Fort Estienne wasn't uncomfortable; on the contrary, it could be accurately described as luxurious. But down to earth Laura found a king sized bed and spacious rooms empty and daunting. The first few nights she barely got any sleep due to the fact that she was not in familiar quarters and woke up rubbing her aching ribs. She checked her watch on the bedside table – it showed twenty minutes past midnight. A good six hours till daybreak. She stood up putting on her dressing gown and slowly padded outside her room. Ji Hoon's room was right opposite hers separated by a stretch of twelve feet or so. She noticed his light was on under the door and wondered what he was doing still up. Maybe he didn't get any sleep either...

She tiptoed down to the dining room for some water but what she was really craving was a hot drink. She checked the cabinets for cocoa powder or even coffee but all she found was a variety of teas – earl grey, lemon and green. She scrunched her face in distaste. She so disliked those teas, they tasted so artificial. She shut the cupboard with a sigh. It was too much to suppose her stepfather would've remembered to stock up on the groceries she actually used back home.

"Laura, what are you doing?" Ji Hoon's voice startled her and she spun around quickly.

"Ji – Ji Hoon! You're still awake..." she said awkwardly.

"Are you okay? Did you want something?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, I just couldn't sleep... I was looking for some coffee... we're all out though. I should remember to get some next time I go shopping."

"Felix will get that for you. But right now if it's coffee you want, I have some stock. It's nothing posh, just regular Americano packets. But there's plenty." Laura smiled.

"Thanks."

"Follow me, I have a kettle in my room." He said. She trekked back upstairs to his room. With surprise she found it was smaller than hers, though only natural since hers was the master bedroom. It was also cozier and Ji Hoon had infiltrated it with his scanty personal belongings but still it felt homier than hers.

"Your room is a lot better than mine." She said looking around. He gestured for her to sit on the couch.

"Really? You're in a master bedroom and you like this?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's more comfortable." Laura said. Ji Hoon put the kettle on and stared at the table.

"You really are down to earth..." he said softly so she wouldn't hear. "What was your old apartment like?"

"A bit like this – not like something out of a hotel catalogue." Laura said. Ji Hoon brought her the coffee and sat on the bed opposite her, sipping his own.

"Mmm... I haven't had coffee in ages." Laura said, inhaling the cup with contentment. Ji Hoon laughed.

"It's just a coffee." He said. "I thought you'd be more used to thousand dollar export coffee beans or something." He said. Laura's face furrowed.

"That's a pretty inaccurate assumption. I thought you were good at reading people." She said. Ji Hoon realized he made a mistake.

""Ah, I didn't mean it like that. Usually when people try something better, they can't go back to the ordinary." He rectified.

"Consuming expensive food isn't necessarily better." Laura said. "I like the ordinary." Ji Hoon smiled and tapped his forehead.

"I'll keep that in mind." He said.

"Why, are you profiling me?" she asked.

"Not exactly. It's just something I do, getting to know the people I work with." Ji Hoon said after a long sip of his coffee.

"That doesn't seem fair seeing as you don't let anyone get to know you except by really probing questions." Laura said with a smirk. Ji Hoon gave a furtive smile.

"I'm not used to letting people in." Ji Hoon said. "My job calls for a high level of privacy."

"Guarding people?" Laura asked with narrow eyes.

"Yes..." Ji Hoon said without conviction. Laura suspected he wasn't telling the truth but didn't want to pry in case he clammed up.

"That must be pretty lonely." She stated. "Everybody has a need to be known, loved by someone special."

"My parents loved me once." Ji Hoon said. "That's enough for me." Laura's eyes softened in pity for him.

"Is it really?" she asked. He remained silent staring into his cup.

"Sometimes it's better not to be known." He said finally. "It's safer for the other person." Laura pondered what he could mean by that.

"What were your parents like? If you don't mind me asking." She said switching to a safer subject.

"They were ordinary, not exactly well-off... but they were everything to me." Ji Hoon said, his shoulders relaxing. "We had love, happiness and every necessity, if not luxury. They worked hard to put me through college. They gave me everything I needed for life." Laura saw his countenance sadden and felt a need to reach out and rub his shoulder to sooth away the loneliness. He looked up as though pushing his feelings back.

"Enough about me." he said, keeping his coffee cup down and leaning back on the bed. "You must have it a lot harder than most people, being an heiress and all."

"I wasn't always an heiress you know." Laura said with a pout. "I had a normal life before too. It was just my mom and I before she married when I was eleven. But even then, it wasn't easy growing up for me." Ji Hoon looked inviting, waiting for her to continue but remaining quiet as though unwilling to invade her privacy. She smiled.

"I never knew my dad and my mom always had high expectations of me. That wasn't necessarily bad; it's just that she was never satisfied with anything I did. I started to feel I wasn't who she wanted me to be. So I backed out of my own desires and tried to please her. It didn't change anything. Until she met Jason – my stepfather. I guess she thought now that she was married to a billionaire, I'd be taken care of. So she stopped pushing me to be a lawyer if you get what I mean. Don't get me wrong, she's not mercenary; she just wanted me to be taken care of. But she never really accepted me the way I am, you know?" Laura looked at him expectantly for his opinion.

"That must've been hard. Not being accepted by the people you love always is." Ji Hoon said. "But I'm sure she loved you."

