Chapter Text
-
“No, you’re too pretty.”
The woman immediately averted her gaze from Baekhyun as she jolted down something on her paper. The 22-years-old young man could only blink in disbelief as he heard her words – not sure whether he should take it as a compliment because right now, it seems like it puts him at disadvantage.
“But-” Before he could argue, the lady in her forties already cut him.
“Our client wants the nanny to be as ugly as possible, she wants to be the only queen in the house, you get it, right?” The lady spoke with a bored expression and tone.
Of course, Baekhyun knew what did she mean by that. In this field, they have to comply with their client's needs and perceptions which is always demanding. Well, they have the right to be choosy since they paid for their service. Also, not to mention that their clients come from wealthy families that wouldn’t hesitate to pay anything just to cater to their choice.
As someone who only worked as a nanny after dropping out of university barely 6 months ago due to the lack of funding, Baekhyun is definitely desperate to get this job to support his mother's medicine.
The salary that the client offered was very extravagant compared to all of his part-time jobs right now.
During the 6 months after he dropped out, Baekhyun worked in several places – one of them is becoming a part-time nanny in this agency. The money is good but it still can’t afford to cover his mother's surgery.
That’s why when he heard a super-rich client wanted to hire a full-time nanny, he couldn't lose this chance.
After all, he needs to pay for his mother's surgery quickly.
“Please, I need this job. I would do anything. I need money for my mother.” Baekhyun begged, fortunately, the lady knew about his tight situation.
She sighed, putting down her glasses before looking at Baekhyun again with a pitiful expression decorate on her face.
“Baekhyun, the client already stated that she doesn’t want an attractive nanny – she clearly specified it and your face is far from ordinary.” The lady that was named Mrs Jo explained.
“She might not find me attractive! Beauty is subjective after all. Let me try to work on the first day and if she doesn’t like me then I can just leave.” Baekhyun tried to convince the woman. He honestly never finds himself pretty or attractive like what Mrs Jo said, that rich lady probably would think the same as him too.
“Baekh-”
“Please, I know that you are short-staffed at the moment and I’m the only one that is available currently.” Baekhyun doesn’t speak lies, lately, many staff are leaving due to finding better opportunities somewhere else.
This nanny agency was one of the oldest and built quite a reputation throughout the time. However, lately, the agency has been in crisis due to the rivalry with other agencies. With the lack of solutions from upper management, the agency keeps going down until most of the rich clients that they usually serve turn to somewhere else. In the end, the clients that hired them currently are just from a working class that somehow has a little bit of money to spend for their kid's care.
Mrs Jo pondered for a moment, she looked hesitant but she knew very well that only Baekhyun is available right now.
“Alright,”
Baekhyun almost jumped out of joy, patting himself inside his head for managed to persuade Mrs Jo. The lady then speaks again.
“Don’t wear anything revealing, cover your face with your hair, always look down and never meet her eyes or anyone except for her kid and please, this is the most important–” She paused for a moment before she speak again, clearly to make sure that Baekhyun carving every word inside his head.
“Avoid her husband if he is around.”
-
The client's name is Natasha Rhee, a Russian-Korean-born and a retired supermodel. But now she is a socialite and owner of a high-class boutique. She only has one daughter which is the one that Baekhyun is supposed to look after – her name is Park Sera, a bright 2-years-old girl.
Unfortunately, there is no record regarding the father, Natasha said that her husband is not around much so, it’s not necessary for them to know about him. The agency was only obligated to her since she paid so much for their service.
Baekhyun’s breath almost caught in his throat as he watched the magnificent mansion in front of him – no this could possibly be passed as a palace. The mansion is located on a private hill that it took quite some time for him to reach there, thankfully, a driver picked him up from the agency and brought him here or else Baekhyun might be lost with the difficult road and length.
Not only is the mansion big enough for a whole neighbourhood to live in but it’s also full of security guards in every layer of the mansion – Baekhyun’s heart almost jumped when he saw every of the security guards holding a gun. He had to go through several inspections before he was allowed to pass the mighty entrance gate. Before entering the gate, Baekhyun couldn’t help but notice a symbol of a phoenix carved on the gate – it’s probably the insignia of the family.
Now that he is finally out of the car, he feels like he is still in a dream. Every inch of the mansion is built delicately, the well-kept garden, the floor that is probably made with the finest marbles and the walls that shine brilliantly. Baekhyun thought he saw heaven.
