Chapter 5: Kindness

When the door closed, I was hit with a wave of relief from finally having a second to collect myself. It was quickly replaced with panic, looking in the mirror trying to figure out what was expected of me. I had only attended mass a few times, and it was never a special holiday.

I wandered through the suite, trying to convince my eyes to stay open so I would be as awake as possible when they got back. I drank some water, careful not to mess up my lipstick.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard the door open, having focused my attention on how dehydrated I was. The small fright made me spill water on the floor in front of me. Worried that Yujin would be displeased, I frantically looked around for a towel and managed to slip in the water and fall to the floor.

I heard the sound of their heavy boots slowly moving in my direction. Knowing I was already in eyeshot, I remained in a quiet pile on the floor. At least I hadn’t broken the glass. And I didn’t think I landed in the puddle, since I didn’t feel wet. It could have been worse.

“Am I really that scary?” I heard their commanding voice boom down at me. Yes, terrifying. I didn’t think for a second they thought they were anything less than terrifying, but admitting that was another thing.

“I’m just really tired,” I muttered, peeking up toward them.

They extended a gloved hand in my direction to help me up. “Poor thing, it really has been quite a night for you.” The glove was warm and soft. I pulled myself up to a standing position, trying to tug everything back into place. They placed a hand on my shoulder and made a shush noise. “Stop fidgeting, follow me.”

They walked over to the large mirror in the bedroom, slowly removing their gloves. “I trust you’re finding these accommodations exceed your standard, yes?”

I shuffled along behind them with my eyes to the floor, nodding. “Yes, thank you,” I replied quietly.

They tucked their gloves in a pocket and guided me to stand beside them in front of the mirror. They placed a long arm over my shoulder, nodding with approval at our reflections. “You clean up well. Paolo really is a magician.” They leaned over to take a long inhale in my direction. “He brought out the cucumber scrub, excellent. You smell refreshing.”

Unused to hearing compliments, I shrank a little under their arm. They let out a quiet laugh and gave my shoulders a subtle squeeze. “We’ll work on that confidence, pet. But for now, I have something for you.” They unwrapped their arm from my shoulder and dug into their pocket to produce a jewelry box.

They handed me the box, and I received it with shaking hands. I was unsure of what to say, so I opened it quietly. It was a small black leather choker that had a single gold charm attached. There were a couple of unfamiliar symbols on the charm, so I pulled it closer to my face to inspect it more closely.

My confusion must have been apparent, because they gently removed the necklace from my hands. “It’s Hangul, Korean,” they said while brushing my hair to the side and gently clasping it around my neck. “Specifically, it’s my name. This will let people know that you belong to me.”

After the choker was on, they guided me to face them so they could see it. I asked, “I’m confused, I thought you guys were Italian?”

They ran a slender finger over the choker, tickling the tiny hairs on my neck. My breath was caught in the back of my throat at the subtle touch. They responded, “My father is Italian, but he wasn’t the one that named me.” They gently slipped a finger between the choker and my neck to make sure it wasn’t too tight.

I felt the same combination of scared and excited that I had felt before in the car. Part of me wanted nothing more than to go to bed, any bed, as soon as possible. But another part begged for them to keep touching me. “Is Paolo your dad?”

They let out a quiet laugh and brushed some hair behind my ear. “No. You’ll meet Father once he’s back in the country. For now, we’d better get going if we’re going to make it on time. Ready?”

I nodded, staring down at the floor. I reached up to touch the charm dangling from my neck, unsure about how I felt about being claimed. Everything seemed like it was happening so fast, it felt unreal. We rode with Sergio to a massive cathedral and were dropped off out front. Yujin offered me their arm, and I gladly clung to it while being shuffled around the unfamiliar setting.

We sat in an upper balcony, tucked away with the rest of the family which was turning out to be larger than I was expecting. The mass was elegant and the people respectful. When it wrapped up, there was some light mingling and catching up. Everyone seemed respectful of Yujin, and I was treated more as an accessory than a person. I would have been offended if I weren’t so exhausted and out of my element.

Soon enough, we were back in the car and on our way back to the estate. Once we drove away, I fixed my eyes down on my lap, nervous about what would come next. “You did well, pet. I’m proud of you,” they said, staring over at me.

The praise made my cheeks flush. I tried to hide behind my hair, making like I was looking out the window at something fascinating. “Everyone seemed really nice,” I mumbled.

They laughed and lazily leaned back into the seat. “They were on their best behavior out of respect to the church. You’ll get to know them soon enough.” My mind raced with scenarios, still confused about their motives and loopy from lack of sleep.

We arrived back at the mansion, and they walked me back to the suite. They leaned against the doorway after I entered, watching me move into the room. “You’re free to rest up. We have lunch tomorrow at eleven, so be sure to get ready in plenty of time. If you need anything, you can reach Paolo with the intercom.” He pointed to a touch screen near the door.

I turned around to face them, having only made it a few feet into the room. “Thank you,” I said, staring down at their heavy boots. “It was really kind of you to take me in like this.”

I saw their hand slide into my field of vision, cupping my jaw and lifting my gaze to meet theirs. They smiled delicately down at me, like one might smile at a child. “Kindness has nothing to do with it. You’re mine now. And I take care of my things, so long as they continue to be useful.”

I didn’t love being referred to as a thing, but there was a jolt of excitement at being claimed by someone as beautiful as them. I nervously cleared my throat. “How do you plan on using me?”

They let out a quiet laugh and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on my forehead. “You’ve done plenty for tonight. Get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” I froze, face red at the gesture. They slid out of the room and closed the door. A second passed, then I heard the prominent click of a lock from the other side of the door.