Myung lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He was fixated on what he did the other day with Orea. It was impossible to tell what came over him when he kissed her but seeing her with that damn idol stirred up his jealous side. She was so carefree and jolly with Minwoo that Myung could not help but confront her. He did not plan on kissing her but he simply could not control the urge.
Afterwards, she ran away before he could even get the chance to apologize to her. He must have scared the girl and now, his friendship with her was in jeopardy.
"UGH!" he yelled out loud. "You idiot!"
Myung cursed himself and rolled over. He was not in his mansion but back at the hotel he lived at. On days when he did not have to deal with family drama, he came to live there, away from everyone. The Prime Minister made his minions tail Myung but the latter did not care much. He knew how to sneak out whenever he wanted so their presence literally meant nothing to him.
But he did not leave his suite room that day because he was too ashamed. What was Orea thinking about him? What if she hated him and never wanted to see him again?
There was a knock on the door but Myung did not bother to answer. He knew it was not anyone from the hotel so it was probably a guard or someone from the PM's office.
"Myung!" a familiar voice called him. "Open up!"
Myung let out a sharp exhale. It was Jonghyun. He did not even bother to answer but it was useless. Jonghyun had a spare key to his room. The PM had forced the hotel to provide three copies of Myung's key cards for the family members. He heard the key make a beep and soon, Jonghyun's footsteps followed.
"Myung," Jonghyun called for him. He was at the bedroom's doorway, wanting to talk to his brother.
"What the fuck do you want?" Myung demanded. "You know that I hate you. Then why are you here?"
"We're both here."
Hyeri appeared behind Jonghyun. Both of them were wearing a serious expression. Myung sighed and got up.
"What do you want?" he asked in a cool tone.
"We're worried for our little brother!" Hyeri claimed but Myung snorted.
"Hyeri, stop it with the lies," he said. "We both know you're here for an agenda."
His sister let out a sigh and smirked. "Well, there's no point pretending then," she stated. "We'll get back to business then."
She sat on a couch which was located at one end of the room. Jonghyun sat next to her, gazing at Myung with amusement.
"You were at the mall yesterday," she commented.
"So?" Myung scoffed.
"One of the bodyguards dad sent after you, saw you and that girl…" Hyeri trailed off as if trying to recall something. "What was her name? Aria, Anya…"
"Orea," Jonghyun supplied. "Heo Orea."
"Whatever," Hyeri shrugged. "The guard saw you pulling her into a trial room. Both of you were in there for eight minutes before she came running out."
Myung shifted uncomfortably on the bed but did not flinch. The two vultures had the bodyguards bribed to keep an eye on him. He did not expect anything decent from his so-called siblings but it seemed that they were going to great lengths to keep him away from their way.
"You might be fooling around with her," Jonghyun stated. "But break it off. You know very well that she's not worthy to be a part of our family."
Myung let out a loud laughter. "F-family?" he hiccupped, still laughing. "We're a family? Since when?"
Hyeri was fuming at her little brother who kept on laughing.
"This is a serious matter, Myung!" she exclaimed. "How would you feel when father finds out that you're dallying with some random girl who has no family nor any proper background!"
"Really?" Myung shot back. "You're telling me that, Hyeri? You? Aren't you the one who's alway running after him?"
He pointed at Jonghyun with a twisted smile on his face. Jonghyun was calm while Hyeri sputtered, feeling indignant.
"He might be adopted but he's still legally our brother," Myung reminded her. "And yet, you're unusually close to him. Even…"
He paused before adding, "Going on secret rendezvous with him to his bedroom that too late at night."
Jonghyun looked at him lazily while Hyeri stood up and stormed towards Myung, slapping him with all her might.
"How dare you!" she hissed. "I'm your sister and he's your brother! And yet, you make such crass accusations-"
"I saw you on so many occasions," Myung sneered. "You think that no one knows? You bribed Sam to turn off the cameras on the route from your room to his room during the night! And you come out of that room after many hours, limping and bruised! You think I don't know what you're doing with him you sick freak-"
Hyeri slapped him again but Myung did not care. He glared at Jonghyun who was very calm. Myung was sure that he was responsible for all of this and was using Hyeri for his own gains. The guy was keeping Han Sunye by his side while screwing Hyeri despite being legal siblings. How low could one get?
"Looks like father will have to discipline you!" Hyeri spat at him.
"Go ahead!" Myung challenged her. "And I'll tell him about your little tryst. Who do you think will get into more trouble? Me, his future successor? Or you, his useless and stupid daughter?"
Hyeri screamed and was about to hit him more but Jonghyun stopped her.
"You're speaking of matters you have no idea about," Jonghyun said. "You want to screw around with that girl? Go ahead. But tell me this, little brother. What do you know about her?"
Jonghyun stared at Myung, waiting for an answer. The latter tried not to show his nervousness because he knew Jonghyun was trying to needle out the truth from him.
"She lives with her brother and is a talented girl," Myung replied shortly.
"And have you seen her brother?" Jonghyun sneered. "Do you know where she lives?"
Myung wanted to throw a reply to his face but was unable to do that. Jonghyun was right. He did not know where she lived nor did he meet her brother.
"Your little friend's address on the school records is wrong," Jonghyun stated. "In fact, we asked around in her old schools. Turns out, she changed schools many times before settling here but none of them has her real address."
"We tried to track down her identity and her brother," Hyeri said, her tone seething with venom. "But there are no records of this girl. It's like she doesn't exist."
Myung tried not to show his shock on his face but inwardly, he was stunned. No identity? How was that possible? Heo Orea was a minor. Surely, she would have an identity or a family? A past?
He then recalled his conversation with her where she mentioned that when she was younger, she did not have enough food to eat. Was she hiding the fact that she was poor?
"She's playing with you, Myung," Jonghyun stated. "Her past is hidden. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't find a single record of her. If she approached you, then there must be something wrong and she's seeking something from you. The sooner you break it off with her, the better for your political career. Otherwise, you'll never succeed our father as the Prime Minister."
He turned to Hyeri and added, "Let's go. We're done here."
Hyeri nodded and followed him out, leaving Myung completely speechless. Those two had researched Orea and still could not find a single detail about her. How was she able to hide her identity so well? She was adept in technology but was she really that good?
I must find out, he decided.
…..
Orea was in a fix. She was in her bedroom, pacing back and forth while reflecting on what Sunye had just told her...
"Sis, Myung kissed me," Orea had told her. "Please don't tell this to SD! He's gonna freak out!"
Her words shocked Sunye. "Are you mad?" Sunye hissed. "Whatever SD is planning, I'm sure it's against Myung and his family! You're stuck in the middle of these two men. If SD finds out that Myung kissed you, he'll kill the boy and if Myung finds out that you're trying to hack into his father's system, you'll be put in jail!"
"I know!" Orea exclaimed. "I'm so confused…"
She bit her nails. The leader had indirectly warned her not to get too close to Myung and if this news was leaked, Orea could kiss her seat in the Light goodbye. They would never trust her again.
"Sis, help me!" she begged. "What do I do? I don't even know why he kissed me!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Sunye questioned her. "He likes you! The boy likes you. And he couldn't control his feelings at all."
Orea's eyes widened in shock. "L-Likes me?" she squeaked. "No way!"
Sunye sighed. "Orea," she began. "The boy likes you. And you need to figure out whether you return his feelings or not. If not, then make it clear to him. But if you do…"
She took a deep breath and said, "If you like him, then it'll create a new set of complication for you. Unfortunately, only you can deal with it."