Seoul, South Korea – April 4, 2016

LEE JIYEON | AYAKA

      I thought that my day involving that little pest had already ended when I left school. I was actually happy when I got to go home and rest but that guy just doesn’t know how to stop pestering me. And I can’t believe that I will be seeing him here, in my house. I’m really close to losing my sanity right now because of that jerk.

      “What the heck are you doing here?!” I asked, surprised.

      I guess, I should be the one to ask him, ‘Is he following me?!’. He smirked and stared at me from head to toe—oh my Gosh! I quickly covered my body with my hands. This is so embarrassing! I’m wearing clothes that are too comfortable! Argh! This guy is seriously pissing me off!

      “Delivery,” he muttered as he showed me a pie that he was holding, “My mom wants me to send this to our new neighbor.” He exclaimed as he gave me the pie.

      If this isn’t the situation, I would have appreciated the smell of blueberry pie that wafted my nose. But the heck, Kim Jongin is here in my house! Wait, what is he even doing here in my house?! I don’t know what could be worse than him being outside my door. Well maybe, him barging inside my house and sitting on my sofa would be far worse than that and he just did it!

      “Wow, you have a nice house,” he muttered.

      He looked around the house and turned to me, smiling like some ugly predator.

      “Will you please get out?” I asked, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

      “Is that how you treat your guests?” he asked, “Who are you with?” he added as he took the apple from the table and ate it.

      My eyes squinted with what he just did. He surely knows how to act as if this is his house. He even ate a food from my house.

      “I’m not entertaining any questions from you,” I exhaled, “So please, get out.” I exclaimed as I opened the door widely.

      I had enough of him for today. Can he just give me a break?!

      “Why don’t you change your outfit first? Are you seducing me with your legs?” he asked as he whistled like some ert, looking at my legs.

      What the?!—“KIM JONGIN!” I shouted as I ran back upstairs and grabbed my robe.

      That insolent little jerk! How could he whistle like some erted old man?! I grabbed my robe and tugged it in place. I immediately went downstairs. Who knows, that guy might create havoc downstairs, I can’t possibly trust him. I arrived downstairs and I’m quiet thankful that he hasn’t broken anything yet.

      “Now, will you please?” I asked as I put both of my hands on my waist.

      “Come on Ayaka, don’t be such a chicken,” he exclaimed.

      Me? Chicken?! I wanted to get back at him but he quickly left and ignored me. He went to the dining room and started looking inside. See, what I’m talking about? He’s comfortable around my house, too comfortable for my liking.

      “Do you have any food to eat?” he asked, “Maybe we can eat the pie that I brought.” He suggested.

      I don’t know why he’s acting like this but he should know that we aren’t that close for him to be acting like this. We only met for quiet some days for Pete’s sake!

      “Will you stop this nonsense?!” I shouted as I felt exhausted.

      I can’t really handle his childishness!

      “I will stop if you come with me,” he smirked.

      Come with him?! But before I could even react, he suddenly grabbed me and dragged me upstairs until we reached the end of the stairs.

      He pushed me towards the door, “Go change,” he exclaimed, “We’re going somewhere.” He added as he went back downstairs.

      He is really annoying! How can someone be so annoying?! Surrendering to my thoughts, I sighed and calmed my nerves down. I thought about his offer to go with him and in the end, I just decided to go since I know that Keiko-eonni will come back later tonight. Also, I think it won’t hurt to be with him for today. I just decided to where something casual. I wore simple white high waist-ed short, pink crop top and white sneakers. I went down and saw Kai looking at the pictures in the living room and turned to me when he felt my presence.

      “Come on,” he exclaimed as he dragged me outside the house. When we went outside, a grey Mercedes-Benz was waiting for us. Well, I guess someone’s got a silver spoon in his mouth. “Let’s go,” he exclaimed as he went inside the car without even opening the car door for me.

      “So much of being a gentleman,” I muttered under my breath and rolled my eyes. “Yah, Kim Jongin! Where are we going?” I asked him when I went inside and the driver started driving.

      I was sitting beside Kai at the backseat and he was just looking outside the window.

