He cut her off in between and looked right into her eyes.
"You want me to strike a deal with you?"
He raked his eyes over her from head to toe and said, "Fine. Sleep with me and I'll consider not taking over your company. As simple as that."
---
...
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Wind howled outside the windows, setting the curtains on a flailing frenzy. The lady stirred in her sleep, pulling her blanket closer for warmth. Despite her tired body, sleep was starting to trouble her these days and she suspected them to be signs of an oncoming old-age.
Just about then, she heard a small whisper by the side of her bed. "Grandma...?" Said the little voice. The lady's eyes fluttered open, initially of shock at the boy's voice.
"Is everything alright?"
"Grandma... I- I can't sleep..." Whispered the child.
The lady let out a tired breath. "Why not?"
The little boy looked troubled saying this out loud as if he was ashamed of admitting it. "I am scared." He said in an even more low of a whisper, lest someone one else heard it despite the fact that they were both alone.
"Do you want to sleep with me?" She asked making enough space for his small figure. He nodded enthusiastically and snuggled next to her, he could finally breathe better.
"What scares you, little one?"
He seemed to be lost in thought at that question. Taking a few hard seconds, he hesitantly replied "Darkness?"
"You don't seem so sure."
"I... I don't know."
"I see." The lady remained quiet for a while, selecting the right words that would ease up the child's innocent mind.
"Why don't you see it this way..." She started. "It's not that you don't know what you're afraid of; you're just afraid of what you don't understand." This had made sense in her head but now that she said it out loud, it made no sense. If it made no sense to her, how could it make sense to a ten year old?
She chuckled at the boy's perplexed face. "Darkness scares us because we are unaware of our surroundings, because it makes our sense of sight render useless. We feel more reassured in the day because the light helps us see and we know our surroundings better."
To the woman's surprise, the child nodded his head. "That makes sense, I never thought of it that way. So if I had superpowers to look in the dark... that would be nice... I won't be scared anymore. I should eat more carrots." Mused the innocent kid.
The lady laughed to herself before caressing the child's soft hair. "Go to sleep now, Taehyung. You have wake up early for school."
Amidst his lazy groans and complaints, she felt herself drifting off to sleep much easier than before.
***
Kira knew that she was definitely running late. She glanced at her watch for over the hundredth time as she typed in the last few words of the mail. Sending it hastily, she shut the laptop with all her might and ran to get her coat. Since it was a Friday night, she decided to stop by Taehyung's room to say goodbye. She knocked on the door before pushing it open slowly to find him sitting unnaturally still.
