He suddenly had the urge to laugh at the look on Park Deojeon’s face. “Respect begets respect?” he repeated while watching the she-devil walk away from them. No one said a word. They all stood there, waiting. For some weird, reason, Jiyong felt that he should follow the she-devil. He tried shaking the feeling away by raising his head a little and focusing his eyes on the the half-sister only to find her looking at him too. Anyone who’d get caught looking at someone normally averts their eyes but the girl didn’t do that. Instead, she gave him a small smile. Not sure how to take that, he bowed his head a little in response. He immediately glanced away when he noticed her blush. As he did, his eyes met his mother’s and she was giving him a stern look.

“Very well,” the master started. They all straightened up as he started introducing them to Kiko. He then gave instructions next to make the newly arrived comfortable and to see to her needs. Since he wasn’t assigned with any tasks, he immediately sought after the she-devil the soonest he can. He wasn’t even sure why he’s even bothering to do so but he just found himself looking for her.

He first looked at the garage and when he saw all of her cars were still there, he went around the house, dodging the others to find her. “Where on earth is she?” he breathed. He already went to check the entire house but there was no sign of her. She wasn’t in the pool area and she wasn’t in the garden as well. Just when he was about to stop, he then remembered he didn’t check the greenhouse yet. He wondered for a moment if she would be there. He never saw her set foot in that place. “Could it be?” he wondered.

His feet started moving even before he could think of anything else. Due to his haste, he bumped into someone just as he turned around a corner. His arms went to wrap around the person’s waist to stop the person from falling backwards. “Sorry,’ he mumbled as he straightened up and righted the person up as well. As soon as he saw the person he bumped into, he immediately pulled away and stepped back. “I’m so sorry, young madam,” he said, bowing.

“It’s okay,” she softly said. “And please don’t call me young madam, it makes me uncomfortable. Just call me Kiko.”

“I don’t think I’m in the position to call you by your first name.”

“I insist,” she said. “Your name’s Jiyong, right?”

“Yes.”

“It’s okay for me to call you by your first name, right?”

Just as Jiyong was about to answer, someone else answered for him. “No, you can’t call him that. He’s mine.”

Jiyong sighed as she saw the she-devil coming their way. He wanted to ask where on earth she’d been but he stopped himself. He wasn’t even sure why he was even looking for her. As he kept his eyes on the girl, he belatedly noticed Kiko going behind him as if hiding from the she-devil.

Jiyong straightened up as he felt Kiko trembled from behind him. She was standing too close that he could feel her body trembling behind him. Sandara stopped just a feet away from him and crossed her arms across her chest. She then raised a brow at him. Her eyes then went to the girl behind him and then back to him. She did this over and over again before she threw her head back and laughed. “So this is how it’s going to be, huh?”

He watched her laugh. Her laughter was filled with sarcasm and something else he couldn’t put a name to. When her laughter subsided, she threw an accusing glare at his direction before directing her eyes to the girl hiding behind him. “So you’ve found another person to use, huh?”

“S-sandara, I-I’m not. . . “

“S-sandara,” she mimicked. “Yeah, right. Don’t even put that stuttering act in front of someone who’s not gonna buy it, you . Oh right, Kwon Jiyong’s here, of course you have to make him believe that you’re just one of those perfectly innocent victims of the she-devil Sandara Park’s childish whims.”

“Sandara, I’m not trying to-.”

“Shut it, .”

“I didn’t want to be here, Sandara but Dad wanted me here.”

“You should stop calling me by my first name while I still have the patience to stop myself from pulling your hair out.”

“Sandara, can we-.”

“!” she screamed and started reaching out to the girl behind him, clawing out. He stepped forward and shielded Kiko from Sandara’s attack. He grabbed both of Sandara’s wrists and gave Kiko a small nod, silently telling her to go.

“But. . .” Kiko started protesting.

“Go,” he quietly said. The girl bit her lower lip, nodded and then turned away to leave. The moment the other girl was out of sight, he turned his attention towards Sandara. “Stop it,” he said.

“Stop what?” she asked as he pushed her against the wall. “Ooh,” she giggled. “Do you want to kiss me again?”

“Stop whatever it is you’re doing and planning to do to Kiko.”

The smile on her lips disappeared. “And here I thought you were smarter than anyone else, even than my own father but you’re just like everyone else.” She said it with such disappointment that he can’t help but blink at her. But before he could even wrap his head around it, her face changed. “Step back,” she ordered. He just blinked at her again. “Take your hands off of me, servant and step back.”

