𝔇𝔢𝔞𝔩 | sᴋᴢ

3

I stepped out of the taxi in front of a surprisingly huge house. Like, MANSION size. It gave off a strong 17th century vibe. With the humongous courtyard and greenery around it.

You wouldn't find this in the suburbs.

And definitely not in the city. Which is where I happen to live. Which made this situation incredibly strange. Seeing as I have absolutely no idea where I am.

The taxi seemed to have brought me into some kind of forested area. Because I found myself surrounded by trees with no other house in sight.

Three things I have gathered from this.

One, these people are 100 times sketchier now.

Two, these people are AGGRESSIVELY LOADED.

And three, how the HELL am I supposed to clean this ENTIRE house? What do they think I am? A god?

Even through my doubts, which are totally valid, I stepped forward. One step closer to my inevitable death. But one step closer to a chance at a new life.

Just until I can get enough for college and rent. Then I can quit and put this shady situation behind me.

You know, if I haven't died by then.

I reached the door, which had an antique iron knocker that I thought only existed in movies. I hesitantly grabbed hold of the handle and tapped it against the door a couple times.

"I better not die today." I whispered, holding my pepper spray inside my bag. The second this gets shifty I'm macing these fu-

I was interrupted by the sudden opening of the door.

To my surprise, there was a young man standing in the frame. He was wearing a white button up shirt and black suit pants. With an expensive looking belt that matched his expensive looking shoes.

Geez, I knew these people were rich but GOD DAMN

And it didn't hurt that the man was pretty good looking. His hair was a dark black, which went well with his piercing eyes.

"Hello, you must be the applicant that called us about the advertisement." He spoke smoothly and professionally. With a spooky straight face. And to my surprise, his voice didn't match either of the voices on the phone.

"Yes sir. My name is Choi Dahae." I bowed, attempting to emit the same level of professionalism that this intimidating dude was bestowing upon me.

"The interview will be conducted upstairs. Follow me." He opened the door wider, motioning me past him and up a HUGE flight of stairs.

As I was about to step inside, the man stopped me.

"Just so you know, Miss Choi, there may be interruptions during our interview. And I would advise that you ignore said distractions and focus on what you are here for." He spoke flatly, like what he said wasn't suspicious.

And before I could process a response, he began walking to the steps. I quickly tried to catch up to him, stepping into the house.

I scanned the gorgeously huge foyer. It looked ancient, with antiques scattered across the room. From paintings on the walls to vases atop crafted wooden tables. The room had a common color of deep red. It felt like a room in some kind of haunted mansion.

I walked up the stairs behind the strange man that I just realized I don't know the name of.

The house was strangely silent. But I couldn't help feeling like I was being watched. Like there were people all around me just staring me down.

We reached the top of the stairs and began walking down a hallway of many doors. The man turned to one and opened the door, ushering me to walk in first.

I silently nodded and took a few steps into the room. It was a large study. With shelves of books and books. With a antique wooden desk in the center, neatly organized.

The man took his seat behind the desk and signaled me to sit in the chair across from him.

I sat down, surprised by how comfortable the chair was.

"I'm sorry sir, but I did not ask your name yet." I nervously made eye contact.

"Ah, my name is Seo Changbin." He said calmly. "Now that you know my name, we can start the interview." He took out a few papers from a drawer.

"Miss Choi, have you had any experience with this kind of job before?"

"No, but I do live on my own and I take care of the cleaning and cooking myself. I always do my best to take good care of my home and make sure that everything is in order." 

"Well, that is admirable. But if you were to have this job you would be required to live here on the estate."

"I would be perfectly fine with that." Honestly, my apartment sucks anyway.

"And out of curiosity, Miss Choi, what is your blood type?" He shifted in his seat.

"I'm sorry?" I hesitated. Is he into that Japanese blood type theory or something?

"Just Incase something happens while you are here, we need to know."

"Oh, sorry. I'm type A-, Sir." Of course that's why, wow I'm stupid.

"I see," he jotted down something on one of his papers.

"Mr. Seo?"

"Yes?"

"I should tell you that I have a medical condition. I have all of the details written down." I dug into my purse and pulled out a slip of paper.

Mr. Seo took the paper and read it for a minute or two.

When I was young, I got sick. It was just a cold at first, but then it got weird. I don't remember most of it, but my mother told me that I would often faint or my body would completely give out randomly.

The peculiar situation that I was in turned out to be some sort of a mutation in my blood. It can sometimes cause my blood to become thin and makes me collapse or my knees give out if I'm under physical or emotional stress. The doctors told me it was rare, and entirely untreatable. But it never really affects me too much. So I try to forget about it. 

"I see." He put the paper down. "Well, thank you for coming. I will see you to the door."

"Oh, okay." Already? I'm 100% sure interviews are usually longer than that. Not even a single personal question? No questions about where I see myself in 5 years?

I stood up as Mr. Seo opened the door back out. We walked the same way, back to the front. Except this time I was walking in front of him.

We walked through the silent hall, with no sound but the thumps of our footsteps. Until I heard some kind of wind gust from behind me.

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I turned my head.

Mr. Seo was gone. The man that was walking just a meter or two behind me was now completely gone.

"Uh, Mr. Seo?" I hesitantly raised my voice, looking all around me.

As I was lost in my confusion, there was another gust of wind.

And before I could turn to face this strange noise, I felt a pain in my neck.

It was sharp, and before I knew it, I was blacking out.