Paradise (18+ Hyunjin SKZ)

Ending

Hyunjin is kneeling on the floor of the bedroom, his hands outstretched, his mouth agape. She pulls back from him and walks out of the room, toward the first bedroom where her clothing has been left in the hall. He looks around the empty bedroom after she leaves, amazed, confused, unsure. He looks down at the robe, feeling very awkward in it now. He pulls it open, leaving it on the bed, stepping out of the slippers and runs to the bathroom to get a towel to wrap around himself. He ties the towel low on his hip and he steps out of the room, looking for a direction. He is unsure where she is, but he walks down the hallway, listening for signs of her, not sure where to go.

He rounds the corner and finds the living room, the patio beyond, and he hears a noise. He looks over and sees her, wearing her dress from earlier, standing in the kitchen at the counter with her back to him. He steps into the room cautiously, feeling awkward in the towel. She turns to him and smiles softly, a little embarrassed. He steps closer and looks down at his towel.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where my clothes are," he explains. She blushes a little and nods.

"I'll get them, I don't know if I can have this conversation with you in that towel," she says, smiling at him in a way he recognizes as desire and it makes him feel slightly relieved. "Have some tea," she offers. He looks over at the kettle which has just boiled and he turns to the teacups she left out. She steps out of the kitchen and disappears down the hallway as he pulls over the cup and pours the water over the tea. He stares at the cup, wondering at this crazy night. So many highs, and lows and all the unknowns, all the confusion, but being with her, that isn't confusing; touching her, kissing her, being held by her is real, and he wants more. That he is sure of.

She comes back into the room carrying his clothing in her hands. He smiles and awkwardly takes his pants, slipping them on under his towel and he notices that she watches him as he puts on his shirt, buttoning it up. He can tell that she is trying not to look at him, but it's as if she can't look away. She motions for him to bring his tea and join her on the couch. He sits down, putting the tea he no longer wants on the coffee table, and he turns to wait for her to speak, to tell him this tale, to relate the entire story to him and to finally make sense of the past week. She takes a deep breath, realizing he's waiting for her to talk. It doesn't make it easier on her, it doesn't make her feel safer telling him everything she's tried to hide from him for the entire week, but, he deserves to know the truth.

"Hyunjin, I- I am the daughter of Kim Gyu-soo. Everything I told you was true, basically." He leans in, hoping to get closer to the truth as she speaks. "I was sent to boarding school in the UK when I was seven. Do you know I didn't get to come home even for Christmas until I was ten. My mother thought it would be a good way for me to learn English and to find independence. She probably didn't care that I was a total outsider, I looked English and spoke only Korean. None of the kids there wanted to be my friend. So, I just invented a new version of myself, Sasha." She frowns as she admits this truth and feels a pang as she relives it. He reaches over and takes her hand, holding it, running his thumb over it to soothe her. "My family own a lot of companies, and properties, and I have never wanted for anything -material." She sighs and he senses what she is thinking. She looks down. "I don't own anything. I am no one, I have nothing, without them." She bites her cheek, stifling the tears. "They control everything about my life, even though I'm an adult, I still live this child like existence." She looks away from him embarrassed. "My father thinks I'm some flighty Instagram obsessed girl who wastes money and doesn't focus on anything but choreography. He let's me work with his girl groups, but probably not because he recognizes my talent, probably just to keep me under his thumb. He's never known the real me, I guess because they sent me away for so long, I came back a stranger. They only see what they want to see. So I spend a lot of time pretending." He looks at her with such concern, but he's plagued by a thought he can't get out of his mind.