Baekhyun holds his bag tightly, wondering whether an ordinary person like him could step into this extravagant mansion. It truly reminds him of his lowly status compared to the family that lives here. With his cheap baggy shirt and pants, his bangs that he purposely styles to cover his eyes and his small stature – Baekhyun looks no less than a lost rat.
A minute later, while he was lost in the beauty of the mansion, a man that was probably in his fifties came to him. The man wore a suit, a well-kept appearance and an almost robot-like manner – he looked at Baekhyun without any expression before greeting him.
“Nice to meet you, my name is Yunsu. I’m a butler in this house.” The man said with a polite smile.
Baekhyun who kept his head low the entire time bowed to him back in courtesy. The butler didn’t say anything much afterwards, he only told Baekhyun to bring his bag with him as he lead him inside the luxurious mansion. The butler only pointed at him where, and where the paths would lead swiftly – not even bother whether Baekhyun would remember it or not. Unfortunately for Baekhyun since he could feel that he will have a hard time figuring out the path of this house.
The butler stopped almost immediately, and Baekhyun, who kept catching up to him almost bumped his nose on his back – he wondered where did this old man have all this much energy?
“That hallway would lead to the master’s office, you’re prohibited to go there no matter what the circumstances are. Do you understand?” The butler said sharply and Baekhyun almost jolted out of shock.
“Y-Yes.” He answered timidly.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the atmosphere in this mansion. The people, the building, the decoration, everything looks expensive yet, somehow, so cold and uninviting to a person like him.
“Master and madam’s bedroom are also out of your limit but if the madam permits then there is no problem.” The butler continues to show him around the house.
Baekhyun feels like his legs are about to fall off while walking around the house – he wondered how on earth do the people manage to walk around this house every day? Baekhyun glances at the maids who passed by him. All of them look professional, with uniforms and stern expressions. Baekhyun grimaced a bit when he made eye contact with one of them – their stare is even more frightening.
After a long walk, they finally arrived at a room that Baekhyun presumed it’s a spa judging by its decoration and herbal unique scent throughout the room. He has to walk on a single path due to the mini pond that is decorated with flowers and scented candles throughout the room to reach a woman that is currently receiving her massage from a personal esthetician at the far back of the spa.
The woman who is on her back doesn’t seem to mind them as she indulged herself with the massage. Baekhyun doesn’t know whether he should look away or not since the woman doesn’t wear anything except for a towel that covers her buttock.
“The new nanny is here, madam.” The butler announced to the woman.
It doesn’t take a genius to know that the woman is Natasha Rhee, the madam of the house and the owner of this luxurious mansion – his boss, well, if she agrees to have him be the nanny.
It took a minute before the woman gestured for her esthetician to stop. She sit up and Baekhyun turned his head down – out of embarrassment for her nakedness and also to avoid her looking directly at his face. Baekhyun saw her esthetician cover her body with a towel as she sat.
“You’re Byun Baekhyun, correct?” Natasha called for him and Baekhyun immediately says a quiet yes.
There’s a long pause, Baekhyun could feel how the woman is looking at him from the top and bottom – scrutinizing every little bit of his body. The gaze felt so heavy on him that he thought that she might have sent him back home.
“You look young, do you really have experience?” She questioned him.
“Yes, I took an intensive course to be a nanny before I was allowed to work as one, I believe my agency has sent all my certificates to madam before,” Baekhyun spoke with much confidence.
It’s true that before he got accepted to a university, he went to an intensive course for 2 months after being persuaded by his best friend. He thought that the certificate won’t bring benefits to him but after dropping out, he is thankful that he let himself fall into his friend’s persuasion or else, he doesn’t know where he could find a job with a salary like this anywhere else.
“Yes, they did but I thought they brought me the wrong person. The picture that they sent me looks much older.” There’s a hint of malice in Natasha’s tone and Baekhyun’s heart almost drops to the ground. The agency must have edited his face before sending his files in order to not have him rejected at the first stage.
“Is that so? I must not be very photogenic.” Baekhyun immediately covered up, he can’t afford to lose this job! After all, he just got called by the doctor saying that his mother’s surgery couldn’t be delayed any longer.
He heard the woman laugh at him – mocking him to be precise. After a moment, she finally calmed down.
“You guys must have taken me for a fool, aren’t you?” Her eyes are full of menace despite the eye smile that she gave him.
Baekhyun feels chills run through his back, his brain raked trying to find a better explanation but no matter how hard he tried, it only resulted in nothing but just an attempt to escape from this woman and this house.
