XIV.

S U G A R  C O A T

—aka, the things you do for information,

INT— A PRIVATE JEWELLERY HOUSE.

VENICE, ITALY — MID-MORNING.

THREE DAYS AFTER SIGNING CONTRACT.

TWO DAYS BEFORE PARIS, FRANCE.

CONT. SCENE II.

HIS FACE TWITCHED.

"Because she is crazy and suicidal. Park Baek-je, the patriarch and Kristoff's grandfather, has kept her close to him since her first attempt. Well... even before that, she..."

His hesitance was palpable, so I busied myself by stacking rings on my wedding finger.

Emerald.

Diamond.

Ooh, ruby.

Emerald.

"She has always been closer to him than any of his children, probably because she's the eldest and the only daughter," he finished. "There are three sons, Kristoff's uncles. Park Baek-Nam, Park Baek-Young, and Park Nam-Seok."

I almost smiled once I realised what he was doing: Archie Noh was playing it safe, picking apart the most bare bones of the story without giving me any meat to pinch at. We can't have that.

I whistled, raising the ruby to glint under filtered sunlight. "That's a lot of uncles."

"They're all dead."

My entire body seized. That was his intention— Archie was watching my reaction. Any slip. Any lack or new twitch that would tell him something. One, two, Nina. Come on. My eyelashes fluttered and I inhaled, wide eyed when I turned to him. I didn't pretend the shock, but I had to hide my absorption of the fact.

"Dead? All of them?"

I didn't know what he saw, but he picked up my hand, gentle and a little cold, and slid off one of the rings, appearing to check it under his specs. "Well, not really dead-dead. Only two of them. Baek-Nam and Nam-Seok. Park Baek-Young is still alive... although, would you really call being in a vegetable state alive?"

His scoff was soft, an undertone of mockery as he slowly pulled off the rings I stacked.

Ruby.

Diamond.

Emerald.

"Hm." He took out a new ring, deep, deep sapphire in an oval cut surrounded by smaller diamonds. He took my left hand, sliding it on my ring finger. I fought shivers. The silver band and his fingers— long and dextrous — were cold.

It was if death was proposing.

"You don't look as good in sapphire," he murmured. I notched an eyebrow. He met my challenging stare. "You're not the only one good in what matches where, Ms. La Verne."

I couldn't help it. I smiled. "I never said you had bad tastes, Mr. Noh."

He released my hand. "Kristoff had a brother."

"A brother?"

"A twin. He died when they were young. And then Aurelius Son, Kristoff's father, had an affair. Numerous affairs. That contributed a lot to why his mother isn't... as stable. She stays in Korea, back and forth in Seoul and the private island off the coast of Jeju, always where his grandfather is. Ever since he got sick however, they've been staying more and more often in Jeju, as Kristoff already told you."

At the tic in his jaw, Archie deemed his grandfather's illness a secret too large to have spoken about. But I couldn't focus on that.

"They have a private island?"

Archie notched an eyebrow. I was honestly flabbergasted by that, though I really shouldn't have been. My fingers, the one in my right where I had kept it hidden, tingled.

One of my best daydreams always included a private fucking island I could call my own.

"They're a very, very old and prestigious family, Ms. La Verne. And no, they weren't royalty. Although in history, there have been a lot of marriages between the royal family— during Silla, there were six. Just before Joseon fell, there was Park-Kim Clan blood in the royal lineage. Two princes and one princess, if I can remember correctly." At the way his nose had raise, it was as if he was daring me to tell him he was wrong. "There was never any true attempt at seizing the crown— that's never where the power is. Anybody can wear a crown and act like a king. Anyone can hide a fool in ruby clothing after all."

He slid off the sapphire and tested a ruby next. This was set in an octagon, nestled between two pearls. It was a thicker band made of gold, twisting to conjoin the trio.

"True power, real power can be found from monopolising the rest of the world. Influence in government positions, influence in court proceedings. A king is leashed. A person of enough stature and enough influence can control the rest of the court without being pestered for heirs or morals, or questioned for their choices. As long as you have enough power— military, money. You can make a man with a crown bow with enough power. That's where the clan took root. That's where they found power."

And that's what Kristoff wants.

I took a deep, shuddering breath. This was what was expected of me to help him gain.

"But Kristoff also has cousins," he continued, raising his eyebrows. "The legitimate kind and the not so."

"There are always bastards in old families, it's a cliche after all," I muttered. He almost smiled— which was shocking in its own right — but continued off as if I hadn't spoken.

"Park Baek-Nam, the eldest of the sons, his wife, and infant son had already passed from an accident. They left their oldest son, Park Tae-Yang. He's six years older than Kristoff. He lived in Japan for most of his life, being raised by a branch family there. He moved to Seoul a few years back, but he kept moving back and forth for a good while. He's not interested in the position, but he has a good relationship with the patriarch and he works as the COO of the publishing company under the group.

"Next is Park Nam-Seok and Park Soo-Yang. They have one son who lives in Singapore right now, with his father as he undergoes the best treatment for his hopeless condition."

"Hopeless?"

"He's paralysed from the upper chest down. It was brain damage and a spinal injury. He's barely awake most of the time. Matthew, their son, has made looking after his father an excuse to party." Archie wrinkled his nose as if he smelled something foul. "Soo-Yang, his mother, is in Seoul, trying to keep her established rights as a Park even if her son doesn't give a shit about his grandfather, or anything concerning the family. It's a point of frustration on her part, but Matthew cares only about three things: his father, women, and parties. Park Baek-Je likes him the least."

