Wang So

He moved into the house that evening, quietly dragging in two suitcases of his belongings into the house that revolved like the gears of a clock.

His room was furnished with a comfortable bed, a desk, and a small fridge for any foods he might want to keep. The four walls were papered with flying cranes and his closet was small and clean, easily carrying all of his clothing. It was a cozy space that would have cost a fortune if it were its own house on the street he now lived on.

He sat in the lounge area provided for the staff, glancing over at Wook's bodyguard who took a nap on the other side of the long sofa. So read his job manual while watching other staff members come and go. Some grabbed drinks from the fridge while others stopped to introduce themselves to him.

The bodyguard shall always accompany the mistress of the house in all of her actions unless she is inside the Hwang Bo house. If she is visiting family or friends, the bodyguard will remain within shouting distance and make sure there are no photographers or threats.

The bodyguard must keep the mistress safe, but if any harm is to come to the family, unless there are other guards present, he must care for the children before the mistress.

Order of assistance is as follows: Hwang Bo Yoon, Hwang Bo Mi, Hae Soo, Hwang Bo Wook. If other personnel are present, the bodyguard will only care for the mistress and Hwang Bo Yoon.

Twenty pages of instructions. So read and read, memorizing his new occupation and wondering why there were so many rules. "'Do not mention cats in front of Hwang Bo Mi,' are they serious?" He looked up at Chae Ryung as she pulled her hair from its bun.

"Dead serious. I wrote that rule," she sighed, massaging her scalp. "Mi has wanted a cat ever since she was four, but Mrs. Hae is allergic to cats, so they avoid the conversation entirely. Mi doesn't say she wants a cat unless reminded. Hey, new members of the staff always have one dinner with the family to introduce themselves and get to know them, so you'd better get to the dining room."

So raised an eyebrow but complied, adjusting his suit and making sure his orange tie was straight. He walked to the dining room where the family was sitting down to dinner.

Contrasting from the sharply dressed Hwang Bo Wook he had seen earlier, So noticed that the family was more laid back in the evening. Wook wore a white t-shirt and long pants. Beside him, his wife sat in a house dress, her youngest in her lap. Mi sat beside her mother, refusing to eat the porridge in front of her. The girls wore matching sweaters and leggings.

"Ah, Wang So, good timing," Wook said when he noticed So. "Please come sit with us."

So took the seat beside Wook and gazed out at the traditional Korean food laid out before him. He did not remember the last time he had eaten a home cooked meal. However, what interested him more was the way Hae Soo stared at him. It almost seemed as if she was annoyed.

"Wook, I don't need a bodyguard," she sighed. Ah, So thought. Well I don't want to protect you either.

Hae Soo fed Yoon rice and soup as Wook chuckled. "Soo, I told you, it's been too long since the last one quit-"

"You paid him for no reason! I'm fine!"

"Mommy, my tummy hurts," Mi whined. So watched Soo turn from her husband to her second to her firstborn.

"Baby, please just try a little broth," she said softly. Her hand rested on Mi's shoulder, smoothing out the wrinkled sweater. Mi shook her head and Soo nodded. "Alright, then you can watch a movie in the sitting room. Ask one of the maids to turn on Frozen."

Soo scoffed when the little girl immediately perked up and scampered away from the table. "Thank you, Mommy!"

So ate slowly, listening to Hae Soo declare once more that she did not need a bodyguard.

She was beautiful in a peculiar way, he decided. Not the type of beauty that would grace runways or magazine covers, she had an expression that made one feel safe. Her wide eyes and gentle smile made whoever was on the receiving end feel warm and happy. Her dark hair was short and reached her slim shoulders in soft waves. Her body was small but womanly, and she seemed more beautiful when she was fussing over her children.

"Soo, you're getting a bodyguard whether you like it or not. I cannot have your safety jeopardized. Think of the children," Wook said to his wife.

"Children!" Yoon shouted, her little voice louder than her father's. Both Wook and Soo smiled at their daughter who proudly devoured the stir-fried anchovies her mother offered her. "I a children!"

"Yoonie is a child," Wook corrected her.

Sighing, Soo met eyes with So. He set his chopsticks down as she looked him over. Pursing her lips, she glanced from him to Yoon to Wook to Yoon again. "Fine," she relented. "I guess it's my fault for marrying a politician."

"I was a lawyer when you married me, dear."

"Same difference."

When the meal was over, So quietly left the table. He studied the relationship between Hae Soo and Hwang Bo Wook. Theirs was a happy marriage. Hwang Bo Wook doted on his wife who offered companionship and love in return. Their children were happy, their marriage was strong, and they were apparently planning on sleeping with the children that evening.

"Have the sofas moved and blankets laid out in the sitting room," Wook called to one of the maids. "We'll all watch a movie and sleep there. After that, you're all free to call it a night."

The next morning, So was up at four, worked out by five-thirty, and washed and dressed by six.

He ate breakfast in the lounge with a maid and Wook's bodyguard. The chef had sent large portions of rice, kimchi, stir fried spinach, and bean paste stew. A simple, filling breakfast.

After eating, So checked his work e-mail and made sure no other clients had asked for his special services. He took his name off that market indefinitely.

