Baekhyun slept fitfully that night, tormented by nightmares of a giant-sized Madame trying to crush him beneath the heel of her too-high heels. When Yixing comes to wake him the following morning, he feels even more exhausted than when he went to bed.

“Eat up,” Yixing suggests, placing a tray of breakfast on the table in the little room. “You’ve got another long day ahead of you.”

“Oh god. Please tell me I don’t have to meet with Madame again,” Baekhyun groaned.

Yixing smiled, his dimples popping out. “No, thankfully seeing Madame is not on the agenda for today. I think you pissed her off enough that she’s not going to want to see you until you’re more refined.”

Baekhyun flopped down on the settee in front of the table, picking up a piece of toast and spreading jam on the back. “Yeah, that’s never going to happen.”

After eating breakfast, showering, and getting dressed in new clothes delivered by one of the tailor’s assistants, Baekhyun went down to meet with Mr. Shin in the lounge where their lessons were held. As on the day before, Mr. Shin was all business. He had apparently been informed of the debacle at dinner the night before, and he seemed to think it was his job to force all rebellious thoughts out of Baekhyun’s head by filling it with seemingly useless knowledge.

“Why am I learning about trade in China?” Baekhyun demanded after he’d been reading a textbook so long that his eyes felt like they were going to bleed.

Mr. Shin glared at him. “Because, as head of the Kim family, you will oversee all the businesses and markets that the family owns. You do business with China, so you need to familiarize yourself with trade policies in China. We can’t have you embarrassing the family, now can we?” He quirked his eyebrow as if to remind Baekhyun that he had already embarrassed the family quite a lot.

Baekhyun just sighed huffily and went back to reading, all the words bleeding together on the page by the time he got another paragraph in.

Luckily for Baekhyun, there was a knock on the door just before lunch, just when he was positive his eyes were going to fall out of his skull. Mr. Shin gave an annoyed sigh, checking his watch as if he couldn’t believe they were being interrupted, and he went over to yank open the door. “What is it?” he demanded nastily.

Yixing stood there, flanked on either side by two tall men dressed in pressed black suits and wearing ear pieces. “I’m so sorry to interrupt, Mr. Shin,” Yixing said, bowing low. He was the epitome of a perfect employee now; there was no sign of the laid-back jokester he was when it was just him and Baekhyun. “I’ve been instructed to introduce Mr. Kim to his bodyguards.”

“It’s Byun,” Baekhyun began hotly, but then he stopped. “Wait, what? Bodyguards?”

Mr. Shin sighed again as if he couldn’t believe the level of Baekhyun’s stupidity. “Very well,” he said shortly. “We’ll stop for lunch and resume lessons again at one o’clock. Do not be late, boy. Punctuality is a virtue, you know.”

“God I hate that guy,” Baekhyun grumbled when Mr. Shin had swept from the room. Then he looked up at the two tall men, both of whom had remained entirely expressionless throughout the entire exchange. “Bodyguards, Yixing? Really?”

“Protocol, I’m afraid,” Yixing said with an apologetic little smile. “No heir to the Kim legacy goes without a bodyguard. Madame has three with her at almost all times.” He gestured to the bodyguards. “This is Yifan, and this is Zitao. You may as well get acquainted, because you’re going to be spending an awful lot of time with them.”

Both bodyguards bowed low upon their introduction. “It’s an honor to work for you and the honorable Kim family, Mr. Kim,” the one called Yifan said in a slightly robotic voice.

Baekhyun held up his hand. “Okay, let me stop you right there. First of all, the Kim family isn’t honorable. They’re stuck up s for the most part. Am I right, Yixing?”

Yixing made a noncommittal noise somewhere in the back of his throat.

“And second of all, I am not Mr. Kim,” Baekhyun continued vehemently. “You can call me that in front of Madame or whatever, but don’t ever call me that anywhere else. My name is Byun. Byun Baekhyun. You can just call me Baekhyun. That’s fine.”

“That would be inappropriate,” Yifan answered calmly, still bowing.

Baekhyun face-palmed. “God, I can’t even handle this. Think Mr. Shin would go bananas if I didn’t show up to afternoon lessons?”

“It would be quite entertaining to see just how red his face can get,” Yixing said. “But I wouldn’t suggest it. Especially not after what happened last night.”

Baekhyun sighed regretfully. “I guess you’re right.”

“You’ve got some free time now,” Yixing pointed out. “I didn’t bring your lunch with me, so would you like to go to the kitchen to eat? You should learn where it is, after all. In case you ever feel like a midnight snack.” He winked.

Baekhyun hopped to his feet. “Definitely.” But when Yifan and Zitao began to follow them down the hallway, he wrinkled his nose. “Are those two really going to follow me everywhere?”

“That’s their job,” Yixing pointed out, amused. “Don’t worry. They’re good. You won’t even notice that they’re there.”

