"Are you okay So Woon?"

Her eyes widened as she looked at the floor, she sighed as she lifted her head up looking at the man that unfortunately ended up being her first kiss.
Akin looked to his side and grabbed her hand, the pointed spikes on his inverted ring dug into her skin. She flinched for a second.

"Apologize to our guest!" he said, looking furious.

"It was his mistak-" he grasped her arm tightly. So Woon stood holding his face and looking at the two holding hands.

"Oh you two must be close!" he said, smiling which turned blank almost instantly as he noticed the blood dribbling down her fingers. She could feel the spikes make its way through the skin, the pain got unbearable. She bowed down again uttering the words she didn't want to- "I'm sorry". Akin loosened his grip, blood dripped down her palms through the open wound. She quickly hid her hands behind her.

Akin turned to Cha So Woon, "A private dinner has been setup for you. Please wait in the room to the right end of the corridor. I'll be there soon"

"Alright" he said as he looked at her again before walking away.

Akin grabbed the pocket square from her coat and wiped off the blood from his shiny silver ring.
"If you keep making mistakes, this isn't the only scar I'll give you", he warned as he threw the kerchief on her face.

"Wait until this dinner is done", he said as he walked away. She picked up the kerchief wrapping it around her palm. She pulled back the cuff of the white shirt. The roughened palms and bruised knuckled on her hand suddenly reminded her of the past. The mistakes that led her to the life she now lives. She felt uneasy and struggled to breathe. Pulling down her tie, she walked to the railing looking up and breathing in as much as air as possible.

An hour after her shift ended, she was still sitting at the office waiting for Akin to get off dinner. She plucked petals off the flowers in a vase on the manager's desk. Allen walked in. "I understand you might be pissed at Akin but why are you ruining my wife's flowers", he asked as he grabbed the vase from her hand and put it away.

"He has asked to see in you in his office". She got up buttoning her suit and walked out.

*The lions den* she thought as she entered the room the second time today.
"Sam you're here?" Akin sat at the sofa, his coat resting on the arm of the chair beside the sofa. So Woon drank while sitting back comfortably opposite to Akin. The Macallan single malt whiskey gave off a sweet tangy aroma that filled the room. *The room* she realized. The ambience had been reversed. The painting on the left wall was unseen as wooden partitions covered the left area of the office. The lighting was bright and the red was nowhere to be seen.

"So Woon seems to be the kind that forgives easily, he doesn't mind you being his personal security officer during his stay here" So Woon smiled. *Why does she never smile* he thought as he looked at her blank face.

"His manager will handover his schedule for tomorrow. You have the entire responsibility of his safety while outside and inside this hotel. Is that clear?" Akin said, his demeanor demanded respect and his tone meant absolutely what he meant.

*So no fucking around* she thought as she nodded and said, "I'll make the necessary preparations".
"Take one of my cars" he said as he smiled brightly, "So Woon should only have the best while he's around. Treat our guest comfortably" he finished his glass and poured himself another drink. So Woon seemed to have had enough with the one glass.

"I'll get going to my room then", he said as he got up, "the dinner was delicious. Thank you".

"Samairah, take him to his room and make sure he has everything he needs" Akin said concerned. *The retard definitely can't hold his drink* she thought as she escorted him out of the office.

Back at the office she sat looking at the long list of events that So Woon's manager handed over. She read through it as she munched on the almonds from the packet on her desk. About half an hour later she found herself walking back to the company accommodation only to realize neither did she get that drink she was supposed to when her shift ended, nor did the day go well as planned. She sat down in her single size bed while nursing the wound on her arm. Faint light entered the room through the windows that were abnormally high up and tiny. The bed took up most of the space, leaving room for only a makeshift table that was folded and put behind the bed. She removed the shoes and socks, set up an alarm and stared at the light grey ceiling.

***

"The car is ready" she said. So Woon and his manager sat at the lobby. It was evident that the lobby had been separated from the other guests just for him. *Ms Elena from the Spa is pretty good at makeup. I don't at all look like I had just 4 hours of sleep* she caught herself thinking as she looked at her reflection in the shiny glass walls.

"Okay let's go", the Manager got up along with So Woon. They walked out of the hotel to the private parking. The matte black Maserati stood out among the rest of the cars in the parking. She looked at the keys in her hand, a faint smile decorated her face for a split second. *Woah did she just smile?* he peeked with great difficulty through the side window and smiled as he sat back in his seat.

