~RoyaltySuite~

Consequences Of False Words

“Alright, darling. I’m on my way to see you and Kyungmo in the office. Has he been doing his classwork like he’s supposed to?” I spoke into the phone, turning in the agency’s parking lot and to the valet lane. “He finished it early. But we just stepped out to grab a few things. Just make your way to my office and we’ll be back as soon as possible.” Jongho responded, the phone cutting out slightly as I put the car in park. “Oh, okay. Don’t take too long, I brought some dinner for us. Kyungmo’s favorite~” I sang into the phone. “I understand, my love. Once we finish up here, we’ll hop in the car and get there as soon as possible.” “Alright. I’m walking inside. I’ll see you boys soon. Love you!”

Hanging up the phone, I handed my keys to the valet and swiped my card to enter the building. As I walked further inside, I greeted anyone passing by. It had been some time since I was at the agency, but I was such a familiar face that it didn’t make any difference. “Mrs. Choi, how are you today?” “I’m doing wonderful, just on my way to my husband’s office. ““Oh, Mr. Choi has just left. Do you need any help getting inside?” The worker asked, but I just smiled and shook my head. “No, that’s quite alright, he left me his key since he knew I was stopping by. But thanks for the offer.” I waved goodbye, making my way closer to the elevators.

As soon as I reached the elevators, I heard a voice call out from behind me. “Y/n? Kim Y/n, is that you? Oh my gosh, it’s been so long! How have you been?” The voice held a familiar, shrill tone and I tensed up. It belonged to Lee Mi-jeong, my former best friend. Sighing, I shut my eyes for a quick second before releasing my breath and planting a small smile on my face. I turned around and saw her closing the distance between us. “Mi-jeong, how are you today?” I spoke, not really wanting to be anywhere near the woman. “I’m doing great. I didn’t know you worked here as well. What department are you in? Facilities?”

‘This bitch…’ I cursed internally, my smile growing tighter. “Actually, no. I don’t work here. My husband does and I’m actually on my way to his office, so I don’t have any time to make conversation.” “Oh, your husband works here? What floor is his office on?” “The top floor.” I answered, turning back towards the elevator which had finally opened after what felt like an eternity. At the mention of the top floor, Mi-jeong paused for a moment. “Wait, there’s only two rooms on the top floor. The CEO’s office and the business conference room.” She listed as if what I just said was a huge revelation. “That’s correct. My husband is the CEO.” I answered, entering the elevator and pressing the button to the top floor. Sensing that the elevator doors were about to close, Mi-jeong quickly hopped onto the elevator. “Jesus…” I mumbled lowly under my breath.

“So, Mr. Choi is your husband? I didn’t realize he was married. He just doesn’t seem like the married type.” She started. “Yep. We’ve been together for seven years and have one kid together.” “Wait, Kyungmo is your son?!” Mi-jeong exclaimed, covering her mouth in faux shock as she turned to look at me. I let out a hefty sigh. This elevator is taking way too long. “I’m not sure why you find that as such a huge shock.” “Well, you don’t look like you’ve had a kid. You look exactly the same as you did back in high school.” “Is there a reason you’re still here in this elevator, Mi-jeong?” “What, I can’t reminisce and catch up with an old friend?” “You know good and damn well that we’re no longer friends. We stopped being friends years ago.” “You’re still hung up on that? Come on.” She scoffed.

“No, I’m not. I made it very clear that I wanted no more ties to you, and I intend on sticking with what I said.” I cut her off, moving closer to the doors as the elevator came to a slow stop. When the elevator’s bell chimed, I pushed the ‘open’ button and rushed out of the elevator. Mi-jeong quickly followed behind, her heels clicking loudly against the marble tiles in the hallway. “Wait, Y/n. You can’t go in there!” She shouted, rushing up and grabbing my wrist. I stopped in my tracks and tried yanking my wrist back. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” I snapped. “I’m just looking out for you. Mr. Choi is not the man you think he is.” Rolling my eyes, I huffed and yanked my wrist out of her grip. Ignoring her attempt to defame my husband, I continued making my way towards his office. Just when I placed my hand on the doorknob and pushed the door open, Mi-jeong screamed behind me. “I’m fucking your husband!” That stopped me in my tracks. “Yeah. We’ve been seeing each other for quite a while. Now that it’s out in the open, I should probably mention that your son, Kyungmo, he’s been spending quite some time with me. As a matter of fact, he once told me that he prefers spending time with me more than with you. Says that you’re a bit too boring and plain.”

