Seungho blinked in surprise as Hyunsik sighed.  “Song… Lee-Song’s hwajangnim?  Why does she…” he asked, confused.  Why would the CEO of Lee-Song want to spend the day with him?

Hyunsik shrugged and sat back down behind his desk.  “She’s a weird one.  Her secretary didn’t mention why,” he said, “Don’t ask me, I have no idea.”

Seungho scratched his head as he watched Hyunsik pick up a piece of paper and begin to read.  Song Bangna… what the heck was this all about?  Did he miss something? 

“Yah,” Hyunsik said, glancing at him from the top of the paper, “Get moving.”

“Oh,” Seungho replied, still confused.  Bowing, he made his way back out into the hall and towards the elevator.  Song Bangna… from what he could remember, she was a fairly cold woman.  They had barely spoken to each other and he hardly thought he’d left an impression on her. 

As he entered the dorm, he sighed in disappointment that he was right about Joon being at his photo shoot; the dorm was empty.  Tossing his things to the side, Seungho quickly stripped down and took a shower.  He paused in front of the sink before grabbing his toothbrush and brushing his teeth again.  It was the CEO of Lee-Song after all; pizza and coffee breath was probably not a great idea.

Pulling on a simple sweatshirt and jeans, he jogged his way back to the main building.  He nodded again at the receptionist as he passed through the front doors and walked into the main area.

“Seungho-yah,” Minah called as she approached him with a smile, “Mr. Popular, let’s get you prettied up!”  Taking his hand, she pulled him over to her work area and sat him down.  “So… I hear from Hyunsik that the big boss has summoned you to her quarters,” she whispered, looking around to make sure no one was listening, “He’s treating it like it’s some big secret.”

Seungho looked up at her in surprise as she began styling his hair.  Within a few minutes his hair was dried and beginning to take shape.  There was no doubt that she was one of the best stylists at the studio.  As she began combing gel into his hair, he looked at her through the reflection.

She just said Hyunsik was treating this like it was a big secret… so why did Hyunsik tell her?  From the way she spoke, it sounded as if she and Hyunsik were close.  Maybe they were close friends?  Or… no way right?

“No,” she said suddenly, raising an eyebrow at his reflection, “We’re not like that; he’s much too arrogant for my tastes.”  She laughed as Seungho responded with a look of surprise and embarrassment.  “You, on the other hand,” she winked, “Are much more down my alley.”  When Seungho flushed pink, she laughed and patted his cheek.  “So easy to tease,” she said, putting away her hairdryer and pulling out her makeup tools, “Now, back to the topic…”  She paused as she rummaged through her bag for the right shade of foundation.  Nodding in satisfaction at finding the right one, she grabbed a flat brush and began working on Seungho’s face.  “I can’t believe he’s just going to let you go,” she said, sweeping the brush across his face, “It’s like sending a lamb to the tiger’s den.”

“That bad?” Seungho asked as she put away her brush and pulled out another brush, “Has she called on other talents before?  The hwajangnim I mean…”

Minah scoffed as she started brushing his face again.  “No way,” she said, “The ice queen has never called any of our other talents before.”  She grinned as she patted his cheeks again.  “Guess you’re just that cute,” she said.  She tossed her brush into the pile and pulled a dark pencil.  Gently, she began darkening his brows.  “Don’t worry though,” she said slowly as she focused on her work, “We’ll come and pick up what’s left of you at the end of the day.”

“Great,” Seungho muttered.  That was comforting to hear.

They fell silent as Minah finished her work quickly and professionally.  After a few finishing touches, she patted his shoulder and pointed him in the direction of Wardrobe.  The coordinator there had been expecting him; she had pulled out a white suit with a purple and silver tie.  Dressing quickly, he was then ushered out to the waiting black sedan out in front.  

As the vehicle pulled away, Seungho suddenly felt a nervous swirling in the pit of his stomach.  He had no way of anticipating what was in store for him.  He could only hope that whatever she was interested in, he wouldn’t screw things up.  Hyunsik had warned them the day of the fundraiser that they were representing KTA; Seungho didn’t doubt that today was any different.  

Lost in his thoughts, Seungho blinked as the vehicle suddenly turned through the gates.  After a brief drive, the vehicle slowed to a stop in front of large estate.  Shutting his dropped jaw, Seungho straightened himself before climbing out of the vehicle.  

