rely on you there."
The car entered a parking lot and found an empty slot for her car not far from the Flowery Seoul Apartment.
Strangely, the car light went out, but the engine was on. The air conditioner warmed them in.
Just before Yung Jae opened the car door, she tugged at his sweater.
Looking at Kang Chae Wo, he knew she wanted something. He let go of his grip on the door and waited for his sister to speak.
"So, about returning home," she said.
He let a heavy breath out from his nostril. "My answer is the same."
"Father promised you will be free to do whatever you want," she said.
"I trusted him before," Yung Jae's voice raised a little. "Not anymore."
Then, the silence came between them as he didn't want to keep arguing, which he already said many times before.
Kang Yung Jae preferred to gaze at his apartment building, challenging Seoul's glamoured red sky. He lives there, on the tenth floor, proudly as a free man. He worked hard, paid his rent, and was free from the golden cage.
Why should he return there?
His sister's soothed voice shattered the silence. "Little Jo Wo asked why his favorite uncle didn't come on Christmas."
Well, he missed them, but he can't stand a young CEO who came with Chae Wo almost every day. The bastard kissed his step-sister and called her Honey. That bastard didn't deserve her.
Besides, The other reason was Chae Wo's mother. Whether she loved him for real or not, she would never replace his biological mother.
"Have you forgotten our family?" Her soothing voice rang in his heart
"No."
Yung Jae had the same question for his father and brother: Why didn't they visit his mom's rest palace for the last ten years? Had they forgotten about her already?
"Mom is worried." She continued. "You avoided her, you never visited our house, you never answered her call."
Yung Jae noticed a reflection of her cupid face on the door window. Chae Wo's eyes got wet.
It broke his heart. His sister was always kind to him, and he couldn't make her sad.
Yung Jae let out a hefty breath. "I'll see what I can do."
"Yung Jae, please return home."
Yung Jae heaved heavily while keeping his mouth shut and tried to find the correct answer for her.
"Why did you leave?" Her voice trembled. "What did I do wrong?"
"You do nothing wrong." He answered. "You are the reason I stayed there for almost eleven years."
"Then why are you leaving? I still live there."
"For now." He smiled and pulled his lips up. It's hard, but he must keep the facade. "You will marry him, live with him. While I will stay there for eternity as a doll for your mom and father to cherish while you play the wife of retard CEO."
"Watch your words. He's a nice guy."
"Sure, he's a nice guy because you are gorgeous."
"Kang Yung Jae—"
"How about me? I am a nice guy, too, right? I've known you way ahead of him. You should look at me instead of someone who you just met."
"What do you mean? You are always my Kang Yung Jae, my sweet little brother I love."
"Little brother," Yung Jae guffawed. "Kang Yung Jae will always be a Kang Chae Wo little brother. I'm not a child anymore."
Yung Jae tried to control his breath while closing his eyes. He knew, he knew. He snapped. "Look at me as Kang Yung Jae, a twenty-year-old man, please. Just one time."
Chae Wo kept her lips bared and dared not gaze at him. She even fails to blink.
He did it. He told her. He told her the spell that he had hidden inside his heart from the first time he met her. Can he restart? Can he undo those words?
"I mean I… I will think about returning home. Excuse me. I have work to do."
Yung Jae moved out of the black sports car his sister's fiance bought for her. He closed the car door with a thud.
He strode on the paved road without looking back and tightened his sweater. For every breath, he made a thin haze from his mouth. No voice from her, not a car engine, nothing, just a calm wind that shirred on his earlobe.
As he entered the dimly lit studio room, he slammed the door close and leaned there.
Slowly, his back slid down, and the cold marble floor became his bed.
"Stupid," he murmured, covering his lips with ankles. "I'm stupid."
He wondered how he could meet her again next time after all of the mess he made.
He recalled the promises they made when they were children. 'Always together and helping each other.'
Did he do his part of the promise? He was so stupid. He might have made her sad now. Should he return to his family? No, no, he loves being free.
"Stupid, there are a million girls out there for me to take." But Chae Wo always came to his dream.
Sometimes, it was easier to draw an animation than to illustrate a word to represent a feeling.
Minutes become hours.
Outside, the Seoul city slowly lost its voice as the night came mid.
Yung Jae rose and put his bag on a cabinet. He grabbed and threw his TaekWonDo uniform into the bucket.
There was nothing much in his tiny studio. One mattress kissed the wall, an LED 32 on the other side, a wardrobe beside the front door, a single short table at the center, and the glass door to the balcony.
He was already late for the game, for he put on his cocoon helmet that connected to the Cubix of 100 Yottabytes. The Cubix that contained The World MMORPGC, C stands for Cocoon.
After everything was ready, he leaned on the mattress and started the Dive-In process.
From his helmet, the warm blue liquid dripped off and shrouded his entire body. His vision faded, his hearing lessened, and he was numb.
Yung Jae hoped he could forget what happened here and be ready to start a new life in The World.
Perhaps he found someone there. Someone who would help him forget about Chae Wo.