CHAPTER 14
It was nearly noon and Min Hee was still lying in bed thinking of what she had talked about with InKyung during breakfast. So far, all she knew about Shim Changmin was that he is unconditionally over-protective, has lots of unknown enemies around him and was once a bad guy which has now turned towards the good side. That is, if ‘Not anymore…’ meant that way.
Either ways, Min Hee wasn’t sure if she was ready to fully accept the existence of this man in her life as how they said it should be: a husband. Even after InKyung confesses that Changmin has changed, the fact that he was once the bad guy didn’t help to assure her safety at all. Seeing that he still have enemies who might be seeking revenge after him, it could be a great threat to her and her baby. And it wouldn’t be a surprise if Changmin suddenly decided to return to the dark side somehow, who knows? Besides, she has been holding on to the mysterious images of a man who looked an awfully lot like Changmin beating her up to pulps. If her eyes weren’t deceiving her, then why would Changmin hit the women he claimed to love so dearly?
But no matter whom the father once was and what he has done, Min Hee will always cherish the existence of the miracle growing inside her womb. She has vowed to take care of it until the day it will finally see the world and also the days after that, until it has finally grown up to become a great asset to the society. That is all she wished to be able to do as of now, despite the hole inside her memory and the uncertainty of her connections to Shim Changmin.
Min Hee let out a sigh and diverted her gaze towards the door. She can’t deny the boredom she’s feeling for sitting at one place for hours. Maybe she should take a walk around the house. Even though it is a very big house and she might get lost sooner or later, she suddenly felt the urge to find something that could trigger any of her hiding memories. If she has indeed lived in the house for years, for sure there would be a lot of things she needed reminding of. She needed to find those clues.
And with that, she got out of bed and left the bed-covers crumpled. She made way towards the door and scanned the hallway before stepping out of the room and closed the door quietly behind her. It wasn’t necessary for her to tip-toe around the house like a thief considering that the house was sort of half-hers and the floors were carpeted through the middle, but she can’t help from being cautious from bumping into InKyung. She wanted to tour the house alone. She needed to find the missing pieces on her own and InKyung will only get in the way.
“Excuse me,” Min Hee turned towards one of the maids who were diligently dusting the paintings along the walls just outside the bedroom.
“Yes, Milady?”
“Have you seen InKyung?”
“Lady InKyung? She’s taking her usual afternoon nap in her room, if I’m not mistaken. Can I do anything for you?” asked the sweet girl, not more than 20 years of age.
“Um, if she asks for me, tell her I’ll be somewhere around the house and please don’t come and find me.”
“I will do just that, Milady.” The girl bowed.
Min Hee gave the girl a simple smile and walked away, leaving the girl to continue her chores.
She made her way towards the main marble stairs and descended towards the living room 15 feet below. The view of what she saw when she first arrived a few days ago met her hazel eyes once again. Nothing changed at all, except perhaps, the area is much cleaner now. Not that it was anything close to dusty back then, but everything sparkled even more today. Maybe the maids have been working extra hours. Or maybe, it’s simply because she has started to accept this place as her home.
Min Hee walked in between the set of sofas slowly, extending her arms side-ways to touch its leather by the tip of her fingers, savouring the softness yet firmness of wealth it holds. From one set to another, her feet just found its way to explore the large area. Apart from the obvious furniture, she couldn’t help but be fascinated at seeing the entire twelve coffees table across the living room had the same, identical, fresh blood-red roses on top of it, giving the air of passion and boldness in the atmosphere. She had only noticed the large vase in the middle of the room that previous day. She should have known that it was only an appetizer to trigger her delights in the art of interior designing. Not that she remembered being a professional, but she has always loved to accessorise her room and, in this case, her house.
Yes, Changmin did mention that she was the one who designed the living room’s layout. And after seeing the roses, she knew Changmin was telling the truth. It has always been her childhood wish to scent her house with fresh flowers of her likings, and that includes blood-red roses as her most favourite. And she must’ve told him that. That is why the house had this light frail of freshness in the air wherever she went, and she had just realised it.