The estate was… well an estate.  It was enormous in size and stood towering over the lush landscaping.  It resembled a museum with several steps leading up to grand French doors.  Beautiful windows covered the front of the estate, some stained with tinted glass.  

Seungho let himself be led up the stairs and through the front doors into the foyer.  The inside was just as breathtaking as the outside.  The large foyer was probably the size of a small house and a beautiful staircase led up to the second floor.  A large chandelier hung from the ceiling and illuminated the house in an almost ethereal glow.

“The madam is waiting for you in the music room,” said a man dressed in what looked like a butler suit.  He bowed before gesturing for Seungho to follow him.

Reeling from the posh luxury of the estate, Seungho nodded mutely and followed the butler down the corridor to a set of large oak doors.  Upon reaching the door, the butler knocked three times before entering the room.  

Seungho waited outside, his heart racing.  The estate had completely blown him away; did people this rich even exist?  He certainly hadn’t expected this.  And… did the butler say the music room?  Did this maybe have something to do with his piano performance at the fundraiser?

“This way,” the butler said as he returned.  He gestured through the doors.

Taking a deep breath, Seungho straightened his suit and stepped inside.  The room resembled a large library.  To the left stood a large black grand piano atop a small platform, it’s black paint glistening in the light.  The walls were hung with string instruments and woodwind instruments.  Seungho recognized a few violins, violas, cellos, and a range of saxophones.  To the right were a series of traditional Korean instruments and a few other Asian instruments.  A beautiful janggu sat to the side next to a gayageum that was carved with gold, silver, and royal blue.  In front of him stood a large shelf against the wall with thousands of scores filed in alphabetical order… it was quite a sight to take in.

“Seungho-goon, please come in,” came the hwajangnim’s voice.

Seungho bowed as she approached him.  He was relieved to see that she was smiling as she walked towards him.  Instead of the suit he’d imagined she’d be dressed in, she wore a pair of grey slacks and a comfortable sweater.  It certainly wasn’t what’d he’d expected but then again, who wore suits at home on their day off?

“Hwajangnim,” Seungho said.

“This room was my husband’s treasure,” she said softly, gesturing to the room, “He came here whenever he was troubled with something and could stay in here for hours on end.”  She sighed as she pointed to the janggu.  “He used to take his anger and frustrations out on that drum.  Fortunately, he had the room soundproofed…” she said, turning to the piano, “He used to play the piano too; I never really did understand why he loved music so much.”

Seungho stayed silent as she continued her story.  It seemed strange that she was telling him all this when she barely knew him.  While it was interesting to hear about the late Lee-Song CEO, Seungho vaguely wondered what any of it had to do with him.

Seungho followed her as she led the way to the piano.  He paused and watched as she stared at the piano both lovingly and bitterly.  “I used to fight with him about how he’d rather spend time in here than with me,” she said in amusement, “But I guess it’s to be expected.  After all, the reason I fell in love with him was because of how handsome he’d looked playing the piano.”  She fell silent as she pressed one of the keys.  The dull tone echoed through the room and reverberated off of the walls.

After a long pause, Seungho fidgeted in his spot and cleared his throat.  “Er… hwajangnim…?” he said softly, bringing her out of her daze.

“I’m sorry,” she said, sighing, “You must be curious as to why I brought you here.”  She smiled and stepped off of the platform.  “I met my husband at a business social not unlike the fundraiser you attended a few weeks ago,” she said, “I was reminded of him when I watched you play the piano.”  She smiled before saying, “Since I had a rare day off today, I thought I’d invite you to the estate and ask you to play a few pieces?”

Seungho blinked in surprise.  So that was what it was about… she wanted to hear him the piano.  He felt relief flood through him as the weight of worry lifted from his shoulders.  Piano… he could certainly manage that.

“Of course,” he said, nodding, “It’d be my pleasure…”

“Great,” she replied, walking over to the shelf and pulling out a small folder, “Let’s start with these…”  She handed the folder to him and waited quietly.

Seungho flipped through the folder and glanced through the pieces.  He raised his eyebrows as he recognized famous pieces from Mozart, Lizst, Beethoven, Chopin, and other renowned classic composer.  “These…” he murmured, flipping through the pages.

“My husband was a fan of the classics,” she said, nodding, “Are these…?”

“Ah,” Seungho said, returning her unasked question with a smile, “I should be able to play.  But please accept my apologies in advance if I make mistakes.”

