Manual Of The Forbidden - Ryeji

Chapter 21

I felt Ryujin's breath move away from my neck, and my soul plummeted to the floor. Had Lia seen...? The silence made me ponder an infinity of things.

—This sure is dark,— she said, and then the lights came back on.

I was facing away from the scene, but Lia didn't seem surprised, annoyed, or showed any typical signs of feeling deceived.

I turned around, saw her at the entrance, her gaze fixed on me, marveling at my dress. Then I spotted Ryujin, also staring at me, absorbed, as if fascinated and... a meter away from me.

I wondered how she could move away so quickly without anyone noticing her nearby.

—You look beautiful, Yeji,— Lia said to me.

—Thank you, you look gorgeous too,— I murmured with a trembling voice.

—Hurry up,— she urged, also gesturing for me to leave through the door. —Let's go, love,— she said to Ryujin.

I grabbed my coat and didn't even glance at Ryujin on the way, or rather, not a glance that she would notice. What the hell had happened a few moments ago? There had been too much... too much... whatever. After all, it had been too much for me.

Didn't she realize what she was doing to me? And when she did, didn't she think about Lia?

This was crossing the line. Ryujin wasn't a jerk; I don't know why she was acting like one.

I speculated during the forty-something minutes it took for the journey to the address Lia had written in handwriting on a paper folded in four.

—We're here,— Ryujin said.

I looked through the car window, where a beautiful garden stretched gloriously outside that event hall, its lights reflecting on the glass of the grand stained-glass windows of the house.

We got out of the car after Ryujin parked it in the garden parking lot. I looked around marveling at everything, what a celebration.

The cumbersome dress and the high silver heels made it a bit difficult for me to walk; I wasn't very accustomed to this.

Lia took Ryujin's arm on one side and mine on the other. Together she led us inside the house.

I was surprised when I saw the decoration. If the outside was beautiful, the inside was even more so.

Huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling, made of glass and jewels, reflecting the light powerfully and projecting it in thousands of dancing colors. The walls, adorned with paintings by some Korean artist, looked cozy with that pearl color that colored them. The floor was white, a floor I had never seen before.

The place was huge, and elegantly dressed people chatted in small groups of three or four, with crystal glasses containing wine, while the background music was beautiful piano melodies.

—Wow,— I muttered, surprised.

—It's... grand,— Lia concurred, also looking at the huge chandeliers of the place.

—Choi Lia, my diamond!— a man's husky voice made us turn to look at him. He was a man of opulent appearance, tall, and his combed hair displayed a few gray hairs scattered among the gray.

—Mr. Chan, happy birthday,— Lia said, widening her smile at the man.

—I'm glad you came,— he said, then looked at me and Ryujin.