Chapter Text
Most kids probably remembered their birthdays as a happy event with family and friends but not you.
There were no cakes or presents thrown your way when you turned twelve. A brisk greeting was all you got from your parents before being told to pack for a trip to visit your grandfather in South Korea.
You remembered feeling sick to your stomach as the plane landed in Gimhae International Airport. When you got in the expensive car your father had ready outside, you had fallen asleep in exhaustion to the sound of your parents arguing in the front seat. When you woke up, you were no longer in the city but in a small town instead. You were observing the scenery when your father spoke.
At that time, you were still too tired to understand what he was fully saying but you got the gist of it and if you didn't puke on the plane earlier, you would have now.
Your parents would be going away and you would be staying in Busan with your grandfather indefinitely.
They continued driving until they reached an estate far from the city. There were tall, heavy iron gates that revealed a gothic looking mansion that loomed over a seemingly out of place colorful garden. Behind the house was what seemed like an endless expanse of trees that stemmed around the property. Overall, the house looked quite scary and more so, with the grey clouds overhead and the crows flitting past every now and then.
"Why can't I stay with you guys?" You asked as your mother led you inside the house. The interior looked just as gloomy as the weather and there were dark curtains that covered the large windows obscuring whatever light that could have filled up the hallway.
Your mother didn't respond. You gripped her hand tighter to elicit a response but she continued walking. You gulped down the lump in your throat. Your father had stayed in the car talking to another business associate and had barely spared a glance at you when you waved a meek goodbye as you left the car.
There was an old man drinking tea when you entered the kitchen. For his old age, he still had an air of strength and power. The frames of his metallic glasses shone as he turned in your direction.
"I came here to drop her off." Your mother said flatly.
The corners of the old man's lips twitched in distaste. "I figured you would have just left her outside the gates. I'm surprised you still had the heart to actually bring her inside."
He spoke in a sharp, blunt way and it kind of intimidated you. You hid behind the folds of your mother's dressed which brought out a chuckle from the old man.
"Don't look so scared, kid. I'm your grandpa, after all."
You peeked a look and he had a grin on his face. You smiled back a little uncertainly before looking up at your mom, "That's grandpa?"
For the first time since the car ride, she looked at you. She had an annoyed expression on her face. She removed her hand that was holding yours to pinch the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "Look, why don't you go explore the house for a while while grandpa and I talk, okay, Y/N?"
"Jesus, go easy on her, Kate. She's still a kid." Your grandpa chastised. Your mother just rolled her eyes. Turning back to you, he smiled gently. "I heard you liked reading, Y/N. I have a library covered floor to ceiling with books just a few doors down. You're welcome to read anything you'd like."
You murmured a small 'Thank you' before slipping away from the room. Your shoulders slumped in sadness as you walked to where the library was. Your grandpa seemed nice but the house looked so glum and empty. Sure, your parents were busy but there must have been a place you could have stayed somewhere that didn't require you to go so far away.
The door to the library was already open which made you pause. You hadn't seen anyone else in the house aside from your granpda. Did he live with someone else?
You pushed the door open wider and your eyes widened. True to his word, your grandpa's library was covered floor to ceiling with books. Thoughts of whoever else might be inside your grandfather's library dissipated as you stepped inside, feeling a little giddy as you closed the door behind you.
"Where to start..." You hummed to yourself as you began looking over the books. They weren't arranged by any category so it was a bit hard to find something specific. However, a thick book up high on a shelf caught your eye. The title was written in a strange language which piqued your curiousity.
Your mind made up to look over it, you grabbed one of the many ladders in the library and started to climb it.
"Agh," You frowned when the tips of your fingertips brushed against the spine of the strange book. It seems you had to go back down and reposition the ladder. Pursing your lips, you decided to reach for it again. But despite your efforts, you still couldn't get the book.
Then, with your brilliant twelve year old thoughts, you had the great idea to actually lean your body away from the ladder to get a better reach. Huffing with exertion, you stepped a foot out in open air and---
You were falling.
It was probably just a few seconds but at the time, it felt like forever until you crashed into somebody's arms.
After realizing you hadn't broken your neck, you opened an eye to see who had caught you and stifled a gasp.
A man with long, silver hair and cat-like yellow eyes had caught you. He had high cheekbones, a sleek jaw, and lips that were plumper lips than the dolls you owned. But even with his unsual appearance, it was the fluffy ears that were nestled on his hair that shocked you the most.
