A peace that the Hunter Manor hadn"t witnessed in ages had engulfed its atmosphere now. The night was quiet, and the moon lurked in the sky silently, its presence subtle but comforting. The mansion of the Hunters had always been quiet, serene – but there had forever been a difficulty about its air that could not be resolved. Its structure was mighty and threatening, but tonight – the place felt different. Its aura wasn"t domineering, it was amiable instead.It was a mute, pa.s.sive existence – but it felt like home.
Miya lay in the bed, oddly relaxed.
One of her hands was beneath her head, while the other rested on her torso. She gazed gently to her side, at the sleeping face of Ben. The child was curled up in sheets, but with one small fist, he had grabbed the hem of her shirt with all his might. Beside him, she could hear the soft sound of Jim"s snores. He was sleeping quietly.
The events of the day flashed in her mind.
She had never felt so satisfied before.
When they had returned from the pottery cla.s.s, Ben had run into her arms automatically, with a large trophy in his hands. She herself had been muddy and soiled, but the child had rubbed his cheek playfully against hers and showed her the trophy that he had won with grandpa at some kite flying compet.i.tion.
Grandpa.
Miya"s heart thudded.
When had things progressed to that?
Her eyes fell over the beautiful face of her husband then, who looked innocent and almost childlike when he slept. Her entire body was filled with comfort when she looked at that face. He was perfection. A strange, bizarre man – whose mere presence made her feel at ease.
She didn"t know she was that lucky.
Miya turned to her side, her gaze never leaving Jim. She ruffled Ben"s hair, her eyes full of wonderment. She couldn"t help but whisper under her breath.
"Jimmy Hunter, why do you like me?"
It seemed impossible. To her, it didn"t even make sense.
Why her, of all people? He was surrounded by amazing women, she had come across many from her time at his office today.
So Jimmy Hunter – why did he like her?
For some reason, she didn"t even want to know. Her heart was filled with delicate joy, one that made it drum in a low, low beat. She was just happy, content to know that he was there by her side.
She wished the night would never end.
That Jim would never, ever leave.
Park leaned limply into his chair, the chair rocking back and forth. His face was haunted, his eyes terrified. He held a bunch of papers in his hand, as he gazed at the ceiling, his entire body covered in sweat.
He was afraid to tackle what he had found.
In the morning, when he had received Jimmy"s text, Park had been surprised. It was sudden and unexpected, and the information that those few lines carried had made the old man"s heart stop. Jim had wanted a status report on the whereabouts of the men he had previously hired to intimidate Miya while he was on a quest to make her marry him. Then, he had wanted some proposals to be sent over to another company. Lastly, he had asked him to restart the investigation into Miya"s history.
And then, the young master had written a "P.S." to "correct" some of the earlier facts that Park and Charlie had dug up on the girl. One, that Miya had not been the one to burn Tao. It had been someone else, who she had saved from a wolf at an earlier date. Tao himself was involved in s.e.x trafficking, so he was an a.s.s.
Two, Kasu was not Miya"s real name. It was the name of Ben"s father. And it was short for Kang Sung, the man was the third son of Kang Sheng. Ben was an illegitimate heir of the Kang family.
Third, Kang Sheng was the man behind the cartel Rivqah. Also, he wanted Charlie to be left out of further investigation, just in case she harboured prejudice of any sort and couldn"t work with an unbiased mind.
The message had been crafted in as indifferent a tone as possible, but it had still stunned Byeong Park. The old butler had taken almost an hour to process those three statements, unable to wrap his head around such turn of events.
Kang Sheng"s grandson!
That sweet, well mannered, composed child!
The possibility had hit Mr. Park like a crash of lightning. He had once been unlucky enough to have met Kang Sheng face to face. He still rued the day.
That old b.a.s.t.a.r.d was a demon. A depraved man bereft of morals and humanity of any sort.
He wasn"t sane. Park doubted he was even human.
He had started the investigation immediately then, however, relieved in his heart about Miya and her father. It meant that the girl was not some psychotic murderer. And after pulling out sources from throughout the city for the entire day, he had finally come across some useful facts. Until, Park noticed Senior Hunter.
Actually noticed him.
Park had been coming back to palace Jade when he had seen old Mr. Hunter return to the mansion too, along with Ben. The two had been cheerful beyond belief, and Simon Hunter had looked ecstatic. Park"s initial reaction had been bliss – his heart had warmed at the sight of the Chairman and little Ben.
And then, reason had stepped in, told him that the old man"s behaviour was odd.
Undoubtedly, the Chairman should know of Ben"s lineage. Why, then was he so accepting of the child and his mother?
That had been Park"s first hint. There was something in Miya"s past that Park himself had missed, but the Chairman had found out. Park had gone through all of the previous files on Miya"s background then, even the ones that were erred and reported by his wife last time. That had turned out to be a valuable move.
While Park had sat down, nosing through the file, wondering what it was that Simon Hunter knew that Park himself couldn"t find out, it had struck him.
He had held the file on Miya, and his eyes had fallen on one word.
Lang.
The village.
And almost in a frenzy, his mind had gone back in recollection.
The village Lang!
It had been a very, very minor link. But Park remembered how ages ago, Simon had run off to a village that had the same name and had taken Jimmy along with him too. He wasn"t sure though, and so Park had tapped into the oldest of the records that he had.
