LiYul woke with a start! He sat up and looked around for SooYun. She appeared in the doorway of his bathroom. A towel wrapped around her. "You're awake."
As she came to the side of the bed he reached out and pulled her back into bed. As he rolled with her, he pulled the towel free. His eyes roamed over her, and he leaned in to kiss her when he froze. He pulled back in horror as he saw bruising at the base of her throat and another near the top of her breast.
She looked down where his gaze had frozen and laughed lightly. "They'll fade, don't worry."
When he did not respond she laid a hand against his cheek, "LiYul, you have several too!"
"Where?" he whispered and when she grinned mischievously at him he raised the covers and looked down. A wide grin lit his face.
"I'll wear a sweater," SooYun replied. She brushed his hair from his brow and ran her fingers through his black fringe that fell over one eye. "They will fade away."
"SooYun," he said her name softly and leaned in to kiss her mouth.
LiYul was a changed man. His lovemaking was ardent but not as urgent as last night. He studied her features. He had not ever noticed that she had a small scar above her right eyebrow. He wondered what had caused it. "It was an accident. My cousin and I argued, and he pushed me away with his foot. The spur on his boot cut me."
"How old were you?" LiYul asked, his dark eyes turned fierce. "How could this boy hurt you?"
SooYun scoffed lightly. "Oh, we often butted heads. Russell and I didn't get along at all for many years. I was probably really annoying to him. I was maybe twelve and he was fourteen."
"He was in love with you," LiYul announced. "You did not love him."
SooYun smiled. "I was saving myself for you!"
He laughed and drew her into his embrace and held her close. He marveled at his ability to hold SooYun so close, to feel the exquisite pleasure of her hands caressing his face. He wanted more!
His phone began to vibrate on the charging mat, he ignored the buzzing, and then it began to chime. It was Jae-Ho's urgent signal. He grabbed the phone, sat in bed, and thumbed the screen to answer the call, "What is it?" he asked.
"LiYul, a courier from the Chairman just delivered a package," Jae-Ho began then broke off. "It's not good, LiYul. I scanned the document for you, you should have it."
"I will call you back," LiYul said. He hung up and opened his email app. The scanned message accompanied by photographs made him feel sick! SooYun put a gentle hand on his wrist, and he lowered the phone so she could see. She looked at him, "This is because of me isn't it?"
"He is threatening to release them," LiYul said, "I need to take you back to your flat."
"Oh, no you don't!" she declared. "I need to get to a computer right now!"
"I don't want you involved, SooYun!" he growled, his fierce glare was back, and it was directed at her.
"Too late!" she growled back.
"SooYun --,"
"Stop talking, LiYul!" SooYun said. "And trust me!"
"I do trust you, SooYun." He said softly. The steely resolve he saw in her impressed and frightened him. This woman was suddenly a warrior, and she was fighting for him!
"Translate it for me," SooYun said.
"It's from Chairman Chu," LiYul said, "He is threatening to release these photos to social media. The claim will be these are police photos of Min-Ji after I supposedly beat her in a rage to be free of her and take you as my --." He would not say the word.
SooYun took the phone from him. She tapped an image and zoomed in. She scoffed at it. "This is not a police evidence photo. If it were legitimate, the resolution would be much better! But if it gets released, that won't make any difference."
"They will be released at midnight if I do not respond to his demands, and Min-Ji returns to the estate," LiYul said. He could already feel the pain deep in his head and begin to knife along the scars. "You don't have to do this, SooYun," LiYul told her. "You haven't been with me even a month yet and you've already been through so much! All I wanted was to be with you! But I do not want you to suffer more pain because of my mistakes!"
She looked at him. "LiYul, Please I need access to a computer!" She said, already formulating a plan.
He was relieved and worried she was still prepared to stick with him. "My office," he told her. "I'll meet you in my office."
SooYun prepared to climb out of bed when he pulled her back. He kissed her gently at first then something akin to panic made him cling to her as he deepened his kiss. Both were breathless and she soothed her fingertips over his brow. She hurried to her room to dress for the day. LiYul pulled open the drawer of the bedside chest and found the prescription bottle sitting next to a notebook and pens. He opened the bottle and shook one of the pills out into his hand. He popped it into his mouth and chewed it. The bitterness was enough of a shock to his brain that the pain receded. He entered the bathroom and stepped into the shower.
