A Girl From High Society

Chapter 4

 

Lunch ended in complete silence between Jisoo and Rosé. Edward and Mr. Park talked about business: mostly about roses and the next season, they talked as if the girls were not at the table, and the conversation flowed easily and naturally. It was clear that father and son got along well, and this contrasted strangely with Mr. Park's coldness towards his daughter. However, Jichu hardly listened to them, all absorbed in the imperceptible examination of the girl opposite, who, after eating, silently glanced at Edward, then at her father, and then completely began to study something outside the window. Her profile, clear and straight, attracted Jisoo's gaze like a moth flying to the fire, and only an incredible effort not to betray herself saved Kim from the shame of being noticed. Dessert was brought-ice cream and chocolate cake, which Jisoo hated, and after the men retired to Mr. Park's office to sign some papers. Edward managed to whisper to her to wait for him in the garden while he talked to his father, saying, "then he will come for a walk with her." When Jisoo, standing in the doorway, was looking at the retreating backs of Edward and Mr. Park, the door slammed loudly from behind, and, turning around, the girl found that the dining room was already empty. That's what it means to leave in English, she thought with a nervous laugh, left alone. The girl, Edward's sister, was not just strange, she amazed and intrigued at the same time. With such an appearance and grace, to bury herself in the village, to live permanently in a mansion with her father is incomprehensible to the mind, and what happened in her life that the daughter of a rich aristocrat, born for luxury and gloss, is afraid to leave her father's house? Jisoo caught a glimpse of how quickly, bustling, the maids were clearing the table, walked through the gallery to the exit and found herself in the garden. There she took out her phone and dialed Olivia's message.

Jichu:In general, I met the ghost of Park House.

Olivia was not long in coming.

Olivia:And what? Don't hesitate, bitch. Is she a bogeyman? On a 100-point scale, where 100 is Frankenstein with a hangover?

Jichu:-1000000 in a cube. She's hot.

Olivia:Come on?

Jichu:I'm totally fucked up, I don't understand why she's sitting here with such an appearance.

Olivia:Damn, send a picture.

Jichu:I'll send it as soon as I can.

Olivia:Okay, I have clients here, I need to play.

After putting the phone away, Jisoo noticed a gap in a high hedge behind the gazebo where Mr. Park was sitting in the morning and decided to see what was there. There was a tart smell of greenery and peonies in the air, and there was a barely noticeable buzzing around, as if something was being sawed somewhere far away. She walked around the gazebo, in which there was an open laptop on a round table, two chaise lounges at the very edge of the hedge, an abandoned croquet mallet, and entered the gap between the huge thuja trees, whose juicy greenery for some reason reminded her of winter.

Another lawn opened up to her, smaller than the previous one, in the middle of which was a large frosted glass greenhouse with a round roof. Bushes of pink and white peonies grew around the perimeter, exuding a strong floral smell, sweet and intrusive. The sun came out for a second, and Kim, passing by the greenhouse, noticed that the door was ajar. The gardener must have forgotten to lock it, she decided, and came closer, intending to go inside.

In London, Jisoo was in the Botanical Garden only once, as a little girl, but since childhood she remembered a strong floral-deciduous smell, pleasant and invigorating, and in this greenhouse it smelled just as tart and thick. Inside the room, there were countless rows of tables with pots in which small and large plants grew, and huge palm trees, shrubs, bushes stuck out between the tables, some climbing vines were sliding down from the walls and ceiling, and it was quite hot. Jisoo touched the smooth surface of the table, ran her fingers over the leathery leaves of a plant growing from a pot with white-green leaves, and then went inside, deep into the greenhouse, stopping every now and then and looking at some strange flower, of which there were quite a lot. On some pots there were neat signatures in Latin, near others there were signs indicating the time and volume of watering.