Secrets From Within

Chapter.4

Hyejin glared at the man before her. "What are you doing here?"

"So you do know this man." Seonghwa says shoving San towards her.

"I don't know him. He's just a pest that won't seem to go away. How did you find me anyways?" She asked, stepping towards him.

"A man named Wooyoung said I could find you here."

"Wooyoung?" Hyejin asks, confused not knowing who he was referring to.

"He's the owner of the bakery one town over." Yunho replies.

"Ah that man. Well he should mind his own. I don't have time for this." She stalks away from them.

"Wait!" San yells after her. He tried to follow Hyejin but was stopped by Seonghwa.

"That's alright, we'll talk later." Yunho said, taking San's hand and leading him away.

Hyejin continues to walk back into the main building. Before entering she looks up at the building's sign. It's written in a very old, rugged and broken, yet old English.

"Shadow sphere." She read aloud, reflecting on all she had just witnessed. Her eyes, however, were set on the door of the main building.

The entrance was built with black, iron locks and a shiny steel handle that resembled a doorknob. 

As she opened the door, the interior was both bright and spacious. A staircase of black iron steps led to the upper floors of the building.

The place was as beautiful as it was intimidating. It was completely white. The walls had numerous paintings, both oil and water colors, on them. The floors were made of white tiles. There were also a few odd shaped wooden chairs scattered across the room, one of which was pointed in her direction.

She always dreaded coming here. The Grandmaster was not someone to take lightly. Hyejin had no trouble seeing that. What worried her was what he could do if she were to fail.

She remained in the doorway, gazing around the room. Nothing but white was in front of her, blanketing the space. All at once, the whole room seemed to freeze.

She waited, wondering what would happen next. 

When the silence broke, she watched a white figure come into the room. 

The figure wore a white robe, its color not apparent, but when he turned to look at her, she saw that the figure had Gray hair and had a scar on the right side of his face.

"Hyejin?" The voice said without an ounce of emotion. 

"Back so soon. I take it your mission was a success. I hate to see the consequences if you fail." Hyejin knew this was a threat.

"The Demon was destroyed with no other conflicts." She stats her eyes not leaving his.

"Lies.."He says glaring in her direction. "Do not take me for a fool Hyejin. I have eyes and ears everywhere."

Hyejin falls to one knee placing her arm across her chest resting her fist over her heart. "I am sorry Grandmaster." She apologies

"A boy was injured but I healed him."

"Can I ask why he was injured?"

"Trying to save me grandmaster." Hyejin said, her voice trembling.

"Please stand my child." He said walking to stand before her. 

Once infront of her he raised his hand and proceeded to smack her across the face with much force causing her to fall to the ground.

"Pathetic." He stats before grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling her to her feet.

"You are nothing but a tool. A pathetic one at that. You were given these powers to prevent others from getting hurt. Yet you fail to do so." Dragging her by the hair he stands before a grand window.

"Then I guess I will make you regret it." He threatens. Before she could move he slams her head against the window.

Tears filled her eyes and a dizziness overcame her. He continued to grab handfuls of her hair, tugging them so hard that the pain was excruciating. Before she could think, her whole world went black.

"That will teach you." He states as he lets go of her hair and pats the side of her head with one hand.

"PARK SEONGHWA!" The Grandmaster yells. Seonghwa enters the main building and spots Hyejin lying on the ground with blood dripping down her face.

"Get this useless thing out of my sight.' He stats, shoving Hyejin with his foot. This action angered Seonghwa but there was nothing he could do but get her out of there.

Slowly he scoops her up into his arms and starts to walk towards the door.

"Oh and Seonghwa.."

"Yes Grandmaster.'' He says stopping and turns a little to look at him.

"Think of this as a lesson. Should you also fail me next time?"

"Of course grandmaster." Seonghwa says and leaves the building.

The sun has just risen by the time she awakes. The memories of what happened flash in her mind. Sitting up a wave of dizziness hits her. 

She looks over the room. Dark wood covers it from floor to ceiling. Hyejin's eyes land on Park Seonghwa resting in a chair beside her.

Hyejin tries to quietly get up but the bed makes a slight squeak waking Seonghwa.

"You're awake." Seonghwa said as he sat up in the chair

"How are you feeling?" He says placing a hand on her shoulder. Only for her to brush his hand away.

"Fine..." She stats turning away from him.

"I tried my best to heal you, but as you know healing is not something I'm very good at." He said his eyes filled with worry.

"It's fine. It doesn't matter much anyways." Seonghwa wanted so much to tell her she's wrong but he just couldn't. 

If the grandmaster knew he had healed her he too would be punished.

"How long was I out for?" She asks him.

"About two days. You hit your head pretty hard." He answered. She hummed in response as she got up from the bed and made her way to the closet. Digging out some clothes.

"He's worried about you. You know." Confused, she turns to face him.

"What?"

"That man from before. He's come by everyday asking to see you."

"Babo ya"