Devination |hongbin [completed]

6. Hostess

It had been almost two weeks since I took up my new job as following orders of Hakyeon. Almost every evening I had to welcome his guests, attend to their needs and show them the chamber. I was now forbidden from being in there after 12, master's orders. 

Hakyeon made me wear a vintage french maid uniform during my working hours. It was amusing to him since I basically became a walking, talking doll, for him to flaunt to his clients whenever he pleased. But I didnt step out of line. I followed his orders precisely, because of Hongbin. For their freedom and mine.

It was almost 4 o'clock and Hakyeon's guests were going to arrive any minute now. I tidied myself up and stood in the hallway as prompted, going along with one of my many duties here. 

"The guest's have arrived" Hansol the butler called as he opened the front door, revealing two sharply dressed men. I bowed politely as the men entered the room, the taller one winking at me. I couldn't stand the people Hakyeon brought over. They were almost as worse as he was, which seemed impossible. 

"Master will be with you shortly" I smiled, gesturing for the two men to take a seat in the living room. "Would you like a cup of tea ?"

"Yes please, darling" one of the men sang, smirking between me and his friend as I knelt down to prepare the tea. I wanted to punch the both of them. I could feel their disgusting gazes on me and I wanted nothing more than to redeem my dignity and get the hell out of this place. But alas, its better said than done. 

"I sure hope (y/n) has been a good hostess gentlemen" Hakyeon called from behind me as he entered the room, eyes immediately moving onto my kneeling figure. 

"Oh she has been lovely Hakyeon" the shorter man replied, as I handed him a cup of tea,  and his hand lingered onto my skin as he received the cup. "I wonder how you got so lucky" he hummed and  took a sip of his drink.

"Delightful isnt she ?" Hakyeon gleamed, as I retreated to my place at the back of the living room, awaiting my next order. I gritted my teeth as the men continued to discuss me, as if I were an object, like I had no feelings or consent. I then realized this must be what the boys in the chamber felt like all the time. Talked about as if they were nothing, just mere objects to be adorned by the public and nothing more. 

"We have things to discuss Hakyeon, about...you know what" the other man said, clearing his throat as he glanced back at me, "can we speak privately?"

"Of course" Hakyeon replied, as a serious look washed over his face. "(y/n), I'll show our guests downstairs tonight, you can have the rest of the night off."

"yeah" I unconsciously replied, too annoyed by the constant gawking from the two men to realize I spoke out of tone with my boss. 

Hakyeon slowly stepped before me, his eyebrows knitted together as his mouth turned into a scowl. 

"Is that how you address me, especially in front of my guests ?" Hakyeon snarled as his eyes burned into mine. 

I swallowed hard, as I turned to look behind Hakyeon. The two men chuckled darkly as Hakyeon reprimanded me, as if I were an untrained animal in a circus. Moving my attention back to the man in front of me, I bowed apologetically and fought back my urge to snap back at him.

"yes Master."

---

I saw my Master and his guests off in the hallway and began my mission of finding out more about what  has been going on in this place. I noticed that Hakyeon didn't take any liking of me lingering his library, so I figured that would be the best place to start.

I slowly crept through the dark hallway and sealed the door to his study tightly behind me. The very first time I stepped into this room I was amazed at how big his collection of books were. It was if he had purchased every book ever written in this place. 

I moved along each aisle, brushing my fingers across the dust covered books trying to find something out of the ordinary. The search became exhausting. An hour had passed and I had been through countless physics and poetry books, every one of them looking completely boring as the next. 

"There has to be something, a diary, anything" I groaned, moving over to his desk and shoved around some of the loose pages he had inside. 

Without any luck, I slumped down in the chair, and watched the sand in the hourglass that was placed on his desk, run out. This seemed as though this was the representation of my new life. I was just waiting for the sand to run out, for my sanity to run out. 

 Grabbing it eventually, to turn it over, I heard something shift behind me. I spun around on the chair, my frown deepening as I noticed a piece of the bookshelf move to the side, and reveal a hidden compartment. 

"What the hell..." I whispered curiously as I peered into the dark hole. The space was crawling with cob webs, and a musty smell  lingered around a few books draped in leather. Biting down on my lip, I sunk my hand into the compartment and pulled out the books. 

"Veneficia.." I frowned, reading the cover of all the books which adorned the same name. "What does that mean.."

I ran over to the dictionary section and pulled out the Latin dictionary, immediately searching the unknown word. My eyes skimmed through a few words until it came across the one I was looking for. I felt my blood run cold and goosebumps adorn my skin as I read the meaning. 

Veneficia - Witchcraft

This was it. This could possibly be the answer to freeing them.