Baekhyun highly doubted that, but he had no choice but to allow them to follow him and Yixing to the kitchen at the back of the house.

Back in his village, the biggest kitchen Baekhyun had ever seen was the one in the restaurant that Jihye’s parents owned. This kitchen made that one seem like a children’s toy. There were multiple stoves, ovens, and sinks. The counter space seemed to stretch on forever. There were four different coffee makers and steps leading down into an underground wine cellar.

“Are you here to steal more of my pastries, Yixing?” an owl-eyed man with dark hair and a flour-spattered apron demanded when they came in, shaking a spatula. “The kitchen has only just recovered from your last raid.”

Yixing shrugged guiltily. “What can I say? They’re delicious?” He noticed Baekhyun eyeing the cook, so he quickly made the introductions. “Baekhyun, this is one of the apprentice cooks in the kitchen, Kyungsoo. He makes the best pastries and pasta in the entire country. He deserves his own restaurant, not to be slaving away for the likes of the Kim family.”

The boy, Kyungsoo, blushed. There was flour streaked across his forehead. “You’re only flattering me so you can steal my next batch of cream puffs, aren’t you?”

Yixing ignored the comment. “Kyunggie-poo, this is Baekhyun. He’s the new heir to the Kim family.”

The spatula fell out of Kyungsoo’s hand and he gaped at Baekhyun for a moment like a goldfish.

“It’s cool,” Yixing said, swiping a fruit tart off a nearby plate and taking a big bite. “He’s not like them. He’s, you know, down to earth.”

“Mr. Kim.” Kyungsoo bowed low. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Oh, please don’t do that,” Baekhyun said quickly, embarrassed. “And I’m not Mr. Kim. I’m Mr. Byun.”

“But everyone in the family uses the surname Kim,” Kyungsoo pointed out.

“Why does everyone keep telling me that?” Baekhyun moaned. “I don’t care! I’m not a Kim! I’m a Byun!” He sighed. “Just call me Baekhyun, okay? That’s pretty safe, right?”

Kyungsoo just stared at him.

“Young Master here is hungry,” Yixing explained. “It’s lunchtime and he has a break from his studies. He’d like to eat here in the kitchen.”

Now Kyungsoo gaped at Yixing. “But only staff ever eats in the kitchen…”

“All the better,” Baekhyun said quickly, pulling a stool up to the bar. “I get along with the staff much better than I do with the family. They can all go to hell for all I care.”

Yixing smacked him upside the head. “Yah, you can’t talk about them like that. Don’t you know anything?”

Yifan gave Yixing an amused sort of look. “If you touch my charge again, I’ll have to break your arm.”

Yixing eyed Yifan’s muscles. “Duly noted.”

It didn’t take long for Kyungsoo to whip up something delicious, and soon he was placing plates in front of Yixing and Baekhyun – he tried to feed Yifan and Zitao as well but they politely declined since they were on duty.

“Well, at least someone is taking their job seriously,” Kyungsoo said, giving Yixing a pointed look.

“Yixing does his job really well,” Baekhyun was quick to come to his friend’s defense. “I’m the one who asked him to act more comfortably around me. Honestly, I’m from a farming village. I don’t fit in here at all.”

“I’m sure you’ll fit in well enough after some time,” Kyungsoo assured him with a friendly little smile.

“What can you tell me about the family?” Baekhyun asked next. “About my cousins and everyone? The only one I’ve really gotten to know is Junmyeon.”

“Well, the oldest is Minseok,” Kyungsoo explained. “He would be the next in line to head the family.”

“So he’ll probably hate me the most,” Baekhyun said glumly.

Kyungsoo’s smile was sympathetic. “He’s in law school, so he keeps pretty busy most of the time. I don’t think you have to worry about him too much.”

“What about the others?” Baekhyun pressed. “The brothers, Jongdae and Jongin?”

“Well, Jongdae…he has an excitable demeanor,” Kyungsoo explained delicately.

Yixing chuckled. “He’s being polite. He’s trying to say that Jongdae is an .”

“I would never day that,” Kyungsoo sniffed disdainfully. “But it wouldn’t be an inaccurate description.”

“He’s sort of a playboy,” Yixing explained. “He strings all these girls along even though he’s already betrothed to a really nice girl. He’s not very popular among the staff, to be honest.”

“And Jongin?” Baekhyun prompted.

Kyungsoo suddenly grinned brightly. “Oh, Jongin is really great. He’s awesome, you know. He doesn’t treat the staff badly and he’s really funny and intelligent and have you seen his face? Oh my.”

“Kyungsoo has a little crush on Jongin,” Yixing teased.

The chef blushed crimson, nearly smacking Yixing with the wet sponge he was holding. “That’s not true! I just…I admire him. That’s all.”

“Sure it is,” Yixing laughed.