An itinerary on the wall of the lounge dictated the family's events and movements. Printed each morning and stabbed onto a corkboard by Chae Ryung, it was a long list of scheduled activities as well as a few things that could happen.

Due to Mi's sudden sickness, Soo would stay home to care for her daughter. Yoon's day would proceed as planned: daycare from nine to one; piano lessons from one ten to two; home for lessons with Chae Ryung. Wook would leave for work at eight twenty and return home at an undisclosed time. Tonight, he was having dinner with colleagues.

So stepped into the house for the first time as an employee and was surprised to see Yoon munching on a roll stuffed with red bean. She walked right past him, her little legs carrying her toward the kitchen. "I want milk!" She toddled around in various directions, in search of the cook or a maid.

"Please!" So heard Chae Ryung call to the little girl. "The proper way is 'I want milk, please'. "

Yoon turned and So met eyes with the small child, glancing at her yellow pajamas, duck printed pajamas. She munched on her bread without breaking eye contact. "Is it good?" So asked.

"No," the girl snapped before giggling and smudging red bean onto her shirt.

So nodded serenely. "Then why are you eating it?" he asked. Yoon pursed her little lips as she took another bite of her bread.

"Yoonie, baby, you need to eat at the table." So turned to see Hae Soo walking past him. She picked her toddler up and kissed the girl's chubby cheeks. "Oh, you got it all over your shirt! Grandma got you these pajamas," she moaned. Soo looked at So and he bowed.

"Good morning," he greeted her.

"Good morning." Hae Soo smiled. "I don't think there's much for you to do today; I'm staying home with Mi. You can accompany me when I take this monkey to daycare."

"Of course," he stated. So watched as she walked away, the slim cut of her pants defining her legs. From behind, he could see her bottom was small and her waist even smaller. He wondered how she had carried a child with that petit body.

When it was time for for Wook to go to work, Soo and the children were at the door to see him off. He knelt to kiss each daughter on the forehead before standing to kiss his wife. "Don't drink too much tonight," Soo said as he walked out the door to where the car was waiting.

After Wook left, So waited by the car for Soo and Yoon to arrive. To his surprise, the pair stepped out the front door, making for the gate. Soo wore a fur coat and Yoon was bundled in a blue parka. Mother and daughter held hands as they waited for the front gate to open.

So jogged out to where they were, immediately standing behind Soo. "Keep up, Mr. Bodyguard," she chuckled. "Unless it's raining, we walk to the bus stop."

So offered to carry the little backpack in Soo's grasp but she declined. "It's a tiny backpack. I think I can handle it."

They walked down the street and So noticed that other houses seemed to not have children. Only one other house on their street sent forth a child, but this offspring of filthy rich parents was a teenager who waited for his gate to open on his bike. "Good morning, Mrs. Hae!" the boy called.

"Hi, Jung!" Soo called back. Yoon waved at the boy who biked over to where they stood. So frowned when the boy stopped his bike and patted Yoon's head.

"Hey, munchkin," he greeted the girl. "Going to daycare?"

Yoon stuck her tongue out at Jung. So watched as the teenager stuck his tongue out at the child. The two seemed equally matched in brain capacity and began taking turns poking each other.

"Are you ready for your taekwondo exams?" Soo asked the boy as he walked with her. "You're late for school, aren't you?"

The boy only laughed. "It's winter break, Mrs. Hae. I'm going to meet my friends today. We're going to a PC bang and playing League of Legends all day," he explained. Soo patted Jung's shoulder when he bowed to her before pedaling away at full speed.

"That boy's going to get himself killed," Soo sighed to herself. So continued to walk in silence behind the mother and daughter until they reached a corner where two other children waited with their fur-clad mothers. "Good morning," Soo said to the other parents.

Yoon, after accepting her backpack from her mother, scampered off to greet a girl with pigtails as Soo stood with the other adults. So wondered if his employers expected him to wait around and listen to parents gab about their children until the order came for him to eliminate Hwang Bo Wook and his family. He could see why his colleagues did not take 'indefinite' orders.

A yellow bus approached and a teacher stepped out from the vehicle. So noticed that she did not even bat an eye in his direction. "Good morning, she greeted the children. The children bowed to their teacher who nodded. "Bow to your mothers," she said.

So watched the children turn toward their mothers and press their hands to their stomachs, bowing deeply. And then they were gone- whisked away on a bus to go to daycare.

He watched as Hae Soo waved goodbye to the other mothers before turning back toward the house. "Ugh, I wish Kim Yeon Hwa would shove her son's Ivy League degree up her ass. I don't care that he graduated at sixteen," she grumbled, crossing her arms. "So what if my kid can barely count to twenty. She's fine!"

So quietly scoffed, holding his hand to his mouth as Hae Soo grumbled to herself.

He looked up when Soo paused and turned toward him, glaring. "You just laughed," she accused, pointing at him.

I'm four years older than you and you're pointing a finger at me, he thought to himself. "Apologies, madam," So stated. "I found your tirade amusing, is all."

