Chapter 136 - Eyes Wide Open

Ji Hyeon looked at the ceiling above her bed, thoughtfully. There was a time when she thought she was going insane from being trapped in Dae Won's bas.e.m.e.nt. She thought she heard voices. Jun Hyeon's voice. She waited every night for him to burst through that damned door. But that never happened. It was a cycle of pain and hatred, self-deprecation and anxiety.

A radio program changed everything. It was a pirate broadcaster, the KWB. The announcer was a kind man, who twice a week at 11 pm, talked about profound matters, focused on the lonely and misunderstood hearts. Certainly, during her teenager days, she would have found it all too tacky. But invariably, she cried until her eyes burned, hearing words that seemed to be said especially to her. That man's words gave her, little by little, the strength to recognize her sickness, and to get rid of her Stockholm Syndrome, among other toxic and twisted behavior patterns. Each day, she put that DJ, Mr. Kwak, in her prayers.

In the previous year, just before the program, the DJ announced that there was a special gift for Kim Ji Hyeon. At first she thought of the coincidence of a namesake, but then, Mr. Kwak read the lyrics to one of her songs. Mr. Kwak thanked the author of the poetry for 'Kim Ji Hyeon', and also said that that evening program was now sponsored by Mr. Lee, the  Anonymous Donor.

The fact that their names were transmitted without problems, even if the radio was a pirate, made Ji Hyeon think that there was no escape. Jun Hyeon would never know.

That hurt her so much! Dae Won had discovered the source of her rediscovered strength and taken it for himself. That's how he acted when something obsessed him. He never gave up and surrounded the object of his attention in every way. 

So it meant that Lee Dae Won was no longer interested in her. Ji Hyeon was three days alone in the bas.e.m.e.nt, without news of him. Although she was rationing food and water, she didn't have much more to wait for another two days. 

Now, Ji Hyeon suspected that Dae Won had turned his attention to the red-haired woman, Ye Rim. And that could mean that the day of her death would be near, whether from starvation, or simply because Dae Won would want to get rid of her. 

But Ji Hyeon didn't want to die anymore. In fact, Ji Hyeon really wanted to live.

And thinking about it, she realized that this frightening incident from Dae Won's accident could actually be her big chance to escape.

If no one would come to save her, she had to do it for herself.

°°°

"You were laughing!" Ye Rim accused him, which only made Jun Hyeon laugh immediately.

"No, I was not!"

"Were you laughing at me?"

"Of course not. You did the basic steps really well. Tap, toe, river, heel, shuffle. And it wasn't too bad on the flap. But it's only the beginning, don't be so hard on yourself," he said with a wide smile and looking away, so she realized he was lying.

"I'm talking about before," Ye Rim gave him a shoulder shove.

"Well, before ... I was smiling, that's all!" he restrained his urge to laugh more while eating sandwiches sitting in the park near the dance academy.

"Okay, if you smiled it was because it was okay for your first time in years," the singer said. He nodded, gnawing on his meal with gusto.

She, on the other side, felt a lot of difficulty during the first class, as she always did. It always seemed that she was completely unable to understand instructions on how to move her body. She thought left and went to the right; upwards, then she moved downwards, etc. It seemed that she was deaf or stupid, although she understood the rhythm, the times and setbacks. Only her mind seemed to overdrive, and the body didn't do what was expected.

That is why she never managed to be the twirler at school, and in trainee groups, she only came forward in the stage when singing. 

The news that the role would require dancing had discouraged Ye Rim a lot, but she couldn't say that after Dae Won's efforts. 

"Dae Won oppa put you in a difficult situation, doesn't he?" she asked the doctor, resisting the urge to remove a lock of hair that fell over his eyes while he ate.

"Ah, that. He has that thing. He's very good at using the right words at the right time…" Jun Hyeon stopped chewing for a moment, thoughtfully. But the smile on his lips died. 

