Persona Non Grata (1)

God damnit. 

It was snowing. 

Ahn Kyunghee hated the snow. 

The clothes she wore were hardly fit for the chilling, wintry frost. Donning a brown double-breasted trench coat reaching the kneecaps, she had a dark grey hooded sweater underneath, but she was also wearing an extremely tight mini-skirt exposing the legs. Cold air managed to seep under the layers of clothes. 

Pulling the hoodie over top her head, Kyunghee blew into her freezing hands then rubbed them together, wishing she had been smart enough to grab a pair of gloves before leaving the house for work. 

She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and tucked them underneath her armpits, trying to retain as much warmth as she possibly could. Her nose was red like a cherry tomato and when she exhaled, she could clearly see the condensation of breath in mid-air. Her lips were purple and chapped as well. 

She shuddered from the merciless wind. 

Behind her, the cab sped off as she began the tread back to the apartment building in red glittering stilettos. Kyunghee had to remind herself to be careful since the ground was slippery from the snow and heels weren't particularly winter's best friend. She should have worn boots, or at least brought a change of shoes to slip into after work, but she had forgotten about it. 

She was so muddle-headed these days. 

Snow continued to gracefully descend from the darkened sky, drifting slowly, fluttering in the wind, and landing gently on the streets. It had started snowing about two hours ago and, in no time, it had covered the landscape of Seoul, South Korea in a fluffy, soft blanket of white. Oddly, the street lamps coupled with the reflection of light from the snow made Seoul seemed brighter at 1:15 AM than it would have normally. 

But she couldn't enjoy the beautiful snowfall. Her mind was consumed with annoyance. God, she hated the snow, did she mention that? Mother Nature wasn't satisfied with the heavy snowfall yesterday so she had ordered for a second round today. How many people could say they loved freezing their asses off in this kind of weather? Kyunghee didn't for sure. 

Long story short, she hated winter. 

Kyunghee quickened her pace. The sound of her heels clacking against the cemented ground reverberated throughout the quiet neighbourhood. She didn't live in an affluent neighborhood, but it wasn't unlivable either. The apartment building was old, run down and the security was nonexistent. However, she didn't choose the building for its looks but rather its affordable monthly rent. 

Arriving at the building's doorsteps, Kyunghee hurried inside and stomped her heels on the wet, black rug on the ground. She dusted the snow off her shoulders. Instantly she was bathed in warmth and her skin tingled as her body adjusted to the sudden change in temperature. 

Sniffling, Kyunghee headed over to the rows of mailboxes nailed to the left wall and opened the one that belonged to her apartment unit. Shehadn't checked it for two weeks, so it wasn't a surprise when a bunch of letters fell out, creating a mess on the floor. With difficulty in a mini-skirt, she managed to lower herself and gathered up all of the scattered mails before heading over to the elevator. 

Her apartment unit was on the fourth floor. As she stepped out into the carpeted corridor, she simultaneously skimmed through the pile of unread mails. 

Bills, advertisements, fast-food brochures, bills, bills, and more bills.

She let out a small sigh. She was short on cash these days so the mere sight of bills made her stressed. One of these days she'd like to open her mailbox and get a congratulatory letter for winning the lottery, Kyunghee thought. 

In the midst of going through the myriad of bills, she was abruptly pushed forward. Her body slammed into the walls as the mail fell out of her hands and scattered all over the dark blue carpet once more. 

"Oh my God!" Her heart leapt to her throat. 

She was about to let out another scream, but a hand immediately covered her mouth, effectively silencing her. Kyunghee stared at the number 402, her brain in shock at the same time as her heart pounded loudly against her ribcage. Fear speared through her body as she attempted to pry the hand off her face. She wanted to breathe, but mostly she wanted to scream for help. 

"Shush, love." It was the voice of a man. 

Her heart picked up even more, her blood turning cold as she struggled, screaming, but her calls for help were muffled by his callous hand. Instead, he responded by pushing his body up against her back. 

She stiffened in trepidation, her eyes widened, and she felt sick in the stomach. She tried to move, but she was sandwiched tightly between the door and his body. She screamed again, trying to get a word out to no avail. 

"I told you to be quiet!" He sounded more annoyed now, but—wait a minute—he sounded familiar. She heard this voice somewhere. She blinked, trying to remember whose voice this belonged to. 

Then it hit her. 

It was definitely him. Her hands curled into fists against the wooden door, anger building up inside of her. 

The rat bastard. 

"If I let you go, you can't scream or make a sound, got it? I don't want my wife to know I'm down here with you," the man instructed, his breath against her ear, fanning the rage inside of her. 

