Chapter Eight

"Daughter! Where is my shaving cream?" my father demanded, storming into my room.

"What would I be doing with that? Go check the cupboard under the bathroom sink" I answered, putting my computer to sleep.

"Yeobo! I found your shaving cream!" my mother called from the bathroom.

"Then hurry up and pack it into my suitcase! And don't forget to zip it up properly this time!" he shouted back.

He headed out of my room, but stopped abruptly in the doorway.

"Oh and come with me to the store before HyukJae and I go to the airport. I have something for you to do"

I nodded.

"Yes, appa"

"So appa, tell me about this National Computing Conference thing. Will many people go?" I asked, pulling the seatbelt across my body.

My father started up the car and waved goodbye to my mother who was standing at the edge of the driveway.

He accelerated forward and made a left turn.

"Well yeah, there will be many other computer business owners there. It's a place for us to discuss marketing strategies and how to incorporate new technologies into our field"

"Ah so is it like that union meeting you went to last year?"

"It's exactly that, but the organisers decided to change it to some other flashy name"

"Last year you went alone, right? You didn't even take Jeong Sok oppa"

He scoffed.

"Park Jeong Sok? He wouldn't come with me even if I gave him the chance. One thing I hated about him was his lack of personal interest in computer repair"

"So you're saying HyukJae is the total opposite? He has interest and potential, right?"

"Well if you say so, but that kid works hard. So to repay his efforts, I'm taking him with me to Seoul. Besides, I think it's about time he visits his family"

I chuckled.

"Appa, I've never seen you so caring towards anyone before. You must like HyukJae a lot"

"L-Like him a lot? I wouldn't go as far as 'like', just...respect for" he denied.

I smiled.

"Whatever you say appa, whatever you say"

That stupid blonde head is pretty likable.

But only when he's not being a stupid blonde head though.

Which he is most of the time.

So he's probably not actually that likable.

Just respectable.

Yeah.

The engine's humming reduced to silence, accompanied by the unlatching of seatbelts.

"Appa, how is HyukJae going to get to the airport?"

My father slammed the boot shut and locked the vehicle.

"He should be arriving here soon, we're driving there together"

He unlocked the back door to the store and I followed him inside.

"HyukJae's gonna have a hard time in Seoul, I'm sure" my father said, taking off his coat and draping it on the back of the receptionist's chair.

I raised my eyebrow at him.

"Hard time? Why? Will the other businessmen target him because he's a mere assistant...?"

He chuckled.

"No no, don't sound so worried! What I meant is that he'll be having a hard time without his girlfriend"

I let out a sigh of relief.

"I mean isn't that how you young kids are? One day without your 'baby boo' will feel like a century, right?"

I cringed.

How could words like 'baby boo' be coming out of my father's mouth?

"Appa, not everyone's like you! To you, one day without umma probably feels like a millennium" I joked.

He opened his mouth to retort but he remained speechless.

"Lee sunbaenim, good morning!"

We both turned to find HyukJae arriving through the back entrance.

"HyukJae, you're here right in time. Stay here with my daughter and make sure she keeps her smart little mouth shut. I'm going to check the stock"

HyukJae nodded.

My father mumbled before closing the door behind him, disappearing into the storage room.

"What's up with Lee sunbaenim?" HyukJae asked.

I smiled and shook my head.

"It's nothing, appa's just throwing one of his usual temper tantrums again"

"Oh okay...so what are you doing here? Are you coming to Seoul with us?"

"Of course not, appa just wanted me to help him with something"

"Ah alright, but just as well you're here I have a favor to ask..."

I nodded.

"Sure, go on"

"Could you please look after my house while I'm away?"

"Like house-sitting...?"

"Not really, I don't need you to stay there. If it's not too much, I just want you to go there once every day to feed Choco and collect any mail"

"Oh of course, sounds easy enough"

"Thank you, and please also take this envelope"

He placed it in my hands along with a silver key.

"What is it?"

"The landlord will come and collect my rent on the second day I'm away, so just give it to him"

"Sure, but is there any way I'll be able to contact him beforehand? You know, so he knows what time to meet me"

"No there isn't...but he will be expecting you at nine, he is never late"

"Nine...in the morning?"

"No, nine at night"

I gulped.

"W-Well...does he have a name that I can refer to?"

"You'll know it's him when you see him, just give him the envelope and you don't have to say a thing"

"But what if-"

He shut his eyes and sighed.

"I'm sorry...just give the envelope back to me, I'll explain the late payment to him when I come back. My area isn't all that safe at night either. It’ll be dangerous for you to be alone"

"No no it's not that, I'll do anything for you-"

Crap.

I did not just say that.

HyukJae looked seriously at me.

"R-Really?"

