Poltergeist

Pt 1: Tragic New Beginnings

TW: MENTIONS OF RAPE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND DEATH.

READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION

Father sits in his office chair, a man in a neatly worn black suit standing beside him. He has a sharp yet uninterested gaze set in his eyes, and his blonde mullet is put in a partial bun in the back. You can't help but admit that he does look quite handsome. "Hyunjin is your bodyguard. That's final." Dad says this, looking firmly at me. I groan. "So that's what this is about?" I ask irritably. Dad doesn't spare anything more than a nod for me. I shake my head, scoffing. Looking up, I meet Hyunjin's gaze. I walk up to him in a sultry way.

-"I like how you stand with your hands in your pockets, staring holes into the ground."
-"Uh, I'm your bodyguard. What's your name, hm?"
-"And you taste the same way I imagined you to when you look like you do."
Hyunjin shifts his feet, seemingly feeling quite uncomfortable.

-"But you're sweet like sugar cane."
-"I'm not your freaking sugar cane! What's. Your. Name?"
-"And you rot inside of my brain. I'm so high, I'm willing to crash if I die."
Hyunjin rolled his eyes, suppressing a shake of his head in frustration and glancing at his employer momentarily to see if he caught him losing his patience.

-"Uh, okay? Look, just give me your name."
"I wish I could savor your touch."
"I wish I could punch you."
Hyunjin mutters under his breath. Taking a deep breath, he looked back up at me, about to say something, but I interrupted him. "You passed the test!" I exclaimed. "My name is Renee; nice to meet you!" I say, cheerfully holding out my hand for a handshake. "Uh...Renee." He says, taking my hand and shaking it skeptically; his eyes narrowed in masked confusion. "I am...Hyunjin." I nod. "Yep." "So... why did you call me 'tasty' and ' sugar cane'?" He asks me quizzically. "I needed to see if you could remain professional." I retort, rolling my eyes. "Why would you need to test me to see if I could remain professional?" He questions. He looks dead in my eyes, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side. "Well, my last bodyguard raped me, so..." I say, trailing off into awkward silence. I look down at the floor, not wanting to meet his gaze. Hyunjin sucks in a breath in shock before quickly masking his reaction.

"Your last bodyguard...did WHAT?" He growls.

"Yep, you heard it right. He raped me. I had to make sure you wouldn't do the same." I look at him apologetically. "I'm sorry for confusing you or making you uncomfortable." Hyunjin's gaze seems to soften slightly for a moment. "I'm sorry that happened to you." He pauses for a moment. "Your father says you act like a brat most of the time, but he never mentioned that something terrible happened to you." He says. His gaze is set on my eyes, seemingly searching for something. I roll my eyes, scoffing. "Yeah. He tends to leave out information a lot." His eyes narrowed momentarily. "So...your dad doesn't know it happened, I assume?" I shake my head. "I told him, but he didn't believe me." I shrug. "Ah, whatever. The past is in the past." Hyunjin stands there silently for a moment, appearing lost in thought. I look at him. "Maybe... we should leave Dad's office now?" I ask him, trying to lighten the mood. He nods, standing straight. He gestures to the door with a wave of his arm. "Ladies first," he says, walking to the door and opening it. Once I walked past, he went through and closed the door silently behind him. I walk down the hallways, Hyunjin following me like a shadow. I sit down on a bench in the hallway, sighing.
"I know you have more questions. Go ahead and ask," I say to him. He stands next to me, stiller than a statue, looking straight at the wall in front of him with his hands behind his back. "What's your relationship like with your father?" He asks after a moment of silence. "Professional," I say shortly. "I'm only his daughter by blood and by the magazine. Once we enter the house, I'm just another person living here." I say nonchalantly. He tilts his head slightly to look at me from the side. "...By magazine? What do you mean?" "You know, the news? 'Millionaire CEO and his daughter go to Peru for yada yada yada' nonsense." I say, rolling my eyes.
He glances at me again. "So you're saying your father only views you as his child when it's convenient for him, correct?" I nod in affirmation. He stares at the wall again in silence. After a moment, he speaks up. "Renee, can I ask you something?" I look up at him, blinking. "You already have, but sure, go ahead." I tease. "This may seem unprofessional, but...can I hug you?" He asks, still staring blankly at the wall. I look away uncomfortably. "No offense, but we just met." I laugh awkwardly. "And I have anxiety towards bodyguards specifically." I mutter to myself. Hyunjins rubs the back of his neck with his hand awkwardly. "Ah, right. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He sighs and looks back at the wall emotionlessly, though the tips of his ears are now a soft red. We stay in the hall for a few more moments in silence, neither saying anything nor looking at each other.