"So you were the one who paid for all our expenses?" I asked omma while we both stood up and dusted our dresses clean. "I always thought that appa was secretly rich and he put a lot of money in the bank. 

She wiped my face dry and gave me light slaps on the cheeks. Omma didn't answer but she just smiled and nodded. We heard some rattling chains on the other side of the door and we looked at each other with a raised brow. These idiots were over exaggerating. It's not like we were gonna bust the door down. Hahahaha. Hehe. Hmm. *clears throat* 

Minzy was right in front of the door, impatiently tapping her small feet while taking a hold of my hand. You heard that right guys. This brat and I were doing some hand-holding action. Well, she was holding on to my fingers but STILL! We moved up a level everybody. We made it. We ing made it. Although her catty remarks and obvious hate towards me still lingers, I think she pitied us when she heard omma's story so this little Kwon was trying to grace us with her compassion by touching us as little as possible but in a comforting way because that just makes all the difference. 

Omma and I accidentally met each other's eyes and we both ended up looking away from each other. It was still pretty awkward with us. Yeah, I've forgiven her but I built up so much displeasure towards her that it made it harder for me to look at her with a positive light. I'm not saying that I still hate her but the bad reputation I put on her throughout all these years was making it hard for me to suddenly get chummy with her like we used to. And I think omma feels the same because she still acted distant towards me. I admit I was a to her back then, a very big one in fact, but since our hometown was small, and people practically knew each other, and the ahjummas had nothing better to do than gossip and spread the word of Satan, a lot of rumors about omma had been surfacing and my stupid- self believed in them. Boy, that was a mouthful, wasn't it? I told omma that the reason why I hated her so much was because word got to town that she traveled abroad to marry some hotshot foreigner and live the good life while leaving us in that crappy town to rot. Of course she denied all of it, and I found myself believing her even though I called her a snake through the years. Somehow her genuine voice and her pained but composed face urged me to believe her. I don't know if I was the gullible type but I'm willing to risk trusting her. She trusted me even though I made it known that I hated her, and she told me everything that I needed to hear. Now it's my turn to do it, but I admit that it's going to take a bit of time before I could treat her the same again. 

I felt omma's hand graze through my hair while she gave me a soft smile. "You know, out of all my kids... you remind me the most of appa." I stayed silent and waited for her to elaborate. "You have the same features, your eyes, your nose, your smile, they all remind me of him. And your stubbornness too. The way you too always looked like you have to be protected when in fact you guys are the toughest..." Her voice started to tremble and I took her hand and held it reassuringly. "I'm sorry for all of the things I did to you. I was weak and I made you guys go through so much."

"You know what appa always said to you when you cry," I grinned at her but felt my lips started to quiver. "You look the ugliest when you cry." and she laughed. 

"Remember guys." Joongki gathered his children together and hugged them close. "Don't be sad if you see her crying, it'll only make her look uglier." 

His young children giggled in his arms and he smiled looking down at them. "Why do you call omma ugly? Do you not like her anymore?" the 9 year old Sanghyun asked. 

Joongki shook his head and lightly bonked the little boy's head. "Aniyo. I love her way more than I love all of you." He joked earning him whines and punches from his kids. "I was just kidding. I love all of you equally, arasso?" he laughed but then looked at them longingly. "I just don't like seeing omma cry. She's not ugly, she's the most beautiful woman in the world!" He said and his kids cheered with him. "Try and turn crying omma to a smiling omma so we can really see how beautiful she is, neh?"

"NEH~"

She wore a necklace that had a very familiar ring attached to it. It was appa's. I remembered him wearing it all the time. I don't even remember him taking it off too. It was always there on his left ring finger. We know that they weren't able to marry and I admit that it kinda irritated me that they didn't do a civil marriage first and do a grand wedding later on but hey, what's done is done. Now I only feel bad for omma for being left, not having a chance to marry him like they had planned. I feel like we were a part to blame since we came into their lives. 

"Are you happy?" 

She side-glanced at me and grinned. "You bet your I am."

