Something Beautiful

Chapter - 52

"I think," he said cynically, "there is usually a period of mourning for one year if a close family member dies."

"Of course, and we've already run it!" the grandmother defended herself. "The three of us didn't see anyone until April, when Lisa made her debut, and I didn't..."

"And where did my grieving wife stay during this period of mourning?" ketus tanyanya.

"In your parents' house, with me and Yugyeom, of course."

"Sure," Mingyu repeated like a parrot. "I was really surprised to see that Yugyeom was not satisfied with just getting my title, my land, my money, he even wanted to get my wife too."

The grandmother's face paled, suddenly realizing how this event was viewed from Mingyu's point of view, and he also understood that in this mood it was a big mistake to explain that Lisa's popularity was what forced the marriage to take place.

"You're wrong, Hawk, Lisa...."

"Lisa," Mingyu broke up, "seems like she likes being young Madame Kim so she is willing to do whatever it takes to maintain that position forever. She decided to marry the current head of the Kim family."

"He's..."

"Syvy opportunists?" mingyu's proposal was cynical, angry and sick of burning it like acid. While he huddles in prison, awakened at night to the dismay of Lisa wasting her life in seclusion, tormented by grief and despair, Yugyeom and Lisa enjoy all the pleasures of the world. And after that enjoy each other's bodies as well.

The grandmother saw Mingyu's expression harden and she sighed, resignedly. "I know how terrible all this looks to you, Mingyu," he said with a slight tone of guilt in his raucous voice, "and I can see that you are not yet ready or able to listen to explanations. Even so, I'd be happy if you at least explained to me what you've been doing all this time."

Mingyu recounted in detail the events he had experienced, without telling the worst, but telling them all made him even more angry at this ironic state. While he was chained in prison, tortured in such a way, trying to survive between life and death, Yugyeom happily got his title, estate, and money, then finally decided to get Mingyu's wife as well.

Behind them, in the golden chariot, the symbol that Yugyeom no longer had the right to use, Lisa sat motionless next to Uncle Monty and in front of Yugyeom, who was staring out the window. His mind raced in an endless circle, chaotic. Mingyu was alive and well, yet thinner than the one in his memory. Did the man deliberately disappear because he wanted to escape the miserable girl he married, and come back just because he knew his cousin was going to do a bigamy? Lisa's joy at seeing the man alive and well turns to confusion. Surely Mingyu wasn't that disgusting to her, was she?

Shortly after the thought comforted his troubled heart, a more piercing thought began to rush at him rapidly and incessantly. The man he had happily welcomed back was the same man he had loved and hated. The man had made fun of Lisa in front of her mistresses. Mingyu Kim, as he knows now and must not forget, is an immoral, unprincipled, unfaithful, and heartless man. And he married that man!

In her heart Lisa cusses the man with every nickname she can remember, but as their train begins to approach Upper Book Street, her anger begins to dim. Anger requires energy and concentration, whereas at this moment his confused brain was still dull from shock.

Yugyeom who was sitting on his sidebar shuffled in a chair and the movement suddenly reminded Lisa that he was not the only person whose future had changed drastically due to the appearance of Mingyu.

"Yugyeom," he said sympathetically, "I'm sorry, too," he concluded weakly. "It's also good that your mother feels better staying home with your sister. Mingyu's sudden return would definitely shock her."

To his amazement Yugyeom smiled widely. "Being the head of the Kim family wasn't as good as I imagined it to be. As I said a few weeks ago, what a pleasure to get rich but do not have time to enjoy it. But, I think it turns out that fate is quite generous to you."

"Why is that?" lisa asked as she looked at Yugyeom as if the man was losing his mind.

"Try thinking about this," continued Yugyeom, then with wonder Lisa saw the man giggle amusedly. "Mingyu came home and his wife has now become the most wanted woman in all of England! To be honest, isn't this exactly what you've been craving?"

Yugyeom immediately stopped laughing. "You must be kidding me. Do you have any idea how big of a scandal a divorce would be? Even if you manage to get a divorce, and I'm not sure about it, you'll be completely ostracized by the nobility."

"I don't care."

