Chapter 13
Li Ann stared up at the stars in the dark background of the midnight sky as she remembered Mike’s kind words. There must have been a million stars that night. The sky was just so clear you can make out that tomorrow will not rain.
She’d never knew a guy that would say that to her before. Would she ever find her true star like he said? After that night, Li Ann and Mike got along quite well, and whenever he wasn’t around, she would feel a sense of loneliness.
Li Ann didn’t have much friends except for Lindsey. Lindsey worked hard and was hardly around, so they didn’t get to see each other much.
“Hey Li Ann, since neither of us is working today, I’m going out to play basket ball with some friends. Wanna tag along?” Dongwan asked.
“Tag along? Please oppa, you sound weird talking slang,” Li Ann joked without laughing. Dongwan made a face.
“It’s not slang,” he muttered as he picked up his basketball and left. Li Ann sat down on the tall stools in the kitchen and chewed on an apple to herself, humming a song she had learned. A cool breeze moved swiftly around her, sending chills down her spine.
She could feel warm breathing by the nape of her neck. She slightly turned around, but there was nobody. She looked around again suspiciously, then smiled.
“Mike? Is that you?” she asked. There was no Mike in sight. She turned her attention back to her apple as she tapped her fingers gently on the table top.
Again, that sound of someone rushing behind her was felt. She turned around and glared at whoever was playing tricks.
“Mike, quit screwing around,” Li Ann muttered as she stood up and walked away. She walked down the dark hallway trying to head to the living room when Mike suddenly walked out from behind a corner, scaring her a bit. She jumped and gasped.
“Boo?” Mike grinned.
“Very funny,” Li Ann shoved past him.
“It’s kind of fun playing tricks like this,” Mike said amused as he looked at his hands.
“Yeah, whatever,” Li Ann said sarcastically as she sat down on the couch and picked up the remote control. Mike crouched down in front of the television screen and stared at her. He didn’t blink.
“Um, can you get out of the way, I want to watch t.v.,” Li Ann asked slowly.
“Nope,” Mike replied.
“Why?” “I’m going to look at you,” Mike grinned slyly.
“Mike,” Li Ann stated as in a question form.
“Li Ann,” Mike replied back with the same astonishing tone. She was beginning to get frustrated with him. He just continued to sit there.
“Fine, what do you want?” Li Ann sighed as she gave up and threw the remote aside.
“I want to go see my wife. I have some unfinished business,” Mike said as his happy expression turned slightly cold.
“Um, but, it’s my free day!” Li Ann complained.
“Nope, free day is a good day,” Mike said as he stood up. He looked down at her and demanded,
“Get up and get dressed.”
“No,” Li Ann crossed her arms and looked away.
Mike sighed as he suddenly reached for her foot and yanked her off the couch, making her land on her bottom.
“What the!” Li Ann exclaimed shocked as she stood up and gave him a deadly glare. Mike just smiled innocently as he pointed towards her room.
Li Ann obediently obeyed as she stomped upstairs to change out of her sweats. She didn’t want to argue with him on a day that she was supposed to be happy.
“Where are we going?” Mike asked as they neared some highly elaborated apartments. They were white and yellow with lavender flowers and pink roses scattered all around. There was vines and bricks to complete the whole model of the unit.
“To Calida’s. He’s my brother’s girlfriend,” Li Ann said as she walked up the stairs to the glass door. She knocked and a moment later, a cheery Calida wearing shorts and a tank opened.
She was still in the middle of exercising to a Tai Bo video, with the music on loud.
“Hey Li Ann! What’s up?” Calida greeted her as she led Li Ann into the living room.
“Man, you and my brother are so meant to be,” Li Ann joked as she sat down. Calida turned the television off and skipped over to plop down next to Li Ann.
“Calida, I wanted to ask you something,” Li Ann asked. Calida immediately stood up and skipped over to the kitchen.
“Would you like anything to drink?” Calida shouted from the kitchen.
