Wang So

So drove Hae Soo around the city and stood by as she went about her daily activities. She took tea with other rich women; visited orphanages funded by her family; attended shareholders' meetings at her family's corporate headquarters.

There was little to protect her from because the general public did not know what she looked like or who she was. So found himself often sitting around in the car as Hae Soo shared ice cream with her daughter in the backseat. Sometimes, he had a cup of coffee at the cafe where Soo met with her mother. Other times, he stood behind her as she shopped for the girls' toys or met with friends- the most notable being a K-pop star who had attended college with her: Kim Eun. That was the only time So had to actually be on guard. A few random fans had tried to ask if Soo was Eun's girlfriend but with some maneuvering, So placed himself between them before they could even speak.

So found out quite easily that Wook's family was nowhere near as powerful or rich as Soo's by a long shot. While Soo's father was the CEO of one of the largest conglomerates in Korea, Wook's father owned a small name stamp making shop. It was peculiar how two people of such different backgrounds had come together.

A bit of digging had produced a small drawer in the sitting room. Inside was a silk pouch with two name stamps. Hwang Bo Mi's seal was made of white jade and etched with pink butterflies. The date on the pouch was a week after her birth. Hwang Bo Yoon's stamp was green jade and carved with Hanja characters of blessings. Both were made by the shop Wook's father owned and were touching, heartfelt gifts. The children's first stamps were by no means cheap. So knew quality jade when he saw it. Perhaps the old man had used his best for his grandchildren.

Just a few days later, while reviewing the schematics of Soo's office, So had continued his snooping. Inside one of the drawers of her desk, an ornate black box covered in mother-of-pearl butterflies had unearthed itself. Upon further inspection, So had found two name stamps that also featured the names of the children. A note written in smooth calligraphy showed that these stamps were from Hae Soo's father. For my darling grandbabies. Hwang Bo in name and Hae in blood, these children are blessings from our ancestors. Raise them with wisdom and kindness, Soo.

Mi's stamp was made of black jade and a solid gold dragon with sapphire eyes roared from the handle. Yoon's stamp was ivory and featured a platinum phoenix with ruby eyes. So had no trouble discerning that these were obviously more expensive and held more magnitude than the flowery little trinkets Wook's parents had gifted the girls.

The longer he stayed with the family, the more he realized that the perfect house he had entered was much less than perfect.

Wook and Soo were skewed. They kissed and said they loved each other, had sex and played with their children, but that was it. So only saw them together during meals, with their children, or at night. There were no random phone calls, no dates, no stolen kisses. They acted systematically around each other, becoming machines to the monotony of their rigid schedules. So counted their intimate moments in a day: a kiss at the door to send Wook to work and a kiss at the door if Wook returned home for dinner. That was it.

It was peculiar, So decided. He wondered what Wook did not see in his wife. After all, Hae Soo was almost impeccably lovable.

In just a couple weeks of employment, So had picked up on her habits and her charm. She was witty and lively. She loved her children and she loved warm weather and taking the girls to the park. Soo preferred to buy makeup rather than clothing or handbags. She liked the same tea So did, but preferred cappuccinos more than any other drink.

He noticed that Soo preferred pale pink tones of lipstick to bright reds. Her hair was usually down in a long bob or pinned into a twist. She seemed to favor her right leg more than her left- perhaps and injury to her leg when she had been younger.

She was a kind, just mother who did not favor her children, but tried to raise them fairly. To Yoon she was loud and excited, playing with stuffed dinosaurs and chasing the screaming girl around the house. With Mi she was quiet and soft, brushing the girl's hair and hugging her when she felt shy, comforting the child when she was scared or worried.

While he worked, So kept an eye on Hae Soo, examining her actions and her activities. She hardly ever looked at him but when she did, she looked away just as quickly. He found her intriguing- like a constellation without a shape. She was a jumble of stars that sparkled without line, free to move around as she pleased.

Within his initial days of working in the Hwang Bo house, So knew that he was attracted to his employer's wife. Any idiot with eyes could tell that she was beautiful but So saw her actions toward her children, the staff, and the husband that paid her little attention. Her patience and no-nonsense attitude was respectable while her love and kindness were admirable. She was quirky and cute, snarky and… sexy.

So watched as Hae Soo walked in front of him, her pink Chanel suit setting her off from the other people that walked around the shopping center. So wondered if anyone in the mall had noticed the shadow that continuously tailed the rich woman, keeping tabs on her and making sure no one got too close to her.

