My thoughts were cut short as I see a pair of hands and feet crawling my way.

“Appa home! Look Look”

He slowly rose to his feet and took a step only to land flat on his face. A sad smile approached my face as I headed over to Yoogeun picking him up high in the air with both hands.

 “Look at you learning how to walk all by yourself! Did you miss daddy?”

I tried my best to hide my shameful voice. It’s nothing to celebrate that a mere child is learning how to walk with no help.

 Halmoni is getting old and can barely keep up with her own feet let alone trying to teach someone how to work theirs.  He placed his index finger to my forehead where the Band-Aid was gently placed and frowned. Did Tao not color it well or something?

“I want a Panda too!”

….So the heart/blob was actually a panda. Huh.

“I’ll make you one tomorrow okay.”

It was getting late, Yoogeun and halmoni were fast asleep on the couch and I have a long day tomorrow so might as well catch up on sleep.

 I made my way to the couch were they slept soundly being extra cautious as not to wake them.

 I picked up my still sleeping little brother and took halmoni to her bed. I didn’t know whether to leave him with her.

 I’ll be gone before the sun rises so there really is no point on taking him with me just for a couple of hours.

But I missed him terribly so I locked the door on my way out and went up the stairs to the second floor.

I inserted the keys in the door that marked 210 to signalize that its mine and walked inside.

 I took in the vacant scent… Our apartment hardly shows any signs that someone lives here.

We barely have any furniture because I see no point in buying some when I’m always at work and Yoogeun is always with Halmoni.

Plus, I was never good at decorating anything so the white walls remained bare. I thought of bringing Tao over to paint something on them but after the incident today I made a mental note not to let him near any coloring utensils.

We had three chairs in the living room. None of them matched but that wasn’t important.

I walked through the hallway almost tripping over a red fire truck and some of other Yoogeun’s toys that were scattered all over the floor.

I grumbled at the sound of my alarm that was set to ring at 4AM, My hands searching for the round shaped egg that is in great risk of being thrown to the wall.

 I should be used to this already but the truth is I don’t think I ever will be. I’m not even close to being a morning person (if you could even call 4am “morning.”)

 I take one last brief look at Yoogeun who is sound asleep clutching his stuffed plushy of a deer. I don’t know why he likes that toy.

Its eyes are one thread loose from falling and it even has a bunch of tears around its body so the cotton can easily be seen.

Plus, it smells. 

Really bad.

Whenever I try to wash it (or dispose of it) he throws a tantrum and does not stop crying until I give it back.

 But I hate it. We already look poor no need to flaunt it some more.

I stumbled my way into the bathroom to take a quick shower; I turned the knob for the hot water to soothe my skin.

 I was slowly drifting off to blissful thoughts of my childhood until the sudden change of temperature made me snap back into reality.

My eyes shot up in alarm as I screamed-

 “COLD!! ITS COLD!!!”

 I turned off the shower faucet but not before glaring at it in disgust.

 I reluctantly dressed myself and made my way towards Yoogeun picking him up slowly afraid of waking him and made my way to Halmoni to drop him off.

She gave me my own key so I don’t have to keep waking her up every day at four.

She’s a morning person but like I said I don’t think 4am counts.

I walked the silent rode to the bus stop and waited for my bus to arrive.

I was rather early since my time with the shower was cut short…..Good, I’m not so “excited” about work anyway.

I took a weakness moment to curse my step-father name for running off with so much.

I wondered if he knew that we will have to pay the consequences.

That it will be a life time before I pay it back to them.

His own son will have to carry this burden as well.

 As much as I hate to admit it, I can’t fully hate him; I can never bring myself to wish that he never intruded on my family. He may have made my mother ill but it’s because of that low-life that I was able to meet Yoogeun.

My bus arrived shortly after and I hopped in paying the fair as I took my seat. They live pretty far so the bus ride is quite long. I don’t mind, I need all the sleep I can get.

By the time I get there, few passengers are left. Usually people have their own cars in this side of the city so no need to take the bus.

I don’t get why they have to have such a ginormous house.

