《Stranger In My Home》


 Sick

    Name: Lorraine Jones-Park


    Age: 26


    Nationality: American


    Ethnicity: African American


    Diagnosis: Schizophrenia


    Cause of isolation and transfer:


    - constant disturbance of other inmates, she''d repetitively state that (quote) "He is not the one ,he is not  Sungjae . HE killed them! He killed them all ,you need to stop him! You have to!!"


    Traits and History:


    -Aggressive behaviour


    -Attempted to evade the facility multiple times.


    -Unfit for social interaction


    Advise: do not mention her husband and her children it might trigger the patient.


    The nurse in  duty sighed as she read the file of their latest patient arrival.


    She had been newly transferred and this was going to be her first shift with her.


    She had seen many patients over the years, with similar story , similar problems, similar symptoms.


    It wasn''t their fault .


    They were mentally unstable.


    They were Sick.


    Still, people like them  could not be forgiven for their criminal acts. Especially when it came to murder.


    Be it consciously or unconsciously, they had done an unforgivable thing. The law never forgives criminals, the system was not  going to be soft with  them irrespective of them having any mental health conditions. They did not serve the freedom that they used to have.


    Hence why they were stuck in special facilities like this for life.


    There nurse made her way to the room.


    Room 054


    She took her cart with all medical supplies and unlocked the door.


    She did not hesitate to make her way in.


    She knew the patient would be bound, so there was no threat.


    She was supposed to have at least a  guard with her given the level of reported aggression, but she had waved them off.


    After all, she was experienced.


    She prepared the pills, wore her gloves then finally turned her attention to the patient.


    For some reason as she stared at the last arrival, she felt something strange bubbling inside her.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Some sort of ominous feeling.


    There was definitely something odd about her.


    Something odd about the whole situation.


    She could not put her finger on it.


    The ''crazy'' African American woman looked... innocent?


    It was crazy, the sick lady looked like a deer caught in the light.


    Like a pray being hunted down by a hunter.


    She just looked so scared, so lost, so...Vulnerable.


    The nurse could not explain if what she was feeling was pity or something else.


    The nurse almost felt....guilty?


    It was crazy right?


    There was no reasons for her to feel this way.


    The woman was freaking locked up and confined for a reason, how could that look "innocent!"


    But...


    She did not look like the normal psychotic person or the usual murderer you saw on this facility.


    She looked like a woman who had simply  been through hell on this Earth.


    The nurse could feel her pain, her desperation and her request for help.


    Her eyes spoke louder than words.


    As  the nurse stepped closer she felt a shiver run down her spine, for some reason she felt caged , she felt trapped ,she couldn''t tell why but she just knew that whatever was gonna come out of the woman''s mouth once she removed her gag.....


    Was going shock her for life.


    The desperate, icy  stare the patient was giving her was making her lightheaded, she almost scrambled back towards the door in retreat, but she knew better than that .


    She had to get herself together.


    She was on duty and had to give the patient her medications in other to prevent her  from becoming overly aggressive.


    That was her job.


    The nurse took a deep breath before addressing the said patient.


    "- Good morning Lorraine" She said quietly, in an appeasing manner.


    Just as she had been trained to do so.


    The patient stared at her.


    "- I am  going to give you your meds now, so we can finally give you your breakfast, is that okay?"


    The patient still stared at her unblinking, unmoving.


    No sign of confirmation nor refusal.


    Well it wasn''t like she could respond or do anything to be honest . She was heavily restrained in the little confined and whitewashed  room. Even her head and her mouth were restrained, preventing any kind of movement nor any type of communication.


    The nurse, Joselynn carefully took a few steps towards the restrained woman gently unlocking the mouth restrain to enable her, to feed her medications.


    It actually took her longer than it should have normally taken, the trailing eyes of the restrained woman were making her uncomfortable, her hands were shivering with each strap being unlocked.


    She proceeded to get the numerous coloured pills contained in the little cup out  the tray, carrying a second cup of water along with her other hand.


    Just as she was about to approach her, the patient talked.


    "-You do know he''s out there, right?"


    Joselynn shivered.


    The patient''s voice was raspy from being unused for so long , Joselynn could tell that the woman would have been normally soft spoken.


    "-Umm let''s take your meds Lorraine we can talk about this later..." Said Joselynn dismissively,  whilst attempting to keep her composure.


    "-No."    Lorraine replied firmly.


    "-You need to listen .You need to know the truth ! I need someone to know the truth, before I die! Before he comes for me again. He put me in here! He did it! " She said,  raising her voice towards the end of her sentence."


    Joselynn was starting to get anxious.


    "- I..I..if... I listen to you will you take your medications without a fuss. I really don''t want to call...the guards..." said Joselynn, before nervously biting her lips.


    To be honest she was scared, she was scared of whatever Lorraine was about to tell her.


    It was weird she usually was able to talk to all patients into taking their meds without any problems, she was usually able to ignore the non-sense that normally came out from her patients''  mouths .


    After all, they were not in their right state of mind.


    This was a psychotic ward for a reason.


    This hospital-cellar was a confined building for people with mental problems .


    Joselynn did not know why she suddenly had the urge to listen, to give the young woman a chance, to know her point of view; And that made her nervous.


    She just could tell that whatever she was going to listen to, was going to be big and probably  bothersome to cope with.


    Her guts told her so.


    And she was right.


    Joselynn would have no idea that was she was about to listen to was going to change her life for good.


    Soon enough, she''d be able to say that never in her life she would have imagined that such a nice woman would have gone through such a series of events.


    Lorraine  smiled.


    It was forced, it was uneasy, and it was painful.


    "-I should have noticed that something was wrong" she started.


    I should have realized that something was off.


    If I did, they''d still be alive .


    They''d all be alive .


    I should have known ,


    I should have noticed... that he wasn''t my husband


    " That he was  instead, the devil."


    To be continued...

 The Beginning

    It was just another day in the small neighbourhood of Dannisville.


    Just another bright and calm day for all of the families living in the streets of the rich neighbourhood.


    Kids were playing in the garden,


    Elders were chilling under the warm, bright sunlight; parents were busy cooking, preparing for their usual monthly Sunday-barbecue.


    Just like the rest of the population, it was just another common day for the Parks.


    The thing was this common day was actually a little more special than any other day for the Parks.


    This was the day their little family was going to be finally reunited.


    This was the day that Park Sungjae was finally coming back home.


    After nearly 6 months of agonizing and restless wait, Lorraine Jones was finally going to see her dear husband again.


    She could not wait!


    Her other half had spent six months in Korea to establish the newest company branch; they now had 5 branches across Asia and 3 across Europe, not counting the main headquarters there in the states.


    Lorraine was really proud of her hardworking husband and all of his accomplishments.


    He had always worked hard for his family, he had always talked about them creating their own little empire.


    That is why she always did her best to be a dutiful and respectful wife ,raising their two kids as best as she could despite his frequent absence.


    Lorraine and Sungjae had two children.


    The first child was a little girl of 6, Park Sohee. Their second and youngest child was a little boy, Park Louis who had just turned 4 years old.


    Lorraine almost could not contain her excitement, she was running up and down the kitchen making sure the last of the dishes she prepared were correctly placed on their large dining table, before urging her kids to put away their toys as she wanted the house to be immaculate for her husband''s return.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    She nervously glanced back and forth the big round clock stuck in the living room, before giving herself a last-minute check.


    Her hair was left down on its natural curls, her pink pastel dress held her figure tight accenting her natural curves. She wore no makeup; she didn''t need it.


    All she did was place a little bit of a peach coloured tint on her thick lips to give herself a bit of a glow.


    She sighed relieved at her reflection ''I look fine''


    Sungjae was going to be back any seconds from now.


    She had calculated the time it would take for the trip from the airport.


    She was weird like that.


    Lorraine nervously paced back and forth the long corridor before a quiet knock startled her out of her spacing out.


    ''OMG'' she internally screamed.


    Lorraine let out a strangled noise of excitement before taking a deep breath attempting to gather herself and her thoughts together before finally opening the door.


    There standing on his 6 foot plus glory, stood a freakishly handsome man with deep black almond shaped orbs, strongly chiselled Jaw line, and a straight little perky nose staring at her.


    There standing in front of her was Park Sungjae, the love of her life, her best friend and soul mate, father of her kids.


    There standing was no other than her husband.


    She felt so emotional.


    Not wasting anytime she tiptoed on her 5''4 height to embrace the tall man, loving the familiar warmth the man was emanating.


    She could not help but place her face in the crook of his neck wanting to dive in, after so long in his familiar soothing scent.


    But Something seemed different.


    Sungjae felt stiff and awkward; his usual light pine scent smelt..... different.


    Instead of being calming and welcoming it was rather pungent, really heavy almost overwhelmingly unbearable.


    In a way his scent gave her the feeling of choking, breathlessness, tiredness. Things and vibes, she was not used to feeling or sensing from her husband.


    ''He must have been using some new brand products'' she thought to herself , after all he had been abroad, and he had just came back from a 12-hour flight... so it wasn''t anything to really worry about right?


    He could be a little tired and unresponsive right?


    She didn''t have to worry about his unfamiliar quietness, it was all OK?


    All under control.


    Right?


    She decided to let go of her thoughts before she calmly detached herself from Sungjae, allowing her two kids to run to their father''s embrace.


    "- Daddy !" They said in unison hopping away.


    Sungjae managed to pick them both up on his arms without too much struggle, he smiled at them as he bounced them both gently on their arms.


    "Hey princess, What''s up buddy"


    Lorraine smiled at their little interaction, he might have been tired, but he never was tired when it came to his kids.


    She moved out of the way from their front porch allowing him in to get into the house, opting to help her husband with his bags as he played catch up with their kids .


    Lorraine was happily collecting all of his thoughts when she missed the evil glare that Sungjae sent her way as soon as she turned her back to him.


    All she could think of was how happy she felt.


    Finally, Park Sungjae was home.


    Finally, they could once more be a complete family,


    Just like always ....

 Normal?

    It was just another regular  Monday morning in the Parks residence.


    Lorraine stood at the door frame of her master bedroom staring lovingly at her husband.


    He seemed to be struggling with his tie, it was actually quite unusual but also really amusing, it was a rare sight to see him loose his cool. It was even more interesting given the fact that he was the self-proclaimed "master of neck ties" as he had often remarked in the past.


    It  didn''t help that he was a perfectionist  even in things such as fashion, he was the who''d  be able to spend up to an hour just getting dressed unlike any other male out there; making sure that his suit was as straight as an arrow with no creases present whatsoever and his tie perfectly symmetrical to his  neck, sporting his popular sharp and neat look.


    -" my face is a weapon of itself  " he had also often said in the past, vanity dripping in his voice .


    Most people hated it, but Lorraine loved it he was a man with confidence, he was sure of his skills also of his looks. That was one of the things that attracted her to him in the first place.


    It was no surprise that she had now been  finding  the scene before her quite absurd and frankly amusing, her usually careful and extremely capable husband was now being clumsy struggling not only with his tie but also with the buttons of his cuffs.


    Incredible


    Huffing in annoyance Sungjae looked up to his wife, his eyes pleading for help.


    Lorraine let out a giggle before slowly making her way towards her husband, she softly pressed her lips against those of her husband before getting to work on the now entangled piece of fabric.


    She had actually just missed the look of horror that passed through his eyes for a few seconds upon her act of intimacy.


    "-All done!" She said happily after a few moments.


    "-Thanks babe" he replied taking a few steps away from her.


    "-I''ll be making my way out now " he continued before venturing towards the door.


    "-Wait " she  said stopping him, she had been momentarily stunned at the ''babe''. Sungjae was a loving and touchy husband but he never liked using slang or being trendy with his words. He found it cringy especially the word  babe. He usually called her Lori a nickname he had given her or darling at most. He liked to keep it classy.


