Adrenaline was increasing, the suspension in the room was rather stronger than expected. The oozing aura from the new comers made everyone stood in place, with a chill trickling down their spine. The girl looked over to the mane beside her, he had an unsure face that she could not read. It was her first time seeing such a sight even after years of knowing him.
Miyoung watched the male carefully stirs the warm tea he prepared for their uninvited guest. She looks over to the men who waited with the distinguished visitors, they did no say a word. Rather just standing by the sidelines like statues. She pans back to Chan who finally made a move to the living room with a cup in his hands, she followed him with an unsure feel jittering through her mind.
"The young master has told he will take some time to get back." Chan politely noted the newcomer who sat on the leathery long sofa, it was obvious in his tone that somewhat sounded rude. It definitely pointed out as if he didn't want the man to be there for one second.
"Nah it's okay, i have time to wait." Their guest chirped with a cocky smile, he leans back with his arms stretched to the sides to make himself comfortable. He eyes over to the girl, to which they finally made eye contact. It made Miyoung nervous, she wasn't sure what to say. She barely even knows this man, just a random stranger who claimed he was a close friend of Mark's?
Sounds shady considering Mark didn't even know his 'friend' was dropping by. She somewhat over heard her brother cursed through the phone when they invited the stranger into their home to wait. But upon seeing this man, he didn't mind how the others look at him. He seemed carefree and a relaxed posture as if he owned the place.
"Say, if you're my brother's friend, how come i've never seen you before?" She strikes up a topic just out of curiosity, plus she didn't want to make things looked uncomfortable.
"Of course you haven't, I transferred to a different school before finishing. Your brother is just one of my old friends I need to meet." He answers calmly with a warm smile, well that does make sense. Still, it doesn't change the fact why Mark would abruptly get upset over the phone.
She hesitated to ask him more questions about the male, she probably thought it might be sensitive to know about his brother's personal life but the existence of this man in front of her urged her to know more. A sudden tug pulled her to the side, she faced the one who yanked her arm. Of course, it was no other than the extremely overprotective Chan.
"Head to your room, I'll wait here for your brother." He told her with a stern voice despite the low whisper, his eyes became darker as if something had taken over him. It didn't felt right.
"Why? I'm not a kid to listen to you, I don't think I trust this guy." She heaved back her arm, with a light tone to the other while they watched the older male rummaging through his phone as he waits for the head of the household to return.
"You can bet on that but Mark said he doesn't want you around when he arrives. Please just listen to me." He begged.
"Not until you tell me what's going on."
An unexpected thud from the front door surprised them, heavy footsteps could be heard which then revealed the owner of those steps. His brows arched into a scowl though it might not look obvious, his eyes seemed to have flames of rage that showed he didn't want this unknown man.
Chan abruptly pushed the girl to the stairs, leaving the scene as soon as possible. She tried to resist but he was much stronger, without doubt, she ended up stuck in her room with the one who forced her in.
"Seriously, Chan. What are you so secretive about this time?" She crossed her arms close to her body, a look of uneasiness and suspicion plastered on her face. She needed to know what was going on in this house.
The other became seemingly hesitant with his actions, he tried to play it cool as usual but with an ultimate fail, made him trap in a dead end. He tried thinking of a logical excuse for the girl not to think about this matter. Stating such as a family business would have been the greatest explanation but it might be odd since Miyoung is always informed with her family's connections. Most of the people she knows are involved with the gangs and she would be always alerted of any news.
"Fine. I don't know much but your brother said the guys used to be friends and I don't know what else got between them."
"Really? Is that the best you can do?" Miyoung came off pissed with the useless statement the older told.
"I'm serious! If you want to know, you'll have to ask your brother." Chan had his hands up to his face level, he did not know what else to say. He knows this family has tons of dirty secrets but he would only know a few since it would be rude to snoop into someone's background. As the saying goes, curiosity kills the cat, and if he wasn't careful, who knows what might happen.
It was also said the oldest and only son in this family would beat the living out of those who disrespect him and to be exact, it was no lie. He remembered the foul trouble he got into before Mark helped him, seeing the brutal act made him scared of the older but Mark has his charms. The way he makes a living and he treats his closest made Chan knew he had a great leader and his task is to protect the girl.
He swore that her life was as precious as his own, despite the harsh playful arguments, they were closer than expected. But this time, he really couldn't help her. The mysterious man downstairs is dangerous for her to meet with. That's why Mark told him not to let Miyoung know but it's a bit too late, she knows how he looks like and she's getting more interested to know him.
