Pay With Your Heart

Chapter 459: Kim Eun-sun

Eun-sun pensively perched on the chair at the far end of the room overlooking the huge windows while her heart whispered a word of prayer for Dan-Han and her father.

The room was slightly similar to the one they had lodged for days, but she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to look around. She was tensed to the bone, and so was Mi-Cha, who had her gaze fixed on the television, even though she couldn’t make out what was being displayed. Her mind was clouded with thoughts, just like Eun-sun.

Eun-sun knew a myriad of things could go wrong, like her father being critically injured or Dan-Han carelessly putting himself in harm’s way, and she wished none of that should happen.

All she wanted was for them to return safely and for this trouble to pass away come by morning as if it had never been there.

“Is he always that reckless?” Mi-Cha’s voice broke through the silence, and Eun-sun suddenly snapped her head towards her. She stared at Mi-Cha with uncertainty about whether she had indeed spoken to her.

“Your boyfriend, Lee Dan-Han. I was asking about him. Is he always this stubborn and reckless?” She asked again, and Eun-sun non-committally shrugged.

“Stubborn, I’m aware, but this reckless, it’s as much of a discovery to me as it is to you.” She replied. She stared at Mi-Cha, wondering why she was suddenly talking to her when all she had done all morning was sternly look at her with annoyance as if she was abetting Dan-Han in committing some crime.

.....

She heard as Mi-Cha hissed. “You should probably rethink your decision of wanting to be with a man like that. Thank God, I don’t have to crush on him any longer than I already had because it would have been disappointing if I had found out this part of him had he been single.” She irritably hissed.

Eun-sun’s eyes darted towards her in surprise. A crush?

“You had a crush on Dan-Han?” Eun-sun couldn’t help but ask, even though she wondered why she was telling her that. Was that why she had been a bit stiff towards her the first day they had met? She could clearly remember how the smile on her face had disappeared when Dan-Han introduced her as his girlfriend.

“What? Is it wrong to have a crush on him?” Mi-Cha defiantly cocked a brow at her. “Don’t tell you’re one of those girls who are very possessive of their men. Though it might be cute, I don’t think my sister should be one of those girls. They can be crazy.” She nonchalantly said.

Eun-sun unblinkingly stared at her. Did she call her ‘her sister’?

She was sure she did. That had not been a figment of her auditory imagination. Eun-sun didn’t know how to react to what Mi-Cha had just said, and Mi-Cha, on the other hand, could see she had Eun-sun flustered by the words she had just muttered.

She resignedly sighed. “You don’t have to look so shocked. You’re a Kim, and that makes you my sister. I’m sure you know I’m adopted.” Mi-Cha asked her, but Eun-sun quietly stared at her, again not sure how to respond to her. She wasn’t sure if they should be having this conversation, but anyway, she nodded.

“Good,” Mi-Cha replied. “Since you’re older than me, that makes you my elder sister. I won’t make a promise not to be rude to you because sometimes I can’t help it, but whenever I do, call me out on it. And if I annoy you...” She paused and shrugged.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to deal with it. We’re both in the late phase of having siblings and being the annoying piece in each other’s lives. So, I guess we should try to get along and not be awkward to each other.” She told Eun-sun, who blankly stared at her, again not sure of what response to give.

Was she to nod or say okay? But despite the feeling Mi-Cha’s words left, what really got to her was the name. She was now a Kim. That was her true last name.

Kim Eun-sun. It felt weird calling it in her head.

Eun-sun quietly nodded as she kept staring at her. When it seemed like Mi-Cha wasn’t going to say anything else, she returned her gaze to the window, but they soon returned to Mi-Cha when she walked towards her and occupied the single victorian chair opposite her and crossed her legs.

“So are not you going to ask me about my crush on your boyfriend?” Mi-Cha asked, surprising Eun-sun once again.