No, why did he want to leave when he was the one who begged to be here in the first place? He should at least be brave enough to come clean and beg on his knees to get this job.
All of this is for his mother.
Seeing that Baekhyun only kept his silence, the woman sighed before walking towards one of the massage chairs – signalling the esthetician to massage her face.
“Well, whatever, he won’t even be here until next year anyway.”
Baekhyun heard Natasha mumble, a bit clueless over who she referred to.
“You can start your job right away.” She said, sounding a little bit bored.
The young man let out the widest smile he had ever had ever since he stepped into this job – relieved that she didn't kick him out of this house despite the tension between them earlier. Baekhyun bowed his head repeatedly with a bunch of thanks, saying that he will do his best to take care of her daughter. Natasha doesn’t reply and just simply ignores him.
The butler gestured for him to walk away and so he did, leaving the woman. However, before he could take another step, Natasha stopped him.
“Do your job well, Mr Byun or I won’t hesitate to find your replacement.”
And with that encouragement and perhaps a threat too, Baekhyun bowed at her again before leaving with the butler.
-
Baekhyun met with Sera right after that, the girl is the sweetest little thing he ever encountered. A beautiful baby with a pair of jewel eyes who looks at him with a look of excitement. She doesn’t throw any tantrums during their first meeting or be scared by him – in fact, she looks comfortable with Baekhyun’s presence.
“It seems like she likes you.” The butler said when he saw the young girl wanted to be lifted up by Baekhyun, which Baekhyun complied gladly.
“I believe you’ve received every document about the young lady's favourite and dislike, right?” The butler asked.
“Yes.” Baekhyun replied. He remembers the papers that he received regarding Sera, everything about her favourite and dislike – foods, toys, personality, habits, fabric preference, fear and even her favourite songs were listed there. The almost hundred pages papers are honestly too hard to remember, that’s why he has to bring them with him for references.
“Well then, your room is on the left, just beside her room so it will be easier for you to take care of her.” The butler said before he left as he had some other tasks to be taken care of. Before he left, he reminded Baekhyun to not hesitate to ask other maids if there are any difficulties in case he is not available as he is quite busy with his everyday tasks.
The butler then left Sera in the hand of Baekhyun who excitedly cooed at the adorable baby.
-
It turned out that Sera is the easiest baby he has ever taken care of, well, although he only babysits about three kids in his short career he still doesn’t hesitate to say that she is the most gentle baby. She doesn’t throw any tantrums, sleeps when Baekhyun puts her on the bed, always smiles and seems to be so affectionate to Baekhyun despite they only met for about a month now.
Throughout the whole early month here, he still has a hard time adjusting to this place. Sure, the mansion is luxurious and a dream to an ordinary person like him but the atmosphere, and the people working here look very cold and sinister. There are security guards in every corner of the house which scared Baekhyun for a bit with their big guns and the maids here are not as friendly as he thought.
There was a day when he asked a maid where to go to a garden since he wanted to bring Sera there to play since he doesn’t remember the place quite well yet, however, all he got was just a cold shoulder. He ended up getting lost several times with Sera who seemed excited just to walk around the house with him.
“Pwincess!”
The adorable 2-years-old called him, it was a nickname that she gave him out of a sudden after watching a movie about an ice princess a few days after he met her. Baekhyun did try to correct her but it seems like that nickname is stuck on her head.
Sera wanted to be lifted and so Baekhyun complied with it while walking with her around the house. He could see how everyone else is busy with their task and here is Baekhyun, walking idly without any concern – it makes him feel quite bad.
As he was strolling along the hallway towards the entrance, he suddenly met Natasha whom he hasn’t seen since their first meeting. It’s quite weird actually since she wasn’t even bothering to meet with Sera or ask about her wellbeing. It feels like she just completely entrusted Sera to him.
Now that he can see Natasha clearly, he must admit that Natasha is indeed a beautiful young woman. Tall, good fashion sense and voluptuous body with a good-looking face – no wonder she was a supermodel.
Baekhyun thought that he should greet her but before he could take another step, he saw that Natasha was walking with an unknown young man in an overly friendly manner. He wondered whether that man is her husband judging by their skinship and how Natasha just let her head fall on that man's shoulder in a clingy manner.
Not knowing what to do, Baekhyun decided to just slide to the corner, letting the couple pass by him. Thankfully, Sera who was just preoccupied playing with his shirt doesn’t let out any noise. After making sure that they have left, Baekhyun stepped out from the corner and almost stumbled in shock as the butler whom he also doesn’t see after his first day suddenly appeared in front of him.
