Chapter 19- Jade Spa

  I arrive at Imperial Jade spa the next afternoon to meet Raze inside.

  I ignored his first initial texts; whatever he wanted to address can be done in school. Then he offered to meet over coffee, to which I finally responded, "I can get my own coffee," which prompted him to raise his offer.

  The spa receptionist guides me into the women’s locker room and informs me that Raze is already in the co-ed lounge, waiting for me. Good. He can wait a little longer; This spa is one of those private spaces reserved for members, who pay a generous yearly fee. To become a member, you need a personal referral. I’m going to enjoy myself.

  There are hardly any patrons inside, if at all. The hot tubs and steam rooms are empty. I take advantage of the snack bar filled with fruits—a luxury in the markets now. I eat my share until it’s empty and enter the dry sauna. Andra greets me with a towel as I exit, and the bar is whole again. The android notifies me that Raze has called for me.

  “Tell him to wait,” I say. What was he going to do, storm into the women’s room?

  I have an hour left until my scheduled appointment with a masseuse, so I take my time and drag it out. But eventually, I go to meet him.

  The establishment feels like heaven’s garden. Floating lanterns light the hall; plants and greens hang from the ceiling; eucalyptus steams the air, freshening the space as if I had stepped into a lush forest. A faint piano plays in the background, performed by musician Andra in a long tailcoat. At the end of my road is a plunging waterfall, cascading from the open roof, plunging into a pond of koi fish, and streaming a river around the establishment.

  Raze lies on an elevated lounge chair, facing the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the gardens of the spa with a pool by the edge, and the endless clouds beyond that. He doesn’t stir to acknowledge me.

  “You sure took your time,” he says instead. He dons a navy blue robe and matching shorts provided by the spa, similar to my pink ones.

  Andra guides me to the seat next to him, a berry smoothie in the cup holder. I ease myself onto the cushion, my legs propped crossed in front of me. “What do you want?”

  It hardly matters what he wanted, really. The answer will be no, and I’ll go on with my promised spa day. Still, I was surprised he couldn’t wait until we were in class. He repeated twice that it was urgent and vital, but he still wants to warm up slowly with a small talk, asking about my week.

  “Just get to the point,” I groan and sip on my drink.

  Raze sits up with a sigh of finality. “How’s your SEM pill coming along? Any good investors?”

  That again. “It’s doing fine. And it’s none of your business who’s investing. Client confidentiality.”

  “Well, word on the street is that your potential investors are pulling out after the feds refuse to release your ingredients onto public shelves. I mean, can you blame them? Do you know how many industries you’ll destroy by putting your pills out there? I mean, about eighty percent of the food industry will be gone.”

  I set down my drink and study him for a moment. He’s done his research before coming. I suspect this will be the main topic today, and I will search for an escape.

  “It’s only in Van Sing,” I reply, feeling the need to defend myself. “We’ve yet to hit the foreign markets. I’m not too worried.”

  He nods impressively, a finger tapping the side of his leather seat. “That’s good to hear,” he says, his eyes absently on the pool, watching the wind blow tiny waves onto the surface. “So I don’t need to worry about your financial affairs.”

  My heart stops for a moment at the mention of finance. I force myself to take a deep breath, keeping my expression composed. “Why would you—”

  “A little birdy told me you’re just getting by.”

  This time, I can’t get myself to cough up a single word. I lie still, my eyes glued to the bristling trees, waiting for the punchline. When it doesn’t come, I crank my neck towards him. Raze has a satisfied smile on his face, as if he has successfully baited me into his trap. Raven. She told him.

  Deny. I tell myself. He has no physical proof.

  “Whatever you heard,” I start, my voice doesn’t betray my pacing heart, “is all bullshit.”

  “Heard?” he echoes. “I didn’t hear a wind of anything, Miss Yun. I saw it all for myself.”

