A Symphony Of Home

Twenty (Tae Ho's POV)

(Edited)

Early in the morning, I was rudely awakened by Elysia tugging on the handcuffs. My decision to cuff my left hand paid off, meaning we didn't have to switch sides in bed, but I wished I could push her off the bed right then. Just a few more hours, and I'd be in charge. Then I'd make her suffer, too.

I fought to keep my eyes open, unused to being awake this early. Elysia was already wide awake, eagerly waiting for me to leave the bed.

"What?" I grumbled.

"Get up. We're going to work out."

"Are you crazy?" I squinted at the clock on my phone. "It's 5 AM."

"Doesn't matter. Right now, I'm the boss." She smirked, and though I wanted to argue, I knew she had a point.

"Fine, but I need coffee before I can even think about moving."

"I'll make a small adjustment," she mumbled more to herself than to me.

We shuffled to the kitchen, where she made some green smoothie that looked awful but smelled surprisingly fresh—coconut, maybe? I stuck with my coffee, trying to delay the inevitable. Afterward, Elysia sent a quick message to Mr. Lee to request a temporary unlock.

A groggy Lee Gon showed up at the door. "Did she drag you out of bed, too?" he asked, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"No idea how this happened," I muttered, lifting my cuffed hand and glaring at Elysia, who had the nerve to look innocent. Lee Gon chuckled as he unlocked the cuffs.

"Good luck, man," he said, shaking his head as he left.

Elysia bolted to the bedroom, ready to get dressed for her workout, and I followed sluggishly. She had boundless energy, which irritated me at this hour. When I finally got dressed, she was already pulling me toward the workout area.

Despite my reluctance, I decided to join her in exercising. To my surprise, I found myself more distracted by her than the actual workout. She moved with such purpose, her body responding to the music's beat. Elysia wore navy blue leggings and a loose lime green long-sleeve top, her hair tied up in a bun. She worked hard, occasionally sighing but never grunting out loud.

I had been watching her closely since Sri Lanka. She always seemed calm, collected, and focused, never flaunting her body like some women did. She didn't wear dresses, at least not since I'd known her. Did she even own any? The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had questions about her that I didn't have answers to.

After an hour of working out, she was still full of energy, while I was ready to pass out. Finally, she took a shower, using the 30-minute break we were allowed. I stayed behind with Mr. Lee, knowing I could shower when my turn came later.

The hours of Elysia's "boss" time passed by quickly. At 10 a.m., an alarm on Chan Woo's phone marked the end of her reign and the beginning of mine. Elysia looked up at me expectantly, almost excited for whatever I had planned next. I leaned back on the couch and pretended to focus on a series on my phone.

I wasn't one for revenge, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to annoy her. Elysia didn't like horror, so I chose The Walking Dead. The moment she saw the series title, she begged me to choose something else. But I held firm, grinning as she clung tightly to my arm and hid behind my shoulder whenever a zombie appeared on the screen. At some point, I felt her head lean against my shoulder, and when I looked down, she was fast asleep.

In that moment, something inside me shifted. Her peaceful expression stirred something protective in me, something I hadn't expected to feel. I wanted to shield her from everything, from all the bad things in the world that could disturb her peace.