C h a p t e r S i x
VI

Young Saeng returned to the coffee shop every day since Sunday, at first, he would go in with a whole bunch of men following closely behind him, but he soon saw that this frightened away the customers in the shop. He noticed the owner’s look of despair every time he entered the shop, so then he ordered that he would go into the coffee shop alone, whilst the rest of them were to wait in the car. The owner seemed to appreciate Young Saeng’s understanding, but at the same time, he also seemed like he was still afraid of the young man, for he still did not dare to make eye contact with him whenever he ordered.

“I’ll have the usual,” he informed the owner, and then he nodded in mutual understanding.

Young Saeng spent the time waiting for his coffee gazing out of the window. Truthfully, he did not enjoy drinking coffee, but as it was known to have a stress-relieving effect, he had no other option but to drink it, despite its bitter taste.

The streets were still decorated in an attempt to omit a Christmas atmosphere, though he thought it was pretty unnecessary to decorate before the actual festival. He eyed the many couples walking around hand in hand, some wearing couple clothes, whilst others wore couple gloves.

The cup clattered gently against the table. Young Saeng turned around from gazing out of the window, and found that his cup of beverage was already placed on the table in front of him.

“Your coffee, sir,” he said courteously. Young Saeng nodded, and cupped the cup of hot beverage in his hands. It was, after all, the coldest season of the year, where the temperature exceeded the minuses; anyone would love a hot cup of beverage to keep them warm.

“Why don’t I see you female employee today? Is she ill?” he asked, simply out of curiosity.

“Oh... No... She’s not ill, she doesn’t work on Thursdays. She only works on the busiest days of the week: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.” He explained. In all honesty, Young Saeng did not know the reason as to why he continued to come to this place since Sunday, there were many places where he could go to relax. Maybe, being the mischievous yet stern guy he is, he enjoyed teasing the female employee as a source of entertainment, seeing her stand in discomfort as they talked, and watching her desperate expression to leave him, he probably enjoyed witnessing all that.

“Since when did she start working here?” he asked, again, out of curiosity.

“Sunday was her first day,” the owner of the shop did not dare to expand on his answer, he was still a little frightened from the incident on Sunday, he always feared that one day, his little shop would be smashed into smithereens from the gangs.

“I see...” Young Saeng bought the cup to his mouth and took a small sip, careful not to scald himself.

“If –” he paused, considering whether it would be appropriate to say the following.

“If?” Young Saeng provoked.

“If... If you have any problems regarding Seung Yeon... I could always call her in right now. I mean, she did say she didn’t mind working full time –”

“Seung Yeon?” he repeated, he did not take in anything the owner said except for the unfamiliar name.

“Yes... Seung Yeon... I only have one female employee... That’s her...” he muttered, his voice slowly trailing off into a nervous whisper.

Young Saeng smiled – a smile of satisfaction.

“It’s fine. You don’t need to call her in,” he said in a firm tone.

“Then... I will take my leave,” the owner then turned and went to serve the customers that had just entered the shop.

“Seung Yeon,” he took another sip of his coffee. “So your name is Seung Yeon.”

============

“I love you, do you know that?” a deep male voice echoed from the television.

With nothing to do at home, Seung Yeon resorted to watching television dramas, though she hardly concentrated on the context of the drama, the noise that the television omitted made her feel less lonely. She glanced at her wrist watch every so often, hoping that time would pass quicker; she disliked being alone at home. There were several moments when she held her phone in her hand, with an urge to dial Jae Joong’s number, but she knew this would only distract him from work; therefore, she gave up the idea.

She lay down limply on the sofa, and like a little child, curled up in one end of the sofa. Her eyelids became heavier as seconds passed, but the noise from the television kept her awake. It wasn’t long before the noise stopped affecting her from falling sleeping, for she soon fell into a deep sleep...

===

“No! Please don’t leave! Don’t leave me here!” she pleaded. A five year old Seung Yeon was hugging a woman of average height, she wore a sleek, black dress that complimented her body and had heavy makeup applied to her young face.

“Get off me!” the woman moaned, prising Seung Yeon’s tight grip off her waist. Seung Yeon fell helplessly to the floor; she got back up immediately and ran after the woman, though she was too late. The woman had already left the deserted house.

“No!” she screamed, banging onto the door, whose handle was too high for her to reach.

“Don’t leave me here! I want to go with you!” she begged, c