Katiana / Interactions. - Tumblr Posts

🪐 — katiana lenkov / tags.

🪐 — lil starter for  @starfrckled​​  ( sae-byeok )

        ❝ COULD YOU BRING OUT ANOTHER BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE ? ❞  katiana called from her lounge chair on her vacation rental’s enormous back patio, empty glass raised up. it’s phrased as a question — a polite request to the untrained ear — but both of them know that it’s more like an order. after all, katiana was well-practiced at being waited on. &  she liked sae-byeok well enough  ( at least, as much as she liked anyone ),  but it was painfully obvious in everything from the way she carried herself to the way she spoke that she was not used to the heiress’s extravagant lifestyle. luxury did not suit everyone; it was still to be seen if sae-byeok belonged here.  ❝ oh  &  maybe that box of macarons, too, while you’re at it. ❞

🪐 — kang sae-byeok​ ;

sae-byeok doesn’t belong there.   she can feel her skin crawling with the wrongness of it all,  more and more with every minute ticking off that stupid expensive clock over her head.  she forces herself to unclench her jaw,  to stop trying to guess how much it could be worth and how much she could do with it  —  she would bring her mother here,  would save up money for her brother’s education,  to start.  but in order for her to do even a fraction of that,  she needs to pretend to be one of the young and wealthy for as long as it take for her plan to work out. 

katiana’s voice grates on her ears,  still she turns on her heel to gather both the bottle and the box of pastries,  seemingly without a word of complaint.  even if she utters a few nasty words in korean under her breath,  it’s too low for anyone to hear and besides,  no one is really paying attention to their surroundings.  a mistake,  obviously.  that is exactly what she is going to use to her advantage to lighten their purses.   ❛  that is your dinner?  ❜   she is back on the patio with brows raised,  voice a little too flat to pass for concerned.  not that she is trying.  not that she cares.  it’s only going to be a bother if the other girl ends up feeling sick.

         PERHAPS IF SHE’D BEEN PAYING ATTENTION,  katiana would have noticed the way her guest eyed the pricey decor,  or heard the irritated whispers at being asked to wait upon her.  but the heiress is in her own little world,  as usual  — one where the only thing that matters is her empty glass  —  &  sae byeok’s displeasure goes unnoticed.  ❝ don’t be silly — i’m going out to eat with some investment banker’s son later tonight, ❞  she muses when sae-byeok returns, sweets in one hand  &  champagne in the other.  &  katiana’s graceful fingertips reach out to pluck a perfect pink pastry out of the box without so much as a thank you.  ❝ i just wanted a snack now. ❞                                                   but when she takes the bottle of champagne from her, at least katiana pours two glasses,  handing one to sae-byeok  &  clinking the crystal rims together delicately before taking the first sip.  ❝ he invited me to this little greek place,  i guess it’s supposed to be good — his uncle or something owns it.  you can come, if you want.  i’m sure he could bring a friend for you to go with. ❞  she continues, swirling the champagne around in her glass as she reaches for another macaron.  ❝ ugh, these are so good, ❞  she says through her mouthful, the pastry airy  &  sweet. ❝ they’re honestly the best you can find outside of paris,  don’t you think ? ❞

🪐 — kang sae-beyok ;

fingers close around the offered glass,   gesture more automatic than genuine.  she fights off the urge to wrinkle her nose as she scent of alcohol brushes against her nostrils,  but makes herself take a small sip anyway.  she might get away with tuning out half of katiana’s words  —  especially when they involve dinners with wealthy sons and such  —  but she doubts the girl is entirely stupid and sae-byeok needs to be careful.   

