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“Jessica?”
Elijah’s voice interrupts my momentum. “Yeah?”
“Breathe,” he says.
He’s not the boss of me. I’m fully capable of figuring out when my body needs air.
But I see it in his eyes. He’s pulling me back to the point. When realization hits, I nod at him, taking a deep, steadying breath.
“Anyways, in an odd sense, we—” I point to Elijah and back to myself “—wanted what the other was going to have. So we thought, if it doesn’t actually hurt anyone, maybe we could continue on through the summer having switched identities, sort of. It, well, it felt like it could be a win-win for everyone. But maybe we were wrong.”
“We weren’t wrong,” Elijah says. “It doesn’t matter to anyone. No one’s even paying attention to us. At least, not until we started killing it with the hackathon project. Even my sister has heard about it, apparently. I told you to be good, Jessica. But did you have to bethatgood?” He winks at me and his compliment makes my knees wobble a little bit. I am so freaking easy. Ugh.
“Look, it doesn’t matter why you did it and how you’ve been getting away with it. It doesn’t even matter how well you’re performing. It’s all a lie. And this is not how we do business here at Haneul,” Hee-Jin says. Her voice remains gentle, but I detect a sharpness that wasn’t there before.
“I can actually hear the eye roll of two hundred plus employees in this building alone,” Elijah says. “Dad’s entire MO both in work and in life is that the ends justify the means. I’d like to believe he’d be proud of me for thinking this through, but...”
“But instead, if he ever finds out, you’ll be banished to some remote countryside cabin and cut off from any and all family money, little brother. That’sifhe doesn’t kill you first.”
“This conversation is making me uncomfortable,” I say under my breath.
Hee-Jin clears her throat and walks over to Elijah, gently tugging his arm. “May I speak to you for a moment out here?”
The two of them step out into the hall and I’m left standing there like the very unwelcome, non-family member, third wheel that I am.
“Look, this whole thing has your fingerprints all over it, so start talking. What the fuck is going on in your head, Elijah? Explain. Now.”
Oops. A third wheel who can apparently still hear everything that’s being said.
And wow, even her cursing sounds pretty.
“Well, I know whatyou’rethinking, and you’re wrong. She’s not my type and that’s not why we’re doing this,” Elijah says.
“Oh, I don’t know about that. She seems exactly your type—meaning the exact opposite of Dad’s type for you.”
Why does it sting that Elijah doesn’t think I’m his type?
“Elijah, I’m not asking about whatever’s going on with you and Jessica. I’m asking you what you think you’re doing with this switch game you’re playing. And are you kidding me with that stunt you pulled, not showing up to meet your sponsor for Seoul University? You need him to get you registered and ready to start school. I get your desire to rebel, but, Elijah, you’re pressing your luck. Dad’s patience is barely existent on a good day. It would be just like him to make a rash move out of anger and cut you off completely.”
“Good, then you can be CEO. Just like you want,” Elijah says. He’s not as nonchalant as he tries to sound.
“I may want it, but I’ll never get it. You know the company would go to our cousin, Seok-Jin, first. And then we’ll both be fucked.”
“It kinda feels like I’m fucked already,” Elijah mutters.
“Well, maybe consider that there are other people involved now. Me, for instance. Mom, too—have you even once thought about how much she’s taking on from Dad to protect you? And now Jessica? Elijah, grow up and get in line.”
“What if it’s not what I want?” Elijah asks. And for the first time, I realize he’s just as young as I am. That at this age, how can we possibly know what we want for the rest of our lives?
“Since when did what we want ever matter?” Hee-Jin replies.
The silence between them stretches and I realize I’ve been holding my breath. And I’ve been eavesdropping on a very serious and personal conversation...
I walk over to the open door and lean my head out. “I realize this may be a bit overdue for me to share, but, um, I can hear everything you two have been saying.”
They both turn to me, the family resemblance striking.
Elijah sighs and looks back to Hee-Jin. “Noona,” he says softly, “Jessica is a good person who is smart as fuck and works her ass off. But she would never have gotten this opportunity otherwise. So let’s not traumatize her with our family drama. Can you just not say anything that would ruin this? Please?”