He entered his office and sat down behind the desk. He gave her full access to his computer – files, documents, everything. He finished and leaned back in the desk chair to try to breathe through the pain that continued to build in his head.
SooYun came into the office and found him trying to find his way through the pain. She soothed cool fingers across his temples, and he sighed in relief as her touch sang pleasurably along his body. He sat up and buried his face against her midsection hugging her close to him.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and continued to soothe cool fingertips over his temples. After a few minutes, he eased back and looked into her face. She was so beautiful! "You have access to everything," he whispered and got up. She sat behind the desk in front of the keyboard and monitor. He had opened the email with the attached photos. She composed herself and looked over where he had slumped on the sofa. "This will take a while, you should get some rest. I'll be fine on my own."
LiYul shook his head. "But I won't," he said softly, "Don't make me go." It was a terrible ache, one that overrode the pain that threatened in his head and traced along the lightning scars.
She nodded, got up, and took a blanket from one of the chairs. "Rest here then," he lay on the sofa, and she spread the blanket over him. "Try to relax and let the medicine go to work," SooYun gently brushed his hair away from his face. "I'll try not to be too loud."
"Do what you need to do," he told her. "I'll wait for you."
She nodded and returned to the computer. She started writing. LiYul watched from the sofa as she started to work. He smiled, she talked to herself as she wrote. He did the same thing! Finally, she was ready to begin. She logged into her private email and composed her first of three email messages. Then she picked up her cell phone and dialed a long-distance number. When the caller picked up, she smiled in relief. "Hello Reed, It's Chandler. I'm putting you on speakerphone to continue with what I'm doing."
"Hey Chandler, how are you?" LiYul heard the voice of an American man, who warmly greeted her.
"I need a big favor," SooYun said. "One that needs your touch."
As they spoke it became clear that their relationship had been on friendly but professional terms. He was overly familiar and her professional tone only created more of an irresistible desire to close the gap. It was what had attracted him when they had first begun to correspond. When they had met at the airport for the first time, he had been unsettled by her cool exterior as she studied everything around her.
"I sent you an email. When you get it, look at the pictures," SooYun said.
"Okay," Reed replied. "Let me get into my account. I heard you left the agency and went to South Korea. Are you working there now?"
"I am a screenwriter now," SooYun replied. "But something happened, and I need to fix it."
"Your email just got here," Reed said.
"Tell me if I'm right, these are plastic surgery photos and not police evidence pictures. If these were actual police images, the resolution would be higher." SooYun replied.
"Oh, yeah, these have been altered," Reed commented. "Done quickly too."
"Her name is Chu Min-Ji. She's an actress here in Korea. I'm thinking maybe two years ago," SooYun said. "Abroad. I've been out of this business close to a year now – but my guess is Switzerland?"
"Yeah," Reed said, "I'll trace the originals for you right now. I assume you have something for me to go with when I find the before and after images, right?"
"I do," she replied. "I'm finished and sending it to you now."
There was a sound of triumph on Reed's end of the phone call. "I found it! Damn, I am good! She's had some maintenance work. It's still popular with Asian women. They have a double eyelid lift procedure. Then return in a few years and have touch-up work. She's an actress you said, right? Probably had other work done since she's probably bumping up against the 30-plus mark and trying to look twenty-five forever."
"There's someone else I need you to look at," SooYun said. "It's the brother, Chu Ga-Ram."
LiYul wondered why SooYun wanted information on Ga-Ram. She had only met him last night. Something must have triggered suspicion in her.
"Your radar picking up something?" Reed asked.
"I'm digging around," SooYun replied. "I found something mentioned in a gossip feed. Chairman Chu, cut his son off financially a few months back. I suspect either a gambling debt or drugs – maybe both. Judging by what I saw last night, he and his sister are close, she may have picked up his slack financially."
"Your client counter-sued in the divorce, and derailed the gravy train," Reed said. "Sounds like you're going in for some strong-arm leverage."
"It is," SooYun said. "They are threatening to release this garbage at midnight. And I need it stopped as soon as you can. It's already the afternoon here and this all needs to be replaced with this new content on every social media platform possible. All I need is something far more salacious than what they circulate."
"Consider it done, Chandler!"
"Thanks, Reed." She said, "Before you go, would you happen to have Artie's contact information?"
"Hang on, I have it buried somewhere in the files," Reed replied. "You are cutting deep! You think there might be syndicate involvement?"
"Could be," SooYun answered, "If it is - I need a name."
