[Day 3]

A silhouette walked through the dimly lit hallway. It is midnight, and all of the Manor’s occupants had retreated to their respective quarters. The figure continued walking forward before stopping in front of a door. The male hesitated for a moment before proceeding to knock softly at the door.

“Are you asleep?” He asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice. “No.” A soft and feminine voice answered from beneath the door. Seohyun appeared as the door opened, wiped her eyes and stepped out into the hallway before closing the door behind her. She spotted the familiar male and smiled at him.

Kyuhyun, she thought.

“Why do you think so?” Seohyun asked. Kyuhyun scanned her nightgown from the top to the bottom, then looked up and stared at her. “No reason.” He replied nonchalantly. “I was in bed most of the day.” She said, “wide awake.”

“What were you thinking?” He asked, trying to initiate a conversation. He hadn’t seen her the whole day since he had been dealing with some matters and came home late tonight. “Something not-so-important. What about you.. Sir? Aren't you exhausted?” Seohyun asked softly. Kyuhyun shook his head. “Can't sleep.” He said simply.

She folded her arms, it was cold at the hallway; goose bumps were running up her arms. “What are you doing here, by the way?”

“Here, as in front of your bedroom or here as in the cold dark hallway?” He raised his eyebrows. Seohyun sighed and reached for the doorknob, but Kyuhyun was faster. He slid in between her and the door before turning to look at her.

“I’m here because I didn't have the chance to talk to you.” He answered with a sigh.

Seohyun rolled her eyes at him and deliberately changed the topic of the conversation, “I’m so hungry.”

Kyuhyun smiled a little and brought his hands out from behind his back, and inside of his hands were two delicious looking apples. He threw one at Seohyun, in which she caught swiftly.

Kyuhyun grinned, “How about a picnic? And from what I’ve heard, it seems that you love to read?”

Seohyun was awestruck, “A picnic at the Library in the middle of the night, eh?”

Kyuhyun just smiled widely.

…

The library was circular, with the ceiling that was tapered to a point, as if it’s built inside a tower. The walls were stacked with books; the shelves were so high that ladders were set on every 10 meters. And they weren’t ordinary – the books were covered with leather and velvet covers, and had rusty locks and hinges that were made out of silver. The spine of the books were illuminated with gold script. They looked worn out but that made it clear that those books weren’t just old and also well used; they are loved.

Seohyun’s eyes were literally glued at the sight before her. She forgot why Kyuhyun had taken her there, for all she could think about were books.

Books, books, books, and books.

She stepped forward and slowly grazed her finger over the spines of the books below, and secretly smiled to herself. She took a random book out of t