The Past, Seoul

Several weeks after Na Rae tricked me into meeting with her, Yun Seo invited me into the Jang mansion for a chat, casually texting me the entry code for the front door as if he considered me a part of the family now.

I’d been looking at the outside of the house almost every day for more than a year and trying to imagine what the interior would look like, but my imagination fell dismally short of reality. Even the entryway was impressive, several stories tall with a floating spiral staircase that climbed to each story around the perimeter of a column. An abstract sculpture hung suspended from the ceiling at the top, frozen within the domed ceiling like a bird in a cage.

I heard voices coming from deeper inside the house and I followed them through a spacious living room furnished with monochromatic modern couches and accented with bright patterns and splashes of color on every pillow and work of art. The wall closest to the cliff was glass from floor to ceiling, putting the valley below on display with breathtaking clarity. Weaving around the furniture, I found myself in an open concept kitchen with white cabinets and a patterned tile backsplash, the shiny surfaces reflecting the green of the garden outside. 

I found Yun Seo leaning against a counter drinking a cup of coffee while Na Rae sat on a stool on the opposite side, her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail and her scars on full display. She was wearing her usual casual ensemble of leggings and a baggy sweatshirt, this time without a hood to hide within.

“Stop being deliberately obtuse,” she was saying to Yun Seo when I entered the room. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Yun Seo smirked into his coffee cup as he took a drink but remained silent.

“I promise I won’t interfere with your all important schedule otherwise, but the exhibit is only open for three days, all of which are during the work week. It’s not as if you don’t know how to drive yourself to work anyway.”

“I suppose I could let you borrow him for a single day,” Yun Seo said begrudgingly. “I’ll have to look at my schedule to see which day would be the least inconvenient.”

Realizing they were negotiating for my time like I was a commodity rather than a person, I inadvertently drew their attention as I took a seat next to Na Rae with a sigh. “Is there any more of that coffee?” I asked boldly, deciding that if I was going to be treated like an object I should at least be treated well.

“How do you take it?” Yun Seo asked, setting his own cup down and turning to face a fancy coffee maker that took up most of the counter behind him. 

“Black is fine.”

“Do you prefer a dark roast or something lighter?”

I chuckled. “Whatever. I’m not picky.”

Squinting at me, Yun Seo seemed to be able to analyze my preferences on sight because he turned his attention back to the machine and made his decision without hesitation.

“Do you like art?” Na Rae asked, her scarred features deliberately turned toward me as if she wanted to test my reaction.

Focusing on her eyes, I shrugged, “I guess. Sure.”

“I want to go to an art museum next week,” she said with a smirk playing over her lips. “It would be nice to have an escort rather than simply a driver.”

I glanced at Yun Seo, wondering if she was continuing her ruse of treating me like her boyfriend or if she was simply lonely and looking for a friend. Yun Seo didn’t react, too busy making my cup of unnecessarily fancy coffee. “It’s your brother’s money,” I said finally. “If he wants me to follow you around and look at art, then that’s what I’ll do.”

She smiled with a wicked gleam in her eyes. “It’s my money, actually. Yun Seo likes to spend it like it’s his so I’m not surprised you didn’t know.”

“That’s true,” Yun Seo agreed, seemingly untroubled by the fact that Na Rae was the one who was actually rich while he was only pretending to be. “The accounts are all in Na Rae’s name.” He placed a white ceramic mug on a saucer in front of me as if this revelation was nothing and I found myself following his lead, deciding it didn’t really matter whose money Yun Seo was spending as long as he continued to pay my checks.

The coffee looked like any coffee I’d ever had before, but when I took my first sip I realized that there was a difference between expensive coffee and the kind I’d been drinking the rest of my life. This taste was smooth and pure, the aroma and flavor so different from anything I’d ever called coffee before that I knew immediately I would never be able to enjoy cheaper coffee the same way. It would always be lacking, a dim reflection of what coffee was supposed to be if made properly. 

Or maybe it simply tasted that good because Yun Seo had made it for me. His gaze focused on me with expectation as I drank it, a boyish vulnerability in his eyes as if my opinion actually mattered to him. 