I understand that when you have money coming out of your you can do whatever you want with it but there are more than 12 rooms in there and only about half of those are occupied.

At least that’s what I heard.

They don’t let me in the house so my duty is the horses, pool, garden, sweeping, and to fix things that are not even broken to begin with.

Fine by me, who wants to step foot in a murders house anyway?

I continued my grumbling as I made my way to their sparkling white gate.

I wonder why it is so ridiculously clean….

Oh that’s right they made me wash it…Over and over again.

I’m not one to brag but only reason this house does not resemble a haunted mansion is because of my doing.

An ear piercing voice from the speaker interrupted my thoughts.

“Who’s there!?”

Ahh lovely, it’s the wicked witch of the west. Oh how I’ve missed her.

I pressed down the button as I answered back with my most gentle voice I could conjure up: “Kim Minseok”

“You’re late.”

I’m not. This is probably the earliest I’ve arrived all week.

The gates were slowly beginning to unfold so I took a step back and made myself comfortable.

These gates are ridiculous I thought to myself. It takes like 2 hours for them to make way for a single person. Okay maybe that’s a little exaggerated but they still take a far longer time to open than someone just opening it by hand.  Might as well add elevator music while they’re at it.

“Don’t go stealing anything now” One of the maids called out behind me.

I looked back at her group of friends as they laughed away so she can have a pretty good view of me rolling my eyes at her.

Honestly that joke was getting tiring, I can come up with 20 othe-……

This is what I get for hanging out with Tao.

What am I even supposed to steal? A handful of grass?

The house is as breathtaking as ever, that I can’t deny. Surrounded with beautiful Greek sculptures and all kinds of flowers that decorated the entrance.

By where I stand the house looks rather far but only due to the fact that the front yard is the size of two football fields.

(This is very unnecessary it just means more walking.)

A large fountain was being installed in the far left….Huh that’s new.

A familiar face acknowledges me after he inspected his surroundings; A smile so discreet.

Nobody is supposed to display any act of kindness towards me, it could cost them their jobs.

As the sun began to rise I realized….the morning flew by surprisingly ….well…Too well.

There wasn’t much for me to do. The horses were all lined up; their coats radiant as ever, Bushes were neatly trimmed, Weeds were pulled out, there wasn’t even a speck of dust for me to sweep! Something’s not right here.  Not a single person came to splash a glass of water to my face or shove me to the dirt.  I was only called a thief once today, twice if you count the maid earlier this morning.

...Weird.

I sat on the moistly patch of grass as confusion soared through my mind.

So, Do I leave or…

I tapped my foot impatiently not knowing what will be my next move when the grand marble doors of the mansion swung open and a stampede of voices came pouring out.

“Please! I beg of you mam, I won’t do it again!” I heard one of the maids cry out.

 “I need this job mam!” the other maid pleaded.

 There was about 9 of them all huddled up like heart wrenched kittens in a storm. I raised my eyebrows in amusement as I watched the same maid from earlier that called me a thief cry out. Her eyes drowning in tears and her blond flowing hair a mess.

I wanted to laugh at her face as her mascara began to run.

I began to pity her as she kneeled down to beg for her job, holding on to the witch’s skirt for dear life; her mascara tainting the expensive looking shirt.

Why are girls so dumb?

“Ms. Jessica Jung, GET YOUR GRUBBY HANDS OFF MY SKIRT THIS INSTANT!”

The witch forcefully removed her hands from her skirt and let her fall to the floor.

 I’ll be pretty pissed off too if a cockroach was tugging on my clothes like that.

 I moved forward a couple feet so I can take in the full scene.

“The young master is coming today and I don’t need a flock of idiots to mess everything up!”

The young master? I always knew they had a son but I never once met him since he was off studying in China or something.

How nice, apparently someone thought my life wasn’t hard enough so they decided to spice it up a bit.

 I took a moment of silence to give my thanks to whoever brought this upon me. 

I wondered if they are going to fire me too…..OMG I WONDER IF THEY ARE GOING TO FIRE ME TOO! I immediately brought life into my eyes as they traveled through a faraway dream land where you get more than 4 hours of sleep each night.

