Jung Yong Hwa

Hyun asked me to marry her— – Because she was desperate— – And she KISSED me! SHE kissed ME! – But she couldn’t answer if she’s in love with you! – Do you really have to ruin this for me?! – Yep! Wahahahahaha!

 

I was too excited and too hopped up to fall asleep because of the things that have happened all throughout the day. They kept running through my mind, but I knew I was going to sleep like Cherisse, smiling, when I eventually do fall asleep.

 

I got Hyun’s siblings permission to date her, told her brothers-in-law and they didn’t beat me up, survived being smacked by an enormous fish, then survived a 3-storey fall to the sea below, made Sa Jangnim cry with happiness, going to act like I’m married to Hyun, asked by Hyun to marry her—I don’t care if she was desperate!—and SHE KISSED ME, ayiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee!

 

“Huh? Did I just say that out loud?!”, I whispered because I thought I heard a scream just as I was remembering Hyun’s kiss on my cheek. “Oh my God, Jung Yong Hwa! Get a grip man!”, I berated myself, thinking I did yell out loud.

 

“OPPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”, a terrible scream broke through my thoughts as goosebumps erupted from my skin and my heart rate went from normal to the speed of a bullet train in an instant.

 

“Hyun!”, I exclaimed as I immediately jumped off the bed and scrambled to the outside room, knocking things over with my haste to get to her as fast as I could.

 

I found her cowering on the bed with Cherisse screaming her head off from crying.

 

“HYUN, WHAT IS IT?! WHAT HAPPENED?! WHY DID YOU SCREAM?! IS IT CHERISSE?!”, I asked in rapid succession as I hurried over to them, looking them over for any signs of injury.

 

“The—There was someone else he—here!”, she sobbed as she cradled Cherisse to her chest.

 

“What?! Who—”

 

“Shhh, it’s okay.. It’s okay.. I’m so—sorry, Cherisse.. I didn’t mean to scare you.. I’m so sorry, baby! I’m SO sorry!”, she cried as she tried to pacify a bawling Cherisse.

 

“I didn’t—I didn’t see who—who it was, Op—Oppa..”, she continued. “He or she was ho—hovering over us when I—I opened my eyes and then—and then run out as soon as I—as I screamed..”, she added.

 

I stood up to go outside but Hyun caught my hand, pulling me back. “Don’t leave us, Oppa! I’m scared! Ple—Please—”

 

“Hyun, I—”

 

“911! 911! 911!”, Chang Sun Hyung chanted as he came barreling into our room followed by the rest of the men.

 

“Who screamed?! Why—”

 

“What happened here—”

 

“Yah, why are you crying, Joo Hyun-ie—”

 

“Did you—Did you do something to her, Yong Hwa-yah—”

 

“No, of course not, Hyung! I didn’t—”

 

“Th—There was someone el—else here, Oppa—”

 

“Who?!”, they all shouted together in surprise.

 

“That’s just it, we don’t know! I didn’t see anyone when I came here—”

 

“Are you sure it wasn’t just a dream, Seohyun-ie—”

 

“No, Jung Shin-ah! I really saw someone here—”

 

“Maybe you’re just tired, Joo Hyun-ie—”

 

“But I SAW him or her hovering over us—”

 

“And I believe her! She’s really scared—”

 

“Arasseo, arasseo—”

 

“Didn’t you run into someone outside—”

 

“You mean you haven’t checked yet—”

 

“I couldn’t leave them alone here, Hyung..”, I reasoned out as I looked at Hyun’s death grip on my hand.

 

“Arasseo.. We’ll check it then.. Stay here and lock the door after we leave.. We’ll come get you as soon as we can.. In Guk-ah, Jung Shin-ah, round the girls and the kids up and tell them to go to our room.. Tell Taec Yeon-ah to stay with them and lock it after you leave.. And to not open it until we call him on the phone.. You too, Yong Hwa-yah—”

 

“I’ll check the mansion’s CCTVs.. Maybe it caught whoever it was..”, Moonie Ahjussi piped in.

 

“Then meet us at the foyer when you’re done, Ahjussi—”

 

“Got it.. Yong Hwa-ssi, will you be okay here? Maybe you should all go to Nich Khun-ssi’s room?”, Moonie Ahjussi turned to me.

 

“I—I don’t think Hyun is able to walk yet.. She’s still in shock.. We’ll just stay here, Ahjussi..”, I told him as I looked at Hyun who was staring at the door as if waiting for someone to come in.

 

“Okay, just lock the door and call me if anything happens.. I’ll be here in an instant..”, he promised me and I nodded gratefully.

