"What if...What if she doesn't love me?"


I wake up, opening my eyes, but then closing it quickly after when I heard the door shut. When you're a daughter of a shaman, it's hard for you to sleep. Dreams of what's happening to the person you're destined to haunt you in your sleep. They're like fortune telling, but the difference is, it tells you the present scene. Though, the problem is, you can't see the face of your future husband. Just voices. 


A hand sweeps the hair covering my face, placing it behind my ear and then suddenly jerks back. Then, a loud rush followed, so I dart my eyes open, seeing a man with fire-looking hair in front of me. His lower lip has a piercing, his eyes were blood red, his mascara was too thick that I can’t distinguish what he does look like and from the looks of it, and he was one of the monsters in this house. His eyes widen and then, he turns his back towards me, but then I stopped him, grabbing his hand quickly. My instincts just do everything, not my mind, but my heart. I just followed my heart. 


"Please...stay." I heard myself murmur.


Then, I force him to face me, and when he did, I pull him into an embrace, deepening my face against his abdomen.

"Don't...leave me." I whispered, but audible enough for him to her and I cried.

 

My heart rapidly beats against my chest, but with this kind of hug, I feel secured, assured. I feel like I have known him for who knows how long. I feel like...I really meant those 3 words. And most importantly...it came from the heart. My heart. 

He hugged me back, rubbing my backside in slow assuring motions. “It’s fine.”

I groaned, and hugged him tighter, not minding if I’ll whip the air out of him. I just need comfort. Only comfort.

He lowered himself so my hands were transferred from his abdomen to his neck, and his shoulder cradled my head carefully. His hands continue to rub my back, sometimes massaging and sometimes patting.

I pulled momentarily, outstretching my hand. “I’m Sandara Park. You can call me Dara.”

He accepted my hand, and instead of a smile, his mouth was opened lightly. “GD.”

“That short?” I asked, and he just answered with a light nod. I smiled, hugged him again and whispered, “Nice meeting you.” against his ear. I felt him shiver, which made me laugh.

He made me better.

After one month of being trapped inside this house, but not likely being 'trapped', I've already known the people here. They're so kind-hearted, humble and caring, completely opposite of the people outside, who are selfish, vain and evil. But among the persons in the house, GD is the closest to me, ever since. Though, he doesn't want to tell me what his real name is--even Top--unlike the others who stated their real names before telling me their fake names. Well, they use those fake names when they go outside, while the real names stays inside the mansion, for family purposes only. But because Top and GD didn't tell me their names, I feel like an outsider towards them, but not that much. I feel like they are sensitive to that subject.


We do together almost all the things at night: strolling, playing and even shopping. Though of course, we cover our faces. They don't normally socialize with people, and like what I assume, I was the second person they have met--the first one was my mother. They also told me, that some of the past VIPs deaths were partially suicide. They kill themselves in fear or accidentally kill themselves before they could even meet them, while some died because of the rule going inside the house. 


"Innocents are spared and the criminals are slaughtered."


GD takes care of me like I was fragile, like I was breakable, like I was his...girlfriend. He even gave up his own bed for me, since there are only 5 beds in the bedroom. But because I feel worried for him too, I insisted on sleeping together with him. Well, we'll not do anything stupid anyway, so it's not that bad.


I move the velvet curtain a little bit as I peer outside, Bom staring at the house distantly with Wooyoung and Minzy at her sides. Bom's clutching onto her chest, her abdomen rapidly pumping air in and out, showing how hard it is for her to breath just by looking at the house while Wooyoung is holding the scarf I knitted for his birthday. They're waiting for me again, to go out and be with them, to do things again with them.


But I can't. 


I watch as the mayor's daughter walks towards them, grabs Wooyoung's hand and pulls him away, but he won't give in, still looking at the mansion distantly. Then, she utters a word irritably with matching rolling of eyes, which made Bom abruptly slap her face, painfully, as soon as she heard it. She cried, saying something to Wooyoung, but he still ignored her and when she's about to slap him, Wooyoung catches her hand that was flying straight to his cheek, pushes her and she stumbles, falling on the ground. They quickly created a commotion, and Minzy's trying her best to stop the fight that's about to reach its with all those pushing and slapping. Wooyoung scolds at the mayor’s daughter, accusing a finger as he shouts at her while Bom agrees with everything he says, nodding. They looked like a team for fighting with her, and she just cried, standing up from the filthy ground before running away from them, both of her hands covering her face. And when Bom's eyes dart towards my direction, I closed the curtains quickly.


"Dara Noona, did you see Hyung?" I hear Daesung shout from the staircase, making me turn to him, seeing him carrying papers and I shrug, moving my shoulders up and down. "Who are you referring to?"


"Uh, Ji, er, GD Hyung." He says, moving his hands up, showing the papers. Why does he even have to stutter at the 'G' part? "He wanted these papers ASAP."


