Genre: Mystery (I guess?? Like low-key I have no idea what this is)

Word Count: 2,447

A/N: I wrote it awhile ago for another thing I was doing but cut it off cuz I couldn’t keep up with it. So here is an extremely cut down version just for Kogyeol. Honestly, it’s kind of hard for me NOT to see him as a butler and I just love the concept as a whole (plus, TOP media has a thing for sticking the boys in suits and it’s just… it’s a beautiful thing)

 - Admin Ania 

The room was dark and spacious. It fit a king-sized bed and all its antique glory, a rather large mahogany desk near one of the tall windows, a smallish living room set up and then the bathroom. In the bed, moving under the sheets slowly, the outline of a sleeping figure could be seen.

All the curtains were drawn, the only light that could be seen came from the hallway, which made its way into the room under the door. The silence was crushing while the darkness consumed the room. The furniture looked as though it was distorted and almost human like if one were to squint hard enough. Near the door, a wood burning fire place breathed the last of its life and let go with a puff of grey smoke.

After a few moments, the wooden door opened slowly and quietly. A tall, thin and lean figure walked into the room, making their way to the curtains. The butler of the house, as it were, was tasked with everything and anything that concerned the figure under the sheets. He moved through the dark with ease, his tailcoat swung gently behind him as he walked to the window directly across from the bed.

“My, my, my. How can you still be asleep?”

His voice was soft and low, as he didn’t want to disturb the figure just yet. While he reached up towards the curtains the clock in the room struck at quarter to ten. The butler quickly opened the curtains, the light of the morning flooded into the room and landed directly on the bed where the figure was.

His black suit looking darker as he stepped into the light, his face was covered by shadows. A light clicking sound could be heard from the shoes the butler wore as they walked over to the bed. The footsteps stopped at the right side, a white-gloved hand was pressed gently on the covers where the figure was asleep.

“Young mistress. Time to get up.”

Under the sheets the body moved slightly and soon a muffled sound could be heard. The butler went back to opening the curtains as the sheets began to stir. Finally a head of long, sleek black hair popped up from the covers. The owner of the house yawned, rubbing her eyes like a child would then sighed heavily. She had stayed up later than what was probably necessary last night, which meant that today would be more challenging.

“Come now my lady, that’s no way to wake up on such a fine day as this.”

The butler walked back over to her. He placed his gloved hands on the girl’s shoulders gently and had her sit up. Once he was sure she wouldn’t fall back, he walked across the room towards the closet.

“Minsoo, I’m tired. Why did you wake me up so early?”

A small chuckle escaped as he pulled out a black shirt, light blue crop jeans and a white button-down shirt. The French doors that lead to the closet closed with a small click as Minsoo brought the girl her clothes. He knelt on one side of the bed as she swung her legs out from under the warm covers.

“My lady Y/N, it is almost quarter to ten in the morning. It’s not incredibly early.”

The girl glanced at the clock and sure enough her butler was right: as per usual. She handed him a blindfold, which he took and tied around his eyes. If anything, Minsoo made sure not to let things slip. Many times, he could have gone without the blind fold but because his position was that of a butler, it would be highly improper of him. Moreover, Minsoo was a respectable butler and never allowed for anyone to see Y/N without clothing; that included himself for the matter.

“Mr. Kim will be arriving at twelve to discuss the next step in building the factory. In the meantime, I’ve prepared breakfast for you.”

By now, he had taken the blindfold off for he was adjusting her clothing which did not require such a garment over his eyes. As he straightened out the collar of the button-down shirt the clock struck nine fifty-five; it was time to get going. He stood up gracefully, holding out his hand for Y/N to take. She gladly accepted it, the soft touch of the white gloves he wore over his hands made her smile. It was something that made Minsoo more charming and for a moment she could forget that he was a demon.

The two walked down the long hallway, their footsteps were muffled from the carpet covering the floor. Minsoo talked to her calmly about what the day would look like and what time everything would be happening. She listened closely to times and names but not the exact events. There was no need to remember such things because the names explain what she needed to know and he would take care of the rest for her.

When they entered the dining room at the end of the hall, what the two found was something else. Minsoo didn’t show much of an expression but Y/N knew that burn marks on the table wasn’t what he had in mind. The food was also not on the table even though he had placed it there prior to waking her up. There were no fumes coming from the butler; he ran his left hand through his longish blond hair. He took a deep breath then called for the three bumbling, but very sweet and loving, idiots who screwed up the meal.

“Wei! Wooshin! Yeol!”

Minsoo’s voice was not strict, nor was it soft when he called out the three boys. It was authoritative mostly. When they heard the footsteps of the three coming out from the kitchen, he knew what they were doing. They stood on the left side of the two at attention with a stiff solute before letting it go once Y/N bowed. She took one look at the three of them before speaking in a very calm, collected voice. 

“Gentlemen, can you tell me what happened here?”

“We were trying to help out Minsoo. He seemed like he could use it, not saying that he’s incapable but everyone needs help at one point or another.”

“Xiao is right. My lady, we wanted to make something for you as well as what Kogyeol had out but…”

“Clearly, we failed to deliver.”

Y/N sighed but never the less had them stop bowing their heads, it wasn’t good for moral. Wei bowed once more for good measure before turning to the left to clean up the kitchen. Wooshin headed toward the hallway so that he could go do the yard work while Xiao stayed behind. He was the official right hand for both Minsoo and Y/N, which meant that the job would never be done until both found that they did not need him for the moment. He went over to stand next to the chair at the end of the table while Minsoo rubbed his temple with his hand. 

