THE OTHER SIDE OF YOU

CHAPTER 5: THE GIFT OF A GHOST

The restaurant was called The Gilded Leaf. It was the kind of place where the waiters moved like shadows and the bill for a single appetizer could cover a student's textbooks for a semester.

Nari sat across from her mother, Soo-Yeon, feeling like a specimen under a microscope. Her mother hadn't touched her salad yet. She was too busy adjusting the position of Nari’s collar, her fingers cold and efficient.

"You look tired, Nari," Soo-Yeon said. Her voice was like fine silk, beautiful, but capable of strangling if pulled too tight. "Are you taking your vitamins? I noticed a slight shadow under your eyes when you walked in."

"I'm fine, Mother. It’s just the start of the new semester. My 101 lecture is quite large this year."

Soo-Yeon sighed, finally picking up her fork. "Geography. It still baffles me why you chose a field that requires you to stare at dirt and old scrolls. You could have been in the Law department. Or at least something with a bit more... prestige."

Nari took a sip of her water, the cold liquid doing nothing to soothe the tightness in her throat. This was the ritual. Every Sunday, she came here to be reminded of the version of herself that didn't exist. The version that was a high-powered attorney or the wife of a conglomerate heir.

"I like what I do," Nari said softly.

"Liking something is a luxury for people who don't have a legacy to maintain," Soo-Yeon replied. She didn't look up. "By the way, I spoke to Mrs. Park. Her son is back from London. He’s finished his MBA. He’s looking for someone... stable."

Nari felt the familiar weight of dread settling in her stomach. She opened her mouth to give her standard deflection, but she was interrupted by the sommelier.

He was carrying a bottle of wine nestled in a silver bucket of ice. He bowed deeply, his movements practiced and reverent.

"Good evening, ladies. On behalf of a private benefactor of the restaurant, we would like to offer you this bottle of 1996 Château Margaux."

Soo-Yeon froze, her fork halfway to her mouth. She looked at the bottle, then at the sommelier. "A benefactor? I don't understand. We didn't order this."

"The gentleman requested that it be served specifically to this table," the waiter explained, his voice low. "He noted that a woman as hardworking as Professor Kim deserves to end her week with something rare."

Nari’s heart stopped. Professor Kim. This wasn't a mistake. The restaurant didn't know her title. She was just a daughter here.

Soo-Yeon’s eyes narrowed, shifting from the wine to Nari. "A gentleman? Nari, who is this? Do you have an admirer you haven't told me about?"

Nari’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion and a sudden, sharp heat. "I... I have no idea, Mother. I don't know anyone who would"

"It’s a five thousand dollar bottle of wine, Nari," Soo-Yeon said, her voice dropping into a sharp whisper as the waiter began to pour. "People don't just send these to strangers."

As the deep red liquid swirled in her glass, Nari’s phone vibrated in her lap. She pulled it out under the table, her hands shaking.

[Ren]: The wine should be at the table by now. Don't let her bully you tonight, Butterfly. Drink the Margaux. It tastes like victory and expensive secrets.

Nari nearly dropped the phone.

Ren. How did he know where she was? How did he know her mother was being difficult? He was a ghost on an app, a voice in her ear, yet he was currently reaching across the city to shield her in a room he wasn't even in.

"Well?" Soo-Yeon prompted, her eyes searching Nari’s face. "Who is he?"

Nari looked at her mother. For the first time in years, she didn't feel small. She felt protected. She felt like she was carrying a secret that was more powerful than anything her mother could throw at her.

"He's someone who pays attention," Nari said.

She lifted the glass, the aroma of dark berries and ancient oak filling her senses. She took a sip. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever tasted.

"Is he respectable?" Soo-Yeon asked, her tone shifting from criticism to intense curiosity.

"He's everything," Nari whispered.

Across the restaurant, tucked into a corner booth in the shadows, a man in a simple black hoodie watched the table. He didn't have a glass of wine. He didn't have a plate of food. He just had a phone and a gaze that never wavered from the woman in the cream blouse.

Dae watched Nari take that sip. He watched the tension leave her shoulders. He watched the way her eyes lit up, even from across the room.

He felt a dark, possessive satisfaction curl in his gut.

Drink up, Butterfly, he thought. I'll always be the one to give you what they won't.

He stood up quietly and walked out the back exit before the waiter could return with his bill. He didn't need to be thanked. He just needed to know she was safe.

But as he walked into the cool night air, his phone buzzed.

[Nari]: You’re terrifying. How did you do that?

Dae smirked, climbing into the driver's seat of his SUV.

[Ren]: I told you. I have a very good memory for things that matter. And you matter more than anything else in this city.

He put the car in gear, his mind already drifting to Monday morning. The wine was just the beginning.