Irene's peaceful sleep was being interrupted by the constant ringing of her phone. It had been a while since she had enjoyed a nice sleep like this, free from worries about work or anything else. But no, it had to be disturbed by a freakin' phone call. Who could it be? She had made it clear to everybody in the office that she would be taking a vacation leave with her fiancée. She had even sent an email to notify everyone about her leave.

A couple more minutes passed, and the lady chief forced her eyes to open. She shook her head slightly, dispelling her sleepiness. This wasn't her usual self. She's Irene Bae, the big shot editor-in-chief at Reve Publishing, and work was always her top priority. She'd only taken this vacation to make sure she didn't lose her job and her high-ranking position. If someone had the guts to call her during her break, it had better be something super important.

The problem was, she couldn't find her phone. It had been ringing for like five minutes straight now, but she couldn't get a hold of the stupid thing.

"Wendy..." she called the sleeping blonde as she frantically searched for the device. "Wendy!"

"Hmmmm."

"Crap. Wendy! Phone!" the chief exclaimed as she struggled to locate the source of the loud ringtone. "Wendy, where is it??"

As her personal assistant for two years, the blonde always took care of her important belongings. Even though Wendy said she would not be her PA during this vacation, the blonde still did the simple things, like keeping her phone in its usual place out of habit.

"Handbag... Inside pocket..." the blonde mumbled.

After knocking over some books and a couple of Wendy's childhood pictures on the bedside table, she finally managed to get her hands on her bag.

"Hello?? Hello?? Hellooooooo??" she greeted as she struggled to hear the person on the other end. "Deez? Deez from Kingdom Come? Oh, right! Wait... Wait. Are you there?? Hellooooo??"

The line kept cutting out as she paced back and forth across the room to get a better reception. She noticed Wendy groaning and covering her face with a pillow, clearly annoyed by the lady chief's loud conversation.

"I have horrible service, Deez. Just give me a minute!"

"What the hell, Irene?! I am ing sleeping!!"

Hearing Wendy curse indicated that the blonde was genuinely pissed. They had a very tiring day last night, and she understood Wendy's frustration.

"Deez, hold on just a second, please," she said, now in a whispered tone, not wanting to trigger Wendy even more.

With no time to spare to change her clothes, Irene quickly grabbed her robe to cover her thin satin nightdress. She could still hear what Wendy had said last night, "That's the pajama you decided to wear in Jeju?" Well, she was supposed to be alone in a hotel room, and she had never imagined staying in a room with the blonde.

"No, no, no, Deez. I know that the news about my visa reached you, but I am actually currently working on it as we speak," Irene said as she wedged her phone between her shoulder and her ear while putting on her sandals. Of course, she had to be on a freaking island when someone important called. The signal outside the mansion might be better than inside, and Irene had to try her luck because it was a very important business deal that she couldn't afford to miss.

"No, no, no. I promise it won't affect the release date. It will proceed as discussed," she said as she walked past the poolside and went straight to the very large front lawn, which was also kind of a beachfront because it faced the sea. Irene didn't really know how to name the various parts of the Son's mansion anymore, as the area was very expansive.

Thankfully, the reception got better. "Yes... I know you're worried, Deez, but you don't have to be. Nooo. Please don't back out. It's all gonna be fine." She had to play nice with the man on the other line because she couldn't afford to lose this important project.

"Yes. Of course, I'm listening to you, Dee—-"

"Arf arf!" A high-pitched bark was heard.

Oh my god. I forgot to close the door.

Irene had never been fond of animals. She had a lot of bad experiences with them during her childhood, from an elephant spraying snot at the zoo to witnessing a tiger bite a guy who just wanted to take a picture with it. The tiger was supposed to be "calm" and "kind," and the keepers said it wouldn't even move if you sat beside it. But that same tiger bit the guy's finger when he was doing a peace sign for a photo op. Irene could enumerate many other experiences she had, but it would take her until tomorrow. These incidents were horrible and traumatic for Irene's young mind, and they led her to grow up avoiding anything from the animal kingdom.

"Arf arf! Arf arf!" Changie's little bark pulled her back from her flashbacks.

"Shhhhhh! Sit! Sit!" she commanded the dog. "No, no. Not you, Deez. Of course, no." She let out a nervous laugh.

"Arf! Arf!" Changie started again. Irene tried to ignore the dog, keeping her distance from it. "I think it's not a good idea to back out from our agreement, Deez. We already have an amazing marketing plan for the project."

"Arf!" The Pom started to run around the lawn.

"Yes, of course! I can email you the plan and—"

An angry screech was suddenly heard. Irene looked around as the sound seemed to be coming from a nearby tree. While searching for the source of the unusual sound, she continued speaking to the person on the other line. "...uh, the plan and... the schedules.... yes... I'll send it to you."

"Arf arf! Arf arf! Arf Arf!" The little dog started barking at a certain tree.

"Shhhhh, dog!! I'm on the phone!" she scolded the pup. Irene heard a confused "What did you say?" from the person on the other line. "Oh no. No. You're not a dog, Deez. Sorry. It's... Listen, I think this will be a win-win situation for both of us—"

The screech came again, and then she finally saw it: a huge Steller's Sea Eagle, eyeing Changie like the hungry predator it is.

"Arf arf! Arf arf! Arf Arf!" Changie wouldn't stop barking as the wild eagle flapped its wings, getting ready for takeoff, with its eyes fully focused on its target.

