Chapter 12

19---19

“Minwoo, visit my room after dinner.”

“Why should I?” Minwoo shot back defiantly, chewing viciously on his medium-well steak.

“We need to talk.”

“We can talk right here.”

“Minwoo, this is a dining table. You eat here.” Donghyun smiled widely as he explained. “All other matters can be discussed in a more appropriate place like my room which doubles as my study.”

“Don’t you businessmen all chat over dinner to sign contracts?”

“Can you please let me enjoy my dinner and deal with you later?”

The two men shot dirty looks at each other while the housekeeper announced her exit.
 

---

Minwoo folded his arms with an unsatisfied look outside Donghyun’s room and refused to cross into foreign territory.

“Come in.”

“I didn’t knock.”

“I figured you just didn’t have that sort of manners.”

“Excuse you.” Minwoo stomped in and slammed both his hands onto the desk. “, why is your table so hard.”

“I’ll order an extra chair later for possible future talks. Have a seat on my bed if you would like.” Donghyun gestured, while Minwoo stayed unmoving. “Then you can stay standing.”

“So what is it, bastard?”

“I heard you went to your parents’ house five times this month.” Donghyun said, leaning back against his chair to look at Minwoo without raising his head.

“So?”

“Rule 3, don’t visit your parents too often.”

“Rule 1, wear hot pink underwear every day.” Minwoo mimicked Donghyun’s tone and sent back the words smugly.

Donghyun chuckled lightly, reaching for Minwoo’s shirt in a smooth move and grabbing him by the collar so the younger man bended forward to reach Donghyun’s seated height. “Are you sure you want to play?”

His eyes blinked furiously at the sharp gaze glaring straight from those dark orbs into his own. Minwoo clenched his teeth and felt his heart beat faster. The eyes that had a tinge of amusement before now only carried dangerous intent.

Crap.

Now is not the time to be , .

“L-Let go.” Minwoo managed, hand tugging onto the ends of his shirt.

Donghyun smirked and released his grip, turning on his swivel chair to start work on his study table. “Get out. And I hope you got the message loud and clear.”

Minwoo decided there and then to learn black magic.

“Minwoo-ssi. Your father’s company’s fate is still within my hands.”

Where should he go to employ a wizard?
 

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“AH I’M SO BORED.” Minwoo yelled, very obviously frustrated after the third day of being held captive. “I swear Rapunzel was a nutcase. There’s no way she’d stay sane in that tower with nothing to do.”

A pause.

“Or maybe.”

Minwoo tapped his chin thoughtfully.

“Maybe.”

Nodding furiously with the him in the mirror, a sly smile found its way onto the man’s face.

Time to go get some supplies.
 

---

Donghyun sighed softly but decided it was better to ignore.

Ignore how that brat would hold a clock and stare at the door when he left house and when he returned.

Ignore how there were five maps of Seoul placed randomly around the house.

Ignore how there were cushions and pillows strewn across the room.

Ignore how there were excessive amount of curtains in the house.

Ignore how when he asked the housekeeper what she was doing to have the house so messed up, she would answer that she was ordered by the other living thing in this house to leave those things untouched.

He said that demon was free to do whatever he wanted as long as he kept to the four rules.

Donghyun took in a deep breath and decided to retreat to his room before his head started aching again at the sight of that creature.
 

---

“I’ll be in my room, but don’t disturb me.” Minwoo said with fake disinterest, hearing an affirmative answer from the housekeeper.

Slamming his door shut, Minwoo blared the speakers with punk rock and fitted cushions and pillows under his blanket to form the perfect size he had measured. Glancing at his watch, he then drag out the heavy curtains he had tied together, hooking them by his window. Minwoo then picked up a map and checked his attire once more.

“It’s time for the grand escapade.” Minwoo smirked into the mirror, then climbing out of his window and sliding down the curtains.

“Seven hours left.”

-

“You look like such a mess!” Minwoo’s mother exclaimed.

“I…didn’t…know…Seoul…was…a…maze…” Minwoo panted, falling flat onto the sofa as soon as he was guided in.

“Huh? Can’t you just take a taxi over like always?”

“I’m on an escapade.” Minwoo huffed. “Can’t leave traces.”

“…” His mother sighed and brought him a cup of water instead. “What is this escapade thing?”

“…nothing.”

“Minwoo.”

“Nothing.”

“…Minwoo…”

“N-Nothing…” Minwoo stared wide-eyed at his mother who climbed over his lap. “Okay, okay! Stop threatening to molest me!”

“I can molest you anytime I want, young man. Now, spit. What is it?” Minwoo’s mother then fixed her posture to lean close against her son instead.

“I escaped from that house to come over.” Minwoo shrugged, drinking the last gulp of water from his cup.

“…why do you need to escape?”

Worry etched between those usually cheery brows. Minwoo tried smiling his mother’s concern away. “Just ‘cause he’s being a dictator setting all the house rules.”

“Rules?”

“Yeah, he said I shouldn’t visit home too often or it’ll reflect badly on him. I kinda agreed to it but since it’s so boring at home, I ended up coming over frequently and he found out.” The young man sighed exasperatedly, before brightening up once more. “So this time I’ll make sure he doesn’t find out!”

“…is that so.”

A question that didn’t sound like one.

“Mom.” Minwoo reached out his arms and hugged the said lady tightly. “What’s wrong?”


“Minwoo, I'm sorry.”

Minwoo turned sharply to his mother who kept her sights on the road before her.

“You may slowly realise that there are many things I'm not telling you, but it's all for the best.”

The young man chewed on his lower lip, knowing what the sentence meant.

“Be wary of him.” His mother's voice shook ever so slightly. “Promise me you will.”


“I’m sorry.”

Minwoo flinched at the words that scared him so much.

“…don’t be…”

He saw his mother sniffled slightly, before clasping his face with her soft hands. Leaning their foreheads together, she took in a deep breath before saying with a distracted smile. “Before you become someone he wants to protect, you're just someone he can use.”

“…I know.”

“So be wary of him.” She pulled away slowly, eyes welling with tears. “And don’t come back here again.”

Minwoo widened his eyes, hurriedly reaching to hold his mother’s hand tightly as if reconfirming her words.

“I’m sorry, my beautiful baby.” A stray tear. “We’ll be doing our best to salvage this.”

“Mom…”

“I’m so, so sorry.”
 

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Lol not sure if you guys realised there has been a change of author, but not really.
It was actually me all along trying to write under a new username but I gave up switching between the accounts so I sent it back here lolz.