❛  no,  thanks.  ❜   she declines the invite,  clipping the vowels as she heard people around her do so many times already,  then finally settling down on a nearby armchair lest someone mistakes her for a waitress,  standing there with her spine straight and a blank expression to booth.  sae-byeok relaxes her stance as much as she can,  elbows on the armrests and champagne glass on the table,  while her gaze slips towards the little box of macarons  —  pastries she has never tasted from a country she has never been to.  and a bite of curiosity has the better of her,  sudden and striking,  guilt following fast on its heels. she shouldn’t want more than she has, and yet.   ❛  what do they taste like?  ❜

       IT’S ALMOST A DISAPPOINTMENT  when she says no. without a friend  — if sae-byeok could be considered such  —  there to talk to, katiana would probably end up actually having to listen to the investment banker for most of the night.  &  people who worked in finance certainly had a flash factor that she enjoyed  ( nice cars, fancy restaurants, the best champagne )  they were honestly pretty boring when it came right down to it. but she shrugs, it off, popping another perfect macaroon into her mouth.                                     but then sae-byeok asks an entirely unbelievable question,  &  katiana almost chokes on the pastry she’s still chewing. ❝ you mean you’ve never tried them ? ❞  a hand flies up to cover her full mouth, the shame of bad manners so deeply ingrained that it comes as instinct,  &  she forces herself to chew  &  swallow before she speaks again.  ❝ well here !  you have to have one !  ❞  katiana leans forward in her seat, the half-empty box extended out in one hand toward sae-byeok in offering.  &  she shakes the box a bit for emphasis, clearly refusing to take no for an answer.  ❝ come on, i insist. i definitely don’t need the whole box to myself. there’s plenty  —  &  they’re so good, like little sweet little sugar puffs !  you’ll love them. ❞

🪐 —  KANG SAE-BYEOK​   for  katiana !

she shakes her head in answer to the question,   while glancing at the box of sweets with something close to suspicion in her eyes.  of course,  she can’t tell her that the only thing resembling sweets she remembers from her childhood is a soft piece of bread sprinkled with some sugar,  precious and rare enough that she made sure to lick her fingers clean.  so sae-byeok says nothing at all while reaching for a macharon,  round and cream colored,  hesitation and wonder whirling in her gut.  you’ll love them,  katiana promised  —  and sae-byeok hasn’t had anything for herself in so long that her fingers almost shake as they finally bring the pastry to her mouth.  

the taste is sweet,  but not so much her teeth ache and she can admit that it’s good.  she wishes she could bring one to her brother.  maybe she will slip one into her pocket later.   ❛  you were right  —  they are good.  ❜   and then she lowers her voice so it stands barely above a whisper,  because apparently all it takes to lower her defences is a little kindness.   ❛  my little brother would love them.  ❜ 

       IT’S A LITTLE STRANGE  the way that sae-byeok handles the seeet treats as though they were cast from crystal.  they were good, to be sure  —  the best outside of paris, as she’d said  —  but still nothing particularly precious.  katiana had eaten almost a whole box this weekend alone.  &  if she decided she wanted more, she could have her driver sent to fetch another box to be delivered within an hour.  &  she sips from her champagne flute, wide brown eyes curiously observing the way that sae-byeok seems to savor it, taking her time to chew  &  swallow.                                                           ❝ well we can have a box to sent to him.  especially if he hasn’t tried them before either.  everyone should.  ❞  &  the heiress makes a mental note to ask for an extra batch the next time she sends someone down to the little bakery for something sweet.  ❝ &  here i didn’t even know you had a brother.  what does he do ? ❞  come to think of it, katiana suddenly realizes she also knows very little about sae-byeok herself, either.  though she wasn’t sure why she should cared.  the other girl was really nothing more than just another of the ever rotating cast of supporting characters in the heiress’s life, bought into her orbit by her father’s obscene wealth.  but there something about the way that sae-byeok held herself that seemed different from everyone else, that cast her aside from all those preening social climbers who clung to her in hopes of seizing some of her family’s  clout or power for themselves.  &  while katiana wants to brush her instinct off, there is a part of her that is just too curious to simply let her differences slide.  ❝ where did you say your family was from again ? ❞

🪐 — KANG SAE-BYEOK​  for  katiana !

