The heart-to-heart session between the Lady and her Butler had gone all wrong. Contrary to the closer relationship they were striving for, their situation became awkward.

On one hand, Jeohyun was ashamed of herself for losing control; had she not forced the red wine down both of their systems, maybe they would still be on speaking terms. And from Changmin's perspective, he regretted his decision of crossing the line. He was a butler and was trained to handle all decisions. A little bit of alcohol was not enough to falter his sense. But like any miserable fool, he had followed his heart and made the greatest mistake he could possibly think. What would people think? A butler fraternizing with his lady? What scandal will it bring? A false rumor is enough to spoil one's reputation, so what about a real scandal? Not only will he be at risk, but his lady's as well.

It's the least I can do for Seohyun as an honorable butler. He thought. Before things get out of hand, I will leave. It may be hard for me, and if she had been truthful last night, it will be for her as well. But I will, no matter what.

So, instead of the joy and celebration that had filled the room the night before, silence and discomfort took its place. The clueless ones were Tiffany and her gang of girls for Minho was sighing the whole time they were having breakfast, Jonghyun was even more quiet than usual (one would've thought he was mute), Seohyun seemed to have lost appetite and was poking around her dish whilst, Changmin, who on standby beside her, looked oddly tired and unkept.

"Has something happened that we don't know of?" The redhead asked with concern. She could not bear seeing her friends so solemn and gloomy.

At that, Joohyun's head shot up as if caught red-handed. "Aniyo, Unnie!" 

Realizing her sudden outburst and the wide stares of her unnies, she bent over once more and continued her "torture" of the sausages on her plate.

"What's wrong with maknae?" Sooyoung whispered loudly to her friends but all she got as responds were clueless shrugs.

"How about you, Min?" The tall girl turned her attention to the tan boy. "You've been sighing the whole day. If you go on, I'm afraid the leaves will start falling during this lovely weather of summer." 

"Nothing, noona. It's just lack of sleep, I promise." Minho answered though uncharacteristically short and simple.

As if sensing the next question would be directed at him and wanted not to be bothered further, Jonghyun mumbled "Me too" and resumed his eating.

"So both of you boys did not have a good night's sleep? I wonder what you two've been up to..." Hyoyeon teased suggestively but it did nothing to lighten the mood though Sooyoung, Sunny and Yoona joint in the laugh. However, a glare from Yuri and Tiffany shut them all up. In the end, they gave up all attempts to recover the atmosphere and decided to let it be. 

Changmin and Joohyun began distancing each other intentionally. None could bring themselves to talk to each other for fear they would summon the memories of that faithful night. It had become obvious that the girl was a bit depressed for even the funniest of joke by Minho failed to crack her up. She tended to pick sad songs to play during her paino classes. She stood Tiffany up on their supposedly makeover session. She wanted nothing to be alone. Even Mr. Seo began to question her problem and decided to ask Donghae for help.

The moment his Uncle Seo had contacted him about the favour, his mind immediately flew to Joohyun's butler. Though there's no evidence of the two being involved in anyway, he had that gut feeling of a talented young entrepreneur that something was up. Not only had the butler acted strangely during Fany's birthday party, he could tell that his dongsaeng cut the man a lot of slack despite his cool attitude. So, on checking that Changmin would be free during one of Hyunnie's lessons, he decided to pay him a short visit.

The said man was sitting under one of the trees in the garden that had a view of the classroom interior. He was keeping an eye on Joohyun's condition when there was a pat on his shoulder. He had anticipated someone coming from behing and had his hand reached into his pocket for a knife. As soon as he noticed that it was Donghae, he relaxed and stuffed the weapon back in.

"What brings you here, Dongae-ssi?" He asked in his usual lazy and uncaring tone, eyes still fixated on Joohyun, who was attending music theory lessons.

"I have a gut feeling that you are behind all of this." 

"All of what?" The butler could sense what the hostility was coming from but chose not to face him directly.

"If you're going to continue with this act, I'll beat around the bushes no more." He says vehemently. "Hyunnie is not well and I know there's something to do with you. Tell me what it is or I'll tell Mr. Seo of the unlawful feelings you're harboring for his daughter?"

For a second, Changmin took his eyes off the studying Joohyun and stared straight into Donghae's brown ones. "Is that suppose to threaten me? You think I care about being fired? Think! Donghae-ssi, who will be the suffer most if this 'unproved' scandal does come out? Me? Or Seohyun-ssi?" His voice was low and serious, which knocked some sense into the older man, whose face dropped as realization overcame him. The butler continued, "When you entrusted me with my lady, I promised I'll do a good job. So trust me another time, Donghae-ssi. I'll set things right in no time, I promise. I'll keep her safe."