"Hmm," Ye Rim watched him for a moment. Since the day at the hospital, she had been uncomfortable with the situation between Dr. Kim and MP Lee. Ever since she met them, she felt there was something wrong with their relationship, and her intuition had not disappointed her.

"What were you talking about when I arrived at the hospital that day?"

The doctor scratched an eye, "You shouldn't be worried about that. Sometimes it's better to just let it go."

'You say that only because you agree with the things he said, deep down, even when you know he's being mean!' Ye Rim thought, and risked a question,

"Ever since I met Dae Won oppa, I realized that he was upset because you got away a little. What was the reason for this departure, oppa? Do you resent something?"

"Uhn…" Jun Hyeon was uncomfortable and, as usual, snapped and stretched his neck to ease the tension, "Okay, I didn't want to say that so as not to influence you, but… Did you know that in some languages, like English and Portuguese, the expression 'thank you' means that you will not forget that you received a favor?"

"Seriously?! No, I didn't know," Ye Rim thought about this seemingly random information, but there was a connection to the previous subject, that is, Dae Won. "So when we say 'thank you', are we saying that we feel in debt?"

"Of course, not all situations where we say 'thank you' make us think about it a lot. We are only slightly grateful for the small niceties," he explained.

But of course Ye Rim understood that feeling. Some things and some gifts created this feeling that it was necessary to give back. She also knew that people often expected retribution of some kind. And maybe that's why she felt so bad about accepting unexpected and extravagant gifts and favors. She feared not to be to return.

"You expect me to return the fact that you left your car with me almost all week, is that it? Because, if you remember well, I could live without your car. I even tried to return it several times," she said.

"I'm doing this for myself. You insist on using public transport and you will be late for your appointments, and also expose yourself to all kinds of perverts and bandits. If you are a moment later, I'll worry about what happened to you, and I can go to the station looking for you, we'll lose each other, etc. A good way for me to waste time and get angry."

"There are messaging apps for that," she narrowed her eyes, that was the most lame excuse he could have come up with, "Then don't say I'm abusing."

"Did you even understand that I was talking about Dae Won, before you interrupted me to talk about yourself?" he asked.

"Yes, Oppa. Sometimes it's bad to feel connected to a feeling of retribution. But is that the reason for the estranging?"

"May be. He thinks I'm jealous that he saved my sister from the fire. No. I was always grateful that he came back for forgetting his Game Boy. But we got estranged because, sometimes I get irritated by his way. He's a little… suffocating."

Ye Rim was silent, thinking a little about the reasons Jun Hyeon might have for thinking that. She still hadn't lived with Dae Won Oppa that much to know. Her silence kept Jun Hyeon going, 

"Ye Rim, when he buzzed around you like a hummingbird, I was a little confused. But I remembered that when he sympathizes with someone, he was always that guy who does everything he thinks you might need. So he decided to become your 'fairy godmother'. He got auditions, a contract so good I didn't even believe it, and even inside information about an important role. He's writing songs for you to sing. He is in love? Do you think he will declare himself? I still haven't figured out what interest he has in you."

She sighed,

"I don't know, either. He's been helping me so much, and other guys would have asked me out on a lot earlier than that. And he wasn't even going to take me to the Fashion Ball. He wanted to take Eun Ha, because he knew she needed to speak to Stylist Lee."

This revelation made Jun Hyeon raise an eyebrow,

"At this point, we both have the same impression. He's conquering everything around you ... Like a baduk player. But, what is the reason for that?"

"I don't know, but I'm feeling bad about it, as I already did from the beginning. And he even got you to teach me!"

"He didn't do it. This is your responsibility alone,"the doctor stood up, collecting the empty food containers and placing them in the trash can.

"Now take me home, because I deserve to rest while you drive. My day was exhausting," he was playfully imperious, taking the slightly unpleasant subject over for the night. Ye Rim also preferred it that way, although Jun Hyeon's revelations of feelings made her conclude that perhaps the rivalry between the two men was the real reason behind everything.