I lightly pushed her arm and she did the same. Minzy's hold on my fingers suddenly tightened and I yelped aloud in pain. I forcefully removed my fingers from her vice-like grip and cooed it. Minzy was looking at me, deadpan and silent as . What did I do now? I furrowed my brows at her and she just looked at me incredulously like I was supposed to know why the hell was she mad. She folded her arms while pouting angrily. If she didn't look cute right now I would've already smacked her upside the head because she was being a little brat again. 

When we heard a click sound, the door opened and the crying man-baby greeted us on the other side. He had his arms wide opened for us and omma immediately hugged him back. I grimaced in the sidelines and stealthily walked sideways hoping that they don't force me to be a part of that emotional-looking hug. 

"Dara!" 

.

Omma and Sanghyun were looking at me all teary-eyed and pouty. I groaned when the both of them were signaling me to come near them and I just gave them a quick shake of the head and a loud 'no' with an awkward chuckle. The kept urging me to come near them and moved to me while still in an embrace and I just scooted away and groaned even more. These things should be done in private not in public. Yes we were in a completely desolate hallway but I could see a load of people at the end of it just going about their business. I would prefer doing this in a closed room. With Jiyong. . 

Minzy suddenly kicked me on the shins and pushed me to die in the fire. The two hurriedly caught me in an embrace while wiping their tear-stained faces on mine and I just cringed and slowly die from their hold. I glared at Minzy and saw her giving me an evil grin. What a real this one is. This cute little devil suddenly left us to go back to the party after she looked at the phone in her hands. 

"I wish everybody else was here..." omma said and nuzzled her face on my hair. 

"OMMA!!!"

I wish omma had picked another wish. Preferably a wish that doesn't involve more idiots that would lower my IQ.

Jay and Teddy -- who was now wearing a baseball cap by the way -- glomped at us and now I really was in the thick of it. There was no escape now. I feel like I'm that guy who's arm was stuck on that boulder for a few days and he had to cut it off. Yeah, only my whole body was the one that's stuck and if I were to cut it off, I would be dead so... yeah, that didn't go anywhere at all. 

We heard the party getting even louder and someone talking over the microphone. I heard omma's name being called but she didn't seem to hear it. 

"I think they're calling you, omma." I stuck my head up and pointed my lips towards the end of the hall since my arms were being squished to the rest of my body. Hooo, that was a mouthful. 

They finally broke the hug and straightened up while trying to make themselves look presentable which seemed to be harder than it looks since their whole face just screamed 'I just cried my eyes out so notice me and ask me what happened'.  Well at least they don't look like they were just hit with a train so that's good. My brothers would usually look like that whenever big and very emotional things happen in our house. 

We all walked as elegantly as possible to the end of the hall. I glanced back and saw my brothers looking all stoic and , and I admit that they did look handsome with their suits and the stylists' magic. Omma was beside me while holding on to my hand and I just let her. My hands were pretty clammy but she doesn't seem to mind. 

When we reached back to the party we saw everyone suddenly look at us and we just looked back at them confusedly. They looked shocked and in awe. Some were even hanging their mouths open. I looked towards our table and saw Donghae looking the most shocked out of all the people in here. He was pointing at me and saying something but I couldn't hear it very well although I did hear 'cousin'. Jiyong was smiling at me while giving me two thumbs up and I just meekly nodded at him. 

"Ms. Lee, please come to the front of the stage." The MC said. 

I saw Youngbae's giant of a father and mother standing in between their Hobbit son. The three were all wearing serious looks on their faces but when I met with the jackass's eyes, I saw that smirk but then reverted back to a deadpan face. He then looked forward and scanned the whole place as if he was some king looking over his peasants. 

Omma removed her hold from me and started walking to the stage but then she stopped when the MC continued. 

"The Dong family has asked to bring your daughter with you as well." 

What? Why am I getting involved with this? I looked back at Youngbae and saw him stifling a laugh while his parents were covering their mouths. ing whackos. I glanced back at our table and saw Jiyong and Dami looking at them with deep creases on their foreheads. Jiyong looked slightly angry right then and I don't know why he was giving his best friend a nasty look. He was also slightly shaking his head at him while Youngbae lightly nodded in return while having his eyes closed. 