    She was pleasantly surprised.


    "- Please remember to tell Caleb to remind Hyolin that we set out a dinner date for the kids tomorrow. I''ve been trying to reach her on her cellphone,but it just won''t get through"


    She said smiling before sighing exasperatedly at the thought of her close friends not picking up her call.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "- I swear that woman keeps losing her phone like it''s some kind of routine, sometimes I wonder who''s the oldest between the two of us"


    She said laughing .


    Sungjae froze on the spot sporting a confused face.


    "-...Caleb?" He asked hesitantly.


    "-Duh!" She replied jokingly


    "-What other Caleb would I be talking about other than your best friend. Tell him to scold his damn wife for not answering me"


    "-Ah sure...my best friend " replied Sungjae as if just realizing who she was talking about.


    Lorraine furrowed her eyebrows


    ''What kind of response is this'' ''Why is he acting so cold?'' She wondered.


    As he was hastingly walking towards the front door, Lorraine sped up to him, stopping him before he once again disappeared in a flash.


    "-I forgot to tell you,  I have a class to teach today at 3,I''m covering for Isaac could you pick up the kids from the nursery and I''ll come pick them up from the office later?"


    Lorraine used to be a full-time teacher, she used to teach modern dance in a small studio at the city centre. It was quite a popular place given the amount of people taking daily classes, she actually used to be one of the most requested instructors.


    That is, until she got married and pregnant with her first child.


    They were very financially stable plus she really wanted to focus on her child rearing skills so she forfeited her carer for her family. She did however cover for her friend and ex colleague  Issac when they were out of staff or when there was a flu outbreak, just like today her friend had texted her early in the morning telling her he had fallen ill and needed an urgent backup.


    Lorraine had been willing to help, she always did, after all dancing used to be her whole life.


    Sungjae ''s irritated voice had snapped her out of her space out.


    "-Do you think my office is a playground or something?" He spat out harshly


    "-Wh..What? What do you mean?" She asked incredulously


    "-Do I look like a fucking nanny to you, if you need one go hire one don''t come out here giving me your responsibility! Sort your kids out!!"


    He had said before storming out of the house and banging the door violently .


    Lorraine was speechless.


    She had been left in a State of shock by the tone of his voice.


    And his words...


    Sungjae loved his kids, he usually never had a problem with having them in his office.


    He was the type to take a whole day off just to spend some quality time with them.


    Everyone in the company loved their little munchkins.


    No one had ever complained about having them around, he did own the company anyway. So, what was the problem?


    Lorraine had never seen him snap like this, especially not at her for such a trivial matter.


    Her thoughts were firing rapidly, she was feeling a turmoil of emotions.


    ''Why in the hell did he react this way? He''s never been like this before  he loves his kids, doesn''t he? Why did he say my kids ? I should take responsibility?! What is going on ?"


    Lorraine was simply baffled ;she had never seen this side of her husband before and wasn''t sure if she liked this side of him either. She couldn''t really recall insulting him nor offending him in any way so she couldn''t find a plausible reason for his outburst.


    This was really strange, he was... really strange.


    But she shrugged it out, telling herself that this was just a phase and he was probably still stressed from all the work he had to get done Korea.


    Yeah, it was the only explanation.


    Since he came back he was acting a bit off.


    He did not even take any days off, he only rested the weekend after his flight back.


    He probably just needed some time to readjust to the environment here in the States.


    "-I''ll just call the nanny " she muttered to herself on her way to get her things ready for the day"


    There was no point in gating agitated things were going to get back to normal soon.


    Or at least that is what she made herself believe.


    Little did Lorraine, know she shouldn''t have shrugged the event off.


    She shouldn''t have trusted him.


    She should have paid attention to the signs from the beginning.


    She should have run.

 Late Night Sneaking

    Lorraine woke up with a startle, her heart beating a 100 miles per hour.


    The thunder that night was something else.


    She could hear the loud rain drops, knocking  rhythmically on the top of their roof.


    Despite the windows being closed, she could make up the incessant  whistling sound of the stormy wind.


    It was definitely a storm, once of those which usually implied something.


    One of those that came with a meaning a resolve to warn of an incoming catastrophe or an impeding sad mourning.


    Lorraine closed her eyes for a few seconds ,wiping off the cold sweat from her forehead.


    On top of the storm being erratic, she had just had a horrible nightmare.


    One of those ugly ones where everything seemed so real and  everything felt so vivid.


    She took large breath willing her heart to calm down as she  reached for her bedside table to get a sip of water.


    She usually kept a bottle close just in case, the kids had tendency of sneaking  into their room in the middle of night, and must of the times they were thirsty.


    As Lorraine took a big sip of water, she attempted  to recall her dream.


    ''what the hell did I dream about'' she thought to herself frowning as she felt a headache coming through,the more she thought about it.


    She could faintly remember the feeling  of a hand holding her tightly by her neck, she could remember the squeezing feeling,  the  increasing pressure being exerted  on her throat with  such strength, incessantly .


    Her windpipe closing in,the feeling of air being chocked out of her slowly. The burning sensation growing on her lungs, them begging to be filled with some air,as the need for oxygen grew by the minute.


    Lorraine vividly  remembered how  she  had felt  panic,then  incessant pleading,  the  feeling of her struggle to get out of the evil grasps. And the ultimately, the feeling of giving up.


    Lorraine shuddered, the last moments of her life in that horrible nightmare made her feel so...hopeless.


    So... empty?


    It was a weird feeling, one that she definitely did not like and did not want to encounter ever in her life.


    Lorraine was thankful that it was all  just the fruit of her imagination. It was just a terrible  illusion.


    Lorraine sighed as she placed her arms on her left side whilst she  laid back down, trying to reach out for her husband''s sleeping frame,needing his comfort at that moment.


    To her surprise what she did end up  touching was the cold and empty  bed sheets where her husband previously laid.


    Lorraine frowned in confusion, he was supposed to be there.


    She glanced at the bedside clock whilst squinting her eyes, to get rid of the  traces of sleep that still laced her form.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    3 am.


    ''Could it be that he suddenly got hungry?'' She thought to herself.


    These days her husband was eating bigger portions than usual, he had never been such a big eater; and he was normally picky,  so it actually pleased to see him eat so well.


    His figure had gotten much bigger too, he had never been the athletic type but he was naturally skinny.


    Nowadays he actually visited the gym.


    It amazing.


    Lorraine was not going to lie, those exercises actually did something, as she has found herself staring multiple  at her husband whilst  drooling over him.


    Sure, he had always been attractive but right now.


    Right now he was an actual 3 course meal.


    Lorraine shook her head, snapping herself from her drifting thoughts.


    It was not time the time to have  inappropriate thoughts .


    She hastily gave a second glance at the side clock, before deciding to look for him.


    She hoped he was not overworking himself at their home office as he needed a  good rest.


    Lorraine stood up, stretching her limbs


    "-Ah it''s too early" she muttered quietly to herself, before softly paddling out of their master bedroom.


    Lorraine  quietly stepped out of her room using the opportunity to check  on her kids. She smiled as she saw them, they were having a peaceful sleep despite the horrible weather.


    She closed the door to their room after placing a soft kiss on their forehead.


    As she rounded the corridor, she saw a little stray of light coming from the office room and a few noises were coming from it.


    It was almost quite loud.


    She tiptoed quietly in the direction of the noises , the closer she got the louder they became.


    She also grabbed on her way in the corridors, a ceramic vase;  just in case she needed protection. She was sure whoever was in the room was not her husband as he would not have the need to make so much noise.


    They had never  had burglars before but she wasn''t so naive to think that the possibility of encountering them would never occur.


    Lorraine finally reached her destination, slowly  peeking with her eyes as she hid behind the door frame.


    Before her very own eyes, she saw  a crouched person on her husband''s desk going through the documents cabinets.


    It might have been the case that she was still tired or the fact that  it was really too early in the morning, but seen as she couldn''t see the face of the mysterious man she decided to attack him.


    She raised the vase high up and slowly made big steps towards the said man ready to smash his head for his intrusion,but just as she was about to do so the man manhandled her in less than 3 seconds causing her  to be forcibly placed on her knees and making  the vase fall from her grasp, crashing into a million pieces with a loud bang.


    Lorraine blinked as a gasp left her, not comprehending what had just happened, how and when could the man have noticed her approaching?


    She looked up shivering, the adrenaline having left her body as a feeling of  panic was starting to settle in.


    Lorraine frantically tried to escape from his grasp until she  finally made out the face of the intruder; to her greatest surprise and relief, she made out that the suspicious burglar was none other than  Sungjae,her husband. He was now  looking down at her quizzically, with a pointed look on his face.


    "- What do you think you are doing?" He asked harshly after a minute of looking her up and down.


    Lorraine winced at the strong  tone of her husband, not getting used to such an aggressive aura.


    "- I ..I ..I came looking for you,I had a nightmare and didn''t see you and I thought a thief entered" she stuttered out , remorsefully.


    Sungjae seemed to be having an internal battle with himself,he looked like he  wanted to slap the shit out of  her but was restraining himself to do so.


    Lorraine eyes widened in disbelief, she had never seen this kind of expression on her husband  before and she was beginning to get really offended by it.


    She was  just trying to protect her family from a potential intruder she didn''t understand why he was so mad.


    After a couple of minutes pondering. Sungjae let out a loud sigh, helping her up.


    "-let''s go to bed " he said drily


    "-but..what were you looking for" she asked innocently


    Sungjae glared at her, before abruptly relaxing his features.


    "-let''s go to bed " he repeated softening his tome before guiding her by the arm towards their shared bedroom.


    "-you must be tired. You mentioned a nightmare " he said changing the topic of  conversation


    "-tell me all about it" he continued in a tone of  fake concern.


    Lorraine was still skeptical, wanting to know what had made him search for his office so frantically, but based on his previous reaction he would not like it if she pried on it too much.


    Perhaps she could ask him about it later?


    It took her a couple of seconds but she finally  convinced herself that it was nothing big before she stated telling him about her horrible nightmare as she clung to his arms, not noticing how he went  stiff the moment she had put her arms around him.


    After all a little bit of late night sneaking once in a while was normal for everyone, no?

 Shady

    Heavy steps resonated through the white marbles; the rhythmic click clack of a pair of heels sounding as a notice that a  new presence had made his way.


    The receptionist, a young but tenacious woman smiled at the approaching man before standing up and giving a little bow in sign of greetings.


    -"good morning sir" she muttered her voice dripping in honey, despite the man not sparing a glance at her.


    He walked paced her ignoring the sequence of salutations that came past him with every encounter with a member of staff.


    The man stood ,unfazed approaching the big, glass elevator to take him to his floor.


    The 50th floor.


    Not only the glass elevator was reserved for his use only but the entire 50th floor had been reserved for him.


    In no time the man reached his destination.


    Sungjae walked into his office ,his whole figure  oozing off  an aura  of power and confidence that no one in that company apart from him could be able to emanate.


    He was truly one of a kind.


    In such a small amount of time he had achieved great things for his company. He started young, at the age of 19 he had already begun building his little empire, by the age of 21 he had already stabilized his company''s earning gaining lots of national recognition, now that he was 24 he had established his legacy worldwide, being one of the most respected and most talked-of millionaires in the whole States.


    He was considered a hero and a role model for young Asian Americans who dreamed of establishing their own business among the sector''s fierce competition.


    It was no wonder that despite his entanglement, he had literally every single female employee throwing themselves at his feet, trying their luck with a man so successful. Those females tended to ignore  the office''s dressing code, wearing sultry looking dresses and wearing  way more than acceptable amount of make up in attempt to seduce the young millionaire.


    Fortunately, Sungjae  was not the type of person who would fall for a cute smile and a pair of sexy hips. He had high morals and besides he was happily married with children.