I could hear the smugness in her voice; it made my blood start to boil. But I paid her no mind - stepping further into the office. Though, it seemed like she wasn’t done speaking. “You know, woman to woman, I want you to know the honest truth. Last night, when he came home late…he was with me. Right here in this very office. He couldn’t keep his hands off of me.” That cut the cord holding back all of my rage. Spinning around so fast, Mi-jeong had no time to process before my fist came in direct contact with the left side of her face. She quickly crumpled to the floor with a loud yelp, but she wasn’t down there for long. I closed the distance swiftly and grabbed her by her hair, wrapping the locks in a tight fist, so tight she screamed in agony. “Ahh! Let me go, you psycho bitch!” She hollered, trying to scratch at my wrists without adding more pull to her hair. I leaned down close to her ear.

“You seem to forget yourself, Lee Mi-jeong. I’m not the one to cross…ever. This office has cameras in every corner; my husband gave me admin permissions so I can easily refute your claims of ever touching MY husband or being alone with MY son. And I’m sure that you remember what happened the last time someone crossed me.” She paled at the mention of the prior incident. Sensing that the dots connected in her head, I stood up and began to drag her out of the office. The sudden, sharp sting of her hair being pulled once more caused her to scream out. It didn’t stop until she was out of the office and in the hallway on the floor. Shuffling back, Mi-jeong pressed herself up against the wall looking up at me with trembling eyes. I raised myself back upright and loomed over her.

“Please, I just-” “I don’t want to hear anything come out of that disgusting mouth of yours. I’ve always known that you’ve had some jealousy towards me, but back then I pushed it to the side to make you a friend. Though, seeing you so pathetic right now, I don’t regret my decision of removing you from my life” I seethed, taking a moment to calm myself, “If you ever speak falsely of my husband or mention my child ever again… I will not hesitate in making you a piece of the past. Do you understand me?” “Y-yes, I do. P-please forgive m-me!” She begged, sitting up on her knees and rubbing her palms together. Just watching the scene made me feel disgusted. Not wanting to be anywhere near her, I turned around and walked back into Jongho’s office, locking the door behind once inside.

Once behind closed doors, I made my way to stand in the middle of the room. My eyes along with my body moved and scanned every inch as if looking for some sort of truth in her lies, to find some kind of evidence present in the room. But deep down I knew I would never find anything and I was right. There was nothing to be found. Stepping a bit backwards, I began to laugh. It started off so small, like the first crack in a dam then it grew larger and louder. So loud that it didn’t even sound like a laugh anymore. It was more like choking sobs combined with the urge to scream. Why? Why did she have to come back into my life? Why was she even here? What was her ultimate purpose by lying to me?

Not being able to contain the sounds anymore, I let them out and they were so loud that just outside the door, Mi-jeong flinched in fear. Just what has she done? “That fucking bitch!” I growled, my teeth slightly baring as I scratched at my arms, the urge to rip something apart growing more and more volatile. But the object of my rage was outside, and I wasn’t going to have my second child in prison. Soon, my sobs turned into quick pants as a sudden sharp pain spread across my abdomen. “Ah!” Gasping, my hands instinctively went to grasp at my stomach. As soon as I laid a hand on my stomach, another shot of pain spread out causing me to double over in immense pain. I let out a scream, keeling over in excruciating agony. The pain was so severe that I couldn’t hold myself up and could only curl up on the floor, hoping that the pain would soon pass. “Jongho…hurry back…please. I need you…” I cried out before my eyes fluttered shut.

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Hours later, Jongho and Kyungmo had just arrived back at the agency and had just exited the elevator on the top floor. Kyungmo was bouncing up and down, chattering excitedly about the gifts he had found for his mom while Jongho looked down at his son with a gentle smile. Though that smile didn’t last for long as he brought his gaze up to find Mi-jeong outside his office. The sight of her clothes being disheveled and her hair messy had led him to think that she had committed an inappropriate act in the building, but the look of fear on her face said otherwise. Getting closer, Jongho pushed Kyungmo behind him before addressing Mi-jeong. “Miss Lee, what seems to bring you up here at this hour…and in such a distressed state?”

