Ahyoung went inside the house and sighed when she closed the main door behind her.

“You’re back, miss.”

Ahyoung smiled to the butler and nodded, however, she noticed that the house was way too silent. The old man seemed to notice the doubt reflected on her face and spoke again.

“The leaders aren’t home, they are at a meeting right now. They left instructions to us, so please come to the dining room to have your meal.”

“Okay, thanks.” The girl politely answered.

The butler turned around and started to go to the dining room, Ahyoung followed him in silence. She was already used to that kind of dynamic, not that she liked it, but she didn’t have another option, she had a high position and had to behave like it.

The table was too big to eat alone, it was then that she acknowledged that her parents managed to make any space they were in feel like home, even that huge table inside a silent room. She could just look at her surroundings while eating, analyzing each object there as if she hadn’t memorized them by then.

Even when the meal was delicious, as always, it had a bittersweet taste since she ate there all alone, she was relieved when she finally finished everything. She thanked everyone and went straight to her room. Once there, she sighed and left her backpack on the floor, then went to the window in order to open up the curtains so she could see the sunset.

The girl then sat on the bed, looking at the window, she suddenly snorted and laid down.

>> “I’m in love with you, Ahyoung.”

Ahyoung groaned and put an arm over her face when she recalled Jonghyun’s words.

How could this happen? She thought in disbelief. How is it even possible that Jonghyun fell for me?

The girl chuckled and put her arm down, she now looked at the white ceiling over her.

I guess the real question is how could I fall for him? It doesn’t have sense.

She wasn’t planning to deny it anymore, she was also in love with Jonghyun, no matter how hard she tried to fight against it or how much she wanted to think it was something else but love.

Back in the day when she arrived to that world, she never thought she’d be involved in something as complicated as that. But more than anything else, she never expected to fall in love with the person she most hated when she arrived there. Sure, Jonghyun had change, quite a lot, but it still was weird for her.

Maybe this is what people mean when they say we don’t choose who we fall in love with. She thought with irony.

Ahyoung actually never believed in such things as destiny or soulmates; for her, those things were mere fantasy and desires from people, she never shared them; however, by the way things developed between Jonghyun and her, she couldn’t help but to think about those things.

Looking in retrospective, she was always attracted by Jonghyun, even during the time she found him annoying, there was something inside her that longed for him.

She wondered if it was the same for Jonghyun or if it was just her, she even wondered if what she felt was because of Jonghyun’s nature as a demon. All in all, she was still a bit unsure of what to do. Jonghyun didn’t seem to be lying to her, he was being completely serious, or at least, that was what he conveyed to her.

The girl sighed heavily and sat again, she then looked towards her desk, where she saw three books.

So I have new books to read.

Just as her mother promised her, she was given books in order to prepare her for the leadership. Even when Ahyoung was grateful for that, she was still a bit frustrated, since the books given to her were too basic. Some of them were even behind of what she was learning at school. She didn’t say a thing against it, since she knew her parents wouldn’t change the dynamic anyway.

She directed to the desk and looked into the first two books, there wasn’t anything new for her in them, at least by what she could see in that quick glance. She sat down anyway and started to read the last one of them.

It was another book about the previous rulers, however, it caught her attention, since it was about the leadership time of her grandparents, she frowned and started to read further into it. Ahyoung never met her grandparents, they died little after she was born but her parents never actually told her what happened, they said the same thing that was said in school. That there was a fight for power during the time the actual generation of leaders were going to take over the positions. However, they never shared the details of it.

Ahyoung at first thought that it was because they thought it was not necessary to share everything that happened during that time, out of respect for the deceased ones. But that topic was treated with such caution that it somehow made her even more curious.

The more she read into the book, the more she was sure someone made a mistake in choosing it for her to read it. The book not only contained the important moments of her grandparents’ leadership, but also some characteristics of the way things previously were; something she was confused about, since in the school no one ever said a thing about things being different with the previous generation, according to them, things had been the same for quite a while.

Ahyoung frowned and looked at the clock of her room, maybe her parents wouldn’t delay much since the sun was about to hide, but it also could be that they will arrive late if something came up in the meeting. She pondered about it for some moments, until she made her decision.

She closed the book and took it with her, she went out of her room and walked towards the family library.

Ahyoung made sure that no one saw her going there. Even when she was never stopped from going there, she was always accompanied by someone and she had to ask for permission from her parents. Another thing that just gave strength to her theory, more of a fact by then, that her parents were trying hard to hide something from her.

The girl quickly got inside the library and stayed at the door to hear if someone followed her, after some seconds of complete silence, she was sure that no one saw her. She turned around and faced the place filled with books, she felt overwhelmed for a moment by how many of them were there. She took a deep breath and started to search for something that contained the story of what happened during the previous change of leadership.

She looked into the place for a while but to no avail, there were too many books and she didn’t even know where to search. Just when she was about to give up, she heard a sound on the opposite section of where she was.

