Chained by Expectations | Park Sunghoon

Thirty-one

"This is what I have been able to capture," the person said, handing So-he a folder containing several pictures. As she began flipping through them, her eyes widened with frustration. The images captured moments of Sunghoon and Haneul at dinner, in his penthouse, and on their way back to Haneul's apartment.

"Arghhh!" So-he erupted, throwing the pictures back at the person. "What is wrong with him? What does he even see in her?" she groaned angrily, her frustration evident. "He leaves me no choice. We have to interfere; we have to do something!" she declared, a determined glint in her eyes.

"We?" the person asked cautiously.

"Yes, you have to help me!" So-he yelled sternly. "She'll regret coming back and taking him from me," she mumbled, her eyes fixed on the pictures of Sunghoon and Haneul together on the couch inside his penthouse. The spark of jealousy and resentment fueled her determination to take action against the rekindled relationship that threatened to slip through her fingers.

Time Skip:

Haneul, the last person at the office building on Friday, focused on getting some last-minute work done before heading home. The silence engulfed the empty halls as everyone else had left for the weekend. As she approached an office down the hall to pick up some paperwork, a sudden burst of light caught her attention. The unexpected illumination prompted her to call out, "Hello? Who's there?"

Receiving no response, Haneul continued, "Who's there?" She moved cautiously toward the source of the light. "I thought everyone had left already," she whispered to herself. As she was about to call out again, she was startled by Jay's voice from behind her.

"Who are you talking to?" Jay asked, unaware of her unease.

"Aghhh!" Haneul screamed turning around, stumbling back and smacking Jay with the papers in her hand. "You scared me!"

"I'm sorry," Jay said, rubbing the area she had hit. "But who are you talking to?"

"I don't know, but someone turned that light on in that office," she explained, turning her face back to the direction she was just looking at. To her surprise, the light was now off. "W-what? I swear it was on. I saw it just now," she said, a little puzzled.

"Maybe you're just tired and seeing things. There's no one here anymore; I checked," Jay reassured her.

"No, I'm sure I saw it turn on," Haneul insisted.

"Okay, then maybe it was just a glitch with the light switch. I'll get someone to check it out on Monday," Jay suggested, walking down the hall and glancing into the office. "There's no one in here. Now come on, Sunoo asked me to take you home and help you pick out a dress since he's 'busy,'" he said, using air quotes around the word 'busy.'

As the two began making there way in the opposite direction someone let out a quite breathe of relief. "that was close" he whispered as he made his way from under the desk and making sure the coast was clear before sneaking back out of the building.

Time Skip:

Haneul and Sunoo arrived at the annual banquet together, and Haneul's stunning appearance turned heads as she entered the venue. Her off-the-shoulder fitted white gown with intricate beaded detailing accentuated her beauty. Soft curls framed her face, and light makeup enhanced her features. As they walked in, Sunoo couldn't help but comment, "You know I can tell Jay helped you pick out that dress."

"How?" Haneul laughed, feeling a bit self-conscious. "It's extra," Sunoo replied.

"R-really? Is it too much?" Haneul asked.

"No way!" Sunoo exclaimed. "You should see what these people are wearing recently to these events. Now, I'm gonna go check what kind of food they made this year. That's the only reason I come to this thing," he said, leaving Haneul behind.