Treasure tales

Short 3: Choi Hyun Suk

"Oh, and I'm sure you'd like to know what my power is. It's time manipulation," Hyunsuk said, looking affectionately at the diamond rings on his hand. "As for how I flew, I didn't. Mashiho and Yedam were controlling me. They thought it was best that I be the one to meet you because I'm the best at explaining. You will meet them in time."

"Mashiho. Yedam. Hyunsuk. Jihoon," I nodded, trying my best to remember their names.

"All right. Before we meet them there's a place I have to go," Hyunsuk said. "Come with me."

He paused.

"Ah I nearly forgot. Name?" He asked.

"Rin," I responded brusquely. He grinned. "I got it down all right, now ya gotta come with me."

I watched as he took my hand, and the next moment we were back on the ground floor. How he got down from that roof is a mystery to me.

I scanned my surroundings. We were standing in front of a tall, red building, rather intimidatingly towering over me. It's entrance was barricaded by an automated glass door, which had a rather polished and shiny surface.

"There's something I must settle in there. I'll be quick," Hyunsuk said. There was now a serious expression on his face. "Sorry to drag you into this. Rin, you said? Wait out here."

I watched as he rushed into the building. There was something oddly enticing about him, I realised. Maybe the shape of his face, or the slight smirk in his eyes whenever he teased. Or maybe just the vibe he gave off, the perfectly complementary set of clothes that adorned him, which clearly matched the latest fashion trends. I would never admit this to him, but something about him made me curious.

He took quite a while. I continued standing outside the building, feeling uneasy. I dared not enter the building. It looked like a place too posh and expensive for me to ever be in place. I wondered what kind of boy Hyunsuk was, and just what kind of business he had with this strange building.

I felt a hand land on my shoulder. A rather big hand at that. I looked back, and saw a tall, skinny man wearing a suit and a pair of sunglasses. I instinctively recoiled away from his touch.

"Fear not," The man let out a deep rumble. "I saw you with Sukkie just now. How did you get to know him?"

Sukkie? I knitted my eyebrows, feeling confused, until I realised he meant Hyunsuk. "I...I..." I panicked. I felt like Hyunsuk might get upset with me if I let my mouth run, so I was reluctant to say too much. I quickly tried to think of an excuse out of this situation, one that would preferably not incur the wrath of Mr Sunglasses. My mind remained persistently blank.

I looked around me wildly, praying for an idea to come to me. Then suddenly I realised that Mr Sunglasses had disappeared, as quickly as he had appeared.

After a short while Hyunsuk strolled out. A stack of documents and files were clasped in his arms. He looked around anxiously for a while before he finally saw me looking innocently at him. He excitedly waved and walked over.

"What's that," I said.

"Ahh...nothing much, " he said, waving his hands in the air. Then he tripped, spilling his documents everywhere. How he managed to do that evades my realm of understanding, but then again I myself am not at all freed from the detrimental effects of clumsiness. I quickly squatted down and proceeded to help him collect those documents.

"Don't look!" He warned. There was a sense of urgency and fear in his voice. I turned to look at him, now pale as a sheet, eyebrows raised, before I continued to gather his files.

"Worry not," I said as I passed them back to him. He was brushing dust off his pants, whining about them being newly bought 'babies' under his breath. "I respect secrets. Take it."

"Yo, thanks bro," Hyunsuk said, forcing a cheerful smile. I could not miss the fading glint of fear in his eyes. It probably had something to do with those files. I wondered just what I was getting myself into by allowing him to bring me to this faction of his. Something about him was definitely fishy, and I certainly did not want to be involved in unnecessary drama.

I gripped the files tightly. Hyunsuk, whose slender fingers were curled around the files, raised an eyebrow at me, willing me to let go. I allowed him to take it.

I watched as he tucked the files close to his heart, and walked by him, without a word, towards Treasure's headquarters. I listened to him joke a little, talk a little, and time and time again my eyes strayed to the files in his hands, and the bright smile he wore on his face.

I lived an incredibly boring life. An incredibly tasteless, insipid, vapid life. I spent all day at my desk, poring over textbooks I had no interest in and scribbling equations on a notepad I would eventually throw away. Sometimes I talked to my friends, who I love. But even they will sometimes fade into the background, whereas I, sitting dully on the stage, will continue trying to face a world I feared so badly, very much alone.

Then a man named Choi Hyun Suk came into my life. And then my life began to change.

(The attached video will act as the opening theme of the story)