At that very moment, the school bell rang and Changmin rose to move to his next location, leaving Donghae to consider his words. For the second time, he decided he will leave the matter in the younger man's hands.

It was a Saturday morning, so Joohyun decided to sleep in for a bit. 

At about 9, she widened her eyes to find herself facing the window and the sun was shining brightly. She let out a yawn and stretched, a smile tugging on her lips at the beautiful weather. "What a lovely day," she thought.

She rolled over to face the other side and let out a high-pitched shriek when she saw a stranger standing next to her bed, all smiles and holding onto her day clothes. As if she had set off an alarm, Changmin came rushing into the bedroom, worry evident on his face.

At the sight of her butler, she scrambled to his side and held his arm, as if asking for protection. For a moment, she forgot everything between him and her.

"What's this?"

"I'm not a 'what', my lady." Is the stranger's good-humored reply. He seemed not the least offended and the grin, which look most sincere, was still hanging on his face.

"Excuse me," she apologized. "So who is he?" She turned to ask Changmin and noticed her arms that were still clinging on to him. She released it immediately and hid her blush.

The worry on his face faded and his usual cold, hard face took its place. "Well, my lady, this is Luhan. He'll be looking after you from now on."

"What about you?" Joohyun said immediately, confused at the situation.

"I'll be departing the Seo Mansion soon, my lady. So I have requested the Institute to send over another butler to take my place and here is Mr. Lu as my successor." The older man replied plainly. "You need not fret, my lady. He is well-trained."

"So you'll be leaving now?" She tried hiding the spite in her voice. If not for the third person in the room, she would have yelled at Changmin for being a coward, hypocrite and all the horrible names that were popping up in her brain. The word "deceiver" crossed her mind but she pushed it back. The butler was at most a coward but never a deceiver. Nothing ever began between them so there was no one to deceive. After all, what they had, was at most a fling that was forbidden. This would be for the best. She thought as she waited for his answer.

"Not for the time being, my lady. I'll see to Luhan-ssi that he knows each and everything well before I'll hand over the job to him completely." He said plainly. "I'll leave you in Mr. Lu's capable hands." And he bowed to leave.

When Joohyun and that overly gleeful deer-eyed boy were alone, the latter tried to break the ice.

"My lady, would you like to get changed now?" 

"Yes... of course, Butler Lu." She managed to stutter after a few seconds of recovery from the shocking news. 

"You can just call me Luhan, my lady." The young-looking man said as he assisted the girl off the bed. 

"Ok then. I'll call you Luhan-ssi then." She returned his smile. "You look very young indeed! Do you happen to be younger than me?" She was really curious and the new butler seemed really friendly, so she thought he would not mind.

"You flatter me, my lady. I'm actually 19, a year older than you are. They call me baby-face at the academy." He replied, slightly embarrassed, but the revelation made Seohyun giggle.

"They should have called you 'bambi' instead!" She suggested as the black cloth covered her.

"How did you know? They called me that too!" Luhan seemed genuinely surprised by the girl as he pulled the cover to reveal Joohyun, fully dressed in a nautical-inspired outfit --- a cream colored sweater with blue stripes and matching navy pants. To pull it all together, her feet donned a pair of camel-brown oxfords. 

"This is amazing! Luhan-ssi! I love your style!" She praised him as she looked herself in the mirror. Changmin used to dress her in more feminine and elegant clothings, which were pretty, but far from her style. But with her new look, she felt like an enhanced version of herself, instead of a mask that was imposed on her. Maybe this was a sign that she should move on...

"I'm glad you do, my lady. Breakfast is served when you're ready." He said with a light bow. 

Even his gestures are much less dramatic than that Shim character. She considered, taking note of her new butler's act and comparing it with Changmin's signature low bow. I don't need him after all.

With that, she left her room to head downstairs for her first meal of the day with Luhan behind her, whistling an upbeat tune.Though it was not too butler-esque of him to do so, she liked it. It lifted her spirits and she felt positive, for the first time since that happened.

What a refreshing change! She thought happily.

AN:

Well, as you have all expected, Luhan makes his appearance! Do you like this revelation or do you loathe it? Anyways, Luhan will be staying for quite a while and mind you, things heat up between Seohyun and him. Don't worry! Changseo will happen in the end but for now, let's put it aside. 

I'll try and update soon! If you spot any mistakes, comment and tell me! Otherwise, I would be most glad to read some comments from you all :)

Thanks for all the upvoting and subscriptions and lovely feedbacks!