"You guys are so weird sometimes. Okay, I won't go and see what's up. Could you chill for a moment?" Miyoung walked over to her bed, disinterested in what act Chan was playing. It wasn't like she was interested in their guest either, it was just that she found him suspicious. What kind of friends drops by without telling beforehand?
And Mark's expression didn't make things clearer as well. It felt like a sudden storm came in, his face had that look whenever he's in distress. Not one light of joy was on him when he saw the male earlier, it concerns her most.
"I'm gonna call Johnny for a bit, there's something I need to talk to him about." Miyoung grabs her phone and quickly found the name she needed to see, of course, it had to be him. There's no one else who knows about her life except for him. She catches a glimpse of a shadow standing in front of her door by the corner of her eye, turns out it was Chan. Just standing there watching her.
"What are you doing?"
"What?"
"I need to talk to Johnny, so can you leave?" She voiced out with force, she hated if someone was eavesdropping over her conversation.
"Fine. I'll be outside, if you try to get out-"
"Yeah, yeah. I get it, now go!" She pushed him through the door and closes it back shut. Whenever it's a talk with Johnny, it's no regular conversation, rather a playful gossip of things happening around them. This is why Miyoung didn't want Chan to be in the same room, he might even tell Mark about it if he heard.
"Yo! What was that about?" A voice came from the speakers of the phone, she checked the dialed number and it was Johnny's. It had been on for almost a minute!
"It was Chan. I had to kick him out from the room."
"I see. Now spill the tea, there's a reason why you called." Johnny sounded serious, he knew something was up if Miyoung calls him so suddenly. In broad daylight too!
"How do I explain this? Someone just came to my place and he said he was friends with Mark. But I've never seen him before and it kinda looks bad."
"Define, bad." Johnny started to become puzzled by her explanation.
"I looked like they had a big fight back then, Mark's face was hella mad when he saw the guy. I'm worried, you know how bad it gets when he's angry." Miyoung whines.
"Well, let aside the angry silent treatment. I'm sure it's not that bad, you know your brother is mature enough to think." The older reassure her, he sensed the negativity his friend felt.
"I don't know, John. There's something up with them. I just know it."
"Miyoung, I might not know much but believe me, Mark knows what to do," Johnny told her after a small pause, he had his way with words, and it helped the girl through hard times.
"Johnny, I have to call you back!" Miyoung quickly turns off her phone, her body rapidly springs out of bed. Her feet shifted to the door where an empty hallway was found, she found her chance to quickly head to the staircase with a disturbed mind. The sudden sound still rings in her ears when she ran out, it was the reason she now acted this way.
Her body immediately halted as she saw her guard standing by the lower staircase, he stood there completely shocked and there was a voice from the distance.
"I will no longer tolerate your excuses, Minhyung. I'll give you two days, and if you don't do what I want. Your father's life is on the line." The guest threatens the older sibling, even calling his actual name that he no longer uses. He fixed his blazer and walked away from the scene, the main door slams shut soon after and Miyoung quickly went to her brother who seemed lifeless. She saw the cold shattered cup that was used by the unknown man, it was a mess but she worried over Mark more.
"Mark, are you alright?"
"You weren't supposed to be here. Didn't I told Chan to make sure you weren't home?" His voice had changed with anger, he looks over to the male that he assigned for the part. Chan flinched, he wasn't sure what reason to give. If he told something, it might have been worse.
"No, Chan told me to go upstairs and I didn't know anything. All I want to know if you're alright." She had huge puppy eyes with a concerned look, it made Mark release his anger little by little.
"Ah. I'm fine, thanks. You don't need to go to class tomorrow. Chan, tell the others to head to the basement, we need to have a meeting." Mark quickly regained himself into his serious mode, he acted as if time was running out, he speeds through the room and headed his way to the underground floor where he usually plans out his things.
"Yes, Sir."
"Wait, what about me?" She pulled the male's arm.
"Act like usual? I'm sure he'll tell you tomorrow." Chan quickly pulls out his phone and trailed along the path that Mark went. After that, dead silence was found. Miyoung looks back to the floor where the small shattered pieces of ceramic were found, the cup that had been used had finally met its end.
"Great, and the chores are left to me, " She rolled her eyes and bent down to grab the remains.
"Huh? This was my favorite cup too!" She sobbed to herself while gathering the parts with her hands and a tissue that she got under the coffee table. Oh, what a life to be the only maiden in the house.