    Not that his employees didn''t know that. Lorraine tended to pass by his office whenever she could, bringing some of her home cooked meals for him to enjoy. They just had no conscience.


    Greed is a human trait after all.


    Sungjae had begun going through some paperwork, his head throbbing  as he took in  the number of things that required to be sorted out, when someone burst into his office  without permission and unceremoniously, causing his initial  irritation to increase tenfold.


    He looked up, ready to curse the intruding person when he realized that standing there in his 5''8 short legs was his childhood best friend Caleb Wood ,who sported a wide grin as he nonchalantly threw himself over the large couch located on the side of his office.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    The light skin chocolate man had no regard whatsoever for the company''s  in-office code of conduct. As he kicked off his shoes and placed his arms behind his head for support without any reservations.


    "- Dude? You look so stressed you should chill a bit" he said his tone clearly amused, as he gave his friend a once over.


    Sungjae frowned at the sight in front of him, he knew his friend was naturally an easy-going guy, but he wasn''t in the mood to entertain his bullshit,not today. He was already stressed, and he didn''t need a clown to add to his throbbing headache.


    He wondered what in the hell possessed him to make him his Chief Operating Officer (COO) given his childish antics.


    Sungjae looked at Caleb  pointedly and asked in a serious tone.


    "- Is there anything specific you need to see me for? Because I would like to tell you that I''m actually really busy right now."


    "- Woah woah what''s up with the attitude dude, you haven''t been yourself since you''ve come back" said Caleb, pointing out his volatile mood.


    It was all facts , Caleb had been wondering what was wrong with his best friend, he was not as joyful and easy going  like he used to be, he barely even laughed at his jokes anymore  keeping a stiff official stance, constantly frowning even in the private place which was his office. It was like he had come back like a completely new person.


    He was moody, rude and aggressive, total opposite of his previous personality.


    As if somebody else  had possessed his own body...


    Caleb had first thought it was probably tiredness, but he was really starting to get annoyed with this change in behaviour,  he would have to find time to have  a serious  private talk with him  soon...


    Sungjae sighed before letting himself relax into his leather seat.


    "- Sorry..." he muttered lowly. Trying to contain his anger, wanting to appear more... approachable.


    He tried again, took a deep breath then smiled at his friend.


    "- so, what''s going on homie?"


    Caleb raised an eyebrow causing him to mirror the same  action, which led them  both to giggling before Caleb stopped  abruptly and grimaced in distaste.


    "- You won''t like it..." he said slowly, as if pained.


    Sungjae sat back up his attention fully on his business partner.


    "- What happened? " he said, spurring the conversation


    Caleb seemed to hesitate for a second before he took courage and spilled out the matter.


    "- You know Mr Son? The CEO of Son''s Corps the guy you had a meeting with a month a go back in Korea?''''


    Sungjae nodded urging him to go on.


    Caleb sighed resignated


    "-He was actually found missing a couple of days after you guys signed the agreement, everyone thought he had gone on a vacation as he always tended to suddenly  disappear and cruise about whenever  the company got good deals ; but this time...they found him last night..."


    "- Umm ok?" Said Sungjae, confused.


    "- Dead, they found him dead Sungjae, they actually found his body hidden in a laundry  storage room of the same hotel you guys last  had dinner at, he was strangled to death they say."


    Sungjae who listened attentively to his friend''s words replied unfazed.


    "-so... what?"


    Caleb stared at him as if he had 3 heads.


    "-So what?! Come on dude you were the last person who interacted with him. I''m worried man, I don''t want them to accuse you like in the movies, this shit is messed up" he said almost exasperated.


    Sungjae, who had gone back to looking at his papers quietly, answered.


    "-Don''t worry they wouldn''t do that, not without any evidence, don''t think about it so much'', things like this happen all the time. It''s the business world, there are many competitors and many enemies lurking around." he replied methodically


    Caleb just stared at him, trying to figure out if he should be concerned about his friend''s calmness or be glad about it.


    But seeing as Sungjae was clearly  innocent he decided to be glad.


    He trusted him, he had  faith in his friends'' words.


    Most importantly there was truth in his statement, in the business world there were many cases of sabotages. Son''s corporation was the biggest supplier of Anti-explosive''s cameras in the whole Asia and with the main owner gone...


    There was nothing to hold back competitors of the ranks, it was just routine.


    Yes, it was normal,  everything was  just fine, as always.


    But.


    Was it actually ?

 Dinner Date

    "-Thank you for coming, I know it''s last minute, but I really did not have anyone else to call" says Lorraine whilst catching her breath.


    "-It''s fine" said Mandy, their babysitter


    "-Beside I love spending time with the little ones, they are so well behaved.


    I barely have to do anything"


    Said the girl as she nodded her curls up and down, reinforcing her statement.


    Lorraine raised an eyebrow as she offered the girl, one of her freshly made cupcakes.


    "- Ok, fine I''ll admit it. I''m here because of the pay that''s the only reason that would make me skip my afternoon class"


    Lorraine, who was putting away some clean dishes, froze.


    "-You''re missing class?" she asked her voice sporting a visible sense of guilt.


    The red hair shrugged "-Yeah, but it wasn''t an important one. It''s not like it''s the first time don''t worry about it" she said grabbing an apple from the stationed fruit bowl


    "-Are you sure ?" Lorraine asked once again feeling at fault for calling her over so abruptly.


    The young girl waved her off.


    "-So, where are the little beas- I mean my baby chipmunks'' '' she said, saving herself from a disastrous statement.


    Lorraine smiled amused before replying "-They are having their afternoon nap. They should be knocked out for a couple more hours"


    "-Perfect " exclaimed the girl a s she clapped her two hands together "-I''ve got some time to do some work!"


    Lorraine nodded along before making her way towards her closet room.


    "-I am just going to change then I''ll head out. The kids know you were coming so they won''t be freaked out when they wake and see you. also, the baby monitor...


    "-It''s in the usual place" interrupted Mandy before grinning "-it''s fine this is basically like a second home to me now"


    Lorraine sighed in relief before she rushed to get herself prepared and meet up with her friends.


    Caffe'' Blanco


    15:30 pm


    "-Lorri! Lorri ! here" said a heavily accented voice as Lorraine rounded the corner of the fanciful cafe.


    She scanned her surroundings attempting to pinpoint the direction of the voice when she finally spotted a little petite woman jumping up and out as she waved her arms around trying to get her attention.


    Lorraine smiled in recognition before approaching the table.


    There waiting in their baby pink attire (yes, they liked to give themselves dressing codes when  they met up) was Hyolin, her own Korean twin; Monica the little ,spicy Latina  who had been waving at her frantically.


    Jade the feisty one of the group also the biracial one of the group, Aiseh the gentle Iranian soul who had just gave Monica a dirty look for her loudness and finally Ricky her best friend and  soulmate from  birth .The young British had dramatically flung himself over her hugging  her tight as he exclaimed:


    "-Girl! I thought you were never coming. I almost died here hanging around these clowns, " he exclaimed loudly as if the women in question were not sitting right across him.


    Jade scoffed whilst Monica replied with a "-Bitch please, just sit down"You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Lorraine giggled at their antics.


    It did not matter how many designer clothes they wore, or at which places they ate , they were all going to still be boujee and still act like they used to.


    Ricky rolled his eyes before beckoning her to sit next to him.


    "Girl I missed you" said Jade


    "-I missed you more!" Said Hyolin out of nowhere


    Monica who was not one to back out of a group confession, started yelling


    "-I missed you 3000!"


    Mind you this is a mother of 4 kids acting like an 8th grader.


    Aiseh sighed, before taking a sip of her chai latte. She did not  have the energy to deal with the rest of them.


    Lorraine simply giggled basking in the attention , before she finally sat down.


    The table was already filled with different kinds of pastries and cakes, a mug of hot chocolate with piping cream was in front of her too.


    There was no doubt that it was Ricky''s doing.  He knew her preferences like the back of his hands.


    Lorraine gave him a little smile  in thanks. The said man winked back at her before opening up the group''s main conversation


    "-So! now that we are all here let''s start with some updates" he said


    "-Oh oh! me first" said Monica excitedly "-I am getting a divorce!" she said like she with a wide grin


    The group turned at her looking at her in shock , with their mouths gaping at the nonchalance in her words


    "-What the fuck?" said Aiseh losing her composure for a second before she cleared her throat and spoke


    "-That''s so random " she said "-I swear you guys were doing fine" she added


    Monica shrugged "-It''s been 2 years we have quadruplets but it''s not working anymore he''s just so boring" she commented casually


    I mean the group knew; the group knew that the only reason Monica had gone through her entanglement was because of the monetary benefit but still...


    jade decided to change the focus of conversation "-I just started taking Yoga classes" she said


    Ricky burst out laughing "-YOU?" he said looking her up and down  as he poorly attempted to stifle his laughter "-exercise? how?" That earned him a punch in the arm.


    He grimaced as he robbed the abused area


    "-serves you right " she said as she flipped her long hair


    Hyolin directed patted his hair softly as she shook her hair in fake exasperation


    "-what about you Raine ?" asked Aiseh as she gave Monica a side eye given the woman in question was now ogling a bunch of young men at a nearby table.


    Lorraine smiled, tightly but she smiled


    "-Ah nothing it''s just the usual" she said dismissively


    "-Sungjae is back guys " said Hyolin "-He''s been doing great things " she added


    The whole table murmured their approval and surprise


    Lorraine shifted a little, a bit uncomfortable with her husband being the subject of conversation especially when she was trying to come to terms with his current behaviour.


    She knew it was probably temporary, but... it just felt so odd.


    Her mind drifted off to a couple of days before when she and Hyolin finally had the scheduled dinner date for their kids.


    They had been in Hyolin''s house having a picnic in their backyard. The weather had been bright , the kids were in a good mood, playing with each other filling the air with sounds of laughter.


    She had been relaxing under the parasol with Hyolin  as Sungjae and Caleb worked on the barbeque.


    everything had been so smooth; everything had been in perfect place until Sungjae received  a phone call.


    He had actually left his phone near the side table where Lorraine''s recline chair had been put into, he had done so because him and Caleb had  played  some outdoor games with the kids earlier; a lot of it involving physical play so he had placed it there to avoid it having it fall and break.


    When the phone rang, Lorraine had not recognized the ringing tone, it was some kind of rustic sounding guqin music from what she could make of it.


    To be fair Sungjae had come back with a new phone, so it was plausible that the ringtone was different.


    What caught her was the display number on the phone, it was an unusual name on it. One which sounded Chinese


    ''Zhi Ruo''


    Lorraine had never heard of such a person


    She took the phone but did not answer it just in case it was some business call, even though she was curious she could never do anything that might jeopardise or affect in any negative way the work of her husband.


    She approached him where he was grilling some eels under fire.


    With gentle voice she called him "-Sungjae"


    He replied with a hum distractedly as he attempted to control the fire. Which was unusual in its own because he was a king at barbeques, and he knew his craft well


    "-You have a call " she said "- It''s from Zhi...


    The Speed and the force with which he had snatched his phone from her had startled her.


    What was worse was the intensity with which he had glared at her , before storming out.


    Lorraine had blinked confused but also agitated a lump formed in her throat. Luckily both Hyolin and  Caleb had been too distracted, so they hadn''t noticed anything.


    Lorraine had taken 3 deep breaths to calm her nerves down, as she continued with her day.


    Sungjae did not come back after taking the call, luckily for her she had the car keys and drove herself and the kids'' home.


    When Hyolin had asked her about Sungjae she had replied that he had gotten an emergency call from the office, even though he was surprised, even Caleb bought it.


    The company had several departments, anything could happen.


    Lorraine was still reminiscing the confusion and disappointment when a pair of hands were right snapping in front of her


    Lorraine blinked.


    "Hey" said Ricky "-I have been calling you for the past 5 minutes, are you ok?"


    Lorraine faked a smile, stretching in her seat.