"Oh, they're starting the show already? I thought this was going to be done privately." I heard omma mumble under her breath.  

What did she mean when she thought that this was going to be done privately? 

She then started to drag me on the stage with her and I just found myself following like a little sheep. We stood beside Youngbae family on the stage. The stage lights were pointing directly at us and I squinted my eyes when it hit me right across the eye. 

"Oh off." I heard omma grumble beside me. I looked at her slightly amused while she was hiding her eyes from the bright light. I smirked beside her and couldn't help but laugh. I am my mother's daughter after all. 

I saw Youngbae's dad take the mic from the MC and walked beside omma. Youngbae suddenly stood next to me while looking serious again. There's so many bipolar people in my life, I can't even anymore. 

"Good evening everyone. You may be wondering why we called all of you here with your families..." Mr. D (I'm going to call him that now) glanced at Youngbae and I but before her could turn back I saw a mysterious glint in his eyes that made me feel suspicious... very suspicious. "This celebration not only marks the anniversary of this company but also serves as a formal announcement for my son, Youngbae..."

Oh no. 

Oh ing hell no. 

I watched too many dramas with Jiyong to know where this was heading. 

Please Lord Jesus don't do this to me. 

"... and our COO's daughter, Sandara Park's engagement."

And he did it. He really did it. 

You have got to be ing joking right now. 

I looked at omma hoping that I would see shock and anger in her face but I didn't see anything. She was just looking straight ahead with a blank expression. Youngbae was doing the same and it made me feel nervous on my spot. 

Is this really happening right now?

My eyes unconsciously moved to Jiyong's direction and found him with his mouth agape while looking at us with a very shocked expression. His fists curled up in a ball and he tried to run towards us but Mr. Kwon was holding him back. I looked down and saw my hands trembling. This was making me feel nauseous. This entire thing was so ed up. 

Youngbae suddenly held my hand and whispered something in my ear. 

"Play along, this'll be over soon." 

I covered my ear and looked at him incredulously. I could hear Jiyong shouting in the background but my eyes stayed focused on studying this small man beside me. Play along? Is this a joke to him? 

"YOUNGBAE! WHAT THE IS THIS ?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY BEST FRIEND!!! YOUNGBAE!!" Jiyong boomed while struggling off of his father and now Dara's brothers too. 

The people were talking amongst themselves, completely baffled and disoriented. I don't even know what to think any more let alone what do.

"But seeing how Ms. Sandara looks distraught right now, there is a chance that this engagement will be void." everyone suddenly became quiet and Jiyong stopped. They waited for Mr. D to continue and he did after he cleared his throat. "We will have a game." 

All the lights suddenly turned off and I felt myself getting pulled to somewhere and I just let them. I was still to shocked about their little announcement that I became a statue, just blank and inanimate. I heard a lot of commotion happening from the dark background and I could definitely hear Jiyong's loud and thundering voice over the rest of the murmurs. I felt a familiar warmth envelop me and I just found myself savoring the feeling. When I felt for their hands and felt how soft it was as well as the familiar ring on it, I knew that it was omma. I cleared my throat and calmed my nerves before stuttering, "I-is this really hap-pening omma?" 

She hugged me amidst all the darkness and noise. She held on to my hands tight. "I want to see if your brothers were true." I felt her kiss me on the head and her warmth slowly disappearing. I tried to reach her out from the nothingness before me but all I heard was a door closing. 

Man, omma was still a . No that. Everyone was still a . 

Didn't we just get over a new problem? Why is there another one?!

Oh Lord, I am so done with this. And holy ing , I'm so goddamn hungry! I was stuck in that stupid storage closet without even a single mozzarella stick on sight! 

This is so ed up!

_________________________________

"THIS IS SO ED UP!" Dami yelled on the top of her lungs. 

