„ I am just saying..... it's perfectly OK to be scared Miss.“ Yeon Hee furrowed her eyebrows at the taxi driver who quickly glanced at her, raising his look from the self help book titled Love yourself and let others love you too he was reading while they were parked near the sidewalk, 10 minutes in and counting.

„ I am NOT afraid, ahjussi.“ Fear? Ha. More like instinct of self preservation. She continued to braid her hair for the third time since they parked there, scoffing in irritation at the driver who clearly mistook her....stalling for something that was fueled by fear and not by her desire to survive that day.

„ Miss, we've been here for 15 minutes.“

„ 10 minutes.“ She responded nonchalantly, biting her lip and looking at her work in the rearview mirror. He shrugged his shoulders and looked up like he was fed up with everything.

„ Whatever. You can just admit that you are afraid, you know. It is perfectly normal to be scared. We are all human and we are all afraid of something. But what you need to remember is that we can only grow by getting over our fears. Just imagine the fear as a river and you are supposed to swim through it, all the way to the other side.“ Oh, I swear to God if I hear another simile from that self help , I will seriously.....She clenched her teeth and finished braiding her side braid, leaning back into her seat.

„ I am not scared. I am extremely uncomfortable and unwilling to go in there and if you knew what fresh hell awaited for me there, you would be too!“ He just sighed and shook his head a little, turning the page of his book.

 „ I understand you are tense, Miss, but we have been here for 10 minutes and you said you needed to be at the amusement park in like half an hour. I am just saying....“ I get it, ahjussi. I ing get it.

„ I paid for a full hour in advance, didn't I?“

„ Did you expect to be so afraid?“ I AM NOT AFRAID.

„ Yah, ahjussi! I told you I am not afraid!“ He frowned, mumbling his next words silently but they were still loud enough for her to hear.

„ It sure seems like fear to me.....“ She leaned towards him, narrowing her eyes and pointing her finger at the villa in front of which they had been parked all that time.

„ Ahjussi, in that building there lives a person who has made it his life mission to make my life a living hell. I am very much inclined not to go in there for another session, OK?“ He shrugged his shoulders and spoke again, his voice gentle and calm almost like he was talking to a child.

„ Listen, Miss, fear is the path to the dark side. You don't want to cross there.“ You've got to be kidding me.

„ Quoting Star wars ahjussi? Seriously? Self help books and Star Wars?“ He continued to read the book, not even looking up that time.

„ You can learn a lot from there. And from this book. I sure did. Like what I told you about fear. Not to mention that the book says some really good things about building confidence to face trouble in life. Wait till I find that story with a priest in a jungle......“ No, no. That story with missmatched socks was enough.Yeon Hee threw her hands in the air and opened the door. Nope. Nope. Nope. Can't listen to another story like that.

„ Fine. Fine. I am going.“ He smiled at her through the window as she stood there frozen for a moment, trying to calm her breathing, trying to encourage herself in silence.

„  I know you can do it Miss! Fighting!“ She curved her lips and looked at the villa for a long moment before glancing back at him, sighing in exasperation.

„ Can you just wait for me here ahjussi?“ He smiled at her before pointing at the book.

„ Of course Miss. I have to read the next chapter. It's all about the magic of positive thoughts. I'll tell you all about it when you come back, OK?.“ She rolled her eyes in distaste before walking away, stopping after a couple of meters, turning around to face him.

„ Ahjussi, if I am not back in 15 minutes.....“ He tilted his head in curiosity, confusion obvious in his eyes.

„ Yes, Miss?"

„ Nothing. I just hope that damn book has a chapter about exorcising a ghost, because I will be haunting you for the rest of your life, OK?" Seriously...out of all the taxi drivers in Seoul she has to find the one who is training to be a life coach. She walked away, moving her side braid from underneath her grey coat and readjusting her clothes as she approached the massive iron door in front of her. Oh, God, I don't want to be doing this. Why am I doing this? She slowed her walk down and wrapped her coat tighter around her, remembering the school that day and everything that led to this horrid sequence of events. There she was, sitting in her classroom and not paying attention to anything the teacher was saying, twirling her pencil around her fingers while she tried her best not to remember those words. She failed. Hard.

