Chapter 57
“Red looks good on you, doesn’t it? Your skin tone is so clear, it would suit anything.”
The soft brush swept gently across my face as if painting a picture.
I opened my eyes that I had been keeping shut. My cheeks tinged with a dried rose color.
In the dazzling mirror, my eyes met hers.
The woman scrutinized my reflection in the mirror. Against the backdrop of dark brown hair tied up neatly, my red lips stood out against the heavy makeup.
As she pondered over the lipstick color, she draped her arm over me.
“I’ll leave it up to Jane’s judgment. I tend to lean towards darker shades.”
I hadn’t realized she was sending a makeup artist to assist me in the hotel room. It felt like a long time ago since she had prepared me for the first party I attended. It felt like the day everything began.
“I was disappointed you didn’t call me.”
“I didn’t have any parties to attend.”
“Oh, why not?”
Jane asked as she finished my makeup.
“I don’t know, not really my thing?”
I replied with a light laugh. Despite the many events that had occurred, there wasn’t much to say.
Jane sighed.
“It’s not always fun. Your face at home is just perfect.”
A light cough escaped her.
“Are you okay?”
Jane offered me some water. I absentmindedly accepted it and took a sip.
“Wow, you two really resemble each other. You both have faces that make people cry.”
Jane spoke half-jokingly as she took out diamond earrings that seemed to match her necklace.
The white diamonds sparkled brilliantly against the jet-black hair, creating a stunning contrast.
Ding-dong. A light knock echoed.
“Come in.”
Standing beyond the open door was Jiwoon.
“If you’re not ready yet, I’ll wait outside.”
Looking at Jane with hopeful eyes, she nodded in affirmation.
“It’s perfect timing.”
I silently rejoiced. Changing into several dresses and sitting like a doll to get my makeup done had left my body stiff.
I took Jiwoon’s outstretched hand and rose from the chair. It had been a while since I wore high heels, so walking was a bit difficult.
I held Jiwoon’s hand and descended the stairs.
With each step, the deep blue evening gown wrapped around my ankles.
As the dress faded into a lighter color towards the bottom, it resembled the night sky. The tiny diamonds, densely set, sparkled like stars.
“…”
Carefully descending the stairs, our eyes met with the man standing at the bottom.
In the late afternoon light flooding the penthouse, his figure was as distinct as the sun.
“I’ll have the car ready.”
As I reached the bottom of the stairs, Jiwoon let go of my hand and went outside.
The living room, now with only the two of us, was as quiet as if submerged in water.
Baek Hawon stared at me with narrowed eyes.
His gaze made me inexplicably self-conscious. Embarrassed, I brushed my hair behind my ear. The earring swayed at the touch of my hand.
Why was he looking at me like that?
Unable to withstand the atmosphere, I was about to move away when Baek Hawon reached out his right arm.
Somehow, a sense of discomfort crept over me.
There seemed to be a moment similar to this one near the sunset-dyed cruise ship. But the unfamiliar warmth of the straight gaze made the moment vanish from my mind as if it were a dream.
The yellow sunlight melted into the lower lashes, and the iris slowly expanded above the black pupils.
“It suits you well.”
—
I took out lipstick from my clutch and applied it to my lips. Although it no longer felt awkward to look in the mirror, it still felt strange to be dressed up like this after a long time.
“Where were you that day?”
I met Angel’s eyes through the mirror.
The wrist was just an excuse. People didn’t stop coming to Baek Hawon’s side, and taking advantage of the gap, I escaped to the powder room where there happened to be no one.
“But running away alone seems a bit too much.”
The bare shoulders exposed above the deep blue evening dress felt chilly. The white space was filled with a diamond necklace shining under the lights.
As I rolled up my red-painted lips, I turned away.
“By the way, I have a heart as wide as the Pacific Ocean.”
Clack, clack.
The sound of shoes echoed loudly in the empty space. Angel didn’t run away, despite me approaching him steadily.
“But there’s nothing like that.”
I spoke softly, looking up at him. My figure was reflected in his emerald eyes.
“Do you think you should be honest with me? Did I think wrong?”
“….”
“Would you know if this is a command to kill you, appearing and disappearing one day?”
As I spoke, I didn’t realize how much force I was using. Speaking, I felt a lump in my throat.
