379 Lullaby

CEO Jun Hara's house

On the west side of Harbor City, a gated house with a stone fence stood tall and glamorous. Green grass surrounded the big house and a colored fountain sat in front of the front door. A combination of yellow and white lights illuminated the interior of the house where vintage-elegant was the theme.

Mr. Hara casually browsed the tablet on his hand as he sat on the sofa. A crease formed on his forehead, evidently bothered by the email that he was currently reading. The light clacking of heels echoed in the living room as Margaret entered the room with a huge smile on her face. 

"What are you reading, daddy?" Margaret leaned over to see what her father was looking at but she was only able to glance at the tablet before he closed the screen and turned to her. "Mm, you're home?"

"Yes." She walked around the sofa and sat next to her father with a sigh, "I'm exhausted."

"Why? What did you do today?"

"Oh, nothing much really… Just out shopping with the girls." She turned to her father and met his gaze. "What are you thinking about, daddy?"

"It's nothing, I'm just wondering what Chairman Park is going to say on Monday," he answered, placing the tablet on the coffee table in front of them.

"You're going to meet Damien on Monday? Why? Can I come?" Margaret immediately straightened up, a glint flashed across her twinkling eyes upon hearing Damien's name. She had just read the articles online before she arrived home. The original write-ups had been taken down, however, the news had already spread so widely that netizens were still talking about it.

She didn't like that Damien and that woman he was with in the afternoon were being talked about like they were a celebrity couple. But that was just a temporary thing. She knew that this would cause a ruckus with the board knowing that they wouldn't want their company's image to be tarnished. Once that happens, kicking Young Corporation out of the picture was going to be easy.

"You haven't… Hmmm… Don't search anything online for now, okay? Crown Resort Group requested a meeting with all the bidders of the project on Monday. Also, we've talked about this. It's better if you don't go anywhere near Damien Park." Jun Hara studied his daughter's face as if he was trying to search for something before probing, "You didn't see him, did you?"

"Of course, not, daddy. I told you… I'm fine now. I promised you that I would stay away and I did… I haven't seen him at all. I swear." A charming smile cast her face, looking so angelic as she lied to her father's face.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Jun Hara nodded and patted Margaret's head. "Good girl."

"So… I really can't go with you?"

Her father only eyed her and she pursed her lips into a thin line, raising her hand in surrender as she got up. "Okay okay… I was just confirming. Fine… I won't go…"

"Yes, Dad. I'm going up to my room now." She pressed a kiss on her father's forehead before happily strolling towards her bedroom with a wicked grin on her face.

Jun Hara watched as his daughter walked up the stairs with worry written all over his face. "Don't forget to take your medicines. Good night."

"I won't, daddy. Good night!" Margaret disappeared from his sight and she entered her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

The yellow light that softly brightened her bedroom made the whole place look serene and calm. Her bedroom had shades of pink and white on the walls, the curtains, and even the drapes on her canopy bed. Margaret Hara had this adorable and innocent persona; one look at her and you'd want to be friends with someone as cute as her.

With a smile on her face, she went to her dresser and sat in front of the mirror. She looked at herself, turning her face from side to side as though she was examining her appearance. Picking up a wooden paddle brush, she started to brush her hair carefully, humming to the tune of Lullaby by Krzysztof Komeda.

When she was done, Margaret washed up and changed into a floor-length white nightgown and padded towards her tall dresser, pulling the topmost drawer open where untouched bottles of pills worth a few months were kept hidden. She glanced at her reflection on the mirror next to her and smiled before briefly looking at the medicine bottles again. Then she closed the drawer and went to her bed. Daddy wouldn't know if she missed a few pills or so anyway…

There were a few stuffed toys on her bed but she grabbed for the baby doll as soon as she crawled to the middle of the bed and cradled the baby in her arms. "Hey, baby… did you miss mommy?" A gentle smile formed on her lips as she softly caressed the baby doll's face. "I saw your daddy today… He was out with someone else but that's okay... He'll be back, I'm sure of it. I'll make sure of it."

Margaret got settled under the covers and turned off the lights. It was still and quiet and the only sound that could be heard was another round of humming from the same spine-chilling tune that filled her room—"Lullaby"

"I wanna see your daddy again soon… What do you think I should wear?" she casually asked the baby doll in her arms as if she was expecting it to respond.

Margaret Hara left Esmea almost a decade ago. Everyone—except her family—thought that she left for Japan to manage their business there. While that was partly true, no one else really knew what happened to her all these years. 

Now, she appeared as if she was a normal, beautiful woman in front of her friends—and only the walls of her bedroom and the doll in her hands truly knew what happens at night when she's all by herself.

"Hush now, baby, don't cry… Daddy and mommy are going to be together again soon. We'll be a happy family," Margaret softly said and then started, "La la la la la la la la la la…"