Soyoung's Dilemma

The sky was dark, the clouds lit with light, the wind picked up anything in its path, and thunder filled the ears of the Moon residents as they closely watched the gates from the comfort of being indoors. It's already been five hours and nobody has heard from Kim Daehuyn, not to mention this typhoon that appeared out of nowhere.

The house was dimly lit as if creating some kind of mood for the weather. The guards patrolled as usual while Soyoung positioned herself in front of the window. She was worried. Occasionally, Yeonseul would come to check on her. After hearing the truth about what had happened earlier that day, Yeonseul was disappointed, but seeing Soyoung as she was now, they could only pray that Daehuyn was safe.

After what seemed like an hour, the gates opened with a man staggering through, and thankfully, it was Daehuyn staggering in, soaked to the skin and barely carrying himself properly. Soyoung dashed out of the house to Daehuyn. The guys watching from the guard quarters also ran out to help Daehuyn, and before they could reach him, Daehuyn suddenly collapsed.

As soon as Soyoung got to Daehuyn, she couldn't help but feel like this was her fault. She was so excited to be back at work that she didn't even listen to a word about Daehuyn from Yeonseul in her briefing. Now Daehuyn was passed out on the floor totally drenched, she wouldn't expect the young woman to care, but she couldn't be the same.

"Hurry, take him to the infirmary," Soyoung screamed frantically while checking Daehuyn. Her heart dropped when she felt Daehuyn's breathing slow down, but before she could do anything, his body was whizzed away by the other men running towards the infirmary.

Soyoung sat there under the rain, her heart beating in her ears as she thought, 'What if Daehuyn dies and it's all her fault? What if she becomes the reason he quits and goes away?' She had so many thoughts in her head, and because of the rain, she had missed that part where she was crying. Not long, someone stood over her with an umbrella. Soyoung looked up to see Yeonseul.

"If you really feel that bad, then you should take care of him. Just know that it's not your fault. Daehuyn chose this for himself," Yeonseul said. Soyoung looked away into the distance before standing, with the help of Yeonseul, that is.

"If only I took my job as seriously as I should, this wouldn't have happened," Soyoung said, walking away. Yeonseul followed her quietly till they reached the dorm.

They both first went to the infirmary, or rather, Yeonseul followed Soyoung to the infirmary to see how Daehuyn was doing. They had changed him out of his clothes and put a thick blanket over him to keep him warm. Soyoung remembered how cold he felt in her arms and then, all of a sudden, she needed to throw up.

"I think you should see the doctor too," Yeonseul said, helping her hold back her hair, but she shook her head, refusing to go. Yeonseul knew how stubborn Soyoung was, so he gave her an alternative.

"You should at least clean up a bit. How would Daehuyn feel seeing you all covered in mud and eventually catching a cold? You know that can spread too. What would happen if everyone caught a cold that you started?" Yeonseul snapped.

Soyoung looked at him with wide eyes. She understood the consequences of what he was talking about and decided she wasn't going to cause more trouble than she already had. She quietly turned in the direction of her room, went in, and did what she had to do. As soon as she came out, Yeonseul was still standing at her door, checking in on her, and before she left to look after Daehuyn, she turned to Yeonseul.

"You must be tired too. You should leave. I'll take care of the rest." Soyoung bowed then turned around to leave. Yeonseul also knew better than to follow her, so he left to report back to Chairman Moon.

Soyoung walked into the infirmary, seeing that everything was settled now. That meant Daehuyn was out of danger. She bowed to the nurses and the doctor as they briefed her about his condition. He was out of danger, but he was going to have to rest for a while or could collapse again.

After being done with the doctors, Soyoung took a seat by his side. She asked for a bowl of warm water, which she used to clean his sweat. She felt really bad for what happened. She might not have known him well, but she could have done her duty better, which also included looking out for herself.

She could have dragged Daehuyn along when they met at the front of the school. She should have said something other than keeping Hana's secret from the chairman. She was more worried for Hana than the feelings the rookie would have had having to search the entire school for someone who wasn't even missing, to begin with. This was all her fault, for being careless.

Soyoung continued to wallow in regret as she thought about all the possible ways she could have avoided all this from happening. She eventually passed the whole night by Daehuyn's side. Meanwhile, back at the main mansion, the chairman had called Yeonseul for an update.

"...and that concludes the update for the new fundraiser and all the sponsoring companies involved, sir." Yeonseul finished.

"Good, now what about that child, the one I left to you? Daehuyn right? I believe I asked for him to accompany my daughter to school today. How was it?" The chairman asked, and Yeonseul felt a lump in his throat.

"Well... err... Sir, I mean..."

"Is there a problem, Yeonseul?"

"No sir, no problem."

"Then spit it out. I want to know the progress of that child in detail. I need to know if he'll be enough to protect my daughter," the chairman said, Yeonseul let out a sigh, and with a dead serious look on his face, he explained what had happened earlier, from the upset in the morning to Daehuyn laying down in the infirmary, possibly in danger.

The chairman sat there in silence listening to the kind of fanatics his daughter pulled because of his upbringing. If he had been a little strict on her, then maybe he wouldn't have to worry about her, he sighed after Yeonseul finished,

"I'll take care of my daughter. Just make sure that child gets better. You can give him the day off if you must," the chairman added, with his mind at a distance.

"May I ask you something, sir?" Yeonseul asked, and the chairman nodded.

"Why? Why did you take in such a child at that young age? You could have taken him to any normal orphanage, so why the mountains?" Yeonseul asked to have a better understanding of the chairman.

Chairman Moon laughed before answering the chief security officer and his private secretary.

"On the day we found him under what seemed to be a tent, he made by placing two burnt wooden frames together, and when we tried to bring him out, he had this fire in his eyes. He was still a kid, but his survival instincts had already kicked in." Chairman Moon narrated.

"I remember looking into his eyes like it was yesterday, he wasn't about to give up on life and that touched something in me it reminded me of myself when I was younger and full of life, if not for the scandal then, he would be here with me but instead I decided to take him to a place to not only train his body but his mind as well," the chairman said. Yeonseul nodded as he got to understand the chairman a little better again.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Yes sir, I'm sorry for asking such a personal question." Yeonseul bowed.

"Yeonseul?"

"Yes, Chairman Moon."

"How long have we been together?" The chairman asked. Yeonseul lifted his head in confusion as to why the chairman would ask such a question.

"It should be around 22 years now, sir."

"Haven't you thought about starting a family yet? You're not getting any younger, you know?" The chairman continued.

"I take pride in my work. I don't have time for such things, sir."

"And do you enjoy working for me?" The chairman asked again.

"I wouldn't want anything more than to serve you as long as my body and mind are useful," Yeonseul said, bowing again.

"Fine. You may leave now. Thank you for the good work," Chairman Moon said as he put back his hat on and continued with the papers on his table. Yeonseul bowed again before leaving the chairman's office.

Yeonseul stepped out of the chairman's office, still wondering why the chairman would ask such a question. Was he thinking of replacing him with Daehuyn? No, he has already worked far too hard to be replaced, but if that was the case, then something had to be done. Lighting lit the dark clouds and thunder shook the house as Yeonseul walked away.