A flick of Soo's wrist and So was by her side, ready to answer to her beck and command. "Yes?" he asked, leaning towards her. He was close enough to gather notes of her rosy perfume.

Soo did not look up at him. "Would you walk beside me? I feel lonely without my girls. I'd like to speak with you if that's alright."

And so, after a couple weeks of being under Hae Soo's employ, Wang So had his first conversation with her. He hoped no one assumed he was Hae Soo's husband. Standing beside her, he adjusted the lapels of his coat and matched pace with her.

"Are you enjoying your work?" Soo asked as they entered a shop that sold children's clothing. Racks of tiny clothing were attended by overpaid designers who bowed to Soo and welcomed her into the store.

So clasped his hands behind his back and watched Soo sift through frilly socks. "Yes, I find this line of work fulfilling." I'm being paid buckets of money to literally live in your home and wait until I have to kill you. You pay me to follow you around. I'm being paid to do nothing by two parties. This is honestly a vacation.

He smirked when Soo smiled. "That's good to hear. I was afraid I'd bore you with my daily activities."

"I have no complaints, Madam." So reached for a small basket and held it as Soo chose socks. She thanked him before placing pink, yellow, and white socks into the basket. They walked through the store and Soo gave a wistful sigh when she looked at small hangers that held onesies and baby clothes.

"Oh, I remember when Yoon was that tiny," she murmured, touching a white onesie. The two tiny feet fit into her palm and she tilted her head to run a finger up the little frills on the ankles. "Mr. Wang, do you have children? You're the same age as my husband aren't you?"

Nodding, So followed Soo out of the girls' section. "I'm unattached and on the market," he stated. Soo chuckled at his comment.

So liked the sound of Hae Soo's laugh. It tinkled like bells and flew like butterflies from her lips. "I'd assume someone like yourself would have a significant other," she said, turning to face him. So raised his eyebrows at the younger woman.

"I guess she hasn't found me yet."

"Perhaps you haven't looked hard enough."

"I have been called a workaholic."

They smirked at each other and So held the basket as Soo walked to the boy's section in search of dinosaur socks. "How do two girls go through so many socks?" she asked aloud. "I can't believe it's been three days since their winter closets arrived and we've already lost four pairs."

"Maybe they're eating them," So heard himself mutter. He paused in his steps and Soo turned toward him before laughing. She ran a hand through her hair, ruffling the waves of silky black that ran down her neck. So found himself idly wondering how her hair might smell.

"Maybe they are."

After their little shopping adventure, So drove Soo to Mi's school where they waited in the car together. After passing through the guarded front gate, So had parked beneath a tree where they could see the front entrance of the exclusive school. "What did you do before this line of work?" Soo asked. "Before you came to our home."

Staring at her through the rear-view mirror, So sat back in his seat. "I fixed people's problems," he said. It's technically not a lie. "Worked freelance." Also not a lie. They met eyes through the mirror and So caught a glimpse of Hae Soo's elegant brown eyes before she quickly looked away.

Soon, So could see Mi walking out of the school with two other girls flanking her. They all wore matching uniforms: a blue blazer with a matching skirt and black shoes. So stepped out of the car and walked over to Soo's side, opening her door and placing his hand onto the sharp rim as Mi's mother glided out of the car.

There were other chauffeured parents by the school. Some had drivers while others toted shiny sport cars. So counted two celebrities and one politician aside from Soo.

As soon as Mi caught sight of So and Soo, she waved to her friends before heading towards her mother. Her braid bounced as she ran for Soo.

Soo opened her arms to greet her daughter, clasping the child close to her in a big hug. "Hi, baby. How was school?"

The two boarded the car as Mi began a lengthy tale of her day and So closed the door once the little girl's black Mary Janes were securely inside. "It was really really boring until Kim Ah Rong fell out of her seat because she fell asleep. I heard she was really tired because her dad's concert was last night and she was there with him."

"Was she?" Soo asked. "What was her father thinking, taking a seven-year-old to a concert at two in the morning."

So listened to the mother and daughter converse. Already familiar with the route back to the house, he paid more attention to the little conversation in the back rather than on figuring out which road to take.

That evening, he laid in bed and stared up at the white ceiling light with too many questions and not enough answers. Holding the back of his head with his hands, So idly blinked up at the bland ceiling and went over his thoughts.

Why did I take this job?