Trying to seem calm, he couldn’t help but find himself annoyed. After all, she had been crossing multiple boundaries over the last month. Not receiving an answer, he had opened his mouth to ask her one more time when all of a sudden, she raised a shaky finger and pointed it towards his office door. “...it was supposed to be a joke. I didn’t mean to…” She whispered, still shaking in fear. Jongho raised an eyebrow in confusion. What was she talking about, a joke? “Daddy, where’s Mommy? I thought she was here waiting for us…” Kyungmo whined, wanting to see his mother and unborn sibling after a long day.

That caught his attention. Three hours ago, he had just gotten off the phone with his wife and now, she wasn’t here. Feeling a bit panicked, Jongho had reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone and unlocked it with a slight shake in his hands. Long ago, Jongho had put up cameras in his office for safety reasons in case he or any of his board members were caught in any scandals. Originally, he paid no mind to the cameras but now it seemed that he should be thanking the cameras. Because now, he wasn’t at all prepared to witness the scene in his office. Finding his wife collapsed in the middle of the room and what appeared to be a pool of liquid, he couldn’t quite tell, so he dropped the phone and immediately bum-rushed the door. “Y/N!! WAKE UP, HONEY!” Jongho shouted, his shoulder connecting against the door multiple times. Cracks spread across the door and along the frame and with one last hard hit, it completely shattered.

Kicking away the shards of woods, Jongho found his wife on the floor unconscious and laying in a pool of unknown liquid. He wasn’t entirely sure given the fact that the floor was entirely made of a dark-colored carpet. “Y/n, baby I need you to wake up for me.” His voice shook in utter panic as Jongho ran towards her and collapsed to his knees. He gathered her into his arms, trying to shake her awake and checking her pulse. “Appa, is mommy okay?” Hearing his son’s voice, Jongho snapped back into reality. He had completely forgotten that his son was with him. “Kyungmo, don’t look over here! I need you to do something really important for me, can you do that buddy?” He instructed his child, trying to steady his voice as best as he could.

After hearing his small voice agreeing, Jongho turned slightly to look at his son - making sure to keep his mom out of sight so his son would be traumatized. “Alright buddy, I need you to dial 119 for me. Tell them to come to xxx xxxxxxxxx-xx xxx-xxx, Gangnam-gu. Tell them that it’s a huge emergency and we need an ambulance. Can you do that for me?” “Yeah…”

Hearing the growing fear in his son’s voice, Jongho’s chest grew tight. He then turned his attention back to his wife, who was still unconscious and her pulse was slowing down a bit too fast for his liking. “Please, baby, wake up for me…” He whispered, rocking back and forth. Not a minute later, the faded sound of sirens grew closer and closer to the building and Kyungmo shot up. “Appa, look! The help bus is here! Are they gonna help mommy?” He shouted, pointing at the window to show his father the flashing lights of the ambulance stopping in front of the building. “Yes they are, son. Can you go and press that big button next to the elevator? That way they can find us.” Kyungmo shook his head in agreement and ran to the elevator to press the button like instructed. As they waited for the paramedics to arrive, Jongho turned his attention back to the only other person involved in this crisis. “Tell me what happened to my wife, Miss Lee. What did you mean by ‘it was supposed to be a joke’?” Mi-jeong hesitated for quite a bit, her silence all too telling that she was the main reason why his wife was unconscious. As she opened her mouth to speak, Mi-jeong was saved by the sound of the elevator doors sliding open. The arrival of the paramedics caused Jongho to avert his attention away from the woman who caused this entire mess. “Sir, we’ll need you to step away from the patient.” “I’m not leaving my wife’s side.” “I understand and sympathize with how you’re currently feeling, but the longer it takes for us to work on your wife, the more risk she’s in of something more dangerous. So please, let us work on her and get her to the hospital as soon as possible.”

