"I don't need your approval to see my fiancée." Park Tae-yong said.
Kim Seo-yeon eyed him. What was he trying to do by provoking the Duchess? What if she threw them out before the doctor could come get some samples for the test? Kim Seo-yeon couldn't understand him at all. The wrist that was held by him was squeezed. Kim Seo-yeon understood immediately and looked away.
Kim Myeongju was irritated. She looked over at Kim Seo-yeon.
"Is he really your fiancé?" She asked.
Kim Seo-yeon nodded.
Kim Myeongju bit down on her lip, telling herself to be calm. The test wasn't done yet. This woman was probably not her daughter.
"Madam Kim, I came at once." A short burly man said, as he walked in.
…
The ride back home was silent. Park Tae-yong kept smoking nonchalantly as he looked down at his tablet.
Kim Seo-yeon felt choked being in the airtight car inhaling the smoke, so she balled up in the corner and scrolled the internet.
Suddenly, the car came to a screeching halt. Because Kim Seo-yeon was regularly chauffeured, she rarely wore the seat belt. With the car braking so quickly, she fell forward and when her face was just about to knock into the front seat, a long and strong arm reached out and held her waist, stopping her from falling. He grabbed her arm, holding her in place.
His long fingers were tightly curled around her arm and his palm felt shockingly cold to touch. Only then, once stable did Kim Seo-yeon realize he had taken off his gloves. She met his dark gaze.
"Put on your seatbelt!" His cold voice ordered.
She swallowed and silently did as he told her.
"What happened?" Park Tae-yong turned his attention towards the chauffeur at the front.
"A woman was standing in the middle of the road, sir." The chauffeur said cautiously.
Park Tae-yong nodded and reached into his coat to grab a bottle of hand sanitizer, as the car started moving again. Seeing the bottle just after he touched her bare skin, Kim Seo-yeon nearly choked on her breath. She scrunched up her face.
What a bastard! Pfft! Sanitizing after touching her!
The man seemed to be unaware of Kim Seo-yeon's gaze as he slipped on his hand gloves after he was done. He lowered his head again and continued using the tablet. After a while,
"Stop the car." Park Tae-yong ordered and the car stopped. "Get off." He said to Kim Seo-yeon.
Kim Seo-yeon rolled her eyes. She would soon hit him to death in this platonic marriage of theirs.
She unbuckled her seatbelt and shoved the car door open, stepping out onto the street with a curt huff. The air was crisp against her face. She unlocked her phone, about to order a cab.
It was only then, standing on the sidewalk, that she noticed the dark sedan parked about ten feet behind them. The chauffeur stood beside it, holding the rear door open.
"Your car is waiting." Park Tae-yong's voice was flat, emerging from the still-open door of the first vehicle. He hadn't turned around, his attention already back on his tablet.
Kim Seo-yeon rolled her eyes again and slammed the car door.
She walked toward the second car, her gaze fixed on her reflection in the tinted window of Park Tae-yong's sedan. The car drove away slowly.
"Where are we going?" she asked the chauffeur of the second car as she slid into the back seat.
"To the private estate. The Young Master has instructed you to rest there until the DNA results arrive," the chauffeur replied, closing the door and starting the engine.
Kim Seo-yeon leaned her head back against the leather. She touched her arm which still throbbed faintly where Park Tae-yong's cold hand had held her, a strange, lingering reminder of the man.
Kim Seo-yeon scrolled through her phone.
Last night, she had learnt from Butler Ha that Yeon Ji-a had died to a certain drug. The drug had been developed by a secret underground association and anyone who took it would hallucinate and lose control of their mental health. Yeon Ji-a had probably killed herself after seeing the negative online comments. But Kim Seo-yeon remembered what she was like when she met her that morning. She was still Yeon Ji-a. That drug had to have been taken within the period of time of Kim Seo-yeon's departure and Yeon Ji-a's death. That was only about 1 or 2 hours. Except the hooded figure and the servant, there was no one else there.
Kim Seo-yeon planned to ask Park Tae-yong for his help. Their deal, after all had been that Kim Seo-yeon would marry him and help him secure the throne, while he would help her find the killer.
She leaned back on the seat and shut her eyes.
…
Son Ji-woo stood at the entrance waiting. Recently, she had moved into an apartment close to the Park estate, as it was not ideal for her to live in the same building with Park Tae-yong.
Kim Seo-yeon had already called her to inform her that they were continuing their unfinished tour.
She waited patiently and soon a car pulled into the driveway. She watched as Park Tae-yong walked out and passed by her like she was air, but she did not see Kim Seo-yeon. Park Tae-yong seemed to be in a hurry, he grabbed something and left immediately. Kim Seo-yeon's car came in as Park Tae-yong's was leaving.
Son Ji-woo hurried to the car and got in.
…
It was 11 pm.
Park Tae-yong closed his laptop and stood up, leaving, when his phone rang. He stared at the caller ID and took the call.
"What is it?"
"Young Master, the Duchess called..." Butler Ha's voice said.
"Does she want to see her daughter now?" Park Tae-yong interrupted with a chill smirk.
"No. Young Master, actually Ms. Kim is in the Kim castle." Butler Ha said slowly.
Park Tae-yong's eyes darkened.
"Didn't I ask her to stay in the estate?!" Park Tae-yong shouted into the phone. Damn woman! Disobeying him!