"N-Not in that sense though...I mean I owe you after you kept me under the covers from appa and everything and-"

He chuckled.

"Yes yes, I understand. You know, you're cute when you're trying to explain yourself"

My cheeks burst into flames.

I hate it when he looks into my eyes while saying all that 'you're cute when...' stuff.

"Your luggage is quite light, HyukJae" my father said, lugging the suitcase towards the car.

"Lee sunbaenim! Please let me carry it myself, this is too much trouble for you" HyukJae answered rushing after his superior.

My father brushed his hands away.

"No no, it's alright. I actually expected a pretty boy like you to have a bag full of hair products and facial masks"

HyukJae chuckled and helped my father lift his suitcase into the boot.

"It's not like that, sunbaenim. I don't use those sorts of things"

I my cheek with my index finger.

So his perfect milky white skin was all natural...?

"Ah yes, my coat. I left it at the reception. Once I come back we'll be off, alright HyukJae?" my father informed before rushing back into the store.

HyukJae nodded and closed the boot.

I stepped towards him, eyes focused on the loose gravel below.

"I'll miss you..." I said quietly.

His warm fingers lifted my chin so that our eyes met.

"Really?"

I stepped back and scrambled myself out after falling deep into his dark brown orbs.

"I-I was just joking idiot oppa! It's just for three days, not like it's gonna be months"

"So if I did leave for months, or even years, would you really miss me?" he asked seriously.

"W-Well..."

Damn him and his seriousness.

"Well of course, if anyone I knew was leaving for months or years I would miss them. People like...like Hanyeon even"

He smiled pat my head.

"HyukJae, it's time to go" my father interrupted before getting into the car.

"Alright, I'm coming" he replied.

"Well I guess this is it until you come back, have a safe flight and take care" I said in farewell.

"You too"

And with that he turned his back and opened the car door.

I clenched my right fist together, nails digging into my palm.

Something was missing. But he probably didn't want to say goodbye like that.

He paused and the door swung freely open.

He stepped towards me and in a second I found myself in his arms.

"While I'm away, don't find yourself any more distractions okay?"

I nodded against his chest.

"Then promise me you won't find any in Seoul either"

“Thank you”

I bowed at the grey haired bus driver and stepped off at the final stop of the route.

“Young lady, it’s quite dark now and this area isn’t all that safe. Are you sure this is where you want to get off?” the driver asked.

I nodded.

“Yes I’m sure, I have something important to do and I’ve been here before. Besides, this is the last stop”

“I’d be more than happy to take you back to the previous stop, really”

I shook my head.

“No it’s okay, thank you. Please have a safe drive back”

He sighed and released the brakes.

“Be careful then”

I watched the bus growl into the distance before making a steady turn right at the empty intersection.

Slipping my hands into my pockets, the key to HyukJae’s apartment grazed a little against the backs of my fingers.

I inhaled a cool breath and let it out as a cloud of hazy smoke, before starting off down the poorly lit alleyway.

Getting to HyukJae’s house in the fastest time possible was my aim.

But that wasn’t quite going to plan.

My feet dragged along the uneven path and my eyes darted cautiously.

Left and right. Up and down.

Not that anyone would attack me from above or anything but yeah.

My ears pricked up to a horrid scream in the distance and the distorted cackles of what sounded like drunk men.

Instinctively I sped down the closest alleyway and stayed right up close to the moss infested brick building.

I whimpered. 

I was reaching the point of paranoia where I was afraid of the sound of my own breathing. 

My hands trembled as I remembered his warmth.

“I-I have to get over this…”

I clutched onto the key in my pocket.

“Okay so HyukJae’s apartment shouldn’t be far from here because I just passed that flickering lamp. Now just to find that dark alleyway…dark 
alleyway…”

I blinked hard.

Actually, what I saw while blinking and after blinking was the same.

Darkness.

DARKNESS.

I charged down the alleyway. This must be the way.

I let out a huge sigh of relief as I arrived at that familiar stairway.

“Stairway to heaven, I’ve finally found you…” I puffed, collapsing onto the first step.

RATS.

I clawed up the rail, hoping desperately that nothing unexpected would scamper down my way.

Finally I stood safely on the landing and extracted the key from my pocket, before inserting it into the lock.

I clasped my hands around the door knob and an alarm sounded.

HE DIDN’T TELL ME HE HAD AN ALARM.

The creamy blonde Chihuahua pounced from behind the door and scuttled around my feet.

Uhh…so how exactly did I take Choco’s barking as an alarm…?

Pabo.

I stepped into the house and knelt down to the excited puppy.

“Hello Choco, your appa has gone away to Seoul. I’ll be looking after you for now, okay?”