The Lotto Mall was hosting a signed album event of Cha So Woon and fan girls lined the entrance to the mall. They pulled up at the back entrance and made their way into the main lobby of the mall. The signing event was designated at the main lobby which meant surviving through 10 to 15 layers of human excitement and the accompanying force. Fan girling can be difficult but nothing is as difficult as protecting a human from the fan girls. A team of five mall security officers formed a U shaped chain around So Woon. Samairah stood within the chain beside So Woon along with his manager. After what seemed like eternity, they crossed the front barricade leading to the stage.
A few hours passed, it was noon and the final album was signed and distributed. The same extenuating routine followed as they made their way back to the car.

***

"Can we stop at the convenience store. I'd like to grab something to eat", So Woon told his manager.

"You can't just eat anything, what about the diet", his manager refuted.

"Please stop at a store, I'm hungry", he said still looking outside.

"Sure", Samairah replied looking at the road ahead. The manager seemed furious.

"There's a reason I still kept in touch with the agency, don't give me a reason to do the opposite", he said, looking sad.

For the first time, Samairah looked back through the mirror. The boy seemed to be in a pathetic situation. *I'm to say* she exhaled; she drove to the store nearby.

"What would you like? I'll get it for you", she said as she pulled up opposite to the convenience store.

"I'll come with you", So Woon said as he opened the door on his side.

"It's quite crowded, if they recognize you, you'll draw a crowd", she replied.

"Do whatever the you want", the manager said sighing and looking out at the beach on the other side through the window.

So Woon looked down at his hand, disappointed. Samairah looked back at both of them not knowing how to decipher this situation. She pulled out a cap and mask from a bag in the dashboard, thankful that she had bought it along. She got out and opened the door for So Woon, putting on the mask and cap for him and holding his hand. "Stay close to me", she said as they crossed the road and got into the store.

A few minutes had passed. They walked out with 2 paper bags and rushed into the car.

"Here", he handed over the first cover to the manager.

"Eat before it gets cold", he said and they both smiled.

*Why is she outside* he wondered as he leaned forward and knocked on the front window. She looked back and opened the door putting her head in to ask, "What's wrong?"

"Why aren't you eating?" he asked looking concerned.

"I am eating" she showed the dry fruits in her hand.

"Why do you have dry fruits in your pocket?" He asks, as he shifted from concerned to curious.

"I usually skip meals. Have your meal and let me know when you're done", she had almost lifted her head out the car when he pulled the sleeves of her suit making her fall on the seat.
"Oh sorry sorry, I didn't mean to make you fall", her face looked as uninterested as ever. He pulled out two cream buns from the bag and handed it out, "I bought these for you", she looked at it.

"You should eat it, instead of surviving on dry fruits" he shouted. He handed it to her after opening it. A faint smile appeared on her face.

*Did she just smile?* he caught himself thinking.

"Thanks", she said as she munched on the bun. *hmm delicious*

They ate and headed to the rest of the two events before returning to the hotel.

***

18 years ago

"If you were scared you wouldn't have got yourself into such a mess. Your honesty is what will get us killed someday", the wife joked.
Han had become an officer in the police department and resolved a lot of cases in five years of his service. The last case he dealt with involved a drug bust worth millions of dollars.

***

"Han, in your report, you better not mention the whole 15 bricks. I'll give you 2 percent of the commission we are getting. Just turn a blind eye" the officer was shocked to hear his senior utter such nonsense.

"I didn't come here to mint money" Han said as he turned to walk away.

"You have a family, such hasty decisions can always be a disadvantage later on", his senior reminded him.

***

To understand how things had gotten so bad and how people he had trusted ended up being inhumane trash was out of his capabilities.
About 10 kilos of drugs that were missing was recovered from a farm house owned by his daughter. Taking up the blame he landed himself in jail.
To think that he gave 5 years of his life to end up in a prison cell was beyond his understanding.

"Han, I told you, you will come to regret your decision. Here, you might need this", the senior said as he handed over an envelope.
He pondered upon it for a while before deciding that this would be the end of it. He opened the envelope to find a blade.

***

The woman lay weeping as the coffin was rolled into the chamber and engulfed in flames. The girl stood beside her mother, she could feel the heat of the flames on every inch of her skin. Her head tangled up in thoughts but finally..... she had made a decision.