A Rose Between Thorns

Chapter 108: Behind The Mask

Choi's emerald eyes meet mine, a mix of emotions going through my head. Confusion, shock, pain. These are the main three that are swirling around, and I cautiously take a step back. 

The woman smiles a little, rubbing the back of her neck as she makes her way towards me. "You look like you've seen a ghost, shouldn't you be on your crutches instead of your feet?" Choi says, tilting her head a little. After a moment of silence, her eyes widen in surprise. "Does that mean that the rumors are true?"

"Wait, what rumors?" I ask, furrowing my brow. There are so many things that people have said about me, but I didn't know there were enough to start rumors or anything.

"People are saying that you're faking your injury. You didn't look like you were in much pain at the concert, and you were sitting on stage the next time you appeared. People are saying that you realized you didn't looked injured enough, so you made it seem like you just couldn't keep going."

My mouth drops a little in surprise. "But Choi, you were there at that time! You knew I was injured, and that I was fighting so hard just to be able to perform!"

"I was there, but I don't know you like Gisselle does." So even Choi doesn't trust me. I thought that we bonded so long ago, way back during our filming of Bon Voyage, but I guess not.

Wait.

"Choi, why are you here?" I ask, and the woman gives me a sad look in response. I was expecting Gisselle to walk through that door, what is she doing here?

"I'm sorry, Taylor... but you've left me no other choice." Wait, what?

I squeal as Choi launches herself at me, grabbing me by the throat. Despite the fact that I've had some training, she was surprisingly far stronger than she looks. Within seconds I was pinned to the ground, her legs straddling my waist and both hands around my neck.

"I knew that the boys would eventually seek out their final soulmate. I knew it couldn't be me as much as I wanted it to be, since my soulmate died years ago. I figured it was probably another guy, I could live with that if that were the case. Everything was perfect, until YOU came along."

I try to claw at her wrists and pry her off of me, but to no avail. Her grip is like iron, pressing down on my throat enough to make it hurt a little but not so much that I can't breathe. Choi doesn't look like the sweet woman I first met. Her hair is disheveled at her pupils are dilated so much that it's like her insanity is slowly seeping through.

"The boys found you, and were immediately head over heels for you. You're nothing special, you've done nothing to earn their love but they do anyways. After the night of your date with Namjoon, I thought that incident alone would be enough for you to want to go back home."

My eyes widen in surprise, because I didn't even consider that what happened that night was related in any way. I knew the man that attacked me and Jungkook was the same one from then, but I though he must have just been hired afterwards. "That was you...? You sent those men? But why, I don't understand! I thought we were friends!"

Choi bursts into laughter, a poisonous sound emitted from her lips. "We were never 'friends'. I have spent YEARS trying to get Jungkook to see me as more than a friend, do you know how much time and effort I went through to get this far?"

"I killed my own husband just so I wouldn't have any ties, but you come along and shove all my hard work down the drain!"

Pure terror courses through my veins as I recall her broken tattoo. She... murdered him?  I think to myself as Choi continues. She looked so upset whenever the subject was brought up, was all of it just an act?