The Second Aria

PROLOGUE

Thief.

She stared back at the girl, pitiful, her hair a mess, beads of sweat smudging her makeup. Her black hair, so beautifully tied up, unravelled down her shoulders, flowers from the dressing tables tangled into her curls. She gripped the trophy in her hands though, determined, pathetic; with the desperate look of a starving woman on her face.

"That is all you are," she pressed, watching the face of the girl in front of her contort into something like fury mixed with horror, "A thief. That's why you won, isn't it? You can't do anything without your father, can you? Did you think that money can make up for your lack of talent?"

"Shut up!" she screamed, holding the trophy tighter against the bodice of her dress, "You're such a spiteful bitch, Yun-hui, you know that? You psycho," she glanced at the door behind Yun-hui, locked. She could hear the thundering of fists against the metal. "This trophy is mine."

"You know that I was better than you!" Yun-hui took a step toward her, shoulders relaxing, a slight smile touching her mouth. "You've always known, haven't you, Seo-jin? That's why you did that. That's why you did everything."

"Stay where you are!" Seo-jin screeched, holding out the trophy, stepping back, "Stay away."

"I pity you, Seo-jin," Yun-hui started, "You can never do anything without your father's help. You bribed the pianist, right? I saw the jury looked at your father too. But do you know what?"

Seo-jin swallowed, pushing her hair out of her face. Yun-hui gave a weak laugh. "You never deserved any of what you got. You know that too." She nodded at the trophy in her hands, the way the wings of the golden statue gleamed in the light of the dressing table mirrors. "That too. You know that you'll never be better than me, and you know that too. You're such a fake."

Yun-hui laughed, the smile on her face widening, eyes wide and manic. "Cheon Seo-jin." She looked her dead in the eyes, "The fake winner."

Seo-jin's face fell. Her mouth moved slightly, but the words failed her. "Oh Yun-hui."

"Cheon Seo-jin," Yun-hui shouted, "Cheater. Liar. Thief. That's all you are. That's all you'll ever be, you thieving witch—"

Yun-hui didn't have the time to react before the flicker of gold crossed her vision. As Cheon Seo-jin raised the trophy and with a sudden whip of her arm, dug the sharp metal of the wings into her throat. A light gasp escaped Yun-hui's mouth as her eyes widened in shock. She stared at the trophy in her hand, the blood dripping on the carpet.

Blood. On the floor, on her hands, rushing down her throat like a necklace, staining the white fabric of her mother's gown. She choked, holding a hand to her neck, the gaping wound, coughing up blood.

The girl fell to her knees, feeling the warm blood trickle through her hands, curling between her fingers. Seo-jin towered above her, trophy in her hand and a blank expression on her face.

"Seo-jin..." Yun-hui whimpered, "Cheon Seo-jin..."

Seo-jin crouched next to Yun-hui where she sprawled on the steps to the piano on the platform in the corner of the room. She dragged a hand over her wound and slowly raised her hand to smear Yun-hui's blood across her neck. As the sound from the other side of the door became louder and louder an eerie smile crept onto her face, before her eyes rolled back and she crumpled onto the floor, trophy gripped tightly in her hands.

The door slammed open and a crowd pushed through the entryway.

"Seo-jin!" a voice called, thick as gravel. The man, Yun-hui recognised him, Seo-jin's father, paused in his step as he took in the scene, face twisting into horror, "Seo-jin!"

Gasps shot through the crowds as screams and pleas echoed in the hallway. A group of five men and women rushed toward the two of them as they lay stretched out on the floor. Yun-hui forced her hand up, gasping, watching the rush of blood from her wound leaking onto the wooden panels beneath her. The man spared a look in her direction, eyes narrowed, before following the crowd as they carried the other girl out, and Yun-hui stared after them, tasting the blood as it dripped from her mouth.