"So which one was your bedroom?" SD asked as they strolled through the vineyard behind the palace. They walked past the servants' quarters and were lounging around until it was time for the Spring Festival to start.
"We used to live at an outhouse which was situated there," Sunye said, pointing at a building which was partially destroyed. "It was demolished during the war and never built back. The government only re-built the palace after it was almost blown up but not the other places."
There was a tinge of sadness in her tone. She wanted to revisit the place where she spent time with her adoptive father and reminisce his memories. Han Daewhi was a good man with a heart of gold. He had taken in the scared and amnesiac girl, sheltered her and always made sure she had a good upbringing.
Even when Sunye found her brother years later and regained her memories, she never stopped honoring her father who had given up so much for her. She still recalled his delicious pancakes which he made on the weekends and his stories about how he used to travel all over the world before the Palace recruited him.
"Dad and I lived there," she stated. "He would have loved to return here but it's not possible anymore…"
She sighed at the state of her beloved childhood home. SD was also staring at the old, decrepit outhouse which lay in ruins. Whenever the Palace felt overwhelming, he snuck out to hang out with the Han's. The gardens they were strolling through was their little retreat but nothing remained now. Only a vineyard was left while the rest of the place was renovated to accommodate a parking space and there were even a few souvenir shops on the side of the pathway.
"It's strange that I used to live here," Sunye commented. "It feels alien and distant now. I thought I'd feel good or maybe scared of facing the past I left behind. But now...I feel nothing."
She turned to SD and was surprised to see that he had gone completely still. There was a look of relief on his face as if something had dawned on him.
"SD," she called him. "What are you thinking?"
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom He did not reply right away but turned to stare at the Palace which was right across the vineyard. For a few moments, he kept on staring at the large structure which was built as a miniature Versailles. The towers which used to stand so high that it felt as if they touched the sky. His eyes trailed the pentagonal shape which encompassed the area, an unique touch of creativity and beauty which were the pillars of this palace. It had seen the Golden Era of the country and was a testament of the power of the monarchy which would return one day. The Throne which lay vacant was waiting for the heir who was going to rule the world.
"I'm thinking how small this place is," he softly remarked.
"Small?" Sunye frowned.
"The symbol of the Golden Era and also the monument of oppression," he said. "It stands here to remind everyone that no matter how much they try, they'll always be inferior to the ruling class. The monarchy might be on pause but it'll return someday. They're awaiting a leader who would take them to a new era. But the question is, will they follow a ruler to another era of slavery and oppression or will the ruler walk with them into an age where the country will rise from the ashes and stand on its own feet?"
"This palace is too small to contain the power needed to run this country," he went on. "The one who'll rule from this Ivory Tower will never be a good ruler."
Sunye also glanced at the Palace. He was right. The Palace walls contained a world which was far apart from the lives of the common people. The one who would live here could never understand the plights of his subjects.
"It's just a vacant farce," she concluded. As if in a trance, she reached out to hold his hand. SD was surprised but smiled as he clasped his fingers around her while they watched the palace which held the memories of their blissful childhood. The home which had once been their safe abode and a witness to their childish yet, budding love.
The place which brought about their ruin.
For SD, it did not matter whose name was written in that will. All that matter to him was to acquire the Throne.
…..
Orea sneezed loudly as she cleaned the fan of her laptop. It had gathered all sorts of dust and the lack of air had slowed down all the applications in the damn thing. Ever since she was rejected by the Prime Minister for the internship, she became more determined to enter the mansion. There was one method she could use, but it was a risky job. Only an insane person or someone who wanted to commit suicide would attempt that.
Fortunately, Orea fell in the former category.
She inserted the fan back into her laptop and screwed it back together. Turning it on, she waited for the screen to come to life. Flexing her fingers, she began to work. She stayed on her seat for hours, typing complex codes into the application. Frowning and scratching out many of the codes, she did and re-did the program until it was ready.
"There!" she exclaimed. "Done!"
She took out her cellphone and connected it with the laptop. Typing a text, she sent it to Myung.
"I found this link really useful," she wrote. "Check it out!"
Smirking to herself, she turned off the phone, took out the SIM card and threw it into the trashcan to be discarded with garbage. She put the SIM card into a spare phone since the old one was of no use to her now.
Myung was listening to music on his phone when it beeped. To his slight delight, it was Orea's text. Without a thought, he opened it and read the text.
"Link?" he frowned. He clicked on it but nothing happened. His phone showed a blank screen before his phone froze.
"What the hell?" he muttered as he turned off his phone and turned it on again. The phone was working perfectly fine now so he was not sure what happened to it. He called Orea who picked up the call after two rings.
"What's up?" she asked.
"You sent me a link," he said. "I can't open it."
"You can't?" she asked, feigning ignorance. "I'll send it again in your mail."
She pretended to send him a random link and was keen to disconnect the call but Myung wanted to talk to her.
"Listen, about that day," he began. "I'm sorry. I had to leave like that."
"Did you get into a lot of trouble with your dad?" Orea asked while her fingers were typing the remaining codes into the application. To her delight, Myung had clicked the link and now, the virus she planted had spread to all the contacts in his phonebook. This included his sister, Jonghyun and the Prime Minister as well.
Eureka! She thought in delight but hid her enthusiasm since Myung sounded serious.
"Dad was angry," he sighed. "But it doesn't matter to me. He's always intruding in our lives. It's irritating."
"Aren't you close with him?" she asked. Her virus would take at least one day to take effect if it went undetected. Once it was activated, it would wipe out all of the Prime Minister's data and important files from all the applications he had ever used. If everything worked as per her plan, Orea could swoop in to save the day.
"He's a cold hearted bastard," Myung stated. Tell me something new, Orea added in her head.
"He's a good leader," Orea supplied. "He's done so much for the country and our development. Even kept the throne empty for the real heir to come in and-"
"He's a puppet of the Company," Myung muttered unknowingly. He thought that Orea did not catch what he said but the latter heard him very clearly.
What. The. Hell.
How did Myung know about the Company? She doubted that the Prime Minister sat at the dinner table and talked about his dirty deeds to his youngest kid. Hyeri and Jonghyun probably knew about it but Myung too? Was he also a part of their schemes and she had been naively using him?
"Did you say something?" she asked, faking it.
"Nothing," Myung quickly said. "I'll check out the link. It's a link to a hotel case study?"
"Yes," Orea replied. "Can we meet up tomorrow to discuss this further?"
"I want to but I'm grounded," he groaned. "I'm eighteen and still grounded! It sucks!"
"Where are you living now?" she asked casually.
"At the PM's mansion," he groaned. Then he had an idea. "I'll ask my driver to pick you up from your house. We can work here."
"Sure," Orea said. "Same place where you dropped me. I hope he remembers?"
Myung pursed his lips. Did she really live there? Or was he thinking too much?
"Cool," he said. "See you then."
Orea hung up the phone and stretched her limbs. She still had SD's credit card number.
"I think I'll buy myself some BTS posters," she declared.
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