Hye Ri frowned that Jaejoong added Jong Hyun's salary even if she was so not willing to let the young awkward man live to pay his parents' debts, but she had no idea what her nephew was up to. So Jaejoong motioned Jong Hyun to the piano, and the nerdy guy took his place to play some tunes.

Jong Hyun tapped some bars to play some music, but Bo Young wanted him to play "Moonlight Sonata." Fortunately, the poor Jong Hyun was fond of classical music, so he played the sonata perfectly. The melancholic sound of the sonata floated on the air, and even wafted to the basement where our CInderella was trapped.

From the cellar in the basement, Shin Hye stood up to listen to the tapping of bars. For years since the torture, it was the first time she had heard something really beautiful. The song was sad to listen, but it aroused her and made her listen. She leaned closer to the wall, but she had no idea that the sound came exactly above her... for the piano near the furnace was near her lowly quarters.

Finally, after the sonata, Jaejoong requested for Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer." Jong Hyun scratched his head because he found the said piece a bit challenging, but he tried, nevertheless. Bo Young frowned because it was one song that she hated the most. It was the song that Jaejoong often when they were younger. Hye Ri frowned again, wondering why a genius of a man is found in a lowly guy like Jong Hyun. Nevertheless, talent will never be successful if there is no money and power.

After the presentation, Jaejoong clapped before commenting, "Daebak! I could pay you more than I would for my workers at the store, ahahahah."

"Be mindful of your money, Jaejoong-ah," Hye Ri told her nephew spitefully.

"Mullon! I always know how to mind my money, Jageun Eomma," Jaejoong replied with a beautiful smile fitting for a chic girl.

Jong Hyun smiled behind his dorky glasses, feeling overwhelmed at Jaejoong's praise. If Hye Ri and Bo Young were making his life miserable, it was Jaejoong raising him up. Too bad, Hyunnie, Jaejoong does not always stay in the house.

Meanwhile, Shin Hye sat back on the floor and carved her revenges on the wall again with her fork, but she suddenly remembered the two songs played on the piano. Who could that be? Surely, there must be a new person up there...

****

That night, Jong Hyun, who was sleeping near the door to the basement, could not sleep. He got up and took out the guitar from the guitar case, for he kept his guitar near his bed. He looked outside the window and saw the moon, and he began singing to CN Blue's "Illusion." As he sang, there was a certain sadness in his eyes, like he was missing a lover.

Meanwhile, from the basement, Shin Hye suddenly woke up from the sound of strums and a beautiful voice. The voice sounded so sad that she looked up the ceiling. As one soul sang his loneliness, another one was listening to the beauty of loneliness. Shin Hye got up from the floor, pushed a creaky chair, and stood up on it to listen closely above. She did not realize that, because she was standing on a chair about to give away, she fell down the floor as the chair finally broke. It hurt her so much, so much so that most of the wounds from all the beating had not healed. Shin Hye gingerly got up and went to a dilapidated restroom near her quarters to cleanse any wound.

Yes, though she was imprisoned, the old restroom has a good supply of water. Hye Ri was not aware that the restroom existed well because Jin Young had it built when he would hide in the basement to practice on a rickety piano. The restroom had not been used for years, nor had it been disinfected, but Shin Hye made use of what was there. She just used water to cleanse herself.

Jong Hyun, meanwhile, heard the crash below his bed. What was that? It made him curious if there was a certain basement below. He placed his guitar on his bed, grabbed his flashlight, got out of his room, and looked around. Then, he realized that he remembered a servant going inside the door next to his room while he was playing "The Entertainer." Was someone confined under the basement? Was there a certain relative living underneath? The curiosity got the best of him, and he was thankful that his room was far from the living room. His room was as humble as the door next to his, so it was impossible for guests to reckon that there was such a thing as a hidden basement. Jong Hyun gingerly opened the door leading to the basement and got inside with his flashlight on.

First, he saw a long flight of stairs leading down to the basement. When he reached the final end, he saw that the basement was pretty neat though a bit shabby. He saw the cranky piano and mused. 

"Wow, someone from Mdm. Kim Hye Ri's family must really be fond of music, enough to dismantle a piano," Jong Hyun thought. 