Kyunghee was furious, but she bit her emotions and nodded obediently. First things first, she had to get away from him. 

He let her go and she whipped around on her heels, her eyes narrowing into slits at the man standing in front of her. He was an inch taller than her. Not only that but he was on the chubby side and his breath always smelled like garlic. Honestly she didn't give a flying fuck about what he ate for dinner, but she hated dealing with him and his wife every time he paid her a so-called visit. It always meant trouble. She tried to avoid him, but it was hard because he lived in the unit directly above hers. 

"What the fuck do you want, Minjoon?" Kyunghee snapped, outraged by the uncalled for assault. 

"Why are you being so feisty tonight? Had a bad night huh? I can help make it better." Minjoon took a step forward, his eyes gleaming sinisterly. 

She took a step back, although that was quite impossible because the door was behind her and there was nowhere left to go. Kyunghee was inevitably cornered. 

A sly, perverse smile drew across his face as he reached up to touch her cheek. She jerked her head the other way before his hand could come into contact with her skin. She didn't want to be touched by the disgusting bastard. 

"Why are you being so coy?" 

'Has anyone ever shown this guy a mint?' Kyunghee thought, holding back the nausea. 

"Although I love it when you play hard-to-get because it makes the victory that much sweeter." 

Ignoring his sexually loaded comment, Kyunghee refused to respond or look him in the eye which made him angry because he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, at the perverted lust in his eyes. 

"I think about you every night, Kyunghee. I think about those pretty eyes of yours whenever you look at me so angrily, that sexy body of yours writhing under me…" His chubby fingers traced her pouty lips as the excitement in his eyes heightened. 

This woman was so much prettier, so much younger than that old hag of a wife he had. He could smell the sweet, intoxicating scent coming off of her. He swallowed his saliva.

Kyunghee clenched her jaw, burning hatred into his soul. 

"I think about you on your knees in front of me, those plump, sweet lips of yours sucking the cum out of my—" 

She slapped his fingers off her face and pushed him backwards. "Get your filthy hands off of me, you son of a bitch." 

He stumbled backwards, managed to catch his balance and looked at her angrily. "Filthy?" There was an incredulous look on his face before he burst out laughing. "Who are you to be calling me filthy, whore?" 

Giving him a purposeful once-over, she snickered with distaste. He was an ugly man through and through. 

His mouth curled into a frown and his eyebrows snapped together. Obviously she had hurt his male ego. "What the hell are you snickering about?" 

Kyunghee didn't answer him which provoked him further. 

"How many men already had their ways with you? You're tainted. You're a cheap whore that anyone can buy for a good fuck, so don't give me attitude, stupid bitch." 

She tried to ignore how much his words stung. "Minjoon, aren't you afraid your cute, little wife will find you here soliciting sex from me? Oh, I can't imagine how grounded you will be," she retorted with mockery instead. 

At the mention of his wife, he snarled and rammed his body into her, his pelvic pressed up against hers. She grimaced from the pain and discomfort of her personal space being violated. "Don't talk about that annoying bitch. I can do whatever I want without having to ask her for permission. She doesn't own me. On the other hand…" He trailed off, his eyes flicked down to her chest. "There are a gazillion of ways I want to own you." 

She swallowed past the lump in her throat as I attempted to push him off me while trying to remain unbothered. However, it was a lie to say she wasn't scared. 

"Get off me!" she hissed, pushing with both hands but the more she tried to push him off, the more he was adamant in staying in the same spot. 

For a wimpy bastard, he was surprisingly strong. She gasped when she felt his hand crawled under her mini-skirt, touching where he had no business, and the indignant fury flared up inside of her. Kyunghee punched him harder in the chest, but he didn't budge. 

"Stop! Stop it right now! Get off me, you asshole!" She raised her voice, yelling now, hoping the volume would wake up the other neighbors. 

"Everyone in this building knows what kind of person you are," Minjoon taunted, with a repugnant smirk before he stuffed his face into the hollow space of her neck. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she shoved him to no avail and cringed when he licked her exposed skin. 

Her body trembled, from disgust, from fury, from the injustice and pain of prejudice she couldn't get away from no matter how hard she tried.

"You strip for money and you sleep with men for money too. As long as we pay for it, you will come crawling on your knees, right? I'm willing to pay for your service, so stop trying to act like a dignified person because you're not. You don't have dignity or principles. Whores like you, they're a dime a dozen. Make this easier for the both of us and spread your legs, just like all those previous times you've spread your legs for the myriads of men in your life." 

His words sliced through her struggling. As revolting as they were, it struck some truths, alarming those insecurities she had hidden deep inside.