Hearts In Love
It was six in the evening when Aldric finally let go of Ryu after a set of tiring instructions. The younger sat down on his chair, a hand over his forehead.
"May I leave now?"
"You still don't get it and you never will. The first thing a CEO or for that matter, any employee requires, is punctuality which is the exact thing you do NOT have! People here have great expectations from you Ryu! I'm usually rough with my juniors but you have everything ready for you, all set over your table! Is this ungratefulness I'm seeing from your part!?"
"Expectations? From me!?" Ryu scoffed.
"Yeah, I saw that when I got here today. I'm simply the CEO's arrogant, bossy son to them."
"Which you are, at this moment." Aldric Sheng smirked.
"Father!" Ryu placed his fist on the table, sighing in frustration. He just wanted to go home even though he was trying his best to look like a responsible adult.
"We all have to start somewhere, Ryu. Lyra did too... Look at her now, managing her mother's business and at the same time going after her dreams. But judging from where you stand now, what you have isn't an opportunity, it's a blessing. You're a great child, Ryu. A gifted child. Prove to them what you're capable of." Aldric knew very well what he was saying. To him, Ryu truly lacked nothing.
Ryu looked up with disinterest, Aldric's secretary smiling at him in great hopes. He faked a smile, looking at them both in a robotical manner. He got up slowly and steadily…
"I guess I can leave now?"
"Sure. And don't forget about the wedding party. You're a special guest after all." Aldric smirked, hinting about Pixie at his disinterested young son who looked very displeased.
"It's a wedding party, not a funeral. I'll be there if I want to." Ryu walked past Aldric, waving him goodbye with his hand in the air.
"Ryu wait-" Aldric noticed something weird on Ryu's hand but decided to let it slide since he had walked way ahead of him…
______
Darah reached the mansion a quarter past 5 in the evening after checking with the nearest cafeteria for part time as per Judy's suggestion. Gladly, they hired her but she'd have to come home late the coming days.
"I'll be out, call me if you need anything." Luca waved to her as she got inside.
"Yes! Goodbye!" Darah waved back cheerfully.
"I'm not going anywhere for now, I'm the guard, dumb ass!" Luca chuckled, walking out. Darah nodded with a giggle and took the first step upstairs when Mrs Ruo came from the kitchen, surprised.
"Child, would you mind some coffee?" She asked in a motherly voice.
"Oh no no Mrs Ruo. I'm completely fine." Darah smiled as the latter nodded at her and continued with her sweeping. In reality, she did prefer some coffee but seeing the old lady already hands full made her feel like it'd be wrong to ask. However, her eyes were still scanning for that one person who hadn't reached home yet. She subtly looked here and there and couldn't find him… Maybe he hadn't gotten back from work. Shrugging, she walked up the stairs and changed out of her clothes into a pastel blue striped dress. It was then that a thought struck her, making her cheeks burn red. She looked at her hands in a dreamy way. The way he held her from behind when the bullet pierced right into the center…
What am I thinking!? She shook her head, feeling overwhelmed. But then an uncontainable urge took over her as she tiptoed from her room to his. It was left half open, just the way it was when he left. It was obvious that Ryu had nothing to hide in here, except this room of his. Creeping inside, she turned on the dim yellow lights and went over to the drawer.
You told me that you'd train me. But look who's late… Darah thought to herself. She knew it wasn't a training she should be happy about… And she couldn't tell why it left such a deep memory in her mind that she couldn't stop herself from thinking about it. Something was drawing her closer to that memory. She looked through the shelf and recalled the exact book under which he had kept that key. Taking it to her hand, she twisted it and separated the shelves. She found herself getting lost through the dark narrow passage which eventually led her into the room. A lot of things had caught her attention that day, but some things remained in her mind with the exact detail. She headed over to that exact table and the velvet sheet that held a number of sharp, pointed and shiny beauties that had always attracted her.
Mrs. Ruo was almost done with the hall when she saw the tall figure walk lazily over to the table, throwing his jacket and letting it hang from the top of a chair.
"Young Master, would you like some coffee?"
