Empress Handbook

Chapter Fifty-One | Grinding Teeth

Soon, Yoongi returns and connects the camera on Soojung to the wide-screen television in the living room.

The messy bundle of cables snake up the back of the device like vines seeking new homes to bloom. Yeoreum's eyes grow weary just by looking at the different coloured ends of the cords, but Yoongi doesn't seem bothered. He deftly runs his fingers through the reds, blues, greens and yellows, patiently arranging them into a neat, systematic order before he plugs them into place.

Yoongi pulls away and lets out a sigh of relief.

"Done."

"Here," Yeoreum says, passing him a glass of water. "You've worked hard."

"Thank you," Yoongi says as he sits next to her on the leather couch. "We will turn on Yoon Soojung's camera in ten minutes."

"You're so good at technical stuff like this," Yeoreum gushes.

Yoongi chuckles. "Well, it's not easy to start a semi-militia organisation."

Taehyung watches Yeoreum's eyes glisten at Yoongi, and a churning sensation clenches his stomach. Yeoreum's shoulders slouch when she chuckles, making her seem strangely small beside Yoongi.

Well, Yeoreum is only twenty. It's the age destined to be basked in excitement and adoration. However, Taehyung's selfish plan to control his mother gave Yeoreum the burden of his cruel world. Luckily, Yoongi restored the innocent, childish part of Yeoreum he had robbed away. They look perfect together, so perfect that Taehyung doesn't want to approach them, afraid to ruin the picture-perfect scenery.

"Kim Taehyung, what are you doing?" Yeoreum cranes her head around with a frown. "Come over."

"Okay," Taehyung falters.

Taehyung walks to the living room with tense treads. He stops at the chaise chair next to the lounge, away from Yeoreum and Yoongi.

"All right, we're going to start watching now," Yoongi says as he flicks on the television.

The sight of a shabby street stretches across the large screen after a quiet static noise. Soojung's face is adorned with wounds that look incredibly real, with a fleshy red hue swelling underneath her blood-stained cheeks.

Soojung meets the actor playing her father and exchanges a brief greeting with him before they begin. The switch to acting is almost instant.

"Why did I ever let you live, you bitch," the actor growls. "You are so useless."

Soojung cries and throws herself out of the door, landing on the uneven floor outside with a thud.

Yeoreum's mouth falls ajar when the camera tremor at Soojung's violent motion.

"She is so into acting. It's crazy."

As expected, Jaeyoon soon encounters Soojung on his way to a conference. His eyes widen in shock.

"Are you—"

"Stop running, Nam Chaeri," the actor cries. He chases out of the grubby house with a soju bottle in hand and pins Soojung against the concrete floor. "Where do you think you're going? You are a useless bitch."

"I'm a useless bitch?" Soojung heaves a cold chuckle as she reaches for the empty soju bottle on the ground. "I paid for everything while you drank all day. I need to call the police. You kicked Mother to death. I saw everything. You lost your sanity after you drank, and you—"

"You ungrateful bitch," the actor says, slapping Soojung's face. His wrinkled hands clench Soojung's shoulders like a pair of iron pliers. "You're lying. You didn't see anything."