Chapter 272 - 271: Back To Beijing
Eunji left the place with doubt lingering in her mind.
She could accept if it was Ling Bao, the fake J, who was betraying her but she could never accept if it was Jin Jie, the Jie whom she had treated like her own brother who would do it to her.
Well, she thought it was bound to happen. But she didn't want to accept that.
She still gave J the benefit of the doubt given the bond and the relationship they shared. She just hoped that J would take the chance she had given him and would tell her everything (all of it) that he knew.
As she was driving towards the airport, Eunji looked at Angelina on the passenger seat of the car.
Until now, she was sure that Angelina still could not take what she had discovered today. Everything must have not sunk in yet.
So, Eunji asked the question which normal humans would ask in this situation.
"Are you okay?" Eunji checked on her.
Angelina sighed heavily as she said, "I honestly don't know what to feel."
"I understand. That's just how it is when you're around me. You have to be extra cautious to the people around." Eunji sympathized.
"I get it. Thank you for reminding me." Angelina sighed as she accepted it.
"Wow...I never thought his obsession with you would push him to reach such length. Plastic surgery? Deceit? And you're such a good actor for playing along with their scheme!" 'It was just me who didn't realize that I was being played.' She continued in his thought.
"Yeah. Sometimes...love could push a person to do something beyond human understanding. Love could be toxic to someone who was feeling it especially if it's unrequited." Eunji sighed as she continued, "I never gave him false hopes all through out those encounters we had back in the university. Even when he came and pretended to be J, I acted casually...never gave him the hope that he could be with me. Even J knew of that. I love Nathan so much that I see no one else to grow old with but him. I didn't made those vows for nothing."
"Yeah. And it's just so sad that people suffered when all they did is to love."
"Mm." Eunji hummed in response.
"I hope that in another life, he could find the love that is really meant for him." She added.
"So...J would be doing the impostor J...I mean Ling Bao's job?" She asked Eunji trying to change the topic.
"Yes...he will be doing it since I already killed Ling Bao."
"And he would be going back to his family too?" She followed-up asking.
"Yes."
"Aren't you worried that they would find out? After all, his arm..." Angelina's voice trailed off as she was unsure if she should say it or not.
"Yes...He already knew what to do. We had been preparing for this since the day I found out that they caused my accident almost two years ago." She admitted.
"Don't tell me you're worried with him?" She teased Angelina.
"Isn't it right to feel worry for someone you know who's going to take a dangerous mission?" She defended herself from Eunji's tease.
"Of course, it's human nature to feel worry even to someone you don't know." Eunji accepted her reasoning too but she still looked at her with a teasing tone.
Is it?
Eunji knew that Angelina had fallen to J. Unfortunately, the J that she thought he was was actually Ling Bao.
So Eunji wanted to act cupid and help Angelina to correct her feelings to the right person.
It may sound impossible as sometimes a person fell in love not because of how good looking the other party was but because of the behavior the latter was showing towards the former and how comfortable the former felt when the latter was around.
Physical attraction could be a pre-requisite but it was all those subtle things...those subtle and little habits being developed in time when being around with each other.
And that's something that the mind recognized and get used to. Forming a deeper connection and deeper feeling towards the person as time went by.
Angelina sighed as she knew what Eunji was trying to do.
"Aigo! Don't play cupid...okay? Nothing's going to happen. Whatever that you're thinking, it won't happen in the future. J and I is impossible to happen." Angelina dismissed the idea.
"Okay." Eunji just shrugged. She decided to just look at and observe them in the sidelines...for now.
If there's a spark being developed later on, she would support them.
Hopefully, J had cleared the doubt that she had towards him when that time happened.
Eunji then put the car in auto-pilot as she reached out for the skin masks and the gold mask from the backseat of her car.
She was starting to apply for her disguise as they went closer to the airport. Angelina was doing the same thing.
When they were done, they were already on the airport. Lee Yunha and Baek Dae-jung was already waiting for them at the end of the red carpet. They were dressed on their body guard suits.
Eunji was already dressed in a ladies suit when she got out. So did Angelina.
Together, they looked like the tough and bad-ass women that men should never dare to mess with.
"Chairman!" The duo greeted Eunji.
"Tomorrow afternoon, you are scheduled to be in meeting with Mister Bai on Bai Corp building." Angelina shifted into her Personal Assistant attitude towards Eunji.
"Okay! As soon as we land, make sure that my appointment with Master Bai would go smoothly tomorrow." Eunji instructed.
"Okay, Devie." Angelina confirmed.
The trip from Seoul to Beijing was only about two and a half hours so it was still day time when they safely landed.
It was already passed lunch time when they arrived.
Eunji and the group drove off towards QPRC to settle with their accommodation.