 

Before everybody else left, Moonie Ahjussi checked the bathroom, walk-in closet, the veranda, and the studio to make sure that no one was inside but us. As they all started walking out, I made to follow but the problem was, Hyun wouldn’t let go of my hand. She was still shaking although she and Cherisse have stopped crying.

 

“It’s okay, Hyun.. I’m just going to lock the door..”, I assured her.

 

“But I—I—I—”

 

“It’s okay, Hyung, I’ll lock it from the inside and make sure it’s locked before we go..”, Jung Shin cut in, looking at Hyun worriedly.

 

“Thank you, Jung Shin-ah..”, I said as I went back to sitting next to Hyun while I listened for the door locking in place and Jung Shin jiggling the door handle from outside, making sure it stayed locked.

 

“We’re locked in.. You’re alright, Hyun.. You’re alright..”, I reassured her as I tapped her hand in mine that was still shaking. I started humming Love Light so Cherisse would go back to sleep. She was nestled on top of Hyun’s lap, leaning towards her, looking at me, her usual position.

 

After a while, she fell back to sleep, but Hyun was still wide awake. She was inclined against the headboard while cradling Cherisse with her torso, jumping at every little noise she thought she heard.

 

“Hyun? Maybe we should lay Cherisse down now—”

 

“No! No! Someone wants to take her away!”, she suddenly exclaimed.

 

“Calm down, Hyun.. No one’s taking her away from us—”

 

“But that person was leaning towards Cherisse! It wanted to take her—”

 

“I won’t let it.. I won’t let anyone take her away from us, I promise, Hyun.. So please calm down..”, I soothed her and she nodded.

 

Around 2am, exhaustion must have taken over her and she finally fell asleep. That was the only time she let go of my hand, but I refused to leave them. I sat on the floor and placed my forehead on the bed next to Hyun, intending to just stay for a while. I must have fell asleep because when I opened my eyes, the bedroom door that Jung Shin had locked before they left was now ajar.

 

 

Frock!

 

 

 

Seo In Guk

I’ve never seen her like this.. Usually she’s the one making people feel like this.. Oh, Joo Hyun-ie, what or WHO did you see..

 

It was fortunate that my cousins-in-law were doing rounds to make sure everyone was in their rooms before they turned in themselves while Jung Shin and I just finished working on some paper works when we heard someone scream. It turned out to be Joo Hyun after we all rushed into their room.

 

We watched as Jung Shin locked the door and jiggled it, making sure it was really locked. Jung Shin and I rounded everyone up and recruited Jong Hyun along the way. We quietly made our way downstairs and waited for Moonie Ahjussi at the foyer. As Nich Khun Hyungnim checked the locks of nearby doors and windows, I started rummaging in the closet near the front door for weapons we could use in case someone we didn’t know was, in fact, inside the mansion with us.

 

Just thinking about it is giving me goosebumps! Brrrr!

 

“Here, take this!”, I told Min Hyuk as I handed him a broom.

“What am I going to do with this, Sig Hyung? Are we going to clean the mansion tonight?!”, he asked, looking at me incredulously.

 

“Don’t be stupid, Min Hyuk-ah! Use it as a weapon—”

 

“Oh! Right—”

 

“Here’s yours, Jong Hyun-ah, and this is yours, Jung Shin-ah—”

 

“An umbrella?! But this is flimsy, Hyung! And it’s not even the long one! This is the one that springs up and unfolds—”

“At least, yours gets longer, Hyung! Mine’s a hanger—”

“A wooden hanger! That’s all that’s in here! Unless you want to strangle the intruder with a jacket! Or do you want to throw him or her a boot instead?!”, I asked Jung Shin, showing him the single boot I found in the closet.

 

“I guess this would do—YAH! Why do you get a baseball bat, Hyung, and we get random stuff?!”, he complained when I emerged holding my choice of weapon.

“There’s only one and I get first dibs since I saw it first! Just make-do with what you have! The Hyungnims’ don’t even have weapons—”

 

“Ha! That’s what you think, In Guk-ah!”, Chang Sun Hyung cut me off as he and Seung Gi Hyung joined us holding iron pokers they got from the fireplace.

“Now THAT is a weapon!”, Min Hyuk exclaimed as he handed me back the broom and disappeared in another room, followed by Jong Hyun and Jung Shin.

 

“Yah! Yah! Get me one, too!”, I hissed as I noticed Moonie Ahjussi approaching us. I gave him the bat and we waited for the three to get back.

