Chapter 100 - The 100th

With her eyes closed, the nonexistent woman heard the clicks, and her heart sped up involuntarily.

One.

Two.

Three.

And then the electronic beep of the last lock, releasing the door by using a password.

She couldn't help, like a dog in the Pavlov Experiment, feeling anxious in anticipation of the events that had been repeated for so long.

It was stronger than her, and she sat on the bed. The nonexistent woman had already gotten up earlier, done some stretching exercises, and walked a little on the treadmill. But he had gone to bed again; in the past few days, she hadn't felt well. Her foreboding feeling took away her sleep and hunger.

She straightened her hair with her fingers, as did the pink plush sweatshirt she wore, with a university print. The woman would never again be seen as dirty or decomposed. She would rather maintain a dignified, if not entirely pleasant, appearance.

The steps on the stairs, each one of them, gave her chills and nausea. However, the nonexistent woman had decided for some time that it would not defeat her anymore. She focused on the good aroma of the food. There was something new and smelling tasty, and she felt herself salivating, unexpectedly.

"Ji Hyeon! Today we have a different breakfast!"

"Dae Won Oppa," she looked at the grinning man in front of her, with the tray of food.

"Did you change the restaurant?" she asked casually, looking away and getting up. Kim Ji Hyeon was always intimidated by looking at that man's sweet, almost youthful beauty and knowing what he really was.

Ji Hyeon went to set the table, placing a linen towel and plates, aluminum jeotgarak and plastic cutlery. Food was always for two on Wednesdays.

"You will find it funny, but someone gifted me all this food. It looks appetizing, doesn't it?"

' People always fall for you, ' Ji Hyeon thought, but kept her expression aloof. Dae Won passed her the stainless steel terrine, and Ji Hyeon inadvertently looked at her reflection on the silver surface. With a start, she almost dropped the container, but Dae Won was attentive and took the terrine out of her hands, placing it on the table.

"Ah! Forgive me, I totally forgot! I stopped thinking about it when you asked for a mirror, pardon!"

'I very much doubt you forgot it or anything else ,' Kim Ji Hyeon said nothing and walked away from the Musical Producer, sitting across the table for two people. The fact she was startled by her own monstrous reflection and distorted by the convex surface, it was beyond pathetic. She would not allow herself to cry over it anymore.

"Oppa, when is my brother coming back from abroad?"

In the end, that's what Ji Hyeon wanted to know. She had been restless, dreaming constantly about Jun, lately. Getting to see him was always very difficult, but at least she could try to get news.

The problem is that Ji Hyeon couldn't trust the news bearer.

"Well, I managed to find out that he was coming back today! And I called Na Ra, and played dumb, the information slipped from my lips... Well, I don't know if I should play matchmaker, but they've already lost a lot of time. Jun Hyeon isn't getting any younger, either."

Many things went through the mind of the cloistered woman upon hearing this. Jun Hyeon and she were twins, and therefore, she wasn't getting any younger either. Ji Hyeon had been locked up in that room for so long, almost 10 years.

Like a snow globe dancer. 

She only knew about the world the things she heard from Dae Won or saw on TV.

They started to eat, and she enjoyed the food. Knowing that her brother had come back and would see Na Ra, had brought her appetite back. ' He's going to recover from my 'death' ', she thought with some optimism, hoping that finally he and Na Ra could settle as a couple after so long.

"But, that girl who came here with Jun Hyeon the other day, remember? Well, she said he's not doing very well. That he's been thinking about you a lot," Dae Won spoke casually, helping himself to more food. Ji Hyeon put the jeotgarak aside for a moment, overwhelmed by the news. ' Why must it be this way? Why is nothing you say is only what it seems? There is always something behind everything you say. What kind of trap is this now? '

"And who is she anyway?" Ji Hyeon decided to ask. If this girl was meeting frequently with Dae Won, but also with her brother, what was she? A hired spy? Or an innocent girl being hypnotized as a bird by the serpent?"

"Your grandfather set up a blind date for both of them. That's how they ended up here, that night. Since then, Jun Hyeon has been involved with her, but she is quite… complicated."

"Uhn… But is she your friend?"

Dae Won looked up from the food with a smug smile, "You are my friend, Ji. Isn't it a little late to act jealous?"

Ji Hyeon sighed, "I'm not jealous of you, Oppa."

"Aish, you're so prideful!" Dae Won spoke jokingly, getting up and abandoning the meal.