They decided to not book another place for privacy issue reasons.
Of course, QPRC was her home court here in Beijing and all the securities being deployed to guard the area were under KSA.
In short, she's safe here. So why would she risk her security to another house?
She didn't bother changing into another room. She still used the same penthouse that J had arranged for her since she came back to Beijing two years ago.
The manager and the receptionist were shocked to see the card she used to register in the front desk earlier.
They wanted to question her identity but they feared for their job position here in QPRC. So they decided to let her go.
And besides, they were asked to sign an NDA (Nondisclosure Agreement) before Eunji's party entered the premises of this resort and casino.
So their job positions were at risk if they would cause a commotion on the lobby.
Eunji calmly went inside her penthouse apartment here in QPRC.
"Late lunch would be served after five minutes Chairman." Lee Yunha said.
The chefs had already started preparing for their lunch in the kitchen here two hours before they arrived. So when they came to QPRC, they were already plating it and ready to served.
All they had to do now was to bring it up to the apartment and then serve.
"Okay." Eunji said as she went inside her room.
She settled her bag on top of her bed and she went to change into a more casual clothes.
There's not much difference between the temperature in Seoul and in Beijing.
It was still cold when she they arrived. Thankfully, the snow had already stopped falling.
She chose a much more comfortable outfit. A pullover on top of her camisole and a black jeans would do.
The whole room had a centralized heater so it was warm.
She decided not to remove her gold mask and continued wearing her skin mask when she walked out of her bedroom.
Lee Yunha and Baek Dae-jung had seen her in this appearance many times so she's not worried with them at all.
They had only seen her in her true appearance once...after that, they had not.
Eunji was joined by Angelina in the main table while Lee Yunha and Baek Dae-jung ate theirs in the counter.
It was the usual set-up when they happened to eat any meal with Eunji.
Eunji had invited them to join her in one table but they insisted on eating on a separate space. So Eunji didn't ask them again to join her in one table whenever they ate meals together.
When they were done eating, Angelina excused herself as she went to NJ Holding Inc. building to talk with Marco, Nathan's assistant.
This was to make sure that their meeting for tomorrow would run smoothly.
She was arranged by Eunji to be accompanied by Baek Dae-jung and Lee Yunha and other KSA agents since she's going for a business appointment.
But Angelina told Eunji that Yunha should stay and accompany her there and she'll bring Dae-jung to her appointment instead.
Angelina thought that Eunji must have planned to go somewhere else and not want to bring any escorts.
"And don't try to put her on sleep just so you could evade her job to watch over you." Angelina told her.
"Fine." Eunji had reluctantly agreed.
"Dress something casual, you're going with me later." Eunji told Lee Yunha who was in her female bodyguard outfit.
She then looked at Angelina who was looking at her with a skeptical look.
"I just want to roam around. It's been a long time since I left. And now that I'm back, I want to see if nothing much had changed here in Beijing." She defended with a tired face but her eyes were clearly determined to do something while Angelina was away.
"Look at you. Go and sleep first. You're clearly beaten up by the flight." Angelina teased her.
"Whatever you planned to do, do it after you're well-rested. You have waited for this moment. A little more won't harm, right?" She reminded her.
"That's the point. I've been punishing myself for a long time...but everything had already went down the drain. I could not wait for another moment to see them again. If you're in my situation, you'd do the same thing, too." She refuted.
Angelina was silent. Eunji was right.
"Fine. Just be careful."
"I will."
***
"Eve!" Layla's voice sounded from the speaker of her phone.
They were doing face time.
"Hello Eomma!" Eunji greeted her mom.
"Eomma, where's Sophie? Why was it you who answered my call instead of her?" Eunji asked.
"Sophie don't want to talk to you. She's upset that you left her without even saying goodbye." Layla said while she kept on glancing on her left.
"Baby...are you there? I'm sorry. Eomma have to leave urgently so that I could bring your present on your birthday." She tried to explain.
"I'm sure you'll be happy when you receive it." She added.
She knew that Sophie was actually sitting on Layla's left.
"Grandma, tell Eomma that I don't need any other gift. All I need is her beside me." Sophie's cute yet hurt voice said.
"Baby, don't be upset with Eomma, please? I promise to be back before your birthday. I'll be bringing some guests." She indirectly hinted hoping that she would understand what she was trying to convey.
"Grandma, tell Eomma that I'm still upset." Sophie spoke to Layla.
"Don't worry Eve, I'll take good care of your daughter while you're away." Layla said.
"Thank you, Eomma." Eunji said in a sad tone.
"I love you, baby. I hope you remember that."
"..." Silence answered her.
"I love you too, Eomma." Sophie replied after a moment of being silent.