21. (1/1)

THANK YOU to those lovelies who commented and WELCOME to my new subscribers. Enjoy this short and late update~ “I still can’t believe that you are the heir- I mean heiress of Seon’s legacy. Heck, I don’t even know your parents are supposed to have a daughter.” Dongwoo said after some time and Hana just flashed him a smile, unsure on how to react.“So, this is where you go every weekend?” Howon asked and looked back at the girl after inspecting the whole enormous, luxurious furnished room.Hana shook her head. “Nope, I always spend the weekend in Seoul. I only come here this weekend because I suddenly missed this place. I’ll be going back to Seoul later today though.” She answered, contemplating for a moment.To be honest, she was still in shock. She never had the attention of telling her true background to any other person, especially to her stepbrothers.“You have another house in Seoul, huh? Why am I not shocked to hear that?”Hana let out an awkward laugh when she heard Howon’s words. Seriously, how was she supposed to react to that?“I bet you have houses all over Korea.” Dongwoo suddenly stated and looked at Hana expectantly. Again, the girl laughed awkwardly.“I’m not sure.” She answered with a scratch on her head. That was true, literally. She didn’t really have the time to actually check how many houses that were signed under her name, or her family’s name if that matters.“Now I understand the real meaning behind your words when we first asked you about your house…” Dongwoo suddenly spoke, remembering something.As soon as he finished his words, Howon’s face expressed his realization.“Ah…” he mumbled and Hana simply showed her toothy grin. “Hey, why don’t you come home today? We’re planning to have our dinner outside and then we’re going to settle at appa’s bungalow for the night. You’ve never been there right?” Dongwoo said out of sudden and Howon nodded in agreement.“That’s right! Besides, you said that you’re going to go back to Seoul later, so just join us!”Hana contemplated for a moment before shaking her head. “Sorry oppa, I can’t. I have something else to do.” She flashed a sincere apologetic smile and Dongwoo pouted as a response.Howon patted the older’s back encouragingly.“Maybe next time?” he casted a look at Hana and his eyes were practically pleading.“Yeah, maybe next time.” The girl finally decided and smiled when Dongwoo’s face lit up and his lips were stretched into a happy grin.“It’s a promise then!” he exclaimed cheerfully and Hana could only just nod. ∞∞∞ It was already night when Hana walked alone in the alley. It was an absolute dangerous choice, but the girl couldn’t care less as she had mistakenly given her driver the wrong location.Not wanting to be a burden to the faithful family driver, Hana decided to go to the said place to meet her driver by herself, ignoring the fact that this part of Seoul was unfamiliar to her. Never mind the fact that this certain area is not even Shadow’s.As she continued to walk in silence, with her ears stuffed with her earphones, she failed to notice the footsteps that seemed to be following her. The alley was dark, but not the pitch-black dark, therefore, it still possible to see the place without any mistakes.It was when she noticed two shadows lurking behind her that she stopped her music player and pulled the two buds from her ears before stuffing them into her pocket.Her eyes cautiously wandered and scanned the whole place while her feet continued her walk. She kept her silence and calmed herself down. Out of the blue, a man appeared in front of her, completely stopping her tracks.Hana made a few steps back when the man strode closer. It was dark, but Hana could make out the unpleasant facial features of the man. He had a huge built, his eyes narrowed dangerously at her direction, his lips were making a crooked and lopsided smile and Hana heard cat calls from behind.She swiftly turned around and finally saw the two owners of the shadows that were following her. Neither of them have pleasant appearances, not that she cared though. The two guys were closing on her, and the same went for the man in front of her. She was surrounded, but instead of feeling fear in her stomach, she felt excited.She refused her urge to smirk nonetheless. Hana let out a small yelp of surprise when her back met the cold wall in a blink of an eye. She did not expect that, really. It happened in a sudden and she had not prepared for it. In just a split second, she was trapped between the wall and three men, both her hands were pinned against the said wall.“Hey there sweetie. What are you doing all alone in this place?” The man who stopped her tracks asked and Hana cringed at the smelly breath that hit her face.“Shortcut?” She replied, masking her annoyance so perfectly with her innocent tone and clueless expression.The men laughed mockingly and if it was not because of her pinned wrists, she would have punched the three with her fist.“Little deer, this place is not safe for a little girl like you, you know.” The man said again, and he brought his free hand to her face, caressing her face and holding her chin. The girl had the sudden urge to puke. She hated it so much when strangers touched her face.She let out her breath as an attempt to cool herself down. However, it seemed to be mistaken as a sign of fright and fear.“Don’t be scared, little deer. We won’t hurt you, unless you did something unforgivable, that is.” She glared at the man, but apparently it didn’t give any effects, probably because the glare didn’t meet the man’s eyes. But she could notice the two men beside him flinched.The hand on her chin disappeared as it was used to take off her outer jacket. Hana could only see from the corner of her eyes when her jacket was thrown onto the dirty ground.And there goes my money for dry cleaning. That jacket is so damn expensive! “What are you doing?” Hana asked, even though the answer was obvious.The man leaned closer, his foul breath perfectly hitting every inch of the girl’s face and Hana frowned at the smell. “Don’t ask. Just enjoy, little bambi.”“Your breath smells, old jackass.” Hana spat on his face, the innocent clueless façade on her face was nowhere to be seen. She kicked his shin hard, and the man stumbled backwards.“This bitch!” he shouted, and his hand landed perfectly on her cheek. Hana closed her eyes to erase the stinging pain and slowly, she licked her lips, only to taste the familiar metallic taste.She frowned. What’s up with people keep slapping me at the same spot?And it was when she felt a strong grip on her neck. Hana didn’t doubt that it would leave marks. The man pulled her away from the wall and faced her.His minions came closer and the grip on her neck was replaced by two strong grips on her arms. In just a split second, Hana was pushed onto her knees, or at least, tried to.The hands attempted to push her again, but to no avail. Hana looked up, and finally a smirk made its way to her lips. “For your information, I’m not scared. Not at all.” ∞∞∞ Hana dusted her hands off and crouched to pick up her jacket. She scoffed as she glanced at the unconscious men. As she walked out of the alley, she couldn’t help but to frown at the blood on her corner of lips and the familiar pain on her face and body. She sighed.I need to get an icepack, but I don’t think there are any more supplies at home. Ugh. I need to remind the maids to stuff the icebox quick. I need to hurry up and find an icepack…She thought to herself, and when she looked up to find her family’s sleek car, she noticed the area was somewhat familiar.Isn’t this..?A smile made its way to her lips. ∞∞∞ Thankfully the oppas are out tonight. Or else…Hana sighed in utter relief as she waved at the driver before making her way to the doorstep. She unlocked the door and stepped in.As soon as she entered the house and locked the door back, Hana quickly walked towards the kitchen and straight to the refrigerator, not bothering to turn the lights on.Another relieved sigh escaped her lips when she spotted the icepacks. She picked one and closed the door before walking to a corner of the kitchen for the emergency kit. And that’s when the lamps flicked on.“Hana?”