The Uninvited Guest

Standing out in the corridor, you feel as if you have been sent into a different world.

You can still hear the muffled sounds coming from the event hall; the gentle tune of music vibrating from the other side of these walls, the clinking sound of glasses shared at the bar, and the hum of conversation shared by the guests still enjoying the party within the hall. But out here, you are surrounded by nothing more than silence.

Everything seems to come to a halt. Even your mind becomes quiet. It feels as if you are given a chance to take a short break from all the excitement.

And yet, you find it hard to find calmness. Perhaps not until you can find your missing fiancé and find out what he is up to.

Knowing that he wouldn't have walked away from his own party without a reason, you know that something must be happening. Whatever it is, you can only hope that it won't be anything bad enough that would ruin the night for the two of you.

And for everyone involved, you wonder, as you picture Yoongi's mother's proud smile wavering in the wake of trouble transpiring at her party.

You take a look around to find him, finding no sign of Yoongi along the empty corridor. The only option left would be the garden surrounding the main building, which appears mostly dark, with only little garden lamps and spotlights illuminating the property as tonight's ball hadn't needed this area to use.

Resolving to find Yoongi before anyone else in the ball notices that he is missing, you carefully hike up the front of your ballgown and step out onto the stone pathway leading out to the garden, hoping that perhaps you can find him out there. Taking slow steps, you venture into the dim-lighted garden, squinting your eyes to get a better look around while making sure that your heels don't make too much sound to expose your presence.

Moments pass and you still can't find him.

The more you walk, the more the shadows forming between the rosebushes and the lower trees growing on either side of the pathway are making you feel like you are dreaming. The way they seem to stir as you walk by makes you believe that you might have drunk too much champagne during dinner while you were avoiding your mother's advances.

You are just about to give up and turn away when suddenly begin to hear noises coming from somewhere nearby, voices faintly echoing from the hidden area behind the gazebo standing at the end of the pathway.

Curious, you move a bit closer. Keeping yourself in the shadows of the trees as you approach the gazebo, you continue until you are close enough to be able to listen better.

The voices seem to be coming from two people who are having an argument. You can immediately recognise one of the voices as Yoongi. The cool, deep tone of voice that he uses when he speaks makes it hard for you to make out what he is saying. You can tell that he is struggling to keep his composure while he continues to try to appease the other person.

The second voice belongs to a woman. A voice that you cannot recognise, as it's unfamiliar to your ears. Whoever this person is, she isn't shy about getting her voice heard. The restrained whisper-yell she makes each time she argues back to whatever Yoongi is saying to her keeps getting louder, even as Yoongi tries to calm them down. And you are beginning to feel worried that their voices will soon reach the party hall.

Soon enough, people will start noticing that both you and Yoongi are no longer at the ball. It would be quite a spectacle if anyone ever tried to look for you and find the two of you out here, with the future groom arguing with another woman while everyone at the ball is celebrating his engagement.

Sighing, you move closer to observe the situation before you can decide whether or not you should interfere.

"...told you many times to stop saying this crap. It makes you sound completely delusional. You're not even allowed to be here," you hear Yoongi speak in a low tone of voice which is strained with his anger.

From this angle, you can see him standing with his back on you. The muted glow of the garden lamps coating his suit helps you see the tension rising on his shoulders. You look down, and you can see his fists clenching on his side.

"Then tell me why you are so set on going through with this. You're doing this to get back at me, aren't you?" says the woman who is yet to be identified.

Leaning further against the gazebo, you try to find a better angle so you can see who it is. The moment you see her face, you finally understand why Yoongi seems to be on edge.

You may have never known her personally, yet you have seen her before. Numerous times. Her face used to appear everywhere; on the news, on social media, on the front cover of fashion magazines, and the front pages of gossip tabloids. You have seen her on the catwalk during fashion week events to which you used to get invited, yet never once have you ever crossed paths with her during the time that she was active on the runway nor back when you spent a lot of time hanging out with other young socialites while building your network.

But you have always known her name.

The woman is Bora Kim. Known to be an international supermodel who only made it big for a short period of time before her name and pictures began filling many gossip articles—which was how you eventually heard of her name all those years ago—once her name got entangled with Yoongi's. She became more known to be Min Yoongi's lover as she began appearing by his side at various charity events and upper-class parties, flaunting her closeness with the rising young tycoon.

The infamous ex-girlfriend, who had then become the talk of high society when she suddenly announced herself as the future Mrs. Min just a year after she began dating him, and after keeping her title as Yoongi's lover long enough compared to his other known escapades.

Only to lose her title merely months later, when she suddenly began appearing on the news, walking hand-in-hand in public events with a different son of the Min family.

The older brother.