    "-Yeah,just tired " she replied


    "- The Kids?" asked Jade


    Lorraine nodded, not wanting to talk much "-Yeah the kids...."


    Lorraine faked another smile as Aiseh stared at her quizzically.

 Telefono

    Sungjae''s feet walked fast.


    He tried to put as much space as he could between him and the house where his family was currently lounging around in.


    When Lorraine had handed him his cell phone, he did not think much about it.


    He thought it was a regular call until he saw the caller ID.


    Panic.


    That''s what he had felt.


    It had come crashing down on him out of nowhere.


    he had swiftly snatched the little device out of the  smaller woman , a look of disgust and disdain on him as he marched out of the house.


    He had no idea where he was going, but he needed to be out of ear shot.


    He did not take the car; it did not cross his mind; besides Lorraine had the keys and he did not have the energy to deal with her and her prodding questions.


    The more he walked ,the deeper into the neighbourhood he had found himself into.


    He was supposed to be familiar with the area, but  no such feelings of familiarity came to him.


    The phone was still ringing, the vibrations of it incessant and erratic just like his heart beating.


    Sungjae soon saw himself at an old children''s park.


    There was no one there , but himself .


    he was not surprised; it was now approaching evening and the sky had begun changing colour. The sign of an impending sunset showing across the sky.


    Sungjae settled on top of a random bench.


    he placed his cell phone on his lap, staring at the name display for a good 5 minutes, his breath finally evening out with every flying minute.


    He closed his eyes for a second, swallowing the lump that formed at the back of his throat, wordlessly  swiping away at the  green answer button before placing it on his right ear.


    Silence


    All he heard was silence


    He was sure he had answered the call correctly as he could actually feel the little crinkly noise of the line being connected on his ear.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    All of a sudden, a raspy voice was heard speaking


    "- Äã×öÁËÂð ?" (N¨« zu¨°le ma)


    Did you do it?


    Sungjae sighed , his voice trembling as he replied in English


    "- No, not yet"


    A sudden crash was heard on the line


    Definitely some broken glass and furniture had been thrown to the wall.


    "-What are you waiting for " asked the voice, anger clearly laced on her tone.


    "I need time " he replied, his voice candid.


    "-I need  more time, I... I am still trying to get used to things here. There''s too much to do, please" his tone turned softer as he begged her.


    A ''tsk'' sound was heard coming from her.


    Before she evilly muttered as "-useless" on his way.


    A gulping sound was heard followed by a sound of satisfaction. The woman was clearly drinking.


    Sungjae silently sighed , placing a hand on his forehead, as he squeezed away the forming creases.


    a bunch of  voices were heard in the background, some male ,some females, they were all muttering something in Chinese. Unfortunately, it was all too low for him to make out the words that were being told , accurately.


    The muttering went on for a while , before the suffocating silence came back again.


    "-How much time do you need ?" the same woman asked


    "-... Zhi R~


    "-I said how much time!" she yelled at him ,cutting him off.


    Sungjae let his back collapse on the bench, his face contorting into what seemed like a painful grimace.


    "One year..." he hesitated


    "- I just need one year and everything will be done" he said softly


    "The lady was clearly displease given her response was merely a hissed word "- Ridiculous"


    the atmosphere was clearly tense between them despite not being in the same country at the same moment.


    After what seemed like eternity, she gave him a final answer


    "One year, you have one year to get the job done"


    Sungjae''s whole rigid body visibly relaxed  at her statement. Silently thanking God for her agreeing so easily


    "-But remember ...you have only this one chance. Don''t fuck it up or else...."


    Sungjae''s now relaxed form, stiffened again.


    "-Ah and by the way...do not ever leave me waiting on the line for so long"


    Sungjae gulped before replying


    "-Yes ma''am"


    A noise of approval was heard from her, before the line cut off, leaving Sungjae to contemplate and question his life choices and the gentle breeze picked up caressing his face and his hair somewhat alleviating the heat that he felt on his body.


    it wasn''t up to two 3 hours later when Sungjae finally decided to go home.


    He did not know the way ,so he called a cab.


    Luckily for him he still had this wallet on him which made things easier for him.


    As he reached his own large villa, he was surprised to see that Lorraine''s car or rather their family  car which they had used to go for the picnic/get together was already parked on the large driveway.


    Sungjae paid the driver before making big strides towards his house.


    He was just about to ring to knock on the front porch ,when the main door opened themselves.


    He seriously looked on as Lorraine was staring at him with  blank expression.


    She had already changed into something more comfortable ,his large shirt. That meant one thing they had been home for a while.


    Sungjae should have felt bad, maybe even guilty; but honestly, he did not feel anything towards the woman  standing in front of him, not at the moment at least.


    he eyed her once more for a few seconds before he forcibly made his way in, ignoring how Lorraine''s eyes went wide when he walked past her.


    She was probably expecting some kind of apology from him, but he did not care as he was making his way further into the house he felt his two legs being draped by two little but significant bodies, their dead weight luckily nothing unbearable to him.


    He looked down looking at his...kids, he did not mind them as much as their mother. They were actually cute and resembled him, he could keep around.


    besides... ... one day they could actually become useful


    With that thought in mind he lifted them both up, his mood easing up as the room was filled with giggles from the two children.


    He walked away ,playing with them as if nothing had happened, leaving Lorraine irritated but also confused.


    There was no denying it anymore.


    Something was definitely wrong with Sungjae.

 Lets commence

    It wasn''t often that Sungjae made his way to the lower floor in inspection but when he did, he certainly did not come unannounced.


    It was fairly surprising and distressing for the finance team to see Sungjae , standing in front of their office with no previous warning asking them to bring out the files reporting all new partnerships and contracts acquired in the past 3 years.


    I mean it was normal for a boss to want to check on things especially the financial aspects but in this case Sungjae normally would have asked Caleb to take on the task.


    Now it was not a crime to want to know about your company finances, it was not weird to want to change the direction and area of investments . What was weird was the conversation he had  with his personal secretary and pa ,Miss Currie.


    She was a well-respected woman, with good education and from a remarkable family , she was really befitting for the role; reason why she was one of the people he trusted the most.  She had equal trust in her boss and had full intention to devote herself to the company but what he had requested of her had been... unexpected to say the least.


    "- Miss Currie" he said, voice flat, eyes boring into  her, as he studied her with a stern look.


    "-Yes sir " She replied , her composure not faltering


    It was unusual for her to be called out in  the middle of other this, like this but she was sure that whatever Sungjae had wanted to talk about with her ,she would be able to handle it.


    Sungjae looked her up and down.


    His trailing on her slim figure particularly on her legs , on the little exposed area of her skin were a  long slit ran, showing off her skin coloured thighs.


    Sungjae smirked, before standing up.


    Just like him, his secretary was on the younger side still in her mid-twenties. Despite her self-restraint and her resilience to become an essential member of the company she was a girl after all, an ambitious one at that.


    She did not act impulsively like the rest of the idiotioc women he unfortunately had employed. No, she was sly and calculative, she knew how to adapt just like a chameleon


    Sungjae had noticed the subtle changes in her demeanour, she wore more revealing clothes but not revealing enough to tell she was stirring away from their formal attire, She had replaced her round glasses with more suitable contact lenses  showing off the beautiful marine eyes that she had. Her skin, previously unobstructed by any artificial chemicals, was now clad in a thin layer of makeup, not enough for you to comment on but enough for it to enhance her features.


    Sungjae''s tall self-began circling her , he did not actually stare at her, keeping his hands folded behind his back but he did allow himself to brush his shoulders to hers causing the woman to shiver as she felt a buzz of electricity hit her body.


    She did not move still, keeping her breathing steady and eyes focused straight.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Sungjae smiled to himself.


    Yes, she was definitely going to be useful.


    "Miss Currie" he said his voice softening in a suspicious manner


    "-How long have you been working under me ?" he asked her directly


    Miss Currie or Stephanie if you will, blinked out in surprise, she clearly was not expecting the question, she took a couple seconds deliberating on what direction this conversation was going to go, yet she answered earnestly.


    " 3 years and counting sir"  she replied shooting a straight answer


    Sungjae made a noise of approval ,as if he actually knew how long she had been working there for...


    "- 3 years, 3 mighty years. Don''t you think?" he said ,this time his voice coming straight to her eyes as his body came closer, he hovered behind for a long minute in which Stephanie had stilled ever form of breathing


    "- I...I have  been able to work by side thanks to you sir, without your leadership and dedication sir...I probably would have not come so far " she said, this time her voice softened and her eyes actually glanced around the room trying to locate the man in question


    ''Bingo'' he thought as he made his way in front of her, his breath fawning over her face, as he put away a loose strand of hair behind her ear.


    Stephanie gasped softly, her eyes searching for a meaning as she stared directly at him. She was a tall girl Afterall.


    Sungjae forced the little corner of his mouth upwards, to satisfy the woman in his arms as he softly ran gentle circles on her covered arms.


    After a few moments of them staring into each other he scooped her face, tilting her chin upwards as he leaned in his lips barely grazing against her.


    Her reaction was immediate , her body jerked forward trying to close what was left of the  space  between them as whine left her lips.


    Sungjae mentally chuckled


    He spoke into her lips in a sultry tone


    "-Would you do anything for me?"


    She groaned, desperate . Needing some form of contact, something to anchor herself with.


    "- yes " she said , her voice breathy


    "-Anything , anything you want. " Gasping as if she needed air. "-Please come up please just anything... "


    "-Good girl," said Sungjae as he chuckled before finally rewarding him by firmly planting his lips against her.


    Stephanie was now gone, she clinged to him like her life depended on it, she bit and sucked at his lips wanting to deepen the intimate moment but just as abruptly as all of this started ,it all ended.


    Sungjae pulled off, leaving breathless and confused as she blinked trying to regain her hazy view.


    Within the time that she had taken to compose herself . He had stridden back to his desk bringing out what seemed like a file and a big red envelope at the same time.


    He put in in her hand, his voice going back to plain and unimpressed as he instructed her


    "-In here is a list of people" You will contact them and allocate them to all our branches, I want them both in high and lower positions, I need eyes everywhere" he simply stated


    Stephanie glanced back at him still confused, her chest as still heaving as she softly panted but her voice remained steady


    "- The lower rank positions are easy to fill but the directors and managers¡­. I can''t just dismiss them, not without a reason"


    She said warily


    Sungjae stared at her with an icy glare


    "-I don''t care what you do and how you do it. Just get it done" he said


    Before turning his back to her


    "- You''re dismissed" he said heartlessly


    Stephanie was still mildly confused as she stared at the envelope but still listened to his command as she started walking towards the exit.


    "Ah Miss Currie" he said, making her stop in her track, her heart beating fast at the glimmer of hope


    "-remember, everything you want could be given to you if you stay a good girl" he said ,not sparing a glance at her. The statement did not actually make sense.


    But somehow Stephanie had grasped the situation, her eyes glimmering with something like determination


    She straightened her posture  and continued walking her way out, but not before adding a comment


    "-your wish is my command sir".


    Sungjae''s laughter was heard through the halls, as the steady click of her heels dissipated with the distance

 Treasure

    Warning: Violence, murder


    He had to find them.


    He needed to find those documents.


    Where he would find  them, he  was not sure of that yet, but he had to get a head start.


    He doubted they were placed at the company given the nature of them.


    He had once tried to look for them in the house, but that woman Lorraine had ruined his attempt.


    He thought about it, he probably had to try again  to make sure the documents were not indeed in the house ,so that he could consider his next options.


    Lorraine had mentioned that one of the two brats was sick, he did not really care about that  matter but it was certainly an opportunity for him given as she had  wanted to call over the babysitter as she was asked to teach at the dance academy or whatever.


    It was the perfect opportunity.


    That night he had been on his best behaviour, he played with the kids and even acted lovely towards his wife. He helped her with the cooking and did the dishes.