It was still pitch black in the venue and everyone was still rattled. What game was this family playing? The Kwon parents knew what was going on but didn't bother explaining to their agitated and hysteric children. This was a test and Sangwoo and Hyekyo were as curious as them in how this 'little game' would result. 

Jiyong was sitting down on the chair while evening out his breathing. His fists were gripping on his pants so tight that the seams were almost ripped open. Youngbae's family was notorious for pulling ridiculous stunts like this but never did he saw Youngbae being a part of this. And the fact that involved Dara made his blood boil. Jiyong felt his whole life shatter once he heard that she was going to be married off to his best friend. He felt like he was being betrayed by his best friend for agreeing to this even if he didn't know if he really did. He felt vulnerable because he was left in the dark (literally) and wasn't able to do anything. And most of all, he felt like a huge chunk of him has been taken away. Dara was the one who made him what he was today. He was more confident in himself and he was more open to other people. If they took her away from him... No, he doesn't even want to think like that. But he partly knew the reason why they chose Dara and not another. 

This was purely business. 

He asked his parents about Dara's mother when they were put in the confined space earlier. He remembered the woman but not very clearly because he recalled that she had only stayed with them for a few years when he was still younger. They told him about her and how she made her way from the bottom to the top. She was a big name in the stock market and was considered as one of the big leagues despite living a relatively normal life with occasional luxurious tendencies. Through the years she had earned the reputation of being the leading investor and money maker in the business world. She was making way more investing in stocks than her 5 figure job in DGC. And the fact that she was very frugal and careful with her money made her be a part of the few Koreans that had a net worth that reached to the billion dollar mark. She was a ridiculously rich woman that was disguised as a normal office lady. Her assets would have definitely helped DGC as well as the Dong family name rise to a much bigger reputation. 

But why couldn't it be him? Why did it have to be Youngbae? Was it because Youngbae's parents had most of the control in the company since none of the Kwons were currently working there? But they were co-owners so why wasn't he consulted. As far as he knew, Youngbae disliked Dara as much as she disliked him. But he couldn't help but think, did he really dislike her or was he just playing hard to get? Jiyong looked back on the times when they hung out as a group. A lot of negative things went through his mind but the biggest one was jealousy. He remembered how Youngbae laughed easily when he teased Dara. He remembered how Youngbae would act comfortably with her. He remembered the smile that he saw him wear earlier when he saw him glance at Dara on the stage. How come he only noticed it now?

"Youngbae likes Dara..." 

______________

"What the is happening. What the is happening. What the is happening." 

Dara was blindfolded while being guided to walk in the busy streets of New York. It was September and the New York temperature was starting to feel like they were in winter already, totally different from that of Los Angeles. She had a thick coat on but even then she could feel the cold breeze brush her bare legs. She was also wearing heels thus making her toes curl up from the chilly air. She was still pretty much in a daze after the announcement of her supposed engagement. She was like a puppet just being dragged around by whoever was guiding her somewhere. 

She heard a low and annoyingly familiar laugh that caused her to feel a rush of irritation through her veins. She finally found the will to use her spare arm that wasn't being held and took of the blindfold. 

"Oh, that . I thought that that'll last until I leave you in the middle of the street."

She started kicking and smacking Youngbae in every part in the human body earning her weird looks from very uninterested on the petite girl beating up a midget of a man. "I am not going to marry you!" she repeated while simultaneously making him a lesser man that he was unfortunately already was. 

He was trying really hard to not hit her back so that he wouldn't get called out for hitting a girl. Double standard, he would curse in his head. He grabbed her flailing arms and put them to her sides. The two shared a death glare with each other while the two were trying to ease their nerves. 

"Like hell would I marry a man like you." He shot back making her sneer at him. He let go of her hands while she rubbed her marked wrists. "Do you have your wallet, phone, and dictionary with you?"

She furrowed her brows in confusion and started going through her coat pockets. She took out a wallet and a dictionary but there was no trace of her phone. An evil grin appeared on his face as he slowly stepped away from her. She looked up and saw him already a meter away from her.