Her brows slightly furrowed at her. “Do you want me to ask?” Eun-sun innocently asked back, knowing that was what she meant.

Mi-Cha casually shrugged. “Well, we’re both nervous for our father, and I guess you have it tougher than me as your boyfriend is involved. So, maybe instead of sitting here and letting our imaginations get the best of us, we should probably talk to keep us off the edge?” She suggested with a shrug.

Eun-sun held her silent gaze for a while before adjusting on her seat to face her squarely. She guessed Mi-Cha was right, as talking would be a welcome distraction to all the nerves twisting inside them.

Taking her silence as agreement, Mi-Cha asked, “So which do you want to ask first? How I got a crush on him? Or if I still have a crush on him.”

“Maybe the second one,” Eun-sun replied, and Mi-Cha snorted.

“How typical.” She chuckled. She adjusted into her seat comfortably before she replied.

“Well, if you really want to know, the answer is no.” She firmly said, but Eun-sun suspiciously narrowed her eyes at her finding her answer a bit strange.

“Really? How so?” She inquired, and Mi-Cha gave a nonchalant shrug.

“Because I don’t pine over men that are taken. The moment I saw you with him, I told myself to let it go.” She said it like it was the most natural thing she had ever said and as if letting someone you liked go was an easy fit.

“That easy?” Eun-sun asked. She didn’t want to believe it was that simple, except maybe she never liked Dan-Han as much.

“Yep.” Mi-Cha affirmatively nodded, and Eun-sun furrowed her brows on her. She had never had a crush on anyone or like anyone until Dan-Han came along, and she couldn’t imagine ever being able to let go of what they had for each other.

Dan-Han felt like a piece designed to only form a perfect fit with her, like a shaped puzzle, and with someone like that, she didn’t know if she would ever be able to let go....she didn’t think she could.

“So, since when have you had a crush on him?” Eun-Sun asked the first question as that would probably make her understand how she could easily let go when she had looked displeased about her sudden appearance a few days ago.

“Since mom and Dad’s constant praises of how a perfect human being he was began?” She replied. “Their description of their heavenly structured godson, even when I was barely a teenager, was bound to have some influence, so I guess their words had sown some fantasy seeds in me, and I guess that’s why my crush was crushed in the twinkle of an eye.” She non-committally shrugged.

Eun-sun looked at her with interest as she spoke. There was something about the way she behaved that seemed conflicting. Maybe it was her personality or how she wanted people to interpret her, but she gave a contrasting vibe. She seemed like a good person who has her kindness covered up in layers and kept a rough exterior for people to see.

In some way, she could see Ni-Na in her, and in another, there was a tad bit of her old self.

Mi-Cha asked her a few questions, and their conversation became fluent, and Eun-sun saw her smiling a time or two.

“I’m sorry for my cold attitude the other at the house. And for earlier this morning.” Mi-Cha apologised, and Eun-sun nodded with understanding.

“It’s okay. I clearly understand.” She smiled.

“I wonder what’s happening with them.” Mi-Cha suddenly said with a sigh as her countenance suddenly fell. Eun-sun looked at her, and she felt her anxiety return, but not as much as it was before.

“Let’s hope for the best,” Eun-sun muttered.

Both sisters were still lolled on their chairs with gazes fixed outside the window when a knock came at the door. They both tensed up when they heard the knock. Eun-sun reached for her bag, which she had carried with her.

“Who is it?” Mi-Cha cautiously asked.

“President Lee asked for lunch to be delivered.” A male voice replied from outside.

Mi-Cha turned to Eun-sun to confirm, and she did. They both sighed in relief when they realised it was only lunch being brought in.

Mi-Cha strolled towards the door and opened it, but when she did, a tall, burly man dressed in a black suit pushed a food cart into the room, and Eun-sun frowned at the sight of him.

She could swear she had seen that face before, but before she could figure out where and when she had seen that face, the man pulled a gun beneath the white cloth covering the cart.