"You are untouchable for anyone....except me. Until I am done with you...." What kind of a derranged sociopathic lunatic says crap like that? God, she felt the frustration burning through her. Like she was a ing toy for him to pick up and play with as he ing pleases...CRACK. She looked down to see another one of her pencils broken. Oh. That was like  the third that morning. If she continues like this, she will have enough of them to make a bonfire. Out of nowhere her cellphone beeped in her backpack, snapping her out of her thoughts. She quickly picked it up and read the message she received, a deep frown appearing on her face as she did. It was from Hae Sook who needed her help. Strange, she was doing fine on her own lately, growing more confident in the process.Yeon Hee bit her lower lip, worry slowly creeping on her before she raised her hand and asked to be excused to go to the bathroom.  As soon as she left the classroom Hae Sook, who was waiting by the door for her, grabbed her hands, obviously panicking and apologizing to her for the trouble she caused. It took Yeon Hee like 5 minutes to calm her down so she could tell her what the hell was the problem. It seemed the final meeting with the representatives and amusement park officials got pushed to that day and a) she felt unprepared and b) the final version of the plans was not in her possesion. Which led to Yeon Hee flicking her forehead and telling her to finally learn how to make multiple copies. But as she agreed to accompany her to the park as moral support, the other problem seemed much more difficult to handle. Minseok had the final plans and didn't bring them to school, thinking it was unnecessary. It seemed he was unable to bring them to her that afternoon too. Then Hae Sook said that she couldn't go meet Minseok to get the documents after school either because she needed to go pick up the pamflets and posters for the event before the meeting. So, naturally Yeon Hee had to go find his Majesty the douche to sort that mess out. So she stomped off to regular Japanese and knocked on the door, insisting that the principal wanted to see his ness. He followed her in front of the door, closing them silently before proceeding to lean on the wall and looking at her with a cocked eyebrow.

„ So, what is so important that you came to see me? Did you miss me that much?“

„ If I promise to miss you in the future, will you finally go away and rot in the hell you crawled out from?“

„ Now, that's one hell of a way to start of a conversation.“ He said while laughing at her. Yeon Hee gripped the edge of her skirt, feeling the irritation growing in her body at his mere presence.

„ What is with your annoying not being able to bring those plans to Hae Sook?“ Hae Sook who stood awkwardly in the hallway with them raised her finger with a pleading look in her eyes.

„  Um...I told  Yeon Hee sunbaenim you couldn't....“

„ And I was telling the truth. I can't make it today.“ Yeon Hee rolled her eyes before pointing her finger at him.

„ I am sure your royal is busy wasting air today but this is kind of important to her.“ He tilted his head to the right, his sharp eyes analyzing her face before meeting hers.

„ You seem tense, Yeon Hee. What's wrong?“  Yeon Hee barely resisted the urge to back away from him, his black eyes causing something to stir up in her chest before she responded with pure sass in her voice.

„ Your mere existence. Now, enough about the obvious. You really can't spare a minute today to do that one measly little thing for her?“ Hae Sook was pulling the sleeves of her blazer again, slowly starting to blush, feeling extremely uncomfortable between the two fires and the tension that sparked up between them.

„ Ahm..sunbaenim... Minseok sunbae explained it all to me, there is n-no need to attack him...“  Neither one of them even looked at her when she spoke, staring at each other  in silence before Minseok raised his hand, causing Hae Sook to stop talking immediately.

„  If you are really that curious, demon, by all means I will explain it all to you as well. I have soccer practice after school after which I am going to home to change my clothes before I go out with the boys. It's Zico's birthday today.Do you deem my response worthy enough, Yeon Hee-ah?“.She scoffed and rolled her eyes at his aggravating tone of voice before shrugging her shoulders.

 „ Whatever. Can't you just ask someone to get it for you?“ He looked at her like she was crazy for even asking it.

„ It's in my room.“

„ So?“ He laughed silently, shaking his head before raising his eyebrow at her.

„ Nobody enters my room.“ Yeah, except thousands of girls with obvious masochistic tendencies.

„ So, what the do you suppose we do then, your Majesty? Forget about it?!“ He looked behind her shoulder, obviously thinking about the situation they found themselves in. His smile faded away when he breathed deep and spoke again, his voice now low and cold, the usual playfulness not there anymore.

„ You can come pick it up before I leave.“

„ Do I look like I hit my head on my way here, your Majesty? I am not giving you a chance to kill me and bury me in your garden somewhere! He rolled his eyes, not even slightly amused. His face seemed expressionless when he looked at her.

„  It's the only way. Pick it up this afternoon before going to the amusement park.“ She widened her eyes, her voice rising, the irritation overwhelming her at the spot.

„ I don't want to go in your Kim lair of douchebaginess!“ He turned around, not even paying attention to her anymore, leaving open wide at the rudeness. What the was wrong with him?!

„ Believe me, the idea does not thrill me either.“ He whispered silently, opening the door and walking inside the classroom, leaving her to stare at his back with confusion and frustration on her face. Mother....er. Yeon Hee scratched her neck and let out a deep breath while looking at the door in front of her. OH, crap, oh crap, oh crap... She approached the camera above the door and buzzed on the intercom.

„ Yes?“ She heard a deep male voice on the other side. She leaned in a little to speak into the device.

„ Good afternoon, Sir. My name is Moon Yeon He,  I am here to see Kim Min...“ The door suddenly opened with her not even finishing her sentence.

„ Seok...“ She whispered, looking up at the camera and narrowing her eyes in confusion before gulping loudly, her gaze now fixed on Minseok's house. The house was actually a villa, all in white marble with fancy french windows, looking elegant and sophisticated, like a house from a magazine. It was really pretty. But it seemed cold as too. The type of house she could never live in. All of a sudden she heard fast footsteps and saw a young looking maid running towards her, bowing deeply when she stood in front of her. Yeon Hee bowed her head a little in response, pursing her lips in confusion.