The first question he asked himself was easy. I was bored and wanted to see what politicians were like up close. The pay is good and I wanted a break from sawing people in half.

Is it worth it?

He sighed. The money was good and the job much less rigorous than any of his other ones. He slept in a bed, ate three meals a day, and only sometimes had to follow orders. This was a vacation, but it was boring.

If you're so bored, why don't you just quit? You're not the only hitman on the market. Your benefactors could find a replacement in a week… It's her isn't it? His wife. You're staying because you're attracted to a woman that's happily married.

At the sound of a knock on his door, So glanced at his bedside clock. Ten pm. "Yes?" he called toward the door.

"Mrs. Hae wishes to go on a night stroll." Chae Ryung's muffled voice came from the other side and So sighed, sitting up in bed. "She'll be at the front door in five minutes. You don't have to dress formally."

"Alright. Thank you for telling me," he called in response. As he stood, So waited for Chae Ryung to leave, but she remained. He heard no footsteps going away from his door, so he paused.

"And one more thing," she noted, "Mrs. Hae and Mr. Hwang Bo got into a fight, so don't speak to her. She just wants to be alone."

"Affirmative."

Rubbing his eyes, So pulled a sweatshirt and coat over his bare chest. He replaced his flannel pajama bottoms with jeans and managed to locate a pair of socks in a timely manner.

In the dark house, So stood by the front door, a pair of running shoes already on his feet as he waited for Hae Soo. Only Chae Ryung and a single maid were about the house. Judging by the lights on around closed doors, So assumed it was Wook who was in the piano room. He wondered what they had fought about.

Soo stepped out of the master bedroom and So bowed to her. He stood straight as she pulled a pair of sneakers onto her feet. Hae Soo wore a white hoodie and gray sweatpants. She wore no makeup and her hair was tied back into a short ponytail. So thought she looked even more beautiful than she had in her pink Chanel suit with makeup on.

Silently, he followed behind Hae Soo as she walked out of the house and into the freezing cold. The wind tossed his hair around but So kept his eyes on the woman that walked in front of him, her hands by her side and her head held high.

Instead of heading towards the gate, she took a route around the house and to the backyard. They walked in silence and So followed her through the howling wind as they made their way past the three cars. He wondered what she was thinking, walking through the freezing cold in the middle of the night. From what he could tell, she only wore one layer beneath her sweatshirt and So grew worried with each step.

They stopped in front of the three stone shrines at the back of the yard. In the dark of night, there was little light to illuminate the pale, stacked stones. So tilted his head in thought as Soo knelt before the stones and pressed her hands to her knees.

He wondered why there were three shrines when Soo only had two children. Had she stacked another for her husband? For her marriage? Had her mother stacked it for her? There were too many ways to ask about the third pile of stones.

Soo was the first to break the silence between them. So returned his attention to her when she spoke up. "I… I apologize for calling you out so late at night," she said, turning to face him. So raised an eyebrow at the woman as she pressed her hands together in prayer. "I realize that this might not have been the most courteous thing for me to do as an employer."

When he glanced at her, Hae Soo's lips were blue from the cold and her eyes were rimmed with red. She closed her eyes as she prayed to the stones. So did not think twice before removing his overcoat.

"Madam Hae," he murmured. Stepping forward, he draped the jacket over her shoulders and watched as her eyes flinched open. "Why are you doing this?"

Pale fingers clutched the coat closer to her body and So took to his knees in the direction of the wind, shielding Hae Soo as she shivered for the first time. "It's late, you should go inside," he said as gently as he could.

"You're not following orders," Soo muttered through chattering teeth.

"You're being stubborn and sitting in the freezing cold without a coat," So retorted. There was a glimmer of surprise in Hae Soo's eyes at his response. He grasped her icy hands in his warm ones, trying to transfer heat to her shivering skin.

They met eyes and this time, Hae Soo did not look away. So imagined she was too cold to think properly. He finally got a good look at the beautiful brown irises that had always glanced away from him, but this time he was too preoccupied to truly admire them. "Why are you doing this?" she asked. Her voice was a chime of bells hidden in between screams of the wind.

So frowned at the woman whose hands he held. She looked pitiful beneath the weight of his overcoat, strands of hair fluttering around her blue cheeks. I'm attracted to you… and I hate seeing you like this. Cold and dependent. You belong in the sun with your children running around you, not sitting in front of a shrine with a man you don't know.

"Because I work for you," was all he said. The wind beat at his back and So felt his own skin prickle with goosebumps at the loss of a layer of clothing. He could see some color returning to Soo's cheeks.