So all I have to do is act like a cockroach and that’s that.  Right? I studied Jessica as she still lay on the floor sobbing, her hands a muddy mess.

So fall to the floor. Got it.

Cover my hands in dirt. Got it.

Cry….Eh, we’ll see.

Never was one for acting so I wasn’t pretty sure how that would play out.

The witch never even once thought about firing me but since she’s letting go of her maids that have been working with her for years, maybe just maybe, she’ll consider it. I can always pay my debt some other way.

I started to make my move towards the witch and her poor flock of victims and made sure to dunk my feet in the mud.

I need all the help there is to offer.

I took a step onto the long marble pathway that lead to the house and made sure to leave my muddy footprints extra sloppy. Two of the maids noticed my presence and stared at me wide eyed with a look that says “what do you think you’re doing!”

Were they getting fired as well? Too bad, I liked them. Most of them always used to stare at me in disgust and the cockroach generously made sure to knock over every flower pot she could for me.

But those two always respected my space and just let me do my job as well as focusing on their own. I looked at the shorter one of the two- Sunny I think it was and gave a brief nod towards her to show that I know what I’m doing. She looked like her eyes were about to pop out any second and I don’t want anybody taking away my spotlight. She looked up at the other one –Sooyoung for answers but only got a shrug in response.  

I transferred my focus to the witch that was still fairly occupied with the cockroach at her feet. I don’t know if it’s all my imagination but I swear the sound of my shoes against the shiny marble pathway was just getting louder and louder with every step.

I realized it wasn’t my steps that were getting louder but my heart. It only got worse as I walked closer. Maybe it’s not too late to go bac- Her menacing eyes that could turn someone to stone pierced into me and I knew right then and there that there is no hope. I couldn’t move an inch….am I a stone? No I need to go through this. I am a father of a 3 year old boy. Well sort of….But he still needs someone to look up to. How am I supposed to be his role model if I can’t face a mere witch?

I took a deep breath and marched forward; never once averting my attention away from her. She stared at my mess with wide eyes and bringing in an audience. I’m not one for stage fright so I’m good for now. I put a halt on my march when I was just a little more than a foot away from her. Her dark aura almost bringing me down again. Almost.

….Silence

Maybe I should have rehearsed this or something

“Hey.” Doesn’t hurt to throw in a simple greeting.

“May I help you” She raised an eyebrow

“How’s it going?” I placed my hand on her shoulder firmly. So firmly that it stung and leave dirt in its way. I really REALLY Should have rehearsed this. What was I thinking!?

She gawked at me in disbelief.

“It rained today.” I continued with the first words that came to mind.

“So much that it left mud all over. OH I heard Lulu Is coming.” I gave her my best grin as I continued on.

“So, how about that raise?”

 The witch was starting to resemble a volcano….A volcano that was going to erupt any. Second. Now….

Too much?

Outraged; eyes bulging; face turning tomato red out of pure concentrated  fury; simply outraged.

ABORT ABORT ABORT!!! ING ABORTING!!

“LISTEN HERE YOU FILTHY PHEASANT! YOU ARE GOING TO TURN AROUND AND CLEA=”

“FIRE M-!!!

…..

I wasn’t completely aware at what happened at first.

But as I began to feel the sharp blistering sting against my cheek like a thousand needles and hear the gasps of my audience at the witches raised hand, I knew.

“Clean your mess.”

She walked away leaving me in a daze as I clutched my stinging cheek with both hands.

“Don’t get in the way of the young master when he arrives.” She called out to me before she closed the grand doors of the house and added “Better yet, don’t show your face around him….Ever.”  And with that she closed the grand doors with a soft click.

The bell made a ding that marked that the coals were ready to be shoveled out of the furnace. I put down what seemed like a sack of baby elephants and rushed to the furnace picking up a rusty shovel on my way. 

How long has it been since then? Three years?

 I started to shovel the coals out of the furnace but my mind was elsewhere. Thoughts drifting off to earlier this morning, fingers still tracing the red mark on my cheek as flashbacks of my childhood played out as I rode the bus headed to the factory. Owned by yours truly, The Lu house.

