A text popped up on her phone.
"Hey babe. I don't know why you've been giving me attitude. Can we meet?"
Min Ju rolled her tongue, as she read through Tae Hoon's text.
She replied. "Why not. Let's meet at Nadia's Restaurant"
After clicking 'send', she put her phone in her purse, a subtle smile on her lips.
*
Ah Rim stormed to Hye Soo's room, shaking her head furiously.
Hye Soo's suitor would be visiting today, and yet Hye Soo isn't awake.
She hissed when she opened the door and saw her sleeping.
She pulled off the duvet from her body, and Hye Soo grunted sleepily.
"Are you serious? I have been calling your name, thinking you are awake only to find you still sprawled on your bed." She reprimanded, and Hye Soo rubbed her eyes, sitting up, her hair messy.
"Good morning, mum" She greeted, and Ah Rim rolled her eyes.
"Freshen up. I'll send the maids to your room. Wear a nice dress and come downstairs. He'll be here soon" She hinted, and Hye Soo's eyebrows furrowed.
"He? Who?" She asked, looking up to her mother.
"Dae So" Ah Rim said,and left immediately.
Hye Soo's eyes widened gradually, as the name sank in. "Dae So?" She muttered. "Dae So!" She exclaimed.
"Shit!"
"I told you I'm not interested!" She yelled, so her parents could hear.
"Dress up, my foot. I'm going nowhere" She grumbled, lying back on the bed.
But almost immediately, three maids came in with trays of different cosmetics, their heads bowed slightly.
Hye Soo scrunched her nose in anger "Can't you knock? What are y'all doing in my room"
"Young miss, we were asked to make sure to dress up. If you don't—our salaries would be cut" The head maid said, and Hye Soo's lips parted.
"Cut? Did mum really say that? Just to get me downstairs— Woah" She exclaimed, in disbelief.
"Can't believe I'm being forced against my will. This is torture" She mumbled, finally getting up from the bed.
After much mumbling, she finally entered the bathroom, and the maids sighed in relief.
After she was done, her face was dolled up, and she sat in front of the mirror, frowning.
"Why are you dressing me up like it's my wedding day" She rolled her eyes, and the maid attending to her smiled warmly.
"All done" The maid said, and Hye Soo smiled, staring back at her reflection.
"That Dae So or whatever he's called, better got some stamina. I don't want to fight a weakling today" She muttered, before going down the stairs, grudgingly.
She could see her parents chatting with the guest already, and she sighed.
Ah Rim's face lit up as she saw her coming. "Now that's my daughter" Jung, Hye Soo's father smiled, and Hye Soo almost scoffed.
She greeted, before taking her seat. Dae So's parents were also present.
"You look beautiful" Dae So complimented.
Hye Soo looked up, and saw him staring back at her, a smile on his face and she sneered.
"She's really beautiful. Can't believe Jung hid his beautiful daughter from us all this while" Wook, Dae So's father laughed and Jung joined in the banter, while Hye Soo was staring daggers at Dae So.
She slid her hand across her neck slowly. "I'll kill you" She mouthed, and Dae So chuckled.
"Hye Soo, meet Wook, my childhood friend. He had been abroad for years, which is why you didn't meet him earlier" Jung introduced, and Hye Soo gave a fake smile.
"This is my wife, Mo Eum" Jung said, and Mo Eum flashed a smile, which Hye Soo returned, before switching back to her poker face.
"So, this my son, Dae so. He's the heir to my companies, both home and abroad. He's quite successful too." He said proudly, and Hye Soo scoffed inwardly.
"Welcome to our home, Dae So" Ah Rim said.
"My pleasure, ma"
Hye Soo was eating without minding any of the discussions going on, till she heard her name.
"So, the plan between both families, to strengthen our business alliance and to harmonize our friendship is to get our two children, Dae So and Hye Soo engaged" Wook said, and Hye Soo dropped her fork.
She looked at Dae So, and he winked at her, and she scoffed.
"So, what do you think, sweethearts. We'll like both of you to get engaged" Jung said.
"Who wouldn't want to get engaged to a beauty like Hye Soo. She's a wonderful woman" Dae So said.
"Perfect. How about you, Hye Soo"
"You all know my answer." She said, nonchalantly.
"And what's that, my dear?" Mo Eum asked, curiously.
"I'm not interested" She said, cleaning her hands.
"You are not interested?"
"You heard me. This would be the last time I would sit back at a gathering like this, just to watch you all talk about getting me engaged" She said, turning to her parents.
"You can find another way to strengthen your business alliance, but as for me getting engaged, cancel that thought" She snapped, leaving immediately.
