Her Tempestuous Villain

Sunye did not realize that she was so tense that she had held in her breath. She let out a loud sigh.

"Are you alright?" Jonghyun asked curiously. "You've been acting strange."

"Perhaps Ms. Han is not feeling well?" SD suggested in a polite tone. But Sunye could feel him mocking her as if he knew she would be scared that his identity would be found out. Then she realized that this was SD. Of course he must have thought about the security check and bypassed it.

Silly me, she groaned inwardly. Aloud she said, "I'm fine! Let's go in!"

The men were perplexed by her sudden snappiness. A group of guards came up to them to escort them safely towards the mansion. Jonghyun and Sunye walked ahead while SD maintained a two feet distance from them. Sunye tried not to glance at him from the corner of her eyes but could not help sneaking a few peeks. Was Kim Haein his real name? Or was he bluffing once again?

"We are here, sir," one of the guards announced after a while. Sunye let out a sharp breath. The mansion was modeled after the royal palace and was mostly a miniature version of it but no less grand.

It was built on what used to be a riverside many years ago. The land had been dug up and covered specifically for the mansion to be built, far away from the city. The sound of the river flowing could be heard since the rest of the waterbed was not far off. PM Lee wanted the grandeur and elegance of the royal family, making sure that his home was built as such.

The mansion was an European style structure sprawling across a large acre of land, almost occupying the entire area. There were no other houses in that neighborhood except for this one; the rest of the place encompassed a green landscape. The symmetric complex was pentagonal in shape, overlooking the area like a giant with over ten storey high and each floor was assigned for different sections of the Prime Minister's office.

A large mahogany door blocked the entrance. Sunye noted that there were carvings of angels on it who were pouring water on a model of the earth. It signified the government of Lee as angels who were cleansing the world of impurities. The emblem was in stark contrast to the royal family's one which used to be one of an angel flying over the earth, signifying that the angel was ruling over the world.

"Shall we go in?" Jonghyun asked, holding his arm out for her. Sunye was a little slow in responding but took his arm and let him lead the way. She glanced at SD, who was walking behind them. His expression was unreadable and she wondered what he was planning.

SD watched Sunye enter the mansion with Jonghyun. He hid his flaring jealousy within him, maintaining a cool composure. Seeing them together was not his idea of a pleasant time but he was there that night on a mission. It had been years since he had seen Prime Minister Lee and even though his appearance had changed vastly, he was still a little nervous. If the Prime Minister got even an inkling of who he was, then it would all be over.

A guard stepped forward to block their way.

"Please put your cell phones in this tray," he instructed Sunye and SD. "Except for the members of the family and employees, no one else is allowed to take their cell phones inside the mansion."

Sunye handed her phone and SD did the same. An attendant took the phones and took them away for safekeeping.

"You will be handed your phones once you leave the premises," the guard informed them.

"Thank you," Sunye said while SD merely nodded. Jonghyun motioned Sunye to come with him and SD followed them.

"Please wait in the living room," the guard went on. "Master Myung and Miss Hyeri will be here soon. Once they're here, the Prime Minister will join all of you."

Jonghyun nodded and led them in. They entered a lavish, circular living room with a series of golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. A magnificent fountain was placed in the middle which had colorful lights attached to it, illuminating the water with different shades. The entire hall was adorned with storyboards which contained the tales of independence the country had achieved after the fall of the royal family. SD scanned the boards carefully.

The boards depicted the events following the massacre of the royal family and how Prime Minister Lee rose to take control of the chaotic civil war where the royal factions led by the charismatic leader fought valiantly against the ones who had killed the Emperor and his family. Each board highlighted a part of the country's history from 24 years ago showing the country rising from the ashes.

It was all magnificent from one perspective. Because history was written by winners and only they could tell their side.

Sunye, too, studied the boards with great interest. The civil war did not last long but the effects of it was still felt by the people who were alive during that time. She dared not to remember those dark and uncertain times.

"This must be painful for you," Jonghyun said. "Seeing these pictures."

"Traumatic," Sunye admitted. "But I can bear it."

"Do you recall a lot of things from that time?" Jonghyun asked, feeling curious. "You were very young."

"I recall many things now," Sunye said. "I just don't want to think about them. I'm sure you know how it had affected us all."

"I actually don't," Jonghyun confessed. Sunye raised an eyebrow while SD remained impassive, his eyes still on the boards.

"I was sent abroad," Jonghyun explained. "I don't know anything about the war."

"Oh." It was all she could reply.

"What about you, Haein?" Jonghyun asked his secretary. "You were alive during that time too. Do you recall anything?"

Sunye also turned to face SD. That was right. He must have been alive during those times too. Surely, he also lived through a similar experience as her?

"The only thing I recall is scraping food from a place lined with corpses," Haein shrugged. "My parents had died in the war and I was on my own, trying to survive. I don't remember the war because I was too busy trying to survive on my own."

He spoke in a nonchalant way as if he had accepted that part of his life. It meant little to him even though he was probably endangering his own life while on the quest to survive.

"You don't seem very impacted by the war," Jonghyun noted. "Strange."

Before SD could reply, Sunye spoke up. "It's not strange at all," she said in a cool tone. "Because those who remember the war only thought of survival. We didn't care about who won as long as we were able to feed ourselves and live one more day. Bullets didn't scare us but dying of starvation felt worse. So it's not strange when one doesn't recall the fighting in the war. The pain of hunger is the thing forever etched in our minds."

Jonghyun stared at her, frowning a little while SD suppressed a smirk. Even Sunye was surprised at herself but she could not help it. The war held many horrors for them and she did not want a fellow survivor of it reluctantly recalling his experience to someone who was not even in the country during that time. Even if that survivor was SD.

"I seemed to have misspoken," Jonghyun said, feeling apologetic. "I didn't realize the two of you might have shared this experience."

SD simply nodded while Sunye did not respond. She simply looked away, not in the mood to talk. All she wanted was for the evening to end already.

The mahogany door opened once again and another pair walked in. A handsome boy in his late teens entered the hall, followed by a meek looking girl of his age. Sunye frowned a little when she realized who the girl was.

Orea.

The latter did not betray any hint of recognition. She looked at the adults and bowed like an obedient young girl.

"Hello!" she greeted in an uncharacteristically timid tone. "My name is Min Orea! Nice to meet all of you."

To Sunye's surprise, the girl was a damn good actor. She pretended not to know SD and if SUnye had not met her earlier, she would have thought they were total strangers. Why was this dangerous duo integrating themselves into the lives of Prime Minister Lee's family?

"Is this your friend, Myung?" Jonghyun asked.

"She is," Myung said coldly. "We're here to do an assignment."

"Does the Prime Minister know?" Jonghyun asked.

"Why do you care?"

Sunye was taken aback by the tension between the siblings. They did not hide their disdain for each other and from the looks of it, she assumed SD already knew about it. He stepped forward to calm his boss.

"Sir, this is not the place to fight," he said in a calm tone. "I'm sure Master Myung has informed the PM."

Myung muttered something like "loyal dog" under his breath. Orea feigned nervousness and kept her head down while SD looked unabashed. Sunye was the only one who was confused by the strange family. But before she could ask them, another figure appeared at the door.

"Hello brothers," a deep voice resonated through the hall. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"