┍━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┑

Your tired eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the new brightness in the room.
You pulled the white comforter up to your chest, burying just enough of your body to warm you up from the slight breeze flowing into the room.

Just one more minute.

Your eyes were heavy, as they gradually began to close.
You snuggled the blanket to your chest, and your mind drifted to last night when you remember about what happened between you and Hajoon.

Did he sleep in his office?
Or, did he go to bed?
If I'm still sleeping in the library, that means he didn't come look for me.
Why didn't he come look for me?
Is he really mad at me?
But, for what?
I didn't do anything, right?
Or, is it because of... that night?

You turned your body, facing the other side, away from the piercing sunlight.
That night flashed in your memory: his lips on your neck, his hands under your shirt, his arms around your waist.

No, it can't be.

You snuggled the blanket closer to your chest.
With a whiff of the scent on the comforter, you froze.

Cedarwood?

Your eyes shot opened.
Your body instantly sat up, as you scanned the room.
This was no library.
This was his room.

You covered your chest with the blanket, trying to recall what happened last night.

When did I get it here?
Did I wake up and walk here?
Did I sleepwalk?
Or...did he carry me?

You shook your head.

No, he wouldn't. He's angry with me.
Why would he bring me to his room?
Come on. Think, -------.

It took you a second to realize you were still on his bed.
Underneath his blanket.
You scrunched your nose, throwing the comforter off your body and tossing out of the bed.
Denying the fact that you were happy that you had fallen asleep on his bed, you were angry that you had slept a little too comfortable on his bed, even hugging the blanket with his scent on it.

You straightened your shirt, pushing your hair back, as you rounded the corner of the bed.
Who knew when he was going to come to his room?
Whenever that was, you didn't want to see him.
If he wanted to play that game, two can play it.
It wasn't much like you either. The former you would have given in and apologized.
Maybe it was because you two were exclusive, and that brought another side out of you.

Making your way out, you scanned the room once more.
You stopped when your eyes landed on the back of someone's head.

Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump.
Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump.

You quietly walked around the couch to see who was sleeping there.
It was no other than the man who had been ignoring you.

He had slept in a sitting position, his head rested on the back cushion of the white couch.
His arms crossed as it rested on his chest.
The even breathing. The relaxed brows.
One foot crossed over the other leg.

You did note that he had changed into something more comfortable.
It wasn't a look you took for granted.
A black tee shirt wrapped his chest, enough to show off his broad shoulders and a glimpse of his pecs.
Gray sweatpants wrapped his bottom.
He looked so relax and calm.
You fought the urge to sit on his laps and wrap your arms around his neck.
Something boyfriend and girlfriend did.

Then, you remember...you were mad at him because he was ignoring you.

You think I can't be mad, too?
Well, you thought wrong, Hajoon.

An intrusive though rose in the back of your head.

I'm so mad at you, Hajoon!
I'm so mad that you're ignoring me!
Why can't you just tell me why you're ignoring me?

You eyed the pillow next to him, taking a deep breath.

You know what? I'm going to take out my anger...on you!
So, you'll understand how much I'm hurting.

You roughly snatched the pillow next to him then took a small step.
The tips of your toes touching his, that was covered in a pair of black socks.
With another breath in, clutching each side of the pillow, hovering the pillow over his handsome yet deadly face, you moved the pillow closer.

Wait, am I going to kill him or am I just....?

Before you could press the pillow against his face, his fingers strongly wrapped them around your left wrist, stopping you for attempted murder.
Your eyes widened in surprised, not expecting that touch from him, a longing touch, but with so much pain and anger behind it.

Once you realized you messed up, and maybe you shouldn't have let your intrusive thoughts control you, you struggled to wiggle your wrist out of his grip.
You knew well, your strength was nowhere near his, yet you struggled and twisted your wrist to get him to release you.

He tilted his head to the side, locking his eyes on yours.
You hated that look so much.
His dark eyes.
His brows dipped in anger.
The smile that was only meant for you wasn't there.

"Killing me," he tugged you closer to him, "isn't as easy as you think."

If it weren't for your knees pressed against his, you would have fallen right on top of him.
Both your chests making contact, your lips inches apart, maybe even his arms around your waist.
You stopped yourself from thinking any further, focusing back on his eyes.