“Um, no, I’m good,” Li Ann replied back. She gave Mike a confused look. She mouthed to him asking him how to ask her.
Mike shrugged and looked on as he stood near the counter separating the living room from the kitchen. Calida walked back and stood by the counter next to Mike as she drank her glass of water.
“What did you want to ask me?” Calida asked in between swallows.
“Um, do you believe in ghosts?” Li Ann asked nervously biting her lips.
“Haha, Li Ann, you never fail to amuse me,” Calida laughed.
“I’m serious,” Li Ann replied back with a serious look. Calida smiled and leaned casually on the counter and waited for Li Ann to continue.
“There’s this ghost, Mike, and he’s following me around, and he needs my help, but I can’t do it without your knowledge Calida.”
“A ghost? Following you? Need help? I though you were a psychologist, not a psycho,” Calida joked as she started laughing again.
Li Ann frowned.
“I’m telling the truth Calida. Besides, he’s standing right behind you,” Li Ann said as she rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
“Yeah, haha, you’re so funny,” Calida continue to giggle. Mike smiled kindly at the back of Calida’s head, then gently he stroked his finger slowly down her slim arm, suddenly sending chills throughout her body making the hair on her neck stand.
She froze. Li Ann glanced back over and saw that Mike was trying to scare her. She smiled back at Calida amusingly and waited. Calida quickly turned her neck around to see if it was Dongwan, but nobody was in sight.
She didn’t see Mike standing right in front of her.
“Mike, stop scaring her,” Li Ann said loud enough to catch Calida’s attention.
“Li Ann, you’re joking right? Please tell me you’re joking...” Calida asked raising both of her eyebrows.
“You can’t see him, but I can,” Li Ann replied. Mike slowly bent over and blew to the back of Calida’s ear.
She screamed and ran over to the couch Li Ann was sitting on, almost trampling over Li Ann. Calida’s arms grabbed Li Ann’s shoulders and looked into her eyes.
“What the hell is going on?!” Calida demanded with frightful eyes. “Now do you believe me? Or would you like Mike to demonstrate some more?” Li Ann smiled tauntingly.
“I believe you. I believe you. Just tell him to leave me alone!” Calida shouted and became suddenly paranoid of her surrounding.
“Ahem, we wanted to know, if somebody dies, how long does it take before their beneficiary can get their money?” Li Ann asked hopefully.
Calida was a professional young lawyer, so she would know such things. Calida thought for a moment.
“If that person has a will, then the beneficiary will get it in five days, but if that person doesn’t, then in a week, or seven days,” Calida explained calming down a bit.
Li Ann looked up at Mike. Mike seemed to be thinking to himself.
“I wrote no will. Today’s the seventh day...Li Ann, we better get moving,” Mike said looking back at her.
“Alright. Well, thanks Calida, see you around,” Li Ann said as she stood up. Calida pulled her arm back down immediately. “Wait! You’re not leaving me alone!” Calida said exasperated.
Li Ann laughed.
“Don’t worry, he’s coming with me.” Mike and Li Ann took a cab out to Mike’s house as fast as they could. Li Ann told the cab driver to stop a few meters away from the house so Ji Yun or Hwanhee would not see her when they stepped out of the house.
Hwanhee was fully dressed in a suit without a tie, as Ji Yun dressed up in a short skirt and white blouse. They both got into Hwanhee’s car and pulled out of the driveway.
“Follow them,” Mike said not keeping his eyes of the target.
“Follow them please,” Li Ann asked the cab driver.
He gave a nod as he started the engine to follow them. They followed Hwanhee and Ji Yun all the way back down to downtown. Hwanhee stopped at Mike’s firm. He kissed Ji Yun’s blushed cheeks as Ji Yun prepared to step out.
She waved goodbye to him and straightened out her outfit before walking diligently into the firm. Mike quickly stepped out of the cab without opening the door. He told Li Ann to wait for him in the cab as he quickly ran to follow Ji Yun.