He looked at Lisa and his voice softened. "I appreciate your concern for how I feel, Lisa, but you don't have to divorce because of me. Even if we were really in love, and thankfully no, you wouldn't have to. You're Mingyu's wife. Nothing can change that."

"Have you ever thought he might want to change it?"

"No," Yugyeom replied cheerfully. "I'll bet all he wants now is to challenge me to a duel and restore his pride. Don't you see how angry he was at me at church? But don't worry," he continued, chuckling at Lisa's fear, "If Mingyu wants a duel, I'll choose to use the sword and appoint you as my successor. He's definitely not gonna have the heart to spill your blood, and you have a better chance of beating him than I do"

Lisa wanted to argue back and said Mingyu would not seem to care that she and Yugyeom were getting married, but denied needing a clear and rational brain while she still could not eliminate the confusion surrounding her.

"Let me just say I want a divorce, Yugyeom. For the sake of family peace in the future, he must understand that this is entirely my proposal and has nothing to do with you."

Caught between amusement and anxiety, Yugyeom leaned forward and held onto Lisa's shoulder, laughing as she gently shook the woman's body. "Lisa, listen to me. I know you're in shock, and I certainly don't expect you to fall in Mingyu's arms this week or even this month, but divorcing him makes this grudge drag on!"

"She can't resist," Lisa replied with a hint of fiery guts. "He never cared about me."

Yugyeom shook his head, his lips twitching as he tried to push himself not to smile but failed. "You don't understand men at all and their self-esteem. And you don't know Mingyu if you think she's just gonna let you go. She's...."

Suddenly Yugyeom's eyes glittered amusedly and then dropped his head onto the carriage bench while chuckling. "Mingyu," he explained with a laugh, "doesn't like to share his toys, and he never backs off when opposed!"

Uncle Monty saw the two of them alternating, then grabbed into his coat and took out a small bottle. "In these circumstances" he said before drinking, "an energy-boosting tonic is needed."

There was no time for further conversation, as the car pulled up behind the Mingyu train in front of the Kim family's main house on Upper Book Street.

Careful not to stare at Mingyu, who was helping her grandmother get off the carriage, Lisa placed her hand on Yugyeom's hand and went down. But when Mingyu walked up the stairs behind her while holding her grandmother the shock that had made her heart suddenly disappear. Less than half a meter behind her, Mingyu's foot in a boat-shoe tapped on the floor nonstop so Lisa's spine was goosebumps anxiously. The man's tall body and his fielded shoulders cast a terrible shadow on the road Lisa was walking along and blocked the sunlight. The man was really there, alive, and here, Lisa thought, her body starting to tremble uncontrollably. It's not a dream, nor a nightmare.

They simultaneously turned towards the sitting room. Lisa's senses become more sensitive as she becomes increasingly aware of Mingyu's threat to her future. As well as Yugyeom's anxiety about being challenged to a duel, he paused briefly in the sitting room and quickly noticed the seating arrangement, weighing the psychological advantages and disadvantages of each place. Looking for a neutral position, he decided not to sit on the sofa and sat on one of the armchairs placed face to face in front of the fireplace, then exert all his strength to muffle his heart that suddenly beat fast. The grandmother seemed to want a neutral position as well, so she chose another one.

Berari remaining sofa, located to the right of the kurdish and facing the fireplace. Yugyeom, having no choice but to sit there, is followed by Uncle Monty who rushes into the sitting room hoping to enjoy a little drink while giving moral support to Lisa. Mingyu crossed the room towards the fireplace, placed his hands on the fireplace, then turned around, staring at everyone present in the room with a cold and calculating look.

While the grandmother briefly explained and was nervous about Mingyu's whereabouts during these fifteen months, Boo walked in with a bright smile and carried a handsome champagne. Unaware of the tense atmosphere in the room or how Mingyu was related to Lisa, the loyal servant went straight to Lisa and filled the glasses. As soon as the grandmother finished speaking, Boo handed Lisa her first glass and said, "May you always be as happy as you are now, Miss Lisa."

Lisa was laughing hysterically and rolling around inside her, mixed with panic, as Boo returned to the table and poured champagne into the other glasses, then distribute it to the residents of the sitting room that is silent, including Mingyu.