"Let go," you ordered.

This was no look you were used to giving out, especially to him.
You furrowed your brows in irritation, as your heart palpitated out of your chest.

"I give orders. I don't follow them."

You remained silent, not breaking the eye contact.

"Understood?" he asked, his gaze lasered right into yours, not breaking away either.

You harshly yanked your wrist from his hold, escaping him.
You dropped the pillow on the floor and walked out of his room, angrily.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

For the first time, you've felt raging anger inside of you.
You questioned if it was normal to feel what you were feeling.
Maybe you were overreacting?
What if he was stressed because of work?

Ms. Jeon had left for the weekend to visit some family members in Busan, leaving you at home alone with Hajoon.

You sat quietly in the living room, as Tangled played on the screen, hugging a pillow in your arms.
The movie played, but your head was somewhere else, thinking about all the things you could have done to piss him off.

"Make sure she doesn't leave your sight."

You knew that voice, breaking you out of your thoughts.
As tempting as it was to look over your shoulder, you stopped yourself.
He deserved the silent treatment as well.
You had an actual reason, while him, he had none, you assumed.

"Yes, Boss."

He walked over to where you sat, blocking your view from the TV.
You ignored him, visibly showing him how upset you were.
Before you could scoot over to the next cushion, he grabbed your upper arm, preventing you from moving.
The touch wasn't harsh like earlier.
Instead, it was gentle, and you didn't mind his hand on your skin.
The softness of his touch made you want to melt in his arms.

You couldn't let that distract you though.
You avoided his gaze, tilting your head to the side to get a glimpse of the movie still streaming on the TV.
Using his other hand, he placed his forefinger under your chin, turning your head to face him, then he leaned in.
Why was it that every time he did something like that you forgot how to breath?
You stayed quiet, trying to think of the meanest thing to say to him, but at the same time not wanting to hurt him, even though his cold shoulders were torturing you, slowly killing you.

"Do anything stupid," he leaned into your left ear, "And I'll show you what kind of lover I am."
You should have feared his words, instead you were curious to find out what kind of lover he was.

He pulled away.
No emotions.
If his words weren't enough, his eyes alone were enough to show you how serious he was.

Then, he walked out the house, leaving you there, your heartbeat racing so fast out of nervousness.
You looked over at Wonwoo, who witnessed everything.
Wonwoo didn't say anything, besides bowing his head before leaving.

What did I get myself into?
Who the hell are you, Hajoon?
You weren't like this seven months ago.

You left the room, leaving the movie to play for no one.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Standing on the balcony in your room, you looked out onto the property.
A man in black stood at every square inch of the property line.

He must be important that his grandfather hired this many people to look after him.

You thought for another second.

How normal is this though?
For one person?
Soohyuk normally has five or something with him only.

You scrunched your brows, when the math wasn't calculating.

You brushed the thought aside, pulling your phone out.
Scrolling down on the contact list, you stopped at Misuk's name.

I should be safe. He's not home.

You took a deep breath, before pressing the call button, bringing the phone up to your ear, as you waited patiently for her to pick up.

"---------ah."
A breath of relief.
She was still alive, and that meant Hajoon did take your bait.
"How are you?" you asked, avoiding her name, just in case there were guards at the bottom.
"I'm well. I'm hiding in Busan. How about you? Did he hurt you? Why didn't you call me sooner?" She asked in concern, bombarding you with questions.
"I'm okay. He didn't hurt me or anything."
"Where are you staying? Are you back at home? You should leave for your safety. He won't let you go if he knows that you helped me."

"You're not going anywhere."
His words from yesterday replayed in your mind.

"I...I'm staying with a friend. He won't find me," you answered.
"That's good," Misuk said in relief.
"I think you should stay there a little longer. I don't know when it's best for you to come back."
Guilt poured in your body. She was in this situation because of you.
"Don't worry. I'll come when everything settles down. You be careful, okay?" Misuk said.
"Thank you. You take care of yourself too. I will contact you later."
Misuk ended the call.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

You peeked your head out the back door.
Wonwoo stood there, arms on his side, eyes looking into the vast yard.
Another man stood next to him, an arm-length away.

