Chapter 74 - 74: Shattered
Kim Eunji's airplane finally landed at Hainan. She then alighted from the plane and was welcomed by a female woman wearing female suit.
"Hi, you must be Tiger?" Kim Eunji asked her identity.
"Yes. I was one of the agents assigned to you during your stay at QPRC, Inc." She calmly replied.
"Oh, really? I'm sorry, I can't recall any of it. I had an accident that made me not able to recall any memories for one year." Kim Eunji explained.
"Oh, yes. Master J had informed me about it." Tiger then paused as she looked at the two handsome men standing behind Kim Eunji.
"Oh, they're with me. My guest would be arriving late. He still has some things to settle back in Beijing. He'll be coming over tonight. He promised." Kim Eunji explained.
Man 1 and 2 looked at Tiger's small frame and nodded at her. It was like giving her their respect and recognition. It was also their way of informing her that they're not enemies.
"Master J's already waiting for you at Master J's manor." Tiger then informed her.
"Sure, lead the way please." Kim Eunji and company followed her.
Kim Eunji boarded the limousine while Man 1 and 2 were boarding a separate vehicle.
After a ten-minuet drive, the car entered a tall silver gate. Inside behind the gates, men in black suit uniforms could be seen standing in their respective positions all over the premises.
The limo halted when it reached the entrance of the manor.
Tiger alighted and opened the door for Kim Eunji.
"Thank you." Kim Eunji still thanked her though the latter thought that it was unnecessary since she's working for her.
Servants were lining up at the entrance to welcome her.
At the end of the line, a handsome man had been waiting for her arrival. When he saw her silhouette, he smiled lovingly at her.
"Eunji!" The man called her name.
"J." She called him back and walked towards him.
The two then do their secret handshake. This was their form of greeting each other every time they meet.
"It's been a while since the last time we got the chance to meet. How are you? How's your injuries?" He asked.
"Geez! Stop talking like we aren't communicating on the phone after it happened. It's annoying you know. My injuries are in the healing process now. See?" Kim Eunji said and removed her baseball cap and revealed the bandage on her upper forehead.
"I see. I can't help it. I've been so busy that I was not able to pay you a visit even in the hospital. I've heard from Mike that you've been taken cared of by a Japanese family." J apologetically said.
"Yes. They're very nice to me. They're so warm and welcoming that it overwhelms me at some point during my stay there." Kim Eunji recalled how Mei had treated her when she was still in the hospital.
"I see. Good. I want to meet them. To officially thank them for treating you in my absence."
"I don't think there's a need for that, J." Kim Eunji dismissed.
"Why?" J curiously asked her.
"Because...because they're already a family." Kim Eunji honestly said however, J had taken it into a different meaning. He thought that since the Japanese family had treated her as their member, she treated them as her own in return.
"Okay. So, where's your friend? I thought you're bringing 'him' to meet me." J emphasized the word him.
"Why do I feel hostility from your words J?" Kim Eunji had already guessed this reaction of his.
"Tell me honestly Eunji, who is he to you?" J seriously asked her.
"I did tell you over the phone, didn't I? He's someone very important to me. So I hope both of you would get along in the future."
"I can't promise you that Eunji. You know me. I don't easily trust anybody and I won't entrust a very important person to other people so easily." J expressed his over protectiveness over her.
"Well, he's not just an anybody. He is my man. He is my person. If I'm a wolf, he is my mate. We are connected that deep." Kim Eunji said in metaphor.
"Are you insane?! You never talked to me about this in the past. For heaven's sake Eunji, what if that man's a bad person?!" J was could no longer hide his anger.
"Are you doubting my decision over this matter J?!... Seriously?!...Geez!" Kim Eunji uttered in frustration. His anger hurt her. It hurts when a family doubted your decision. That's what exactly she felt.
"I'm sorry." J immediately apologized. What he did was so out of his character.
He was jealous okay! He was jealous that another man could love her while he couldn't. They were not blood related but he could not make her his because they're family by name and it would be a huge scandal. Being in the same family as her was like a huge thorn in his heart.
She's his first love. He had fallen in love with her the moment he saw her unconscious body in a private hospital a few years back. Ever since that day, he promised to protect her and make her happy.
He wanted to make her happy with him but she had found her happiness in another man's arms.
She's happy but he's sad. He thought that if he could be the reason why she's finally happy, she would stay with him and he would even got the courage to confess his feelings with her in the future.
But he was wrong. For the past years that he tried his best shot at making her happy, she would only smile but there wasn't any sparkles in her eyes.