"Sure." He muttered in a low voice and made himself comfortable over the couch. The old lady rushed towards him from the kitchen and smiled, handing him over the coffee. Taking a sip of it, he asked the very obvious words Mrs Ruo thought he would.
"Is she home?"
"Yes, since over an hour ago. She's upstairs."
"Oh." Ryu nodded, taking a sip again. He could feel something rising from the pit of his heart, a very uncomfortable feeling. He looked upstairs, then looked back down. His feet jerked in an irritated state of mind so he finally thought it was enough and got up.
"Do you know if she's in her room?" He asked in concern, Mrs. Ruo raising her head with a hand on her broom.
"I saw her going in so she must be there."
Ryu wasn't convinced. He placed the half empty cup over the table and went straight upstairs. Hoping she'd be there, he repeatedly knocked on the door and then opened it, receiving no response. As expected, he thought heading straight to his room. As soon as he found the shelf unlocked, his mind felt so uneasy, imagining all the things that could go wrong, especially with the guns. Don't do anything stupid Darah… He slowly stepped inside, hearing no sounds whatsoever until he reached the end of the passage. It was only until he saw a figure at the farthest end with a panting voice that he immediately recognised as her's that he felt his heart calm down.
He was about to step forward but found himself go numb when he saw what she was holding. What he thought could be a tiny knife within the clasp of her hands turned out to be a full fledged sword. His brows furrowed in confusion and awe, watching her hair swinging side to side with the rhythm of her movements. This couldn't be real, he thought, seeing her fling it around like some trained swordsman. Such flexibility and sharpness in her cutting, even though it was just her alone, standing under the bright golden lights that enhanced her posture. She's just an ordinary girl, there was no way…
Unknown to her, Ryu stepped closer to the first table with the daggers over it and picked one up very silently. Without a second thought, analysing her currently panting and unmoving frame, he threw the knife in a way it would fly right past her. In the flash of a second, her frozen body moved to a side swiftly but the sword in her hand, which he thought she would use to shield herself, in turn hit the knife in a ridiculous way that caused it to rebound right back at him.
Ryu dodged right in time with wide eyes, close enough that it almost scraped his hand. He was lost at words, watching Darah's cold expression melt into disappointment and then into worry. She looked like she wanted to kill me a second ago… Why? Ryu couldn't tell if his heart was racing at what he just witnessed or at the sight of her cold gaze. Darah looking at him like that was something he couldn't imagine even in his dreams.
"Ryu!? Oh no are you alright!?" She dropped the sword and ran to him, eyes shaking in concern. Ryu was stupified, watching her take his hand into her's…
"D-Did I hurt you?? I'm so sorry!" She kept apologising but Ryu was still in shock. Looking at her he had only one word running through his mind. Beautiful… Just magnificently beautiful.
"I'm fine." He finally managed to say, pulling his hand away with his eyes still locked on her shaking frame. Ryu couldn't understand what was happening… It was almost like he saw a part of Darah he didn't wish it see, even though it was mesmerizing and terrorizing at the same time, to say the least.
"No, you're hurt!" She pulled him under the light and examined his hand. Ryu stood silent, and not too soon did he see tears form in her eyes. In a few seconds, it was dripping down her chin, forming droplets over the back of his hand. A light streak of blood had formed over his hand and Ryu knew he'd gotten hurt because he stared at her for too long before he dodged.
"I'm sorry I can't see." Darah said in an irritated voice, angry at herself as she wiped her tears away. She looked again and was surprised this time, seeing brown drops beneath the sleeve, over the fresh cut, making her confused. He realised what it was, feeling stupid about how he didn't notice it sooner when he killed those men.
"I'm fine!" He said firmly and pulled back his hand in a frenzy.
"It hurts doesn't it?" She asked, tears threatening to fall again. Darah looked at him sadly, sniffling with the tip of her nose and her cheeks red. Ryu felt an awful weight sitting on his chest just looking at her. He raised both his hands and held both her red cheeks within his palms, gazing deeply into her eyes.
"I'm fine, Darah." He said again, a faint smile on his lips. But in his mind, he knew what he wanted to say, didn't end there...
'Because it hurts me more to see you cry…'