  He gives his wrist a shake, and the panel shows, like he had lined it up, ready for presentation. Images of photocopied documents are projected between us. He shifts each photo like a wheel, showing all of them in a slide. “Before cleaning your Govon bag, I had it authenticated with the serial number. Just to be certain, I wasn’t cleaning a knockoff. And wow, Qonni. Where did you get all that money from? So, to ease my curiosity, I had a Private Eye dig around. And you won’t believe what I found.”

  He slows on some of the documents. I’ve never seen these prints before, but there’s no way I don’t recognize my own mother’s signature. Her life insurance policy, the amount she left us. I swipe on the next slide myself, then to the next, until I realize what this was. All the statements Aba signed over the last few years with the bank—the loans he took out and the monthly interest that added up. Then the last slide is the bank's final document, stating that all loans have been paid off in gold bars. All confidential, non-disclosed information is in his hands.

  I feel my chest grow heavy, watching my dirty laundry being pulled from my basket.

  “Where on earth did those gold bars come from?” Raze says, baffled, an accusation more than a question. “And from the looks inside your house…Did Daddy Valtor give you just enough allowance for your hair maintenance?”

  In my next breath, I leap off my chair and tackle him. We slide off his recliner and crash onto the refined redwood floors. He grunts as his back takes most of the fall damage. I get on top of him and pin his wrist beside his face.

  “You fucking stalker!” I bark. My cheek heats from shame and wrath. My fingers on his golden bangle, indecisive if I should rip it off him and toss it off the gaia, or dig into his chip, or rip his entire hand off.

  “Get off me,” he growls. He tucks his chin up, but his arms remain stuck on the ground. He’s able to peel them off just an inch before I slam them down again, unintentionally using more force than I should.

  But there’s no going back now; I can’t even control my own breath, nor what I might do in the next moment. Am I going to start tearing up or scream my lungs out? I can see my own rage in the reflection of his widened eyes. He’s known about my finances for a while, and waited for…what? I don’t understand.

  “Is this what you came here to do? Humiliate me? Blackmail me? Why don’t you just parade all this in front of the whole school?” I shout.

  There’s a flash of anger in his gaze, one that mirrors mine. He manages to get a hold of my wrist, overthrowing me from my own frustration, and pivots until I’m the one on my back, hands on the ground as he hangs over me. “You can’t possibly think that I would do that to you!”

  An ache surfaced in my chest from the defensive way he spat out his words, but more so of the hurtful expression on his face if I accused him wrongfully. Did I read this wrong?

  “Why wouldn’t you?” My voice is shaky from rage and an ounce from breaking.

  He has every reason to, just like Raven.

  There’s no immediate answer from him. For the next few dragging seconds, he just blankly stares down at me, his hand warm on my skin, his silk robe dangling over me so loosely that one more breath from me might slide the material right off him.

  Two staff members rush into the room.

  “Are you alright?” one of them cries, but neither comes close to physically breaking us up.

  But their presence and the attention of other patrons disrupt our quarrel. Raze slowly releases me and stands to fix his robe.

  “Things got out of hand in the heat of the moment,” he explains, an eye on me. “It won’t happen again.”

  With just a single wave, he gestures to dismiss them. When they’re out of earshot, he extends me a hand. I remain on the ground, still processing the situation. I feel his face soften, melt into pity.

  “I know we’re not friends now,” he starts, his voice low and doleful. “But we were once. Good friends. Don’t you remember?”

  How can I forget? But why bring it up now? I swallow down the memories and push myself up.

  “That hardly matters anymore,” I say.

  He drops his hand as I fix my own robes, finally meeting his impassive gaze. The cut above his right cheek is slightly plum-bruised, but healing. I swing my attention back to the gardens, my feet slowly following. “If not to hurt me, then why bring up my situation at all?” I ask. The answer hits me then. His reflection is faint on the glass window. “You want SEM.”

  His silence in the next few seconds confirms it.

  “And you know I’d never affiliate with Lotus, so you’re blackmailing me.”

  He scoffs in exasperation. “Did you not hear a word of what I just said? I wouldn’t—”

  “Then why?”

