Joon woke up that morning, tired, and the too-loud IU greeted him. It was getting annoying because IU could not stop thanking him.

“You can thank me by quieting down,” Joon said, being ignorant as usual. IU pouted in the end, so Joon added in a teasing manner, “Thank you. That’s much better.”

Seconds passed and Joon heard IU calling, “Hey, Lee Joon.”

When Joon looked up, he could see the flash coming out from IU’s phone. He rolled his eyes. “Yah, did you just take a picture of me without my permission?”

“It’s for Jiyeon,” IU mumbled and Joon widened his gaze. “Delete that! You should just say so. You don’t have to take a picture like that.” IU could only shrug. “Candid pictures are the best.” Joon sighed. He wondered a lot then as he fixed his hair. Did I look ugly? Was my hair okay?

“Anyway,” murmured IU, taking a seat at the dining table again.

Joon made an irritated look. “What did I say about sitting-“

“Where will Jiyeon sleep if she stays here?” IU’s question made Joon choked on his food. Oh, crap. He completely forgot about that. Jiyeon, the girl he was starting to like, will be sleeping in his house! How great was that?

“Um. I’ll take care of that,” he hastily replied, pretending like he didn’t care. IU had her nose scrunched, disliking Joon’s answer. “I’m her best friend. I need to know where she is staying.”

Joon sighed as he met up with IU’s suspicious eyes. “You can be really annoying, do you know that?”

But IU ignored him, as always. “Where. Will. Jiyeon. Stay.” She said, spelling the words one by one while moving her fingers.

Joon sighed again. IU knew him too well. Joon thought to himself, ‘How are we friends again? Right, we’re not.’

He led IU to a big room, which was located right next to his. It was empty, except for the curtains and a small cupboard. “She’ll sleep on the mattress?” Joon nodded in return, hiding his real plan. “So where is your room?” Joon gulped at that question and slowly pointed to the room next to Jiyeon’s. Oh, crap. What a question!

IU realized that and she eyed Joon suspiciously. “You had a lot of empty rooms. Why do you have to choose the one right next to your room as Jiyeon’s room?”

Joon gulped in return. Damn, this girl is ruining his plan to stalk on Jiyeon. “Em. Well, I don’t think the other rooms suit her. This room is the largest,” he said. What a lame excuse.

IU took a while of thinking, but then she agreed. “Good for Jiyeon, then. She used to live in big rooms like this.”

Joon widened his gaze. “Pardon?”

IU repeated, “Jiyeon used to live in big rooms like this. She is the stepdaughter of Kim Gohyuk, the owner of Qerr Hotel. Do you know him?”

Joon almost fell onto the floor. Who didn’t know that snobbish plutocrat? He was the richest bloke in Gangnam, and he was Joon’s mother’s enemy in the business world! “What in the freaking world are you talking about?”

IU shrugged instead. “I told you. Her family is even richer than yours.”

Joon freaked out instead. “You never told me anything!”

“Now I did, right? So, if you even think about laying a finger on her, you’ll sure get shot by her stepdad.”

Joon scoffed. “Like that would happen. You watch too many dramas do you, Jieun. Give me a break.”

‘Wow. Jiyeon is no usual girl.’ Joon was probably too happy thinking about it, then he caught IU’s stare. “What?”

“You’re unusually smiling. Like you’re super excited,” commented IU. Joon nervously chuckled in return. “Say what? I love to smile! Didn’t I always smile?” He smiled this time, then he realized how fooled he was. He could never fool IU.

“You’re excited, aren’t you?”

Hah hah. Crap. I’m busted.

Joon scratched his head and he could hear IU’s chuckle. “Good to know that you’re looking forward for this! Anyway, I’ll bring Jiyeon here tomorrow.”

As soon as IU left, Joon jumped on joy. Oh, how sweet. A princess was going working for him as a maid? Could she possibly manage it? Oh, life was so damn sweet. Taking out his phone from a pocket of his jeans, Joon immediately made a phone call. “Mir, the plan is on.”

BARK! BARK!

Joon groaned as he pressed a pillow onto his head, completely raged. It was supposed to be a good night but then it happened to be otherwise. Angrily, he pushed the window open and cried at the top of his voice, "SHUT UP!"