And then there's a man who could perfectly do what he had been trying to work on for years. Who would not be depressed and angry about it?
On the other hand, Kim Eunji knew that J had feelings for her. She's not dumb to not read it from his actions. She did love him but it was more of brotherly love rather than romantic love.
Yes, they were not related by blood but he's still a Jin. Her maternal grandmother's a Jin and a direct descendant of the Jin Family. Therefore, they're legally a family. Now, she regretted not rejecting him first hand because she knew she was hurting him now by doing this.
Kim Eunji thought that he's rational enough to understand their situation and support her instead of questioning her decision. Therefore, his actions caught her off-guard and really disappointed her.
"I thought you're the first person who'll give us the blessing and support. Boy I was wrong! Not only did you doubt his intentions towards me but you also questioned my decision over this matter. You don't even know the man. Geez!" Kim Eunji threw her out off the air out of frustration.
"I can't help it Eunji. Okay...How long have you known the man?" Though he was struggling to calm himself, he sighed when he finally managed to.
"I've met him at Kelly's wedding. He's one of Master Mo's best friend." She honestly answered him.
"More or less than a month?" J asked in disbelief.
"Does time really matter J?" Kim Eunji asked him back.
"For heaven's sake yes Eunji! Yes! You should have known better!" J snapped one more time.
"That's the problem J, I should have known better! But my instinct told me to trust him despite the short period of time that I've known him. I can't put it into simple terms so that you would understand my point of view better."
The more they argued, the more he realized the drastic change from Kim Eunji.
"You changed." He suddenly said.
"You're no longer the Eunji that I know. The Eunji who's not confident enough to even speak out her thoughts is gone. The Eunji that needed my protection." He added in despair.
"J..." Kim Eunji was helpless. She was out of words.
"No Eunji. That man had changed you in a short span of time. I could no longer recognized you. Please bring my Eunji back."
J then held both of her shoulders and shook her body vigorously like he was trying to shake away the spirit that possessed Kim Eunji.
Kim Eunji yelled to stop him but he didn't listen. She had no other choice but to do the next thing and...
"Pah!" A loud slap echoed in the entire hall which made the servants gasped and the agents in guard to raise their guns and pointed it towards Eunji. Both Man 1 and 2 even Tiger took their gun and protect Eunji from them.
However, Eunji was unbothered as she calmly looked at J who was still shocked from the slap. His then reached out his left hand and gently caressed the affected area as he could still feel the sharp sting in his face.
Kim Eunji looked at him silently. Was she sorry? No, she wasn't. She felt that J needed that slap to wake him up back to reality.
"Did slapping you makes your head clearer?" Kim Eunji calmly asked. J remained silent for a while which made everyone thought that he was mad at her. But his response shook them.
J laughed hard like a lunatic making the people around them to be stupefied.
"Thank you. I think I badly needed that. I apologized for how I acted out earlier. Don't worry, I'll respect your decision and be civil with him for your sake." J said after he calmed down.
"So are we good?" Though it's so cruel for her to said those words, she didn't want her and J to have any misunderstanding with each other.
"Ye-ah, we're go-od." J struggled. He was in pain. He didn't ask her the million dollar question since the answer was already obvious.
He lost. He lost his first love over an unknown man and it was damn painful to bear.
Kim Eunji then showed her hand for them to make their handshake to seal the deal.
"Okay...I'm tired. I want to rest first. Can I?" Kim Eunji knew that J was not okay therefore she found a perfect excuse to leave and give him the time to think and digest whatever information she had given to him. She knew it was a lot to take.
"Su-re... Tiger...lead your Mistress to her room." He ordered.
"As you wish Master." Tiger then ushered Kim Eunji to her room.
Her room was on the second floor.
As soon as the door opened, she smiled because her room had a minimalistic theme. The only big was the queen size bed. Everything was painted in black and white.
"Is there anything else that you needed Mistress?" Tiger asked her.
"Nothing. I wanted to rest, can I?" Her head was aching from the trip and her argument with J earlier did not help it.
"I understand Mistress. If you need anything else, feel free to press the intercom." Tiger reminded her.
"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you." Kim Eunji shortly replied.
When Tiger left, Kim Eunji took some pain meds to relieve the pain that she was feeling. She grabbed her phone and set an alarm at three in the afternoon.
Kim Eunji skipped lunch because she was sleeping.
When she woke up, tray of snacks was placed on the coffee table.
She got up and grabbed some cookies. She trusted that the J had informed the pastry chef in the house about her allergy so she didn't hesitate to grab a bite.
