The evening was joyous with music, dancing, and laughter. Parties held at the Tall Mansion were always crowded with guests whom the host invited. And the host was a wealthy young man named Ok Taecyeon, who owned an expansive land property and became the chairman of a company when his parents passed away, leaving their will to their only son. He was admired all over by tons of women due to his fame, good-looks and success. He didn’t have any flaws except for one; relationships.

Taecyeon was similar to a casanova, capturing many women’s hearts with his charms and leaving them wanting for more. He came across a young woman who caught his attention, and people were sure that he had found the one for him. The lady was overjoyed when the man himself gave all his attention towards her. She figured it was love at first sight, and she knew that he could also be the one for her.

But the flaw remained within himself as she caught her lover with another woman in bed.

“What is this?” she gasped, her hand trembling in despair.

Taecyeon dressed himself up and took her outside of his room. They went to the balcony, both facing each other in silence.

“Who was that?” the woman pointed at the direction they came from. “What was that Taecyeon?”

He sighed. “I never loved you,” he admitted. “You know I’m not committed to relationships, and I can’t believe you fell for me so quickly and so naïve.”

“I don’t understand…we fell in love.”

“No, you did. I never have.”

The woman’s fury settled in. “This is who you truly are then? Someone who cheats, someone who lies?”

He scoffed, shaking his head. “Please don’t make this too dramatic.”

“Well then, you’ve chosen to mess with the wrong girl as well.”

The woman changed into a magical witch and casted a spell on Taecyeon. “For your unfaithfulness, you shall turn into a beast,” she pointed her wand at him and before he knew it, he transformed into a beastly creature with sharp claws.

“What is this!” he looked at his hands in horror. His body was covered in brown fur and the image he’d seen in the mirror was a beast. “Who are you! Change me back!”

“The spell can only be broken if you find true love, and if she loves you in return.”

“How can I do such a thing now that I’m a hideous beast?” he growled.

She reached under her cloak and handed him some items. “I offer you this mirror for you to see whatever you desire and this magical rose. If you fail to find true love before the last petal falls on your 27th birthday you shall remain a beast forever.”

The witch vanished into thin air, leaving Taecyeon alone at the balcony as he fell onto his knees in despair.

The Tall Mansion was never again filled with laughter or joy. Taecyeon ordered his servants to lock the gates shut and forbid anyone who comes into his territory. Taecyeon shut his own company down due to his non-human form. He was never seen in public and left everyone wondering of his vanishment. He told his guards to make up rumors of him diagnosed with a cancerous illness and died during his early twenties.

His other instructions to his guards were to find an eligible young maiden who could break his curse. Off the guards go, searching for the girl who could transform their master back into a human. No one ever lasted to stay as those who visited the young bachelor only saw a beast, making them run away in fear and disgust. Taecyeon grew impatient and miserable as the days go by, feeling as if he had lost hope from the beginning.

Who could possibly love him like this?

As a beast? As a monster?

Who would ever look at him and see a human?

“Damn this curse,” he clutched onto the mirror as he saw in the magical reflection a girl driving off to a distance and away from his mansion. “No one will ever love me,” he closed his eyes shut, preventing the tears to fall.

Yoona sipped her cup of tea while flipping the page of her book. She hummed to a tune and spotted someone taking a seat right next to her chair through her peripheral vision.

“Hey there beautiful,” she felt an arm wrapped around her shoulder, and she turned to face the source of the voice whom belonged to Choi Siwon. “What’re you doing tonight?”

She didn’t mind him being straightforward with her because she knew Siwon was a ladies’ man. He was always hitting on pretty girls whenever he got the chance to. And for some reason, he pursued her constantly whenever she turned his offers down. It’s understandable because he got whatever he wanted, and if that meant getting the lovely Yoona’s heart then he would certainly not give up. Especially when Yoona’s never been in a relationship before because she was considered as ‘off-limits’ by guys around as a result of her lack of interest in dating.

“I’m staying at home to finish up my novel and complete an essay I’m working on,” she told him politely. That was the thing about Yoona; she’s always genuine, sweet and kind which made her wanted by most men.

“Okay,” Siwon kept his arm around her. “Well I know a great restaurant where they sell good sushi. Wanna come with me tomorrow for lunch?”

Yoona put her book away into her tote bag and got up. “No thank you, I have to take care of my father.”

That was always the excuse that Yoona used since her father was quite ill, though the man insisted he was still strong to run the mechanical repair shop. She chastised him when she found him working in the shop one afternoon. Her father told her to hang out with her friends more, feeling that he was a burden because she was taking care of him most of the time.

“How was class today?” he asked.

Yoona cleared the dishes to the sink. “It’s good. My professors are all impressed with my grades so far.”

Mr. Im chuckled. “Well aren’t you just the smartest kid in town.”

It was true that Yoona felt like she was different from others. She was always studying, reading or learning how to cook at home. Fortunately she has a few friends who supported her thoughout her classes.

“Don’t you wanna know Yoona?” one of her friends, Sooyoung asked.

“Know what?”

“The rumors of a mysterious beast in the Tall Mansion?”

She furrowed her brows. “There’s such a thing? The Tall Mansion is real? I thought it was just a myth.”

“Nope, it’s real alright. Seven years ago that mansion was the go-to for the rich people. It is rumored that the owner of that place died when he was just like twenty-one or something and then girls have been saying a monstrous creature have taken over the mansion.”

“Wow,” Yoona smiled a little. “Okay then?”

“Don’t laugh you little smarty pants! It’s what I’ve heard.”