Soo made an indignant face and So blinked. They stared each other down before Soo humphed and continued walking. "I mean, if I had a kid at twenty like she did, then maybe Mi would have been a genius, but you know what? I love my munchkins whether they're geniuses or not!"

When they arrived home, So put in the code for Soo and opened the gate for her, standing back as she stepped into her home. He then returned to her side to open the front door for her.

Soo's boots came off and a maid set them aside. So quietly thanked the maid for doing the same with his shoes.

"Mi! Mommy's back!" Soo called out. She handed her coat over to the maid and walked to the sitting room where the top of Mi's frizzy hair peeked from the white sofa. Cartoons were on the TV and a tray of soft foods sat on the table in front of the little girl.

So accompanied Soo to the sitting room and watched as she settled down on the L-shaped sofa beside her daughter, stretching her legs out. Mi clambered onto her lap and curled against Soo's body. Quietly, the pair watched cartoons while So watched Soo brush through the knots in Mi's hair with her fingers.

"How's your tummy?" Soo asked. Mi hummed and snuggled closer to her mother. Soo lifted a hand and waved at So. He raised an eyebrow at her movements. "Could you hand me that blanket?" she called to him. Her hand pointed toward the comforter by her feet.

Stepping forward, So walked around the sofa and grabbed the blue blanket, opening it over mother and child. Like a tent, the soft material fluttered over them until both were covered. Soo thanked him with a smile before continuing to hug her daughter.

Standing behind the two, So wondered for a moment what it would be like to have a child. He was at the age to be a father. Most men in their later thirties were already parents. So was a hitman.

He imagined having a spunky girl like Yoon or having a delicate daughter like Mi.

When the thirty minute cartoon segment ended, Soo turned the tv off. Sighing, she patted her daughter's hair. "She fell asleep," she murmured.

So stood by as Soo rubbed Mi's back. "Mr. Bodyguard, can you please turn the lights off? You're free to go now. I'm not going to move for a while," she quietly said to him.

The lights were dimmed.

So spared a glance at the pair before he left. Hae Soo closed her eyes and leaned her head back as her daughter slept on top of her.

Hours passed in a rush of memorization. So read through the handbook he had been given, memorizing the minute details of the cogs of the household.

There seemed to be a strict hierarchy that dictated the movement of the household. Hwang Bo Wook and his wife were at the top of the pyramid. Of course they were; they controlled everyone's salaries.

Beneath them was Chae Ryung. As the governess of the children and caretaker of the house, she ran all home affairs and made sure work progressed in an orderly manner.

The children were directly beneath their governess. Mi and Yoon- as little as they were- were third in the household.

Beneath the children were personal bodyguards- So and Wook's guard. Due to their being responsible for the safety of the heads of the family, they were above all other security personnel and had the authority to dictate the security team's actions. In the case of an emergency, they even had a say over Chae Ryung. So felt that his power was well deserved. After all, it required a college degree, mastery of two languages, and mastery of two types of martial arts to be a personal bodyguard in the Hwang Bo house. Any idiot with a head on his shoulders and a body in mediocre physical condition could get a job watching over the family's security feed.

Rank fell from then on. Beneath So there was the cook, the maids, and security team. Hwang Bo Wook owned a small office space in a building just outside the neighborhood and his security team worked from there, monitoring the house and making sure there was peace in the land. So found it amusing that he had more authority over the security team even though he had worked for the family for only a day so far. He made plans to visit the office on the terms of an office call.

So looked around and watched as his breath curled into steam in the cold air. It was not yet winter, but Seoul was growing chilly. He followed behind Hae Soo and Mi as they walked to where the school bus would drop Yoon off. The mother and daughter held hands, a pink glove reaching to hold onto a French manicure.

He watched the little girl scamper off the bus, hugging her sister before going to ram into her mother's knees. Soo gasped when Yoon collided with her knees, unprepared for the sudden collision.

Teetering, she slipped backwards from the force of impact… and knocked into So's chest as he caught her against his body. So's hands rose to brace her fall, catching her by the hips. "Oh my goodness," Soo exclaimed, pushing away from him.

So adjusted his suit as Soo turned to Yoon, asking if she was alright. Taking a knee, Soo held her daughter by the elbows. "Hwang Bo Yoon, you shouldn't run into people. I might have gotten hurt." Her voice grew strict and her gaze hardened as she frowned at her daughter. Yoon's bottom lip jutted out as her mother scolded her. She nodded slowly before sniffling and wiping her nose

"I sorry, Mommy," she whimpered. "I sorry."

Soo wrapped her arms around her daughter. "Baby, you didn't hurt me, but you almost did. Please just be careful next time, okay?" When Yoon nodded her assent, Soo kissed her forehead.

Pressing his fingertips to his lips, So viewed the mother and her children. He watched with piqued interest as Soo handled the situation calmly and directly. As they continued walking, he wondered if he had imagined the whiff of honey from Soo's skin.

"Thank you for catching me." Soo turned to him as the girls ran off when they saw the house. She stood beside So as he nodded.

"It's nothing," he replied. She gave him a peculiar smile before walking ahead of him, her coat brushing his shoulders.

So inhaled. She smelled like roses and honey.

A thousands blessings upon my amazing beta Krysyuy.