    He could tell Lorraine was mildly surprised and even concerned to some degree.


    He mentally snorted


    She should have been grateful that he even went through the hassle of acting decently towards her.


    It was for a purpose and one purpose only he needed out of the house for a day.


    It was the nest and only way to confirm his suspicions and the location of the damn file.


    With only a year to spare he had to start getting things ready, it was obvious that Zhi Ruo and the rest of the clan was growing impatient, he understood, he also wanted to repay  after all they did for him¡­.


    Him and Lorraine were laying in bed when he brought up the subject


    "-Don''t call the babysitter tomorrow. I will stay home with Louis" he said startling her


    "-Are you sure? I am sure she will be able to make it tomorrow; he also has a temperature I was thinking maybe I should take him with me so I can monitor him. If he gets worse, I can come back early"


    No, absolutely no. He was not sure how long it would take him to go through the house ,so he could not afford her coming home early.


    "-It''s ok" he said attempting an act of comfort as he awkwardly patted her bonnet (lol who does that?)


    "-I already informed Caleb I would not be coming in, besides our little man is growing up. I thinks it''s time  I spend more time with him" he said


    Lorraine had seemed to grow emotional at his little statement.


    Sungjae had to force himself not to gag aloud at the little looks that she was giving him.


    ''The fuck? Had he really been acting too differently towards her that she was acting so touched ,all of a sudden?'' he thought to himself


    It did not matter, what mattered right now it was that he now had the whole house to himself which was perfect.


    Even though he had gone through the pain of having to have this woman draped on him all night and repress the urge to shove her off. It was ok, he''d have enough time to search for the information he needed.


    With that in mind Sungjae repressed the urge to strangle the body laying close to him away.


    The next morning came in a blur.


    Sungjae held Louis in his arms as they said their farewell to Lorraine and Sohee.


    The little girl giggled excitedly as she made her way out of the porch before turning before waving at Sungjae as she exclaimed


    "-Bye bye Daddy, bye bye Louis!"


    Sungjae gave her a little smile as she ran towards the car while Louis promptly replied to his sister


    "-Bah baie"


    Lorraine was standing just beside him cooed at her little ones


    "-If his temperature goes up, just call me ok? I left his medications in the kitchen counter, he should be given 500 ml of the syrup, ah he also needs a bath, remember to use the live in conditioner after you wash his hair, and make sure  that you carefully untangle his hair, be careful he gets fussy during this part and-


    "-It''s ok " said Sungjae cutting her off her long ramble  "- I know the routine , we will be fine and if anything happens, we''ll call you. Right little man?" he added using Louis as his leverage


    Louis giggled in response hiding his face on the crook of Sungjae''s neck playfully.


    That seemed to do the trick.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Lorraine finally relaxed and let out a breath she did not know she was holding.


    She had been relieved to say the least, it had been awhile since she had last left any of the kids by themselves with her husband


    Sungjae forced  himself to pet her head, causing her to break into a wide grin before he took the little one in his arms .


    He made sure Lorraine''s car was fully out of sight before he placed Louis in the living room.


    Sungjae recovered a jar of chocolate chip biscuits and a sippy bottle of juice and placed it in front of the toddler before switching the television to a kids channel the colourful animations swiftly catching the attention of Louis giving Sungjae lire way to leave and start  rummaging through the hours.


    He had at least a solid 3 hours before the toddler would need back his attention.


    Sungjae placed the baby monitor at an angle where he would be able to monitor the little toddler easily and headed for the in-house office.


    The first place he checked was the desk. He had not been able to go through half of the compartment on the large desk before, his wife had come out barrelling through the doors.


    He methodologically brought out files  scanning them with his quick eyes, before putting them back in place.


    He had noticed that the placement of some of the objects in the desk such as the family picture and the computer monitor had changed from the last time, probably at hand of Lorraine.


    That woman really did not know how to mind her own business he thought to himself swiftly before continuing his search.


    In a span of 2 hours Sungjae had gone through the whole office cabinets and bookshelves and the whole of the matrimonial bedroom.


    He frowned in deep thought.


    "- Where would you place them if you were him?" he mumbled under his breath.


    ''Could it be that they were still in the hands of his father?'' But that could not be.


    Hadn''t he received them as a gift for his 18th birthday, the land was his and it had been one of the fundamentals of his business.


    He thought back to  the old  conversation with Zhi Ruo.


    "-bring back the documents of  ownership of the land in Shengyou . That''s the deal" She had said with her sharp tone as she stared at him bored"


    "-What?" he had asked confused


    "- You heard me " he said rolling her eyes, as she chewed on a piece of gum quite loudly


    "-How are you sure, it will be in my possession?"


    Zhi Ruo gave him a once over like he was stupid


    "- That old fart gave the property to you for your eighteenth birthday, you fool."


    Sungjae still looked at her confused


    Zhi Ruo was close to losing her patience


    "-What ? where do you think all that money came from, why do you think you built a company out of nowhere ?" She said looming over his personal space despite the huge height difference


    She looked behind him before laughing out aloud, the loud and  sudden action  leaving his ears ringing.


    "-Oh, my bad I forgot, he did it, but you are him right now aren''t you?" She asked amused, her body jumping with the intensity of her deep rumbled laughter.


    Sungjae jostled, his thoughts suddenly shattered by the sound of Louis'' laughter.


    He glanced back at the bay monitor to see Sungjae , on top of the sofa facing the window, he seemed to be waving at someone.


    Sungjae could not make who that was but it was clearly a woman.


    Without thinking twice, he made his way to the living room where Louis was located, he looked at the still bouncing boy and picked him up, looking at the smiley figure who was at the window.


    The babysitter


    Sungjae deduced, based on the features and the age of her, she had to be the babysitter.


    Why was she here, and Why hadn''t he noticed her presence before?


    Did she even ring the bell?


    Just how long had she been standing out there the point of getting the little one''s attention. He asked himself.


    The young lady seemed to be mouthing something as she pointed in the direction of the door.


    Sungjae did not want to open the door, but he still  let her in, set in knowing what the reasoning was for her coming.


    As soon as he opened the door, he was hit with a wave of bubbliness which he found quite distasteful.


    "-Ah Mr Park nice to see you again, it''s been ages !" she said coming in.


    Sungjae looked across the street to make sure there were no curious eyes before he closed the door.


    "-Why are you here?" he asked, uncaring


    The young lady stopped her steps, before turning towards him and tilting her head sideways


    She gave him a scrutinatory once over before she began talking


    "- Ah I am here to collect my jacket, I already told Mrs Park, she said it was fine since you were home. I forgot it the last time I babysat. Well I did not sit on the baby''s ,I looked after them " she said attempting a lame joke


    Sungjae was starting to get irritated by the woman.


    The lay talked too much and without a pause, it was really infuriating, especially with how comfortable she was just being around. It unnerved him


    He forced himself to cool down and sighed before replying


    "-Fine¡­get the jacket and go"


    The girl frowned but made her way to the jacket stand where a baby pink sparkly jacket stood hanged.


    She grabbed it, smiled and turned to greet Louis before making her way out


    "-Mr Park? Why is Louis still in his pyjamas? Shouldn''t he have had his bath by now? Do you want me to help? I can help" she said making motion to grab the toddler from his grasp


    Sungjae stepped aside


    "-It''s fine" he said "- I will change him later" he said before he made his way to the kitchen placing the toddler on his high chair.


    He thought that if he moved away, the girl would take a hint and finally leave, but instead she just followed him into the kitchen, mind you she will still wearing her  dirty ass shoes as she walked around the house, one thing which actually irritated him them most


    "- Has he eaten ?" she asked curiously "- I can make something, for him I mean. If he hasn''t eaten, that is."


    "-Oh, Mrs park mentioned he had a fever , Louis really likes eating ice lollies when he gets a fever its sugary and it cools him down " she said, going on a whole rambled about Louis''s favourite foods


    Sungjae took a deep breath through his nose, withstanding the urge to squint at her accusatory.


    "-I think you should go" he said


    In a low tone


    The girl looked at him again


    "- Mr Park did you catch a cold; your voice is actually deeper than usual. Or perhaps did you have an accident? Oh my God!"  she exclaimed coming closer


    "-It''s that why you have those markings on your neck?" she asked coming closer


    Sungjae''s eyes went wide with surprise and mild panic as he placed a finger at the area the girl was talking about. She was not supposed to see that, those scars were barely visible, even Lorraine had not noticed them. How the hell did she notice?


    His eyes turned dark as he asked her "-Who are you?"


    Mandy tilted her head to the side confused "-Eh? I''m Mandy the babysitter"


    He was not convinced


    Sungjae grabbed by the arm quickly pulling outside the kitchen out of the view of the toddler


    The girl huffed "-Ouch! Mr Park ! What the hell?"


    He pulled  her to the nearest bathroom , harshly yanking her as he brought her face closer to him


    "-Who. Are. You?" he asked


    The girl was still in shock, she gazed at him staring into his eyes until she realized...


    Those were not the friendly and paternal-like eyes she knew.


    She gasped aloud, her mouth going open


    "-You are not-


    With one swift movement Sungjae snapped her neck, causing the girls to slump, over lifeless. He released her causing her body , now a mass of dead weight to fall on the ground.


    Sungjae left her dead before making his way towards the kitchen.


    He grabbed the bottle of medicine that Lorraine had mentioned  and fed the content to the baby.


    He bathed him, changed him and fed him before putting him to sleep in the baby room.


    As the little boy drifted to sleep.


    He quietly whispered


    "-Shsh I''ll be right back daddy''s is got to get rid of the trash"


    Like nothing had happened he placed the baby monitor so he could see the little toddler sleeping, before he made his way back to the bathroom.


    He looked at the dead body once, before unceremoniously grabbing by the hair


    "-Let''s take out the trash ,shall we?"

 Pillow Talk: Business is good pt1

    "-My baby!" had exclaimed Lorraine as she walked through the door ,catching the little toddler who had flung himself onto her .That house was soon filled with laughter, as Lorraine did not waste time in smothering her little one''s face with kisses, Giving she had spent the entire day without him she also contemporaneously checked his temperature toaster she was happy to see that the little one had gotten better. She had just returned home after getting Sohee out of her after school club. She did not know what to expect with the current Sungjae, but she was pleasantly surprised that the house had not burned down and that her little one was actually doing fine.


    She looked up at Sungjae with Louis still on her arms as she went on her tiptoes to give the man a peck, before she giggled away Change your song to the playroom so she could go and change her clothes. Once again, she had missed the look of horror on the Man''s face after she had pecked him on the lips.


    Little Sohee was still standing there and she had witnessed the whole ordeal, she tilted her head in confusion looking at her dad confused before she shrugged her shoulders and made her way to her own room . She Was just six she could not understand most of the expressions of the adults so she did not dwell on it; What was important for her right now was to get to her open closet were her little prices outfits were on, so she could put on one. She had just recently learned how to change herself, and yes most of the ties she did come out with one shirt or more being worn the wrong way around ,however she was doing quite a good job at it.


    Sungjae watched the little girl bounce off before he made his way to their matrimonial room, Lorraine was already stripping out of her clothes getting ready to head to the bathroom and have a well-deserved bath before she said.


    "-Ah did you see Mandy today, she mentioned she had left her jacket out here?"


    At the mention of the girl''s name a flash of anger had made his way in Sungjae''s eyes, Lorraine did not notice the little tick on his left eye and the slight frown that had adorned his way as she had already given him her back as she hastily made her way to her designated destination


    Sungjae calmly made his way to their en-suite bathroom were Lorraine had started filling up the bath with water, he calmly scanned over her naked body before leaning at the door frame and crossing his arms as he replied


    "-No one came over"


    Lorraine who was looking through the cabinets for her bath salts exclaimed


    "-huh? Oh, really I tried to call her back to see if she had indeed made time to come but I couldn''t reach her"


    "-Found it !" she had exclaimed before dumping the contents of the little scented sachet into the water, as she followed suit and placed her body in the water.


