As Naeun entered the house through the back door, she tried to make as little noise as possible. She softly opened and closed the door, softly took off her shoes, softly bowed down to the servants and softly made her way to the central staircase. And just as she was half-way up the stairs one of the boards slightly squeaked under her weight. Naeun froze.

“So are you going to just stand there? I’m waiting, you know.” A muffled voice came from the study.

He heard – well of course he did.

Naeun sighed and went back downstairs. She entered the room without knocking, but did so ever so quietly.

The room’s walls were mostly concealed with giant bookshelves that stretched from the floor to the ceiling; otherwise, the walls had worn beige wallpaper covering them. An old and relatively plain chandelier hung form the ceiling, but the lights in the room were off. Full French styled windows on the right of the room would usually give off lots of light, but today’s rainy weather made the study feel more gloomy than cheerful. An oak desk stood at the far wall beside the window.

Behind it, a pair of hands held a gazette, seemingly ignoring Naeun’s presence.

“You called?” Naeun dropped her bag in the far corner.

“I did – six hours ago.” the gazette’s page flipped, but no one appeared.

“Yes”

“And you’re late by an hour.”

“…Yes”

“Your know I don’t have that much time.”

“I’m sorry! It was just that some rats came after me Teach, they– ”

“I don’t care about your excuses Naeun, especially if they start with ‘it was just that’.” Mr. Son folded his paper and tossed it on the table. “You know I don’t. And the fact that they were just rats makes the whole thing worse! If you can’t take care of simple scum then what will happen when the Hunting season begins! I trust you, and therefore I allowed you to live alone without relying on my help.” He got up from his armchair and shook his head. “And yet today you had to call my personal secretary to get you out of some minor trouble! I need him you know, the Fox is coming here at any minute now to complain about his little problems! Look.” He took the gazette again and showed Naeun the front page.

Naeun read out loud “‘Japan’s Famous Automobile Manufacturer ‘NINE’ Gets Involved With the Police’” she paused “…So they were having tea together or something?”

“Ha-Ha really funny!” Naeun lowered her head, “and don’t think I can't see you laughing over there, young lady!” He added.

Naeun looked up with a mischevious grin on her face. He hadn’t changed much in the 10 years she had known him. Maybe he got more white hairs and wore glasses now, but otherwise he was still the same. He stood there, in front of the window, with his messy hair and tidy grey suit, amidst all his beloved books.

“So what is it that you wanted to see me for?”

The man looked out into the garden.

“Just because. I need to keep an eye on the next leader, don’t I…”

Naeun understood him perfectly. She came up to him and childishly put his heavy arm around her shoulder, making herself comfortable.

“I eat 3 times a day. I sleep about 6-7 hours a day. My coworkers at my job are nice. The apartment is clean. I don’t cause any problems and I still haven’t sent anyone to the hospital!” She said with a cheeky grin. Mr. Son looked at her skeptically.

“And school?”

“It’s fun. Fun people. Fun classes. Fun everything. Just the cafeteria food’s bad.” She grinned again, playing with his hand. “Were you lonely?”

“Me? With Doojoon’s endless ranting? Please, you’ve got to be kidding!” He nudged her, and put her in a head lock. Naeun tried to stay serious and struggle out, but she just kept uncontrollably giggling.

“What you can’t get out?!” Mr. Son laughed and spun her around a little “Yah! Try harder! No wonder you couldn’t take care of yourself back there!”

“I wasn’t alone though!” Naeun blurted out. Suddenly Mr. Son’s grip loosened and he let her go.

“You weren’t alone? I don'tt remember assigning men to guard you.” His voice went serious. “Are you out of your mind? I thought I told you not to trust anyone I didn’t approve of.”

Naeun went pale - she knew that little bit of information shouldn’t have slipped out. SHe bit her tongue to avoid saying anything that could worsen the situation.