"YAH! ARE YOU ING LEAVING ME HERE?!" she started running after her him but her heels were restricting her from taking bigger steps. 

He looked back and gave her a peace sign. "Go to that building," he pointed at the tall building beside them. "Or the big church that's just a 20 minute walk away from here!" 

"WHY THE WOULD I GO THERE??!?! WAIT!! YAAAAAAHHHHH!" 

Youngbae was in full sprint now but before he completely disappeared to the crowd of people, she heard him say. "Jiyong will come for you! Don't worry!!!" 

She scoffed when she saw that the Hobbit had already mixed in with the tall foreigners that were walking on the street. She then looked over to the giant building that he told her to go. A small sign read 'The Empire State Building' on it. She heard this somewhere before, it was a famous landmark in the States. It wouldn't hurt to see some sightseeing would it? It would definitely ease off all the stress of today's events. They only had 2 days left in America so why not make the most of it. She doesn't want to let her dissatisfaction to what was happening affect her once in a lifetime trip. He said Jiyong was coming for her anyway so she doesn't really need to worry. So with her Korean to English dictionary on hand, she made hesitant steps towards the door and entered in the famous building. 

___________________

"Sandara Park is a very beautiful girl." Mrs. D walked slowly on stage as she fanned herself with a dark purple paper fan. 

After the lights went on a couple of minutes ago, Mr. and Mrs. D came out dressed in very intricate costumes. Mrs. D dressed as that overly dressed and caked up chick on the Hunger Games, Effie Trinket. While her husband was dressed up as the handicapped teenage boy that sees all kinds of on Game of Thrones, Bran Stark. If the people in their party weren't sensitive, these two would be called out and even sued for doing 'white face' (Mrs. D) and for sliding to the floor, acting if they couldn't walk ultimately making fun of crippled people (Mr. D).

Their visitors gave to couple weird looks while the employees could just look at their superiors blankly like they have seen this type of a million times now. The Dong couple, hehehe, continued to act out their characters on stage and the guests could just watch silently, except for one fuming dragon. He stormed to the stage, gripped on Mr. D's costume and pulled him up to face him. The older man winced a bit because he pulled him up so forcibly but he wasn't scared. The Kwon parents were too late at holding him down since their son practically flew on stage. Mrs. D was just standing beside them and looking down on the boy that she knew to be reserved and shy. Hyori was looking from the backstage and keeping a close eye on Jiyong who looked like he was ready to kill Mr. D. 

Mrs. D walked up to Jiyong and calmly put her hand on his shoulder but he smacked it off. She glanced back at Hyori and released a smirk while the latter just continued looking at the young man. Jiyong pulled Mr. D up to stand but the struggling actor refused and let his legs hang limp. The man then rolled his eyes back as what Bran Stark would when he sees 'visions' making Jiyong feel completely disturbed. The man's eyes twitched as he tried so hard to make them stay rolled back but he eventually gave up and just looked at Jiyong. He moved his lapel mic away from his mouth and whispered, "I see Sandara Park in a tall and famous building." 

Jiyong looked at him confusedly before letting go and walking down the stage. Why was he telling him that? His friends and family looked at him pitifully from the sidelines. No one has went against the Dongs before knowing how much influence they had, even Jiyong's parents tried not to go against them. Jiyong must be really furious and desperate to come to the point of potentially harming them. He ruffled his hair in frustration as he made his way to the entrance of the door while what Mr. D said kept repeating in his mind.

"As my husband had said earlier, we will have a game." Mrs. D said in a weird accent. "You may see it as a game that will have a generous reward." The guests' ears perked up. The Dongs were very generous when it came to prizes. "Or some may see it as a test of endurance and faith." She looked at Jiyong with that creepy Effie Trinket smile. "Would you give up everything to have to fill up that yearning in your heart, I wonder?" 

Jiyong seemed like he was having a one-sided staring battle with Mrs. D, his eyes had yet to blink as fury was showing through it. Why would they use her as a prize? The thought infuriated him and he could only just listen to what else they would have to say so that he can get her already. 

