Though the crash wasn’t bad, it was enough to make Vina’s heart jerk in shock. That shock was swiftly followed by concern, and she whirled to face April. April, who had her eyes shut tight, was holding onto her stomach as if to make sure the baby was okay.
Immediate alarm streaked through Vina and she reached to rub her friend’s arm. “April, are you okay?”
April pulled in a long breath then nodded. “I am.”
“Are you sure?” Vina asked, panic dripping from her every word. If her careless driving had caused harm to April’s baby, she’d never forgive herself.
This time April opened her eyes. “I’m sure.”
It still wasn’t enough to ease Vina’s concern. Frowning, she suggested, “We should go to the hospital and get you checked up. You never know-”
“Vina. Stop.” Her friend cut her off with a chuckle. “The baby and I are okay. Seriously. It was just a minor bump.”
“Still, maybe we should-” Vina’s words were cut off by a sudden rapping on the window on her side of her car.
She turned her head only to come face to face with a familiar face. It was the man from the food-court, the eavesdropper. However, his handsome features were now marred by a frown and glare. He angrily rapped on the window again, and Vina rolled it down.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Mr. Eavesdropper started in on her the moment her window was down. “Didn’t you see me in front of you?”
“Sorry. Sorry.” Vina snatched a glance at the car she’d just bumped into. It was a sleek, red Honda SUV that looked brand new apart from the large dent that now marred its rear bumper. Wincing, she turned back to Mr. Eavesdropper. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking-”
“Are you blind or just a horrible driver?” Mr. Eavesdropper cut her off mid-sentence.
“Neither,” Vina retorted. Did he really need to be that rude over a dented bumper? Despite the irritation that was beginning to bubble within her, she kept her voice even as she started, “I was just-”
“We’re not even driving that fast.” He cut her off again. “How did you manage to hit me?” He snorted as he scowled at her. “They just give driving licenses to anyone these days, don’t they? I-”
“Excuse me?” Vina cut him off. She angrily pushed her door open. Mr. Eavesdropper quickly took a step back to keep from being hit by the swinging door. Once she was out of the car, Vina pressed her fist to her hip as she glared at the man. “Fine, I hit your bumper, but there’s no reason to insult me.”
“I didn’t insult you.”
“You just called me blind and a horrible driver.”
“No. I asked you if you were blind or just a horrible driver?” the guy retorted smartly.
“It’s the same thing,” Vina countered in a heated tone.
“Not where I come from.” Mr. Eavesdropper jabbed towards his car. “What are you going to do about this?”
Vina and Mr. Eavesdropper had now gained a small audience, and the cars behind Vina’s were now hooting for them to move. The smart thing would’ve been for her to end this quickly, offer to repair his car and move on. But this guy was so annoying that she didn’t feel like giving in so easily and she found herself saying, “I’m going to do nothing.”
“What?”
“Absolutely nothing.” She glowered at the man. “It’s not my fault that you were driving so slow.”
“What?” Mr. Eavesdropper blinked then blinked again. “Are you trying to pretend that this is my fault?”
“I’m not trying anything. Just saying the truth,” Vina returned promptly. “You were driving too slow and braked quickly before I could stop my car.”
The disbelief that flooded the man’s face was funny enough that Vina’s mouth twitched in an instinctive smile. He looked absolutely floored by her assertions and for a moment just stared at her in wide-eyed shock.
And then he guffawed – but there was no humor in the harsh sound. “This is ridiculous.”
Vina arched her eyebrows. “Is it?”
“I can’t believe this is happening.” He ran his hand through his hair, ruffling the silky strands, as he laughed again.
“Look what you did.” She pointed to the damaged front bumper of her own car. Struggling to keep her expression grave, she suggested, “Give me your insurance information. Someone will need to pay for this.”
“Are you joking?” All humor was gone from the man’s expression. His dark eyes were stormy with anger and his mouth was drawn in a straight thin like. He was mad. He was mad as hell.
Unmoved by his anger, Vina offered him a cold, disdainful look. “Do I look like I’m joking?”
Someone hooted, someone shouted at them to move but neither Vina nor Mr. Eavesdropper turned away from the stare-match that they were both intent on winning.
Mr. Eavesdropper glowered at Vina. “Are you seriously trying to make me pay for your crappy driving?”