Li Ann agreed and sat back comfortably as Mike made his way through the glass sliding doors and into the firm after Ji Yun. She stood by the elevator to wait for the doors to open. Once they did, Mike stepped in with her.
They were the only two persons in the elevator. Ji Yun opened her purse and took out a small mirror. She eyed herself and checked for her eye makeup.
As she tilted the mirror to see her lips, she saw at the edge of her mirror half of her husband’s face. She quickly turned around a bit startled, but she was alone.
The elevator clicked open and Ji Yun ignored that suspicious feeling. Ji Yun knocked on the door to Mike’s lawyer, Allen Choi.
Mr.Choi, a middled age man in his forties, looked up from his desk filled with due documents and pushed up his glasses to see Ji Yun enter. She walked over as he stood up to shake her hand.
“Good afternoon Mrs. Lee–...”
“Please, call me Ji Yun,” she interrupted.
“Uh, okay, Ji Yun,” Mr. Choi continued.
“You are here to see the claims of your husband Mike Lee?”
“That is correct,” Ji Yun said as she took a seat. Mr. Choi flipped through his cabinets and pulled out a file. He looked through it and took out a few documents to lay out in front of her.
“These are the legal papers to get you the money,” Mr. Choi said with a cough. Mike’s eyes narrowed on the papers that were already signed and dated.
“When can I withdraw all the money?” Ji Yun asked sounding a bit impatient.
“Soon, soon,” Mr. Choi nodded.
“I just...wait, I found something that I must have missed here...”
“What?” Ji Yun raised an eyebrow. Mr. Choi went silent for a minute to scan over the thick paper he held in his hands.
“Oh dear...well, it seems that...” Mr. Choi stammered. Ji Yun’s back straightened as she leaned in closer to see the document herself. She was feeling a bit impatient with Mr. Choi’s slowness in issuing her the money.
“Your husband, didn’t leave a will...” “So that means all the money goes to me right?” Ji Yun asked immediately feeling a bit excited. She quickly covered her greedy act and smiled innocently.
“I mean, I am, or was his wife...”
“Yes, that’s true, but it says here, signed and dated, when Mr. Lee’s grandfather passed away, he signed a will, giving Mike all his money and corporation, but as stated here, if Mike is to not have any children, and if he is to pass away, the money should go to Mike’s niece...” Mr. Choi explained through his thick glasses.
Ji Yun’s mouth dropped.
Mike stood there shocked. He didn’t know of any niece.
“What niece?!” Ji Yun asked in a louder voice.
“I...I don’t know, it just says niece, oh wait, I think I know where I can access that information, but you’ll have to give me a few days,” Mr. Choi said as he looked back up to see Ji Yun’s unbelievably shocked expression.
“Niece? Mike never said anything about a niece?!” Ji Yun exclaimed still shocked. She protested.
“What do you mean all his money is going to go to his niece if he is to suddenly pass away? What about me?! You told me over the phone that I was going to get the money no matter what?!” Ji Yun asked as she slammed her hand down on his oak wood table. Mr. Choi swallowed and tried to explain again.
“Now now, I did say that, but I must have been mistaken. I will find out for you as soon as possible Mrs. Lee.”
“It’s Ji Yun!” she muttered as she picked up her purse.
“I’m very sorry about this,” Mr. Choi apologized.
“Very well. Make sure you contact me when you find out about this niece,” Ji Yun replied as she bowed and walked out of the office, muttering a curse to herself. Mike had a satisfied smirk on his face as he slowly looked over the document on Mr. Choi’s desk.
‘If Lee Mike is to have suddenly pass away, the money and all its claim is to be issued solely to Mr. Lee’s niece...” and that was all it said.
Not a name or additional information about his “niece.”
“What kind of people did I pay for to do this?” Mike asked as he looked at the document that was poorly written.
He walked out of the office and looked for Li Ann. She was still in the cab, waiting for him.
Whoever the niece was, they would have to find her first before Ji Yun does.
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[To be Cont]
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