NAM EUNCHAE
˚⋅˖* ⊱❀⊰ *˖⋅˚
That person... I know those eyes.
The person from the restaurant.
But why does he know my Korean name? My father changed my name five years ago, nobody should—
My breath hitches as his piercing blue eyes lock onto mine.
A gaze that seems to set my skin on fire. Heat coils low in my stomach, a reaction I can't quite place, whether it's the mystery of who he is or the way his eyes linger on me, dragging over my body with deliberate slowness.
This time, I hear his voice clear as day. It carries a rich, unmistakable Korean lilt, dripping with a sultry confidence that prickles my skin. He stops just a few feet away, close enough for me to feel the pull of his presence.
With effortless grace, he pulls the blunt from his lips, exhaling smoke that curls like a lover's caress before flicking it toward me. A wicked grin plays on his sharp, utterly divine features, leaving me breathless.
Watching the ash of his blunt on my shirt, I snap out of the illusion he had just casted. Abruptly, I shoot to my feet.
"Who are you?"
I shout, my voice louder than I intend.
The guards by the door immediately turn, ready to spring into action, as if I've pulled a gun. But with one raised hand, he stops them.
What a blatant display of power...Show off.
"Haven't I taught you all to respect what belongs to me?"
He murmurs, his voice calm but laced with a dangerous edge. His hands fall to his sides, the movement calculated.
My eyes widen, disbelief replacing the heat that had simmered under my skin moments ago. The audacity of this man—his boldness is as confusing as it is infuriating. I straighten, shaking off the lingering pull of his presence.
"I do not belong to anyone, especially not you."
I say firmly, my tone cutting through the tension like a blade.
"What are you a doctor? An officer?"
But even as the words leave my mouth, I can't help but feel a flicker of confusion at his bold claim, his cryptic words, and the magnetic pull that still tethers me to him, no matter how much I resist.
With a sigh, he strides over to me, confident as ever, and reaches mere inches from my face. He bends slightly to meet my height, his eyes locking onto mine.
"May I?"
He suggests, gesturing to the chair behind me. I'm too caught up in his gaze to even register it until he pulls it from behind me and sits down in it.
"What?"
I mumble, disoriented.
"Well, gongjunim (princess)."
He purrs, his voice rich with the same Korean accent that rolls off his tongue like warm honey.
His hands rest gracefully on the arms of the chair as he leans forward, his movements unhurried ...tantalizing. With his chin delicately propped on his palm, his sharp, captivating eyes fixed on mine, leaving no room to escape their intensity.
"Shall we begin?"
He continues.
"With the little story of how your father sold you... for a handful of money and a taste of power?"
His lips curve into a sly grin.
My heart drops.
"What?"
For a second, it feels like my heart stops. The world around me goes stagnant.
"Wh-what do you mean by sold me?"
I stammer, my voice trembling.
My gaze darts from his calm yet unnervingly intense demeanor to my father, lying motionless in his comatose state. Desperation claws at my chest as I search his lifeless face for answers he can't give.
"Five years ago, the moment your waste of a father ended up in endless debt he couldn't repay..."
He pauses, lifting his hand. A guard breaks from formation and hands him a paper and he reads it aloud.
"I, Joseph Romero, hereby transfer the legal guardianship and custodial rights of my daughter, Onelia Romero, to the Valentine family as collateral for my outstanding debt. Should I fail to fulfill my financial obligations within a five-year period, the Valentine family will retain full authority over her, with the exception of actions involving death or torture. In the event of such violations, the associated penalties shall fall solely upon me."
I sit in silence, the weight of my father's words crashing over me like waves I didn't see coming. Each sentence stings, carving deeper into the trust I had built over the years. It feels like betrayal, plain and personal, not from a stranger or an enemy, but from the one man I believed would never throw me to the wolves.
I trusted him.
I stayed with him after mom left and not once judged or hate him when he began drinking again, but help him.
After everything I've done for him: sacrificing my own wants, standing by him in decisions that weren't mine to make, shaping my life around his expectations and this is the outcome? My autonomy bartered away like a business deal. My future handed off as if it were a piece of property.
For a moment, I feel small. Powerless. Like a pawn in the great legacy of the Valentine family. But then... something comes to me.
An realization.
I'm not a child anymore. I'm not a name on a contract or a piece in some grand strategic game. I'm an adult. That means the choices, the consequences, the rights, they'remine. Not my father's. Not the Valentine name's.
Mine alone.
And for the first time in a long while, I realize that gives me power too.
"I—"
I start to speak, but my sentence is cut short.