“Nonsense,” she said, smiling at him with lit eyes, “I’m already grateful that you’re here.”

“Then…” Seungho nodded and approached the piano.  It looked quite old but, after testing a few keys, he concluded that it was still in tune.  Stretching his fingers, Seungho placed the first score on the stand and read through the first few bars.  Glancing at the hwajangnim, who was looking at him with an anticipation that didn’t quite suit her image, Seungho took a deep breath and began to play.

Cheondoong yawned as he flipped through his English book without interest.  

His day had been equally exciting; after dance training, the trainees were given a brief break for lunch before resuming vocal training.  Luckily for Cheondoong, he was able to skip out of additional practice due to his contract with KTA to allow him some time for school work.  At four in the afternoon, he was set free and sent back to the dorms.  He’d flowed through his history and mathematics homework before beginning his languages paper.  An hour and a half later, he had moved on to his English readings but his stomach had begun growling.

He glanced at the clock; it was a little past 7:00 PM… he had no idea what to do about dinner.  Grabbing his phone, he scrolled through the contact list.  Should he call one of his friends and have dinner out?  Or maybe he should just get takeout from the nearby Chinese place…

He paused as he spotted his sister’s phone number on his contact list.  He had been to visit her two more times after the last visit but hadn’t run into their mother.  He had promised he would go home to have dinner one day… maybe today was the day.  

Unsettled by the sudden possibility of having dinner with his mother, Cheondoong set down his pen and leaned back in his chair.  It’d been three weeks since he bumped into her at the hospital when he’d made his promise.  Did she still remember?  He hadn’t set a date; he wanted to avoid getting pulled into a similar trap his sister had fallen victim to.  He wanted to catch her by surprise… to see if she was really sincere.  

But could he do it today?  Could he just… walk back in to that house and sit down at the dinner table?  Did it have to be today?  The dinner had slipped his mind for the past few weeks but now that he’d remembered, it was as if it had burned itself into his mind.  Could he do it today?  If not today then… when?  If he didn’t go today, could he make the decision to go another day?  When would that be?  His mother had said she would be leaving… where was she going?  Would she wait for him?  Did it even matter if she waited or not?  

Cheondoong sighed in frustration as he stood.  He should just… do it like a man.  Enough of this wishy-washy worrying; today was as good a day as any.  If he passed up today, he was likely to run away from the whole thing entirely.

Nodding his head in resolution, he quickly changed into jeans and a hoodie before pulling on his sneakers.  There was no need to dress up for her; he was going to try and make things as comfortable for himself as possible… after all, he didn’t owe her anything.

He thundered down the stairs and hailed a cab.  Climbing in, he took a few deep breaths and tried to calm his nerves.  But as the taxi got closer to the house, he suddenly felt unsure about his decision.  Was he being too rash?  Did he jump into it too quick?  Should he have thought more about how he would approach this?  

As the taxi to his street, Cheondoong swallowed nervously and felt his heart race.  It was this same road where Dara had her ‘accident’.  And… that was the intersection that Jang Daeho barreled down and slammed his vehicle into hers with intent to kill.  

“I’ll get off here,” Cheondoong said suddenly, pulling out a few bills.  He climbed out of the taxi a few houses down from his mothers and stood there as the taxi pulled away.  He looked at his mother’s house in the distance and took a deep breath.  He felt the hair raise on his neck as he looked at the familiar house.  This was it…

He began walking towards it, his eyes never leaving it.  This was the house that his sister had insisted on them moving back into.  This was the house where his mother had kept Joon captive for nearly nine years… this was the house where Dara had been going to the night she almost died.  And it was this same house that he was walking towards now where Cheondoong would end everything and give themselves the beginning his sister had wished for for their family.

Cheondoong froze in his tracks however, as the front door to his mother’s house suddenly opened.  A round man in a black suit stepped out onto the porch.  He turned to speak to Cheondoong’s mother briefly before walking down the steps and climbing into a black sedan.  Soon, he pulled out of the drive way and drove down the street.

Although Cheondoong was still a few houses away, he had been close enough to see the face of the man.  He felt goose-bumps crawl along his skin as his mind suddenly raced with questions.  Did he really just see what he thought he saw?  But… it didn’t make any sense!  Why would the sajangnim… why would Kim Dongmin visit Cheondoong’s mother?

Author's note:

ANOTHER twist!  Hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner than the last few!  Thanks for reading!!  And if you haven't already, please VOTE!