  He holds his breath and diverts his focus until he can form his words. From all the years with him, I’ve learned this is how he concentrates his thoughts. When he’s done, he squares his shoulders, slowly making his way towards me.

  “I think we got off on the wrong foot in this conversation. Don’t get me wrong, I do want the SEM pills, but I’m not willing to threaten you for it.”

  I blink up at him.

  “When I found out about your financial trouble, I didn’t know how to bring it up, or if I should ever,” he continues. “But it’s important that you know I’m aware of it or else my offer will seem dishonest.”

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “Your offer?”

  “An opportunity to make your own profits.”

  I cast him a glare. “You know I want nothing to do with Lotus.”

  “Not with Lotus,” he asserts. “With me.”

  His last words tell me how desperately he wants this.

  “Did your uncle put you up to this?”

  “He doesn’t know I’m here.”

  I shake my head in confusion. “What are you even getting out of this?”

  He purses his lips, wondering if he should tell me.

  “Tell me the reason, or I’m leaving,” I say.

  There’s a look on his face that challenges my claim. But eventually he spills. He needs something from Vikson, and to do that, he needs the SEM pill to please him. He’s been doing so with my research all these weeks, but that alone isn’t enough.

  “Why does he need it? He’s Lavoran Vik Son; he has the world in his hands.”

  He folds his arms again. “This is all company business. Secrets, confidential.”

  “Like my mother’s life insurance.” I mirror his arms. “You’ll tell me right now, or I’ll walk out.”

  After a few more long considerations, he finally replies, “He needs it for the extraction sites for the shards. They’re located deep in the Void, days from any civilization. It takes months for a whole mine to be fully extracted. Food is scarce in the wild. Most of the time, the miners would starve while waiting for the next delivery, causing delays in shipments and profits. We lose investors’ confidence. But your pills would easily solve the roots of our problems.”

  Lastly, he straightens his back and extends his hand to me. “So I’m offering a truce. We can set aside our personal—academic affairs and benefit from this deal.”

  I fixate on his rough palm—I should smack it away. How does he expect me to push aside our history?

  I’m old enough to understand Dr. Lena knew the risk of working in the facility, that the fault is her own, but I can’t help but lie awake on most nights, wondering if Lotus hadn’t implemented the safe fail, there might be a chance my mother would still be alive.

  That, I’ll never dismiss.

  But at the same time, rejecting the offer won’t bring her back. And I’m in dire need of money. Valtor Mital compensates me enough to keep me on my toes. After paying the bills and essentials, there’s hardly enough left for other things, even on a tight budget. Property taxes on the Gaia will only increase, and so will university tuition. Other than working under Mital, nothing else will suffice for my cost of living.

  And I can’t align myself with someone like Mital for long. Our deal is coming to an end; if I don’t meet the end of our bargain, forget living in a Gaia, I won’t be living at all. If it ever comes to that, I need the money to flee from him.

  I reach to clasp Raze's hand, then I remember the most crucial part.

  “I don’t own the product,” I say and drop my hand. SEM was created in one of Mital’s abandoned laboratories, which was raided a few years back in the Abyss. Though many of the initial equipment were seized as evidence, there was just enough left for me to do my business. Even the materials and ingredients for the pills are purchased from Mital’s wallet. None of it belongs to me. “I don’t have the authority to make the decision.”

  His face remains grim, his gaze cynical.

  “Sorry you wasted your time,” I end with and head toward the locker.

  “Can you send him a message on my behalf?” He hurries past me and blocks my path. “You still have your massage appointment.”

  “He’s busy, in a different timezone.” I frown. “And I doubt he wants to talk to you.”

  But most of all, I like to avoid conversing with Mital as much as possible, especially when the next shard shipment will be delayed. I’ll have to do double the work on my next run to make up for it.

  “Well, tell him I have a great offer for him,” Raze continues. A charming smile curves on his face as if he didn’t just expose my private matters. “And for you, too. Don’t you want another smoothie? A manicure? Pedicure?”

  “Bribes?” I scoff. I step aside from him and trod along the marbled floors.