Yes, Ji Hyeon knew that she was proud. She knew that this was her biggest flaw and the cause of her suffering. But it was also her point of support and what kept her alive for all these years. Yes, she had gone to the depths of despair several times. But she had managed to swim back to the surface and recognize herself as a human being again. Her sympathy for Dae Won, her silly Stockholm Syndrome, had been gone for some time.

"I wanted to see my brother again, Oppa."

"Ahhh, sometimes I even think you can read my thoughts. You ask for these impossible things whenever I'm too busy to oblige! Ji, please understand, I already said that I don't have so many excuses for visiting your brother all the time. Besides, arranging an outing for you is very difficult! Can't you really settle for the video I did last time?"

"Ah, so this is the girl? The one you talked about, in that hospital?"

He sat on the couch, and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels,

"Don't be like that. It is not an ordinary 'hospital'. It is the JI HYEON Foundation. It has your name. It promotes hundreds of free corrective surgeries every year, helping people who have suffered accidents like yours. Or which suffer from congenital problems. It receives thousands of won a year in donations to the cause. Thanks to your memorial, thanks to your name."

Whenever she thought about it, the woman's head felt like it was going to explode. She went to the piano, opened the lid, fl.u.s.tered. Resurface now, alive? How would it be? It was her biggest dream and her worst nightmare. There would be the press, stamping her horrible, twisted face on every channel. First the pity. Then distrust.

"This delicious food was made by Ye Rim's friend and supporter. The singer we were talking about. But if you heard our conversation well, your brother doesn't want to help her. It would be simple to let her perform at the annual Ji Hyeon Foundation event. However, he's making excuses, so I know that between her and Na Ra, he prefers Na Ra."

Ji Hyeon thought she knew her twin too well to agree. Even after so long apart. He couldn't have changed that much, could he? But he would not share her thoughts with Dae Won. She aimlessly slid her fingers over the keyboard, asking,

"Does Oppa promise to find a way?"

He smiled and again did not answer. Ji Hyeon had already noticed that lately, not even her sweetest requests could move him.

"But yesterday you said you had a lot of news to tell me ..." She sat on the piano stool, but turned to him, still on the couch, still busy with the remote. 

Lee Dae Won's mansion's bas.e.m.e.nt had a luxurious fixture to keep her isolated, and apart from cooking and getting out, she was relatively comfortable. Dae Won had even installed a huge TV screen where she could play 3D games that simulated outdoor activities. Still, while she lived in a state of misery and self-destructiveness, that was her shelter. Now, that was her captivity.

"YES!" He exclaimed, excited. "The first news is that there is a new drama, which will be the main release for the next season. And we're going to compose the incidental music score, and even the two theme songs!"

"Us?" Ji Hyeon raised an eyebrow. Dae Won composed incidental songs. And he had stolen her songs and released them as if they were his.

"Aren't you happy that your music is coming out of those four walls, since you decided to live in isolation?"

"Yes, thanks oppa. You always help me have some meaning in life," she said, feeling exactly the opposite, internally.

"How nice! I like to help you, it is not an obligation for me. It never was, Ji."

"I know, oppa."

"And this is the other news! I even recorded the story for you to see! Come, sit here."

The prisoner rose from where she was and sat next to Dae Won, watching TV. Sometimes she wondered if she could take him down and make him lose consciousness, to try to escape, but she was afraid she wouldn't be able to get through the locks. 

He was also afraid of how the world would receive his return.

On the TV screen, an article from an entertainment channel showed a young singer, whose name was Hani. The subject revolved around the solo career of the young singer. Hani thanked the composer Lee Dae Won for the opportunity of releasing her best hit, while showing scenes from her MV and her performance on stage. The singer must have been about 20 years old, and a face full of innocence, although her huge, dark and sad eyes were what most caught Ji Hyeon's attention. At the end of the report, the narrative wished the singer success, mentioning that her great success, 'Deep Dive', would be the main song theme to a long-awaited film for the coming winter.

Ji Hyeon, contrary to the reaction expected by his captor, just trembled in disgust. Deep Dive was the song she had written that most reflected her state of despair and anguish. It was her swan song.

She had only allowed Dae Won to publish the song because she imagined that when Jun Hyeon heard it, he might know that only she could have written it. But this had not yet happened. 

Ji Hyeon could only hope that he would recognize his own sister behind the next song by 'Dae Won'.