Nari knew something was going on. She could see it in Jieun’s eyes and in Yeonsuk’s behavior. Each of them happened to find the hotel at the opportune moment. Each died on the grounds of the Moonflower Hotel.

“Mistress, the new guest is here.” Her deep brown eyes moved on the new acquaintance. It was a man. He was quite young and he didn’t seem to do well. He had a big scar on the side of his face and his lip was swollen. He was a pitiful sight.

“Hello.” His throat was sore and he was still breathing harshly. He’s been running, after all. He ran from his attacker and found the hotel when he last expected it. He stumbled to the front door and found a young boy with cold blue eyes. Outside was really cold but he only felt a chill down his spine when he looked into those eyes.  “I need your help.” She stared at him for a few minutes before the same gallant smile spread on her lips.

“How may I help you?” He gulped and his lips nervously. Her eyes were more intense than Youngmin’s. Her eyes were him into her spell. It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

“I need to hide from the Italian mafia.” She raised an eyebrow. Her interested quirked in the moment she looked at him. He got beaten up by people twice his size and he had scratches made by gunshots.

She made a sign to Jaejin to approach her. He complied without a word.

“We need a room, Jaejin. Give this man Room 696.” Jaejin froze and glanced at Youngmin. He avoided the eye contact. Jaejin sighed and gave his mistress the keys. She smiled in a way that made her eyes smaller and darker. “You can stay here for as long as you want.” The guest tilted his head to the side in confusion.

“What about money?” She chuckled bemusedly.

“You don’t have to worry about money.” He smiled and rubbed his arms together. It was still cold and it only seemed to get colder. She waited for him to reach the stairs when the kindness fell off her face. “Welcome to the Moonflower Hotel, Kim Joon.” She mumbled.

Bum finished his conversation with Jieun quickly. She seemed a little bit annoyed by his commentaries and the way he was being treated by Nari.

“I don’t understand what the big deal is.” He mumbled as he was walking to his room. He sighed and grabbed a hand through his hair. He was thinking about a lot of things yet none were about the outside world. He couldn’t help but come back to Nari and her personality. He met many people in his life and none were as entrancing as her. At the same time, it didn’t seem like others were affected by her.

The same ghostly piano song started as he walked past a certain portrait. He didn’t glance at it and he wasn’t interested who was in it. He wasn’t interested in people, usually. Perfection could only be found in unanimated things. People were alive therefore they were the sole imperfection that could never be changed or improved. It was sad, mostly because he was alive as well. As the song took a sudden turn of pace, he closed his eyes and let the music flow through his being.

With his eyes closed, he could imagine how perfection looked. He could see it. Inside that darkness spread into the world; inside the orchard that God and the Devil were fighting for was an element that made everything fall apart. That was hope. Hope was preventing sin and the sin was preventing perfection. Hope was the one thing everyone had, be them good or bad. They were hoping for better instead of doing better, instead of acting on instinct they were taught how to think and behave. Sometimes, the human had to act as himself; as the animal he was.

He saw mirrors all around him. His reflection was beautiful but not perfect. He was just like any other human. He was alive and imperfect.

He walked closer towards one mirror and touched his reflection. The image changed slowly; it grew older. He frowned. The image was growing older with each passing minute and no matter in which mirror he would look, the image was the same. That meant only one thing. He turned around in fear and panic. Without thinking, he broke the mirror across him. The others cracked as well. He fell down to his knees and looked at the floor.

His thoughts changed when he saw himself on the ground. No, it wasn’t glass. It was-

“Water?” He was standing in the middle of a puddle. He wanted to get up but he couldn’t. Something grabbed his hands and legs. The image disappeared and he heard a loud scream. He looked up and saw-

“Kim Bum? Are you alright?” It was her. The mysterious director of the Moonflower Hotel. She raised an eyebrow and walked closer to him. He blinked quickly for a few seconds and realized his eyes were open and he wasn’t wandering his mind anymore.

“I spaced out for a moment.” She chuckled and touched his arm. His eyes widened slightly because he felt a sudden chill run down his spine. Bum sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Something was wrong with him. Maybe it was the accident.

She retracted her arm and smiled. She knew she had to make him drop his guard around her. She knew the perfect place to bond.

“Would you like to accompany me tomorrow?” He looked into her eyes, a little surprised by her question.

“Where?” Her eyes darkened for a second. He didn’t catch the change, though. He was still shaken by his imagination.

“Somewhere close. I assure you, you will have fun.” He couldn’t say no to her. Just looking into her eyes was making him weak. He smiled and nodded.

“I need to lay down now.” He stated as if it wasn’t obvious enough. She nodded and moved aside.

“Oh, by the way, Kim Bum!” He was on his way to his room when he stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. “I got you a present!” He was confused but didn’t say anything else. He only nodded and smiled before he continued on his way.

He was a few feet from the piano when he heard it start another song. This one seemed happier than the one before. He could only guess it was Nari playing. He wasn’t surprised. If anything, it actually made sense.

Inside the room, Bum found clothes. He was surprised by the gesture. Those clothes were high quality from renowned designers. He grabbed a shirt from the Armani collection. He knew the brands well since he wasn’t exactly poor before.  However, he couldn’t afford so many at once. Only one shirt had the price of over 300 dollars. She bought him five. Besides, the size was perfect. He chuckled and shook his head bemusedly. He didn’t want to know how she found his size.

The next morning, Bum woke up with a good feeling. While showering, he remembered he had to meet Nari and spend some time in a mysterious place with a mysterious woman. He couldn’t be happier, truthfully.

He dressed in the clothes she bought him and walked downstairs. She wasn’t there and neither was Jaejin. Surprisingly, he noticed Yeonsuk and Jieun talking to each other at the bar. He hid behind the column and watched the interaction between the two. Jieun was angry about something and she was trying to