Decades

Chapter 6

Taehyung's POV

I flinch as I hear glass shatter from afar, followed by a rather angry shout. I sit up in bed, flicking the lamp on so I can blink away the sleepiness from my eyes, my ears straining to hear the noise again. I do not hear glass, but I hear thumping. It is not a simple bump though. It is a repetitive pounding noise accompanied with very angry sounding grunts.

I spring out of bed, shoving on my work shoes before I exit the servant's quarters. I am the only servant who lives on the property, so I do get privacy for bedtime. But it would be nice if someone else could deal with this. It is so late...the wedding is tomorrow, and I would like some sleep so I can be mentally prepared for the horrible occasion.

I follow the sound of the thudding, more glass being shattered, even a broken sobbing noise occurring too. How are the masters not hearing this? Are they even home? Or have they left again to reside elsewhere for the night? They have been doing that lately, not mentioning anything to me other than continuing my usual cleaning duties and preparations with the flowers.

The sound is coming from the smoking room on this floor, not too far away from the servant's quarters. The door is ajar, and I jump as a glass is thrown in my direction. It hits the door frame with a high-pitched clinging sound, shattering when it hits the floor.

"Master Leo?" I say nervously, pushing the door the rest of the way open. The man turns around at the sound of my voice, a little sweaty, unstable on his feet. I can smell whiskey and tobacco very strongly in here.

"Fuck." He grunts, stabilizing himself with the wall. I step over the glass by the door and carefully make my way over to him.

"What do you need sir?" I ask patiently, now realizing that he is quite drunk.

"For this wedding to not happen." He slurs out, yanking his tie off his neck, his button up shirt rumpled. Where was he this evening? Why is he still dressed?

"I cannot help with that unfortunately." I say with a sigh, pushing the glass near his feet away with my own. "I can clean you up and get you ready for bed though." He is angry about the wedding. I suspected so...or at least that was very obvious to most of us. But I didn't not expect him to be this upset.

"Do you know what it's like—to be forced to do something?" He asks me, clinging onto my shoulder. I stabilize him with my hands, helping him plop down into the leather couch in the room.

"Every day, sir." I say dryly.

"You're a fucking servant. A chink. That is your place." He almost growls at me, his words actually having a great effect on me for I scoff.

"Master Leo, I would prefer not to bathe a drunk man, but I must because I could get fired otherwise." I respond, gesturing towards his current state. He ends up laughing drunkly at that, hiccuping a few times throughout.

"That is true. My apologies Kim." He says humorously, wiping his forehead with his palm. His knuckles are red. I am thinking he was punching the walls in anger. "I have a seductive little minx that I'd much rather continue to fuck—but I am getting married to an insolent child." He continues on, shaking his head. "It is not fair."

"Miss June?" I ask with a sigh, looking at the mess he created that I will have to clean. There is glass everywhere. I will have to explain this to Master Jones at some point. It is not my fault the expensive whiskey glasses are missing now.

"Hmm...a real woman she is. Obedient. Lusts after me. Not like Bella. Bella is...a disappointment to a rich family." He is lucky that I know my place for the most part. If we were at the same level, his words would earn him a punch to his face. "But she does not want to marry either. Yet we have no choice." He slurs out more, sluggish enough to be partially laying down on the couch.