(Kris' POV)

He was out of the room, quick as a wink. In moments, the only signs of his exit were the rattling bedroom doors and the girl stumbling in, practically tripping over herself. He must've pushed her.

Once she had caught herself, she slowly stood back up, eying me cautiously. She was like a scared animal, hiding behind her hair and staring at me with her round, innocent, but frightened eyes.

A few moments passed, but the silence made them feel like millennia. I wasn't sure how to approach her, considering how tense she was.

Surprisingly, she spoke first.

"What are you going to do with me?" She asked, her voice steady, but I detected some wariness lingering in her tone.

"I haven't really thought that through, to be honest," I sighed, giving her a small smile. She narrowed her eyes, but her lips curved slightly.

"Well, thank you for speaking anyway, despite your lack of a plan," she responded, body loosening slightly.

"Someone's got to stick it to the old man around here," I muttered, almost under my breath. She eyed me, thinking carefully before she spoke again.

"He's not your father, is he?" She asked, a knowing look in her eyes.

"That easy to tell?" I chuckled. "I'm flattered."

"I could just tell," she shrugged. "Besides, I would never talk to-" she paused, her face growing somber. "-my father...like that..."

I remembered her outburst, and Mr. Kim's aggressive response when it came to her father. She had been taken away from her family...

...for me.

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling the guilt tug at my stomach, making me feel uneasy. She looked very close to tears.

"It's okay," she struggled to say, sniffling a little. Her voice was strained as she tried to keep a small smile on her face. "You're not like him."

I didn't know how to respond, seeing her struggle to calm down, to keep the tears in check.

"You can cry, you know," I finally said. "I don't mind."

With that, she broke. The tears spilled over and she sobbed, falling to her knees. Her hands held her head and she continued to just pour out every feeling she may have had to bottle up until this point.

I wasn't sure what to do here either, in fact, having her cry made me even more socially inept. A hug seemed like the usual route to go, but I just met her, and under the circumstances I felt like it would be a mistake. Still, it was painfully awkward just standing aside like an idiot watching her cry.

I finally settled for handing her a tissue I had retrieved from the box near my bed. She had calmed down some, only sniffling a lot now. Her eyes were puffy, and her nose was red.

"Thank you," she whispered, unable to speak any louder.

I only nodded, giving her a sympathetic glance. She blew her nose some, getting the last tears out of her breakdown, and took a deep breath.

"I'm Ahn Soojin by the way," she said, turning to look at me, still standing awkwardly to the side.

"I'm..." I paused, contemplating which name I should give her. I had only just met her, but...

"Kris, Kris Wu," I decided, playing it safe.

"Kris," she repeated, nodding her head a bit. "Doesn't sound Korean. Are you from here?" She asked.

"No, I was born in China, but I moved to Canada when I was really young. We were back visiting when Mother met Mr. Kim in China, and he influenced us moving to Korea," I explained.

"I see..." She said slowly. "Your Korean is good," she added, with a small smile.

"Mother made me practice very hard," I recalled, giving a bittersweet chuckle.

And speak of the devil:

"Yifan!"

I straightened up as I heard her voice boom down the hallway, hearing her shoes click on the floor.

Soojin rushed to stand up too, wiping away any stray tears and making sure her nose wasn't running anymore.

"Yifan!" Mother called as soon as she burst in, her face as tight as usual. Her gaze locked onto Soojin immediately, causing the girl to fiddle with her hair nervously.

"My god he wasn't joking," she said under her breath.

Regaining her usual frightening composure, she beckoned Soojin to come forward. Soojin gave me a nervous glance before stepping cautiously towards Mother.

"Soojin?" She asked, raising her eyebrow. Soojin nodded in response.

SMACK

"That's for talking back to Kim Apa," she said, narrowing her eyes. She grabbed Soojin by the hair and pulled, and she fell back, catching herself on her knees.

"And this," she almost laughed, giving a menacing smile, producing scissors from her pocket. "Is for mistakes," she finished, looking at me intently before cutting through her lovely, long black hair.

It fell to the floor, inches, flooding the marble with a dark pool, like a black abyss.

By the time Mother was finished with her "handiwork", Soojin's once long locks were cut like a boy's, much too short for the typical girl, but a little too long on the boy's side. It was something similar to a pixie cut, just not as refined because Mother obviously wasn't cutting to style.

"You like it, Yifan?" Mother's smug voice rang, snapping me back to the sight before me and forcing me to look Soojin in the eye. I did this to her, it was my fault. All of it...

Before I could respond, Mother let go of her arm, letting her fall to the floor.

"Clean this up," she ordered. "Yifan, show her where to find the broom. After she cleans this up, direct her to the lower floors. She isn't going to be a burden on this household."

(Soojin's POV)

After that witch had left, Kris led me through the halls without a word.

I saw his pain stricken face, as my hair fell to the floor. He still couldn't look at me directly, as he loosely pulled me along.

"Here's the broom," he said in a low voice, arm extended out to me holding the tool. His face still gazed into the closet.

I took it, holding it in my hands, watching him closely to see if I could catch a glimpse of his gaze as he turned around.

I didn't though, he kept his eyes glued to the floor. Taking my free hand, he started back on the trail back to his room.

"You don't have to blame yourself," I told him, and I felt his hand grip tighter onto mine, and I saw his shoulders tense. He still didn't look back though.

He didn't reply, so I continued on. "I didn't think my life was going to get happier just because I got taken to a fancy house. I knew you only saved me for a little while. This was expected, so don't feel bad. Besides, I'm not unfamiliar with hard work. It's okay, I-"

He cut me off, aggressively turning to face me and pull me closer so I could have no other choice but to face him.

"You are here, away from your father because I tested him. Your hair was cut, your cheek is still red, because I tested him. It doesn't matter what happens from here, you are here because of me, and for that," he paused, his face softening noticeably. "I'm really, really sorry," he finished, just above a whisper. His grip on me loosened, then after a few more seconds, he took my hand again and began to lead me back again.

I cleaned the mess of hair up as quickly as possible, because I saw he couldn't bear to look at it. When I was done, he took my hand again and led me to an elevator.

"Soojin?" He said, looking straight ahead at the doors.

"Hm?" I responded, turning towards him.

The door clicked, and opened, but he made no effort to move.

"Call me Yifan," he said, finally facing me, before prodding me into the dark.

*Notes*
So hey guys:)
Sorry this update was later than I wanted. I was traveling all last weekend and marched in a parade, and ugh I got home so tired and mehhhh

But I wanted to get this up ASAP, so here it is!:D

I hope you guys are enjoying this so far, and if you are tell me what you think! I respond to comments, questions, anything. Just ask~

Anyway, I hope to see you sooner than last time!

See ya next update;)