    Lorraine released a sigh of contentment as she lowered herself into the waters.


    She could already feel all of her muscle relaxing, the tension and cramping that was previously there melting away as her body adjusted to the hot yet relieving temperature of the water.


    It took her a couple of minutes to zone back into the conversation as she had momentarily blacked out , her mind drifting away as she left herself be lulled away by the soothing of her bath.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Lorraine who had her eyes closed finally cracked one open. Gazing at the white tiles of their large bathroom as she continued their talk.


    "-Mm mm but did you see a pink jacket anywhere in the house? It could be that she might have been caught with some other business and she might come back for it." She finally said not thinking much about the situation


    Sungjae agreed with her without batting an eyelash "_ She might have actually been busy; however, I did not see any sort of pink jacket, it could be that she has simply misplaced it somewhere else "


    Lorraine tilted her head as she thought about it.


    "-It is plausible" she commented after a few seconds


    "-By the way " she continued "-How was it today? Was it hard? Louis seems to be doing so much better already, I am really glad"


    Sungjae did not smile nor change expression with the same monotone voice as before he replied


    "- The little man is doing just fine; he did not give me trouble" he said


    Lorraine nodded before smiling away


    "-Ah¡­ my brother called by the way"


    Sungjae, who was just about to leave the bathroom stopped, raising an eyebrow as he crossed his arm , silently urging her to continue.


    "-yeah¡­.well To talk to you apparently he had some sort of business idea or so he said I''m not sure what that is about he did not give me any details however he said that he''s going to stop by your office tomorrow, that will be fine by you right ? If not, I can quickly text him that you are busy "


    Sungjae was slightly intrigued


    ''Brother huh?'' Don''t care about the extended family members Boo payoffs the dude would have a good idea or some sort of meaningful plan it was worth giving it a shot.


    "-Oh, I''m assuming this is not the norm right "he said avoiding bringing the name of the guy up given he did not know his name either way, nor could he remember his face no details of their existing or non-existing relationship as in laws.


    Lorraine Huffed and puffed before splattering water away as she suddenly made a sharp turn towards him, her body still submerged in the water bath.


    "-I just don''t know what is wrong with him to be honest, Larry is just being weird this time, he keeps on jumping from one thing to another. It just! I don''t know ,he is my twin and I love him but sometimes I wish, he was a little more useful¡­he keeps on stressing our parents out. Talking about parents, your mum texted me , they''re currently in France, she said they might stay there 2 more months. It''s crazy because they were literally in Hawaii 2 months ago! " She exclaimed going on a long ramble


    "-I mean I know you guys are used to this kind of lifestyle but still¡­.oh should I stop by the office tomorrow-


    Sungjae cut her off abruptly "-It''s fine " he said. "-I ''ll see what he proposes and deal with it as I see fit"


    Lorraine was not impressed by that response


    "-but still¡­ he''s my brother, I know how to placate him the best, you know how he gets sometimes" she added on ,leaving it at that


    No.


    Sungjae did not know, how the man gets , but it certainly was not something he could not handle nor something that would overwhelm him. He was sure and confident in one of his main skills.


    Handling people.


    Worst case scenario he''d just have to make the disappearance less¡­noticeable.


    "-By the way..." he said whilst stirring around to make his way out


    "-When you speak to my parents next. Tell them I say hi. I am looking forward to their coming back"


    He finished up before striding away.


    Lorraine was not observant.


    If she was, she would have noticed the tension in the man''s shoulders, the fisted hand on the side of his hips and the sarcastic yet irritated tone that his voice had taken edge to.


    If she did ,she would have questioned his strange reaction to the mention of his family.


    But she did not. Instead she smiled at his back as she called back to him as she gave him an adoring look, her feelings not yet distorted despite the slight rockiness that had transpired in the last weeks.


    "I will tell them . I will definitely tell them. I am almost done, just wait for me and I will be out very soon, we just need to put the kids to bed and we''ll have some time to each other"


    Her happy tone was ridiculous.


    Utterly, completely ridiculous.


    She did not know what was coming her way.

 Pillow Talk pt 2: Business is good-Opportunities

    Her voice broke off  as she let out a quiet sob, her fists clenching and unclenching with each caress travelling towards her body.


    Stephanie was a mess, a real mess and Sungjae had barely even done anything to her. Nothing but showering her with fake praises and the attention that she needed


    It was quite a sight to see.


    Her had escaped from her originally tidy bun; her glasses had been discarded somewhere in the room.


    Her buttons were open just as wide as her legs as Sungjae pressed his knees in between them his own body, hovering quite close to her body yet not enough to enable them to have actual contact.


    His hands were roaming ,touching and teasing.


    His voice dipped low in alluring and addictive way which caused her to lose her mind with every word he said


    "-Good girl" he cooed at her, looking how her body convulsed at his administration.


    "-You have been so good to me" he said continuing to heighten her senses, leaving her to wish for more and to gain frustration with the limited touches


    "- You have been so good, for me sweetheart , just so so good. You did exactly what I asked you. Getting rid of those people must have been so easy for you isn''t it? You did so well, do you want your reward?"  he asked her, his tone obviously condescending.


    Stephanie or rather MS Currie nodded her head vehemently wanting nothing more than the man in front of her to devour her.


    The man chuckled at her , she really was pathetic in a quick motion he gently quieted her murmurs as he barely grazed his lips against hers, before finally detaching himself from their intimate position causing her to let out a loud gasp as her eyes sprung open , and her body jerked forward in attempt to gain the contact which she so much craved for.


    But Sungjae was not having it.


    He gingerly gave her his back as he stared out of the large glass windows which made up part of his voice. The view of the busy  city facing him as he contemplated


    "You''ve done a great job indeed" he said his voice sounding too serious all of a  sudden which caused Stephanie to straighten her back


    " and you do deserve a reward for it " he continued "-however it''s not enough" he said


    Stephanie''s heart dropped at that


    "-I know what you want and I can give it to you but first you''ll need to finish the job " he said just as he turned back towards her ,making his way ever so slowly ,in almost a predatory way .


    "- Are you willing to do anything needed to get your reward? Are you willing to be good for me?" he asked just as he placed himself back in between her legs, his knees now pressing over her clothed folds, causing her to shiver and whimper at the contact as her eyelashes fluttered.


    She almost seemed drunk, her gaze was solely on him, yet it was as if she was in some sort of weird trance


    Sungjae smiled at her.


    His  breath was now fanning over her face as he gently nibbled at her lips before muttering a "-Good girl"  which only caused the young woman''s convulsion to increase in intensity.


    She did not even notice at first the paper that Sungjae had brought out of thin air as he continued giving her instructions "-Find this man for me" he said gently pecking the sides of her face.


    "-Find him and bring him to me, once you do then everything will be yours " he said  seductively , just as he added slight pressure to her neck, partially cutting of the air being supplied to her lungs


    "- I will be yours " he said gingerly just as he increased the pressure before quickly releasing her neck.


    Stephanie was still rolling on her pressure when a strong  knock startled them out of the moment.


    A mature lady voice was heard behind the door


    "-Sir, you have a visitor. May I let them in" she had asked politely


    Sungjae gave Stephanie a quick glance over before he mentally smirked,


    "-Coming in '''' he  said whilst je swiftly and precisely placed himself back at his desk, his face impassive and serious just as if he''d just been talking about work. Which in a way¡­. he had .


    In seconds  Stephanie  had recomposed herself, she had safely kept away in her piles of files the piece of paper that Sungjae had given her, her hair had been tidied up and her clothes were all back  intact, she had even managed to locate her previously lost glasses, which she adjusted just as the staff and the guest came in.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "-If you''ll excuse me " she said, her tone formal as she made her way out of the room.


    Just as quickly and as precise as Sungjae had done earlier.


    Sungjae nodded at his other  staff member in dismissal and watched her follow Stephanie out of the door. Before he turned his attention towards the intruder .


    The guest looked shabby and utterly and completely out of place there, under normal circumstances he would have not made it past the security front gate, but the familiar and recurrent appearance of him had made most of the staff recognize him hence how he had been brought up so far without needing prior confirmation from Sungjae.


    Sungjae mentally rolled his eyes at the fact that he could not entirely ignore the presence of the man in front of him, Whilst the brown tall skilled guest who had entered with her grinned at him.


    The man in question swiftly crossed the room and leaned in greeting obviously wanting to attain some skin ship. As he raised his right hand in a motion of forming a fist bump.


    His voice was loud and booming as he exclaimed


    "-Yo Jae , how have you been man? It''s been a while. I thought I should come and pay you a visit."


    Sungjae was definitely not impressed.


    " So, Larry, to what do I owe your honourable presence"


    He asked as he looked at the man in front of him. Blatantly ignoring both his verbal and his fist-pump greeting.


    The man in question grinned at him before replying


    "-Oh, we''re back to being formal huh? You are a funny one "


    Sungjae suppressed for the 100th time the urge to smash the man''s head into the floor. the smile ,the eyes, the whole bubbly demeanour and aura were definitely those associated with his  wife...


    Thankfully enough the man who had now taken the liberty to place himself on a seat did not look like an exact carbon copy of his wife. There were some major differences, the first and most obvious one was him being male.


    It made his feature not as graceful, if you could even call it that. His skin was rough and his overall appearance really unkempt. If it wasn''t for the fact that the front receptionist had seen him before they probably would have never let him in looking like that.


    Sungjae mentally sighed, prepared to ignore the incoming useless conversation which was bound to happen. as he rested his chin up on top of his folded hands. He kept his gaze firm and cold, barely nodding at him as he silently asked him to go ahead.


    The brown coloured smile let out  a light laugh.


    "-Oh" he exclaimed causing Sungjae to raise an eyebrow at his current antics


    "Getting serious out here I see" he continued still highly amused


    "-Aren''t you going to offer me a drink? The little secretary of yours is really pretty¡­ and I could do with something to drink.


    Sungjae cleared his throat in warning before he replied  "-Sure thing, but first let''s cut to the case. You said you were here to speak to me about some new business proposition. So, what is it about ?"


    "- Larry" he then continued leaving at that, the air now filled palpable yet mild tension.


    The man before him did not seem to be deterred instead he seemed amused. He seemed confident almost like the little exchange they had just had right then had spurred him further into his convictions.


    He gingerly outstretched his legs and placed them on Sungjae''s desk, smirking satisfied when one Sungjae''s brows visibly twitched.


    "-What if  I told you ,I could make you rich?" he said all proud


    Sungjae looked at him as if he had 3 heads , wondering whether he was stupid or purposely trying to aggravate him.


    However, he kept his composure and simply replied


    "-I am already rich, if you didn''t notice"


    With a single sharp movement Larry''s had shifted his boy so that it was now leaning on the same desk as he diminished the gap between him and Sungjae


    Almost in a whisper he continued


    "-I know but I mean trillionaire rich, the kind of rich that does not make sense anymore"


    Sungjae gave him a questioning look. Calmly inviting him to continue with his statement.


    " - I have a friend who can make good produce. He knows how to  cook it, store it and distribute it .He also has people who can work on it. If we form an alliance, we can get up to 95% of the profits and trust me you''ll be making money like flowing water"


    Sungjae was slightly confused at the whole cryptic message so he decided to ask him directly


    "What are you talking about exactly? " he said, his tone slightly harsh given the other man was beginning to overstay his welcome.


    Larry pushed his body furthermore into the desk separating the two. Causing Larry to look at him in distaste but still ready to deal with the situation if the other decided to attack him for some reason.


