Sung-kyung went into the kitchen and fetched a bottle of water from the fridge. What a night! Her feet were killing her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d danced like that. It was always fun when she and Sana unnie got together. Tipsy, she tottered around looking for some of the chef’s sweet treats. 

“Petit Four?” The lights were flicked on. 

“For S SAKE Isa!” Sung-kyung clutched her chest, “You need to stop sneaking up on people.” 

“No seriously...I bought these for Sana but then we didn’t get to meet up and I got bored waiting for you so I ate most...which is strange cause I don’t like sweet things…” she offered Sung-kyung the box. 

Sung-kyung snatched it from her, “Why were you waiting for me? How long have you been here? You could have just joined us at the club...” she saw that September looked down, sad even. It was really pretty. “Hey now…” she clutched her cheek, “Hey…omo...you’re crying.” she’d never seen the House Master show any emotion. 

September slumped against the counter and sank to the floor. “Urgh, I’m just tired…” she touched her fingers to her eyes. Gently wiping away her tears. 

“Even your crying is pretty.” Sung-kyung crouched in front of her, “I know what you need.” she pulled September up. “Hold those.” she handed her some blankets and they went down into the cellar. A large rectangular room where Kris’ prized collection of fine wine and champagne was kept. The Woo cellar was famous amongst the Consortium members. Even Arran had raided it more than once. There was an ancient oak table in the centre. Sung-kyung pushed September into a chair, “Keep warm. You’re shivering.” Sung-kyung wrapped the blanket around the younger woman’s shoulders then she disappeared into the cooler and came out with a bottle of red. “This is exactly what you need.” she opened the wine and set it to one side and took a seat at the head of the table. “I love this place.” a silence fell between them. Sung-kyung poured them each a little of the wine. She touched the head of her glass to Isa’s and took a first deep sip. 

“I know you’re curious about how I know Zhang Yixing.” September began and reached for the wine and swirled it around. “Once upon a time there was a school for girls. No one knows the school’s location but to the east, there’s the ocean and surrounding the school is a thick forest with tree trunks so thick it took five girls joining hands to go around one.” 

September took a breath 

“The dorms were neat and comfortable. 12 beds for the smaller girls and 6 per dorm for the bigger ones. But no one really stayed past the age of 13. Every day the girls would be put through a vigorous schedule. Etiquette, dancing, politics, world history, debating, serving, combat, housekeeping, butler services, seduction…” she met Sung-kyung’s eyes. 

“The skilled and physically gifted of the girls were quickly adopted. Rich families w