With one last look at his wife, Jongho surrendered and loosened his grip on her. That allowed the PIC who was just speaking to him to begin working on their patient. As they worked on her, Jongho turned back to look for Mi-jeong only to find her gone. Letting out a frustrated groan, Jongho moved to stand next to Kyungmo who looked highly upset. “Kyungmo, come here…” “Is mommy gonna get help from the doctors?” “Yeah, she is. I’m so sorry you had to see this, buddy.” He apologized to his son, wrapping him up in a tight hug. “Can we go and see her?” “Soon buddy, we gotta let them work…”

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As soon as the paramedics left with Y/n on the stretcher, Jongho could see that Kyungmo was growing tired. After all, the last hour was highly stressful. Lifting up his tired son, Jongho brought him to the break room on the same floor and laid him down on the sofa before laying a blanket over him. As Kyungmo slept, Jongho sat across from him staring into space. Just what happened in the hours between his last call with Y/n and now? The feeling of uncertainty kept gnawing at the back of his mind as Jongho kept trying to figure out what happened. That’s when it clicked. Earlier, when he couldn’t open the door - he had accessed his security cameras to assess the situation. “Why didn’t I think of this before?” He hissed lowly, dragging a hand down his face. “Probably because you were in panic mode.” A voice rang out in the room. Looking up, Jongho found Hongjoong - his partner from his company’s sister branch - standing in the doorway of the break room. “Hyung, how did you…” “Kyungmo had called me while the paramedics were on their way over here. He sounded scared on the phone, and I got worried, so I rushed over as soon as my meeting ended. Jongho looked at his sleeping son and couldn’t believe that he thought to call anyone else.

He smiled slightly before he turned back to his friend. “Have you checked the security cameras yet?” Hongjoong inquired, stepping further into the room and taking a seat next to the stressed man. “I was just about to.” “Well then, now’s the time before Kyungmo wakes up. He’s never been the easiest sleeper, ya know?” Hongjoong suggested, nodding to the phone in Jongho’s hands. Silently agreeing, Jongho unlocked his phone and opened the security app before pulling up the footage from this afternoon after his call with Y/n. Watching through the video, he could see Y/n arriving on the top floor and following her was Mi-jeong. It was clear that Y/n was annoyed by her presence and Mi-jeong’s persistence was irritating her further. A few minutes pass and he watches as Mi-jeong shouts something at his wife. It clearly struck a nerve, but Y/n seemed to ignore it and she entered the office.

Switching to the office’s cameras, which luckily had audio, he sees Mi-jeong stalking closer to Y/n. “Turn on the audio.” Hongjoong spoke. Following his advice, Jongho turns on the audio and the voices of his wife and ‘employee’ projected from the phone. He watches and listens as Mi-jeong spews lies about being with him in the office late last night and spending time with their son. It was obvious that pissed his wife off as she then decked Mi-jeong in the face. Watching as his wife beat this woman’s ass, Jongho felt a growing sense of pride but didn’t let it show. After the beating, he watched as she bent down and whispered something into Mi-jeong’s ear before dragging her out of the office by the hair. Fast-forwarding in the video feed, he watches as Y/n re-enters the office and starts to hyperventilate before she collapses to the ground and passed out. “Damn…” Hongjoong whistled low while Jongho sat there silent.

They both had seen and listened to what was the most core-wrenching video ever, both of them just stunned. Though Jongho was more seething than stunned. This so-called ‘employee’ of his had tried to frame him as a man of infidelity to his pregnant wife, had assaulted his wife and was beaten for it. He wasn’t going to let this snake slip away without any more consequences. “Hyung, I need a favor from you…”

