Chapter 16

“Hello again,” he said standing up to face her.

“Daddy, that's my nanny, isn't she pretty?” Daniel beamed proudly glancing from his nanny to his father.”

“She sure is, buddy,” he said fixing his cold stare at her. “She sure is.”

It came as no surprise that she was still intimidated by him. He had that effect on her along with his wife. Annie wished the floor could open up and swallow her whole but undoubtedly, that wouldn't happen. He soon shifted his attention to Himchan. “And who are you?”

“That's Himchan hyung, Daddy,” Daniel spoke up. “He's my new piano teacher.”

“Piano teacher, eh?” Mr. Shin said staring Himchan down. The latter stared back clearly unaffected by the older man. “Why would he need a piano teacher?” he asked as if his son was not in the room. Annie clenched her fist angrily.

“Well, you see, sir,” Himchan smirked in return. “I'm not sure if you've heard but your son has a recital coming up and your wife hired me to help him out.” He inferred.

The older man scoffed. “She sure likes them young, doesn't she?” he snidely muttered. Annie finally looked up upon hearing that.

That comment was enough to rile him up as he was about to charge but Annie stopped him. “Please don't, Himchan,” she pleaded. “Not in front of Danny.” She stared back at Mr. Shin angrily. “With all due respect, sir, your son is in the room. So I suggest you keep your insults to yourself.” She said trying to sound civil for the boy's sake. Daniel took note of the tension as he watched on.

“Daddy?” Daniel looked up tugging at his father's expensive suit. “Why are nanny and hyung mad at you?”

Ruffling his son's hair, he smirked smugly at Annie and Himchan. “What makes you think they're mad at me? We're just talking like grownups, that's all. No one's mad at anyone,” he said assuringly.

The door soon flew open and in entered Miranda. “How did you get in here?” she interrogated her husband. “Who let you in?” she demanded.

“One of the maids let me in,” he said with indifference. “Just thought I'd stop by to see our son. Did you miss me too?”

“I'm actually starting to get used to your absence,” Miranda said crossing her arms over her chest. “Maybe if you weren't spending your time at the office so much, you should know what our son's been up to.” Annie thought back to the scene she saw in his office earlier. The thought made her cringe nevertheless. She wondered if Miranda already knew but decided to bite her tongue.

Glancing towards Annie and Himchan he smirked then turned to his wife. “I see you've hired new people.”

“Don't try to change the subject,” Miranda demanded glancing at the two young adults. “You're both dismissed.”

Without a word, Himchan was out the door. Annie hesitated at first looking at Daniel, who seemed a bit weary as he watched his parents exchanging banter. “Nanny,” Miranda said in a warning tone. “You're dismissed for tonight.”

Bowing slightly, she finally said, “Yes, ma'am.” Then proceeded to walk out the door. She couldn't bring herself to forget the look on Daniel's when she left.

“Tonight's been cancelled. See you tomorrow, you know where I'll be waiting. Don't be late.” Himchan sighed after he read the text message as he made his way to his car.

“Hey wait up!” a girl's voice called out from behind. She was panting from running from what he noticed. He turned around and found Annie a few yards away from him catching her breath. “What was that all about?” she asked as soon as she was closer to him.

“What was what all about?” he asked in return.

She shrugged. “You know, what he said back there...” she furrowed her eyebrows. “What did he mean by that?”

“It's nothing,” he replied immediately. He opened the back passenger door and put away his messenger bag. He could feel the girl eye him suspiciously from behind. He looked back at her.

She looked away finally. “Okay,” she nodded slowly still looking at him suspiciously. “I'm worried about him, you know. It's the first time I've seen him so... vulnerable. I couldn't bring myself to leave the penthouse but Miranda was so persistent I had to go.”

He sighed running his hand over his dark hair. “You know, you shouldn't worry so much about it,” he tried to sound assuring. “I'm sure it'll get better in the morning.”

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “It's my maternal instincts kicking in, you know?”

“I understand,” he nodded.

“Okay, I guess I'll let you go now,” she said with a slight frown. “It's nice talking to you, Himchan. Drive safely.” She said before proceeding to walk over to the bus stop.

She was halfway towards the bus stop when he impulsively called out to her. “Annie!” She stopped in her tracks and turned around. “Do you need a ride home?” he finally asked.

“If it's not a lot of trouble for you,” she said grinning. “I'll even give you gas money.”

“Don't worry about it,” he said shaking his head as soon as she settled into the passenger seat. “You know, if you need a ride you can just call me. I'd gladly help.” He said as he started the car.

“I appreciate it but I promise this will be the last time,” she said. “I don't want to be a burden.”

“You're not,” he said glancing at her as he drove. “So where are we going?”

“At least allow me to buy you something to eat!” she offered as she asked him to head over to the Temple Cafe before they closed.

“You don't have to buy me dinner, Annie,” he said parking the car. “That's a little too generous, don't you think?”

“Well, you gave me a ride,” she retorted back. “It's the least I can do.”

“You really don't have to,” he shook his head.

“You oughta know that I'm really stubborn and persistent so I suggest you give up now otherwise we'll be here all night,” she persisted. “Gosh, I'm starting to sound like you!”

He chuckled in amusement. “I noticed,” he said as they walked into the cafe.

“So how do you like your food so far?” Annie asked looking at the handsome guy across the table expectantly. Soon, she would receive a text from Lucy. You two-timing ! Two hot guys in one day?! You're on a roll! Give me all the details later! ;) Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, Annie ignored her. Himchan, on the other hand, did not seem to notice the minor exchange.

“It's really good, thank you,” he said chuckling. “It's the first decent meal I had all day.”

“Well I'm glad you like it, eat as much as you want,” she insisted hoping to shift the conversation hoping to get her mind off Daniel and his parents. “So I've been meaning to ask, how long have you been friends with Yongguk?” she couldn't help but ask.

He looked up at her in thought. “About six years? I forget,” he finally said. “We've always been into music so I guess that's how we bonded.”

“Oh cool!” Annie exclaimed with interest. “What kind of does he do music exactly?”

“He's always been into hip-hop and rap,” Himchan answered. “As a matter of fact, he even writes his own raps too.”

“He writes too?!” her eyes widened at the thought. He nodded. “Guy must be talented,” she mumbled.

“He is, actually,” he chimed in hearing her side comment. “You should really come out to the studio sometime to hear a recording. You know, see us at work.” He offered.

Before she could agree, she was interrupted by Daehyun and Youngjae with their arms crossed like two intimidating bodyguards. Annie was unaffected knowing they were more afraid of her than she was of them. “What now?” she finally asked with a tone of annoyance. Himchan eyed the three of them in confusion.

“Daehyun? Youngjae? What are you guys doing here?” the older guy asked turning to both friends.

“Himchan hyung?!” they both exclaimed in unison.

A/N: Hello again! I added a bit of drama into the Shin family. Enjoy! ^^

This chapter was kind of sloppy so please forgive me! >.<