Chapter 41: Coping Mechanism

As if her brain were trying to help her cope with the harsh reality, Mina had a particularly good dream. In this dream, she was talking to the same handsome man as he kissed her all over her face and body. He asked a question in between each kiss, and every word he spoke made her body feel like it was made of liquid. In this dream, Mina asked him why he wanted to know about her, and he said that he wanted to know everything about her from the moment he first saw her. He kissed her eyes and moved his way down to her lips. Every single touch of his, sent a wave through her body.

When she opened her eyes, she was sweating. She had never experienced such tenderness, yet she felt like she was reliving a memory. She wondered briefly if past lives were real or if she had truly gone crazy.

The door opened and the same young maid came in again. She kept her head down and she was mumbling something under her breath. Mina did not know if it were because she had been locked in a quiet room for so long, or if she had imagined it but she swore she could hear the girl clearly. Responding to the girl's incoherent muttering, Mina stood up.

"Forty-Seven. The answer is Forty-Seven." The maid froze and for the first time she looked at Mina.

The maid was surprised to see that the prisoner was a beautiful woman. She had a full bust and a well-defined narrow waist. Her hips were curvy but not wide and they were proportional to the rest of her body. She had straight shoulders, and a long and elegant neck. The woman was dressed in a grey sweat suit that hugged her body perfectly. She could tell from a single glance that the fabric was stiff and there were tiny black dots on it that she knew was mold.

No longer able to stomach the uncomfortable appearance of the prisoner's clothing, the maid inspected Mina's face and saw that the woman had beautiful eyes. They were considered hazel, she knew, but the orbs had a golden hue that made the woman before her look otherworldly, especially in the dim yellow lighting of the room. Her light eyes in combination with her chestnut hair complimented her delicate features, and in the soft light of the small lamp in the room, the woman appeared to have a golden glow. The maid wondered what a beauty like this could have done to end up in such a poor state, but then again, it was probably because of her looks that she ended up in this position. More than likely she had tried to get one up on president lee and did herself a great injustice.

As the maid stood there, Mina was also inspecting her, and she saw that the girl was quite pretty. She had simple brown eyes and jet-black hair that was pinned to the back of her head tightly. Her eyes were almond shaped and carried a hint of sadness in them that made her look as if she were to cry at any moment. She had an extremely petite frame and Mina could instantly tell that the girl was someone who elicited a protective instinct from the men around her. Mina's sister had that same appearance, only her personality was exactly the opposite of what her features portrayed. It had really been a long time since Mina last thought about her sister.

Seeing that the maid had lingered in the room, Mina took the opportunity to ask the girl about the sky again, and this time, the maid answered in a whisper.

"Blue." One of the guards at the door cleared his throat and the maid quickly picked up the old tray and retreated. In that brief moment, Mina could see that one of the guards had a loving look in his eye as he regarded the small girl. A smile curled on Mina's face and before they could shut the doors she shouted at the men.

"Brother A, Brother B, please allow her to talk to me." The guards heard Mina's plea, but they ignored it. They did really feel bad for the girl. They had seen the state their boss left her in, and she was barely breathing when they placed her body inside of a duffle bag. They really did not think she was going to survive.

"Should we tell the boss about this?" one of the men asked, but the other man shook his head.

"If you want to add that little maid to the list of people we have buried, why not? But I didn't hear anything worth mentioning to the boss just now." The guards nodded at each other in agreement. They would only report to President Lee if they perceived a threat from Mina.

Inside the room, Mina looked at the disgusting porridge in front of her. She really could not stand the stuff and wanted to throw the metal bowl, along with its contents across the room. When the doors closed, she had dropped to her knees in grief. That one simple word from the maid, jolted Mina's heart. She was still alive. This was all real and she was not a ghost. While still on the floor, Mina hugged her knees tightly and cried herself to sleep. She suddenly felt exhausted.

Mina awoke to a headache. The bowl of crap was still next to her. She picked up her spoon and ate it as tears flowed down her cheeks. The sky was blue this morning. She spent the rest of the day imagining the last time she had looked at a blue sky. Sure, she had seen it, but she could not recall the last time she had a proper look. It was suddenly so depressing to her that such a small thing could mean so much at a time like this.