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Yoseob discovers Eunmi's background and family, and gets bad vibes from Eunmi's step-mother and step-brother after seeing a family portrait online. Yoseob takes Eunmi into the town, specifically grocery shopping because Yoseob was designated to go grocery shopping for the week. While being momentarily separated from Yoseob during grocery shopping, Eunmi gets another warning about the mansion and its inhabitants. After grocery shopping, Eunmi spots Kikwang from afar.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   chapter ten     

[INDENT] "Yoseob-oppa, isn't that... Kikwang-ssi?"

[INDENT] "Hmm?" Yoseob looked to his right and immediately recognized the lone wolf man by his eye scar. "You're right! It is Kikwang." But how did he leave the forest without getting detected by the others? Unless... Anniyo, I need to inform Doojoon-hyung before I make any assumptions...

[INDENT] "Kikwang!" Yoseob called out, and Kikwang immediately looked up.

[INDENT] Kikwang started walking towards Yoseob. "Oh, hey, hyung. What are you-- oh." He didn't see Eunmi hiding behind Yoseob. "What is she doing with you? Are you two on a date or something?" He sneered.

[INDENT] Before Eunmi could protest, Yoseob replied in a flat tone, "We went grocery shopping together. I showed her around town."

[INDENT] "WHAT?! Y-you showed her around town? Why the hell would you do that?!" Kikwang instantly yelled, making Yoseob and Eunmi wince.

[INDENT] "Calm down. Nothing happened. I was with her most of the time." Yoseob defended. "I should ask you how you got out without getting detected by the others, but I'll save it when we get back to the mansion."

[INDENT] Kikwang nodded. "Sure, interrogate me with the leader. Especially without her around." He nodded towards Eunmi. And so, the trio started biking / walking back up to the mansion.

[INDENT] Eunmi, who had a frown on her face the entire time as Yoseob and Kikwang conversated, was frustrated. Why was Kikwang always like this? Why is he hiding things from her? Are there things that she wasn't supposed to do and hear when she was around the men? She accidentally made eye contact with Kikwang, and Kikwang scoffed. Something about Kikwang's demeanor made Eunmi feel chilly. Or was it the fact that Kikwang reminded her of Eunhyuk?

[INDENT] Bedsheets were messily splayed all over the bed, and his clothes were flung out of his closet. Holes tinted with blood decorated his bedroom walls, and trash was strewn everywhere on the floor. The maids haven't touched his room ever since his latest soju-filled rampage.

[INDENT] He sat in his black leather one-seater sofa with a bottle of soju in his hand. He used his other bruised and bloody hand to rub his forehead; every single day since she left, he had been having hangovers, not even wanting to cure them despite the pleas of the maids and Donghae.

[INDENT] It had been nearly a week since she left the mansion. Even though he might be intoxicated every single day, he still had one functioning part of his brain counting the days since she has been gone. Usually, if she had to go somewhere, whether it would be for her various research projects or piano competitions across the country, she would leave a small message for him saying that she'll be out of the mansion. He crookedly smiled at the thought of how she was so terrified of him that she left messages for him in fear that he'll beat her. He beat her when she came back home anyway, so it didn't matter.

[INDENT] But this time, she didn't leave him a message, which was peculiar to him. Knowing how meticulous his half-sister was, it wasn't like her to forget something like that. When he asked the Min siblings, they both had consistent responses: Eunmi had to go across the country for more research projects. He had thought that Eunmi would be done with research projects after she had graduated from her university, but it seemed like they were endless. He always saw her staying up late at night calculating data or rewriting lab procedures; he almost pitied her, but his rage always got the better of him and ended up beating Eunmi for release.

[INDENT] Pain struck his brain, and he winced. Aish..., he thought. Thinking about Eunmi hurt his head and his heart. But he was always like this whenever she was away, and he never clearly understood why.

[INDENT] What if she really did leave her home and never came back? What if she really did run away? His grip immediately tightened on the bottle of soju as he took another swig and slammed it down on the armrest of his sofa chair. No... she can't. She doesn't have the willpower to. She'll never be able to leave me. Ever. In the end, she will come back to me, and I will mark her mine. And the cycle repeats. Eunhyuk gulped down the remainder of the bottle and threw the bottle at the wall, making the glass shatter. I will wait here until she returns. When she returns, I'll be able to release again.

[INDENT] Eunmi curled up into a ball on her bed. After she had arrived back to the mansion with Yoseob and Kikwang, she immediately thanked Yoseob for letting her come with him to go into town and rushed up to her room.

[INDENT] She didn't like being around Kikwang. Everything about Kikwang reminded her of Eunhyuk. Kikwang's glare always made Eunmi freeze up, much like how Eunhyuk used to corner her and drag her into his room for another beating. Her back ached in response. At least Kikwang only talked and never touched Eunmi; she didn't see why Kikwang would touch her in the first place. He may have animosity towards Doojoon, but he was raised alongside Doojoon; she was a foreigner to him.

[INDENT] A soft knock was heard against her bedroom door, and she immediately sat up. The door opened, and Dongwoon appeared. "Oh, Dongwoon! How are you?"

[INDENT] He bashfully smiled and hid his face behind the door. "I'm good, noona. I heard you went grocery shopping with Yoseob-hyung! Did you like our little town?"

[INDENT] Eunmi thought of the woman that gave her a warning about the men in the mansion. "Well, it seems as though the residents here don't particularly like strangers. But... hopefully they'll come to like me!"

[INDENT] Dongwoon nodded. "Of course they will! In the meantime, we have dinner ready downstairs. It's mostly made of the food you guys bought today, and Doojoon-hyung cooked it!"

[INDENT] "Ah, araso. I'll come down soon." Eunmi said before Dongwoon nodded and shut the door. Eunmi got up from her bed, stretched, and combed out her hair to look presentable