Pretend (Ryeji)

Chapter 16: Rehearsal

"Where's Ryujin? Did she leave?"

"She did." Mr. Park interrupts, joins the conversation without receiving an invitation, and startles the redhead without warning. "Anyone care to explain why she was here?"

Yeji glances back at her brother for no longer than a second, doesn't give him a chance to tell the truth. Was that dumb? Maybe. But she didn't want him to get scolded on behalf of a problem that exists because of her past (and apparently current) attraction, not his.

The words leave her lips impulsively. "I invited her."

"Excuse me?"

"I, uh, invited her." She utters through a gulp. His stern tone made her heart anxiously skip a beat, and she hates it every time she finds herself in this position. It's inevitable. In the end, she was likely to be the victim of blame. Yeji supposed it was bound to happen the instant Ryujin arrived with San.

It's frustrating in more ways than one, but the main thought that incites her pupils to widen is the fact that her stepfather was the only person who saw Ryujin leave. That in itself leaves a lot of room for concern—an emotion she doesn't try to show.

"Our director for the movie suggested we make public appearances together at least once a month until the movie's release."

"Since when do your director's words trump my own?"

There he goes again, taunting as usual, seeking to lure Yeji into a trap by mere words alone. A part of him is always ready to accuse her rather than appreciate her obedience. As often as he sees fit, he sternly puts Yeji in her place, calls her an ungrateful brat, and reminds the girl what he's done, not only for her, but her dear siblings and deceased mother as well. It's practically engraved in her mind, permanently etched on every muscle, nerve, vein. In a sense, it's his way of guilt-tripping the poor woman, and it works. Every. Single. Time.

"I- I didn't mean it like that." Yeji jumps to her own defense, almost regrets her words.

For everyone else watching, especially Jaehee and Yeonjun, they felt uncomfortable witnessing such a tense situation. At the same time, San and Monday make eye contact, glance back and forth between the father-daughter pair standing by the table. The performance currently taking place drowns out a lot of the sound surrounding them. Hence, these four are the only witnesses to the discussion, and even they had trouble hearing every word.

"Don't test my patience, little one." He takes a step closer, his glare as intimidating as ever, eyes more narrow than Yeji has ever seen, lowers his voice to avoid anyone else's ears. It's as if he's accustomed to getting angrier each time Ryujin and Yeji's names are placed into the same sentence. "Think about the consequences of what you do before you act."

"But dad... you told me that my time with Ryujin has to stop after the movie's release." She mumbles, and while the excuse lingers for those few seconds in her brain, she realizes it's actually true. She stands tall, firm, palms nearly balled into fists dangling at her sides. Despite this being the quickest excuse she's ever pulled, he couldn't claim she wasn't abiding by his demands. "For the time being, my best interest is to follow through with what the production staff asks of me. If promoting with her means the film will do better in sales, wouldn't you agree that inviting her to one of Seoul's biggest Spring events is a decent idea?"