 

“The CCTVs were all off.. Someone must have turned them off..”, he informed us calmly, but you can tell he was worried by the way he was frowning.

 

And he never frowns! He’s always so calm and cheerful since the day I met him! This is serious!

 

“Who do you think it is, lads? Any idea at all?”, Moonie Ahjussi asked quietly.

 

“I don’t know, Ahjussi.. But earlier, when we were outside after we had dinner, I felt like someone was watching us..”, I informed them.

 

“It’s not that crazy lady in the beach party, is it? I hope not! I’d rather meet a deranged, escaped lunatic or even a vengeful ghost than her—”

 

“Yah! Don’t say that! You’re scaring me either way—”

 

“Oh, by the way, I heard one of the yoo-mohs say earlier that she thought someone was standing just outside the door.. I dismissed it saying that it must have been one of you guys—”

 

“So it is a guy?”, Seung Gi Hyung cut-in.

 

“We don’t know for certain yet—”

 

“But it must be because Joo Hyun-ie said whoever it was, was hovering over them.. Did you notice the bed? It’s quite high so it must be a tall guy.. Unless there’s a giant girl running around the mansion..”, I explained my theory.

 

“What if what the yoo-moh saw was just one of the waiters who forgot something?”, Jong Hyun asked when he came back, gripping his own iron poker.

 

“How could he forget something up there when the kitchen and the dining room we used were downstairs..?”, Min Hyuk reasoned out as he handed me what look like a small shovel with a long handle.

 

“Oh, right—”

 

“Yah! What is this?! Why do you all get a pointy iron poker while I get a, a—what is this—a dog poop shovel?”, I complained.

“It’s an ash shovel, Hyung! And that’s all that’s left unless you want to trade with Jung Shin-ie..”, Min Hyuk suggested just as Jung Shin came into the room fluffing pillows on the sofa with his iron tongs.

“Fine! Never mind!”, I conceded as the others tried not to laugh out loud at Jung Shin who was now arranging the flowers on a vase using his iron tongs again.

 

“Are we all here?”, Nich Khun Hyungnim interjected when he finally came back from another room. He was informed about the CCTVs by his brothers-in-law even before he came back.

 

“Taec Yeon-ah is with the girls.. I think they barricaded the door because I heard furniture moving—”

 

“Good! Where’s Manager Hyung?”, he asked, frowning when he realized he was the only guy missing aside from Taec Yeon and Yong Hwa.

 

“I tried to wake him up, Hyungnim, but he screamed at me! Saying something about his beauty sleep—”

 

“Aishhh! That Hyung! Cham—”

 

“Anyway, I checked inside his room before I left then locked it.. Although I don’t think whoever’s in here would be safe with Manager Hyung—maybe I shouldn’t have locked the door..”, Jung Shin said, regretting his decision.

 

“Yah! Don’t say that! What if the intruder’s dangerous—”

 

“Hyung! Don’t scare us—”

 

“I’m just telling you to not let your guard down! Remember this is a mansion.. Every little thing here is worth a lot of money.. But what’s more worth than that is a picture of the two people who are with us now—”

 

“Who?”, Jong Hyun asked, looking confused.

 

“Yong Hwa-yah and Shin Hye-ah, of course—”

 

“Oh, right—”

 

“A picture of them together living in one house with a baby on the way, no doubt, is worth millions to the right buyer! It’ll be the scandal of the year—”

 

“Hyung, maybe we shouldn’t say that out-loud—”

 

“Yes, sorry—”

 

“Maybe we should start or we’re never going to finish sweeping this whole mansion.. I checked the rooms around here, everything is locked.. Let’s finish the first floor, then go to the 2nd and 3rd floor, then the basement.. Then we’ll sweep the outside the last..”, Nich Khun Hyungnim instructed as we all nodded.

 

We meticulously checked every nook and cranny of every room we could open, then locked it from the inside after. We worked quietly under the instructions of Moonie Ahjussi, telling us where to go, where to stand, who would go first and who would stay put until we get back. We worked in a buddy system, never letting anyone stay by himself at any time until finally, the outside was the only thing left to check. Everyone seemed hesitant to go outside, even Moonie Ahjussi.

 

“If we go outside, we have to deactivate the mansion’s security lock.. What if while we’re going out, the intruder, comes in?”, Nich Khun Hyungnim asked us worriedly.

 

“Hmmm—”

 

“Can’t we just check outside when it’s already light? I don’t think we should be running around out there in the dark..”, Jung Shin interjected, looking out the window nervously.