“Where is this Tall Mansion?”

“Oh it’s just outside of the city, located near the woods. Some people go there to find out for themselves if it’s true but you know, they come back disappointed because the place is locked up and saw no one residing in that mansion. Pretty creepy actually.”

Yoona tapped her fingers on the table, thinking of the creative writing assignment that she was supposed to complete soon. Maybe she could be inspired to write something based off of this magical mansion. She loved thinking outside of the box, and loved to imagine.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to go to this place?”

Sooyoung almost choked on her drink. “You’re going?”

“Yeah why not? I want to see it for myself too and maybe get a sneak peek.”

“You gotta be careful when you go to that place though. It’s creepy and probably doesn’t welcome strangers.”

Yoona was curious to see the place herself, and so her plans on visiting this mansion was decided. She told her father she would be back soon enough as she hopped on her white sedan to drive off to her destination. A little research of an old mansion filled with mystery thrilled her. What could possibly be in the mansion that everyone was referring to? And besides, she liked exploring new places and wasn’t afraid of anything.

Her car slowed down when a huge mansion came into view behind the camouflage of trees. The scenery around was perfect, and she thought it really was some kind of magical place. She stepped out of the vehicle, grabbing her tote bag from the passenger seat. The tall gates of the mansion were covered with vines and gave off a spooky feeling. She walked up to the gates, carefully pushing it forward wishing it would open.

And to her surprise, it did.

Yoona braved her way over to the doors of the mansion while glancing around the huge front lawn and broken statues. It wasn’t even green in color, everything was dull and quiet. The doors of the mansion creaked open, peeking her head in to see if anybody was home.

“Hello?” her own voice echoed across the empty hall. She couldn’t believe the mansion was so huge, it was like a museum. “Is anybody there?”

“What are you doing here?”

She jumped slightly from her spot, staring back at the man who appeared in front of her. “I wanted to see the mansion. Who are you? People actually live here?”

The man stood still with hands behind his back. “I’m Hwang Chansung, a guard of the mansion. And you are?”

“I’m Im Yoona, just a student majoring in English literature.”

“A student? You must be pretty young I assume?”

“Yes I’m twenty-five.”

He showed a subtle smile. “Me too,” he cleared his throat before resuming. “And are you here to do some research?”

“No, not really. I just wanted to see this place for myself. I heard it’s cool and I wanted to be inspired with what I can see.”

Another voice interrupted the silence. “Chansung! You can’t let this girl in! If you do, master will be really upset.”

Chansung faced the shorter young man calmly. “Junho, she’s fine. I think we should welcome her to our place actually, it’s been a while since we had a guest.”

“A master?” Yoona questioned the two men. “Who’s the master?”

“Um, he is preferred not to be disturbed Miss Im. Why don’t you follow us to the dining room where we could serve you some tea?”

“Sure,” she smiled. “I would love a cup of tea.”

She watched Chansung nudging on Junho’s arm, both bickering like two brothers. They passed by the hall and went up the flight of stairs. She glanced up at the paintings on the wall, wondering how expensive they might’ve costed. While the guys were walking ahead, her curiosity led her to the opposite side where the hall led to a room at the end. What were behind those closed doors?

“Time to figure it out,” she braced herself to walk toward the doors, opening them slightly.

Yoona stepped into the dark room and only saw light coming from the window. There were broken vases, picture frames and other objects on the floor. She spotted a broken bed with its wooden posts snapped into pieces on the ground. A picture frame up the wall caught her attention, a hidden portrait of a man’s face.

“Strange,” she whispered to herself when those brown eyes in the picture stared back at her. She couldn’t make out the whole picture when half of the portrait had deep scratch marks across it. Something glowed in the room, and she found a red rose protected in a glass case. Yoona stepped closer to the flower as her hand reached out to the touch the glass.

“Don’t touch it!”

She turned around swiftly to find a figure hiding in the shadows. Her heart was startled at the sound of the deep voice. “Who are you?”

The person was hesitant to step out where the light shone. Yoona waited for the person to come out and she held her breath when it wasn’t a human. It was a human figure who resembled a beast. The huge dark brown mane, pointed tooths sticking out from his lower lip, paws as hands and feet…but its eyes belonged to a human. She gasped inwardly at the thought of the portrait she saw earlier.

“You’re…you’re…” she was stunned to speak. “A beast?”

The creature moved protectively around the rose. “You’re not allowed here. You’re a trespasser!” he growled.

She was terrified to her wits at his sudden accusation. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to – to…” she stuttered, completely at a loss of words.

“You’re not allowed to leave this mansion now,” he said deeply. “You shall remain a prisoner here forever!”

“What?” her lip quivered. “No that’s not fair!”

“Yes it is!” he yelled. “Don’t you dare escape if you want to stay alive. Get out of my room!”

His booming voice sent her running away from the room and down the staircase, rushing towards the front doors. It was locked and she was trapped inside with no way out to escape from the beast that she confronted.

“Miss Im! Are you alright?” Chansung jogged over to her side. “You look as pale as sheet.”

“I have to get out of here. Please help me!”

“I’m sorry we can’t. It’s the master’s order for you to stay.”

Yoona pounded her fists on the door, kneeling helplessly on the floor afterwards as she cried in sorrow. She was concerned that her father would worry about her, what he would possibly do if she didn’t return home. Chansung took her to a bedroom where she could rest in though she kept quiet the whole time.

Back in Taecyeon’s room, he walked around in circles thinking about Yoona.

“Master, I think you should cool down a little,” Junho explained. “I think this girl can help you break the curse.”