He was the strangest and quite possibly the most beautiful man you had ever seen.
He tilted his head as you continued to stare.
"Are those real?" You quietly said in awe, staring at his ears. You wanted to touch and feel them but that would probably be rude, wouldn't it?
He blinked at you before putting you back on the ground. At your small height, you had to tip your head back to look at his face. He glanced at you for a brief moment before pointing at the book you were trying to reach before.
"Geuge nega wonhaneun chaegini?" He asked. (Is that the book you want?)
"What?"
He chuckled at the confused expression you had, "Ah, geuraeseo naneun hangukeorul ihaehaji mothae. Mianhapnida." (Ah, so you don't understand Korean. Sorry.)
You puffed out your cheeks as he continued talking to himself in a foreign language. You tugged on the white robes he was wearing, "Hey, mister, since you can't tell me what you're saying, could you help me get my book at least?"
"Kuiyeowoyeo. Arasseo, gongjunim, nega neomu ilgo sipeunnika naega julkke." (Cute. Alright, princess, I'll give it to you because you really want to read it.) He ruffles your head and reaches out to easily take the book from the shelf. He pats the dust away and holds it out to you. " Jal gollattgona. Dangsineun hwaksilhi geu iyagirul jeulhil geosida." (That's a good choice. I'm sure you'll enjoy the story.)
You looked at his long nails holding the book. Your mother liked to keep her nails long too but his were almost claw-like in nature.
His free hand took your hands and made them take the book from his grip. Your eyes widened at the pretty beads wrapping around his wrist.
He noticed your reaction and quickly retracted his hand with a hiss. You blinked as he bared his sharp teeth, eyes narrowing into even tinier slits before he spun around and walked away.
"H-Hey!" You followed after him after the shock had worn off. "Where you going? Did I do something wrong?"
He paused and looked back at you with a stupified expression."Yojeum aedeulen...Naega wonhamyeon ne mokeul jjinjeul sudo iteo. Dangsin paboyeoyo?" (Kids these days...I could tear your throat if I wanted to. Are you an idiot?)
"I really don't understand what you're saying."
He smirked to himself as he knelt down to meet your gaze. He tapped the end of your nose. "You are cute...but you are also stupid."
You gaped at him, too offended at his words to be surprised that he could actually speak English. "I'm not stupid!"
He laughed. "I think I like you, gongjunim."
"What does," You paused as you attempted not to butcher the strange language he spoke. "Gonjungnim mean?"
"It is gongjunim." He corrected with a tiny smile. "It means princess."
"I'm not a princess."
"You act like one."
"That doesn't make sense."
He cracked a mischievous smile. "Would you rather I call you pabo? It means stupid."
"That's so mean." You pouted at him. "I wonder why grandpa lets you stay here."
He opened his mouth to talk but as if on cue, the door started to open. You turned around to see your grandpa step inside the room.
"Hey, kiddo. Your mother just left."
You chewed on your bottom lip worriedly. "She didn't say goodbye."
Your grandpa winced. "I know. I'm sorry, sweetie. She'll come visit every now and then. For now, we can hang out. I promsie I'm fun even though I'm a dinosaur."
"You're a dinosaur?"
"A figure of speech, sweetie." He chuckled at your weirded our expression. He raised his eyebrows at the book you were holding. "Oh, did you find something interesting?"
You walked over to him and raised it up high to show him the title. "Yeah, the cat man helped me get it from the shelf."
"This is a Korean book I found years ago back when I was in Busan. This is just storybook, though." Your grandpa noted. He raised an eyebrow at you. "I didn't know you could understand Korean, Y/N."
"I don't." You with a cheeky smile. "But you can teach me right, grandpa? That way I can understand what the cat man is saying."
"Well, truth be told, my Korean isn't as great as it used to be." Your grandpa admitted. "I'll try my best though. And what's this cat man you've been talking about?"
"I told you, he helped me earlier. He's right over there---" You turned around to point him out but he was gone. "Huh, he disappeared."
Your grandpa just smiled. "Maybe, he's taking a nap right now. You're a lot to handle you know."
You wrinkled your nose at him. "You're just as mean as him, grandpa."
"Am I still mean if I made you cookies?"
"You made cookies?" Your stomach rumbled. You held the book close. "Well, I guess that would be nice."
Your grandpa laughed as he led you outside. You glanced back one last time just before the door closed and found a pair of cat-like eyes looking back.