  “I’ll write you a blank check,” he calls behind me.

  I stop in my tracks and spin around to meet his eyes, searching for any deceit, if this is a tactic to keep me here.

  “A blank check,” I echo each word.

  He nods. “A blank check for Valtor, another for you. But you must be reasonable. I can’t just hand you the entire corporation.”

  There’s just something about the mention of money that I can’t seem to reject, especially an unfathomable amount.

  “You promise?” I say. The question seems childish, but I want some sort of verbal confirmation.

  He raises a pinky, his lips pursed as if to tuck away a laugh. “I swear it.”

  I brush away his hand and shoot Mital’s assistant a text, a simple explanation of a deal with a boy from Lotus.

  “I can’t guarantee he’ll reply soon,” I tell Raze. “He’s somewhere around the globe.”

  “Well, we have the rest of the day to find out.” Raze grins, then starts loosening the strap of his robe, uncovering his tanned chest and abs. Smooth and defined.

  I tear my gaze away. “Do you have no shame?”

  “Why would I be ashamed of this?” He tosses his robe onto the cushioned seat. He stretches his arms overhead, his biceps flexing, veins showing. “There’s a pool. I think you should utilize it.”

  I keep my eyes on the cabanas out back. “For what?”

  He paces around the lounge, cracking his neck, and in front of me. “You didn’t hear it from me,” he says. “A few days ago, they ordered the Arena filled with tanks and tanks of water.” He raises a knowing brow. “An amount large enough to fill a lake.”

  “We’re swimming for the next drill?” I ask, more of a question to myself.

  Raze doesn’t give any more explanation after and nods towards the pool. “Want to race?”

  *

  By the time I finished dozens of laps around the pool, enjoyed the hour of my massage, a long shower, and a blowout for my hair, Mital still hadn’t returned my text. It can mean one of two things: he’s asleep or a flat-out rejection.

  I’m hanging onto the latter. Valtor has no business with a teenager with no influence in his family. I already got what I came here for—a lovely spa day—so it’s time to break the news to Raze.

  I wander around the spa, following the koi fish down a stream until I find Raze in the jade room. It’s the spa’s most famous attraction, covering catalogues in magazines, but in reality, the room itself is no bigger than a playpen. Which is still impressive considering it’s a whole boulder extracted from a mine. The outside is sculpted smooth into a geometric dome. The interior lies a sleeping Raze on a futon.

  Or so I thought until he stirred at the movement from the crawl space entrance. His head lies over an arm, the shine of his eyes on me.

  “You’re finally done,” he says, and sits up. The ceiling grazes his fluffy, clean hair. “Join me. It’s quite nice in here.”

  There’s barely any room other than the other futon flat on the floor beside him. After the swimming laps and the placid massage calming my nerves, I’d rather go home and lie in my own bed. I study the jade again, the lush green jade crystallization merging with the cloud white, cool to the touch of my fingertips. It’s said that the green parts of the jade absorb all the bad energy and misfortune.

  I've never believed in any superstitions, but I’m not sure when the next time I’ll come within yards of this artifact, so I crouch down and slither inside, onto the futon.

  Inside is dim and cool. No light other than the outside light diffuses through the translucent stone, exposing the intricate veins within.

  I lie on my back, my eyes on the ceiling, merely a foot away from Raze. “Twenty minutes,” I tell him. “If Mr. Valtor doesn’t respond, I’m leaving.”

  He cranks his neck and examines my blown-out hair. “But you look so nice.” His fingers twirl at the end of my curls. “Are you sure you don’t want to grab dinner as well?”

  “Stop kissing my ass.” I roll my eyes. Funny how his whole demeanor shifts when he wants something from me. No more snarky remarks, no more passive-aggressive statements, no more insult to injury. He’s trying to get on my good side, and it always works. Raze just has this natural charm to him, the effortless way he speaks that’s hard to resist listening to, as if I want to believe his every word. And I should know better than to fall victim like so many of the other girls before me. “This isn’t a date.”