She scanned the area and tried to find something else she could consider as what they called déjà vu, but there was none. The flowers could’ve been one of them, she thought. But since Changmin has open-handedly mentioned it to her, the flash of light she hoped to arrive didn’t come at all.
Min Hee continued her so-called investigation around the house by disturbing the cooks in the kitchen, more hardworking maids in the library and the dining room, and nearly sent a heart attack to the poor old gardener through one of the guest rooms’ windows. Out of all these places, only one other room managed to spark her interest. This is the room where she has found a considerable amount of pictures in beautiful frames lining up the desks and walls. All of them were pictures of her, sometimes alone and sometimes with him, sometimes smiling and sometimes pouting, and all of them told her that both she and Changmin were once in love. And to wrap it all, she caught the picture taken on her wedding day, where Changmin was holding her from the back and lightly planted a shy kiss on her neck as their fingers intertwined in front of her slim waist. Both of them had happy smiles on their faces.
She guessed that this might be Changmin private office, considering the overall looks of it.
She walked closer towards the mahogany desk and sat on the high chair behind it and turned it around with her toes. Somehow, she had a really comfortable feeling being inside this room. She smiled and closed her eyes, thinking of what could possibly be the cause of this sudden warmness in her heart. Shouldn’t she be surprised or scared that Changmin behaved like a stalker with all those pictures of her? Shouldn’t she be scrambling through some of the documents on the table and find out what he did for a living for real? Instead, the room managed to make her feel full and whole again. As if she didn’t need to worry about anything anymore. And that she was undoubtedly protected and loved… and married.
And because of that, she has totally forgotten that she had lost a part of her memory.
The room told her that she had once returned the affection Changmin had for her, and her heart immediately felt contented. And she felt like that is all that matters.
Unwillingly, Min Hee left the room at the basement and went back upstairs feeling relieved and somehow happy. Even though she did not encounter any déjà vu as she had hoped, she already had this funny but pleasent feeling to savour until tonight, when she will see Changmin getting back from work, no matter how late he comes in, and tell him about it. The smile never left her face. Finally, she could feel the invisible connection…
She was meaning to return to her bedroom when she saw the door next to her bedroom’s was slightly opened and she decided to check it out. Upon pushing the door wider, a large bed immediately came into view, and Min Hee’s feet was stoned to the ground, her jaws wide open.
*FLASH*
“LET ME GO YOU BASTARD!” I screamed at the very top of my lungs that my head felt like exploding. Though, no matter how hard I screamed, the man wouldn’t budge at all and kept on forcing himself on me.
Could this really be the end of me?
“Please, don’t do this to me…” A tear dropped down the corner of my puffy eyes and down to my ears. I couldn’t remember the last time I had stopped crying. I thought he was finally knocked by humanity the moment he let me out of that awful room to stay at a much more decent place with proper lodgings. But I was very much mistaken. He does pay lesser violent visits after I was transferred to this spare bedroom, but he was still the monster much worse than nightmare. Maybe he will never change…
“Shut up,” he hissed carelessly as he gathered some breath, holding tightly on my wrists on top of my head and continued sliding his tongue all over my neck as if licking a lollipop. I wonder why he hasn’t bit on his tongue yet even with this wild struggling coming from me.
Then I felt his lips returned to mine and he forced a French kiss on me. I couldn’t do anything but moaned in protest. His grip was too strong, and so were the lock of his lips and the weight of his body, pinning me down. At one point, he fixed his posture on the bed on top of me, and I swear I could feel the bulge from his trousers.
God, he was totally going to rape me.
“C-Chang… Changmin. Please…” I begged hoarsely, my strength was starting to fail me. My struggles were fainter, and so was my consciousness. My arms limped beside me when all the energy has left my body. It was only a matter of seconds before the blur will turn into a complete darkness. And right before I was completely unconscious, I felt him loosening his grip and backed away, his face bear shock.
*END FLASH*