CHAPTER 147: CHAPTER 146. SPREADING LURES

"Why did you choose to invest in this man’s project?"

"Oh, that!" Sarah clanked her chopsticks on top of her tempura plate, suddenly acting excited. "Listen, Uncle--it’s quite whimsical."

Joseph smiled as if humoring a child and nodded. "Alright."

"So, I was trying this club since I got bored with Helios, right? And I was sooo drunk--we were so drunk we took the wrong turn and entered the wrong room," Sarah started her story, flailing her hands that she looked like a conductor with chopsticks in hand. "Oh, it was so thrilling! I think those people are ready to throw us out--I mean, physically, with force!"

Hajin twisted his lips slightly. "I could take them all, Master."

"I know, Puppy; that’s why I said thrilled, not scared," Sarah tapped the bodyguard’s lips with her chopsticks. "But anyway, we ended up not throwing hands at all because--guess who’s there?"

The old man, still smiling innocently--but rather eagerly--replied with fake curiosity. "Who?"

Of course, he needed to pretend that he had never heard about it before. Sarah laughed and clanked her chopsticks against her plate again, as if sounding a bell. "Uncle Hyun!"

"Oh?"

"I know, right? I was surprised too! He was there partying with these rough-looking people--which wasn’t very like him," Sarah let go of the chopstick and let Hajin tidy up while she was stroking her chin curiously. "But he was there with their boss--who was rather chill, I think?"

Joseph tilted his head. "How do you know it’s their boss?"

"Well...I’m not sure, but...this old man was the only one sitting? Oh--and someone called him ’hyungnim’ or something," Sarah laughed amusedly. "Feels like watching a drama."

"I see..." the old snake was still smiling, but his eyes narrowed just a little bit. Only because she had been observing him did Sarah manage to catch the sudden caution inside the old man’s gaze. "But what does it have to do with you being interested in the project?"

Sarah leaned back and fiddled with her teacup again, grinning. "So, this guy who called the boss man hyungnim...I saw him somewhere with Henry before at the construction site--you know, the one for the project. So I thought--hmm...if Uncle Hyun is their buddy, it might be fine to get involved? Or something like that."

"I see..."

Sarah paused her yapping to quench her thirst with the tea--she really was not built to talk that much in such a short amount of time--while observing the old man again. Joseph was eating his sushi as if there was nothing wrong, but Sarah could see that the old man was thinking deeply. His brows knitted slightly--so slightly that it would look like he was merely scowling at the wasabi touching his palate. It was the face of someone with concern, although he did hide it well.

"But, Uncle..." Sarah wiped the smile that almost crept onto her lips. "You didn’t know about it?"

Joseph paused and looked up. "Hmm?"

"You looked like you didn’t know," Sarah threw the shot straight away. "I thought you would, since you’re usually taking care of external stuff like this. I thought Uncle Hyun was doing something related to HS, you know?"

Joseph replied with a smile, as usual, but Sarah could see it was rather stiff. "Well, I’m not the only executive for external business, Sarah."

"Is that so? Oh, well..." Sarah shrugged, letting it go as easily as an afterthought. "I was planning to ask Uncle Hyun about it, but we never crossed paths again, and the last family dinner..."

Sarah exhaled heavily, letting her words hang in the air. She picked up her chopsticks again and started to eat her tempura slowly, lazily, as if she were losing her appetite.

The old man had thrown the first bait, so it was time for Sarah to throw hers.

And Joseph bit it without problem, asking with a voice laden with compassion. "What happened, my niece?"

"Hmmh... "

Again, Sarah exhaled slowly. She stopped eating and bit her lips, furrowing her brows as if she was thinking deeply in contemplation. Joseph, true to his character, was waiting patiently without disturbing her.

"Oh, I guess it’s fine to tell you," Sarah said in the end, lifting her face with a wry smile.

"Master--"

"Sush--it’s okay, Puppy," Sarah patted the bodyguard’s hand, with a vulnerable smile on her lips. "Uncle Joseph is family after all."

The bodyguard frowned strongly for a second before sighing in resignation. "If you say so..."

"If it’s something hard to say--"

"No, no--it’s...fine, Uncle," Sarah shifted her gaze to Joseph and smiled wider, as if covering a deep scar inside her heart. She held her own hand tightly and took a deep breath, as if getting ready to take a leap of faith. "Yeah, I think it’s fine now. So..."

* * *

To perfect the sense that she was feeling too unwell to work, Sarah kept staying home while the season changed. Everything around her was raging as rumors about Mason’s demotion started to circulate among the high society, but Sarah was completely at peace inside her temporary bubble.