“Who’s there?” She asked a bit startled.

Since there was no answer, she went to the place where she heard the sound, however when she got there, there wasn’t anyone. Ahyoung frowned and looked at her surroundings, it was weird, even if it was some of the maids that were cleaning the place, she’d have answered her. She started to feel uneasy and turned to her left side, where a certain book caught her attention since it was out of place. It was a brown book, it seemed to be old and worn out, it was placed horizontally over other books, which clearly didn’t share those characteristics.

Ahyoung took it and looked at her surroundings one more time, trying to make sure she was the only one there, even if a moment ago it was clear that she wasn’t. Even when she knew that what she should do was calling someone to take a look into the place and make sure there wasn’t an intruder, she decided to keep silent and focused her attention on the book that she was holding.

She looked at it from all places but there wasn’t anything that could tell her what it was about, so she opened it. Ahyoung was surprised to see that it was actually handwritten; she frowned and started to read what was on the first page.

It was like a kind of diary, though she didn’t know who it belonged to, maybe it was from the person that was there just a moment ago, though for the conditions of the book, she highly doubted it. She was about to close it since she felt bad for reading someone else’s life, until she read two names in between the text. She read the lines that contained those names and widened her eyes when she finished reading it.

I’m sure Seohyun will be able to do a good job as a leader. Even when Sooyoung is the older and she should be the one to take over the leadership, her actual position isn’t convenient for her to do so, it’d be dangerous. Even so, since both get along really well, I’m sure they’ll make a good team. I really hope so. My brilliant daughters.

Ahyoung opened in disbelief and read again that paragraph, in order to make sure that she wasn’t mistaken. After reading it once again, she put the book down and chuckled.

Daughters? She thought with a frown. So, this is written by my grandfather?

She went to the last page and saw the name written there, which confirmed what she thought.

Sungkyu

What were the chances that she’d find a diary written by her grandfather in there? And precisely that day? There were none if she thought about it. She really wanted to read it all but at the same time, she was scared. What if in that book were all the secrets that her parents have hidden from her? What if those secrets were really bad? She remembered what Sojin told her once.

>> “I’m sure your parents are doing what they think is the best for you. Trust them, I can guarantee that they’ll lead you and support you.”

Ahyoung sighed, still unsure of what to do. After some minutes of thinking, she came to a conclusion.

I guess reading a little won’t do any harm.

The girl then opened the book in a random page and started to read, though she didn’t understand much since there weren’t names there and what was written probably had to do with people her grandfather previously mentioned, however, when she was about to go back in the pages, a voice startled her.

“Ahyoung?”

Ahyoung looked up and saw her mother approaching her, she thought of hiding the book, but it would be of no use since her mother was already seeing her.

“What are you reading sweetie?” Seohyun asked her with a smile.

Ahyoung lifted the book to show it to her, she was able to see the surprise on her mother’s face and then how she tried to remain calm.

“Where did you take that book from?”

“It was here.” Ahyoung said to her and signaled the place from where she took it. “It caught my attention since it was out of place.”

“I see.” Seohyun answered in a thoughtful way, then looked at her daughter with a little smile. “Do you know who that book belongs to?”

“It’s a diary of my grandfather.” Ahyoung answered after a nod.

“You read it, huh?” Seohyun asked her with a lifted eyebrow and a smirk.

“I didn’t.” Ahyoung hurried to say and handed her the book. “Well, just a little bit but it was about you being the leader.”

Seohyun chuckled upon her daughter’s nervousness and looked fondly at the book that was now on her hands.

“So, what were you doing at the library?” Seohyun asked her daughter changing the topic.

“I was looking for more details about the previous change of leadership.”

Seohyun frowned and tilted her head a bit.

“Why were you looking for that?”

“One of the books that you send to my room talked about it.”

“Which one?”

Ahyoung then told her mother to go with her, they went to the other side of the library where Ahyoung was at first and she handed her mother the book she left there. Seohyun looked at the book with a frown.

“Did you not send it to me?” Ahyoung asked her, also with a frown.

Seohyun thought about something for some seconds and then turned to see her daughter again with a little smile.

“We did send it, but I think I confused the books and took one that’s more advanced, I’m sorry, it probably confused you since it is way more advanced than what you’re currently studying. I’ll take it with me.”

Ahyoung nodded to her and Seohyun held the two books tightly against her chest, as if trying to make sure that Ahyoung wouldn’t take them again.

“Well, now go back to your room, I bet you haven’t done your homework.”

The girl chuckled and turned around to go out but she then remembered what happened before, about a person probably being there.

“Mother.” She turned around after saying that.

“Yes?” Seohyun asked her daughter.

Ahyoung was about to tell her but doubted about it, it was obvious that she should tell her but she also didn’t want to worry her. She decided to keep it to her for the time being and she asked something else.

“I know this may seem weird to ask but, how did you know you were in love with my father?”