Dae So's parents looked at Jung, confused. "She's just Ina bad mood. She'll come around. The engagement is taking place, and nothing is stopping it" Jung smiled, and they nodded.
*
7PM
NADIA'S RESTAURANT
Min Ju saw Tae Hoon's car parked outside the restaurant.
She had begged her dad to give him a car when he celebrated his 24th birthday.
She entered the restaurant, and saw him seated, an empty chair in front of him.
He waved, as he gestured for her to come closer.
She walked gingerly, and took her seat opposite him.
Tae Hoon beamed with smile. "I didn't thinl you'd show up. You've been putting on an attitude for days now"
"What attitude?" Min Ju asked, her gaze on the menu.
"Er- You've been acting a bit distant lately, which is unlike you." Tae Hoon said, studying her expressions.
"Because I refused to give you the money you asked for?" She asked, her brows arched.
"Well... partially" He answered,and she scoffed.
"Do I look like a bank to you? Don't you feel ashamed asking money from a girl? Are you that shameless?" She fired, and Tae Hoon blinked.
"I was just—" Tae Hoon stammered, tightening his fist.
"Let's break up" She dropped the bombshell, without batting an eyelid.
How bad she wants to stab his flesh, plant the dinner fork in his throat, and watch him gasp for breath, just as he watched her die in her past life.
"But—But why do you want to break up, all of a sudden. What did I do, Min Ju? Did I offend you? Tell me—" He said, almost crying and Min Ju shook her head. He's such a good pretender.
"This dinner is done, Tae Hoon. I just came to break the news to you." She said, carrying her bag.
"Min Ju" He reached for her hand, and Min Ju's blood boiled, as she quickly recoiled her hand.
"Don't touch me" She barked, leaving the restaurant and Tae Hoon's eyes twitched.
"She knows something. She fucking knows something" He muttered under his breath, and he quickly stood up, a small pocket knife in his right hand.
Before Min Ju could take another step, a powerful hand reached out from the darkness and grasped her arm, dragging her into the shadows with a swift and merciless motion.
A strangled whimper escaped her lips as her back slammed against the wall, the impact sending shockwaves through her entire body.
She expected to see Tae Hoon's menacing face, but instead, a stranger's twisted features leered at her.
The grip on her neck tightened, cutting off her air supply. Her vision began to blur, and her lungs burned with desperation. She struggled to free herself from his grasp, but he was stronger.
"I won't die like this," she vowed inwardly, her mind racing with the memories of all she had yet to achieve.
Just as her attacker's fingers seemed to be closing in around her throat, a surge of adrenaline coursed through her veins. The stranger's grip faltered for a split second, and Min Ju seized the opportunity to strike back.
With a fierce cry, she summoned every last ounce of strength and unleashed a blood-curdling scream.
The sound waves crashed against her attacker, sending him stumbling backward. Min Ju's hair seemed to grow longer and wilder, as if infused with a life of its own.
As she stood tall, her eyes blazing with fury, she hurled a defiant challenge at her attacker: "I have already been to the edge. I can't be pushed over again!"
Her voice was no longer her own; it was a primal, otherworldly cry that sent shivers down the spine.
The air seemed to vibrate with tension as Min Ju stood her ground, her very presence seeming to command the shadows to retreat. Her attacker, still reeling from the force of her scream, stumbled backward, his eyes wide with fear.
He took to his heels, fleeing into the darkness with a desperation that bordered on panic.
Min Ju's legs buckled beneath her, and she collapsed to the floor with a soft thud, her body trembling with weakness.
The air was heavy with the scent of fear and adrenaline as a figure emerged from the shadows.
Cloaked in black, with a mask that concealed all but his piercing eyes and the bridge of his nose, he exuded an aura of mystery and menace. He crouched down beside Min Ju's prone form, his gaze fixed intently on her face.
As he reached out to gently brush a strand of hair from her forehead, his eyes widened in surprise. The ends of her hair seemed to shimmer with a subtle silver light, like the first whispers of a moonlit night.
The masked figure's breath caught in his throat as he whispered, "She's back."
The words hung in the air like a challenge, or a prophecy. The figure's eyes gleamed with a mixture of awe and trepidation as he murmured, "She really came back. This is not going to be good." The weight of his words was palpable, like the promise of a gathering storm.
As the figure's gaze lingered on Min Ju's face, the shadows around them seemed to deepen, as if the very darkness itself was drawing closer, waiting to claim her as its own. The air was heavy with anticipation, and the masked figure's whispered words seemed to echo through the silence like a warning: "This is not going to be good."