she shows no mercy for katiana's staggering form,   jaw clenched and stare as unforgivingly cold as her hometown winter nights.  sae-byeok reasons against simply leaving the girl to fend for herself,  after witnessing another near missed collision against the pavement.  because despite her harsh demeanor and the hundreds reasons why she shouldn't care at all,  sae-byeok keeps a dangerous secret under close guard:  her heart is too big for the cruel word she has been tossed into and sometimes it still compels her to kindness,  in spite of her better judgment.    '  aish  —  i'm calling you a taxi.  don't get sick on me.  '   she hisses this through her teeth,  still no more inclined to take pity on katiana's alcohol muddled brain enough to be gentle about it.  she wounds an arm around the other girl,  however,  in case she needs to keep her upright while she guides her outside the club,  towards the street's curb.  the music being blasted through enormous speakers follows them there  (   yet another thing to endure in this mess of a night   ),  forcing sae-byeok to raise her voice significantly in order to be heard.   '  can you get yourself home?  ' 

    THE CITY LIGHTS ARE SPINNING  —  or maybe she is.  katiana can’t really tell.  sometime after the fourth double martini, she’d lost her sense of balance.  &  her shoes didn’t help, brand new patent louboutin heels spiky  &  stiff  &  sky-high.  more than once, they catch on an uneven piece of pavement  &  almost send her sprawling, long legs knocking together as she just barely stays upright, giggling the whole time.  some guy had been trying to chat her up inside, but he’d ditched her pretty quickly when she’d turned down his invitation to go back to his place, grumbling something about not getting a proper return on his investment.  as if he had any room to talk.  he’d still been wearing madc jacobs’ winter collection from three years ago, so she doubted he really had any idea what made for a good investment.                        she’s fishing around in her handbag for her cell phone, her untouched roll of cash still tucked into the inside pocket  ( girls like her don’t pay a cover charge,  &  they definitely don’t buy their own drinks ), when sae-byeok appears at her side.  &  katiana gives a drunken squeal of delight, an arm flung clumsily around the other girl’s stiff shoulders.  ❝ sae-byeok, i’m so glad you’re here !  did you see that guy who was talking to me in there ?  he was so boring, did you see ? ❞  she’s slurring, her head pounding in time with the loud music outside the club,  &  it takes sae-byeok’s words a long moment to register.  ❝ ah, a taxi, yes, exactly, that’s just what i was trying to do, but i couldn’t find my phone !  maybe i left it inside.  but it’s fine, i can just get a new one. ❞   &  then katiana breaks off into giggles again, her arm falling from the other girl’s shoulder.  ❝ um, no ?!  you can’t leave, the night’s not over yet — we still have to go back to the flat  &  have girl-talk.  that’s the best part of any night out, don’t you know ?  like you have to tell me, did you have fun ?  did you dance with anyone cute ? ❞ 

🪐 — INBOX CLEANUP /  @immobiliter​  as  villanelle  sent to  katiana  : 

                   ❛   yeah,  you’re  living  the  life .  ❜

     ❝ YOU MEAN WE ARE, ❞  katiana corrects.  &  she gives a cool smile, interlacing her arm with the other woman’s as they stand at the terminal gate with brand new matching designer luggage sets in hand.  the flight crew is preparing her father’s jet for boarding,  &  they will be the only two passengers on the flight.  &  though they had only just met, katiana saw no reason she shouldn’t act as though they were  the best of friends already.  not that she knew what it was like to have such a thing in reality,  but she imagined that a trip like this would be much more fun with someone like that at her side.                         but in her experience, travel companions were girls she had never met, usually just above her own age,  &  the assumed daughters of the various high-ranking men in her father’s political orbit.  katiana privately thought that they might be secretly there as glorified babysitters  —  paid off to report back to her father about her behavior while she was abroad  —  but to voice it aloud would color the trip with a tension that would undoubtedly cause stress wrinkles in her flawless skin.  no, if this was meant to be a vacation, then denial was far preferable.  so why not lean into the act ?         ❝ you’re  flying with me now,  so you can consider it  our life  for as long as you stick around. ❞  that was the deal, wasn’t it ?  it certainly didn’t seem like her companion actually wanted to be there.  which katiana actually thought was a little insulting.  after all, what kind of person would turn their nose up at a month at a shared luxury villa on the italian coastline ?   ❝ have you ever been to italy before ?  it’s stunning, you’re going to absolutely fall in love with it. ❞