"Wonwoo-shi."
Wonwoo looked over his shoulder when you called his name.
"Did you need something, Ms. --------?"
"I would like some fresh air. Can you take me out?" you asked nicely.
"If you would like to walk around the yard, you are free to do so," Wonwoo answered.
"I meant the outside. Not here."
"For your safety and per the Boss's order, I cannot do that."
Just like that, frustration filled you.
"Where did your boss go?" you asked.
"I cannot disclose that information."
"Does that mean he's in an important meeting?" you asked, raising a brow.
"Please wait for him inside," Wonwoo said in monotone.
"Can you pass a message to him then?" you asked, as you stepped out of the doorframe.
There was no way you were going to speak to him, so using his right-hand man to pass your message to him would be the way to go.

"Do you need medical assistance?"
"It's urgent!" you sighed in annoyance.
"Do you need medical assistance?" he repeated his question.
You furrowed your brows.
"No, I need you to pass a message to him."
Wonwoo sighed, the same sigh that Ms. Jeon gave you the other day.
"Please wait for him inside."
"Then, call him. I need to speak to him."
You crossed your arms, waiting for him to dial Hajoon's number.
"What can I help you with besides what you requested a second ago?"

Before you could give Wonwoo a response, his phone rang.
"Excuse me," he said, pulling his phone out.

"Hello, Boss."
Your eyes slightly widened with excitement.
You have no idea if Wonwoo even heard what his boss said, but you snatched the phone away from his ear, shocking him too.

"Hello, Mr. Hajoon-shi."
"Ms. Park ------," Wonwoo tried to stop you.

You ignored him and walked inside the house, turning the locks.

"Did I leave you speechless?" you asked, leaning your back on the kitchen island.
"Address me correctly."

Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump.
Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump.
Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump.

Aish, why am I getting nervous now?

You took a deep breath before answering him

"I can call you whatever I want, even if it's Mr. Hajoon-shi," you answered.
"First, Ms. Jeon, and now Wonwoo?"

You furrowed your brows out of irritation.
You had planned for the call to go smoothly and nicely, but with his tone, he was asking for your fiercer side.
"Where did you go?" you asked, annoyed in your tone.
"Be careful with your tone."

The Hajoon you knew was cold and didn't speak much.
Why was he speaking to you like he could control you?

"I will be going out for a few hours. It's suffocating, locked in your depressing home," you announced.
Hajoon didn't say anything.
"You should be glad that I told you instead of sneaking out."
You were hoping for an answer, but none from him again.
"I'm leaving for real."
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
You ended the call.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

"Your boss said I can go out, so you need to drop me off," you lied, popping your head out by the door again, as you handed Wonwoo his phone.
Wonwoo stood there a little confused. He knew it wasn't something his boss would say.
"Let me confirm with him."
"You don't need to."

Ding.

It was a text.
Wonwoo read the note.

"Please. Wait for him inside." Wonwoo begged again.
You hmphed before closing the door behind.

He's totally psycho for doing this to me.
What did I do wrong?

You plopped down on the couch, close to giving up.

So, I'm just going to sit here and wait for him?

You quickly sat up when you had one last option.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

You closed the bathroom door behind, and then you approached the window.

Oh God, am I really going to do this?

You contemplated, pacing back and forth in the small room.

I'll make it back before he comes. They won't even notice that I left.

You took one more glance at the door, before opening the window.
With a quick scan of the yard, one leg went over the window followed by the other.
Your legs dangling out the window, as you sat on the windowsill.
Maybe you underestimated how high it was to get down.
You took one final deep breath, and with a lift from your hands, you jumped down.

Oomph.

You sloppily landed on your feet, before you bottom touched the grass, wincing in pain, as you looked up to the opened window.
You quickly got up and dusted the dirt from your bottom.

Out of the two and a half weeks you were at his place, not once had you stepped foot out on his property. You spent quite some time with Ms. Jeon and in his library room.
Now that you were on foot, attempting an escape, you had only realized how big the land was.
Were you even going to make it out before his men noticed that you weren't inside?
Carefully planning each step, hiding behind bushes and tree trunks, you finally made it to the front gate, only to be greeted by at least twenty men, standing there, guarding the gate.

