Chapter 3 the General's room

Chapre 3

When she reached the third floor, the surroundings were quiet, and the door to the General's huge room was closed.

"Could it be just Nana Tacy?" she whispered as she glanced around.

"Hmm, maybe it was just Nana fixing something here. Nana?! Nana Tacy?!" she called out, but no one answered, so she decided to peek into the General's room.

She wasn't supposed to do that, but she was naturally stubborn. In fact, she had entered the room three times before just to look for a picture of the General, but there wasn't even one old photograph of him as a child.

The room was very plain, with only black and white colors. Actually, the entire mansion had a minimalistic design, which was fancy. But for her, it was boring. It looked newly made, with no traces of use. The furnishings were in neutral shades, white, or gold.

Her hands were itching to decorate it with paintings if she could. But in the past two years, she hadn't done so. First, she was afraid the General might get angry when he returned and saw her paintings. Second, she didn't have good painting materials. She had been longing for it but didn't have enough money. Her allowance from her husband was limited.

Not to be rude, but the General was stingy. Her daily allowance from Nana Tacy was just enough for her daily expenses.

She didn't have an ATM card or credit cards. Actually, she didn't even have a bank account. Everything was in cash or in kind. According to Nana Tacy, that was the General's golden rule that she had to follow. She didn't know why, but that was it.

She looked around every corner of the General's room when suddenly the lights turned on, nearly causing her to jump. "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed, clutching her chest.

"Oh, sorry darling, did I startle you?"

"Nana Tacy, it's you. You surprised me," she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. She thought it was the General. For a second, she felt fear and nervousness at the thought of seeing the General Demon she had been waiting for.

"Hmm, you were scared, huh? You thought it was Sir?" Nana Tacy teased, making her smile and shake her head.

"Hmm, oh dear! You miss Sir, don't you?"

"H-huh? Me? No, that's unlikely to happen. Eheee..." she responded with a grin, but Nana Tacy just smiled even more.

"Ah, we've been together for two years, darling, I know you. Besides, why are you in Sir's room? Hmm, you must really miss him, hahaha!" Nana Tacy teased further, making her laugh. "Oh, Nana Tacy, you really like to tease me!" she protested, and Nana Tacy smiled and ruffled her hair, causing her to dodge. "Nana Tacy!!!" she complained before fixing her messy hair.

"Oh, alright, alright. I was just trying to make you smile. You seem sad again." Nana Tacy said lovingly before sitting on the sofa at the foot of the General's bed. The only thing they could touch, maybe?

"Me, sad?"

Shu entered the school through the backyard gate because he already knew the kind of scene he would find at the university's main gate.

He arrived a bit early, so he coincidentally arrived at the same time as the two campus crushes from the palace, Khallib and Dhark. This is the main reason why the main entrance of the university looked like a concert venue once again.

Shu had a crush on Khallib, but she didn't want to squeeze through the crowd, so she headed straight to the back.

She was enjoying her walk when a sudden 'beep' from behind startled her, almost causing her to fall. However, she was even more shocked by what happened next.

A man's arm from a motorcycle grabbed her by the waist, preventing her from falling.

The man was dressed in full black and wore a helmet, but she recognized him instantly.

"D-Dhark?!" she blurted out as she finally regained her balance and stood up properly.

"Hey, weirdo! Good morning!" he teased after removing his helmet.

She grimaced at him. "You! You scared me on purpose again, didn't you? Ugh!" she said angrily, intending to punch him, but Dhark quickly handed her the helmet, winked at her, and ran off.

"Hey! What am I supposed to do with this?!" she shouted in confusion.

"Keep it! I'll find you later!" he yelled back, pausing briefly to look at her.

"Find it in the trash!" she yelled back.

"Do it and you'll see..." he replied mischievously, leaving her momentarily stunned and grimacing.

"Is he crazy?"

"Who’s crazy?" Pao suddenly asked from behind, startling her.

"Pao, you scared me!"

"Who were you looking at?"

"No one, just a crazy person who messes with me every day!" she said, pouting.

"Dhark again?"

"Who else? He's the only one who teases me!"

"Maybe he likes you?" Pao suggested, making her dodge the idea.

"He likes me? No way! He just enjoys teasing me because of what happened before. Remember, I was the reason for his first trip to the guidance office when I mistook him for a pervert after he accidentally hugged me in the hallway near the restroom. It turned out he was sick and dizzy, which is why he fell on me as I passed by."

"That was a long time ago! What, he doesn't know how to forgive? Though his image was ruined here at school, especially in our senior high department. Everyone really thought he was a pervert," Pao said, grinning.

"Why of all people in the world did I have to be in that hallway at that time? Now, I've been his target for a year!"

"He probably thinks he's Jun Pyo, and you're Gum Jandi from 'Boys Over Flowers!' Haha, cute!" Pao commented, laughing, making her grimace again.

"What, are we in a drama?"

"Haha, just let it be. He's handsome, rich, lives in a palace, and dresses like an idol! He's the dream guy of almost 80% of the population here at school, right? Who knows, you might have a twist!" Pao speculated, making her frown even more.

"Hey, just dream for yourself! Not for me. I'm fine with my complicated situation!" she said sarcastically.

"Oh right! You already have General Demon! He might even throw me in the trash if he hears what I'm saying—OH MY GOD! What is that?!" Pao suddenly exclaimed, startled along with Shu, by the man standing behind them.

"Y-Young Mast-- I mean, Khallib?!" Pao whispered, while Shu remained shocked.

Khallib stood behind them with his hands in his pockets.

As they stepped aside, he gave them a nasty look and continued walking. He was accompanied by two other male law students.

"Wait, wasn't he just in his car at the main entrance? Why did he come through the back?" Shu asked curiously after a while.

"Come on, it's like you never graduated from the second grade. You know, they're like celebrities. They like putting on a show. They pretend to be in the car that everyone is fussing over, but they actually slip in through the back door," he explained.

"Ah, that makes sense," Shu replied, following Khallib with his eyes as he walked further away.

"Wow, it must be tough for them, dealing with that every day."

"You're telling me. Look at Dhark; at first, he was all about the car. But now, he prefers using a motorcycle because he hates getting stuck in the crowd at the main gate. At least on a motorcycle, he doesn’t get noticed as much by the students, and he can just use the back gate to enter the school quietly."

"Huh! He might get in quietly, but I don’t!" she retorted.

"Just let it go. In a little over a year, he'll graduate. And Khallib, we don’t interact with him often because his department is far away," he added.

According to the information they had, Khallib was a law student, a few years ahead of Dhark. Dhark was in the Political Science department and was only in his third year. As for them, they were graduating Grade 12 students in two months, so their building was somewhat separate, and they only interacted with college students during breaks or campus-wide events.

To Be Continued...