 

“Okay.. When my wife asks if we checked outside, I want YOU tell her we didn’t—”

 

“I think we should go outside! Yes, I vote we do that.. Any objections?”, Jung Shin suddenly exclaimed, completely making a 180 degrees decision.

 

Coward! Cham! – You are too! – Am not! To tell you the truth, I can’t wait to face whoever’s outside! What does that make me now, huh?! – Rather than face your cousins, right? Still a coward.. – Yah!

 

“I think I made a mistake.. We should have checked outside first, then we can lock the mansion up after and whoever’s lurking here will be locked in with us—”

 

“Ummm I don’t think I want anyone we don’t know locked in with us, Hyung—”

 

“Aishhh! I’m all out of ideas!”, Nich Khun Hyungnim exclaimed frustratedly.

 

“Maybe we should have called the Police—”

 

“And let them notify Kim Sa Jangnim? A call from them would certainly cause him a ! And with our luck, I don’t think they’d call, they’d probably come in person so we might as well just shoot him—”

 

“Yah! Don’t say things like that! Someone might hear you—”

 

“Sorry, I’m just worried about him—”

 

“We all are, In Guk-ah—”

 

“Hyung, I’ve been thinking.. Do you think it might be one of the waiters earlier?”, Jong Hyun suddenly interjected after staying quiet for a long time.

 

“Why would a waiter do this though?”, Chang Sun Hyung asked.

 

“What if he’s not really a waiter, but a paparazzi who disguised himself as a waiter so he could come in here and stay here until everybody’s asleep..”, he suggested.

 

“That makes sense.. The bedroom he went into was, technically, Yong Hwa Hyungnim’s.. He must have thought he’d find Yong Hwa Hyungnim and Shin Hye Noona together in bed there that’s why Joo Hyun-ie saw him hovering over her and Cherisse..”, Min Hyuk stated.

 

“If it is paparazzi, then we have to find him now.. Because he’ll never stop until he gets what he wants.. And if you all go home tomorrow, it’ll be harder for us who’d be left behind to find him in this enormous house.. We have a better chance now that there’s so many of us..”, Moonie Ahjussi asserted.

 

“Then what do we do, Ahjussi? We can’t turn on the security from the outside, Sa Jangnim has the codes for that—”

 

“Then someone needs to stay in here to lock it—”

 

“I’ll do it!”, Jong Hyun proposed.

 

“No, we need you, Jong Hyun-ah, you’re the only one aside from Moonie Ahjussi who knows hand to hand combat..”, Seung Gi Hyung opposed.

 

“Then who will stay here?”, he asked.

 

“Okay, Nich Khun-ssi, since you’re the eldest and you know the codes better than anyone, you stay here and lock the mansion after us.. Min Hyuk-ssi, you stay here too since you still have a baby to see grow up—”

 

“Yah, Ahjussi, we have kids we want to see grow up, too, you know!”, Chang Sun Hyung and Seung Gi Hyung complained at the same time.

 

“Yah! Just because we have NO wife and kids, we get to die?!”, Jong Hyun, Jung Shin, and I protested simultaneously.

 

“No one’s going to die! Not if I can help it! Chang Sun-ssi, you’re the second oldest so you’re second in command.. Seung Gi-ssi, you’re a doctor so just in case we need medical help, we have it—”

 

“Ahjussi! You said no one’s going to die! Why do we need medical help now?!”, Jung Shin interjected, looking pale all of a sudden.

 

“I said ‘just in case’, Jung Shin-ssi! What if someone trips in there or something.. Jong Hyun-ssi is a judo master, and you, Jung Shin-ssi and Sig-ssi, are still so agile because of your work in the construction business, so if we need to run—”

 

“I just have to outrun all of you!”, Jung Shin interjected with a flourish.

 

“That is if you can avoid me kicking you in the knee..”, I said under my breath.

 

“Hyung! Why would you kick me in the knee?!”, he rounded on me, looking scandalized.

 

“So everyone else can run ahead of you..”, I answered matter-of-factly as everyone else chuckled nervously.

 

“Hyu-uuung!”, Jung Shin protested, pouting.

 

“Arasseo, arasseo! I’m just trying to lighten the mood, Jung Shin-ah! Everyone’s talking about death and medical help when we don’t even know if we’ll find anyone out there!”, I exclaimed frustratedly.

 

“Okay, okay.. Let’s focus now! I’m sure everyone’s on edge, waiting for us to come back so let’s get this over and done with!”, Nich Khun Hyungnim calmed us down as he tried to go through our plan.