He walked gingerly until his flashlight glared on a figure of someone whose hair covered the face. It looked like a woman, and she was crouching near the window. He was taken aback and was about to shout, thinking of it as a ghost or an apparition, but he was tongue-tied. The woman was looking a bit afraid and defensive, for she was holding a fork. 

"Nuguya!" the woman shouted in anger as she threw her fork at him.

Jong Hyun was able to dodge the fork, but he walked cautiously to the wall.

"Annyeonghaseyo?" he greeted with a forced cheerfulness in his voice.

The woman began to look up when she realized that it was a different person, not Kim Hye Ri.

"I am Lee Jong Hyun, bangawoyo," Jong Hyun greeted politely, keeping his fear in check.

The woman still did not move from her place, but continued to crouch.

****

Shin Hye was shocked when she heard the door opening, and she crouched in fear, thinking that Mdm. Hye Ri had heard the crashing of the chair. She would be punished again, so she grabbed her fork. Later, she saw a figure coming her way when she was blinded by a light. She closed her eyes and hid.

"Nuguya!" she screamed as she threw the fork at the intruder.

Then, the said intruder introduced himself as Lee Jong Hyun, and Shin Hye's head cocked to the side a bit. The sound of the name and the voice was not familiar. Who is this guy?

And then, suddenly, she heard Jong Hyun singing to an unfamiliar song, but with a beautiful melody. Even Jong Hyun's voice was so soft and gentle that she began to look up the intruder.

****

Jong Hyun remembered what his eomma told him everytime he is stuck alone in the dark: sing lullabies. The first song that came to his mind was A-Pink's "Wishlist," which was a favorite of his younger sister. 

Jong Hyun sang up to the chorus, and after the song, he felt relieved. Finally, he smiled at the woman crouching in front of him.

"I am sorry for intruding," Jong Hyun told her. "May I know Agasshi's name?"

"Servant," Shin Hye replied.

Jong Hyun felt pity for her and got nearer. Shin Hye backed in fear, paranoid that this intruder might harm her. As Jong Hyun approached the window, Shin Hye looked from behind her hair hiding her face. The young man was tall and looked awkward, but he had a beautiful smile on his face.

"It looks like Agasshi is all alone, geureohcho?" Jong Hyun said to her. 

When he noticed the window from where he stood, he saw that it was near the ground to the zen garden. Jong Hyun absentmindedly took off his nerdy glasses and ran his hands through his hair so his fringes mingled with the rest of his hair, exposing his forehead. Shin Hye had never seen such a handsome guy in her years as a prisoner, and she thought that a handsome man like Jong Hyun might also mean that he was kind. After arranging his hair, Jong Hyun wore back his glasses and remarked.

"Agasshi has a good view of the garden from here," he told her, giving out a small smile.

Because Jong Hyun's face was near the window, the crystal clear moonlight from the zen garden illuminated his fair face, and Shin Hye saw that he was a bit sad.

"I will not ask Agasshi as to the reason for being here," Jong Hyun said. "I just want to tell you that I feel lonely."

He began to look out the window again, and began singing to "Illusion." His melancholic voice floated in the air, and Shin Hye listened to him. That night was a new experience for her, like someone was singing a lullaby to her.

After the song, Jong Hyun smiled back at her and told her that he will get back here tomorrow to talk to her, if that is all right. Shin Hye, as usual, did not reply. 

"Annyeonghi jumuseyo," Jong Hyun greeted her before going away.

A pang of sadness hit Shin Hye as she watched the young man leave. It seemed like the kindness and the song of the young man had, somehow, swept off her loneliness, and it was taken away from her by the night. 

"Will he come back again as he said?" she thought as she continued to crouch.

****

Jong Hyun got back to his room and kept his guitar inside the case. He was pensive as he stared at his guitar.

"Servant is a pity," he thought. "I wonder why she was there. Should I ask Mdm. Hye Ri?"

He reckoned that he better not. Mdm. Hye Ri was strict and looked like she was going to spit out curses and insults anytime soon. Bo Young was a total that he was not willing to step beyond his line and just tutor her instead. The only person he thought would answer him best was Kim Jaejoong--that is if Jaejoong comes often. He waited for an opportunity to talk to the businessman again.

"I wonder how she looks like," Jong Hyun thought sadly yet curiously. "And I wonder what her real name is..."

~~~~