    But Larry did nothing of that sort instead he calmly whispered


    "-I am talking about la coca, I''m talking about hard drugs"


    It was time for Sungjae to become amused, Lorraine had mentioned how much of a bum her twin brother had basically become, but this was new, nothing he had never seen or dealt with before but still highly entertaining.


    "-Oh really?" he said faking a tone on interest


    "-And just how do you intend to do this " he asked Larry


    Larry stood up sharply one again as he clasped  his hands together in delight.


    "-This is where you come in my friend" he said tone growing more excited by the minute


    "-I have looked into it already, and that land that you gifted my sister when you first got married, well I remembered the name casually because you know she wouldn''t stop talking about it at the time.


    Yeah so, I looked into Shengyou and yes it has topography for our business, it also very secluded we will never get caught that way"


    Sungjae had visibly frozen at the mention of the little town''s name. His head was suddenly spinning. Was this man talking about the same documents that he had been instructed to search for.


    Without wasting any time, he asked the man


    "-Where are the documents "


    Larry sighed and plopped down in the chair


    "-This is why I came to you. You gave them to Raine, and I am sure if I ask her, she is not going to give them to me. Bust maybe if it is you... you don''t have to explain why we need it, just make up some excuse to get them back that should do"


    At the mention of his wife Sungjae thought to himself


    ''So, she is the one keeping them, but why haven''t I found them yet then?


    Sungjae looked at Larry from head to toe, the guy was a bum, but he clearly had some useful skills. He could make good use of him for now.


    He put on a gentle smile before he raised the handle of the phone that was at the right of his arm


    "-hello Ms Currie, please bring up some refreshment and cancel my next meeting today. I am going to be busy."


    He put the handset down then gingerly leaned forward from his seat.


    "So, Larry, tell me more about this plan of yours ...."

 Thats my bestfriend: Prima Parte

    It wasn''t often that Caleb came home silent and apathetic.


    It was instead a rare occurrence which indicated that something had gone wrong or something wasn''t right.


    Hyolin sent her kids to their playroom, knowing that any sort of loud noise or possible disturbance might trigger Caleb further into a spiral of silence.


    He was the type that when stressed or perturbed  ended up building walls around him.


    Shutting off both his family and his friends.


    Hyolin silently started off the routine which she knew worked wonders in getting her husband to relax and in some form spill the beans.


    She quietly made her way to his form laid on the sofa of the living room.


    She helped get rid of his jackets and his socks not before turning on the television to some random music channels which would mute any of their words in case the kids actually decide to come out of their play fortress.


    Hyolin did not know how this conversation was going to go but based on the empty and wandering  look on Caleb she could clearly tell it probably would be something really challenging to deal with. Given despite her husband''s soft nature he was not as emotional as others may think.


    Hyolin took off towards the kitchen, putting on the kettle and bringing out the calming tea and the honey which she knew worked wonders.


    It was best to have something hearty, warm and sweet when having a heart to heart conversation.


    She also brought out the home-made plain brioches that they normally get delivered at home every morning.


    They enjoyed pastries and cakes, it was sort of comforting to have them whenever they needed affirmation or just any sort of basic comfort.


    With measured, yet confident movements Hyolin finished up the set of delicacies which she proceeded to place on a tray.


    Just like that she made her way towards him.


    She noticed he had now shifted his gaze towards the television, his eyes still looked unfocused, but this was still a great start meaning she''d probably easily get to have him concentrate on her words without too much of a hassle.


    Placing the food on the glass side table  she gingerly got herself to her knees ,her frame blocking his view of the television, she gently placed her hands on top of his before softly massaging them an action she had learned from her mother in law helped to soothe and calm him down.


    "-Babe..." She called softly letting her voice trailed off, letting the man in front of her focus on her as his eyes met hers.


    "- what happened?" She continued asking


    Waiting for him to finally speak up.


    Hyolin could see the exact moment Caleb had processed her words as she could see a swirl of emotions hit him at once, the friend and the confusion clear and legible in his face despite him not having said anything yet.


    Hyolin waited, she knew he was going to talk now, he just needed a minute to collect the right words to say.


    "-I just don''t understand," he said pausing once more.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "-It''s like....it''s like.  He''s a different ,new person. He acts weird, he says weird stuff and he got rid of 90% of our higher management team."


    He said, Hyolin finally catching up with who the "person"  in question (who he was talking about) was.


    "-90% of the team !" He said his voice getting higher as the pent-up anger and frustration he felt finally bubbled out.


    "-And all the new people..."


    He sighed


    "-everyone he newly employed are just so weird ,they give me bad vibes, really bad vibes. I have no idea why and what it is with them, but I don''t feel like it''s safe to be around them.


    And guess what? When I asked his secretary about that she just shrugged her shoulders and claimed that our previous management were all part of some sort of conspiracy coalition trying to get embezzlement.


    Embezzlement?!


    Hah what a joke!"


    Hyolin observed the way Caleb scratched his head in frustration and she sighed, before responding


    "-You have every right to feel upset and frustrated...but do you think shutting down on your family is going to solve anything she said bounty yet gently"


    Caleb froze at her statement, his eyes going wide with realization at just how bad he had been.


    It was true that there was a lot going on at work, but it wasn''t a good reason for him to just ignore everyone and jump further into his own bubble


    Furthermore, they had worked hard, all these years to get him to the healthy state he was in today.


    He looked back at his wife apologetically.


    "-I''m sorry" he said trying to silently convey his remorseful state.


    Hyolin smiled happily that he had realized his mistake.


    Things would always go back to normal as long as he  realized his mistakes.


    To be honest Hyolin had noticed a certain different vibe from the man Caleb had just ranted about, she had noticed how cold and distant he had seemed at the barbeque get together. His usual lively personality had been replaced with a quieter and more... calculating? Vibe.


    It obviously wasn''t her place to point fingers or to meddle in others'' business but also her best friend Lorraine had seemed to inevitably go through some changes.


    The two of them had known each other for years and tended to share everything with each other from great events to little trivial mommy adventures they often had.


    But nowadays,


    Lorraine was evasive.


    Very evasive.


    She avoided talking about her family ,she avoided talking about Sungjae.


    But the weirdest thing was she had begun to rely on the babysitter way more than usual.


    She knew for certain that the other woman would often leave the kids at the office because that''s what she did herself too. It wasn''t so much of a deal.


    Everyone loves their kids, or at least loved.


    Thinking back at the information that Caleb had given her, she was not sure whether she wanted to be leaving her young offices in an environment full of fresh faces.


    Hyolin was not close to Sungjae like that ,but she knew that she could talk to him and make him listen to her .


    Talking to Lorraine would probably not solve much especially given how much she was trying to avoid speaking of her family these days.


    Hyolin was not sure , but she had a hunch something was going south in her best friend''s personal life somewhere and had a feeling this was what was inadvertently affecting all of them directly or indirectly.


    Hyolin inwardly sighed and made a resolution, she would confront Sungjae.


    She had no intention of telling her husband not wanting to stress him about it further.


    She obviously could not tell Lorraine either not wanting to upset her into thinking she did not respect her privacy.


    So, the best option was to meet up with Sungjae secretly and demand him to explain himself.


    Hyolin mentally scanned all the information she knew about the man in question, when a sudden light bulb hit her.


    Wednesday.


    Tomorrow was Wednesday.


    She knew that Sungjae stayed in the office only half a day before he went to the gym.


    Just before he enters the gym would be the perfect  moment for her to talk to him, given as she couldn''t just visit the office this time, for obvious reasons.


    Hyolin mentally high fived herself.


    She could do this ;she could fix everything.


    Focusing back at her husband she smiled, sweetly


    "-It''s ok, I am sure things are going to get better, whatever the  actual reason is for this big change I''m sure it''s not going to be so bad." She said comforting


    Caleb made to open his mouth to refute but  just as quickly as he opened it , he then  closed it shut, sighing as he rubbed his head before finally smiling back at her.


    He had already talked too much about work, and that was not pleasant, it was best that he left his work problems at work and focused on his family at home.


    Not knowing of the plan that his wife had just designed for herself he gingerly asked her about her day, trying to make up for his previous unresponsiveness.


    Hyolin happily engaged in the conversation, happy with the knowledge she would sort his problems out.


    Little did she know just what she was really getting herself into.


    A quick confrontation was to turn into a quick expatriation.

 Thats my Bestfriend: Seconda Parte

    Hyolin sat patiently in the front of her new black range rover. She had been wearing all black clothing''s with dark glasses and a hat , a big contrast to her normally bright and vibrant choice of clothing''s.


    She had done so , so she could come unnoticed , just being within the premises of her husband''s place meant that there would surely be someone or  staff who could possibly recognize her , and that was the last thing that she wanted to happen.


    Having come all the way to see the man that had been recently causing her husband and her best friends'' uneasiness by secret , she did not want to be found out.


    She had parked at a good spot, not in the usual reserved area for employees and family but in the public area for visiting guests. She had left her car in a spot that allowed her to have a clear view of the main building''s glass entrance whilst also allowing her to not be the first car in sight.


    She huffed out as she sucked on a cherry lollipop, a threat that she would have normally given to her kids if they were there, but they weren''t.  She had left them with their grandma for the day just in case her little secret mission would turn out to take longer than intended.


    ''Sungjae should be out here any moment'' she thought to herself, knowing that the man usually commuted out to the gym around 12:30 lunch time.


    It was now 12:25.


    Hyolin was just about to space out lost in her thoughts when she saw the lean figure of Sungjae coming out of the glass doors.


    She immediately sat up ready to jump out of her car and join him as he approached his car¡­ when she noticed 2 unknown figures who had just come down a big tinted vehicle.


    She noticed that the 2 unknown figures who had just come down a big tinted vehicle bowed to him before they made him get into the car.


    Hyolin blinked , temporarily stunned at the scene in front of her. As the car drove off her first instinct was to follow suit, letting the engines come alive as she hastily sped up to meet up with them, so she did not lose them.


    She was not sure yet about the situation, she had never seen the two before , and had never seen him get accompanied by others in a private vehicle , if he did it was only with selected clients according to her knowledge of the man. But most importantly Caleb would be there too, so the fact that  her husband was not with them clearly indicated that the "escorting" was not a business one.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Then could it be that  the young Korean American was in trouble?


    But he didn''t struggle, Hyolin thought back to his expression when the two had ...respectfully? bowed to him.


    It was neutral, it was in a way... familiar?


    Hyolin shook her rambling thoughts away, she had to focus on diving.


    It could be that they were there to drop him off at the gym maybe.


    But as Hyolin noticed the sign boards as she passed by them. She noticed that they were heading outside the city.


    Hyolin hesitated should she abort the mission and try again next time?


    Maybe it would be better if she spoke to her best friend first, no?


    But just as if something had possessed her body, Hyolin could not stop; she found herself following suit, with every turn and every change of directory.


    The thing was Hyolin had never had to follow or rather chase after someone before. Especially not whilst driving so ,it was not a surprise that she underestimated the distance she would have to put between herself and the car she was following as in a sudden manner the large SUV in front of her braked causing her to close her eyes in fright as she also had the breaking pedal, just as you would in an emergency stop.


    Hyolin''s heartbeat was beating fast, she slowly and hesitantly she opened her eyes, scanning her surroundings as she tried to figure out if Sungjae and his apparent crew had noticed.


    The car was right in front of her, there was  no movement indication of anyone being inside, not that she could see inside given how tinted it was.


    to her stupor and confusion, she had realized that they had ended up in some sort of old alleyway looking road, it was still bright at but the area here was dark and gloomy , the floor damp as if it had just stopped raining.


    As Hyolin peered from her steering wheel, she felt a chilling feeling under her spine.


    She suddenly got the urge to escape, fidgeting with her car keys she struggled to ignite the car on, just as she was about to put on the locks just for safety measure when the two doors on the front door of her car were suddenly pulled open.


    Hyolin opened her mouth to scream in shock when a cloth was put over her face.