Aish.

You peeked behind one of the bushes, enough to hide you.

Are there other exits?

You thought, as you slowly hid back behind the bushes, knowing well that you weren't going to pass those bulky men in the front.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

"There are three emergency exits on this property."
You sat on the stool in the kitchen with Ms. Jeon as you two prepared dinner.
After what happened last night, you felt that you and Hajoon were moving to the next stage in a relationship, being intimate. Though, you weren't sure if you were ready.
What was weird was he didn't greet you in the morning like he usually does. And not that he always had breakfast with you, but he didn't join you for breakfast this morning.
You listened to Ms. Jeon, but lowkey tuning her out as you replayed last night's intimacy in your mind.
"There's one in the front to the side. There's another exit on the west side. And the last one is on the south side where it's pretty hidden, of course, for security measures. The north and west side requires a passcode to get them opened. The only exit that doesn't require a passcode is the south side. Would you like me to show them to you?" She asked, as she stop chopping the green vegetables.

"Um, it's okay. I don't think I'll ever need to use them. I'm only staying here temporarily."
"That's true. If you're ever curious, I can show them to you. You never know when you'll need to use them."
"Thank you, Ms. Jeon."

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

A wave of regret hit you in the face.
Maybe you should have taken Ms. Jeon's tour guide that day.
Back on your foot, you began making your way to the back exit that Ms. Jeon had mentioned, praying that it wasn't swarmed with guards like the front gate.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

"Boss, she's not the woman we're looking for."
Hajoon leaned back in his chair, sharply taking a breath, stopping himself from exploding.

She lied to me.

"How sure are you?"
His blood boiled when the words confirmed that you lied to him.
"She said she knows no one by the name of Park --------. She moved to Seoul just last week. We did a background check on her parents, and it's true."
"Let the girl go and get the license plate of that cab."
"Yes, we're working on it."

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

You scanned your small, cozy house.
It was so small compared to Hajoon's mansion, but perfect to you.
This was the breather you needed
The house was left the way you had left it.
That also meant Eunwoo haven't stepped foot in your house. Or Haein.
You missed home, then you wondered how you got into the mess you were in.

Opening your jewelry box, you pulled out the bracelet that you assumed Hajoon had dropped that night. The one that Misuk told you to throw away.
You tucked it in your pocket before closing your jewelry box.
You glanced at the small clock on your desk.

I should get back home before he does.
No, should I even head back?
I'm just mad at him though, maybe I should.
I do...miss him.

You admitted.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

You made your way out on the street of your neighborhood, taking a big whiff of the air.
It really was home. It smelled free.

"---------?"
You stopped and turned around to look at who it was.

"Ahjumma," you smiled.
For a second, you thought you had lost that smile.
You didn't know why but Hajoon's cold shoulders affected you more than you thought it should have.
"Omo, my child. Where have you been?" she asked, as she slowly walked towards you.
"I....." You couldn't come up with an answer for her. You didn't want to lie to her.
She wrapped her arms around you, giving you a motherly hug. A hug that you needed.
You held in your tears, hugging her back.
She pulled away and gave you a smile.

"I've noticed your house has been very quiet. Eunwoo came by a few days ago, asking about you."
You didn't know how to react to that news.
"Eunwoo did?"
She nodded.
"He told me to pass a message to you. Let me go get it," she said, turning back to her shop.
You followed her shortly, standing by the entrance of her small shop.
She walked out from the back with a note in her hand.
"He told me to pass this to you," she said, handing the note to you.
You hesitated for a second, before accepting it.
"Thank you."
"He looked very stress that day. Did you guys get into a fight?"
You looked up at her.
"No."
"He's been looking for you the past days. He's a great friend and I hope you two fix whatever problem there is between you two. I haven't seen him since. He locked his house and left."
Your eyes slightly widened by surprise.
"Did he tell you where he went?"
She shook her head.
"He didn't say much, besides asking me to pass the note to you and telling me he'll be back when he's done with his job."

His job? With Mrs. Lee?

"I see."
"Were you going out?" she asked.
"Ah, I was going to stop by a friend's house."
"Did you eat? Why don't you eat before you go?"
"I was going to go have dinner with my friend," you lied.
"I see. I shouldn't keep you away from your dinner. It's been getting dark quicker these days. Be careful, okay?"