I was eating dinner with my mother at the family table. A fresh new debt weighing on our shoulders-making it almost impossible to choke down the food that lay before us.

My mother growing sicker and sicker by the day and that thing in her womb was only making it worse.

 I stared at my mother’s stomach in disgust.

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of keeping it.” I spoke- My gaze still not averting away from her stomach.

“That’s exactly what I plan on doing.”

She wasn’t looking at me. She stayed focus on her half eaten plate; Expression unreadable.

“Are you even aware what its father just did to us?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly aware. Can you pass the salt please?”

“He betrayed us!” My voice getting louder and louder with every syllable.

“I know. The salt”

“Then why bother with it!!?”

I hear a plate shatter as my mother stood up her seat. The salt long forgotten.

“Because he is my son!!”

“It will end up being just like its father!”

I couldn’t believe what my mother was saying. Her son? How could she love something that came from someone that never even once cared about this family? How can I be “brothers” with this thing when the one responsible for it fed us to the dogs with a simple wave of his hand? How will we ever find the money to feed another mouth when we can’t even feed ourselves in this state?

“I don’t care! What do you want me to do with him!?”

“GET RID OF IT!!!”

With that her hand that was once leaning on the table came launching across my face.

The pain being a thousand times worse than now.

A lot worse.

Before then, I never got hit. Not even my stepfather used violence against me. We didn’t get in each other’s way much so there was no need for it. Sure Halmoni throws her few punches at my arm as well as Yoogeun but always because of something silly like forgetting to take out the trash or when I let my little brother take an extra scoop of ice cream before dinner.

“Closing time in 10!” I hear one of the workers call out interrupting my thoughts.

My arms were sore from carrying the large sacks of coals and the slight burns on my hands needed some treating. Just a minor burn from shoveling the coals earlier but I don’t want to risk any scars. I’ll have to stop by some drugstore for some bandages before I go home to Yoogeun and Halmoni.

The factory workers said their goodbyes as I cleaned up my belongings from the locker room.

Unlike the house, People didn’t treat me like a delinquent; I guess it was because the work in the factory makes them too exhausted to even speak.

I stuck the Hello Kitty bandages on my palm and threw the wrappers away in the nearest trashcan on the street. The sun was nowhere to be seen as always when I get home from work. Yoogeun and halmoni must be already sound asleep. Maybe I should visit my mother before I go home, Visiting hours end at 12:30 so that give me a whole hour to see her.

I thought about my mother, all shriveled up in a small bed, the life being out of her by the day.

Tears started to form in my eyes the more I thought about it and suddenly I crashed in to something soft that was coming out of a taxi and landed straight to the floor along with it.

I realized it wasn’t something but someone.

I winced as my hands scraped the concrete which made my not so serious burns a little more to worry about.

I let out a painful groan as I quickly wrapped the bandages over my palm.

“Hey are you alri-”

I couldn’t finish off my sentence as I looked into his doe-like eyes. His brown hair framing his small delicate face…..So pretty.

He cuts me short by moving his disgusted glare from the floor and then to me; expression unchanging.

He stood upright brushing off the dirt on his tight jeans.

I mimicked his moments even though there’s not a speck of dust to be found.

“I’m s-sorry.” Why was I stuttering?

He looked unfazed by my words; still frantically trying to wipe away the dirt….Even though there wasn’t any.

“Name.” He said bluntly still avoiding eye contact.

“K-Kim Minseok.” Well this kid is a little rude….

And for the first time he looked into my eyes and that’s when I froze.

“Ahh…So you’re the thief!”

LUHAN!

So there is chapter 4. :D Hope you all liked it. 

So Luhan is an huh. XD You probably already expected that. 

Thank you for all your support! 

Tell me what you think of this chapter :D. 

See you next week~

Oh! I forgot to add that they call Xiumin a thief because of his step-father. He dosn't correct them saying that they are not related to protect Yoogeun. (I'll add it to the next chapter.)

Annyeong~

Thankyou to my friend Adela for proof reading. <3