An incredulous laugh leaves Yoongi's lips. "Nothing about this has anything to do with you. Not everything is about you, Bora. Especially when it involves my life, which is none of your business to care about," Yoongi responds, seething with anger. "You made a choice a long time ago and whatever happened after has been the consequences of your choices and your own doing. They are no longer my problem, just as my life is no longer yours, and I will not be held responsible for anything you're now stuck with."

Something about his words tickles the back of your mind. Until it finally clicks.

The infamous act of the older son of Min which had brought his own family to shame, and nearly brought many other business chains down with him in his downfall, may have caused her the same fate. Choosing the wrong brother of the Min family to side with may have cost her losing the career and reputation that she had built for years, and any chances of gaining the life that she had once envisioned for herself when she first got involved with the Min brothers.

Has she been trying to get back to Yoongi's good side all this time, without you knowing?

Is that why Yoongi had created this whole facade of being a womanizer for the past couple of years since their relationship ended? To show her that there was no chance for her to come back and reclaim her place by Yoongi's side?

While your question is left unanswered, you can still see the unmistakable sight of fear and guilt emerging from beneath her tears of anger that are threatening to fall. She opens her mouth to speak, only to swallow back her words when a shudder rocks through her body.

But then she blinks away her tears, putting up a new front when her mask comes off and raising her voice as she responds with, "Well, I hope you're happy with your choice. Don't regret it when that conniving bitch shows her true colours one day and shows you that she is only using you to up her class."

Hearing this enrages you. But before you can do anything about it, Yoongi snaps first.

In a blink of an eye, he suddenly goes right up to her face, lowering his voice further as he threatens her, "And who the fuck are you to accuse her of such atrocity? Haven't you looked at yourself in the mirror? You, of all people, have no right to throw those words around. You are nothing more than a sly fox who would stop at nothing to gain money and fame for yourself. Even if it costs other people's lives."

Never once had you ever seen Yoongi grow so angry. Caught by surprise, your hands rise to your lips to cover the sound of your soft gasp. On the other side, Bora flinches. It seems clear that the woman hadn't expected to see Yoongi react so strongly to her insults. Fear quickly replaces the desperation you saw in her eyes as Yoongi stalks closer to her in his rage.

Sensing that things may escalate further, your body reacts on its own. You don't even realise what you are doing until you slip out of your hiding place, as if your legs are following your instinct which is telling you to defuse the situation before it is too late.

"Yoongi," you call out to him, keeping your voice as calm as you possibly can as you approach them. Your voice seems to have startled them, as they both sharply turn to look at you. But to your relief, Yoongi's anger seems to dim the moment he sees you walking towards him.

For a brief second, you almost believe that you see Bora exhaling a deep sigh of relief as well. The fear in her eyes clears before her gaze turns to despair, then, hatred.

You choose to ignore her, keeping your eyes on Yoongi instead as you say to him, "There you are."

"Why are you here?" Yoongi asks. The gentle tone of his voice a complete contrast to the way he spoke merely seconds ago. The fact that he isn't looking at you with guilt lets you know that Yoongi wasn't trying to hide this from you. He was just as unprepared to deal with this as you were.

Keeping your questions to yourself, you simply look at him with a forced smile. "I've been looking everywhere for you. It sucks to be the center of the party without my fiance by my side," you playfully whine, playing things off as if you hadn't heard any part of their argument. The last thing you want is to show Bora Kim that her words had any effect on you when you are the one with the upper hand.

Sliding your arm around Yoongi's, you cling to his side as you ask, "I think the party is about to end. Some guests are leaving and they wanted to say goodbye to us and the family. Shouldn't we be inside?"

With a deep exhale of breath, Yoongi nods. At the same time, you can feel the tension ebbing away from his body and shoulders as you lean further into him and gently rub your hand over his shoulder. You give him a smile, relieved to see him finding his calm again, and then turn to the uninvited guest before you.

"Hello, I don't believe we've met," you calmly greet her, deliberately keeping your cool as you wipe the smile from your face. "I wasn't expecting to see you here tonight, Miss Kim. But it sure is nice that I finally get to see you in person."

Bora Kim looks flustered for a brief moment, still shaken up from Yoongi's wrath and your sudden appearance, and evidently stunned to hear you greeting her as if her appearance does nothing to rattle you. Her eyes shift between you and Yoongi, stopping at your hand which is resting on Yoongi's elbow, and the despair in her eyes deepens.

Pressing her lips together, Bora straightens her shoulders before answering, "Unfortunately, it seems that my coming here was a mistake." 

She lifts her gaze at Yoongi. Her eyes look bitter. Pained. And you can almost feel it when she adds, "It seems clear that I am not welcome here." She turns to you next, then says, "Congratulations on the engagement."

With those final words, she quickly turns around and leaves the premises. The sound of her heels knocking on the solid stone pathway echoes through the garden as she walks away until she disappears around the dark corner.