"Ms. Sandara Park is not in the building anymore." The people gasped in surprise and if looks could kill, Mr and Mrs. D would be dead right now. "She has been put somewhere in the heart of New York but I was informed that she will not be going beyond it."

Jiyong was about to step out of the venue and run to find her but Mrs. D's voice interrupted him. 

"Whoever will find Sandara Park and bring them back first will get one wish from us. It could be as small as giving you a house, or it could be as big as wanting to take Sandara as your own bride." The entirety of the men in the party suddenly became interested with her last sentence. They knew that Sandara was a very beautiful girl and bonus was that she was the daughter of a Korean billionaire. "There will be no time limit but I do advise everyone of you to stay classy."

"You may see many obstacles on your way that will test if you are worthy enough for the prize." Mr. D said mysteriously. "I foresee a victor and they may end up doing something unnecessary that will cause a bigger stir than the game itself."

The huge entrance doors suddenly closed behind Jiyong and he slammed it, wanting it to be opened but it remained locked. The loud stir that he caused from the back of the room made the guests look to his direction and talk amongst themselves. They've never seen Kwon Jiyong act so aggressive, he was always a stoic and powerful type in their eyes so seeing him completely losing it seemed surreal.

Hyori stepped out from backstage to get a better look at the boy who was causing a one-man riot. Even though she was far away from him she could see the desperation in his actions. His loud orders and aggravated composure somehow peaked her interests. She saw Jiyong's parents coming up to the stage with her while Youngbae's parents stopped acting and straightened themselves up. Most people were still busy watching Jiyong while some of them were gathering together, seemingly making up strategies for the game. 

Mrs. D moved her lapel mic away and looked to her own squad. "My people are already in their positions. Youngbaby is following her but he's hiding."

"Aigoo, my boy sure loves Dara a lot." Mr. Kwon looked at his son who was currently beating up the staff who was trying to calm him down. "Is this really necessary Hyori?" 

Hyori's eyes had yet to leave Jiyong. She released a sigh and looked at Sangwoo melancholically. "My sons have told me great stories about him. It's so great that it came to the point that it's too hard to believe. I want to see it with my own eyes. I'm not giving her up that easily. He needs to prove to me that his love is stronger than his fears, desires, or anything else. My daughter deserves the best and I should see the best that I was told that he had."

"But isn't this going a little bit overboard?" Mrs. Kwon interjected and pointed at the sea of people who were now in groups and looked like they were ready for a battle. 

"Hey, I just wanted him to prove to me what he's capable of. I thought this was going to be private! They," Hyori pointed at the Dong couple who were looking at them innocently. "Made this public and even put my daughter's life on the line! , I just told you to announce Youngbae and Dara's engagement to see what Jiyong will do, not make this Hunger Games bull!" She complained to Mrs. D. 

"Where's the fun in that?" Mr. D. defended. "This is actually better. Now we can see Jiyong's full potential." 

"Okay everybody! We are about to start." Mrs. D started acting as Effie again and changed her voice. 

The people settled down and looked at the front again. Dami, Dara's brothers, and the rest of the gang was by Jiyong at the entrance of the closed doors. Youngbae was nowhere to be seen and it just made Jiyong furious by the second. Why are they doing this to him? To them?

"Jiyong, get yourself together." Donghae rubbed his back seeing how the man was breathing laboriously. "You'll never going to find her if you keep acting like that." 

He suddenly pushed Donghae to a wall sending the others in a panic. The three brothers and Seunghyun were holding him back again while Jiyong looked at Donghae with a murderous expression. "I am going to get her. No. Matter. What. So you better shut that mouth of yours before I shut it for you." He forcefully removed himself from the 4 men's grip and went to the shivering and scared less Donghae. "Do you hear me?" 

"We will open the doors in 3..." 

Jiyong looked back in front and saw a horde of people pushing themselves to the front of the door. He hurriedly squished himself in followed by the rest of the guys except for Donghae who was now traumatized. Dami quickly took Jay's hand, stopping him from going inside the mass of people. 

"Why are you going too?" She held on