She the back of my hand with her small pink tongue before trotting off to the ‘(very) open kitchen’.

I followed behind and found her lapping at her red water bowl. The container next to it only held two bone-shaped pellets.

Right, I need to feed Choco.

I examined the area and only discovered one cupboard.

“It must be in there, right Choco?”

Choco scampered to the side and I squatted down to open the cupboard, but I only to found an empty box of Choco Pie and a few odd cartons of 
strawberry milk.

“Where else could it be…?” I murmured to myself, scratching my head.

Choco let out a little yelp and scratched at the humming fridge.

I stepped over and swung the heavy door open, releasing a breeze of cool air and pungent smells.

I laughed.

“Only HyukJae would put dog food in the fridge”

“Here we are again young lady, though it seems like a routine for you to be coming here every night” commented the same grey-haired bus driver.

I got off my seat and headed down the empty isle to the front exit.

“I’ll only be doing this for one more night, I’m just helping my friend look after his house while he’s away” I answered.

“Your friend lives in this area? The land here is owned by the government, so no one really lives here, legally anyway”

I frowned.

“Legally? You must be mistaken, my friend lives here and I’m sure it’s all legal. He pays the rent and everything”

The bus driver shrugged.

“Well you better be on your way, don’t get home too late”

I nodded and hopped off the bus onto the curb.

“Have a good night”

I sat at the bottom of the stairway up to HyukJae’s house, Choco scratching at the door.

“It’s okay Choco, I’ll be coming up to feed you soon” I called back.

I picked up the envelope that lay on my lap and weighed it in my hands.

This doesn’t feel very heavy, I wonder how much rent he pays…

Suddenly I heard multiple voices echoing down the unlit alleyway.

Could it be?

I glanced down at my cell phone; 8:59PM

Slipping the envelope back into my pocket I pretended to linger around.

“Hey you” boomed the deep voice.

My heart pounded in my ears as I turned around to approach the visiting guest.

Is he really HyukJae’s landlord…?

I looked skeptically at the man as he stepped into the dim light. He wore a black suit with a loud floral business shirt and his crocodile skin dress 
shoes gleamed. His rolled up sleeves revealed a long tattoo that muttered some foul English.

A gang of five similar men trailed behind their leader. They whistled and hollered at the top of their voices, shouting crude and erted 
comments.

The ‘landlord’ raised his hand to silence his men.

“Keep your manhood in your pants boys, this one ain’t ours”

He spat the toothpick he had in his mouth onto the ground by my feet.

“So our little Hyukkie sent his pretty girlie to do business for him eh?”

The men behind him burst into a wave of laughter.

“N-No…he’s just-“

But then HyukJae’s words echoed in my head.

“…just give him the envelope and you don’t have to say a thing”

I held out my hand clutching the envelope.

“The rent” I said quickly.

I felt it slip out of my hands and he slapped it against his palm.

“How much is in here?” he asked.

I looked up at him.

“What?”

“Did he include last week’s rent? He didn’t cough up enough last time”

“Ah…I don’t really know s-“

He stepped closer, the tip of his crocodile leathers touching the head of my pink ballet flats.

I turned my body to the side.

“You know, if he doesn’t…I have many ways in mind to play with you…” he threatened, twirling a length of my hair.

I tilted my head away from him.

“Y-Yes…all the money you want inside, just take it and leave” I said uneasily through clenched teeth.

Honestly, I didn’t even know.

He stood back again.

“Right then , I’ll take your word for it. But when I go home and open this, and it’s not what you say…you’ll know what’s gonna go down”

I nodded with my head bowed.

“Boys, let’s go”

The gang spilt apart, like soldiers called into formation, and let their leader through.

HyukJae…don’t you think it’s dangerous like this?

A/N: I'M BACK I'M BACK I'M BACK! Sorry for being on hiatus for so long but I've been preparing for school (it starts tomorrow *sighs*) and doing other things that seem to keep me VERY busy for a VERY long time - _ -...and just a heads up, I'm now aiming to update once a week after school starts since I don't have as much free time anymore >_< OKAY ANYWAY. I hope this chapter was good~ SO MUCH DRAMA. ARE HYUKJAE AND LITTLE FAN GIRL EVEN TOGETHER?! ARE THEY JUST KIDDING AROUND? WHAT ARE THEY EVEN DOING? I don't even know lol. You'll all just have to wait and see. I'm killing you all *smirks* but awww~ wasn't their little goodbye just the cutest ^^ she got the hug she wanted kkk~ OMG AND THOSE ERTED MEN AND THEIR MANHOOD AKJDSKLJLKDFJ SO SCARY. Oh and yeah, I updated two chapters at once ^^ (Chapters 7 and 8)~

"Hyuk shows 'em how it's done..."