Seohyun smiled warmly and walked to her.

“Why are you asking me all of a sudden, Ahyoung?”

“It’s just that, I’ve seen couples at school and also some of my classmates already engaged and I was wondering, how can someone know what love truly is?”

She clearly knew it was a lame excuse to cover up why she was asking that, but she couldn’t openly say to her mother that she believed she was in love with Jonghyun, right?

“Well, first of all, it’s not something that you know, it’s something that you feel.” Seohyun started to explain with a warm voice. “It’s not something that you can plan or force, it happens in the moment it has to and with the one it should happen. You ask how I knew I was in love with your father, in my case, I knew I was in love with him when I acknowledged that even if I was really happy by my own, I still wanted him to share that happiness with me, I wanted to have him by my side during the bright and dark days. We also had to fight for our relationship, since my parents didn’t quite agree for us to be together, because Leeteuk wasn’t a High Status, in the end we managed to be together and since then we’ve been building our relationship, since love by itself isn’t enough to build a strong relationship.”

Ahyoung nodded after what her mother said that and thought about her words. Seohyun looked at her daughter and her expression of being thinking hard about what she just said, she snorted with a smile.

“So, will you tell me who you are in love with?”

“What?” Ahyoung snapped out of her thoughts.

Seohyun was looking at her with a smirk and a lifted eyebrow, Ahyoung smiled and looked away. She should’ve expected that her mother would obviously know that she asked because it was her who was facing that dilemma. She wouldn’t tell her who she thought she was in love with but she’d say part of the truth.

“I don’t know if I’m in love though.” Ahyoung answered, still not looking at her.

Seohyun sighed and caressed her daughter’s head, Ahyoung looked back at her and met her mother’s warm smile.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but if you’re still unsure about if you are in love or not, maybe you can try to be sincere with yourself, leave aside everything that’s burdening you and think only about the person who you think you’re in love with. Maybe that will help you to see things clearer.”

Ahyoung smiled and nodded to her mother, Seohyun could see how her daughter seemed more confident.

After that brief talk, they went out of the library, Seohyun was going to the studio and Ahyoung was directing to her room. Before Seohyun could enter the studio, Ahyoung turned around to face her again.

“I have one last question.”

Seohyun stopped and turned to see her daughter, waiting for her to keep talking.

Ahyoung remembered what she read in her grandfather’s diary before her mother found her.

It happened because of love, I don’t think it was because of a whim, those two youngsters didn’t provoke all of this out of a mere banal feeling. All of this bloodshed, was it worth it? Is love really worthwhile of all this suffering?

“Is it worthwhile to fight for love?

Seohyun showed her a warm smile before answering.

“If the love is sincere and true, of course it is.”

Ahyoung smiled to her and nodded, then turned around to go to her room.

When she reached her room, she didn’t turn the lights on, she just looked at her window, the day already became night and she was able to see some stars in the sky. She was now sure, it was going to be hard, they would probably face obstacles and even dangers but she didn’t care anymore.

Ahyoung was in love with Jonghyun and she wanted to be with him.

Seohyun threw the two books on Leeteuk’s desk and the man looked at her with a lifted eyebrow.

“Was it your doing?” Seohyun asked him with anger.

Leeteuk frowned at her and looked down to the books that were now over his desk, he widened his eyes in surprise when he recognized them.

“Why did you take them out?” Leeteuk asked her in confusion.

“It wasn’t you?” Seohyun was taken aback by that reaction.

“What in the world are you talking about?”

“Impossible.” Seohyun whispered.

She looked away with a thoughtful and concerned expression. Leeteuk stood from the chair and went to her side.

“Seohyun, you’re making me worry, why are these two books here?”

“Ahyoung had them.” Seohyun simply answered.

“What? Why?” Leeteuk asked a bit worked up.

“Don’t raise your voice, it seems we have a traitor in here.” Seohyun said in a low voice.

She looked at her husband with a serious expression which Leeteuk almost immediately adopted as well.

“It can’t be, we cautiously selected each one of the people working here, besides, none of them know.” Leeteuk also spoke in a low voice.

“If that’s the case then why were three books sent to Ahyoung for studying when we just sent two and why did she magically found my father’s diary in the library when those two books are supposed to be in the strongbox?”

Leeteuk chuckled and denied with his head, trying to not explode in anger.

“So someone is actually stupid enough to dare messing with us?” The man hissed.

“Seems like it.” Seohyun answered with anger in her voice. “By what I saw, Ahyoung didn’t get to know much about what’s in those books, since she didn’t ask me anything and she didn’t look like she was hiding something either.”

Leeteuk sighed in relief because of that, however, they still had to solve the problem of the intruder in their home and what his or her intention was, but most importantly, how much did he or she knew.

A/N: I hope you all have happy holidays! <3

As always, thank you so so much for reading, comments are appreciated ^^ stay safe and have a beautiful day <3