But then the dogs barked back to him, then Joon realized he was a complete dork for doing it in the first place. Sighing, he then slammed the windows shut, before he let himself fall back onto his bed. Still lying down, he let his eyes roamed around the room, his mind travelled elsewhere around the world. There were lots of things running in his mind, and he couldn't tell if that was a for a good cause or otherwise. Is he going to be a good boss? Is he going to treat her well, and let his ignorance and arrogance slide? Is he going to be okay? Of course you're gonna be okay, Joon thought, half smiling to himself. Suddenly he imagined himself looking so pitiful each time he liked someone. It was like he couldn't get himself straight. Anyway, he tried hard to let go of it. Maybe things will get better, he told himself. Slowly, he let his vision slowly drifted away, same as the growing night. 

On the other side of the town, Jiyeon slept so well that night. Probably because she knew she was now only few steps away from her wished future, thanks to this beautiful stranger, who soon will be her one and only employer. Her boss. Of course she was nervous. She spent good five hours learning how to cook, wash, and clean, specially taught by IU's mother. Such a nice lady she was, thought Jiyeon. But then she realized her adventure was now starting. And it should, and must, end well. 

The next morning, Jiyeon was dead nervous. She had never been to Joon’s house before, yet alone meeting this guy. Sure, she had seen his photo from IU’s phone. He looked handsome, but that was not the case here. Was he super ignorant like how IU mentioned?

“He is really ignorant, so full of himself, bold, can be an idiot at times, but I guess he’s a bit cool. If you know what I mean.”

“We’re here!” IU dragged Jiyeon to the gates of his house after that, and Jiyeon loved the view already. “This is his house?” asked Jiyeon in disbelief. Joon’s house was huge; white- colored, and had such amazing deco. The garden was full of vibrant flowers and Jiyeon wondered if Joon was the one who took care of them. Stepping inside, Jiyeon was speechless. The beauty of the place was too much.

IU, on the other hand, was dead shocked. ‘Since when did Joon have flowers planted on his garden? The garden was still empty yesterday.’

IU was about to tell Jiyeon about it, but seeing how Jiyeon was too caught in the moment, IU let it slide.

“So . . . Do you like it?” asked IU, smiling. Jiyeon nodded vigorously. “Of course I like it! It’s so beautiful!”

Nevertheless, Jiyeon felt a bit weird. How could an unemployed guy be this rich?

Oh, right. The honored Madame Lee was his mother. Right.

“Ehem ehem.” The sound of a guy clearing his throat filled the air. Jiyeon was surprised to hear that, so she took a step back as she turned around. IU was surprised as well, but then she beamed.

Jiyeon had her eyes right on the guy in front of her. It was Lee Joon, who was dressed in his usual tee shirt and a pair of expensive jeans. His hair was dyed black, completely different from what she saw in the IU’s phone yesterday. He looked more handsome in person, but there was one thing weird about him.

He was not smiling, like he didn’t welcome Jiyeon at all.

Joon looked into Jiyeon’s eyes, and Jiyeon prayed hard to make him stop looking. ‘Stop looking. Stop looking.’

“Let me introduce my best friend, your maid,” interrupted IU, breaking the atmosphere. “Park Jiyeon.”

Jiyeon glanced to IU and Joon at the same time, and lightly bowed as she gripped the straps of her backpack, hard. “N-nice to meet you, Mister Lee.”

“Just call him Joon. He doesn’t care about formalities,” reminded IU, who then earned a death glare from Joon. Joon took few steps closer to Jiyeon, making Jiyeon shudder.

“You don’t have to cook breakfast today, Jieun. It’s your job to walk this...uh, this thing around the house.”

What Joon said made Jiyeon’s jaw dropped.

THIS THING?

DID HE JUST…CALLED ME ‘THIS THING?’

THIS THING?!

Jiyeon looked at him in total disbelief. IU had her jaw dropped as well, so to make sure she listened, Joon repeated, “Yah, did you hear me?”

IU suddenly snapped and stuttered, "Y-yes, I will."

Joon saw Jiyeon’s face turning red, and seconds passed when anger managed to fill across her face. Joon turned around and silently cursed himself. LEE JOON YOU ARE SUCH A FAIL. NICE MOVE OF TRYING TO TAKE HER HEART. STUPID LEE JOON, YOU LOSER. CREEP. STUPID. ASSHO--

“Hey Lee Joon, you crap!” Joon choked on his own saliva and widened his eyes to the size of giant ping-pong balls.