Reed found the number and rattled it off to her. "Good luck, Chandler. Text me the second you want to pull the trigger."
"Okay, thanks again."
The call ended and she dialed another number. LiYul assumed it was Artie. It was not, it was an American news media outlet. She introduced herself and asked to speak to the bureau chief by the name of Scott Burnum. It was an immediate transfer. "Sabra Chandler, how are you?"
"In need of a favor," she responded.
"Talk to me!" was the return. SooYun explained the situation and the bureau chief grunted. "What do you need from me, Chandler?"
"I'm in the process of working with Reed to release the new content files to all social media platforms. What I need is a strong push from your end. I need it to be sensational and make the gossip mongers go after it."
"It'll be on the hotwires as soon as you give me the word." The chief said. "Tell me Chandler, I thought you were out of this kind of PR work."
"I am," she said. "Unfortunately, even when you're protecting someone innocent, it requires the employ of the same dirty business practices."
"I understand," he replied. "Text me when you're ready, Chandler."
"Thanks," SooYun said, and she hung up. Then she read her content, attached the file to an email, and sent it. She then sent another email and whispered, "Gone!"
Then another phone call was dialed. It rang and rang. While it rang, SooYun continued to type furiously, muttering key phrases to herself and refining sentences. Then there was a pick-up. "Daebak! Is that you?"
"Hello Artie," SooYun answered. "Have I caught you at a good time?"
"Of course not!" Artie scolded. "I have a business to run here! Wait! Are you calling me from Korea?"
"I am," SooYun replied. "And I need a favor."
"You leave the country and I hear nothing from you for months!" Artie continued to scold her. "Now you call for a favor?"
"What can I do to repair my reputation with you?" SooYun asked. "I really need your expertise, Artie!"
"I only joke with you," Artie said gently. "What can I do for my white lotus?"
LiYul scowled as he listened to the phone call. Had he called her white lotus? Regardless he spoke to her with great familiarity. Who was this Korean man? He listened as she quickly explained what was happening. "His name is Chu Ga-Ram. His sister is the actress Chu Min-Ji."
"Hang on!" Artie dropped the phone, and it made a tinny clattering sound. There was a clattering of pans, women's excited voices, and other noises unidentifiable. Artie carried on a rapid-fire conversation on another cellphone, then shouted to SooYun, "Almost!"
Then he was back on the phone. "Big debts owed to Taehwa, right now he owes way over 80 million won."
"Right now? Does that mean he's been in debt to Taehwa for more?" SooYun asked.
"Taehwa says this no-good bastard was supposed to be paying off his debt but ran out on him. You know where this no-good bastard is hiding?" Artie was translating what Taehwa was telling him.
"No, I don't know where he is," SooYun said. "Ask Taehwa if he has connections to Chairman Chu."
There was a pause after he asked the question. "He does not!" Artie said emphatically.
"Artie, is Taehwa in your line of work?" SooYun asked.
"Of course!" Artie declared. "Best hot pot in all of Korea! I sent you text information. You eat there and see for yourself!"
"Thank Taehwa for me," SooYun replied.
"Taehwa says he will contact you directly," Artie said. "I am hanging up now, don't be a stranger!"
The phone went dead and SooYun cursed low under her breath. LiYul smiled. The cell phone immediately started ringing. She jumped in surprise. "Hello?"
"Hello? You are Shin SooYun?"
"Yes, I am." She answered. "Mr. Taehwa? Thank you for calling me directly."
"I am called only Taehwa," he said in a deep voice. "I will help you if you help me."
"I will do what I can Taehwa," SooYun told him. "I will not make promises I cannot deliver on. Tell me what it is you need help with, and I'll try my best."
"Make my hot pot shops famous!" Taehwa said. "Put them in a movie or TV show!"
"I will speak to Director Jin," SooYun said. "The people who film, are always scouting for colorful and interesting locations. Perhaps you could send me an address list of your shops so I can pass them on to the appropriate person."
"I will do it now!" Taehwa said. "Thank you, Shin SooYun!"
SooYun returned the thanks and hung up. She then texted Reed and gave the go-ahead. The strong-arm leverage had begun. Then she texted the bureau chief and gave the go-ahead to him. Both Reed and the chief returned a thumbs-up emoji.
She looked at her watch, it had taken a little over three hours to set into motion a campaign to hopefully save Aquila Studios and its Director. She put her head down on the desk and closed her eyes for just a few minutes of rest.