Every step I take in a world where I have nothing feels as precarious as a cliff edge. So I can’t help but cling to even an illusion.
Angel finally spoke after a long time.
“To be honest, I met Lee Chan. I thought if it wasn’t then, I wouldn’t have another chance…”
Angel stammered as he spoke, avoiding my gaze.
So he met Lee Chan. Feeling relieved for no reason, I took a step back.
“What did Lee Chan say?”
“Well…”
Angel hesitated to speak, but finally managed to speak.
“He said… he thought he had forgotten me…”
“Huh?”
And then, I burst into laughter.
“Haha! Did you really tell him that?”
“….”
“Ha-haha! That’s so like Lee Chan.”
I tried to hold back the laughter that came pouring out incessantly, but it was in vain. Eventually, I decided to laugh as much as I wanted.
Tears were forming from how much I laughed.
‘Why does he have such a wounded look again?’
Angel quickly blinked his eyes, with his lips tightly shut. I encouraged him by patting his hunched shoulders.
“Don’t worry too much, Angel. It’s much better than being forgotten forever after death, isn’t it?”
As I smiled and offered words of comfort, someone else entered the powder room right on cue.
“I’ll go out for some fresh air.”
“Sure.”
“Oh, and…”
As Angel walked towards the terrace ahead, he stopped. Only his head turned backward, and the eyes staring at me under the shade emitted a chilling light.
“Stop getting hurt.”
The moment the gentle demeanor turned into someone else, I was speechless. By the time I tried to respond, he had already walked far away.
“What was that?”
Was he too lazy to bother with treating me?
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, Angel disappeared in one direction, opposite to where I stood.
As the party in the hotel ballroom progressed into the late night, the atmosphere grew denser.
Tonight’s party was a celebration of the establishment of a new business by Baekcheon. It was a legitimate company completely separate from the organization.
So most of the people attending this event probably didn’t know that side of Baekcheon. It might be awkward to just leave.
“Miss?”
Someone spoke to me for the first time. The last time someone spoke to me, it didn’t end well. Unfortunately, that moment came to mind.
“Are you the partner of the CEO?”
The first impression was a tie with butterflies. It was so realistically depicted that it was disgusting. From the English accent, was he Chinese?
The feeling in his eyes towards me wasn’t very pleasant.
“Who?”
“It’s said that you’re quite beautiful.”
Whether he was unaware or had poor hearing. Instead of introducing himself, he abruptly extended his hand.
The rumors about Cha Yeonbyeol were nothing more than gossip spread like rumors of a bastard in a certain household.
If these inflated rumors were to be made into a book, it probably wouldn’t exceed double digits in pages.
It was just petty to hear such ‘rumors’ being spouted at me.
“Thank you.”
Instead of shaking hands, I picked up the wine glass on the table.
“I haven’t heard those rumors… Do you have any distinctive features worthy of rumors?”
With a mocking laugh, I swallowed a sip of wine.
Rumors don’t change just because you say something nicely and cater to petty people.
“Well…!”
He wasn’t that stupid. The face of the butterfly-necktie now looked somewhat crumpled.
His clenched fist quickly rose above his head. His personality seemed dirtier than I expected.
Crash!
“Are you telling me, the beautiful one?”
A cheerful voice came from behind. A firm chest leaned towards me.
The hand that brushed against my shoulder and reached out stopped in mid-air.
Without stopping anything.
“I stopped you. Why are you taking credit?”
I spoke to the man behind me without turning my head. I immediately recognized him from his clumsy tone.
All that remained in my hand was the stem and base of the wine glass. Since I had emptied the glass earlier, there was no wine to splatter on my hand.
The arm that the glass hit was also intact. Only the marble floor was in a mess, scattered with broken glass shards.
The butterfly-necktie groped his bruised arm with a dismayed expression.
“Shall I try breaking that funny face next time?”
Turning my eyes, I let the remaining wine glass in my hand fall to the ground.
The sound of glass breaking felt unusually loud. That was when I realized how quiet the surroundings were.
But it still wasn’t something to worry about.
“How about it?”
Stepping forward, I crushed the glass shards underfoot.
“I’m curious which will break first, the glass or that head of yours.”
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Editor: Red
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is Sid. I hope you liked it<3
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