They slowly made their way back down when Siwon glimpsed a familiar face out of the corner of his eye. It can't be.  But it was. Sohyun.  Before he was shipped off to the Cho family he still had his wealth to hide behind . Sohyun was scary compared to her sister, and it was only through putting her in her place with a remark about their families' respective positions that he could somewhat keep her at distance after his embarrassing attempt to flirt with her .  He tried to shrink away after the young master, but it was too late.  She was looking at him with a wide-eyed expression that turned quickly to disgust.

What the founder of the upcoming brand 3take2 was doing here was a mystery , but that was soon resolved as it turned out she had business with the young master.  Siwon tried not to look at her while she talked to him . One of the bodyguards noticed his unease and poked him slightly in the ribs. Siwon started, having been occupied with looking elsewhere.  'Ay, what's up with you ?'  he hissed, not unfriendly. Siwon considered the question for a moment and decided it would be safe to tell him : 'She was ... someone I used to know before I entered the young master's service. ' 

'Really? why don't you go greet her then ?'

The suggestion was so outrageous to Siwon that he had to suppress what would have probably sounded like manic laughter.  Ignoring  the other bodyguard for the time being , he continued to evade looking at Sohyun. Finally the young master came into motion and with him the group of bodyguards that was clustered around his person.  As Siwon walked past Sohyun he felt her glare burning in the back of his neck . Considering how she and her sister had had dinner together on Siwon's money , it was no surprise that she was even more angry with him. She could have paid for that dinner herself and besides he'd stood her sister up on a date. In that sense Sohyun was fiercely protective of her younger sister, lashing out at anyone who hurt her even if Zoey herself didn't mind.  Siwon felt a pang of guilt toward Zoey. The poor girl was too kindhearted and naive, something one would suspect would be stamped out quickly in the world of high fashion. 

The flash of a camera blinded him as soon as they were back outside. Siwon turned quickly to see two men at the cafe next to the mall appearing to chat , suspiciously calm.  The young master, however, had already gotten into the car so he probably hadn't been the target of the picture.  That meant that those guys had been waiting to take a snapshot of Siwon. Which was strange, since few recognized him on sight.  He shivered. When he was still Siwon Choi of Kangsol corporation...  No, nevermind. You're not living that life anymore. But it was still unnerving to know that random strangers (and possible paparazzi) knew what he looked like whereas he'd been mostly anonymous in and around Seoul.

They took a different route back to the Cho mansion, Siwon all the while pondering what those reporters would do with his picture. The prospect of seeing his disgusting, subservient face on the cover of some tabloid wouldn't be a very favourable one, but for some odd reason it excited him too.  First, rumours needed to start stirring. Was that really Choi Jin Woo's son ?  It can't be ! Have you actually seen him ?  There's no way ... Siwon could already imagine the pressure it would exert on his father and the scandal that would follow. That'd serve him right.

His cellphone alerted him that he had a new message, but he didn't feel like picking it up after all that had happened so far.

-------

The next day Siwon woke up by a ray of pale sunlight falling on his face. September was almost over . He remembered celebrating Chuseok with his family , now so long ago. He turned in his bed , suddenly recalling that he had a day off today.  The Chos seemed cold, but at least they regarded their servants as human beings. Or so he thought. He'd barely gotten out of bed when Kyung's bony hands rapped on his bedroom door again .'The Young Master requests your presence'. By now Siwon knew that 'request' was basically a euphemism for 'command.' He'd gotten a scolding from Kyung once and he didn't intend to suffer that again.

The young master was waiting in the living room, a massive crystal chandelier looming overhead , much like the one Siwon had at home . The young master appeared to be slightly agitated as he sipped tea from a porcelain cup.  Not even greeting his personal servant he said, 'the lady I spoke to yesterday, Yi Sohyun ... Does she know you ?' Siwon glanced up in surprise . For a moment he was panicked, searching for an answer that would satisfy the young master but then he answered:  'No.'

'Don't lie to me. ' The young master put the cup on the table with an unnecessarily loud  clunk.  'I couldn't care less whatever liasions you had with Designer Yi , but I will not have my servant interacting with those above his station except , perhaps, myself. Siwon was overcome by a wave of anger. It turned out he was the Chos' possession , and everything he did or said was controlled by them . Now the young master was trying to control even the things he didn't do or say. Indignant , he said : 'How did I interact with her ?'  

This was his first mistake with the young master.

The young master got up with a jerk and told him : 'Do not speak to me like that .  You are a servant; do so much as attempt to defy your station and you will be kicked out of this house with no further notice. '