She turned her public number off, only communicating through the other phone which only a select few knew. She knew a lot of people would call her, including Amber and the chief secretary--perhaps the first wife too--but Sarah just went through her new routine while ignoring the rest of the world.

That new routine included learning how the vacuum cleaner worked and how to combat slipperiness during dishwashing. She also tried the washing machine without Hajin’s guidance and watched videos on clothes folding.

Hajin had told her she didn’t need to do all of that. Even if Sarah determined to stop living like a young lady of a conglomerate family in the future, he would gladly pamper his princess and do all the housework chores for her.

"What’s the difference then?" Sarah argued, twisting her lips in the middle of unfolded dry blankets. "There’s no difference between this and when you were still my bodyguard."

That got Hajin quiet for five minutes while Sarah continued her struggle with the blanket.

"I’m not...your bodyguard anymore?" Hajin asked blankly.

Sarah narrowed her eyes. This man could be so dumb sometimes. "You’re not just my bodyguard anymore, aren’t you? Or do you prefer to stay as mpph--"

Far from getting folded, the blanket needed to be washed again an hour later, which made Sarah grumble in front of the washing machine. At least she knew how the washing machine worked now.

Hajin just laughed and giggled like an adolescent big puppy while wrapping his princess inside a bathrobe and his embrace as they sat on the floor in front of the spinning machine.

"If I’m not going to be a rich young lady anymore, I’d better act the part," Sarah shrugged. "It only feels like we’re living together when we do things together."

"Mm," Hajin nodded absentmindedly.

Whatever his princess said. Everything sounded so beautiful and dream-like in his ears.

"My mother..." Sarah parted her lips and paused for a while, prompting Hajij to regain his focus and watch his princess with concern. "My mother used to do all of this alone, didn’t she? Well...at least she also did before marrying the chairman, so it wasn’t such a shocking change for her."

Hajin hummed while gently stroking the black hair, which was almost grown back to the length he remembered during their first meeting.

"If everything didn’t go to shit...I was supposed to live here too, you know?" Sarah stared at the spinning cloth inside the machine.

Instead of her and Hajin, she saw another reflection there--of two women carrying the laundry together while grunting and laughing, exchanging stories amid the whirring sound of the machine. It wasn’t just there, however. She had been seeing the illusion everywhere in the house; in the kitchen learning how to cook, in the living room watching movies together and eating dinner, in the foyer carrying groceries...

Things she had been dreaming of doing and keeping her sane during her last year of high school. Things that kept staying as a dream.

"I’d have to learn how to do all of this anyway, so..."

Hajin held the girl tighter, keeping his voice inside his mouth. There was nothing he could say at that moment that could serve any solace--he gained his chance to make things right with his mother thanks to Sarah’s regression, but she gained nothing.

She hadn’t even gained complete peace or revenge. Wasn’t that why she locked the door of the master bedroom? Sealing its content and her screaming pain inside so she could at least function.

"Well...it’s rather different doing it with you, but..." Sarah took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, leaning back against the warm and sturdy chest. "It’s better than going through it alone...I guess?"

"I’m glad to be useful," Hajin murmured.

Sarah laughed and sighed again. She wondered if Hajin knew how much his presence mattered at that moment. If she were to stay in that house alone...Sarah knew she would function well while going about her revenge, fueled solely by her anger. But what about the rest of the time?

Sarah felt like she would only curl up in her darkness, combating tears while facing nightmares both in her sleep and awake. Meals? She would probably only eat once she felt her stomach hurt.

That was if she managed not to drown during one of her baths.

Sarah bit her lips; perhaps it wasn’t Hajin who needed her, it was her who needed Hajin.

There was a part, deep in the back of her mind, that wished Hajin had managed to kidnap her. A part that wished she hadn’t died because Hajin came to her like he promised. She might not get convinced right away, but it wasn’t like she could physically win against Hajin.

Sarah chuckled at the wishful thoughts, prompting Hajin to look at her curiously. "Princess?"

Sarah turned her head, planting a soft, chaste kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."

Hajin arched his brow. "For what?" he asked. "I’ve been doing a lot of things, so you have to be specific, Princess."

Sarah rolled her eyes. Maybe she shouldn’t be so positive in her assessment.

"Also, I demand one kiss per stuff you’re grateful for--ouch!" Hajin laughed when Sarah pinched his side harshly. "Ahaha--ouch, ouch--okay, okay, I’m sorr--ahahaha!"

Oh, well...she was thankful for many things, so...

Sarah shrugged and, after pinching the man a few more times, kissed him for the duration of the washing machine running. There, on the bare floor of their normal home.