“The only crappy behavior going on here is the way you’re trying to dodge your responsibilities.” Vina held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “Hurry up and give me your insurance information.”
“Wha-” The man paused and drew in a deep breath as if trying to calm himself. When his eyes met Vina’s, they sparkled with restrained anger. “So you’re not just a gold-digger, you’re a scammer too?”
“What?” Vina blinked at him. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me,” Mr. Eavesdropper retorted then abruptly spun on his heels. “Forget it. I don’t need your money anyway.”
“Hey! You… What… You…” Vina called after him as he started towards his car. She followed him but before she could reach him, he was already in his care. She rapped her knuckles on the window. “You… Hey… Open up.”
Mr. Eavesdropper didn’t even turn his head. He started the car, and seconds later it moved. Vina quickly stepped back to keep from getting hit. And then just like that he was gone, leaving her heated and aching for him to explain himself.
Gold-digger? Scammer? Vina huffed as she strode back to her own car. The nerve of that man. That was libel… or was it slander? Urgh!
It took several deep calming breaths for her to finally be able to explain to a curious April what had happened. “Can you believe it? He called me a scammer.”
“Well… you did try to claim that he was the one at fault,” April offered.
“Whose side are you on?” Vina glared at her friend.
“Sorry.” April immediately lifted her hand in mock surrender as a smile danced on her lips. “You were right and he was wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.”
Vina’s eyes narrowed as she stared at her friend. “Now you’re just humoring me.”
April laughed. “Of course.”
“Fine, it was my fault but the only reason I turned it on him is because he was insulting me,” Vina explained. With a sneer, she added, “It’s true what they say. God never gives you everything. After giving that guy a nice face, he decided to balance it out with a crappy personality.”
Even after dropping April off at her apartment, Vina was still steaming. The fact that he’d insulted her pricked, but what really bothered her was the face that he’d walked away without giving her a chance to insult him back. How dare he have the last word. Well, at least she’d gotten off without having to pay for damaging his bumper.
‘Let’s forget that nosy bastard,’ she soothed herself as entered the hotel where she was supposed to have her blind date. She had better things to do with her time like preparing for this date. She took her phone out of her purse and called her doctor-date.
“I’m already in the restaurant,” her date pleasantly announced. “Are you close by?”
“Yes.” A hint of seductive smokiness in her voice, Vina asked, “What are you wearing?”
“A navy suit. You’ll see me as soon as you walk in.” He asked, “What are you wearing?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll find you.” Vina ended the call without answering his question. Why ruin the surprise?
Instead of heading directly to the hotel’s restaurant, she made a detour into the restroom. In there, she got out of her grey t-shirt, light-wash jeans and sneakers, then put on a black belly-shirt with the word ‘bitch’ emblazoned boldly across the bust area, leather pants and thigh-high boots. Then she started on her make-up. First the eyes; she lined her eyelashes with a black pencil that left her looking like a hangover raccoon. To worsen the effect, she dabbed silver eye-shadow over her eyelid. Now onto her mouth;
Wait. She suddenly paused with the blood-red lipstick just inches from her lips. What if Mr. Eavesdropper had taken note of her plates and reported her to the cops? He looked like just the type to do something like that. Would she be arrested? Her heart seized at the thought but then her common sense reassured, she wasn’t the one who’d run away. If anyone asked, she’d just say that he’s zoomed off before she could offer to pay him. Bonus; maybe they’d arrest him for running off.
Grinning, she applied her lipstick. Vina smacked her lips and stared at her image in the mirror. God, she looked awful. Score. She picked her purse from the counter and extracted a pack of cigarettes from within it. Holding a cigarette between her fingers, just inches from her mouth, she studied herself in the mirror. The additional prop made her look absolutely wild.
Too much? She thought about it then shook her head. In this game there was no such thing as too much. She shook her long hair out of its customary ponytail and ruffled it so that it left her looking like something the cat had just dragged in from the club.
Then she exited the restroom.
Gaping stares and whispers followed her as she made her way towards the restaurant. The moment she entered the spacious restaurant, she saw her date. And he saw her. Shock filled his eyes, and then distaste. His upper lip lifted in an automatic sneer as he sat back in his seat and folded his arms in his chest. Vina could’ve sworn that she could even hear his thoughts.