"You didn't have to remove your coat for me, though," she muttered.

So frowned at her as he held onto her hands. "Mrs. Hae what is troubling you?" Soo's hands slipped from his as her cheeks suddenly flamed red and she turned away from him, breaking their eye contact. She stared at the ground before looking back to the three shrines.

So felt like a teenager.

In his mid-thirties there were few things that could actually excite him, but seeing Hae Soo blush and avoid him made his heart flutter. He wanted to hold her soft hands again. He wanted her to hold his hand back, to squeeze it like she might her husband's.

Instead, he knelt beside the woman with the wedding ring, and stayed with her, providing companionship.

"You signed all of the confidentiality agreements, didn't you?" Soo asked out of the blue. She held So's coat around her body with the collar raised to shield her neck. So nodded. He remembered signing all nine documents requiring his silence on any information divulged within and without the Hwang Bo household.

"I did," So replied. He knew that even without all of the legal barriers, he would have provided his listening services to Hae Soo. She had a nice voice, he decided. He enjoyed hearing her speak.

Soo sighed in response, her fingers pulling at the thick wool of the coat. "Then I'll take you up on your offer to be an ear."

So pressed his hands to his knees as a sign of submission. Kneeling before Hae Soo, he placed himself- a person four years her senior- equal to her position. There were spots of silence between their conversation and So dutifully remained silent, ready to listen when Soo chose to speak.

"I hate fighting with my husband," she exhaled sharply. So felt his eyebrows knit together and he nodded, mute. "I hate altercating with him and… we seem to be fighting so much these days. Everything feels like a reason to fight. His parents, my parents, Mi's grades, the stock market, his work, my work, his campaign promises." She listed various aspects of her life to So and he listened to each one. "I wish he would just listen to me and spend time with me. I never see him and when I do, we either don't talk or we fight."

If there was something So noticed, it was that Hae Soo was loyal to a fault. Her husband ignored her and yet she remained by his side. So wondered if it was Hwang Bo Wook's looks that made Hae Soo stay by him. Wook had the handsome face and calm voice of a politician, his friendly demeanor one that had drawn so many people to vote for him. Maybe Hae Soo had subscribed to that same image.

"I just… I feel lonely," she sighed. Soo looked over at So and he nodded, keeping his gaze on her. His body slowly grew numb from the cold, but he knew Hae Soo would be warm beneath his coat.

So exhaled white fog through his nose and glanced over at the woman beside him. She raised her eyebrows at him. "Madam Hae, your husband... does not know how lucky he is to have you," So stated truthfully.

Soo stared at him with wide eyes and in that moment, So thought he saw the glimmer of tears in them. "I'd like to return home," she whispered. Soo stood and So followed suit.

They looked at the towering house that loomed in the darkness, a beacon of bourgeois light amidst starry darkness. A light shone from the second storey and So could see Wook in Yoon's bedroom, holding the girl in his arms.

"Did he wake her?" he heard Soo hiss under her breath. "I swear, if he woke her…"

"Madam Hae." So knew his voice gave her time to pause. He did not speak except to look into the dark eyes that reflected the yellow light of the street lamps. There was no need to say anything.

Soo walked forward, already heading towards the back door of the house. So remained in his place, gazing up at the dimly lit window. Some misalignment of chance brought Wook's silhouette to Yoon's window and So watched the blue curtain shift. Looking up, he met eyes with Hwang Bo Wook, staring from the ground at the man that peered down at him with indifference. Treat your wife properly, you fuck, he snapped internally.

Breaking their eye contact, So jogged forward and leaped over a tricycle parked in the middle of the lawn. He reached Hae Soo's position in an instant and opened the back door for her.

He watched as she removed his coat from her shoulders and accepted it from her outstretched hand. "Thank you," she murmured, looking at him.

Any anger So felt washed away and he nodded as he took the coat back from her. "I serve to please," he said with a smile.

Soo tilted her head at him before a soft smile graced her lips. Already, the warmth of the house had returned them to their natural pink. "You have a nice smile," she said. "I wonder if it's your job that prevents you from showing it often. Goodnight."

And with that, she walked away.

From his spot in the foyer, So could see Hae Soo until she entered her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

He huffed quietly, chuckling to himself. "Goodnight," he whispered.

When he shook the coat out to preserve its shape, a whiff of rosy perfume floated towards him and So closed his eyes.