The next morning rose and the routine started; Changsun was back at work, Matilda was back at school and Hyemi was back at the library, working her shift.

For the little girl, the day couldn’t get any longer.

Absent minded through every class, she couldn’t stop thinking about the fairy tale book she had received the day before, letting her imagination get the better of her as she let it grow into making them appear in front of her, replacing the rest of the class with these fables.

She was lucky enough to be a favorite of her teacher to be able to have this type of free pass without being scolded for being in a daze.

It helped her get through the day and now that school hours were over, she decided to go back to the library and do like she did yesterday, which was waiting for her father to pick her up.

Once she was inside the building, she went to the counter to see if she could spot Hyemi. Noticing that she wasn’t near, she reached out for the desk bell and pressed on it a couple of times before seeing the older lady walking it with a smile on her face.

“Don’t tell me you already finished all the books?”

“No, not yet. I-I just wanted to know if it was okay if I stay here? Until my dad comes and picks me up?”

“Well of course! You don’t need to ask that~ You can go and sit wherever you want.”

“Thanks.”

Hyemi watched the little girl find her way around the place until she was completely out of sight. Once Matilda was gone, she went back to what she was doing until she finished her task before going back to the counter and sitting down. From her purse, she picked out a small notebook, to the bookmarked page, picked up her pen and went back to her writing, wanting to finish up the short story she was working on.

The rest of the evening went by with the people coming in and out of the library until it was time to close up the place.

Doing a last check up around, she was about to finish up her rounds when she spotted Matilda sitting at a table, reading the big fairy tale book.

Curious and confused, she walked towards the little girl, catching her attention as she softly placed her hand on her shoulder.

“Sweetie, I’m about to close the place. Is your father coming soon?”

“He’s late actually…”

“O-oh, okay. Hmm, do you want to call him?”

“Can I?”

“Of course!”

Hyemi took out her phone from her back pocket and handed it to Matilda, letting the young girl type in her father’s phone number before pressing the dial button, placing the device by her ear to wait for him to pick up. A few seconds and no answer, she turned it off and gave it back to Hyemi. “He isn’t answering…”

“Do you have anybody else to call? How about your mother?”

She was about to answer when her name was called. Both ladies turned around and spotted the chauffeur coming in as he took off his hat, holding it with both his hands placed in front of him. “Miss Lee, I apologize for my tardiness but your father is stuck at work.”

“O-oh…”

“He told me to bring you to his office so you two can leave together once he’s done.”

“Okay.”

She hopped off the chair and placed the book back in her school bag. She was about to walk towards the man when she stopped and turned around to look back at Hyemi. “Can you come with me, please? I don’t want to be alone…”

Her eyes slightly wider, she glanced up at the man before looking down at the girl. She noticed the glint of sadness in her eyes and it broke her heart; she couldn’t refuse the surprising offer and ended up softly nodding her head in agreement. “Sure, just let me finish up, okay?”

“Mhmm.” An affirmative nod from Matilda, she looked back at Hyemi with a bright smile on her face, content to have company.

With everything closed up, they were making their way to the car when Hyemi stopped in her steps, taken aback by the deluxe black shiny vehicle that was parked right in front of the entrance. She gasped out her surprise with an inaudible ‘wow’ before slowly stepping forward towards it.

By the door, she slightly jumped when the driver pulled it open, surprising her. She stuttered a ‘thank you’ and climbed inside, following Matilda, the door closing softly behind her.

“I never caught your name!”

The startled tone in the girl’s voice made Hyemi turn right back to look at her. “Oh, it’s Hyemi.”

“I’m Matilda.”

“That’s a nice name~”

“Hmm, my mom gave me that name. I don’t know why though… She said it had something to do with her and dad and some old movie…”

“Well, there is an American movie that has the same title as your name. Actually, the main character is a lot like you, now that I think about it.”

“Really? How?”

“Hmm, she’s your age, loves to read books – especially the grown up stories – and she’s pretty smart for her age too. I’m sure you’re at the top of your class, right?”

“Mhmm. Can you show me the movie one day?” A light chuckle out of the librarian, she nodded her head as she softly Matilda’s hair, leaving the girl to show her eye smile at her. “Sure.”

She took out of her school bag the fairy tale book and placed it on Hyemi’s lap, turning her head to her with an anticipating look on her face. “Did you finish reading it?”