What is wrong with that woman? Thank God I don’t know her. Hopefully, my date will be much classier than her.
Still walking, she stared straight at him and smiled. He immediately averted his eyes. He was probably thinking that if he ignored her, she’d just keep walking. Barely able to keep a straight face, Vina stopped at his table. The doctor’s eyes immediately swung to her and panic flared within them.
“Dr. Kang?” she asked.
He frowned. “Do I know you?”
“I’m Vina.” When he didn’t react to the name, she explained, “Your date.”
The horror that immediately clouded his face made every minute she’d spent dressing up in the bathroom completely worth it. He sat up and pushed back his seat as if afraid that he might catch something from her if he was too close. Disbelief etched in his every word, he asked, “You’re Alvina?”
“Yes.” Smiling, she held out the hand holding the cigarette. “Hi.”
* * * * *
LATER THE SAME evening, Orion dropped by his mother’s house after work. The moment he stepped into the living room, he found his younger brother, Julian, lounging in front of the TV, playing a video game. Like Orion, Julian was dark-haired and tall. However, he still carried the coltish,long-limbed look prevalent among teens even though he was already twenty-two.
“Hey,” Julian greeted without turning away from the television.
“Don’t hey me.” Orion came up behind the couch and slapped the back of his brother’s head.
“Ow!” Julian exclaimed he clutched the back of his head and gave his brother an annoyed look. “What did you do that for?”
“You didn’t come to work today.”
“Oh! Sorry.” Julian rubbed the back of his head. “Had to deal with a little side project.” He gave Orion a meaningful look as he added, “You know, the kind that puts money in my pocket.”
“Don’t give me that look,” Orion countered. “You’re the one who said you wanted to work at our place even if it meant not getting paid.”
“I didn’t think you were serious about not paying me. Speaking of payment-” Julian turned on the couch to fully face Orion. “Hyeong, my friends are going on a trip to L.A. and we’re supposed to contribute eight hundred dollars.”
“I’m not your bank account.”
“Hyeong,” Julian wheedled.
“Ask your mother for money.” Orion turned to take a look around the room. “Where is she anyway?”
“The kitchen,” Julian said. As Orion started towards the kitchen, Julian called out, “What about the money? I’ll pay you back.”
Orion waved at him but didn’t answer. He chuckled when his brother’s whiny ‘hyeong’ followed him into the kitchen. He’d probably end up giving the kid the money anyway, but he didn’t want to surrender too early.
“Hey,” his mother, Yoon-ah, greeted him with a smile the moment he stepped into the kitchen. One look at Yoon-ah and it was obvious where he and his brother got their good looks from. Even at fifty-four she was quite attractive with her long, silky hair and slender, fit figure.
“Hey.” He closed the distance between them to give her a brief hug.
“I didn’t know you were coming over,” she said as she turned back to the spinach she was chopping up.
“I wasn’t going to but then I found these-” Orion dug into pocket to come up with two yellow pieces of paper that had Korean symbols painted on them. He slapped the talismans on the counter next to his mother. She glanced at them, then at him before quickly averting her gaze. With a meaningful look, he continued, “- and I thought I should bring them back to their owner.”
“Oh, you found them?” his mother asked, her blasé expression showing no guilt whatsoever.
“Yes, I found them.” He shook his head slowly and gave her a disapproving look. “Eomma? Under my desk? Seriously?”
“I thought you wouldn’t look there.” Yoon-ah shrugged. “Who checks under their desk for bujeok? You’re a very strange child.”
“I’m strange?” Orion gave his mother a disapproving look. “You’re the one going around dropping your litter everywhere. What do you think your students would say if they found out that you believe in this kind of thing?”
“I don’t care what about their opinion. It’s none of their business.” Yoon-ah scraped the now-cut spinach from the wooden board and into a plate. “Besides if they knew how well these things work they’d be begging me to introduce them to my shaman.”
“They don’t work.”
“Of course they do.” She eyed him. “Why do you think your business is successful? It’s my bujeok.”
“And I suppose my hard-work has nothing to do with it?” Orion took the talismans and balled them in his fist. “Please stop leaving these things at my office or I’ll report you to… to somebody.”
As usual his words went through one of Yoon-ah’s ears and out the other. Without missing a beat, she asked, “You’re staying for dinner, right?”