“With all due respect sir, the boy she was with is hardly a threat.” To Naeun’s relief, Doojoon answered for her; he came in, pushing the door open with his back, his hands full with a tray. “The Miss wasn’t right to involve him, but I don’t think there will be a problem in the future. I took care of him.” He carefully placed the tea set down on the coffee table and cheerfully bowed down to his masters.

Took care of him?

Mr. Son didn’t disregarded Doojoon. He intently looked at Naeun and sighed.

“Fine. If the Fox here already?”

“Yes, and he’s growing impatient. He keeps complaining about how small the entrance is and how dusty the curtains are.”

 “Picky as alway...Bring him in. Naeun – stay.” He called out as the girl tried to sneak out.

“You’ll be dealing with that man soon – know your enemy.”

----

Myungsoo lay on his back in the same park he fed geese in yesterday and watched grey clouds float by.

Have you ever been caught in something you are really self-conscious about?

Like being called an idiot for your bad grades.

Or being called a terrible singer at an audition.

Kinda feels horrible doesn’t it?

And the worst part is that you can’t deny those accusations because they're mostly true.

This is how Myungsoo felt. In addition to finding out that this random girl that he’s been using as entertainment could actually have him killed in a matter of seconds, Doojoon's comments made Myungsoo’s self esteem also sunk lower and faster than the Titanic being played at double speed.

Myungsoo was a coward. Not a huge one, but still a coward. But how could anyone blame him? He was a regular person who came from a regular family, living a regular life with regular friends. He was comfortable, and although his pride hurt admitting it, he was no match for Son Naeun.

Son Naeun.

Just the name itself pulled something at him.

It’s like you have all other names in one category, and then you have Son Naeun.

Without realizing it, he responded to her name more than he responded to his own. And when he attached her doll-like face to it in his mind, he felt eerie and even a little uncomfortable – once she entered his mind she just wouldn’t leave him the alone.

One does not simply ‘think’ of Son Naeun.

But he needed to just leave her alone. So what if she’s pretty? So what if she might be a little interesting? Being involved with some weird mafia-thingy was definitely not on his checklist, and he really didn’t want to walk around paranoid like Naeun did this morning.

And yet giving up on her felt so wrong. The thought of never talking or pissing her off or arguing with her was so bitter. It’s as if he gave up pursuing her he’d lose so much.

Myungsoo got up and threw the nearest rock as far as he could into the lake.

Was he really a coward? Was he that scared of what might happen to him if he continued being around her?

Or was he simply scared of even trying?

Fear is the ultimate weapon.

Myungsoo smirked.

Mafia?

So?

They want put bullet holes in him?

Fine.

Naeun was a fine prize for putting up with a bunch of psychotic bull.

He has a goal.

He has a target.

And he is stubborn.

If Naeun only saw him as a pest then she’d have to try much, much harder to get rid of him.

Besides Myungsoo thought as an idea came to him I'll already have the advantage if I play my cards right.

--------

Author's Notes: Didn't torture you this time and so I made the chapter smaller. I could've included the Fox's introduction, but then I was like 'meh'  I'll just plug it into the next chapter because I'm really lazy and I tend to put up chapters where nothing happens anyways. I read over the last chapter and I was like 'wut it's not as bad as I remember it' So thank you for putting up with me TT_TT I feel honored.

School starts tomorrow so NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Btw, I'm starting a new (more or less short) Sungyeol/Yookyung fanfic tomorrow: http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/354702/to-my-dearest-francesca-apink-ara-infinite-sungyeol-yookyung

And this morning I've already made up a Woorong story omg I need to stop with all these feels my education is diminishing nooo

//shameless author is shamelessly advertising//

Sub if you're interested. I'll put up the first chapter there and maybe chapter 14 here by tomorrow (or as soon as possible because this chapter is pretty much a build-up to the next) No promises, but I'll try.

Thank you for reading ^^ Comment, rant, I love love love comments. Or maybe you have oneshot requests? I don't know, never did any requests before...