“That’s…” I met his eyes and saw the ghost of a smile curve his lips ever so slightly. “Really good,” I finished lamely, lacking the vocabulary to describe it properly, but I hoped my enjoyment came through in my tone if nothing else.

“I suppose you’ll want me to make it for you every morning now,” he said with a more obvious smirk, and I felt a thrill of longing flutter in my chest. I did want that, but I knew better than to ask for such a luxury. Yun Seo’s generosity always came with strings attached. 

“It’s good, but I can live without it,” I muttered as I took another sip, involuntarily closing my eyes to focus on the flavor as it hit my tongue. When I hazarded another look at him, Yun Seo’s smile had hardened like armor to prevent any honest reaction from slipping through. I got the sense that I had disappointed him somehow and that fact made my chest ache in a different way. Disappointing him was the last thing I ever wanted to do.

“Apparently the two of you have time to sit around sipping coffee all morning,” Na Rae said suddenly, either oblivious to the tension or intentionally breaking it with her interruption, “but some of us have actual work to do.” Sliding off her chair, she brushed a hand over my shoulder as she walked away, saying in a sultry tone, “See you next week, oppa.”

I fought the urge to cringe in reaction to the unearned term of endearment, holding my breath until she was out of earshot. 

Yun Seo was studying me when I returned my attention to him. “I’ll pay you double when you are driving her,” he said. “You can consider it overtime.”

Trust Yun Seo to focus on money before anything else. I shook my head, “That seems unnecessary.”

“Na Rae is demanding. She will push you to your limits if you let her. I want to make sure you are compensated in advance for any trouble she might cause.”

I wondered why he would go along with it at all if he was so worried about what Na Rae might do. 

Noticing my frown, he seemed to read my mind as he explained, “This is the first time in many years she’s shown any interest in leaving the house at all except to meddle in my affairs. I would be a fool to refuse her if she’s finally ready to spread her wings.” Finishing off his coffee, he set his empty cup in the sink and tilted his head at me as he added, “She isn’t someone who warms up to other people easily, but she seems to like you.”

The thought occurred to me that Yun Seo might be taking Na Rae’s flirtation seriously. Did he actually think she was interested in me? Worse yet, what if he was right? Was he actually encouraging that interest, imagined or otherwise, by having me escort her around the city? The idea of Yun Seo trying to play matchmaker for his sister made my skin crawl – not because Na Rae was undesirable, but because she wasn’t the Jang sibling I desired, even if the one I did desire was out of reach for obvious reasons.

“She barely knows me,” I said a little more bluntly than I’d intended.

Yun Seo’s expression softened slightly before he looked away, hiding secrets behind another curated smile. “She knows I trust you, and that’s rare enough to make her curious.” Glancing at his watch, he shifted into a more professional mode with obvious relief. “I hate to rush you, but I have an early appointment today. We should leave soon.”

I savored the last several swallows of coffee as much as I could without lingering over them and then stood up. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

As we walked toward the car, Yun Seo told me about his schedule for the day. This was usually the point when he checked in on my additional tasks or assigned me new ones, but instead of either of those things, he asked me if I was free in the evening. I hesitated before answering, the question feeling more personal than professional and instantly putting me on guard.

Smiling at me with a knowing look in his eyes, Yun Seo explained, “I have an appointment tonight with one of the members of the Gihoe Society. I’d like to have backup if you’re available.”

I didn’t know much about the organization, but Yun Seo had been working hard to court several of them as potential funders for Liminal. He attended their social events and met with them individually. He had also asked me to keep an eye on a few members and research their background in various ways, but I’d found very little to connect them other than their wealth and social standing. Before working for Yun Seo I’d never even heard of the Gihoe Society, but according to In Ho, its mostly obscure members had too much money, endless ambition and ran much of the country from behind the scenes.

“I’m free,” I said finally, “but are you asking me to actually attend the meeting?”

