The process of buying a new home was a little easier, thanks to Amber. Unfortunately, the tomboy was starting to become busier because of an upcoming comeback that Amber had refused admit, let alone provide details on. However Ji Eun had assumed so because she was always exhausted after coming home from practice.

She lugged her last suitcase full of clothes from the car and headed for her room. She pushed open the door with her foot and still took note of where everything was. There were two windows; the one directly across from the door oversaw the street that they were on and a little parking space for visitors and residents. Past that, that, though, was a large, almost never ending expanse of beautiful greenery. She could still see the tall skyscrapers of the city along the horizon. The wall adjacent to it, to her left, had another window while her bed was placed in the corner between the windows. There was a small white nightstand on either side of the bed.

She set her suitcase down on the comforters with a slight thud accompanied by a muffled squeak from the springs of the bed. She took a quick look around her and was quite glad that everything in the house was pretty much ready to go. She couldn't imagine having to buy furniture for each room and move them around herself. Such an amazing deal she made, though Amber did say that the properties were somewhat undervalued. All she needed to do was put away her things and not shove them under the bed or stuff them into the closet. No one was around to remind her of what to do, so she needed to assume responsibility of her own house.

She turned around and gazed outside the side window. There was an elegant, sturdy apple tree outside that grew by the window along the wall. If she wanted to, she could climb down the tree to get down to the side yard.

She smiled in satisfaction and glanced to her right. Only then did she notice a rectangular box sitting on her pillow. She wondered how long it had been there. It was thin and white, tied simply with a red ribbon. She picked it up and inspected the outside curiously, holding it above her to see if there was a name underneath or some sort of tag to reveal the sender's identity. There was none, so she assumed it must have been a welcome gift of some sort for buying the house. She held it breathlessly and pulled the loose end of the ribbon so that the knot became undone easily. She knew that it probably wasn't much, but she still treated each present specially. Ji Eun took off the lid and was quite surprised to see what was inside. Inside the box lay a single black rose, cushioned by red velvet padding. The olive green stem was perfectly smooth save for a couple of leaves left on. Her curiosity peaked as she picked it up and twirled it slowly between her fingers. It was beautiful and mysterious; she had never seen a black rose before. It looked natural, too, and not just dyed because the stem was a little darker than usual. 

She gasped slightly and let go of the rose when she felt a thorn prick her finger. A drop of blood oozed out but she ignored the minor cut. She realized that there was a small card that had been hidden beneath the petals of the rose. She picked it up warily and read the message, 'Every flower has its thorn.'

... Ji Eun thought that was somewhat obvious and a little late reading. She couldn't help but contradict the statement because she was sure that not every flower or its plant had thorns. She replaced the lid and tucked the odd gift under her covers just as her cellphone chimed, letting her know that she had a text message. He flipped open the screen and saw that it was from Suzy. 

'Hi unni ^^ can you come down here to the restaurant? The chef is sick and can't work today.'

Ji Eun quickly typed back, 'Ofc' and went on her way. 

******

"So that's two bimbimbaps, one kimchi dish and one..." Ji Eun squinted her eyes in an attempt to read the handwriting. "What does this say, Suzy? Your handwriting..." Her eyes by now had narrowed into slits. 

Suzy looked behind her to read the slip of paper. She scoffed, "My handwriting's fine. You just can't read. It says one bulgogi."

Ji Eun looked at it again but did not question the scribbles. What was she writing in – English? After whipping out the dishes with impressive speed, she pulled down the last order. 

'Working as the chef, now? It's the most dangerous job at the restaurant. Did you hear what happened to the last few?'

Ji Eun held the note further away from her as if it was contaminated. She looked behind her warily, slightly afraid that a psycho murderer was lurking behind her holding a chef's knife. She sighed in relief seeing none. She looked back toward the note, intending to inspect it further but jumped instead. It was gone.