"Madam and Sir, Good morning."Bin respectfully bowed toward Jasmine"s parents before standing next to the table. Angelica nodded her head before continuing to carefully cut a delicious cake for Mina, who already got used to her pampering. Jasmine was no longer sleepy but her disheveled appearance remained unchanged. As for Theodore, he put down the newspaper and looked back at the black-haired youngster.
"Sit down and eat."
This time, Bin didn"t reject and sat next to Jasmine but he didn"t touch his food as he felt the father"s gaze locked onto him. It made him feel uncomfortable but he didn"t say anything and waited for Theodore to speak, which he did, eventually.
"You seem to be doing better than Jasmine"s past servants, I"m pleased."
Theodore was a man of high status and looked stern but he adored his daughter and would stop at nothing to make her happy, which is why he didn"t intervene every time she hired servants. As long as she"s pleased then it doesn"t matter what she does. When he first saw Bin, he thought his fate will be like his predecessors but strangely enough, Jasmine didn"t complain, neither did Bin quit on his own.
The father was unaware of the rude interactions between his daughter and Bin, nevertheless, he didn"t oppose having Bin around, after all, Mina was lovely and likable too. As even Angelica seemed to enjoy having the little girl around, it was more of a reason to accept Bin as Jasmine"s servant.
"I"m honored to be master"s servant."
Jasmine, who was next to Bin, flinched as she heard that. She threw a side glance at him before mumbling: "Honored? Hmpf!"
"What"s wrong Jasmine?"
Theodore looked at his daughter and asked as he heard her inaudible voice but she just shrugged her shoulders and continued eating.
"Anyway, you look like you"ll be here for a while." He meaningfully gazed at Bin before continuing: "I think a proper interview is necessary."
Before Bin could reply, Jasmine b.u.t.ted in: "Interview? There"s no need for that. He"s working for me and not for daddy."
"Jasmine, be quiet." Theodore reprimanded her with a slightly loud tone but he didn"t sound angry. Jasmine looked at her mother for help but the latter just smiled and didn"t say anything, causing the miss to grumble.
"No need to be nervous, I just want to ask a few personal questions. I"m sure you don"t mind, right?"-Theodore
Bin nodded his head and said: "Yes, please ask anything."
Theodore was about to ask something only for Angelica to say: "Mina said that you have another sibling, is that true?"
As he heard that, Bin flinched and looked at Mina, who avoided his gaze, feeling guilty about that unintentional slip-up. It was supposed to be a secret between them but Angelica must"ve lured her, wanting to learn something about him. The invisible woman from yesterday ascertained Bin"s suspicions. Although he couldn"t feel her presence, he was sure she was present in this very dining room.
Bin felt very conflicted for a few breaths before replying honestly.
"Yes, madam."
Even the silent Jasmine was a bit curious as she stole a few glances at the expressionless Bin. He never talks about himself and apart from Mina and money, he doesn"t care about anything else. In fact, she knew nothing about his past or family, just that he was raised in an orphanage. She did a simple background check on him but there was nothing interesting to see, really.
"And this sibling… is it from the orphanage."
Seeing the look Angelica was giving him, Bin felt even more uncomfortable.
"Yes, madam… but I would like to not talk about it."
"Fair enough."-Angelica
The madam turned to Theodore and said: "You may continue."
He lightly coughed before beginning to ask Bin simple questions which were quickly answered. It wasn"t really an interview but personal questions meant to understand the person. They weren"t particularly hard to answer either.
…
"Mina!"
Once they were alone in the room, right before Bin accompanied Jasmine to school, he held his little sister"s shoulders and gave her an angered stare.
"I, I"m sorry! I really am, big brother!"
Seeing her pitiful expression, Bin let out a sigh and loosened his grip.
"Don"t ever talk about him. Understood?"
Instead of replying immediately, Mina hesitantly said: "B-but Shin is my brother too-"
"I am here with you, not Shin! Don"t ever talk about him to anyone. Do.you.understand?"
He empathized the last three words. The little girl meekly nodded her head but didn"t say anything.
"This is a serious matter, Mina! Did I make myself perfectly clear?"
"Y-yes, I promise you, big brother."
Apart from Bin, only Mina knew about Shin and what he looked like. Thankfully, she only spoke vaguely about him to Angelica or else Bin would have to make up a few lies. Shin is violent and cold to everyone but Mina, who he treats very kindly, he"s also very protective of her but rarely shows himself and when he does, he only stays for a few hours before disappearing again. His relationship with Bin is ambiguous, but they still consider themselves brothers. Moreover, the three were together in the past and were subjected to the same cruel treatment.