Surrendering, Orion leaned back against the counter. “Depends. Who’s cooking?”
“Rude boy.” She lifted her hand to smack him but he ducked away with a laugh. Glaring at him, she ordered, “Get the beef for me. It’s in the fridge.”
“Okay.” He crossed the room to open the fridge.
“Did you think about that thing?” Yoon-ah called out behind him.
“What thing?” Orion grabbed a bowl containing diced and now-marinating meat.
“The Robin thing.”
“I told you I wasn’t doing it,” he said as he brought the meat to his mother. He set the plate on the counter beside her.
“Why not?” Yoon-ah asked as she peeled off the clear-paper covering the bowl.
“Why not?” Orion counted down the reasons on his fingers. “One, I don’t believe in any of that ‘marry a tiger or you’ll die’ crap. Two, I’m not interested in getting married right now. Three, she’s nineteen. I can barely stand Julian and he’s twenty-two. What am I going to do with a nineteen-year-old kid?”
“Okay, she’s a little young,” Yoon-ah admitted. “But all age-appropriate Tigers are nineteen right now.”
Orion laughed. “All the reasons I gave and that’s the only one you heard?”
“If you want I can look for a thirty-one year-old,” his mother offered helpfully. “But many of them are already taken, and if they’re not I don’t think they’d be interested in a man who’s two years younger.”
“Eomma!” he exclaimed, frustrated by how thick she was pretending to be.
“Don’t be so stubborn, Ri-on,” Yoon-ah cajoled, using his Korean name. Her expression somber, she grabbed his arm and squeezed. “You know how important this is for our family.”
“Important according to who? That shaman you visited?” Orion arched his eyebrows. “He’s a con-artist.”
“No, he isn’t.” Yoon-ah’s gave him and offended look. “Master Yoon predicted that your business would do well and it did. He even predicted that Donald Trump would win. He’s the genuine thing.”
“What about all the things he’s been wrong about?” Orion countered. “He said Julian wouldn’t get into college – and he did. He said you would be fired after you slapped that student who was hitting on you – and you weren’t. And he said that my business would go belly up in one year – I’m still hanging in there.”
“The only reason those bad things didn’t happen is because of Master Yoon and the talismans he gave us,” Yoon-ah doggedly insisted. “He helped us change our fate.”
“Ah. Of course, he did.” It took everything in Orion to keep from rolling his eyes. He didn’t understand why his mother believed in these things. In all other things, she was quite the modern woman. But when it came to shamans and superstitions, one would think that she was still living in the Joseon era.
“Ri-on, just do this one thing for me, eh?” She shook his arm. “You know how important you and Ri-jun are to me. I don’t want you to die early like your father and grandfather.”
“Eomma, stop listening to that charlatan,” Orion protested. “Marrying a tiger isn’t going to make me live longer than dad or grandpa.”
But his protests fell on deaf years. “You don’t even have to marry her immediately. I just want you to go and see her and then make a decision when you’re there. Please.”
“I don’t want to,” Orion protested.
“Please. For me,” his mother wheedled. “Ri-on-a.”
“No. I won’t do it.”
“Just one date.”
“No,” he refused.
Despite his ardent protests, Tuesday afternoon found him parking his car in front of the Landa-Hotel just fifteen minutes before his date with Robin. Before getting out of the car, he called, “Hi, Robin?”
“Yes,” his date answered. “Who’s calling?”
“Orion Lee.” He explained, “I just got to the restaurant. Where are you?”
The girl gasped. “You’re there already?” There was a commotion on her end of the line as if she’d just discovered that she was supposed to be meeting someone. “I’m on my way there,” she said on a rushed breath. “Just give me ten… um… fifteen minutes.”
Orion pulled in a tired sigh. As if this whole blind-date thing wasn’t annoying enough now he’d have to deal with a date who was unable to keep time. To his date, he said, “Fine. I’ll be waiting for you in the restaurant.”
He was just about to exit his car when a cab pulled up beside him. It wasn’t the cab itself that drew Orion’s attention but rather the woman who was in its backseat. Though it had been exactly a week since he’d last seen her and there were two layers of glass between them, he recognized her immediately. How could he not?
Vina the Scammer.