Park remembered the series of incidents that had taken place in the Hunter manor back then. When Jimmy was eight years old, in the year 1996, all h.e.l.l had broken loose. The Chairman"s wife had announced her pregnancy, and told Simon that she was with child. And it was a baby girl.
All those years ago, Park had been the Chairman"s closest confidante. He was after all in charge of almost every aspect of Jimmy"s life. While the Chairman was busy with work and pining for his absent wife, Park had taken responsibility for his son. His relationship with Simon Hunter had still been of a superior and a subordinate – for Senior Hunter wasn"t one to transcend social boundaries like those. But on occasions, when the Chairman was too weak and with no one around, he had depended on Park. On those seldom, rare occasion, Park and the Chairman had been friends.
Simon"s wife"s announcement of her pregnancy had freaked out Simon. Especially when she had told him it was a girl. That had been one of the rare occasions when Simon had depended upon Park once more, and told him his true feelings.
He was afraid to father a girl, because he knew he was a horrible figure as a father to even his son. But Jimmy he could still train. Park still remembered the horror on Simon"s face when he told him that he didn"t want to screw up even his own daughter.
Park didn"t know if it was Simon"s reaction to the news or because of her own fear of having to bear another child, but the lady of the House, Simon"s wife had left again. Chairman himself had chased after her in panic, and taken Jimmy along with him.
They had returned back after a while, and with Mrs. Hunter this time.
Park had scrolled through the reports, the decades old file that he had maintained on Simon Hunter"s wife. When Jimmy was young, and the lady boss kept leaving, Simon had put Park in charge of maintaining her tracks. More often than not Park had fallen off the trail and lost track, but he could trace the lady boss most times.
Park recalled the incidents from all those years ago, when after the Chairman had returned from that village trip with his wife. He had been at peace for a while, and Park had been happy for him. He had dared to ask him if everything was fine between him and his wife too. Park remembered the conversation he had had with the Chairman back then.
Senior Hunter had looked satisfied, and he had revealed a rare smile.
"She has agreed to keep the child," he had told Park, "And Byeong… I think I can make a good father. To even a baby girl."
That had surprised the butler, and a much younger, enthusiastic Park had asked Simon Hunter, "I"ve always believed in you, sir. I"m glad you think so too."
The Chairman had shrugged.
"It"s not that," he had said, "While I was looking for your lady boss, I met a child. A small girl. A fascinating one, I must say."
Simon had then told Park all about this child he had come across at the village Lang, and how he had been able to talk to her for a long time, even though he rarely could make small talk. How the girl had asked them to be friends, and how the idea had just struck him.
He was going to be the father to a girl.
And looking at that small child, he had remembered his wife"s face, and the baby in her womb. He had bullied this girl he had met into calling him "father" then.
And the trick had worked like magic.
The feeling had felt so right, Chairman Hunter had known then that he could father a baby girl without messing up her life. He had made the girl call him "father" a few more times, and it had actually made him feel joyful and satisfied.
An eerie feeling had throbbed within Park when he had remembered all of these incidents from over twenty years ago, while going through Miya"s files and the Chairman"s wife"s track records that were also from that long ago.
It had hit him then, how on the same night, the Chairman had praised this child that he had met at Lang, and told Park her name. The name…
Park didn"t recall it.
Quickly, the old butler had flipped through the yellow, almost crumbling pages of the lady boss"s files. He had found his own notes from the year 1996 handwritten into it, and he had also found a picture.
It was a small girl with mud-brown hair, looking nervously into the camera, with a slight hint of a smile on her face. Her eyes were curious and bright, green like the forest in which she was standing.
With trembling hands, too sure of who this little girl was, Park had turned to the back of the photograph that had now become yellow at the edges. Some of the colour in the picture had faded too.
The words were faint, written in black ink that had disappeared from some of the letters. It was in Simon"s own handwriting.
"I hope we meet again
– Miya."
Park had held his head in his hands.
The child had been Miya.
That explained all too well why the Chairman acknowledged her. That note – Park now recalled Simon showing him the picture of the child and saying she didn"t know how to write, so she had made Simon write the words she wanted to say to him for the last time, while he was leaving the village.
Park had then gone through everything again, this time carefully going through the lady boss"s track records one more time just in case there were anything else to be found on the Chairman and his past relation with Miya.
His own record of the Chairman"s wife"s whereabouts were last dated to fifteen yeas ago. That was also the last time Park had been on the same page as Simon Hunter. After Jimmy"s sister"s demise, Park had refused to track the wretched mother anymore. And while the Chairman had insisted Park keep on tracking her, for the first time Park had denied it. Since then, he had also turned fully to Jimmy"s aid.
Especially since he had seen that haughty, misplaced disapproval that the Chairman had for his son because he blamed Jimmy for not being able to take care of his sister.
The incidents from back then still pained Park, but now, as he lay in the chair limply, with that bunch of doc.u.ments in his hands, he was even more shocked than he had been to find out about the Chairman and Miya.
It was information derived from the track record of the Chairman"s wife.
The timeline of her disappearance after the birth of her daughter, matched exactly the timeline of some of the gory events from Miya"s past.
This was all messed up.
And it had begun catching up with them all.