Before Her Very Eyes

Chapter 43

Jeonghan was in bad shape. He looked weak and pale, and he reeked of beer and sweat. His hair was oily and disheveled, strands going in all directions. It was so different from the tidy, groomed man that Arin had come to know, a man whose perfume could be smelled from miles away, whose hair was gelled to extreme precision.

The only things that seemed clean about him were his bandages. He had changed them since the last time Arin saw him, through the security camera.

"It's you, Missy," Jeonghan murmured as he peered at her. Arin noticed that he was out of breath, as if he had rushed out to meet her.

It was also strange, Arin thought, that Jeonghan was on the stairs to begin with. He would have taken the elevator if he wanted to go down this far.

"Go clean the stairs," he demanded all of the sudden. "You've had your time off, now back to work!"

Arin felt like laughing. Did he really expect that things would go back to normal after everything? Was he even in on whatever Hyojung was planning? Is meeting Arin on the stairs all part of the plan?

"You look like you're in bad shape," Arin said.

"Shut up, Missy. Look who's talking. You and your ugly hands." Arin glanced down at her bandaged fingers.

"I'm worried about you," Arin admitted, ignoring his jabs. "Are you eating?"

"What are you, my mom? Fuck off."

"You need to go eat," she insisted.

"I'm not going to fucking eat! Stop asking me to do things I don't want to fucking do!" he yelled, silencing Arin for an awkward few seconds.

She cleared her throat and changed the subject. "I... I met MRS." Arin caught onto the intrigue in his expression, even if his words didn't express it.

He scoffed at her. "How did they torture you?"

"They were very kind, actually," Arin said. "They're collecting magic to uncurse someone who is dying from his curse. I was helping them. They need me, so I want to get back to them and help them save this person's life."

"They tricked you into believing them, then. Fucking idiot."

Arin was now accustomed to not taking his words to heart. Knowing that it was a curse that made him so unpleasant and snobbish, she found she could actually speak to him, looking past the vulgarity of his speech and the unapproachable way he held himself.

"I don't think it's a trick. They're actually going to uncurse him. They're collecting the magic from my curse and..." she trailed off, realizing that Jeonghan was cursed too. Jeonghan could also take part in the sessions, and MRS would get even more magic, which would mean Sangbin could be cured sooner. "Come with me."

"Quit your blabbing, and get to work, idiot!"

"No, seriously, come with me! They can undo your curse. Your curse is not irreversible, so it is a possibility for you. Escape with me. Maybe you'll be happier."

"So you trust those cult members over your own friend? You really are a traitorous bitch!" he spat.

That insult hit her more than any other had, because there was some truth in it this time. How could she trust people she just recently met over ~, her friend of four years? It didn't make any logical sense.

"I didn't even know Hyojung's name until a few days ago!" Arin murmured, trying to defend herself. "And she's trapping me in here against my will. I have the right to doubt her."