Okay, that came unexpected.

Slowly turning around, his face started to resemble the face of an angry Hulk.

CRAP?

DID SHE JUST…CALLED ME ‘CRAP’?

CRAP?!

Then there came Jiyeon’s death glare. He thought Jiyeon would approach him and slap him right on the face. But she didn’t. Jiyeon cleared , eyes softened, and instead of doing what normal angry people would do, she just bowed. “My name is Park Jiyeon, and I will be your maid starting from this day.”

Joon was speechless. Okay, he did not see that coming. But that 'crap' thingy was NOT unacceptable.

Jiyeon dragged the speechless IU later on, and when she walked, passing him to enter the house, she said, “Please take a good care of me whilst I am here.”

Joon was dumfounded, clearly disbelieving what he saw. Jiyeon did seem angry, but that was not the point here. She did not bicker. Joon ended up clutching his shirt right near his heart. He never planned to be that harsh, and he wanted to apologize. Usually, he never cared if his words ever hurt anyone. But seeing Jiyeon like that, why was he dying inside?

Jiyeon whispered to IU, “You called that as ignorant? He was rude...” Jiyeon seemed hurt by that, but IU, on the other hand, was baffled. “I-I never seen him like that before.” The interior designs of the house were beautiful as IU showed her around but Jiyeon seemed too disappointed to focus anymore.

IU then brought Jiyeon to her room, and as soon as IU opened the door, she gasped.

“OH. MY. GOSH.”

Hearing what IU said, made Jiyeon rushed to the door and found herself speechless.

“This…is…my room?”

Not a word said by IU. She was in awe.

The room was huge, and the walls were painted in white and there were various colors of flower stickers glued on the walls and there were no more a small cupboard in there. There was a big white cupboard instead, with a king- sized bed located at the middle of the room. The pink curtains alongside the soft vibrant carpet looked stunning and there was a pot of white lilies placed on the study desk near the windows.

IU, again, was dumbfounded. “I don’t get it. The room was empty yesterday!” she said and that surprised the Hell out of Jiyeon. She widened her eyes in return, stuttering, “W-what did you say?”

Turning around to Joon's room, IU whispered to herself, "Perhaps...?"

Joon felt uneasy standing in front of the house for too long. He wondered about how Jiyeon would feel and how she would react afterwards. He was afraid that maybe, just maybe, Jiyeon decided to stop working. He had used a lot of his income money to get her room done, he also used the money to buy the plants which he, and Mir had a hard time planting those in the garden.

After a while, he saw IU walking out of the house with her schoolbag. Joon gulped in response. The look IU had on her face was as if it was a death signal for him.

IU glared. “You just made my best friend hurt by your careless use of words.” After a while, IU beamed, which was weird to see. “But you made up her day by making up a beautiful room for her. Therefore, I will let it slide. Thanks, Joon.”

Joon was speechless again. Jiyeon was happy?

When IU left, Joon immediately rushed upstairs, heading towards Jiyeon’s room. He peeked his head inside (the door was unclosed), and saw Jiyeon smiling to herself while touching the rose-patterned duvet on her bed. Her smile made Joon took a step back and took a deep breath. She was beautiful, more than she was in the photos. And that smile made his heart skip a beat.

He shook his head continuously and punched his chest. Lee Joon, why are you like this?

Then he poked his head inside, again, and this time, he heard something he wished not to hear from the girl he wanted so much to like.

“I’m sorry I called you crap, Lee Joon. I didn’t know you were actually really kind,” murmured Jiyeon as she kept on staring on the duvet, unnoticed of Joon’s existence at the door. Joon widened his eyes and ran from the door. He entered his room in a split second, and gripped his shirt, hard.

“I’m sorry I called you crap, Lee Joon. I didn’t know you were actually really kind.”

Joon took a deep breath, realizing that this was too much for him to bear. He punched his chest, begging for his heart to stop beating.

Oh God, this is not working for me. I'm gonna die young if this continues. 

Turning back as he eyed Jiyeon's door, after taking another long breath, he whispered,

“Tell me, Jiyeon. Why am I feeling this way?” 

f i n

Done with chapter two? What do you think? xD

Thanks for the lovely subs, readers, upvote, and comment. I love you all <3

Till the next update, I'll see you soon!

-author-nim-