Y/N waited for him to gain his full composure before she made her way to the chair in front of her. She paused as Minsoo pulled the chair out for her, making no sound even with the polished wood floors. Her feet made no noise; her socks muffled any sound that could have been made, as she took her seat. He pushed in her chair with ease, walked to the right side of her and picked up the teapot. A fine China cup sat on a saucer, the gold rim shined in the sunlight that came through the large windows.

As he poured the tea, smoke floated off of the surface of the liquid and came into contact with the soft skin of Y/N’s cheek. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes to take in the smell. Minsoo glanced over at her as he finished pouring the tea.

“Jasmine: warm and welcoming like you. It will make a good match for what I prepared.”

“Hm…”

Sometimes he would allow himself to say such things to her and other times he would bite his tongue. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy saying such things; rather it was quite the opposite. If he had the mind and order to speak to his lady in such a way, as he so pleased, it would make him happy. Being a demon, there really isn’t much time for happiness or any kind of emotion at all. Rather, one is supposed to be as fun as a rock and as loving as a shark when they’re a demon. Minsoo was one of the few exceptions seeing as he wasn’t always one to begin with.

Speaking of his lady, her face was hidden behind a book. Reading was a pastime for her that could give out any other kind of world to her for at least awhile before she had to come back to her own. He noticed she was reading a horror novel this time; she seemed to enjoy the scary aspect of the stories. The sunlight caught her hair, turning it a light brown with a few golden and red strands making their appearance. 

A small hint of a smile crossed his lips as he set a plate down in front of her. She glanced over the top of her book to see what breakfast would be today. Zongzi: steamed sticky rice with filling in it and wrapped in bamboo leaves. Her personal favorite was filled with pork and luckily Minsoo knew what she loved and what she didn’t. She set her book down and thanked him while he gave her a bowl made from the outer shell of a dragon fruit that had the pulp cut into small cubes. The final touch was highly condensed mint water, which he had spent two days making. He bowed before heading off to the kitchen to fix the mess that had been made by the three idiots.

Xiao was still standing at her side as she ate quietly. The only sound that could be heard was the clock in the corner and the faint rush of water from the kitchen sink. He watched her carefully in silence and when he was sure that Minsoo was not within earshot he cleared his throat. Y/N dabbed the corner of with the white cloth napkin and looked up at Xiao. He waited for her to say something or make a gesture for him to sit down across from her. She nodded her head to the seat on her right. Once he sat down he put on a very blunt expression that Y/N noticed.

“Yes Yeol?”

“My lady, what exactly is Minsoo to you?”

“You’ve asked me this question before and I always give the same answer because it is true. Go Minsoo is my butler.”

Xiao nodded his head, but it was clear that he was thinking through the whole situation in his mind. Y/N didn’t bother to go any further with the explanation, seeing as how it wouldn’t actually do any good. Once Xiao had an idea about something he wouldn’t let it go until he was officially proven wrong or until his hunch was correct. He stood up, took a bow and went back to standing silently next to her.

When Minsoo came back he was looking down at his pocket watch, a small click could be heard as he shut it. Y/N was reading her book once again, paying no attention to anything else that was going on around her. He made no effort in trying to bring her out of it as he cleared the dishes from the table. Xiao watched the blonde move back and forth seamlessly with speed. One moment he would be picking something up and the next he could be heard in the kitchen cleaning up.

After everything was cleared, the clock chimed eleven in the morning exactly. Only one hour before Mr. Kim showed up to the mansion and it was time for Y/N to not look so much like a teenager. He walked over to the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder so as not to shock her. When she looked up at him there was something different in her eyes. It wasn’t bad nor was it good, but it was simply neutral. 

“My lady, we need to get you changed for the meeting. I can’t say that what you have on at the moment is very professional meeting ready.”

“You’re right.”

Y/N took the lead while walking back to her room with Minsoo trailing behind her a few feet away. As they approached the door to her bedroom, Xiao came running down the hall with something in his hands. He could tell that the other was running too fast to stop on his own without blasting a whole through the wall so he held out his hand in front of him. Sure enough, he ran his head smack into the palm of Minsoo’s hand, which sent the two of them back a few more feet before stopping.

“Yeol,” he began in a calm tone, “remember when I said no running in the halls? It is for that very reason.”

“I apologize Hyung, but I have a letter for My lady.”

“Give it here.”

Y/N took the letter from the boy, read who it was from then quickly handed it to Minsoo who nodded his head in silence. Xiao noticed a kind of unspoken understanding but didn’t bother trying to figure out what was going on. He quickly bowed to take his leave and retreated down the hall to tend to his next job. Y/N walked past her butler and into her room then sat on the bed, looking at the floor the entire time. He noticed this but did not bring it up. Instead he went back to her closet and took out a bit more formal clothing for the guest that would be coming over.

He returned with an A-line blue dress that ended at knee length, tights, a black cardigan and of course black heels. Mr. Kim was known to be a very formal man of business and it was always best to put on something that seemed to be over the top when meeting him. Y/N sat up straight, closed her eyes for a moment then stared right into Minsoo’s eyes. He didn’t waver for a moment; instead he kept the eye contact, waiting until his young mistress would say something.

“The doctor’s letter. Read it to me later.”

“Yes My lady.”