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‘Why is it so loud in here?’ I thought to myself, feeling a bit annoyed by my sleep getting interrupted. And why was there a loud beeping noise? Slowly blinking my eyes open, I was immediately blinded by the light in the room. I groaned, raising my hand to cover my eyes from the assaulting light. Though once my vision cleared up a bit, I noticed that I had an I.V. in my arm. “What the…” I whispered to myself, slightly confused. Slowly, I looked around at my surroundings and noticed that I was of course in the hospital. But how did I get here when it was just me in the office and it was locked. Once I gathered myself, I started to sit up when I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Lay back down, you just had surgery. You need to be careful. Here, I’ll raise the bed for you.” The familiar sound of my husband, Jongho, reached my ears. Turning to my right, I saw him standing next to the bed holding the remote that adjusted the bed. Once in a more comfortable position, I looked at him for a moment. He looked exhausted and drained of any energy. I could feel it radiating off of him in waves. “How did I get here?” I asked, my voice a little scratchy to which he noticed as he reached for the glass of water on the bed’s tray. He brought it to my lips and I took small sips, just enough to feel rehydrated. “Jongho…” “I found you. Kyungmo and I had just gotten back to the agency. He was so excited to show you the gifts he found for you. When we got to the top floor, we saw Miss Lee there on the floor in front of my office. I had asked her what was wrong, but she didn’t say anything. Just kept whispering that it ‘was supposed to be a joke’ and that ‘she didn’t mean it’. It wasn’t until Kyungmo pointed out that you didn’t come out to greet us like you normally would… I was so scared something bad had happened…” He trailed off.

I could see that what he had seen had truly frightened him. “Where’s Kyungmo?” I asked, grabbing his hand and gripping it tightly. “He’s with his uncle Hongjoong. He had called him after he called the ambulance.” “Is he alright?” “Yeah, a little shaken up but he’s a strong kid.” Hearing that my son was safe and sound, I let out a breath of relief. “You mentioned surgery…what surgery did they perform?” I asked, already dreading the answer. “A caesarean. They had to deliver the baby.” That answer filled me with even more dread. “Is the baby…” “She survived. She’s in the NICU right now under supervision, but she’s doing okay.” Jongho explained, sensing my fear and comforting me with the truth. I cried, letting out loud sobs as I felt immense joy and solace. “It’s a girl?” I bawled, my hands shaking.

Jongho cried as well, tears falling down his face as he smiled. “She’s beautiful. Has your eyes and a full head of hair.” I let out a wet laugh at the comment before groaning lightly. “Ohh…” I groaned, feeling a tight pain across my stomach. “Are you okay? You need me to go and get the nurse?” Jongho’s concern immediately replaced the joy as he looked me over. I waved my hand in dismissal. “No, I just laughed too hard…” I sighed, laying a hand across my stomach just an inch above the incision line. After settling a bit, Jongho and I sat in silence - the weight of the day finally settling. “What happens now?” I asked, breaking the tension and addressing the elephant in the room. “For one, Lee Mi-jeong is fired from the agency and I’ve gotten in contact with a detective and filed a report for assault against a pregnant civilian. So, if you want to press charges, we can do that.” He explained. “I want to, the pain she’s caused…it shouldn’t go unpunished.” “Alright, we’ll do that then…” “Did the doctor say when I can be released?” “They said that after c-sections, women typically stay for about a week but I know that you wouldn’t want to leave without spending some time with our daughter.” “And you’d be absolutely right about that, my darling husband. Have you thought of a name for her yet?”

“No, but I’ve been thinking that we should name her after your great-grandmother, Nari.” Hearing the name brought a few tears to my eyes. “It’s beautiful. She’d be honored, 외증조할머니.“ I responded. “Alright then. Now, get some rest. You’ve had a long day, and I’ll wake you up in a few minutes so that you can get some food in your system.” Jongho voiced, softly caressing my hand before adjusting my bed into a more comfortable position so that I could get some sleep.

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A month had passed since the office incident with Lee Mi-jeong. During that month, I was in recovery and as I slowly recovered, Jongho made sure to bring Nari during his visits along with Kyungmo who despite everything still showed such innocence in his eyes. It all felt so peaceful, but I knew that the peace wouldn’t last for much longer.

Once I was discharged from the hospital and on the way back home, Jongho and I had received the call that the detectives had found Mi-jeong hiding out at one of her accomplices’ houses. Not only did she fail at framing my husband of infidelity, but she had also been caught embezzling funds from the agency’s major accounts. She had been found with over 450 billion won all spread out in different accounts, but they all linked to the same sender. Mi-jeong was then arrested and a week after, we appeared in court to testify against her. She was sentenced to up to two ten years sentences served consecutively, totaling up to 20 years in prison. In the courtroom, she tried to plead for forgiveness, but it was clear that there was no remorse in her words.

But it soon all came to an end. No more drama, no more pain. Just the chance to finally live life without any more problems. And I was not going to let it go to waste.