POV NABI
The Kwon Tech building stood like a monolith of glass and arrogance in the center of Gangnam. That day, the entrance was flanked by a horde of photographers and journalists. It was the "Official Presentation of the New Golden Couple": the Moon heir and the new hope of the Kwons. My father wanted to sell stability; my stepmother, however, wanted blood.
I walked through the lobby feeling the touch of the navy blue silk of my designer dress. It was an exquisite piece, but I felt vulnerable. Jaehyun walked beside me, his hand firmly resting on my small back, a gesture that was romantic for the cameras, but for me it was the only anchor that kept me from floating away in a panic attack.
Yuseo followed close behind, bouncing on his heels with his tablet under his arm and a professional camera hanging around his neck.
"Smile!" Yuseo said, ignoring the icy stares from the security guards. "Nabi, lift your chin a little! You look like a heroine from a period novel, all you need is a castle... although this office looks like a modern dungeon.
"Yuseo, behave yourself!" Jaehyun scolded her, although there was a note of amusement in his voice.
When we arrived at the photo shoot, we were greeted by the "welcoming committee." My father, with his shark-like smile, and next to him, Mrs. Shin and Chaerin. Chaerin was wearing a red dress so tight it looked like a second skin, and she was holding a glass of champagne even though it was ten in the morning.
"But here's the happy couple," Mrs. Shin purred, coming over to give me a kiss that smelled like poison. "Nabi, dear, you look... pale. Have you been taking your 'vitamins'? We don't want you fainting in front of the reporters."
"I'm perfectly fine, Mrs. Shin," I replied, gritting my teeth.
"Oh, how sweet!" Chaerin interjected, approaching Jaehyun with insulting familiarity. "Jaehyun, you must be so patient. Suyeon always said that taking care of Nabi was like taking care of a cracked vase. You have to be careful so she doesn't break into a thousand pieces."
Jaehyun didn't even look at her. His gaze was fixed on the chief photographer.
"Let's get started," he said in a voice that cut through the air like a knife. "I have a meeting in an hour, and I don't intend to waste time with irrelevant comments."
The session began. The flashes blinded me. "Nabi, look at Jaehyun!" "Jaehyun, take her hand!" During a break, while the photographer was reviewing the shots, Chaerin approached me with a fake smile, holding a tray of fruit.
"Let me help you with the train of your dress, little sister," Chaerin said.
It all happened in a second. I saw her stiletto heel deliberately step on the delicate silk of my skirt as she pretended to trip. I heard the heartbreaking sound of fabric tearing. The dress ripped from my hip down, exposing my left leg.
The silence that followed was deafening.
The cameras, thirsty for scandal, began firing frantic bursts. Mrs. Shin had orchestrated this perfectly: under the cruel light of the studio spotlights, the marks on my thigh-thin white scars, witnesses to my worst nights of depression-were exposed to the lens of the entire country.
I felt the world crumbling around me. The air escaped from my lungs. Panic hit me like a wave of icy water. I tried to cover myself with my hands, but it was too late.
"Oh, my God!" exclaimed Mrs. Shin, feigning horror, but with her eyes shining with triumph. "Nabi! What are those marks?! Security, cover the young lady, she's having an episode!"
"Look at her!" shouted a reporter in the back. "They're self-harm scars! The Kwon heiress is truly insane!"
I froze, my face burning, tears beginning to cloud my vision. I was ready to run away, to hide in the darkest hole in Seoul. But then, something changed.
"DON'T YOU DARE PUBLISH THAT!" Yuseo's shout echoed throughout the studio.
Little Moon stood in front of the photographers, blocking their view with her own body. But it wasn't her who stopped time. It was Jaehyun.
With a fluid, protective movement, Jaehyun took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around my waist, covering my legs and tying it tightly. Then he put one arm around me, pulling me close to his chest, while with his other hand he pointed at the chief photographer.
"You," Jaehyun said, his voice so deep and terrifying that the man dropped his camera. "If a single one of those photos leaves that hard drive, I'll make sure you never photograph another child's birthday party in this city."
