BASH
Dad played me well. What is he benefiting from this? Who would have thought that my old man had a naughty side?
He closed the deal last month before I returned from the U.K, and nobody mentioned this to me. I flew over here for nothing. We just tossed over a fucking Champagne.
I look like a fool in front of the Korean team. It's all my fault. I agreed with Dad and not checking the documents.
I should've done it before the flight. I just trusted that old man and thought he wouldn't play with me like this.
Lesson learned.
I stomp my feet to the car waiting for us. Trinity doesn't say anything when she notices me scowling. I feel her hand on my thigh, gripping it. My idiot of a cock stirs to her innocent touch.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I release a deep breath to calm my nerves.
Edmund remains silent in the passenger seat while the Korean driver pulls the car out of the parking lot. He's instructed where to take us after the meeting-the inept meeting.
"Bash, your dad is on the phone."
My head jerks to the front seat, where Edmund holds the phone to me.
I grab it from him, clenching my jaw with annoyance.
"Are you trying to bash me now, Dad?" I ask, still pissed. "It wasn't enough that you embarrassed me in front of those Koreans?"
He sighs. "Bash, you have to learn not just to follow orders without checking the contract." Yeah, I keep that in mind. "I may be your father, and you trusted me, but you have to think that sometimes the people you love the most turn out to be the people you should trust the least."
"What's that supposed to mean? Are all these just a test to you? I'm hundreds of miles away from you, old man," I curse under my breath.
"Yeah, consider that a test, son," he answers almost immediately.
"Then I failed, did I?" It was a rhetorical question.
"That's not the point of why you're there." That's his reply, but I can hear the amusement in his voice.
"Seriously, though. What am I doing here, Dad?" I demand a reasonable answer.
"It's for you to find out. You can answer that when you come back. Good luck, son, and enjoy your week."
Before I can answer, the line goes off. I groan louder, raking my fingers through my hair.
"I guess that didn't go well with your dad," Trinity's soft voice relaxes me a bit.
I look at her beside me. Our eyes meet, and my frown suddenly vanishes when I see her smiling at me. I can't help but lean my head to kiss her forehead.
"Everything is fine, Trinity." Everything is perfectly fine, especially when she's with me right now for the whole week. "Nothing to worry about."
***
The two hours ride is worth the time when we pass the old village. This place is so different from the city of Seoul. The houses are very traditional compared to the modern buildings back in the city.
Some folks wear traditional clothes, the Hanbok. I can't help but be amazed at how they value culture.
The car moves up to the slightly elevated area, like a small hill, where I can see the Hanok from a distance. That must be Alex's house.
We stop at the stoned-walled gate with clay made roof surrounded by plants with autumn leaves.
The gate swings open, and Alex walks down, wearing a grin on his face. He's annoying, but he's like a brother to me.
He accommodates us in his old home. This is where we will stay for the rest of the week.
I hop out of the black SUV to greet him.
"Annyonghaseyo, Bash, Kiara." He approaches us and bows in front of us, making me snort.
"Jaljinaess-eoyo, Kiara?" He kisses Trinity on her cheek. Trinity smiles politely and then bows just like he did.
I chuckle, following him inside his home.
There is a vast ground made of gravel, with a small pond and a small pine tree at the center-composed of three one-story houses in a U shape made of the stone foundation, with a large porch facing.
We enter the first house on our left side with glossy dark oak flooring and two feet tall banisters. All walls are covered with Hanji papers made from mulberry trees.
I notice Trinity's eyes fill with amazement. I take my shoes off as it's a custom here in Korea. Trinity does the same. Edmund wanders outside the house with our driver.
"I prepare a room for both of you. This may be a hanok, but we have electricity, appliances, and Internet here. But I doubt you have time to browse the net," Alex says with a glint in his eyes.
"This is the dining area." He slides a thin door.
The dining table is placed at the center with four flat cushions on each side. A tiny vase on the top of the table in the corner. A plant blooms with small pink flowers.
The maru flooring is glossier than on the porch. It has a small square chandelier hanging from the ceiling, a small table with tea sets on top, and a dark-colored wood cabinet with a bronze drawer handle on the left side.
"This is beautiful, Alex," Trinity first comments with eyes still wandering around. She sits cautiously on one of the flat square cushions as if testing it.
"Then you should marry a traditional Korean guy, Kiara," Alex says, stealing a glance in my direction.
I shoot him a glare. "Stop flirting with her. You're getting married, for fuck sake."
Alex grins like he just got his answers.
I can't imagine Trinity marrying a Korean guy who then lives here. Truth, I can't imagine her marrying at all- another guy at all.
"The kitchen is on the left side. You don't have to go outside. There's a hall that connects from here to the kitchen. The bedroom is on the right, but I warn you, there's no bed, just a mattress made of pure cotton." He laughs slightly, and I know what he means.
I nod in agreement.
Alex was broken-hearted and slept with girls back in the U.K. Now that he's getting married just to win full custody of his niece, I doubt if he's marrying her just to fight for child custody.
I know him well.
I bet he likes that girl because it's not Alex who is going to just tie up to a girl over a loveless marriage, and he should've done that after his brother passed away if he just wanted full custody.