Kingdom Come [v. cassano]

Chapter One

chapter one

New Neighbor

Hye-jin's arms ached as she lifted the last chair and stacked it in a pile. Wiping her forehead to keep the sweat at bay, she slowly surveyed the cafe looking for any misplaced mugs or plates. Finally, she was ready to close up for the night and just go to bed as soon as possible. Walking to behind the counter, she found her sweet, chunky corgi lounging on his pillow staring at nothing in particular.

"Cheddar," Hye-jin sweetly said catching the puppy's attention. "Should we go on a walk and get some ice cream for Hyun-joon?" Sure enough, the corgi began to wag his tail excitedly before stretching out his short legs. Hye-jin laughs as she walks to the back door of the cafe and reaches for the leash. Cheddar spins around excitedly and then sat down to let Hye-jin out on the leash. "Let's go," Hye-jin says happily, opening the door and letting the dog lead her.

After a long walk around the block and a quick stop at the convince store for some ice cream. Hye-jin and Cheddar returned to Guemga Plaza just in time to see her neighbor, Mr. Lee, flatten himself against the wall, and watch someone at the front of the plaza. Mr. Lee is known to do strange things, but it was stranger when Hye-jin had to witness it. She did her best to sneak up behind him and was even more shocked when he did not turn at the jingle of Cheddar's collar. She leaned around him to see what was so important.

At the front of the building, was the building owner, Mr. Cho, and another man who had dirt stains on his face and seeming expensive suit. It looks like that man lost a fight to a pile of dirt, Hye-jin thought and internally laughed. Even though the mystery man looked roughed up, Hye-jin could not deny that past the dirt, and random bruise on his cheek, the man was insanely attractive. However, there was something about his aura. It radiated a sense of danger that made her cautious.

"Who is that with Mr. Cho?" Hye-jin questioned, causing Mr. Lee to jump in fright. He whipped around, grabbing at his heart as if that would calm him.

"Oh my gosh!" Mr. Lee exclaimed as he finally regained his breath. Hye-jin gave him an apologetic smile. "I apologize for scaring you, Mr. Lee," She said as she bowed her head apologetically before returning her attention to the two men in front of them.

At her words, Mr. Lee cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders, attempting to act tough. "It's fine Ms. Ahn. I wasn't scared, I just didn't pay enough attention to my surroundings. Something that won't happen again." Hye-jin nodded at his words, a small smile appearing on her face.

"So, do you know who that man was with Mr. Cho?" She questioned again bringing Mr. Lee's attention back to what they just witnessed, he merely shrugged.

"I wasn't close enough to hear their conversation, but it was most likely about the building. How that company, Babel, is trying to buy it," He answered, not noticing how Hye-jin slightly tensed at the mention of Babel. "But that man definitely gave me an eerie vibe. He kind of looks like a handsome movie villain." Hye-jin nodded slowly, processing the information Mr. Lee had given her. "I should go tell Mr. Hong. This could be very important for the Development Opposition Committee." After a moment of silence, Mr. Lee gave Cheddar a nice rub on his head and a brief goodbye he left.

Hye-jin looked back at the two men and watched as they moved to go inside the plaza. Cheddar then decided to bonk his small head against her leg shaking her out of her thoughts. Pulling out her phone and messaged Ms. Seo. Sighing, she slipped her phone into her back pocket and turned in the direction of her unit.

Hye-jin slowly trudged up the stairs to keep the same pace as Cheddar; his short legs not being able to reach each step. In the end, Hye-jin carried her dog the rest of the way to the third floor and gently placed him down at the top of the stairs.