“No, not yet. I actually wanted to ask you a question about the stories in there.”

“Go ahead.”

“Are they true? The stories… Did all of this really happen at some point? Like… in another world or something?”

“I would like to believe so myself… I mean, the author’s imagination must have come from somewhere right?” Matilda hastily nodded her head, a small smile across her lips.

The ride to the office was over with the chauffeur parking the car and getting out and assisting Matilda and Hyemi. Standing up, she stared at the tall building, eyeing it from bottom to top, losing herself in its height before feeling something pulling her by her arm; looking back down, Matilda held her by the hand, leading her towards the entrance of the offices, leaving the driver to go back in his car and leave.

The hastened steps of the little girl made the woman giggle at her excitement. Passing security and then reaching for the elevator, Matilda was still holding onto Hyemi’s hand while she held the book in the embrace of her arm against her chest. The ride up was made in comfortable silence until the little ring of the elevator was heard, followed by the door sliding open; as they walked out, Matilda quickly stopped and lifted her head up to Hyemi.

“Is everything okay?”

“Mhmm, I just want to apologize in advance.”

“For what?”

“My father. He’s a little bit of a hmm… workaholic…”

“You don’t need to apologize, it’s okay.”

“I just didn’t want you to have a bad first impression…” She smiled at the thoughtful words towards her father and reassured her that the apology wasn’t needed but thanked her for the ‘warning’.

The girl led the way to her father’s office, greeting the secretary along the way, until she stood in front of a closed door and knocked on it, waiting for an answer.

“Come in!”

Opening the door, Matilda quickly let go of Hyemi’s hand as she ran towards her father who had gotten up from his seat to welcome his daughter in his arms, hugging her tightly. He let out a chuckle at the thump, the moment she hit his chest, enclosing his arms around her small figure before lifting her up to make her sit on his lap. “How was your day at school sweetheart?”

“Bo-ring! But I made a new friend!”

“Really?”

“Mhmm! She’s here! Hyemi!”

Expecting to see someone around his daughter’s age, Changsun slightly choked on his own saliva at the sight of the young woman, a shy smile spread across her face as she bowed her head while greeting him. Speechless and awestruck, he was staring at her with his eyes wide open, his heart skipping a beat along with his mouth barely hanging open.

“S-sir? Is everything okay?”

“Daddy?”

The voice of the two ladies brought him back to reality, shaking his head in the process. He let Matilda go, setting her back on the floor and got up, fixing his suit and stretched out his hand for a proper greeting. “I-It’s ni-ce meeting y-you.” The moment she held his hand for a shake, once again his heart skipped a beat as he felt a spark that traveled from his fingertips across his skin, going up and down his body. Shaking his hand, she greeted him back once more before backing away, letting go of his hand as she, somehow, felt slight reluctance about it.

She had her eyes on him, letting his physical features take a bolt right in her heart as she suddenly felt it speed up out of the blue. She discretely wiped the slight sweaty palms on her pants while trying to break away from the intent stare he had on her, almost forgetting where they were.

He stood still for a couple of seconds, getting back at himself before turning to look at his daughter, who had her head lifted up, looking at her father with a curious gaze before glancing at Hyemi and then back again to him, her eyes blinking with intrigue.

“Sweetie, I have to stay for another hour-”

“It’s okay, I’ll stay with Hyemi downstairs in the cafeteria.”

“Is it okay if you look after her for a little bit?” Changsun looked at Hyemi with a worried look on his face, his hands on each of his daughter’s shoulders, both pair of them looking at young woman. “Of course! I don’t mind at all.” Matilda quickly smiled as she ran towards her new ‘friend’ making her father smile at her excitement along with Hyemi who had stretched out her hand for the little girl to hold. “I’ll come and pick you up when I’m done, okay?”

“Yes daddy! See you later!” From their joined hands, Matilda eagerly pulled Hyemi out from the office, making Changsun let out a light laughter while shaking his head before he sat back down on his chair and getting back to work. As he heard the click of the closing door, he lifted his head back up to stare at the entrance, pondering over meeting his daughter’s new friend.

The reaction he felt took him by surprise and simply concluded that the fast pace of his heart was due to the stress from his work and so, never thought that it might have actually been because of something else.

He’ll figure it out soon though… Actually, someone else will draw that picture for him.