I exhaled lightly, nodding along. Matthew Park sounded familiar. I wracked my brain for any of the jobs I'd done in Singapore.

"And... the second son?" I plucked off the ruby when I couldn't pinpoint to one. There were a lot of Matthew Parks and there were a lot of victims and jobs in Singapore. I should really make a little black book. Who knows, I might even get a book deal out of it: The Life and Lies of Antonina La Verne (Still Not Her Real Name).

"Park Baek-Young?"

"Mmh. He never had children?" I pursed my lips. "I don't really think red is my colour."

"Oh, lots." His smile was mocking and ugly. "Six by my last count, but none of them are legitimate. Some could be proven, hospital records, DNA checks, and even plea deals by their mothers. Some tucked away love letter signed by said dead man. Park Baek-Je keeps all six on retained money arranged by his lawyers, but all of them are hushed up, none in the running like Kristoff or Yuna, or have any chance of attempting something like Tae-Yang or Matthew."

I hummed. "Because none of them are from marriages?"

"Exactly. Park Baek-Je is a traditional man... a whimsical one, but a traditional man nevertheless. He will not have a grandchild where one half is from mysterious origins, especially out of wedlock. Marriage is important. It's why he had three marriages, even with his third wife, who was supposedly just an affair after she got pregnant."

I tried to keep my breathing controlled, my voice perked but distracted. "Three?"

"The first one died young, before his succession to his seat. She had always been sickly, but her family had notoriety, and a sick daughter isn't going to stop them from prestige. What they needed was a desperate man in line for succession. In trade, he wanted her name and needed the marriage, so they were married. He had Nana with her. The second one, a woman from a prestigious family as well, Margaret Han, is still alive but they divorced. She lives in the island, as part of the family and to this day her family keeps a reminder that her money still had influence. She never had children, which is enough reason for divorce back in the day. The third wife, an American starlet, was his great affair during his second marriage, and he had triplets with her. All his sons. She died from childbirth."

"And he never tried marrying again? Fourth time's the charm, they do say."

He snorted. "Sarcasm is common wit."

"And you're the halfwit," I murmured.

"What?"

"I said I'm mysterious origins, aren't I?"

He watched me more intensely but I swallowed my little snort.

"Yes, but Kristoff isn't. His father may be useless, but his mother is the favourite child, and so far, he's the favourite grandson. He's going to show you off to the world, present you and perfect your story. You are of humble origins, the perfect Cinderella." He sneered. "And he fell in love with you at first sight. That's the story. He could dig deeper of course, find your connection with Yuna, but the old man would just enjoy that."

"Why?"

"Because he's old and bored, and he finds it amusing seeing his grandchildren fight their dirtiest to have what he has. He's lived an interesting life, death and greed. I think he'd like to die knowing only the desperate truly sat on his throne, so to speak."

I couldn't help it this time; my face curled as if I drank spoiled milk. "I don't know about you, Archie baby, but that sounds disturbing. When you think of grandpas, you think cuddly persons vaguely smelling of tea and mothballs. Always going on about back in my day stories. Not someone who enjoys watching you tear it out with your sister."

He shrugged. Then said something to the lady, tapping his finger at the table. His Italian wasn't nearly as flawless as Kristoff's, with a few pauses and unsure hums, but he got what he needed to say across without getting blotchy. The lady stood up, beaming her widest as if her frustration at him had been swept away by a spell and a black card, and then disappeared with an entire box.

"Did you just buy all of that?"

"Most of it and a necklace."

"A necklace? What necklace?"

He stood up, straightening his clothes before he fixed me with his usual impatient glare.

"I am not standing up until I don't feel like a kid lost in a toy fair. And offer up a hand, Jesus Christ. It won't kill you to be gentlemanly to me. I don't have cooties, darling."

His sigh was so long and loud, I wondered how no one thought to check up on us, the dramatic little bitch. But he offered a hand and I took it with as much fanfare as I could, just to really win at my Irritating-Archie-Noh quota for the day.

"Thank you, was that so hard?"

"Yes. You physically ail me. The necklace is a present," he cut off whatever shit I was going to throw at him next with a turn of his head. And as he should. My fist was coming in next. "For Kristoff's aunt, in France."

France. "Soo-Yang? I thought she was in Seoul?"

He smirked. "Your memory retention from hearing a name twice is amazing. And she is in Seoul. This is a different aunt. But why would it matter if she was in France?"

Fuck, I slipped.

But this wasn't entirely my fault. The mention of the location of my last job held an intense sweep over me, and Archie was devouring that little shock as if it was a tasty morsel. One he had waited so long for.

God, do I hate this man.

"But no, not Soo-Yang," he continued, satisfied having grabbed something of import to me. I could just see his mind whirring, gearing up to unravel whatever gift he had found. "Natasha Kim. Park Baek-Young's widow. And before you ask, no, they never had children. She couldn't."

"So he found them elsewhere," I finished bitterly. "It's such an aged story you'd think it was recycled."

"That, and she's his least annoying aunt. Kristoff is fond of her. And more importantly," he leaned close to my ear as if he was sharing a secret but at this point I knew this was mockery. I stumbled there, and he knew it as well as I do. "Yuna hates her."

My lashes fluttered. "Why?"

"Because Natasha sees her for who she really is."

"A spoiled bitch?"

Archie actually laughed when he pulled away. Either the win was really good for him, or he also really disliked Yuna. By his next words, I was betting on both.

"A crazy spoiled bitch."

I'm glad you've 'met' the rest of the clan.

Now to actually meeting some, yes?