  “It’s business,” he reassures. “I was requesting a business dinner. Heard of that?”

  “Like I have more to say to you.” My tone came out more bitter than I expected.

  I have a right to be.

  Raze must’ve heard it too, and remains silent for a bit. “You could’ve told me you were having trouble,” he genuinely says. The smugness in his voice is gone.

  I snort. “What could you have done?”

  He’s hardly an adult, let alone holding any power within his family’s position.

  “I don’t know,” he replies. “Give you free tuition? I can still do that.”

  “As if I’m not your biggest opposition in school right now.”

  He chuckles short. “The last I checked, I didn't see you anywhere near my spot.”

  I jab him with an elbow. “Fuck you, I’ll be back.”

  I always do. Since the years in the academy, we’ve never been far behind each other. Most of the time, we’re side by side on the leaderboard, tied yet again.

  “Anything else I can do?” Raze continues. “I realized I might’ve started this conversation on the wrong foot. I sort of feel bad about…revealing your personal finances like that.”

  “Sure you do.”

  He sighs. “It wasn’t my intention to dig so deep, to find what I did. And I know it's a sensitive affair that should never see the day of light, so I’m truly sorry I laid it all out on you. There’s nothing I won’t do to earn your forgiveness.”

  A pinch tugs in my chest. I don't want to forgive him, but his apology sounds so sincere, I feel as if I need to. I know when this is all over, and there’s nothing I can do for him, he’ll hold the same leverage over my head for his next bidding.

  Or maybe I’m overthinking it. I see his inquiring stare in the corners of mine, anticipating my response like a pup who’s done something wrong, awaiting consequences.

  “There’s nothing you could do or could've done, so just stop talking about it,” I say with finality. My arm over my burning eyes. The chemicals in the pool and the lack of sleep are catching up to me, as well as the night before, draining all my energy—the strength I borrowed from the days after. Exhaustion lulls me slowly into slumber.

  I dream of a boy with beautiful autumn eyes; the world around me matches them. I’m back, I realize. Back to a much simpler and happier time, when my future was bright and promising, when Dr. Lena was still alive. Before my life took a nosedive into a mountain, and before I became afraid of my own reflection.

  Raze was staring at me with those admiring eyes, a hand extended for me to take. Together we sprint down the road into the midst of the watercolor dream, filled with cotton candy clouds, cherry red roses, and soaring blue birds. I want to stay here. My chest ached, begging to remain under the sun’s warm beam. Where my only problem was deciding which textbook to read next.

  But everything must come to an end. My chest feels heavy before my eyes are even open, and I know my dream has vanished. I remain there in the dark, soaking in the remains of my short-lived dream. It’s warm.

  Feverishly warm.

  My eyes peel open into the dark. My limbs are stiff, entwined with arms and legs that aren’t mine. My temples rest on something firm yet plush, and a faint heartbeat pulses behind my ears.

  I jolt and push myself off of Raze. He rolls back and hits the smooth jade wall, startling awake.

  “What the hell?” he groans.

  “You fucking creep,” I exclaim.

  He props himself up and scans what little he can see of his surroundings: the two of us on the same futon. He sighs. “You rolled onto my side, smart one.”

  Reluctantly, I crawl back across the line between our futons, feeling the chilled surface under my fingers, suddenly missing the warmth. The cove is tiny, I must’ve tumbled in my sleep.

  “I—I was cold,” I explain as the embarrassment sets in.

  “No need to be so shy. We used to nap all the time, remember?” He huffs and leans on his elbow, his palm propping his temple up. His other hand pats the space in front of him, inviting me. “Still cold?”

  My cheeks flush, and I’m thankful for the dark. I check the time to find that I’ve been asleep for a little less than two hours. “Shit.”

  “You also got a reply,” Raze points out.

  I want to tell him and his big nose to get out of my business, but it’s a reply from a saved contact, M. Valtor.

  Set up a meeting. I’d like to speak to the boy.

  Raze reads it with me. His lips curve into a gratifying smile. “So, how about that dinner?”