The Demon In You

Rian put the doc.u.ments away. It was quite late as she had to sort out numerous files that day. Her 'training' will start from the next day and she dreaded it. Rian was a born klutz. She would fall flat on her face whenever she wore heels. The CEO's crazy ideas were spiraling out of hand.

Her sights fell on a blue file underneath the pile of papers. Earlier in the day, Jo Sun asked her to get the papers in the file signed by the CEO but it completely slipped her mind.

"Oh no!" Rian slapped her forehead. "I completely forgot about these papers!"

Jo Sun had strictly told her that these needed to be signed by today. But after the CEO's strange request, the papers slipped out of her mind.

Since she did not see the CEO exiting his office after the working hours ended, she assumed he was still in there.

She knocked on his door but it was ajar. Entering the room, she was startled to see that it was empty. Did he leave while she was not looking? she wondered. But that was impossible. She sat right opposite the elevator exit. She would have seen him leaving.

"Sir?" she softly called out. There was no response. Rian was about to leave when a faint music caught her attention. Somewhere from within the walls, a soft jazz music could be heard.

Rian scanned the office. There was no music player there. So where was the sound coming from?

She followed the trail of the sound to a large book shelf which was placed at the side wall. Out of all the things in the CEO's room, this book shelf was the biggest mystery for Rian. Knowing how the CEO falls asleep after reading one sentence on important doc.u.ments, it was strange to see a shelf full of books in his office.

Rian slightly pushed the book shelf. To her surprise, it slid aside to reveal an opening.

"What in the world is this?" Rian muttered to herself. She entered through the opening only to find herself in a posh apartment.

The whole place was like a palette. The walls were covered with wallpapers of different colors. The living room was arranged with comfortable blue couches complimented with a green colored coffee table. Next to it was a small fireplace which was adorned with colorful pebbles around it.

Right next to the living room was an open kitchen which had orange walls. The yellow counters were arranged neatly and the utensils were organized in different categories. The ambiance of the house was further enhanced by the placement of exotic flowers in different areas. There was also a stairway at the corner, similar to the one they had in the reception area.

There were also candid pictures on the walls. Rian stared at them in awe. The pictures were of everyday routine things which could be seen on the streets, but the shots were taken with genuine love and curiosity. There were pictures of a colorful street market from a bird's eye point of view, a woman carrying her child on her back while the kid slurped on ice cream, a man placing a flower on a little girl's head and many more candid shots. Each picture was put in silver frames, accentuating the beauty of the house.

Rian was so engrossed in the wonderland she stumbled upon, that she did not hear the shuffling of feet behind her.

"Ms. Oh?"

Startled, she turned around to find Hyunjae dressed in an elegant black bathrobe. His long hair was damp and some of his muscular c.h.e.s.t was exposed underneath the robe.

"AHHHH!"

Rian cried out and covered her eyes, blushing hard. Hyunjae was unnerved.

"Did my beautiful form startle you, Ms. Oh?" he smirked. "I know. Even I surprise myself."

"No!" Rian exclaimed. "You-you're in your bathrobes! It's just weird to see you like that!"

"I know," he sighed. "People do tend to get fl.u.s.tered whenever they see my perfectly defined features."

"Can you just change into something decent?" Rian pleaded, still covering her eyes.

"Fine," he conceded. "I'll be back."

She heard him shuffling back upstairs. After five minutes, he descended down the stairs, wearing a loose t-shirt and blue jeans. Unlike his usually eccentric appearance, he gave off a gentler and suave vibe. If he was not a self-absorbed narcissist, Rian would have truly appreciated his natural good looks.

"Why are you here, Ms. Oh?" he asked wearily as he sat back on one of the couches.

"I-I just needed your signature on these papers," she stammered. "I'm sorry, I forgot about these during daytime."

Hyunjae took the papers from her hands and signed them.

"How are you going home?" he asked her.

"I'll just take the subway," she replied, taking the file from him.

"This late?" Hyunjae frowned.

"Yes," Rian replied. She noticed his brows were slightly furrowed. Suddenly he stood up and announced, "Wait for me here. I'll drop you off home."

Rian was astonished. "That is alright, sir," she said. "I can go home by myself!"

"Nonsense!" Hyunjae overrode her protest. "It's late. I'll drop you off. Besides, I'm too lazy to cook dinner for myself, so you can repay me by inviting me to your place for dinner!"

He gave a wide smile. Rian was dumbfounded. Did this guy have any shame? she wondered. He's inviting himself to a girl's house?

"My sister will be home," she said.

"Good!" Hyunjae clapped his hands. "The more the merrier! We can have steaks!"

Rian's mouth fell in astonishment. Hyunjae, oblivious to her reaction, hummed as he went back upstairs to grab his jacket and keys.

If I murder him here, will they ever find his corpse? Rian wondered.

...

After ten minutes, Rian gave up her protests and silently followed Hyunjae to his car at the bas.e.m.e.nt. He held out the door for her and she got in the car.

Once inside, Hyunjae revved up the engine.

"Where do you live?" he asked.

"Near Hyewha Dong's subway station," she replied.

Hyunjae started the car and they drove off towards Rian's house.

"I am curious, Ms. Oh," Hyunjae said. "Where are your parents? How come you live with your sister alone?"

Even though Hyunjae knew the answer, he would rather hear Rian's version of the story.

"My parents died in a car crash," she said in a quiet tone.

So she doesn't remember, Hyunjae realized but did not voice his thoughts out loud.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"That's alright," Rian shrugged. "It was a long time ago."

An awkward silence hung in the air.

"Sir? Can I ask you something?" Rian asked, trying to clear the air.

"You wanna know which moisturizer I use?" he asked.

"Wha- no!" Rian was fl.u.s.tered. "I wanted to ask something else."

"Go ahead. But just to inform you, I use Cle De Peau Beaute's exclusive skin cream!"

Rian suppressed her urge to tear his hair.

"Noted, sir," she said, trying to keep her voice calm. "No, I wanted to know...why are you so much into colors? I mean, I've noticed it for a while. Not only the dresses you make but even the interior of your office and your house. Everything around you is like a color palette. Why?"

"It's because I'm a bright person," Hyunjae boasted, flashing a wide smile.

Rian shook her head. I shouldn't have asked, she g.r.o.a.n.e.d inwardly.

"That's one reason," Hyunjae went on. "But there's another reason."

Let me guess, his walls match the color of his scarves, Rian thought sarcastically.

"To hide the darkness which keeps trying to seep through," he revealed.

Rian glanced at him. There was a strange expression on his usually bright face. Once again, Rian wondered why he did not have a demon. Was its absence connected to the darkness he is referring to?

"Ms. Oh, your stares are making me blush!" Hyunjae smirked. "But I do admit, I look exquisite in casual wear, so it's natural for you to stare at me in awe."

Rian did not say anything but turned her attention towards the road instead.

His demon probably tried to throttle him in his sleep and ran away when it failed to do so, Rian concluded.