„ Miss Moon, I am sorry to keep you waiting.“ Waiting....wait what? Yeon Hee shook her head, feeling the discomfort in her chest.

„ No need to apologize, you didn't keep me waiting at all. I don't know if Mister Kim told you why I was coming in the first place....“

„ Yes, of course he did.“ Oh. She gave the maid a glance over, looking for any place where she could have put the documents.

„ So....he didn't give you anything for me?“ The maid shook her head, raising her gaze for a quick moment before looking down again.

„ No, he didn't. The young master insisted on taking you into the house and...“ She stopped her sentence, biting her tongue, a slight blush creeping on her cheeks.

„ And what?“ Yeon Hee asked, feeling tighten and her heart beat picking up. Murder me? Drown me in that horrible fountain behind you? Drown me in the pool? Speak, woman!

„ And showing you all the attention that you deserve. Now, if you will follow me please, Miss Moon, I will lead you to the Master's wing.“ She bowed again and walked to the left side of the driveway leaving Yeon Hee follow her with wide open. Attention she deserves?  She half expected him to throw the documents to her from the balcony seeing how much he didn't want her to be there in the first place. The cold tone of his voice and the empty look in his eyes from that morning lingered in her mind as she followed after the maid through the garden all the way to the small patio door which the maid opened, letting Yeon Hee into the huge, nicely decorated living room which was divided with a counter from the modern, black marble kitchen. His own wing. Right. He doesn't even have to go to the main house. She assessed the room, trying to be subtle about it, frowning at the thoughts in her head. Yeah, it was modern and nice....but it was just so ing empty. Like nobody lived here. She could usually feel his presence but right here.....there was nothing.Nothing that reminded her of him. The maid turned to her again, reaching her hand out.

„ If I could please have your coat, Miss and your purse as well?“ Yeon Hee gripped her purse, taking a step back before awkwardly smiling at the woman.

„ No, there is no need for that. I am not going to be here for long anyway." The maid widened her eyes in surprise at her refusal before remembering to mask her facial expression. Yeon Hee tried to relax a bit, biting her lower lip when she asked her next question.

„ Where is jack...I mean where is the young master anyway?“ The maid looked at the first floor before speaking silently, returning her gaze to her hands.

„ The young Master told me he was going to take a quick shower before you came. He waited for you, expecting you earlier but then he said he was going to be late if he didn't get a move on. That's why he couldn't meet you himself.“ Yeah, I know, I kept you waiting but can you really blame me? I am still half convinced you are going to kill me and bury my body somewhere near that hidious fountain at the driveway!

„ It's my fault, I apologize for inconveniencing you... both.“ Yeon Hee bowed her head at the maid which caused the woman to jump away in surprise, shock obvious on her face.

„ No, please don't apologize, Miss, I beg of you. It's just.....“ She looked around like she was checking if there was anybody else there before she lowered her voice, leaning towards Yeon Hee.

„ It's just...we never encountered something like this before, Miss. Young Master rarely brings anybody over. You are the first girl he ever brought to the house.“ No ing way....Yeon Hee raised her eyebrow, her voice lowering as well, imitating the maid's tone.

„ You don't say.“ The maid nodded before whispering again.

„ Young Master is rarely here himself.“ Well...that explains why she hasn't felt his presence in the living room. The maid remembered she was gossiping about her employers and she quickly straightened up, pursing her lips.

„ I am sorry,Miss, I forgot myself for a second.  Young Master has prepared coffee for you.“ She pointed at the porcelain cup on the counter filled with the black fluid Yeon Hee loved more than life and she smiled, the familiar scent overwhelming her senses. God it smelled nice...like, like  that scent of coffee she always felt around him. It made her feel all warm on the inside...wait, he what now?! Young Master did what?!

„ When you say he prepared the coffee, you mean he told you to prepare it...for him, didn't he?“ The maid widened her eyes at Yeon Hee's question before shaking her head

„ No, Miss. Young Master always prepares his own coffee. He prepared it by himself this time as well.“

 „ You didn't happen to see if he put something....in it?“ Like rat poison. Or sleeping pills so he can tie her up in the basement and torture her. All were valid assumptions.The maid tilted her head a little to the right and looked at her in confusion before smiling at her.

„ Ah, yes, The young Master warned me to tell you he put extra sugar in it. He said you might want to know it.“ Oh.

" For future reference put more sugar in yours!" She told him that a couple of days ago. Hah.The jackass actually did it, God knows why. To mock her probably.

„ Thank you for telling me. So, I have to wait for him to give me documents himself, right?"

„  Yes, Miss. Master said he was going to be down shortly to hand it to you personally.“ How ing lovely. The maid bowed her head again before taking a step back.

„ If you need anything else, Miss, I will be in front of the door of the Young Master's wing.“ Wait, wait, wait...you are leaving me? Here? Alone? What if the coffee is poisoned? What if he murders me here?

„ You are leaving?“ 

„ Master doesn't like seeing