"Seems like I forgot something' here, gongjunim (princess),"
He chimes in, leaning back lazily as he flips the page.
"After reaching the age of eighteen, Onelia Romero shall have the right to formally renounce her obligations to the Valentine family, making it her decision."
A weight is at once lifted, and I speak up.
"I don't want to sign off my rights."
"Listen, gongjunim (Princess)."
He interjects, tone firm.
"However, should she choose not to do so, the consequence will be the forfeiture of her father's life."
My father's life.
My eyes snap in his direction, searching for something.
Either he plans to die when the time comes, clearing the debt, or he's simply letting my rights be sold away; either way, both aren't good outcomes. Taking a deep breath, my eyes closed and I focused, this isn't a time to let my emotions take control of me. I needed to think rationally, and smart.
"Who exactly are you?"
I ask, opening my eyes to meet his stare.
He doesn't hesitate.
"Gi-won Valentine, next in line to the Valentine dynasty."
His tone is cool and confident.
"My lady. But most call me Gio."
He adds with a slight bow of his head, though his piercing gaze never wavers from mine. It's impossible to tell if he's judging my reaction or simply intrigued. His hardened expression remains unreadable, a mask that offers no clues yet commands all of my attention.
Though, I heard that name already, form Kendra, she said her father was working with on of their firms, to distribute his paintings globally. Kendra couldn't stop raving on about, how huge they are in almost every industry, collectively dominating all areas of work their in.
They can effectively turn a small multimillion-dollar enterprise almost effortlessly.
Cold sweat runs down my face. When the hell did my father meet them to make this deal. Still, there's something wrong about this situation.
"I have a question."
I ask out loud.
"Proceed."
He bobs his head gently.
"Do all businesses make contracts like yours?"
I tile my head, the surprise in his eyes palpable.
"Asking for someone's right, or killing them is most so a loan sharks job or people of the underworld."
His shock stays for a minute before fading into a smirk, the snake tattoo coiling up his neck bulging with the appearing veins.
"I never knew such an helpless man would have such a smart woman as his daughter."
I don't reciprocate his compliment with a smile but a scowl.
I know he doesn't see me as smart or much less as a woman, because if he did, he would be here right now asking me to choose between my father or my own rights to live.
"Am I?"
He nods a yes.
"You are."
I bite away my raising anger.
"My name is—"
He cuts me off.
"Nam Eunchae"
He finishes, but I chimes in before he can say more.
"I am Onelia Grey Romero. I perhaps that you don't use my dead name."
For a second it seems like he's considering it, but truly I know he isn't. Right now, I need to know if his words are true, if he's actually serious or bluffing.
"And I cannot be your wife, nor can I belong to you."
I say firmly my eyes locked on his for every reaction I can discern. His eyes widen then softens, for just a moment, I see something shift.
Was it disappointment? Regret? I can't tell.
"I suppose you made your choice."
He exhales as he stands, pulling a pistol from the back of his belt and pointing it at my father in one swift motion.
"No!"
I cry out, grabbing his gloved wrist to stop him my finger lands on his skin in between his leather glove and sleeve, desperation clawing at my chest.
"Princess."
He completely drops the pleasantries and his native language.
"I was being nice, and it seems like you're appreciating my kindness, rather questioning it."
His eyes meet mine as his finger closes in on the trigger.
It's all real. He will kill my father.
"So I'll just claim what I cam for. And that is money, your father, or...you."
My breath hitches. I needed to think, this is real, those eyes shows that this isn't all a facade its money, my father or me, nothing else or less. I need time to process it, or find a way around it; everything is just happening so fast.
A shaky breath leaves my lips.
"Just... just give me some time."
I plead.
He glances sideways at me again, studying me in silence.
I can't tell what he's thinking, but then my heart slows as he drops his arm and faces me, stepping closer. His heated breath is like fire against my skin as he leans in, whispering in my ear, my hands resting on his chest.
"I've waited five years; I can wait a few days, gongjunim. I'll give you until your birthday."
He pulls back, looking down at my hands. I recognize what he's looking at.
"Sorry."
I say abruptly, pulling away.
"And thank you."
I force myself to add.
With a smirk forming on his face, he turns toward the door but pauses just before leaving.
"No problem, gongjunim , but until then, you'll be left with one of my bodyguards. I can't let you run away on me, can I?"
He smirks playfully as a boy steps out from formation.
"Meet Law Graves, your bodyguard. And I promise he doesn't bite hard."
With that, he's gone, leaving me alone with the bodyguard in tow.