He let her go and stepped back. It was his first time hearing her to talk him with such authority. She was mean. She was a she-devil. She was a . Most of the times, she’s playful and flirty and even snob and act as if he didn’t exist but he never saw and heard her act with authority. She orders them around. She fires anyone who pisses her off or if she’s in the mood to fire someone or make their lives miserable but never in a tone like this.

He wanted to say something but his mind couldn’t come up with words so he just stared at the wall as she left. He stood there for a very long time before sighing and looking down. As he did, he saw something that made him frown.

He went down to one knee and reached out for the little green leaf on the floor. He stood up and let his feet lead him to his original destination a while ago: the greenhouse. When he reached the place, he started looking around. He barely stepped into the place as it was mostly forbidden by his mother. Being the head of the household, his mother strictly forbidden them to frequent the place. The place was almost close to being sacred. Although most of the member of the household wanted to stay at the greenhouse during their free time as its a known fact that Sandara Park only stepped once in her life in the place. If there was a place you could hide from her, it was probably the greenhouse.

But then, maybe they’re all wrong.

As he reached the center of the place, he saw the picture of Park Deojeon’s deceased wife in a frame and just behind it, he could see the tip of a crystal container where her ashes were kept. It was seated in a glass table surrounded by blooming flowers. Two wooden benches were placed beside the glass table while a long couch was placed right in front of it. In between the benches and the couch were two chairs made of metal on each side. He lifted the green leaf he picked up from the floor a while ago and compared it to the ones surrounding the frame. They were exactly the same.

“Your daughter is one handful girl, Madam,” he whispered to the still image of the smiling woman on the frame. He took a seat on the couch in front of the table and stared at the picture. Sandara Park looked exactly just like her mother, except the nose. But their eyes. . . their eyes were exactly the same shape and color. He can’t help but stare at the smiling eyes in the picture. Although they had exactly the same eye shape and color, he’d never seen Sandara Park’s eyes genuinely smile from happiness or excitement. She’d always looked as if she’s up to something naughty.

The late madam’s smiling eyes were so pretty that he can’t help but wonder how beautiful it would be seeing those smiling eyes on Sandara Park. Realizing where his thoughts were headed, he shook his head and started questioning his sanity. He admits to having a crush on the girl when he was younger and it might hurt his pride to admit but she also turns him on sometimes but he should not be thinking of any unnecessary thoughts about the she-devil. He should focus on getting through to college and getting a place of his own, get a well paid job and give his mother a better life.

He stood up and looked around. His mother assigned him to this place in her attempt to get him out of Sandara’s sight. He should tell his mother that they were all wrong when they thought Sandara Park never sets foot in the greenhouse. Telling his mother was the right thing to do if he wants a peaceful life and to be not in her list of interesting things.

But then, he didn’t really feel like doing anything right at the moment. And so, he decided he’ll start doing his job at the greenhouse later in the evening or better yet, maybe at midnight.

He started heading back to where he and his mother was staying to change clothes since he wasn’t really comfortable wearing the official household uniform as it’s way too formal. He preferred jeans and shirt. He stopped the moment he saw Kiko standing in front of their door. She looked like she’s been waiting for quite some time.

“Are you lost?” he asked as he neared her. The girl jumped back a little and gasped in what he could assume a surprise. He felt heat crawling up to his cheeks the moment he saw the blush coloring her cheeks.

“Uhm, not really. . .” she shyly answered. “I. . .I was just w-worried that S-san. . I mean, s-she. . .”

Jiyong tilted his head to the side. The girl was awfully shy compared to her half-sister. It didn’t escape him that she seemed concerned about him - of what Sandara could have done to him. He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it. The worst Sandara could do to him was fire his mother. He didn’t care much if he gets fired and although Sandara Park was a from hell, he never really saw her physically punched someone to pulp. Maybe she was just too high up in her pedestal to even get her hands stained with their blood. Come to think of it, Sandara going for Kiko was probably the first time he’d seen her become that physical with someone she’s pissed at. “I’m fine,” he said. When the girl didn’t answer, he went on. “Is that why you’re here for?”

The color on the girl’s cheeks darkened and she averted her eyes. Hmm, Jiyong thought.

“I’m sorry, I must be keeping you from your chores.”

Jiyong chose not to answer. He wasn’t really sure how to deal with this shy girl. It was one thing to deal with a she-devil and now he also had to deal with this girl’s fragility.