You pulled her into a hug.
"Thank you, Ahjumma! I'll see you later."
"Take care! When you and Eunwoo come back, let's have dinner at my house, okay?"
You smiled and nodded, unsure if that would ever happen.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

You dragged your foot down the sidewalk.
Just like Ahjumma said, the sky was painted black, the moment you made it out to the main road, out from your neighborhood.
You prayed that you would get home before Hajoon does.
As much as you would love to see what kind of lover he was, there was a part of you that didn't.

You took the note out from your pocket, unsure if you were ready to read it.
What other words did Eunwoo had to say?

You took a deep breath before opening the small piece of paper.

----------,

I'm sorry for everything.
I only lied to protect you.
I'm looking for you, and I won't stop looking for you.
The day I find you, I will tell you everything.

Cha Eun Woo

You folded the paper up and tucked it in your pocket.
What did he want you think about the letter? Were you supposed to find closure?
It was vague, but enough for you to get an idea of how he felt about the whole situation.
Instead of him finding you, maybe you were going to find him and let him explain everything.

Bang!

You jumped, startled by the deafening sound.

What was that?

You looked at where you were.

This damn junkyard again?

Your heart raced, reminding you of that night.

Is the guy back? I should call Hajoon.

Wait, no, the police! I need to call the police.

You stood there for a second before entering.
You should have known better than to go inspect it.
Last time should have been a lesson, but your curiosity got the best out of you.
You cautiously entered the place, scanning every inch of the place.
It looked empty. Just like the last time you entered the place.

Does this guy only kill people here?

You thought as you carefully navigated the place, behind the stacked cargo crates.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

You stopped, your heart drumming so loud in your ear, as the consecutive rings of the gun permeated through the air.

I should head back. Call the police.

You thought, still hidden behind a rusty orange cargo crate.

Aish, I should have listened to Hajoon.

You regretted.

"Tell me where your boss is."

The deep voice captured your attention.

This voice.

"Take this as a warning. Next time, I won't spare your life."
Words of the mysterious man from that night echoed in the back of your head, sending chills down your body.

"You'll never know," a man grunted.
"I'm giving you a chance before you meet the same fate as your buddies."
It was like his voice was the only one that your ears picked up.
"Go ahead and kill me," the man boldly said.
"Last chance."
The gun cocked.

You held your breath and peeked your head out from where you stood.
A man on his knees.
His face badly bruised, blood running down the side of his head.
Three lifeless bodies laid out to the right side of the man, as their bodies laid in their own puddle of blood.
The gunman in a black suit. Clean cut hair. His long arm extended out, his gun pointing right in between the man's eyes. His back was the only view you got.
His guards, at least fifty of them, surrounded the scene.

Oh my God!
It's the man! That man. From that night.

"You mafia bastard," the man spitted out.

Then, the gunman pulled the trigger, putting a bullet in between the man's eyes.

Your eyes widened, hands over your mouth.

You quickly hid behind the cargo crate, breathing heavy as your back pressed against the metal crate.

Oh God!

"Find Ricci."

You heard the mysterious gunman announce.

Ricci?

Your brows dipped in confusion, wondering if that man knew Ricci too.

The crackling of the rocks sounded so loud to your ears; your legs were on the brink of losing its strength to keep you up.

This sound.

Your breathing slowed.

I remember this sound.

You stayed quiet, slowly sliding down until your bottom met the cold dirt.
A gentle breeze danced in the air.

Cedarwood? Leather?

The same scent you remember from that night.
The same scent you covered your body with this morning.

With all the courage in you, your body turned slightly, your head peeked out the slightest, in hopes to get the smallest glimpse of the man in the black suit as he and his men strolled out.

Your eyes widened.
Your heart beating out of rhythm.
The quietest gasp left your mouth.

Ha Joon.

┕━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┙

This story will be avaliable on Wattpad! You can search up the title of the story "My Mysterious Boss", or you can search up my username @alwaysterius.

As always, don't forget to leave me a message, subscribe, and upvote!

☆.｡.:*Inspirit_o7.｡.:*☆