He turned to the crowd of journalists, his eyes flashing with an icy fury that made even my father recoil.
"What you just saw is not 'madness,'" Jaehyun declared, raising his voice so everyone could hear. "It is evidence that my wife has survived a hell that none of you could endure. Those marks are not a disgrace; they are battle scars. And if anyone dares to use a woman's mental health to sell a sensational headline, they will get to know the Moon family's legal team personally.
There was complete silence. Even Chaerin stopped smiling. But Jaehyun wasn't finished. He turned to Chaerin, who was trying to look innocent.
"As for you," Jaehyun said, moving closer to her. Chaerin backed away until she bumped into a table. "I saw how you stepped on the dress. My sister has the recording on her tablet, right, Yuseo?"
Yuseo, who was already operating her tablet like an expert hacker, showed the screen with a triumphant smile. The video, in slow motion, clearly showed Chaerin's heel coming down viciously on the silk.
"Oops! Captured in 4K," Yuseo said in a melodic, dangerous voice. "And it's already uploaded to a private cloud. If Nabi sheds one more tear, this video will go to the police as evidence of assault and harassment."
My father tried to intervene, red with humiliation.
"Jaehyun, please, it's a family accident..."
"No, Yeonhu," Jaehyun cut him off, using his first name with utter contempt. "This is an attack. And you allowed it under your roof."
Jaehyun looked at me. I was still shaking, but when I saw his face, the panic began to recede. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I'm here. Don't hide. You're beautiful with or without those marks."
Then he looked at the reporters one last time.
"The session is over. But before you leave, record this: my wife is the bravest woman I have ever known. And any media outlet that attempts to humiliate her will be sued into bankruptcy. Yuseo, delete the memory cards of everyone who took pictures after the incident. Now."
Yuseo, with a mischievous smile, approached the photographers accompanied by two Moon bodyguards who had just entered.
"Come on, guys! Voluntary cooperation or forced cooperation," said the young woman. "No one messes with my author... I mean, my favorite sister-in-law!"
Jaehyun picked me up in his arms, ignoring the protests and chaos behind us. He carried me out of the studio, straight to the private elevator. Only when the doors closed and we were alone did he allow me to cry.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry," I sobbed into his shirt. "Now everyone knows..."
"No one will know, Nabi," he whispered, cradling my head. "And if they do, let them see that you're married to the man who will destroy them all for you. Don't ever bow your head again."
At that moment, the elevator door opened in the parking garage. Yuseo came running a few minutes later, panting but elated.
"Mission accomplished!" she exclaimed, showing off the hard drives she had confiscated. "And by the way, Nabi... I saw the marks. And I don't know why you're ashamed. Hayami once wrote that 'cracks are where the light comes in'. You are exactly as she said."
I froze. Jaehyun looked at me and then at his sister.
"Yuseo, what did you just say?" Jaehyun asked suspiciously.
"Nothing! Just that Nabi is awesome," said the reckless Yuseo, winking at me. "By the way, Jae, I got an alert from my contacts at the university. Someone has been asking about the pseudonym 'Hayami' in the finance department. I think Nabi's stepmother is starting to connect the dots."
Jaehyun clenched his fists.
"We don't have much time. Nabi, we have to get your brothers out of that house today. The war is no longer cold. They've tried to humiliate you in public, and Mrs. Shin's next move will be much more lethal."
I nodded, feeling a new strength coursing through my veins. Fear no longer paralyzed me; it enraged me. Jaehyun was right. I was no longer the broken girl who hid in books. I was a Moon by choice, and a warrior by necessity.
"Let's go get them," I said, pulling Jaehyun's jacket tightly around my body. "Let's get Daejung, Suhee, and Raewon out. And then... then we'll bring down the Kwons."
Jaehyun smiled, a predatory, proud smile.
"That's my wife."
As the car pulled away, in the shadows of my father's office, Mrs. Shin smashed her glass on the floor.
"So the Moon dog bites?" she hissed. "Well, let's find someone who bites harder. Taehoon, it's time for Nabi to have an 'accident' she can't recover from with pills."