"The whole promotion will be smooth and amazing, and the projected sales after the release would be sensational. Trust me when I say it," she said with confidence as she watched the eagle soar into the sky. It flew in circles above her and Changie, seemingly being careful about how it would deliver its attack. "Yes, of course. I could arrange a meeting for you with our marketing team. Just tell me your availability."

Irene noticed the eagle had stopped flying in circles and was finally diving for its prey. "Deez... I... I just want this project to be successful... I..." She watched in horror as the eagle snatched Changie with its massive talons. "No, no, no, no. Give me that dog! Give me that dog!" she yelled at the bird, earning a puzzled "Excuse me?" from the man on the phone. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry, Deez. Hold on a second. Can you hold on a second, please?" she said as she started running after the eagle and Changie. "Just a second, Deez, please. Just a second...." She was already pleading. She couldn't believe the embarrassing situation she was currently in. She was talking to the author of the big book project himself, and she was chasing after two freaking animals at the same time. She knew she sounded very stupid during the conversation. She thought of just explaining everything to the man later.

Irene couldn't care less about the dog. If it were just her, she would let the hungry bird snatch it and eat it or whatever. Sounds gruesome, but isn't that how nature works? Animals preying on each other? But Changie is no ordinary dog. It's the Son family's pet. She witnessed how they adored and loved this little creature. She noticed how Seungwan's face lit up when she picked up the creature last night.

Seungwan.

Why was she addressing Wendy by the blonde's real name in her head? In the middle of chasing a freaking eagle?

She was confused for a moment, but what she was certain of is that her fiancée's family would be extremely devastated if they found out their precious puppy was taken.

"Give me the dog back!!" No matter how loudly she called for the bird, she knew it couldn't understand her. It completely ignored her yells and just kept flying with the dog struggling in its tight grip. "I SAID GIVE ME THAT DOG!" Frustrated that the bird showed no sign of letting the puppy go, Irene threw her phone at the eagle, hoping it would somehow distract the bird and make it drop the dog.

It did. The phone grazed the bird's wings slightly. It wavered a bit and loosened its grip, dropping the dog in mid-air.

Now, Irene's primary concern was that the dog might be injured when it hit the ground. She hurriedly went to the spot where Changie would land and extended her arms forward, ready to catch the poor pup. "Come on. Come on. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here," she spoke to herself as she followed Changie's falling body. She managed to catch the little dog, setting aside her aversion to touching something from the animal kingdom. What was important right now was that the puppy was safe. "I gotcha. I gotcha." Since the eagle was still roaming around, she continued carrying Changie in her arms, fearing that the eagle might attack it again.

As she wasn't sure if she had already ended the call with the author, she quickly sprinted across the lawn with Changie still in her arms to where her phone had landed. "Deez? Hello, Deez? Are you still there? I'm so sorry... So sorry... I dropped the phone..." She apologized to the man in between her heavy pants, as if she had just finished running a marathon. "What I'm saying is that I don't want to force you into doing anything you don't want, Deez."

The eagle returned, flying in circles above where they were standing and let out another angry screech.

"But this is... this is your legacy. This book is your legacy," she began sprinting away as the eagle appeared to be flying towards her. It was challenging to run while carrying a dog and talking to someone on the phone simultaneously. This was a very strange way to start her morning workout. "And I think it's up to you to present your legacy to the world..." She stopped running briefly to check if the eagle was still following her, but it was a wrong decision because the bird was just a couple of feet behind, and her pause allowed the bird to catch up with them. "Call me tomorrow with your decision. My phone is always on. Okay? Bye!" She finished her sentences in a rush, as if she were rapping. She was about to run away from the eagle again, but it was already too late. The eagle extended its feet with its long talons out, eager to snatch Changie successfully this time. Irene's reflexes told her to raise her free hand (the one that wasn't carrying Changie, the one holding the phone) as a way to defend herself and the dog. The wild creature made its attack. It failed to take Changie away but succeeded in snatching Irene's phone.

Oh no.

"No wait! No no no no..." It was the only phone she had brought for this trip. It was her business phone. She hadn't bothered bringing her personal phone because there was no one so important worth contacting outside of her job. Hell, she even considered this trip as one of her business trips. Since it was a business phone, all her important contacts were there. She hadn't brought her laptop either, as today's technology allowed you to do everything with a phone. Well, this huge mansion probably had a laptop or computer, and she could ask Wendy to borrow one, but still, it was such a hassle to lose everything she had stored in that device.

Maybe she could still retrieve it. The eagle was still flying in circles above them.

She raised the dog up in the air and used poor Changie as bait. "Take the doggie! Look at this delicious doggie! I need that phone, just take the doggie! Here, take the dog!" She started running around in circles as well, following the eagle's flight patterns while holding Changie up in the air for the bird to see.

"Please, I need that phone! Just take the doggie! Take it!" Her pleas fell on deaf ears.

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Wendy couldn't go back to sleep anymore. She tried her best to fall asleep again but all she did was toss and turn. The hard and uncomfortable floor wasn't helping either. She even went for the bed since Irene was not around but still failed to return to dreamland. Speaking of the devil, it was Irene's fault that she was struggling right now. Who wakes up at 7 am on a vacation to chit-chat in a phone call? It would be nice to sleep in when you're on a holiday like this.

She let out a loud groan as she forced herself to get up. She might as well check on the witch's whereabouts and have a nice breakfast with the family. Maybe the food would lighten up her mood.

The blonde washed her face with the cold water, changed her pajamas to a casual fit, and headed for the door.