The rest of the days leading up to the weekend went by slower than usual. With the addition of Yun Sera in a class with Ari, there was an unexplainable feeling of discomfort in Younghee that refused to go away. Friday night, an opportunity to deal with the problem came, from a call she'd been expecting.
"Your father wishes to see you tomorrow."
"Tell him I know what's going on. Just send me the address and time, I'll be there."
The trick to get Younghee to attend formal events by masking them as a meeting with her Father had long gotten old; after all, she was no longer the little girl who blindly believed one day he would act as a proper father anymore.
Younghee lied on the bed as she scrolled through the contacts list after ending the call, pausing as she reached a certain name. Without much of a thought, she had already pressed the call button.
"What do you want?"
"I have a favour."
",,,,"
"Don't be too careless, there's only so much I can cover up for you."
More like only so much you're willing to.
On the night of the event, a driver dropped Younghee off at the venue where she was greeted by the assistant who had called her then taken to see her father. The cold and brief instructions from him telling her to behave meant the one-sided conversation was over before she could even get a word in, but this was nothing new. With her brother abroad, she had to take on the role of attending important events in his place, acting as the heir to the family company.
The sounds of clapping snapped Younghee out of autopilot mode as her father finished his speech, slowly but surely, noise filled the room as guests began discussing business plans amongst themselves. Hearing a few snarky remarks about the finance and defence company partnership, she couldn't help but let a small laugh escape.
Her face stiffened as her father approached with a small group. As eyes turned to her amidst their chat, Younghee smiled politely and gave a small bow to each person making eye contact. There wasn't even an introduction for her before they left one by one.
"Just show your face for another 5 minutes, then you can leave," her father said in a low voice. Unfortunately she knew this wasn't going to be the case.
A middle aged man emerged from the crowd, following behind him was the red hair Younghee knew she wasn't going to be able to avoid today. As the two men greeted each other and shook their hands, their daughters played a much different dynamic. Like Younghee, Yun Sera had learnt how to disguise her true expressions, so what seemed to be a smug expression to her, was deemed as a proud smile to others.
"Oh right, my daughter here says she's well acquainted with your's." Mr Yun said.
"Really?" Younghee's dad gave a business-like smile. He clearly wasn't interested in what he was implying but still played along. "I think we should have them accompany each other while we discuss some things then no?"
"That's a great idea!"
As soon as the two reached a deserted part of the event building, Younghee snapped.
"What's your plan?"
"Straight to the point huh? And there is no plan. I told you there was going to be a meeting this week."
She turned to look at her, "I'm giving you one last chance. Drop the class, and leave Nari alone."
Sera blinked then scoffed as if in disbelief of her entitlement, "are you kidding me right now? What makes you think you have the right to say that? Haven't you ever heard of the saying first come first serve?"
Younghee's brows furrowed.
"Based on that alone, you're in the weaker position."
Her getting defensive may paint her out to be a caring friend, but don't be fooled, the way she cares for Nari is like the way a child cares for a new toy they receive unexpectedly. Sure, they may love and cherish it at first, but eventually they'll get bored of it; if it's lucky, the toy will simply be forgotten and abandoned, but if not, there is a toxic route it may be forced to undergo.
There was a sharp silence as they walked through the dark hallway. Younghee turned the handle to the door at the end of the hall then looked behind her shoulders, "so you're not going to?" Her hand ready to open.
The red hair flailed about left and right in the air. Out of sight of all the attendees, the steel door closed after them as they entered the room. Two men in full black suits approached, stationing themselves outside.
Unlike the grand venue, the small storage room was dark and has a rusty metallic smell. The two's footsteps echoed as they walked on the concrete floor, both of their eyes slowly adjusting to the lack of light. Younghee leaned on a small table covered in weapons on one end of the room and turned to Sera.
There were no feelings of remorse or pity in her eyes as she stared at her, in that sense, she almost felt a bit sorry for what she planned to do next.
Sera approached her slowly then stopped just a few inches away.
"This is how you want to settle things then?" She leaned in closer until the tips of their nose touched. "I don't think Bae Ari would be happy to learn you're like this--"
"Aah!" Her neck snapped back as Younghee yanked on her hair, pulling her by the slithers of red edged in between her fingers.
"Watch what you say."
Sera stumbled back a few steps as she let go, with her teeth gritted, she lunged at the table and grabbed a small knife. Before she could secure her balance, Younghee pulled her arm across her shoulder, slipping the knife out of her hand before kicking in her knees, bringing her to a partial kneel. Sera pressed her fist against the floor to try support herself up but couldn't as her leg wouldn't stop trembling.
What the fuck?
As she was lost in confusion, a foot pressed against her stomach and kicked her back, holding her firmly against the floor. Seo Younghee bend forward as the look of fear emitted from Sera's eyes. But that wasn't enough. Being scared will only keep her away for so long.
A girl's strongest weapon is her face, once you destroy that, she'll fear you forever. Or, at least she should.
"Ugh! Fuck!"
A blood curdling yell echoed throughout the empty room as the sharp blade slid across her forehead. It didn't take long for her to realise what had happened, but once she did, she wanted to scream again. Not from pain, but anger. Yet meeting Seo Younghee's cold stare whilst the knife was still secure in her hands, she couldn't do anything.
Younghee retreated slowly, dropping the object in her hand onto the floor.
"As your father's daughter, I expected more."
The guards turned their heads as the door creaked open. Seeing the young mistress, they gave a small nod.
"Clean it up and don't let father find out."
-
Walking back home with Ari gave a nostalgic feeling. Being so happy just over their casual conversation made her wish things won't change between them, not now, not ever. This was enough. During her short reminiscence of their past, she was interrupted by an unexpected surprise.
"Oh, I finally found you guys!"
A voice called out from behind them. Before either could even register what was happening, a girl flung herself onto their backs, soft rose gold hair brushing against them as a familiar face squeezed in between.
"Huh?" Ari looked at her in astonishment.
"In Harin? Why are you here?" Younghee asked.
"Hehe, I am here to take you on vacation!"
"Vacation?"