“Master Yong’s mother? Omo!” Seohyun immediately bowed, causing Taeyeon and Mrs Jung to laugh. Seohyun looked up sheepishly and said, “I’m just kidding. Mrs Jung will always hold a special place in my heart, regardless of what role she plays in my life.”

*

“When is Master Yong coming back? I feel like I’m never going to get to see him.” Seohyun complained as she stacked the dishes up nicely and placed them away in the cupboard.

“Why?” Taeyeon laughed. “Can’t wait to see him? Come on, control your fangirl feels.” She teased. “He’s a busy man.”

And just at that exact moment, the front door slammed, causing the two girls to look at each other in alarm. “Speak of the devil.” Taeyeon whispered, and hurriedly rushed out, with Seohyun following hot on her heels.

As soon as Seohyun caught sight of Master Yong, she breathed in sharply. He wasn’t what she had expected to see in real life.

On television, whenever Hana had been watching him perform, she would shake her head amusingly whenever Hana screamed that Yonghwa was ‘handsome’. On television, Yonghwa didn’t look drop-dead gorgeous. Yes, he was good looking, maybe even a little handsome, but not THAT handsome.

However, in real life, the correct word to describe Yonghwa would be…. charming. He had a unique aura around him, and Seohyun felt like he was comfortable to be around with. And she hadn’t even spoken to him yet.

“So this is Seo Joohyun.” Taeyeon gestured at her. “Say hi, Hyun.”

“Hello.” Yonghwa smiled. “I thank you in advance for your hard work!”

And he’s polite too! Seohyun thought.

“Annyeonghasey-“ Seohyun started to bow, but Yonghwa grabbed her by the arm and shook his head. “Hey, there’s no need for that. I would like you to see me as a friend, not like an employer, okay?”

He flashed Seohyun a wide smile and walked up the stairs. Seohyun felt a slight tingle on her arm, at the area where Yonghwa had grabbed her.

“You’re blushing.” Taeyeon commented and tried to suppress her laughter.

“He’s quite the gentleman.” Seohyun cleared and tried to speak. “Okaaaay! What were we doing before this?”

*

Yonghwa flopped down onto his bed and sighed blissfully. There was finally some time for him to rest before he started working on his next album, and he had yet to compose the title track.

Before he could even close his eyes to rest, his phone started to ring. He glanced at the phone irritatedly and became even more irritated when he saw the caller id.

Park Shinhye

Yonghwa closed his eyes and ignored the ringing. The ringing finally stopped, followed by a ‘ping!’ sound.

You have a new text message

He rolled his eyes and clicked on it, not because he wanted to read it but because he didn’t want that notification to stay on his lockscreen.

Park Shinhye:

Oppa, call me back. I have something to tell you.

“Never in my life.” Yonghwa muttered and tossed his phone aside. She had been using this trick forever and he was getting tired of it, too.

Moreover, he was over her.

*

“Here, bring this up to Master Yong.” Taeyeon pushed a cup of warm milk into Seohyun’s hands.

“Me?” Seohyun looked at her incredulously. “I don’t want to, it’s gonna be so awkward!” she whined.

Taeyeon pursed her lips. “Just do it, I’m giving you a chance to get to know him better.”  

“I don’t want to know him better.” Seohyun laughed nervously. “He’s my employer, and I’m his employee, and there’s nothing more to that,” she smiled and walked out of the kitchen, her hands clutching the cup of milk.

Taeyeon winced as she watched Seohyun walk out. “This is getting bad,” she whispered to herself. “I was right- Hyun is too similar to her.”

*

Flashback

(Taeyeon is 16, Yonghwa is 17)

Taeyeon waited excitedly on the front porch as she listened to the bell chiming all over the house inside. It was her first day reporting for work and she was feeling an equal amount of both nervousness and happiness.

Working for a celebrity! How cool was that? Even though Yonghwa wasn’t that popular and had just debuted, he was still a celebrity, regardless, and not forgetting the impressive amount of fangirls he already had just 3 months after his debut. Yonghwa was listed #1 on the list of rookies of the year, and Taeyeon had to admit that he could sing well. (coming from her whom vocal coach had said that she could sing better than 90% of the celebrities out there, this was quite a compliment.)

The door finally opened and Taeyeon looked up in anticipation, only to find herself face to face with a….woman.

But this woman was different. She wasn’t pretty, but her face held a tone of attractiveness to it. She had a gentle face, and the word to describe her was beautiful, rather than pretty. Her light brown hair tousled about in the wind, and she smiled to Taeyeon with such a serene smile that Taeyeon smiled back.

“Hi,” she said. “Are you here for the housekeeper job?”

Taeyeon nodded. She wanted to say something but she couldn’t stop staring. She had beautiful features and Taeyeon felt like she was mesmerized by her light brown eyes.

“Aren’t you a little too… young?” The woman laughed, revealing a set of straight, white teeth.

“I may be young but I’m not weak!” Taeyeon found her voice and pouted indignantly. “I’m quite strong and efficient, you know.”

The woman laughed. “I know. Come in!” She smiled. “But before that, let’s introduce ourselves, shall we? I’m Kim So Hee.”

*