Lee watched silently as Madam Kim read the documents with shaky hands.

“What is this?” She asked with tears welling up in her eyes. She seemed so much older like that, so much he had to look away. He sighed before answering her question.

“This is what Young Master was suffering from, the origin of his pain.”

“Where? For how long?” She asked and her voice trembled.

Lee passed her a name card. She held it in her hands and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Byun?”

“Yes, madam. There was no mistake.”

+ + + +

“Who are you talking to?” Minseok asked again when Yoo Jung did not answer.

He sighed softly and walked towards her in hasty steps, though he actually looked furious. Yoo Jung side eyed Luhan who shook his head. She knew then, Minseok cannot know about her seeing him. Not now, not yet.

“Who are you talking to?” Minseok asked yet again when he was at arm’s length, he was beginning to feel slightly annoyed at her silence. Yoo Jung could see how those eyes seemed colder than usual. She was suddenly afraid, how would he react if he knew about Luhan?

“Nobody. I was talking to myself.” Yoo Jung replied nonchalantly, though her heart raced when he was this close. The corridor was quiet, so much she could hear his slightly hitched breathing. Did he cry? Minseok said nothing in response, maybe he wasn’t really that interested to know what she was doing here all by herself.

“Lee Ji Eun, you know her don’t you?” Yoo Jung asked nonetheless, though she made sure to check Luhan’s expression hoping he could give her some form of response too. The pale boy nodded as if to have read her thoughts even though the question clearly wasn’t directed at him, while Minseok remained silent. His silence was so nerve wrecking, she was suddenly nervous.

She looked at Minseok, then Luhan, unsure what was right to say next. But what was there to say? There was a chill in her heart and she wanted very much to just run away. Do I really care whether they knew her?

Minseok placed a seemingly shaky hand on the door to the study and it opened easily into the dark and eerie space.

You?

Yoo Jung mouthed to Luhan but he just stood in the shadows. He shook his head and walked away. Yoo Jung almost sighed when Luhan still seemed so human, most importantly he only looked pale yet there was almost nothing ghastly about him. She almost called out to him, but he’d already disappeared into the corner.

Yoo Jung walked in and closed the door lightly after Minseok and regretted it. She should probably left the door open in case she had to run away or whatsoever. But seeing how he dragged his tired feet, his fists clenched tightly at his sides, her inner self wanted very much to be selfish now.

She only wanted him to herself at this moment. At least she wanted to be the only one to see him this vulnerable. It wasn’t right, she knew. He was someone with a fiancée now, she knew. Yet she couldn’t stop herself, and she knew that too for there was an invisible line she wasn’t supposed to cross. Who exactly is she to him? She wasn’t even sure about his feelings towards her, especially not after seeing how he reacted to Halmeoni’s announcement. There was a sudden sharp pain at the back of her head and a rather foreign yet familiar memory flashed across her mind…

Someone was talking to her, someone was holding her hand. She could feel the warmth as if it was real. She was in a backyard very similar to that of this mansion and she was playing with a certain someone… someone…who…

She winced softly as her vision returned and adjusted itself to the darkness.

Everyone has secrets. It seemed as though her very own mind had kept a huge secret from her, a piece of memory she seemed to have forgotten. Outside a loud clap of thunder echoed the room suddenly and she jumped in surprise involuntarily.

In that instant, another vivid memory of two boys struck her. The pounding pain at the back of her head returned. She gasped in pain and squeezed her eyes shut. At the back of her eyelids she slowly began to see the exact same scene from her dream. She remembered Halmeoni now, She remembered seeing her when she was less older, it was Halmeoni who brought her into the house for the very first time. The pain continued as if a constant drill in her head, she winced and her body twisted in pain.

Minseok said something to her but she couldn’t hear him, her ears were ringing. She felt his hands on her shoulders and her body felt as if she was on fire.

She tried to remember more, yet it was blank. Nothing. Just her eyes adjusting to Minseok’s worried expression now. She heard his voice, asking if she was