Morning light filtered through the curtains, and Woon slowly blinked awake. His vision, initially blurry, sharpened to reveal a stunning woman sprawled in the bed next to him. Silvery-white hair fanned across the pillow, her fair skin glowed, and her curvy form was barely concealed by black undergarments. Woon's brain short-circuited. He rubbed his eyes, pinched himself, even checked for a pulse – anything to confirm this wasn't some incredibly vivid dream. He reopened his eyes. Nope. Still there. A beautiful, half-naked woman. In his bed.
"Why the… F-f-fuck! is there someone in this room?!" Woon hissed, his whisper a strangled gasp of pure panic.
He crept towards the door, moving with the stealth of a startled snail. In his desperate evasion, he managed to bump into a vase on the desk, sending it crashing to the floor. Woon's heart hammered a frantic drum solo against his ribs. The noise, naturally, roused the sleeping beauty. She stirred, slowly pushing herself up, blinking away sleep. Woon, trembling, fumbled for the doorknob, his escape tantalizingly close. But before he could twist it, her eyes snapped open and landed on him. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"KYAAAAAAAAAA!" she shrieked, a sound that could shatter glass and probably Woon's eardrums.
She sprang to her feet, a blur of graceful fury, and snatched something from the floor.
"Throwing a dagger?" Woon yelped, barely ducking as the glinting blade whistled past his ear and embedded itself in the doorframe.
"THERE'S A PERVERT HERE!" she screamed again, unleashing a barrage of daggers. Woon, surprisingly nimble for someone currently undergoing an existential crisis, dodged them all, each one narrowly missing a vital organ.
Her screams echoed through the castle, reaching every nook and cranny. Being labeled a pervert was, in Woon's humble opinion, possibly the worst accusation a man could face. And it was now being broadcast live.
"I am not a pervert!" Woon protested, his voice cracking as he continued his involuntary dance of avoidance.
"You snuck into my room and slept in the same bed as me! Your death will be the price you pay!" She declared, grabbing a gleaming katana from somewhere he hadn't noticed and dramatically unsheathing it.
"Hey, that's mine! Please be careful with it!" Woon cried out, recognizing his prized possession, now being wielded by a woman clearly intent on using it to rearrange his internal organs.
"Die!" she snarled, charging at him.
Just in the nick of time, Woon wrenched the door open and bolted, sprinting down the hallway. The woman, surprisingly fast for someone who'd just woken up, was hot on his heels, katana held aloft.
"Please, stop!" Woon pleaded, pumping his legs.
"I'll stop when you're dead!" she roared back, gaining on him.
They careened through the hallway, past endless doors, until they reached the grand staircase. Woon, desperate, flung himself down the steps, not caring if he tumbled head over heels. But the woman matched him, leaping down the stairs with surprising agility. As they rounded a corner, Woon practically slammed into Victor, who was strolling casually.
"Dude, help me!" Woon gasped, nearly out of breath.
"What?" Victor asked, looking utterly bewildered.
Then Victor saw the katana-wielding woman, and his eyes widened. Without a word, he turned tail and joined Woon's impromptu marathon.
"Hey, Woon, why is she chasing you?!" Victor puffed, keeping pace.
"F-f-fuck if I know! I woke up and she was just… lying there!"
"Shit, you're dead! Did you sleep in her room?"
"No! I entered the guest room! Why would I go anywhere else?!"
"Wait, so she barged into your room in the middle of the night?" Victor said, dodging another dagger that whizzed past his ear.
"Yeah! Maybe! Oh, for crying out loud, did she just throw another dagger?!" Woon yelled, executing a magnificent dodge.
"I'll stop her, just stay still!" Victor shouted back.
"Fuck, hurry! I might actually die!"
"Hey, Alicia, stop!" Victor yelled.
She skidded to a halt in front of them, katana still clenched. Her gaze, however, was fixed solely on Woon.
"Hey, Victor, move! I have business with that pervert!"
"What do you mean 'pervert'?! You're the one who entered the room without permission!" Woon retorted, peeking out from behind Victor's back like a terrified meerkat.
"Trying to reverse the situation, huh?" Alicia seethed, her face a mask of rage.
"Move, Victor! I'll bury that bastard alive!"
"No! First of all, he's my guest. Second of all, you barged into the room without permission!" Victor insisted, holding his ground.
"It's my room! What do you mean I barged?!" she argued, her voice rising.
"It's the guest room!" Victor stated, completely deadpan.
"Wha… what? Gue… guest room?" Alicia stammered, her fury faltering, replaced by a dawning realization.
"Yeah. And that katana? It's his. Why are you using it to kill him?" Victor added, piling on the humiliation. He leaned in conspiratorially to Woon. "Dude, this is fun!"
"What the heck?! You're having fun with this?" Woon whispered back, aghast.
Alicia, her face a rapidly changing canvas of anger, confusion, and then utter mortification, could only stare. The truth hit her like a runaway carriage. She'd been wrong. The katana slipped from her grasp and clattered to the floor. With a strangled cry, she turned and sprinted, dissolving into a blubbering mess as she dashed upstairs. Woon just stood there, still processing the whirlwind of events.
"Dude, you're the worst!" Woon finally managed to say.
"Why? I just did what I had to do!" Victor countered, shrugging.
"You made a woman cry! You're a man!"
"Don't worry about it. She'll get over it."
"By the way, who even is she?" Woon asked.
"My older sister. She may look like that, but she's tough as steel."
'What?! She's your older sister?' Woon thought, his jaw dropping.
Woon and Victor, having finally recovered from the morning's unexpected cardio session, decided to tour the castle. As they strolled through the opulent halls, a butler rushed towards Victor.
"Sir Victor, the Matriarch requests your presence, and that of your siblings, for dinner. She specifically asked for your friend to join as well!" the butler announced.
"Alright, I'll be there in a minute!" Victor replied.
"Let's go! But you better change your outfit first!" Victor advised Woon.
"Damn, I'm going too, huh?" Woon mumbled, a new wave of anxiety washing over him.
Woon changed into a borrowed black shirt and black pants, Victor's style. Once ready, they headed to the dining room. They entered to find a long, polished table, easily seating ten, laden with an array of delectable food. At the head of the table sat the Matriarch, her black hair contrasting with eyes as dark and deep as a void. On one side sat a man with short black hair and piercing red eyes, and on the other, Alicia, looking remarkably composed, despite her earlier outburst. Woon sat down next to Victor, a knot of tension forming in his stomach. He was practically vibrating with nerves.
"So, you are my son's friend?" the Matriarch's voice, calm yet commanding, cut through the silence.
"Ye...yes, ma'am!" Woon stammered, feeling like a small rodent under a hawk's gaze.
"Hmm," the Matriarch hummed, her eyes scrutinizing him.
"Let's eat!" she finally declared.
They began to eat, but Woon could barely lift his spoon. He was shaking so badly, acutely aware that Victor's formidable family was just a few feet away.
"Dude, stop shaking!" Victor whispered, nudging him.
"How can I not shake?! The atmosphere in this room is freezing! Your sister clearly didn't get over it, and her personality seems to have changed too!" Woon whispered back, his voice strained.
"Just eat, bro!"
'How can I eat when I feel so much pressure from your sister, goddammit!' Woon thought, internally screaming.