“I-I’ll get going then,” the girl stuttered. As the girl started stepping away, Jiyong started heading towards the door. “Uhm, Jiyong?”

Jiyong turned to face the girl. “Yes?”

“I hope we can be friends, I really need one.” She gave him a smile before quickly running away.

Jiyong stared blankly into space before shaking his head and got inside. He got dressed and went about doing his chores, sometimes helping the others too. He tried to avoid to be seen by his mother as he knew his mother won’t be too happy seeing him doing things which were making him visible to the owners of the house. He avoided to have any eye contact with Kiko or the master, though. It was easy to avoid eye contact with the master as he’s usually busy either being on the phone, doing something on his laptop or reading the newspaper. Yep, at this day and age, he still reads newspaper.

Kiko, on the other hand was an entirely different story. As much as he tried avoiding making eye contact with her, he could feel her staring at him. Not just that, he also caught glimpses of her looking at him at his peripheral vision.  He could ignore it but it was making him self conscious.

He never saw a shadow of Sandara Park the entire day.

As he went helping the others with their chores, his mother pulled him in a corner and scolded him about supposedly being assigned to the greenhouse. “Try not to draw attention to yourself, will you?”

“I’m not trying to draw attention to myself.”

“I saw the way the new young madam’s looking at you, Jiyong. I’m banning you from entering the mansion. You should stay in the greenhouse or in our place the entire day.”

“You’re joking.”

“Just bear with it until your classes start again.”

With an irate sigh, Jiyong headed towards the greenhouse and went about doing his chores while mumbling angrily under his breath. He will have to re-think of his plan of catching Sandara Park in the greenhouse.

It’s a stupid idea to try to catch Sandara Park in the greenhouse. He knew that. If the she-devil was in a foul mood, it could end up with him and his mother being fired. But then, he just couldn’t shake that feeling of curiosity of seeing her in the place. Why was she secretly going to the greenhouse? Was it because of her mother? But he remembered that one big fight the master and the she-devil had before. It was the late madam’s many death anniversaries and the master wanted the she-devil to come pay respect to her mother in the greenhouse but the girl stubbornly refused to obey her father. If he was not mistaken, she even asked her father why would she pay respect to someone she doesn’t even know. She even declared of never going to that wretched place - her words, not his. To top it all, she even threw a pool party and invited a lot of people.

Remembering the she-devil’s words from the past made Jiyong thirstier to know the truth of her visiting the greenhouse. To make sure he’s not going to miss her if she does pay a visit, he decided to have a quick dinner and stay all through the night in the greenhouse - in hiding.

He waited.

One hour.

Two hours.

Three hours.

Four hours.

Five hours.

Disappointment hit him hard. it was already one in the morning. The girl was obviously not coming. He waited for nothing.

Just as he was about to leave his hiding spot, he started hearing soft footsteps. He immediately resumed his position from his hiding spot and waited. He only realized he was holding his breath when he exhaled long and quietly as soon as he saw the she-devil coming into view. Unable to stop himself, he took his phone out and started taking a series of photos of her. She was carrying a little throw pillow and a blanket. She placed them on the couch and slowly walked towards the glass table where the framed photo of her mother lies. She stood there for a very long time before stepping back and looking up at the moon through the glass ceiling. When she closed her eyes, Jiyong suddenly wanted time to stop. Sandara Park maybe a she-devil but seeing her like that under the moonlight was phenomenal.

She stood there for a few more seconds before heading back towards the couch and laid down, facing the framed photo of her mother. She had her eyes open for a few good minutes before she finally closed her eyes and Jiyong assumed she’d fallen asleep.

But not wanting to get caught, he waited a few more minutes before stepping out of his hiding spot. He slowly walked towards where the sleeping girl was and went down on one knee. Her face was being showered by the moon’s light and damned him but she’s beautiful. She’s more beautiful than her mother. She’s so beautiful that it was becoming painful to just stare at her.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered in awe. He was itching to reach out and caress her face but he stopped himself. He stayed there for a moment before deciding it’s time for him to go before he ends up doing something he might regret later but he did fix the blanket on her before standing up.

He stared down at her face again before sternly scolding himself to leave. He made sure to walk as quietly as he could towards the door. “Sweet dreams,” he whispered one more time before closing the door behind him.

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NOOB HAGO IS BACK

HELLO EVERYONE!!! MISSED ME?!?! HEHEHEHEHE. IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME! LOLs

So sorry if it took me so long to update, hehe. I will be doing MASS UPDATES anytime soon so watch out for it! Annyeong!