C h a p t e r  T h r e e

 

 

 

Junhyung blinked a couple of times, his mouth slightly ajar. Both of them looked panicked but neither of them did anything. They were just too stunned. Fortunately the lady Junhyung called ahjumma walked to the table with two plates of light snacks.

 

Junhyung turned to her slowly and pointed to the girl infront of him.

 

“What is it dear?” the ahjumma asked.

 

“She lost her voice,” Junhyung said innocently. The elder raised her eyebrows slightly and turned to the girl.

 

“Dear, are you mute?” she asked as politely as possible. The girl shook her head carefully and tried to use hand gestures to tell the elder that she had lost her voice without her knowing.

 

Ahjumma pursed her lips, deep in thought. “How long have you not spoke?” she asked.

 

The girl showed 3 fingers.

 

“3 months?” she clarified. The girl shook her head.

 

“3 years?” she corrected herself and the girl nodded. The elder woman sighed.

 

“I think its normal Jun. Take her to the doctor tomorrow and see what the doctor says. For now I think drinking honey water might help a little to soothe the throat,” the lady said with a kind smile.

 

“Why tommorow?” Junhyung asked, making the ahjumma stopped on her tracks when she wanted to go back to the kitchen.

 

“Its almost dinner. I bet most of the clinics are closed by now,” she said.

 

“We can call a doctor right?” he said.

 

“Well if you want to. Its not serious, if that’s what worrying you,” she replied.

 

Junhyung nodded. “I’ll call the doctor later.”

 

As the elder lady went back to preparing dinner with the other cooks, Junhyung went up to his room to take something for the girl. He went back down and placed a post-it pad along with a pen infront of her. She looked up at him and he told her to use it for the meantime to communicate.

 

Junhyung sat back on his seat and started eating the light snacks prepared. The girl wrote something on the post-it and paste a piece of it infront of Junhyung. Junhyung didn’t take it. He just extended his neck slightly to read what she wrote.

 

He looked up at her. “Your name is Hyuna?” he asked, seeing that name was the only thing she had written. The mentioned girl just nodded.

 

Junhyung smiled and nodded to himself. Hyuna didn’t expect that. Usually once a person said his or her name, the other would respond with his own name as a form of self introduction. But Junhyung just remained quiet.

 

Is his name Jun? Because that is what the ahjumma called him, she thought to herself. She wrote again on another piece of post-it and paste it infront of him.

 

What should I call you?

 

Junhyung his dry lips slightly and thought for awhile. He doesn’t like to be called ‘young master’ but the servants and butlers insisted since that is what his late parents told them to call him. Only ahjumma calls him by his name since she had been living with his family even before Junhyung was born. She’s practically family by now.

 

Hyuna was waiting for his answer when the elder lady went back to the dining table to give her a glass of honey mixture.

 

“Oh? Why aren’t you eating dear?” she asked Hyuna.

 

“I’m eating,” Junhyung said, looking up at the ahjumma.

 

She chuckled seeing a smear of sauce at the corner of Junhyung’s mouth while he talked.

 

“Not you..” she said as she wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin. Hyuna smiled slightly seeing the serious-looking Junhyung acting like an innocent child.

 

“Ah. Ahjumma, what should she call me?” Junhyung asked the elder one.

 

“Oh? Um… Jun?” she suggested. Junhyung nodded carefully.

 

“Or you prefer.. oppa?” she chuckled. Junhyung looked lost for a moment at that word.

 

“Um Jun is fine. You can call me Jun,” he said awkwardly to Hyuna. The elder chuckled seeing how nervous Junhyung was just by thinking about a girl calling him oppa as she went back to the kitchen. Hyuna just smiled and nodded.

 

“Oh I almost forgot. This is yours Jun-ah..” the ahjumma went back, giving Junhyung his usual chocolate milk.

 

“But I want Coke..” he mumbled and pouted while staring at the chocolate milk.

 

“You had Coke yesterday. Only once a week remember?” she reminded him and she caressed the back of his head gently, trying to console him for not getting Coke.

 

Junhyung nodded slowly, understanding what the ahjumma said and sipped his milk obediently.

 

Night falls and Junhyung had called the doctor to check on Hyuna. Exactly as what the ahjumma said, it was not serious. He gave Hyuna a bottle of medicine and told her to drink lots of water. She also should try to talk everyday and see how she progresses day by day.

 

The night went by smoothly as the two did not talk at all other than the time while they were waiting for dinner. Hyuna still hasn’t figured out what she was supposed to do in that house. Junhyung doesn’t seem to be intending to making her his slave. Which confuses her because that is what she was bought for.

 

Hyuna was sleeping when she heard something outside her room. In another room.

 

“Arghh… Ahh… Omma.. omma…” Junhyung cried in pain. He tried to hold in his cries but it was too painful to stay quiet. Junhyung clutched on his chest tightly and shut his eyes. His legs kicked vigorously at the end of the bed as he finally gave in and banged on the button attached to his wall to call ahjumma along with his other servants.

 

He was panting heavily, finding it already hard to breathe. “Omma… omma h-help me..” he cried softly in between his pants.

 

His door flung opened and ahjumma along with another servant rushed in. The elder lady sat at the edge of his bed, carrying his body to rest on her lap. She hugged him tight while extending his arm towards the servant. She cooed hush sounds as she his back gently, trying to comfort him.

 

Junhyung kept on calling for his mother softly as the servant gave him an injection on his arm. The painkiller acted instantly and his pain subsided eventually. Junhyung panted a little while more as the elder lady patted his back, lulling him to sleep.

 

“You can go out first,” the ahjumma told the servant. As she looked at the servant going out of the room, she caught a glimpse of someone rushing back to where she was from as if she had been standing by the door the whole time.

 

The elder carefully placed Junhyung back on the bed while he sleeps and went out of the bedroom quietly, closing the door behind her.