Immediate annoyance bubbled inside Orion. As if his day wasn’t bad enough, now the universe was throwing that crazy woman at him again? Unconsciously, he started to slide lower down in his seat so she couldn’t see him. But when he realized what he was doing, he quickly sat up. Why the hell was he hiding? So what if she saw him? He wasn’t the crook in this equation. She should be the one hiding.
As it turned out all his mental gymnastics were for nothing. Vina didn’t even look his way as she got out of the cab then paid her fare. Without a sideways or backwards glance, she started towards the hotel entrance.
Orion watched her as she walked away. Despite himself, he had to admit that she was one sexy lady. Even though all he had was the back view, what he saw was enough to stir him. Her long hair had been pulled up into a artful chignon that showed off her delicate neck. Gone were the jeans and sneakers. Today she was wearing a sleeveless white dress that clung to her delicate curves, showed off her toned arms and stopped an inch or so above her knees to show off her splendid legs. The pink heels she’d paired the dress with made her look much taller and even sexier.
Orion frowned. If all crooks were as sexy as this one, it was no wonder that the world was going to hell in a hand basket. Judging by Vina’s outfit and presence at a restaurant, there was every chance she was meeting another sucker. Perhaps it was annoyance, perhaps it was curiosity… he found himself opening his door and following in her wake.
What if she was really going on another date? Should he pull the guy aside and warn him that he was swimming in a shark tank? Or did that count as sticking his nose into things that didn’t involve him?
Fine, maybe he was being nosy. However, he couldn’t just let Miss Scammer continue wreaking havoc. The best thing to do in this situation was to confront her. Yes, tell her that he knew what she was up to, make her feel a little embarrassed. Oh, who was he kidding? Petite Miss Scammer was incapable of shame. Still, if he confronted her, she might end up afraid of him spilling her secrets to her potential victim and call a halt to her scam. Yes, that was what he’d do.
Orion entered the hotel’s lobby. Vina must’ve been a speed walker in her past life because she wasn’t in the lobby.
Orion approached the concierge. “Where did the lady go?”
“What lady?”
“The lady in the white dress,” Orion explained. When the concierge gave him a blank look, he described, “Short, slender, pink heels, kind of pretty.”
The concierge shook his head. “Sorry, I haven’t seen her.”
“She just passed by here a few minutes ago.” Orion huffed impatiently.
“I just got here just a few minutes ago too so maybe I missed her.” The concierge helpfully suggested, “Maybe she went to the restaurant?”
The man was probably right. If Vina was here for another date, then the restaurant would be her logical destination. After thanking the concierge, Orion made his way to the restaurant. A cursory glance at the sparsely populated dining room revealed that Vina wasn’t there either. Where was she? Frustration bit at Orion. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but some perverse part of him didn’t want to leave without her seeing him. Unfortunately, this was a hotel. You didn’t just start searching for someone.
He was about to leave the restaurant when he remembered that he was scheduled for a date here himself. With an annoyed huff, he settled at one of the tables. Immediately, a server rushed over to take his order. The young server was just setting Orion’s juice on the table when the restaurant suddenly went quiet. Even the server stilled in his actions as his eyes flew to the door where everyone else seemed to be looking.
Curious, Orion turned in his seat to see what had captivated everyone. Everyone was staring at the woman who’d just entered the dining room. Ghostly was the only word that could accurately describe her. It wasn’t just the ankle-length, shapeless, white dress she was wearing that made her look ‘otherworldly’. Her long auburn hair was a shaggy mess that fell forward almost obscuring her face from view. What little skin they could see was pale – as if caked with powder.
What the hell? Orion thought as he stared at the woman.
“What the hell?” A deep male voice cut into the silence. For a moment Orion thought that he’d spoken aloud until he saw the suit-clad Asian man who sat at the next table, also gaping at the scary woman. The two men watched the woman start towards their side of the restaurant.
Orion snatched a glance at the man at the other table, wondering if he, like him, was praying for the woman not to come closer. The man glanced towards Orion. Yup! He was praying too. But they were out of luck. The woman kept moving towards them. Closer, closer, closer-
Good God! Shock shot through Orion as he recognized the face behind that pale make-up. Was that Vina? He sat forward in his seat to get a better look. It couldn’t be. But the resemblance was too much. Was it her? He brushed his palm over his face then stared at her. There was no denying it. It was her.