“Have you been doing well?” The butler asked, to which Baekhyun replied with a yes.
“Good, if there’s anything troubling you please let me know.” And the butler left him but before he could leave, Baekhyun called for him.
“May I know, was that person besides the madam the master?” Baekhyun asked timidly, scared that he might get scolded for not knowing what the master in this house looks like.
“No, that person is her acquaintance. Master is currently away and won’t be back until next year.” The butler explained before he left Baekhyun and Sera.
Although there are millions of questions inside his head, Baekhyun thought that it would be better for him to just keep quiet. It is much better this way, the madam doesn’t seem to be bothered much by him and that already makes him feel kind of glad since he doesn’t have to hide his face like how the lady in the agency told him to. Perhaps, he doesn’t even need to hide his face since the madam already scrutinized his face and body before and despite that, she didn't say anything and allowed him to stay.
He just has to make himself invisible, just take care of Sera quietly and get his salary every month until his mother doesn’t require any major surgery anymore and live normally again.
Speaking of his mother, it has been quite a while since he visited her. He only keeps in touch with her by the phone and keeps apologizing for his absence. But thankfully, his sweet mother didn't mind and told him to take care of himself first. His mother seems to be doing well, her appetite has increased again since the last time he visited her. She said she has some friends here who keep encouraging her to be healthy. Baekhyun is glad that at least his mother is not lonely.
Perhaps, next month Baekhyun will request a vacation to visit his mother.
-
1 month later
Baekhyun got to know the truth behind the madam and her acquaintance when he tried to request vacation from her. He went to her office, knocking on the door to announce his presence and after a moment, he heard her voice calling him to come inside and so he did.
His jaw almost dropped to the floor when he saw the madam straddling on top of the young man that he saw a month ago with her. Kissing him passionately with almost half of their clothes gone.
Baekhyun’s face is red seeing the scene, he quickly tries to excuse himself but the madam stops him in between the kisses. Then, she looks at him with half-lidded eyes, smirking at his reaction. Her makeup already melted at this point due to the make-out session.
“What? Didn’t anyone tell you this?” She said.
Baekhyun wondered what she meant because all he knows right now is just to disappear and never see her again. Seeing that Baekhyun doesn’t give any response, she sighed before falling on the couch with a bored expression.
“What do you want?” She asked.
Baekhyun gathered all of his courage back, reminding himself what he came here for although he tried so hard to avoid her gaze.
“I-I would like to r-request a one day vacation, madam.” Baekhyun managed to utter those words although with much difficulty.
“Hmm, sure, I will ask the maid to take care of Sera while you are gone. Anything else?”
It doesn’t take her a while before she responds and Baekhyun immediately replied with a no before he left the room hastily – he could hear very well her laughs as she watched him scrambling on his feet.
He finally let out his breath after stepping out of the room. He never expected to watch that scene unfolding in front of his eyes, he never thought that the madam is having an affair behind her husband's back. He thought all of that could only happen in a soap opera drama that his mother loved to watch so much.
He wondered why she kept another lover behind her husband’s back? Isn’t she married? Marriage is sacred, it ties two-person into a relationship that would require them to be together through thick and thin. Marriage is not a joke that anyone could think lightly of – at least, it is what Baekhyun thought.
Baekhyun shook his head, he shouldn’t have thought about it. That’s the madam's business and not his, all he needs to do is just take care of Sera quietly, get that salary and pay for his mother’s surgery.
That’s all that matters!
-
3 months later
Baekhyun has now become a lot more comfortable with this job, although it is mostly because of Sera’s cuteness still, it’s better than the first month when he was here. He also doesn’t expect to make any acquaintances with the workers here since most of them just blatantly ignore his existence. His mother is getting better after the surgery and only needs a follow-up minor surgery – she keeps telling him how excited she is to go back to their house again.
Baekhyun is glad that everything seems good so far in his life.
He never questions the madam's adultery with different men or the absence of her husband. None of that mattered to him, he learned to not get into anyone's business if he doesn’t want to get into unnecessary trouble.
He thought that everything would be fine. However, his expectation goes into the drain when one night, while he was sleeping soundly, he heard a gunshot.
Shocked, he peeked outside to see the situation and to his horror, he saw some unknown men heavily armed with weapons breaking into the house. Baekhyun quickly closes the curtain and runs to Sera’s room before they manage to reach there. Along the way, he could hear more intense gunshots, those intruders must have fought with the security guards judging by the sounds of it.