"She does. She just – doesn't show it much." Laura said, rubbing her cup handle. "In her own way of loving me she might have sidetracked how I felt. What I wanted."

"What do you want, Laura?" Ji Hoon asked. Laura stared at him for a long moment.

"To love and be loved." She said simply. Ji Hoon blinked. He hadn't expected such a straightforward answer. Laura surprised him more and more each time he spoke to her. She had no great ambitions, no extravagant needs. Just – the basics. Just like himself; only those simple needs could not be easily satisfied at present... for both of them.

"You are not what I expected." He said almost in wonder. Laura laughed.

"Did I surprise you? Good. That means I finally got to you." She said. Ji Hoon looked at the time.

"You should get some sleep. I kept you up long enough." He said reverting to his usual impassive manner. Laura set the cup down and got up.

"Good night Ji Hoon." She said as she went out the door. "Thanks – for the coffee and company." Ji Hoon stared at the door long after she went, his inner mind unsettled.

"Good night, Laura..."

In a dark underground room, in the heart of New York, a vicinity well targeted by Talavera Group, a man reclined at his desk, reading with casual interest the tablet in front of him. He was well past his prime though he still bore all the vitality of a man in his thirties; his graying beard and slicked back hair gave him a look of authority rather than leniency. The room around him was filled with priceless antiques from brass statutes to crystal sculptures, Dom Edizoni leather couches and glass tables. He suddenly let out a yell in Italian and a younger man came in.

"Yes Mr. Vultaggio?" he asked.

"Enzo, how good of you to make your presence known." The old man said with slippery sarcasm. "Have you read the news?"

"Yes sir." Was Enzo's short reply. Vultaggio tilted his head up and connected his fingertips together.

"Then I expect you to show me the progress." He said harshly.

"There hasn't been any, sir." Enzo said, thinking it better to be frank. Vultaggio flung the tablet across the room, shattering it to pieces as it hit the wall.

"I want results! Talavera is moving quickly since Wetmore's failed attempt! Mobilize my men, stir up their glasses, make them cower! I am Giovanni Vultaggio! No man gets the better of me!" he screeched.

"Yes sir." Enzo replied unperturbed. Vultaggio calmed himself and dusted off his coat.

"One way or another, I will get his daughter. I will steal his treasure. I will make him fall to his knees begging. Then I will crush him and his empire. This city is mine. He dares to challenge me by trying to secure his treasure?" Vultaggio gave a dark laugh.

"Pitiable man. I will break his defenses one by one until he yields to me. Then no man will ever think to wrestle this city from my grasp." He turned to Enzo.

"Go, send in Rurik. I have a special assignment for him." He said. Enzo bowed and left wordlessly.

"A weak body has no defense. It is time to inoculate it with poison." Vultaggio continued to himself. "First I will destroy his castle, then I will steal his treasure." He turned on the gramophone next to him, the mournful symphony of Verdi's 'V'ho ingannato' filling the room.

"A consonance of revenge..." he said with a sardonic smile.

It was a little after dawn when Ji Hoon woke up a few days later. He noticed Laura's bedroom door open and supposed she was already awake. He went downstairs expecting her to be in the dining room but she wasn't there. Feeling a little uneasy, he made his way outside and with relief saw her standing in the garden with her eyes closed. She was stretching her arms back, letting the wind blow past her, ruffling her hair. Ji Hoon felt taken aback by how naturally beautiful she looked, with the morning sun on her face.

Morning." He said, clearing his throat. She immediately turned around.

"Oh, Good morning." She said with a warm smile.

"You're up early. Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Sort of. I'm usually an early riser though. I always think sleeping is such a waste of time when I could be doing so many other things." She said.

"That's an interesting way of viewing it..." Ji Hoon said. "You're not bored here are you? This might not be the life you had before but –"

"Oh no, I can't say I'm bored." Laura said earnestly. "I should be really grateful for this – the house, the security. I thought this is kind of like a vacation, right? It's not my ideal beach house but still... I should try to enjoy it while it lasts." Ji Hoon smiled at her with something like pity.

"That's brave of you. any normal human being would've gone insane at being locked up." He teased.

"Hey, I'm normal." Laura said with a mock pout. Ji Hoon laughed.

"Let's see about some breakfast. It's Mrs. Kowalski's day off so I'll help."

"Thanks." Laura gave a little yawn.

"Still tired? Why don't you sleep in your room? It must be more comfortable than the couch." Ji Hoon said. Laura turned to him quickly.

"How did you know I sleep on the couch?" she asked. Ji Hoon faltered.

"Er..." explaining that he'd seen her curled up on the couch in the living room for the last few nights and even covered her with a quilt would seem like an invasion of her space.

"I just – noticed you one night that's all." He said. Laura turned to stare at the pebbled path as they walked.

"I'm not used to a big room." She said. "My bed is a lot smaller than the one here. This one feels – empty." Ji Hoon nodded.

"I understand. But you have to face that bed sometime, right? You can't sleep on the couch forever." He said. Laura looked at him with an indescribable expression.

"Maybe I can't... at least not forever." She said before walking on ahead. Ji Hoon watched her, unsure of what she meant. Not forever, she emphasized. What was going on in her head?