    Hyolin struggled with the grips of the 4 arms that were attempting to keep her down.


    She used all of her strength, shaking in an attempt to get the methylated piece of clothing out of her face.


    But the combined weight of the two strangers was too much for her, with  few last struggling  attempts her body finally went limp as her consciousness was finally cut out.


    ******* Whilst on the other side


    "-Boss, we have  a car following us "


    Sungjae calmly replied without any sort of worry


    "-carry on to our scheduled destination"


    "- But Sir... the car looks suspicious "


    Sungjae glared at the man through the rear mirror


    "-Are you the one calling the shot? Do you want to take my position too?" he asked snarling at the now trembling "-do you not cherish your life" he finally added his voice getting  thick and low, his eyes squinting dangerously


    "-N-no sir, I''m sorry sir I didn''t mean it "


    Sungjae gave the man one last look  before taking a deep breath, ultimately getting back his composure and his serene demeanour.


    Sungjae took out his phone, dialling a number.


    the phone rang once before the line connected.


    "-Sir" a deep voice said


    "-prepare the boys , we have a little sparrow to extradite"

 Thats my Bestfriend: The other side

    Sungjae was not the type of person to be caught by surprise by the unexpected, he was the type of person who handled unexpected situations and events in a rational and calm manner, irrespective of it being personal or business related. Despite it being of minor importance or of great emergency.


    In simple words he was what you would define these days as a "cool man " . Shedding minimum sweats nor tears ,immersing himself fully in resolving all problems beyond any set limitations.


    So, when one of the Idiotic henchmen of his stated that they had a car tailing them, he did not  bother to feel any other emotions than the normal and natural calm aura  which surrounded and made his whole bossy yet mysterious persona.


    What did get him slightly curious and had caused even though minimal a change in his stoic and straight face was when his henchmen had reported to him that Hyolin was the one following them.


    All of the men working with him knew everything there  was  needed to know about the men and women surrounding him, giving the importance and the purpose of his return...


    Plus, a quick call and a search of the car name plate and everything they wanted to know about anyone interfering with their work , would come out within seconds. It was that easy.


    The words "-Sir Miss Hyolin Jacobs is the one tailing us " had caused a minimal twitch in his expression, his left eye barely twitching in what would have been a raise of an eyebrow as he opened his mouth to respond to his men


    "-Is that so?


    He kept his cold demeanour on but there was no doubt that there was a hint of surprise and amusement behind the whole ''I''m so cool  and I''m not scared '' facade.


    If it was a facade...


    It was interesting, the current development.


    Of all the people that could have decided to tail him, but here instead was her. It was as absurd and as comical as it could get.


    There was no reason Sungjae could think of as to why the little woman would put herself through such trouble.


    It could be that she wanted to speak to him.


    But speak to him about what?


    He knew that the both of them were supposedly had to have a "good relationship". And he was aware that according to records the woman in question would have talked to Sungjae about whatever it was that she wanted to talk about.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Truth be told he could  ask his men right now to stop the car at the nearest restaurant and pretend that everything was normal and fine, letting Hyolin finally catch up to him so he could deal with her quickly and let her go.


    But what was the fun in that?


    Besides she would make the best leverage... His plans were going; accordingly, he had eyes and arms everywhere in the main branch of the company. All he needed was to extend the same changes to the rest of their global branches.


    He wanted all of his workforce to be in the appropriate positions. That way it would be easier to build the foundation of their great "colony" and it would also make for an easy dispatch , when needed at the appropriate locations to deal with the competition.


    Lorraine''s brother had actually been quite a resourceful body as it did not only provide him with information regarding the documents he was looking for but he had also highlighted just how precious the Shengyou land was, which meant he had to do something about his agreement with Zhi Ruo...


    Sungjae shook his head, his thoughts were going off topic.


    He had to get his shit together and deal with the,


    ...


    Would it be even be a fair comparison to call the current situation as a "problem in hand ?" It felt really off putting to even think of it that way.


    He had been shot 8 times in his chest before.


    How could dealing with a very hasty  and woman be considered as a problem.


    It was ridiculous


    "Well ... Since she decided to Grace is  all with her presence, why don''t we get her welcome gift ready ?"


    He said as if talking about welcoming an actual guest


    "-Malcolm" he barked suddenly making the atmosphere in the car turn even colder if it was possible.


    "-Tell the guys to prepare the chloroform"


    "-yes sir" replied the man in question


    Sungjae went silent before bursting in a fit of uncalled laughter.


    It was almost as if he was in hysterics.


    It was loud and sudden


    Even his men thought it was scary and odd.


    But the truth be told, Sungjae was not laughing at the prospect of all the harm that they caused the curious woman.


    No, Sungjae was laughing at just how much chaos this action of his was going to bring, and just how much this was all going to be fun to him.


    The panic and distress that was going to be incoming


    Oh, he could almost taste it, and it made him feel giddy.


    She would make the perfect scapegoat.


    "Well this is going to be fun" he thought to himself as he made to calm down.


    fixing himself he glanced at the rear mirror in between the driver and one of his men.


    From the back seat where he was seated, he could not see the incoming vehicle behind .


    But he could see his own reflection.


    Suddenly disgusted  he made  an action as if wanted to claw out his own skin. but he stopped himself just as his phone started ringing


    Sungjae took the call at the fourth ring.


    "-Hello?" he said tone , neutral and professional until he heard the words of the person calling


    "-Oh" he said in mock surprise "-I see...It will be sorted ma''am don''t worry I won''t disappoint you.


    "-Things are going smoothly, for real" he said with conviction, as he fisted and un-fisted his left arm throughout the conversation


    "-yes, yes ma''am. I will set it up to you" continue don Sungjae


    "-Everything will be in my hands. I mean in our hands ...."


    "Yeah, ok I will update you"


    After one more greeting Sungjae finally cut off the line.


    He smirked before stating


    "-Let''s speed it up boys, we have things to do"


    Poor Hyolin did not know what was coming.


    Hyolin did not know she would not be returning home to her family that night

 Tell me please: Where is she pt1

    Lorraine was happily making dinner for the kids when she got the first of a series of distraught calls.


    She had smiled when she saw that the caller ID was Caleb.


    The guy had probably called her instead Sungjae because the man in question had recently lost his phone.


    She had been actually in a very good mood that day given she had received news that the dance academy was preparing a Christmas special performance, and they wanted her to be part of the preparation, helping them instruct and guide the little ones through it. It was true that it was early being barely the middle of October, but over the summer the academy had a sudden increase in new students.


    Most of them between the ages of 5 and 9 meaning they required more monitoring and. 1 to 1 guidance.


    Gently drying her hands on her apron, she reached behind her trousers pockets.


    With one clear finger stroke she unlocked her phone. Promptly placing it on her right ear.


    She was just about to say her hello to Caleb when she heard his distraught voice calling out to her in agitation.


    -"Lorry! Thank god you answered. It''s Hyolin with you?  I''ve been trying to get a hold of her all day.


    I went home and she wasn''t there.


    My mum called asking when we were picking up the kids and ~Oh God I didn''t even know she had taken the kids there.


    Our cook said she left early in the morning and I just....


    I don''t know jay to do anymore¡±.


    Lorraine frowned, her heart suddenly picking up having picked up the pent-up frustration emanating from Caleb.


    Her hands suddenly trembled but she steadied herself, tightening the grip on her phone.


    "-Have you called her cell phone?" she asked not knowing where to begin with.


    Caleb sighed on the line, seemingly taking a couple of deep breaths trying to get some sort of composure.


    Lorraine bit her lips knowing it was quite a stupid question to begin with but luckily for her he did not flare up against her nor did he seem to take offence in it.


    "-I did " replied Caleb solemnly.


    "-A lot of times.


    I thought maybe her phone died or something but whenever that happens, she would usually find some way to communicate with me and let me know everything is fine.


    I honestly was praying that she¡¯d be with you¡±.


    "-I''m sorry " were the only words that could come out of Lorraine''s mouth.


    "-It''s not your fault" stated Caleb.


    "-I''ve just been having a horrible feeling at the back of my spine since this morning and... it¡¯s almost like she just disappeared in thin air!  It''s horrible"


    Lorraine nodded before realizing they were speaking on the phone.


    "-That''s really odd," she acknowledged.


    "-I actually haven''t contacted her all day because I was busy with the kids and the academy...."


    "- Have you called the police?" She asked after a minute as an afterthought.


    Caleb sighed heavily.


    "-I did but it hasn''t even been 24 hours so they can''t declare her missing" he said his voice going heavy, clearly upset.


    Lorraine at some point must have bitten her lip too hard, because she could now feel a light, metallic taste swarming into her mouth.


    She flinched as she let her tongue gloss over the abused area.


    Just as she was about to speak again, she saw the frame of her husband Sungjae, passing by the kitchen. Probably on his way to their master bedroom.


    Without thinking too hard about it she muttered aloud


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation."-I will speak to Sungjae about it" confident the man would be able to at least give her some sort of advice.


    She was really worried about her best friend.


    However, as she mentioned those words aloud a scoff was heard on the other line.


    "-Sungjae you say. Oh please" had said Caleb angrily.


    Lorraine was confused, shouldn''t Caleb be happy that she was going to ask for his help?


    Unsure and flabbergasted.


    "-What happened?"


    She asked tentatively.


    "-I asked several times to excuse me during the day, because I was worried but instead, he looked at me like I was asking for the impossible. The worst part was that he himself left early for his usual routine and when I called him asking him if he''s heard back from her at all. He told me that the last thing he''d do on earth was to entertainment a person like her¡±.


    "-What does that even mean? Why was he being so mean and who spoke to their childhood friend like that? One worried one at that?"


    Lorraine was at loss.


    She could not believe what Caleb had told her, looking into the direction Sungjae had gone, she made a mental note to ask him about this issue.


    In the meantime, she thought she''d have to start searching for her missing friend.


    Hopefully, she wasn''t actually missing as it appeared to be but maybe had missed her way on the way back.


    "-I am going to call the others and see if they''ve seen her. ¡°I¡¯m sure either Aiseh or the others will know something." She reassured.


    Caleb was beginning to speak when a set of loud Cries was heard echoing from the line.


    Caleb sighed tiredly.


    "-I....I got to go, the kids. The kids need me¡±.


    Lorraine let out a little sad small.


    "-I understand " she said softly.


    "-Don¡¯t worry too much, we''ll find her" she added at the end, mentally praying for her soul sister¡¯s safety.


    Caleb stayed quiet.


    Before saying one last sentence.


    "I won''t come to the office for a while.... I Don''t know why I feel like this, but Lorraine please be careful."


    Lorraine understood the first part of his statement, he was still mad at Sungjae, so she''d have to tell him personally that Caleb was taking a leave but the ending part of it...


    Was there actual need for her to be careful? ...and from what?


    Noticing Caleb aa still on the line she decided to reassure him.


    "-I will" she said simply.


    Her own tone sounding unconvincing to her own self.


    The line was cut abruptly leaving Lorraine with a sense of fear and worry.


    ''What was going on?''


    Little did she know that things were just getting heated up.


    As if possessed she took quick steps to her bedroom to see Sungjae lying on their bed, he had already changed his clothes and was...


    . playing with his phone?


    ''Didn''t he say he lost it'' she thought to herself.


    Her mood was already dampened and a bit irritated at what seemed like an obvious lie.


    After a few minutes of her staring at him, he finally looked up the intense feeling of being watched now slightly uncomfortable.


    "-What? "


    Lorraine crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows.


    "-Hyolin is missing."


    Without Missing a beat, he replied


    "-So? "


    Lorraine shuddered in shock.


    "-What?  Really?  Is that all you have to say? "


    But to her greatest horror he just shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes.


    Lorraine''s jaw went slack, her eyes wide.


    That was so unlike Sungjae.


    ''What was wrong with him ??? ''