After lunch, Baekhyun was forced to resume his lessons with Mr. Shin. And the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that. His days began to bleed together with all his lessons, with constantly being watched by Zitao and Yifan.

One afternoon, he decided that he’d had quite enough of Mr. Shin’s patronizing and he slipped off without the knowledge of anyone.

He founds himself heading off to the stables. He told himself that it was because nobody would think to look for him there, but really it was because he hadn’t seen Chanyeol in a while and he wanted to catch up.

The weather was a lot warmer by now, so it didn’t really surprise Baekhyun to find Chanyeol out in the pasture, sleeves rolled up to reveal surprisingly developed biceps, a baseball cap shading his face.

“Baekhyun! Long time no see, bro!” Chanyeol greeted him warmly, waving him over. “What brings you out my way?”

“I’m skipping class,” Baekhyun admitted with a wry grin, climbing up onto the fence so he could reach in and pat the nose of a gentle mare nearby.

Chanyeol grinned. “Well, there’s no better place to skip class.”

I know, Baekhyun thought to himself.

Chanyeol patted one of the horses nearby. “You know how to ride one of these things?”

Baekhyun scoffed. “Didn’t I tell you I grew up in the country? Of course I’ve ridden a horse before.”

Chanyeol’s grin widened. “Well, let’s get Mercedes here all tacked up for you then.”

It didn’t take long to tack up two horses, the gentle mare Baekhyun had been admiring and a more energetic white stallion. Baekhyun knew enough about horses to tack his own horse without help. He thought Chanyeol looked a little surprised – and pleased – by that, but it could have been wishful thinking.

Despite his nice clothes, Baekhyun hauled himself up into the saddle with ease. “So, where are we off to?”

“I figured we could take a ride around the estate. There’s a wooded park to the back of the house that has some nice trails in it,” Chanyeol explained.

So they headed off. Their ride was a bit too fast for proper conversation, but Baekhyun didn’t mind. It turned out to be exactly what he needed: some fresh air, some time away from the stuffy confines of the Kim manor, some alone time with Chanyeol. Everything about the afternoon was perfect.

“What do you say we swing by the greenhouses and get some carrots for our lovely steeds?” Chanyeol suggested, pulling his horse up beside Baekhyun.

Baekhyun grinned, his face red from the wind and the sun. “That sounds great.”

So they turned their horses in the direction of the greenhouses lined up beside the forest. There were three of them in all, situated closely together. Chanyeol pulled up in front of the middle one, and Baekhyun stopped beside him. They were just dismounting when a thin, pale young man came out of the middle greenhouse. He had light-colored hair and a friendly smile, wearing muddy overalls and a pair of thick gloves.

“You’re here to steal more carrots for the horses, yes?” he asked in a slightly-accented voice. He sighed dramatically. “I swear, my produce always suffers because of you.”

“Whatever,” Chanyeol laughed. “I only come down here because you love to feed them so much.”

“I do love to feed them,” the gardener agreed with a sigh. Then he smiled at Baekhyun. “Who’s your friend?”

“Ah, sorry,” Chanyeol said. “This is Baekhyun. Baekhyun, this is Luhan. He’s one of the gardeners here.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Baekhyun said politely, but the boy, Luhan, didn’t seem to be listening anymore.

“Wait wait wait. Baekhyun?” he repeated. “As in Kim Baekhyun?”

“It’s Byun, actually,” Baekhyun corrected wearily. “But yes, as in the heir to the Kim legacy.”

Luhan looked at a loss for words for a moment. “Well what are you doing out here? On a horse? At the greenhouses? It’s dirty.”

Baekhyun had to laugh at that. “I grew up in the country,” he explained for what seemed like the billionth time. “I’m used to dirt. In fact, I would rather be outside than inside any day of the week.”

Luhan had to laugh at that. “Well welcome to the greenhouses. I guess technically they’re your greenhouses.”

Baekhyun pulled a face. “They’re not mine yet,” he corrected. “I have to officially become the heir or whatever, and that only happens after I finish my lessons.”

“Which you’re skipping right now,” Chanyeol pointed out with a grin.

Baekhyun smiled back a bit bashfully. “Yes, that I’m skipping. I guess I ought to get back now.” He said goodbye to Chanyeol and Luhan and made his way up to the house, where an irate Mr. Shin was undoubtedly waiting to continue their lesson.

It was funny, though. Now that he knew there were nice people around like Yixing and Junmyeon and Luhan and Kyungsoo – not to mention Chanyeol – it was starting to look like life in the Kim manor might not be all that bad. 

Wah so much happened in this chapter!

So most of the characters have been introduced now. Baekhyun, Chen, Suho, Xiumin, and Kai are all part of the family. Lay, Chanyeol, DO, Kris, Tao, and Luhan all work there. So there's only one person left to introduce >.<

Also, if you haven't picked up on the impending Baekyeol yet, we can't be friends haha (jk I love you guys!)