Chuckling, Yun Seo shook his head and turned around to face me, walking backward across the patio. “Not exactly. Ye Kwang asked to meet in a rather unusual place: the top level of a parking garage at night. I don’t like the set up, so I’d prefer to have someone there who can keep an eye out and create a distraction or intervene if necessary. I trust your instincts.” He paused and titled his head with another smile, this one teasing in a way that made me feel self-conscious. “You’re a black belt, aren’t you? I imagine you can handle yourself in a fight if it comes to that.”

I huffed a laugh. I’d never talked about my interest in martial arts with him before, so he must have learned about this particular hobby by researching me the same way he asked me to research everyone else. “I am,” I admitted, “but do you actually expect me to fight someone on your behalf? I’m your driver, not your bodyguard.”

His smile broadened. “Are you saying I don’t pay you enough for that?”

As much as I found his constant focus on money to be tiresome, I couldn’t argue with his conclusion. “It’s high risk work.”

“Then I’ll pay you more.” He continued backing his way toward the car without breaking eye contact, his smile almost devilish now, eyes twinkling with satisfaction at once again getting his way.

I sighed. “I haven’t agreed to do it yet,” I pointed out, but then I noticed he was about to step off the edge of the patio, reminding me suddenly of the picture on the door of the club where I’d met Na Rae, the oblivious fool about to step off a cliff. I lunged forward on instinct, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward me to prevent him from stumbling down the stairs, but I quickly regretted the action when I felt the warmth of his body against mine, the scent of his cologne filling my nose and making me feel lightheaded.

He laughed with dark amusement. “See? You’re already acting like my bodyguard. You’re a natural.”

I considered letting him fall then, but I clenched my teeth together instead and remained silent, releasing him only when I was sure he had regained his balance.

“I knew the stairs were there,” he explained as he stepped out of my arms. “I wanted to see if you would catch me, and of course you did.”

Rolling my eyes, I took a deliberate step away; the fact that he would take a trust fall without warning me made me simultaneously flattered that he would trust me that much and annoyed that he was once again manipulating me to prove a point. “Fine,” I said. “I’ll be your bodyguard for a night, but if this rich guy tries to sue me for assault or something, you’ll have to take care of my legal fees.”

“Naturally.”

Even though I was certain I was worrying for no reason, I felt anxious about the appointment all day. I looked into the person Yun Seo was meeting with a little more so that I had a better idea who we were dealing with, hoping that would ease my mind. Ye Kwan was the oldest member of the Gihoe Society and traditional in his approach to business and politics. His family had been in charge of the country’s most profitable pharmaceutical company for many generations and he was a master at keeping his nose clean publicly while manipulating things quietly behind the scenes. From hints Yun Seo had dropped along the way, I got the sense that he was a hard sell and someone Yun Seo was particularly interested in cultivating as a resource, so I imagined this meeting was more important to him than most.

We pulled into the garage early and Yun Seo asked me to stop just below the roof level. 

“Do you have your headset?” he asked.

He’d given me a bluetooth headset early on in our work together so that I could safely take phone calls while driving, but I’d found it mostly unnecessary and rarely wore it since his car connected to my phone automatically. “Yes. Why?”

“Put it on. I’ll call you and keep the line open so you can hear our conversation.”

I laughed. “Are you trying to turn me into your bodyguard or a spy?” 

“A little of both,” Yun Seo replied, untroubled by the implications. “Ye Kwan asked to meet me alone, so we’ll need to trade places so you can approach the area on foot.”

I sighed as I attached the headset to my ear and made sure I had a good connection. “Do you really think he’s going to be a threat? ”

“I don’t know,” Yun Seo said, “but I prefer to take precautions. I’m doubtful that he will actually come alone.”

“You didn’t,” I pointed out.

“Exactly.”

“Okay, then.” I got out of the car and dropped the keys into Yun Seo’s hand when he walked around to take my place in the driver’s seat. 

“Be careful,” Yun Seo said, catching my arm and giving it a squeeze. “The security cameras aren’t working,” he added, “so you don’t have to worry about being recorded, but some of the buildings are close enough to have a view of the roof so stay out of sight as much as you can.”