…
The doors were pulled open and Park Tae-yong walked in with a dominant aura. He looked at Kim Myeongju who was seated calmly on one of the sofas sipping tea, and Kim Seo-yeon who was slouched on another sofa sleeping soundly. Son Ji-woo stood by the side, looking rather insignificant.
"Duchess," Park Tae-yong said and nodded at Kim Myeongju. "I've come for her."
"You know my husband and I are old and we're looking towards announcing our heir soon. Who knew we wouldn't have an heir but a heiress? We were so unhappy for years because I was having problems with childbirth, and then we got Yi Hun...her, and she was taken away." Kim Myeongju said and sipped the tea as her eyes looked distant. "God knows I love my Yi Hun. He's locked himself inside his room and refuses to come out. My daughter on the other hand is sick." Kim Myeongju said and looked at Park Tae-yong.
He had no expression on his face. He could tell she had more to say.
"Ninth Prince, I don't like you at all. You're the reason my Harang is bedridden. And I hate your father even more. But you are together with my estranged daughter." Kim Myeongju said and paused, looking deeply at Park Tae-yong. "I'm sure your relationship is transactional, so can you do me a favor? Break off the relationship you have with Kim Seo-yeon and the Kim family will fully support you in the future." Kim Myeongju stated and sipped her tea. It was a good deal. Even though the Kim family was ruled by Kim Min-ho in name, she was the true heir. Kim Min-ho had adopted her own surname. Her promise carried a lot of weight.
Park Tae-yong stood there for a while, unmoving. He knew Kim Myeongju would ask this, but it seemed he hadn't braced himself for it well enough.
Kim Myeongju stared at Park Tae-yong's expressionless face in confusion. Could it be that he and Kim Seo-yeon were actually a thing?
"Duchess, I don't have the habit of breaching my contracts." Park Tae-yong said with a cold smirk on his face. "She is my fiancée, I have stated that clearly."
He wasn't stupid. He still needed to use Kim Seo-yeon as leverage against them. They would support him as long as their daughter did, except they wanted to disown her.
"Park Tae-yong." Kim Myeongju sucked her teeth bitterly.
"Go away. She's staying here tonight. She got drunk under your watch."
Park Tae-yong frowned. With Kim Seo-yeon's intelligence, why would she go somewhere she could get drunk, and then proceed to get drunk.
"Her assistant claimed she met a friend." Kim Myeongju added, noting Park Tae-yong's expression. "Go away, I want to hold her for the first time in 23 years tonight." Kim Myeongju nudged and dropped her cup.
"I'm not letting her sleep in the same building as Kim Yi Hun." Park Tae-yong stated with chilling finality, as he walked to where Kim Seo-yeon was. Kim Seo-yeon shifted and mumbled something incoherent. What a pig. Park Tae-yong thought, his lip curling slightly in disgust at her sleep talking.
"Park Tae-yong, my temper is not very good." Kim Myeongju said with a cold voice.
"Duchess, you've made the mistake of thinking my own temper is good." Park Tae-yong said calmly.
He crouched in front of Kim Seo-yeon, his gloved hands snaking over Kim Seo-yeon's arm. He picked her up in one swift and easy movement, like she was a pillow. Kim Seo-yeon, seeming to have felt the instability, groggily hugged onto his neck, her bare arms touching the bare skin of his neck. He wrinkled his face in disgust at the physical contact, but he did not let go of her.
"Goodnight, Duchess." He said to Kim Myeongju and turned around. "You're dismissed." He said to Son Ji-woo and walked away.
Son Ji-woo ran off behind him. Kim Myeongju balled up her fists in annoyance.
Wasn't that man mysophobic? How could he touch Kim Seo-yeon? Or did he really like Kim Seo-yeon?
"Myeongju, let's rest. We'll get more time with her in the future." Kim Min-ho, who had already come out to see Park Tae-yong leaving with Kim Seo-yeon in his arms, said.
Kim Myeongju nodded.
…
In the back seat of the car, Park Tae-yong felt contamination crawling across his skin. He couldn't stand the woman leaning against him, her mouth slightly open, a silvery line of saliva coming out. Yet, under the moonlight filtering through the window, she looked like a pearl. Her eyelashes were long, her nose was small, and her lips were cherry red.
He looked away and took out a cigarette. He lighted it and smoked unhappily. It didn't matter if she was leaning on him at this time, she'd already dirtied him. So, he didn't push her away.
This was the second time she was violating his boundaries on physical contact.
He smoked until the cigarette burned to its end, and he took out another.
The car pulled into his estate. Park Tae-yong quickly threw his door open and got out, leaving Kim Seo-yeon behind without a backward glance. He walked away with rapid strides, as if fleeing a parasite.
…
The next morning, Kim Seo-yeon woke up with a splitting headache.
There was a knock on her door. Kim Seo-yeon didn't even register what the person had said or who the person was. She just groggily walked to her handbag to search for some pain relief pills.
She swallowed two pills and lay on the bed for a while.
Luckily, no embarrassing memories came in from last night.
She was taking the tour when she ran into Fang Hua, a friend from high school.
Probably because it hadn't been too long since Yeon Ji-a's death and the reveal of her biological parents, she drank with Fang Hua who also appeared to have been through a major breakup, all night.
The good thing was that when she got drunk, she wasn't conscious and fell asleep, saving her from any embarrassment.
There was a knock on the door. Kim Seo-yeon ordered the person to come in.
"Ms. Kim. Young Master wants to see you now." Butler Ha said.