Vengeful Desires

34-

"Nice to meet you," Seul-hee stated politely as she shook Soo-jin's hand at the airport arrivals area, her expression a carefully practiced mask of cordiality.

Tae-sik stepped forward next, pulling Soo-jin into an embrace. "I missed you," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

From beside them, Yun made an exaggerated gagging motion, earning herself a subtle but pointed elbow from Seul-hee.

As they turned to head towards the parking area, Soo-jin remained oblivious to the subtle byplay. "I'm so excited to finally meet Mia Bancroft," she gushed animatedly. "I've heard such amazing things about her business acumen."

Sliding into the backseat of the waiting town car beside Seul-hee, Yun arched one perfectly groomed brow fractionally. "I bet you have," she rejoined, tone clipped. Catching Seul-hee's warning look, she rallied with a tight smile. "I mean, she's really on the rise in business circles lately. A lot of people are talking about her innovative approaches."

Soo-jin seemed not to notice the slight edge underlying Yun's remarks, nodding enthusiastically as she babbled on about her hopes for the impending meeting with Ms.Bancroft.

Seul-hee simply watched her with that same remote, appraising stare - as if weighing and measuring every facet of the younger woman's demeanor for potential fractures and weaknesses.

The drive passed in tense silence punctuated only by Soo-jin's occasional outbursts of excitement over the weekend's impending negotiations. Eventually, the town car pulled up before the soaring glass of a hotel in the heart of Singapore's district.

"This is our stop, Miss Yoon," Seul-hee intoned, gesturing for the driver to collect Soo-jin's luggage from the trunk.

Tae-sik leaned across the center console from the front passenger seat. "I'll be staying elsewhere for now," he explained with a tight smile not quite meeting his eyes. "But we'll rendez-vous again soon for the gala."

Soo-jin waved off his words with a airy flourish. "Of course, of course – take all the time you need, oppa. I'm sure I'll be plenty occupied settling in until then!"

With a final cheery farewell, she swept through the lobby's automatic doors leaving Seul-hee, Yun, and Tae-sik alone in the back of the idling vehicle.  Tae-sik blew out a low exhalation, features tightening fractionally.

"I should make myself scarce for now as well," he stated briskly. "I just remembered I need to retrieve something from my other place before our next move. I leave her in your hands."

Seul-hee nodded once in acknowledgment while Yun simply scowled out the tinted window, openly displaying her distaste for their tenuous alliance with the former prosecutor. 

"Take your time, won't you?" she muttered, not bothering to look at Tae-sik as they exited the vehicle and strode away across the sprawling plaza. "We'll just be waiting here, making sure your wife stays out of trouble for the time being."

After Tae-sik departed, the three women made their way up to Soo-jin's hotel suite. Seul-hee settled onto one of the plush armchairs with an air of cool detachment. "I suppose we should get comfortable," she said mildly, eyes flickering towards the mini-bar.

Wordlessly, Yun crossed to the drink cart and retrieved a leather case, cracking it open to reveal an array of crystal tumblers and an expensive vintage of amber liquid sloshing invitingly in the bottle's depths.

"May as well make ourselves at home then," Yun drawled, busying herself with pouring three generous servings over glistening cubes of ice.

An expectant hush fell over the suite as Yun distributed the tumblers. Soo-jin accepted hers with a tentative murmur of thanks, while Seul-hee simply cradled the heavy crystal between her palms - studying the backlit hues with a thoughtful tilt of her head.