 

“As soon as you get out, we’ll turn on the security system of the mansion.. We’ll monitor you from the inside as long as we can.. Don’t forget which door and direction you came out of, okay? We’ll be here, waiting for you.. Don’t go anywhere by yourself, remember the buddy system.. Look out for each other.. If you get lost, call us, hide, stay put, and we’ll come get you, got it? If the situation is dangerous then run back, don’t be a hero, just run back, do we understand each other?”, he asked seriously.

 

We nodded grimly as we realized the gravity of the situation we’re in.

 

“Did we forget anything, Ahjussi?”, I turned to Moonie Ahjussi for last minute reminders.

 

“Yes.. Let’s pray.. Let’s pray that whoever’s out there will be long gone by now because if we catch him, he’s dead. There’s 8 of us versus one of him.. He’s definitely dead.”, Moonie Ahjussi hissed menacingly as he gripped his baseball bat so hard, we could almost hear the wood cracking under the enormous pressure of his hold.

 

“I’m so glad you’re on our side, Ahjussi!”, I said gratefully, tapping him on the shoulder as everyone else nodded their agreement.

 

“We’ll count to three, then everyone rush out of the door as fast as you can so we can lock it quickly, agreed?”, Nich Khun Hyungnim whispered in the semi darkness as the only light we have was the moon’s.

 

“When we go out, 2 of you go left and 2 go right and wait for us.. Me and Jong Hyun-ssi will go center and then you follow us, okay?”, Moonie Ahjussi further instructed, we nodded once.

 

“3, 2, 1.. Go!”, we heard Min Hyuk say as Seung Gi Hyung and Chang Sun Hyung went out first, closely followed by me and Jung Shin and then Jong Hyun and Moonie Ahjussi.

 

We shivered at the cold night wind as we closed our jackets and gripped our weapons at a ready. We heard the unmistakable click of the doors locking behind us as Nich Khun Hyungnim proceeded to lock the mansion behind us. Moonie Ahjussi took the lead as we followed him quietly. Our first stop was the shed near the outside pool. Without making any noise, Jong Hyun opened the door, it was unlocked. I suddenly broke out in cold sweat as Moonie Ahjussi pointed to his eyes then the shed, telling us he saw someone inside. He counted down from 3 and as 1 approached, we all rushed in as swiftly as we can.

 

After what felt like an eternity, Jong Hyun suddenly yelled, “He’s here!” as we all rounded on someone who was standing up at the corner. Chaos broke out as we tripped and fell over things scattered around the shed, trying to get to the silhouette. Thankfully, we managed not to maim ourselves or poke our own eye out with our weapon from our haste to catch the culprit. Then, suddenly a loud bang echoed through the shed.

 

OH MY GOD! WAS THAT A—

 

“I’m hit! I’m hit!”, I heard Jong Hyun exclaim somewhere just ahead of me.

 

“He’s got a gun!”, someone shouted as we all dived for the floor and flattened ourselves down, praying for the darkness to conceal us as pictures of Jong Hyun bleeding to death assaulted my mind’s eye.

 

No, Jong Hyun-ah.. Oh, God.. No.. Seung Gi Hyung can patch you up.. Just hold on!

 

We heard a shuffling sound, grunts, and groans. After what felt like forever, to our horror, the lights came on. We couldn’t decide if we should hide, run away, attack, or just stay on the floor, quiet and unmoving while Jong Hyun was dying.

 

“It’s okay.. It’s okay..”, we heard a soothing voice then I saw Seung Gi Hyung crawling towards where I think Jong Hyun was.

 

Was that Moonie Ahjussi..?

 

“It’s okay, lads.. You can get up now.. I got—”

 

“Jong Hyun-ah! Jong Hyun-ah!”, Chang Sun Hyung called-out as soon as he heard Moonie Ahjussi’s go signal.

 

“I’m hit, Hyung—”

 

“I’m coming, I’m coming! You’ll be alright—”

 

“Someone call 911—”

 

“Did you get him, Ahjussi—”

 

“Jong Hyun-ah got it actually..”, he answered as he waved something in the air.

 

“He did?! Wait—IT?”, I asked in disbelief.

 

“Yes, he got Manager Jo’s inflatable flotation device.. The one that he insisted we buy from that fast-food restaurant at the mall.. Jong Hyun-ssi stabbed it with his iron poker that’s why it exploded.. The plastic thing that you blow on, that was the one that hit him..”, Moonie Ahjussi explained with relief.

“But I’m bleeding, Ahjussi—”

 

“Yah! It’s just water, Jong Hyun-ah! Get up! Cham!”, Seung Gi Hyung exclaimed, hitting Jong Hyun on the stomach.

 

“Aishhh—”

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