HER || [Chaerji]

{7}

"Seonju, I'm sorry, okay?" Chaeryeong looked at her butler for forgiveness for what happened earlier. "Wow. Never in my life, I've seen you apologize before." he joked.

"Ah yah!" the girl whined.

Although Seonju is only a butler working for Lee's family, he means more to Chaeryeong. Their age gap wasn't too big like one teenager and one middle-aged man, they just aged 11 years apart. Chaeryeong grew up having not many friends since she wasn't allowed to go out making friends from outside. All the social activities that Chaeryeong experienced were only attending important events for their family business, along with her father.

Seonju was her only best friend. In her view, he's like her older brother, as well as Seonju, treats the girl just like his own sister.

Back then, Seonju would secretly buy snacks just for Chaeryeong's sudden craving (her father didn't allow her to eat too much junk food as it may harm her health); sneakily bring her out to shops when Lee Hyun was out for business trips; plays with her when she's bored; keeping her secrets and never spilling the tea out to the girl's father... and more.

They basically grew up together in the same household, since Seonju's late father was once Lee's butler. He replaces his father in the butler job after the old man passed away.

However, things did not change after Seonju got his job. Now that Chaeryeong has turned into one mature-looking, 21 years old girl and the butler is 32, their relationship as sibling-like or as in best friends were still as great as how it has always been.

"Honestly though, you've never apologized to me once before. Even when you accidentally pushed me and made me fall, you didn't apologize. I was badly injured I sprained my ankle and couldn't walk for days, remember?" Seonju pinched Chaeryeong's cheek lightly, teasing her.

"Well, you deserved that." she stuck her tongue out.

"Whatever." the butler rolled his eyes and clears his throat, "So, did Jisu unnie tell you to come to apologize or is there anything I can, or must, help you with that you needed to force an apology out of yourself, Miss Lee?"

"Hey, it wasn't forced!" the girl sulked which he laughed off and looked at her, waiting for her words as he knows the girl surely wants to request something. "Well... I just think that maybe you could... go out with me? I need some fresh air."

"Please?"

He sighed, "Okay, fine. Let's go."

The words from the butler instantly brightened up Chaeryeong's mood, a big smile appeared on the girl's face as she walked out of the butler's room.

Seonju chuckled at the sight, knowing how happy the girl feels. He knows how much the girl likes to go out, he knows how much this house is boring the girl and how the girl feels under pressure in this household.

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Chaeryeong walks along the street, passing shop by shop with men in black suits around her, two at her sides, one at her back. Seonju is also following her by the side as they are heading back to the car, returning home.

"You're buying all those things again, Miss Lee."

"Things? They are decorations, Seonju! Beautiful decora— Owh!-" Chaeryeong's sentence was cut off when someone accidentally bumped onto her shoulder, hard.

"Hey!" Seonju raised his voice a little higher, getting the attention of that person who wanted to walk off without apologizing. The guards also had their full attention on that particular person.

The person stopped and turned around to face them. "What?"

"You hurt her." The butler of Lee's spoke sternly. The person, who's quite tall, gazed down to look into Chaeryeong's eyes, piercing into those dark brown orbs.

The mysterious person gazed back to have eye contact with the butler, they coldly responded, "So?"

Chaeryeong frowned. Not because of the other's response, but because she felt familiar. „This person's voice... Feel like I've heard it before.‟

"So you should apologize. You don't just walk off like that as if nothing happened."

"Why should I?" the person creased their brows and the atmosphere was becoming intense. The voice made it obvious that the person is a girl. The cold tone of hers made Chaeryeong thought of someone.

"Why should you? You hurt her, that's why you sho—"

"H-Hey, Seonju, don't make a scene," Chaeryeong spoke out, stopping her butler which Seonju could only obey, although he wanted to refuse her order. The girl's interruption caught the unknown person's notice. "Um... Aren't you the girl who helped me that day?"

The tall girl was about to say something when Andrew suddenly interrupt them. "Help what?"

"She's the one who saved me. It's her."

"Miss Lee, all we could see is her eyes. How would you know?"

"I— I just know."

The atmosphere was noisy and their surroundings were crowded with people, but for the Lees and the tall girl, silence filled the air between them, Chaeryeong felt awkward. Especially when the girl isn't speaking and only sending out cold gazes at them.

"Do you want to maybe come over to my place for dinner?" Chaeryeong asked, shocking her butler with the question. "M-Miss Lee, you don't know how dangerous she could be, by the look of her outfit, you can't just—"

"We can." the girl looked into the butler's eyes, reassuring him it would be all fine, and that the butler shouldn't keep restricting her from doing things. "So what do you say, tall girl? Let's go?" Chaeryeong asked once again with a sweet smile.