He quickly locks the door upon reaching her room and grabs the already crying Sera. Baekhyun quickly soothes her in order to keep her quiet so the intruders won’t know that they are here. Thankfully, Sera only cried for a moment because as soon as she was in Baekhyun’s arms, her crying almost ceased.
Baekhyun goes into the wardrobe with the now already calm Sera. The little girl didn't question anything and just borrowed her face on his shoulder, holding him tightly with her little hands.
Baekhyun could hear how loudly his heartbeat was beating inside his chest – as if it was about to fall off soon. Although he couldn’t see anything due to the dark, he still managed to hear muffled sounds of people screaming and gunshots.
What is going on? Who are those people? Why do they suddenly break into this house?
So many questions appeared inside his head but none of them matters when he heard the door of Sera’s room being shot and kicked to open causing him to gasp out of terror. He holds the little girl tightly as he closes his eyes – covering her body with his to protect her from any harm.
Baekhyun doesn’t realize that he has been crying until he feels the saltiness of tears in his mouth. He is scared, he doesn’t want to die yet, he hasn’t done anything to achieve his dream – ah, dream? What dream does he have? After dropping out of university he already swore to himself to just live with working to support both himself and his mother. If he dies, how will his mother survive?
He never thought that he would experience something like this in his life. What has he done to deserve this?
He could hear clearly someone stepping inside the room, turning the room over – probably searching for Sera. He holds the girl tightly, the little girl seems to understand the situation and just keeps quiet as she grasps Baekhyun.
Suddenly, the wardrobe was open – Baekhyun stare at the two unknown men who smirked after their discovery. Before Baekhyun could react, he was dragged away harshly from Sera who had screamed loudly after being separated from Baekhyun. One of them holds Baekhyun by his neck while the other holds the already crying Sera.
“We got his kid.” The man who held Sera spoke.
“What about this one?” The man who held him asked. The other guy who held Sera stepped closer to him, pushing his hair to the back – inspecting his face before a wide, cruel smile appeared on his lips.
As if he just discovered a priceless treasure.
“Pretty, this one is probably worth more than millions.” He said before running his bloodied hand on Baekhyun’s face – causing the smaller to shudder.
Baekhyun has no idea what they talked about but seeing how they laughed at the idea he knew that it was not something good. These people probably want to sell him to human traffickers.
Confused and scared, Baekhyun doesn’t know who he should seek help from. The security guards seem to have fallen and it will probably take a while for the police to reach here due to the complicated road.
Is this the end?
Will he ever survive this?
Baekhyun has lost all of his hope.
However, the laugh from the man behind him stops with the sound of a gun. Before he knew it, the man who held him had fallen to the ground. The other guy who seems shocked hastily grabs his gun but before he could lift it, his head is already burned with a hole – he collapsed almost immediately.
Baekhyun who witnessed the death of someone by a gun could only stare in shock, his mind still couldn’t wrap over what had happened. His knees finally gave up as he fell to the floor, Sera ran to him – hugging him as she cried.
He hugs the little girl back although still in shock. He wondered who is the person behind him now? Who is the one that killed these two? God, what will happen to them now?
“What a fool.”
He heard someone speaking behind him, his voice causing Baekhyun to tremble. His voice is deep, deeper than anyone he ever knows and his tone is full of nothing but hostility. He hopes that the man would just leave them alone even though it seems unlikely but still, he has to grasp any hope that he has.
Baekhyun heard the man step closer to them until a pair of shiny black leather shoes came into his view. He doesn’t dare to look up, all he wants is just to disappear.
“Daddy!”
Suddenly, Sera cried before releasing herself from him, running towards the man.
Daddy?
Then, it means that this man is,
Baekhyun finally looked up and to his surprise, the man was already staring at him back.
This man is tall, broad, and seems to have so much strength looking by his physique. Jet-black hair and high-bridged nose – now Baekhyun knows where Sera got her looks from. Both of her parents are incredibly good-looking. However, when he met with the eyes of this man, he couldn’t help but shudder and turned away because of how deep that eye is – as if stripping him bare.
“Daddy! Daddy! Pwincess is hurt!” Sera whine at her daddy after being picked up by her father.
“Princess?” His dad looks confused.
Then, Sera pointed her hand at Baekhyun while calling him princess, again and again, to make her dad understand.
There’s a look of realization as the man looked again at the still-traumatized Baekhyun who couldn’t afford to access anything in this situation.
“I see, a princess indeed.” The man agrees.