THE YOUNG MASTER IN HER SMALL APARTMENT
1219 Words
The guy cleared his throat softly, as if preparing to introduce himself with proper dignity, something he definitely didn’t possess last night.
“My name is..."
But just as the words were about to escape his lips, a sudden loudest honk exploded from the window.
HHHOONNKK!!!!!
Hermelyn flinched so hard she almost dropped the towel she was holding. The guy stiffened, turning slowly toward the window like someone who just remembered he left the oven on for 24 hours.
Then came the second sound, a screech of tires stopping abruptly. Hermelyn peeked through the blinds.
Three black private cars. Tinted windows. Polished enough to reflect the entire building. They looked with something urgent out of place in the humble street, where the most expensive vehicle was the neighbor’s secondhand tricycle.
"Who are these guys? Is the mayor visited this building?" she whispered.
Her heart skipped. "Hey! are you…” She swallowed. “Uhh… expecting someone?”
The guy didn’t answer. His eyes sharpened, while
all traces of sleepiness were gone..
He walked to the window and looked down. The moment he did, six men in black suits stepped out of the cars.
Six in black suits, now wandering the streets.
Hermelyn’s soul nearly left her body. Watching those men look like bodyguards from a wealthy CEO’s drama series, with earpieces, polished shoes, even matching expressions of seriousness.
One of them spotted the guy at her window and immediately stiffened, then lifted his hand toward his earpiece.
“Young Master,” he spoke into the device. “We found him.”
Hermelyn’s eyes widened as she stared at the handsome guy beside her. "Young… what?”
He blinked and gave her a smile so guilty it might as well have confessed everything. “I was about to explain that...”
Before he could even process his words, one of the bodyguards stepped forward and yelled up toward the open window:
“YOUNG MASTER! We’ve been looking for you! Madam is already mad”
Hermelyn felt her knees go weak.
“Young master?” she echoed. “Madam is mad? What... what are you? A mafia boss? A prince? A billionaire? A member of a secret ninja clan?”
“No,” he said quickly. Then hesitated. “Well… not the ninja part.”
“Oh my gosh” Hermelyn whispered. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
He dragged a hand through his hair and sighed. "I was trying to tell you my name before they arrived.”
She pointed at the window in panic. "You have men in suits calling you a young master!”
He glanced toward the door. “I should probably go down before they break your apartment"
“Yes. Please do that. I’m too young to die because of saving a drunk guy in the bridge!”
He paused and turned to her. "You’re not scared?”
A hysterical laugh escaped her. "Oh, I’m VERY scared! But also weirdly annoyed! And also hungry... I haven’t eaten breakfast because someone slept for 24 hours!”
To her horror, the guy chuckled, and it made her stomach do something traitorous.
“I’ll go deal with them,” he said. “But don’t be scared. I owe you an explanation.”
He headed for the door. But the moment he opened it, Four men in suits stood in the hallway. Right at her doorstep.
Hermelyn froze like a statue.
The tallest one saluted stiffly. "Young Master!” he called. “We searched half the city! Madam Espelth was about to call the police!”
“I told you I was fine,” the guy groaned.
“You turned off your GPS.”
“You turned off your phone,” another man added.
“You threw your phone into the sea,” Hermelyn corrected from behind him.
Then four pairs of bodyguard eyes, slowly turned toward her. At this moment, Hermelyn wanted to vanish into thin air.
“Miss,” one bodyguard said slowly, “did the Young Master cause you trouble?”
Hermelyn stared at them for three seconds.Then pointed dramatically at the guy in front of her.
“He fell on top of me, forced me to drag him home, lost his phone, slept for 24 hours, and almost threw himself into the ocean, just to talk to the moon!”
The four men nodded in unison.
“Yes,” one sighed. “Sounds like him.”
Hermelyn’s jaw dropped “Is this… normal?!”
“He doesn’t handle alcohol well,” the tallest one admitted.
The guy, the so-called Young Master, cleared his throat violently.
“Okay, enough. Stop embarrassing me in front of...”
He stopped. His eyes flickered toward Hermelyn.
“In front of Miss Hermelyn.”
She blinked. “You know my name?”
“You told me last night.”
“I DID?” she confirmed.
“You shouted it at me when I almost fell again.”
“Oh.” Her face flamed. “Right.”
The bodyguards glanced at each other, then the oldest one said, very respectfully:
“Young Master… Madam is extremely upset. She thought you were kidnapped.”
“I wasn’t kidnapped,” he muttered.
The bodyguard looked at Hermelyn again, studying her tiny apartment behind him.“…Are you sure, sir?”
“YES I’m sure!”
Hermelyn raised a timid hand. "I really did not kidnap him.”
“We understand, Miss,” the guard said gently. “You do not look like the kidnapping type.”
“Um… thank you?” she said uncertainly.
Another guard cleared his throat. "Young Master, Madam wants you home immediately.”
“Of course she does,” he sighed.
But he didn’t move. Instead, he turned slowly toward Hermelyn, and his eyes softened again... the way they did earlier when he thanked her.
“I’ll come back later,” he said quietly. “I owe you my name… and an apology.”
Hermelyn stiffened “Th-that’s not necessary. You don’t have to...”
“I want to,” he cut in gently.
The bodyguards exchanged confused glances. Not one of them had ever heard their Young Master speak softly to anyone before.
The guy stepped back, bowing slightly, not formally, not arrogant, but grateful. “Thank you for taking care of me… even though you had every reason to throw me out.”
“I... I just did what anyone would do,” Hermelyn mumbled.
“Not everyone would,” he said.
Then the tallest bodyguard stepped forward. "Young Master, we must leave now.”
The guy nodded reluctantly. But just as he was about to turn away, he looked back at her one last time.
“For the record,” he murmured, “I really wanted to tell you my name properly.”
Hermelyn felt her heart stutter.
But then he was gone...escorted down the stairs by four bodyguards.
Hermelyn stood alone in her doorway, staring at the empty hallway. As her heart thumped loudly, cheeks burned. And inside of her small apartment still smelled faintly like him.
And the last words he spoke were replayed in her mind like an echo: "’l come back later... I owe you my name... I want to..."
Hermelyn still didn’t know, the name of a guy they called "Young Master"
- Writer
