Cursed | Yang Hongseok

•4

When I got up the next day, I repeated the same morning routine from yesterday, and after I was done, I headed straight to work.

Seungyeon didn't say anything when I greeted her today, at least not anything related to my yesterday's meeting with Yang Hongseok, as well as the one that I was supposed to have today. I was thankful for that, because I was already way too nervous to actually talk about it.

I spent my day writing stuff like I usually would, finishing some paperwork and constantly checking the time on the clock.

When my shift finally ended, I headed home as fast as I could so I could actually get ready for the meeting with Hongseok. I had plenty of time left, but that didn't stop me from starting to get ready the moment I stepped into my apartment. I didn't want to be late, after all.

After I had a quick lunch all by myself, I walked over to the wardrobe and started digging once again in order to find an appropriate outfit for this occasion. Unlike yesterday, I decided to go for something that was a bit more casual, but still pretty elegant – a pair of dark jeans and a dark red sweater. I wanted to look pretty, but I didn't want to look like I was trying too hard, so I felt like this combination was the perfect balance.

After about half an hour of aimlessly running around the apartment in order to fix my hair and makeup, I was finally ready to go. However, there was one more thing left for me to check.

I walked over to my kitchen table, opening the notebook that had been lying there. That was the same notebook where Hongseok had written his adress yesterday. Ever since the meeting, I couldn't bring myself to open it, because I had some wierd feeling that if I touched it, the traces of his fingers would be erased, and I didn't want that to happen.

"I'm definetly going crazy." I said out loud with a sigh, and then I finally opened the notebook on the exact same page where the adress was.

*

After a few more minutes, I was already on my way to Hongseok's house. Judging from the adress, it was a bit further from my apartment, so I decided to take a bus. That turned out to be a smart idea, because when I arrived in front of the house, it was already 6pm.

I looked at the house for a few seconds, admiring the exterior. It wasn't particularly big, but it was beautiful. The garden was also pretty nicely decorated, which made me question if Hongseok lived alone or not.

Since I didn't want to be late, I moved closer to the front door and rang the doorbell hesitatingly. Only a few seconds passed before the door opened and I saw a familiar person on the other side.

"You arrived!" Hongseok said, almost surprised by my appearance, and then he opened the door even more. "Come in."

I followed him into the corridor, and then I reached out for a handshake, which he accepted with a teasing smile.

"You don't have to be so polite and formal all the time, Xia." He said. "I'm not even that much older than you, so relax. No one will kill you if you make a mistake."

I didn't even know why, but I suddenly got goosebumps, especially because of his last sentence. Despite the assuring tone of his voice, a part of me was still overthinking his suspicious behavior.

After I took my shoes off, I followed him further into the house, which looked equally pretty on the inside. I tried my best not to be too nosy, but with each room we were passing by, I would always try to take a look inside, just to see if there were any other people living here. Then I looked back at Hongseok, trying to check if he noticed my behavior, but even if he did, his face showed no signs of it.

"After you." He said, showing me the door to a spacious room which purpose I couldn't exactly tell. It seemed like a living room and an office combined in one.

"Feel free to take a seat, I'll just go and bring us something to drink." Hongseok said. "Is alcohol okay with you?"

"Yes, it is." I smiled, taking a seat at the desk and placing my laptop on top of it. I wasn't really a full-time acohol lover, but a glass or two couldn't do much damage, could it? Besides, Hongseok was right. I needed to relax a bit, so maybe it would actually be helpful.

While he was gone, I observed the room I was in a bit more. It had a lot of book shelves and different maps on the walls. Some of them seemed quite old, so I already started imagining Hongseok's life story. A historian. An archeologist. An antique collector. The possibilities were endless.

I would probably keep imagining all those fake scenarios in my head if it wasn't for Hongseok who just came back with the bottle of something that looked like wine and two glasses. He placed them on the table, poured a glass of wine for both me and him, and then took a seat at the chair that was on the opposite side of the table.

I thanked him, taking a sip of the drink. It was actually pretty good, it almost felt like I drank a sip of pure confidence.

I put the glass back on the table, took a deep breath, ihaling the scent of the old books and Hongseok's cologne, and then I opened my laptop.

"So, shall we start writing your biography?" I asked, which caused yet another smile to appear on his face.

"Of course."

A/N: I hope you've liked the story so far! I know nothing significant happened in those chapters so it might seem a bit boring, but I promise you it'll get much more interesting starting from the next chapter!