"Uh, did you already check the music room?" I say, smiling at him and he nods before running off to the music room, his grasp on the papers were too tight. With a soft sigh, I hang my head low, finding the floor interesting while I lean my body on the wall. One month, it's a small time to move on with my past life. The life I have as a servant of the mayor. The life that has become the gist of everything happening today.  


"Oh, Dara~!" I hear someone call me with a playful tone, making me lift my head up and see Top looking towards me, grinning. "What are you doing there?"


"Uh, apparently nothing." I answer, twisting my lips into a flat line and put my hands on the back, walking towards him. "Why?"


He shrugs, bringing his shoulders up and down. "Do you want to ask questions? I mean, looking outside the window can't guarantee when you're finally free." He points to the kitchen. "Shall we?"


"Oh, sure. But was it too early to ask for my freedom already?" I say, following him towards the kitchen, and he just chuckles, his clasp on the papers he was holding tightens. To a completely different topic, if I'll rank the guys according to the most handsome, I'll rank Top first even though he's too cool, too weird and too awkward. I mean, popping out of nowhere is just a sign of being magical.  His auburn eyes can deceive anyone when he smiles, and can intimidate anyone when he glares. Top’s angular face matches that of celebrities’ and his smile just sets me at ease. He has that effect on me, but then, I don’t feel anything to him.


"I don't know. You should be asking yourself about that. Will it be too early for you to ask for freedom?" He says, opening the twin oak door leading to the kitchen, and before we enter, he takes a glimpse of me, winking. He hovers towards a red cushioned chair, pulling it and sits on it, while I occupy the chair countering him, the black cushioned one. He arranges the papers he was holding, tapping the pen against the table, his chin rested on his hand that was on the table and I just stare at him, rubbing my hands against each other under the table.


Then, I remember, he wanted me to ask him questions that were bothering me. "Ah, Toppie. Do you by chance know the mayor's daughter?"


"You mean, Chaerin?" He asks, peering at me on the corner of his eye, pausing at what he's doing and I nod, placing my hand between my legs to be able to withstand the cold atmosphere. Then, he heaves a sigh, taking off his glasses and look at me, seriously. 


"I guess it's safe to say." He mumbles, barely audible and sighs. "Chaerin is..."


"Is?" I repeat, raising one brow and he heaves again a sigh before continuing, "Chaerin is GD's sister. Younger sister."


"Huh? That makes no sense!" I exclaim, my teeth chattering when I spoke, the temperature inside the room, dropping to a negative. Top shakes his head and then, heaves a sigh, agreeing to my thought. "I know."


I purse my lips together, not believing in what he said. That Chaerin is GD's sister. "Top, please tell me the truth. You know the very fact that I hate lies."


"Dara, what I said is true. Chaerin is GD's sister, and he's completely aware of that, even before when you asked him before last week."

I appeared strong in front of Top. No, I won’t whine because GD didn’t tell me he knows Chaerin, and that he’s her brother. I kept on telling myself. But my heart felt tight in my chest, preventing me to breathe freely.

My palms turn into two tight fists on the table, my nails almost digging my skin as I make it tighter and unconsciously, warm tears stroll down my cheeks, but was enough to make Top comfort me. He massages both of my fists, and instantly, I loosen it up, allowing him to intertwine his hands with mine. 


"I-I hate the feeling of being lied by someone that all of people, I expect will be the one who'll be honest to me and i-it hurts to know he lied to me when I asked him about Chaerin, and just answered...he doesn't know her." I mumble, closing my eyes, my sobs starting to muffle. "I-I hate lies."


"Just understand him. You may not know what he's going through." Top tries to salvage the only trust I can give to GD, and I admit, I did try to understand him. I try to understand why he lied about his relationship with Chaerin, and why he would even keep it a secret. 


"Why do you give it to me?"


"Because I trust you."


I thought he trusted me. I tell myself, retrieving my hands from Top's grasp and use it to wipe my dry tears away. Does he even mean it? I mean, does Jiyong mean what he said? 


"I'll just go to a place where I can be alone." I say, abruptly standing up from my seat and head out from the kitchen, the doors automatically opening and shutting upon my exit. I trust Jiyong, but does he trust me?  Why he didn't tell me he's Chaerin's brother? Why when I asked him if he knows Chaerin, he denied?


"Dara, could you help me with this?" My teeth clenched as soon as I heard his voice. How dare he? How dare him to act so nonchalant when he had lied to me? How dare him to act so innocent when he had done such a thing to me? No doubt, people think he's a disgrace, a monster. I shouldn't have trusted him before the others. He should've been forlorn, no friends at all, so he'll learn his lesson. 


I glare at him, much to his astonishment and slap his hand away when he tried to grab my shoulder. He was speechless, unable to flinch, unable to comprehend what was happening. And before I head upstairs, I bid him one last word and flew off. "Jerk!"