Rouge

He always knew what to say. It was his upbringing, he knew. He’d attended all kind of parties and meetings and there was always a format to be followed. He was a master of small talk and serious debates, always following that carefully crafted guidelines he’d learned to use; but when he stood in front of her –when his eyes met hers- all those guidelines crumbled uselessly. He knew that telling her ‘good evening’ would lead him anywhere, but at the same time, neither did silence.

“Yura.” She signaled the chair in front of him, hardly glancing back as he obediently sat down. “You can call me Yura.” He felt a small part of him object. The name was highly suitable (even if it was only an adopted Korean name), but at the same time he longed to call her Min, as he’d always have.

He clasped his hands together. “May I call you Min-Yura?” She spared him a quizzical look before shrugging.

“It doesn’t matter how you call me, really.” Her lips twisted up faintly. “That’s not why we’re here, anyway.”

Seungho seated himself and didn’t order for anything. He kept looking at her, unknowing of what to say for the hundredth time in his life. All caused by her. He’d always considered red his lucky color, and now, it simply represented his vocal silence. He didn’t know how to continue, but his straight-forward and down-to-business nature was pushing through.

“You know where Junhyung is, don’t you?” He was impassive and calm, his fingers idly toying around with the edge of his scarf. She seemed as if she weren’t paying attention, delicately blowing her hot steaming chocolate. She finally looked at him.

“I don’t.”

He took a moment to take in the answer. “You… don’t?” He frowned.

“I couldn’t do it.” She cupped the mug of chocolate and stared at the steam that tickled her nose; ignoring his hesitant response. “Everyone says I did it, but I couldn’t do it.” Closing her eyes she inhaled the scent of chocolate. “I loved him so much, but I couldn’t be the other girl. I couldn’t – I couldn’t be a secret.” Her voice pitched and collapsed, the strain in her heart slowly causing her to crack. “So, no. I don’t know where he is right now. I haven’t known since a long while now.”

Seungho tried to keep his temper calm, he really did try. Boy, did he try. But all of what she was saying only caused turmoil of questions fly around his head. He stared at her, unknowing of what to respond. So he simply asked. “Then, where is he?” In reality he wanted to ask her what she did for a living, why she didn’t change her hair color, why she told him the truth.

Yura stared at him and remained silent, mutely drinking from her hot chocolate. “I don’t know why I picked living in that crappy officetel.” She ignored his glare. “The hot water fails some days and the lights sometimes go off. But it was small and homey and it reminded me of home. It was simple.” Her eyes closed as she sighed with content.

He rubbed his temples. “What does that have anything to do with this?”

Her temper flared and she shot him a menacing glance. “Patience, pretty boy.” She took in another breath. “Truth be told, I didn’t want to leave my nicely decorated apartment back in Seoul. I really didn’t. I had actual hot water, a dishwasher and a bathroom that didn’t look like a high school locker. Rolling your eyes, really? What a big boy. Now pay attention. As I was saying… my apartment before this one,” she smirked. “Let’s just say it was a luxury compared to this dog kennel.”

Seungho emitted a groan but muffled it before it could reach her ears. She heard him regardless. “Then why did you leave?” He wanted to get to business; he wanted to skip all the adventure tales she had with her magical apartment back in Seoul and get to the real deal. But he knew how fond she was with games; she’d play it to the end and rightfully hand him over the prize. That is, of course, if he won.

“Because of him.” Her voice took a nostalgic edge, her gaze unfocused. For the first time, Seungho actually witnessed Min (it was too difficult to call her Min-Yura) crease her eyebrows and grimace. Even if the action itself was unflattering, it didn’t deter her attractiveness in any way. “You have to understand that some things aren’t what they seem like.” She shook her head with a crooked smile. “Oh, I would know.”

His impatience was getting the best of him. His fingers would dig into his owns hands as he tried to maintain his calm demeanor. But it didn’t work. He was frustrated and confused and getting more impatient as the seconds ticked by. “How does any of this relate?”

“Everything, eventually, relates.” Her eyes were sharp, a dwelling secret somewhere within her gaze. “He sent me to that apartment, because it was a place where he could visit. So, really, it’s all a matter of waiting.” She pouted over the rim of her mug. “Personally, I hate waiting. I don’t wait for anyone; it’s just… not my style.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m tired of waiting.”

Seungho couldn’t understand the woman sitting in front of him; the embodiment of contradictions. He was a logical person that depended on reason. He was even a bit selfish and liked to indulge himself in things he desired now and then. But he simply couldn’t understand her. It was unfathomable.

“Then why are you waiting?” He sounded tired, defeated even. She looked as if a revolution were starting within her. She was his antonym.

Her lips tweaked upwards. “I don’t have another choice. Where would I go? Back to my apartment? It’s useless. I’ve already lost my job, I’m sure. I worked for him, anyway. I wouldn’t go back to that.” She sighed into her mug, her words echoing softly from the warm chocolate. “It’d be too complicated. They know who I am. The media, I mean. Annoying pests. They just blurred my face, but they know exactly who I am. So does the company. It’s pointless.”

The blonde leaned back when he saw how her calm exterior shifted. “I have nowhere to go. Nowhere. He just gave me false promises and you know what the worst part is? I believe him. I took his word and left everything behind and got myself where I never wanted to be. Trapped. And, oh no, even pets have it better off. I don’t have a job and I rely on the money he sent me. And that’s just sad. I’ve lost everything I worked for. For him. I’m like a caged exotic bird he can play with whenever he has time. If ever.” She pushed the empty mug away. “But that doesn’t matter anymore.” She cleared her throat and took in a lungful of air, her lips settling into a familiar smile. The blonde then noticed that the smile she always seemed to flaunt around wasn’t a smile at all. It was a fake. He wondered how her real smile was, how her laughter really sounded like.

But, again, Seungho was rendered speechless. He didn’t know who was who, or what happened. He had accepted to the meeting to satisfy his so-called curiosity. But he knew, at that instant, that no excuse could hide the truth. He wanted to know who she was. That was the real question nagging him. And so far, nothing clued in as to who she was. She was a shrouded mystery. Seungho always liked complicated things.

“I don’t know where Junhyung is… but,” she raised her finger. “I know where he’ll be.”

She stood up with closed eyes, blindly grabbing her purse. She stared at him with a vacant gaze. She bowed her head respectfully. “I’ll see you later, I guess…”

She smirked. “Seungho.”

He felt his mouth open slightly, his eyes widening with shock. He never said his name. He never… “How did you…?” He was half way standing up when she readjusted her gloves, smiling faintly at him. Her cheeks were flustered, and he did not know if it was caused by the temperature or his question.

Her smile turned cheeky as she started to walk away. “I knew all along, panda-yah.”