And besides, she was starving. She had not eaten anything on the plane. She really didn't like eating inside an airplane which was kind of hassle on her part every time the flight attendant urged her to eat back then when she was still travelling around the world.
As expected, after a few bite, Kim Eunji felt like her whole body was burning. She immediately grabbed her bag and took her emergency shot.
She should have known better. Not only the cookie had eggs but it also contained nuts such as almond and pistachios. She's allergic to them all.
When the heavens showered all the allergies in the world, she was so unlucky to have the worst ones. She must have been out in the open during that time.
There were still hive like rashes on her neck and hands though the hot feeling finally subsided.
She then heard a knock on the door and opened it. J came in to the room with a much clearer head.
He had thought it over and over and wanted to apologize to her one more time.
However, he frowned when he saw the rashes in her arms and neck.
"Eunji! Are you okay?" He asked and then looked at the tray of cookies on the coffee table.
His face darkened and he stormed out of the room.
Kim Eunji followed him to make sure he wont do something irrational.
He then gathered all of the servants in the living room.
"Who the hell brought those cookies into Eunjie's room!" He angrily asked them.
"J, calm down. This will go away." Kim Eunji coaxed him.
"No Eunji, this is a serious matter! I reminded them beforehand about your allergies. That they should be careful with the food that they're going to serve on the table when you're here. It seems like these people are deliberately trying to harm you!" J angrily said.
Kim Eunji was helpless. She just hoped that he would spare the servant who did it of it was an honest mistake. But if it was the other way around, her face turned sullen and her eyes turned shades darker. He emitted a terrifying aura in her which scared the servants even more.
A female servant then step forward and said, "Master, it wa-s I...who brought th-the cookies in La-dy Kim's ro-om bu-t i-t was the che-f who told me to-to bring it there." She was stuttering.
"Chef? Where's the chef!
The chef was then brought into the room.
"Was it you who baked those cookies?" J asked.
"Master, I'm innocent. Believe me! I didn't bake them." He pleaded but J did not waver.
"Throw them in the basement. They'll receive due punishment for defying my orders!"
The guards then dragged the two out. But they resisted.
"Master! Please!" They pleaded and were declaring innocence.
"I'm sorry. This should not have happened. Not in my watch." J apologized once more.
"Don't do anything to them." Kim Eunji said as she looked towards them.
"What? They harmed you. I can't just let it go!" J reasoned.
"Let them off. I believe someone is behind all of this. Ask your most trusted men to follow their every move. If they're really innocent, I would spare their lives but if they aren't then... then I would send them directly to hell."
Kim Eunji then turned around and went back to her room.
As she entered, Kim Eunji then got her suitcase and took the dress that she prepared for the party.
She took it out and hanged it near the bed.
It was an elegant A-line long-sleeved black lace dress which would hug her curves perfectly.
She touched the fabric and then heaved a sigh. Since it would be a party, she didn't want to stand out much.
She knew that a lot of people would be attending since the Jins are a well respected family. She guessed that lots of young ladies would sure be attending and would be wearing extravagant dresses.
"Okay."
Her phone rang and saw that it was Nathan calling her.
"Hello?" Kim Eunji answered.
"How are you?" Nathan asked from the other line.
"I'm fine. How about you?" She simply replied.
"I'm doing good. I'm about to board the helicopter. Is everything okay in your area?" Nathan asked her one more time.
"Yes. Everything's fine so far. I'm sorry that I was not able to message you when I arrived earlier. I was tired and just had an argument with J." Kim Eunji told him about what happened.
"I understand your cousin's side though. He didn't know me nor trusted me. I would react the same way if I'm in his position."
"Yeah. I just don't want him to give you a hard time." Kim Eunji was worried about this. Though J already expressed that he would be civil towards Nathan, she doubted if he could keep his words.
"Thank you." Nathan's heart swelled in happiness upon hearing that.
Now, he's sure that he married the right woman. The woman who would stood up for him.
"No. Don't thank me. It's my responsibility to defend you from others and more importantly, I love you, Nathan."
"And I love you, too." Nathan lovingly said on the other line.
"Anyways, I have to go. I'll be boarding the helicopter soon. I'll be there after 4 hours max. Please send my apologies to them for being late."
"Okay. I'll keep that in mind." Kim Eunji said.
"I miss you."
"I miss you, too. Take care and have a safe trip okay?"
"En! I will. I love you."
Kim Eunji could hear the engine of the helicopter from the other line and it gets louder which means he was walking towards it.
"I love you, too."
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