      “Do you know the reason why I cut my classes?” he asked as he turned to me,

      “No,” I answered, “Why?” I asked.

      “My girlfriend got jealous over somebody and I needed to make it up with her.” He answered.

      I stared at him and he was just wearing his infamous poker face. And who’s the unlucky girl that made his girlfriend jealous?

      “She got jealous with whom?” I asked.

      “With you,” he answered back.

      What?! I was surprised. Why would his girlfriend be jealous of me?! We didn’t even meet yet! I tried to recall the moments that happened today with Kai and I swear, nothing happened between us that could possibly make his girlfriend jealous.

      “With me?!” I asked, surprised.

      Of all the people, she shouldn’t get jealous over me! For Pete’s sake, I will never hit on Kai! I despise him even on our first meeting!

      “She found out that I went out to eat with you and she got jealous,” Kai told me. “She even saw me whispering to your ear. So yeah, there were some misunderstandings.”

      I sighed and crossed my arms, “Then why are you with me? You should avoid me, right? I mean, your girlfriend might misunderstand again.” I exclaimed.

      “Today, you’re going to help me ease her jealousy,” he muttered.

      The car suddenly stopped. I looked outside and we’re in Time’s Square, as I read from the large sign outside.

      “Where are we?” I asked.

      “Yeongdeung-po.” He answered back as the driver opened the door, letting us out. “Let’s go,” he exclaimed as he held my hand.

      I rolled my eyes and yanked my hand away from him. He surely doesn’t consider what his girlfriend might feel if she sees us holding hands.

      “You know what? You don’t really know about girl’s feelings, do you?” I asked him, “You shouldn’t hold somebody else’s hands! Your girlfriend might misunderstand again if she sees us.” I added.

      “Oh yeah, sorry,” he exclaimed as he scratched the back of his head.

      I don’t know but suddenly, I saw how innocent this guy is. Not innocent, innocent. But innocent in a way that he’s innocent when it comes to relationships. It seems that he doesn’t know what to do and the only thing that he knows is that he wants to make his girlfriend happy in everything that he does.

      I quickly snapped out of my trance and looked back at him, “Anyway, what are we going to do here?” I asked.

      “I told you, we’re going to ease her jealousy.” He exclaimed.

      “And how are we supposed to do that?” I asked again.

      “Hmm,” he mumbled, “What do girls like? Do you guys like flowers? Chocolates?” he asked as he looked puzzled. “Let’s just go with flowers,” he decided, “I don’t want Sooyeon to get fat.”

      We decided to roam around the mall and find a place where they sell bouquets and soon enough, we found one.

      “Here we are,” Kai exclaimed as he went inside the shop.

      I decided to just follow him and went inside. The first thing that caught my eyes was the prices of the flowers! They were really expensive!

      “These flowers are gold, huh?” I mumbled under my breath.

      “Good evening, ma’am, sir,” a saleslady greeted us.

      I smiled back at her, returning the favor while Kai was just there, looking around.

      “Hello, could you give me the most expensive bouquet here?” Kai asked.

      Did I just hear him right? I rolled my eyes and glared at him. Does he think that he can buy a girl’s feelings? He suddenly noticed me and faced me.

      “What are you looking at, potato?” he asked as he crossed his arms.

      “Do you think she’ll like it?” I asked.

      “Of course!” he exclaimed proudly, “It’s expensive,” he added.

      I laughed and shook my head in disapproval. This man doesn’t really know anything! He doesn’t know sincerity at all. It seems like for him, love is just a matter of money. For my opinion as a girl, what I really want is sincerity and the message behind a present. It doesn’t matter even if you give me a present worth a couple of bucks or a present which costs a million won but what I really want to know is the sincerity and the message that he wants to relay through the gift.

      “Uhm excuse me,” I exclaimed as I turned to the saleslady, completely ignoring Kai, “Do you have something that we could do? Any DIY? Oh! A DIY bouquet, do you have that?” I asked.

      “Yes ma’am, please come with me.” The saleslady smiled and led us the way.

      Kai looked at me with puzzled face and stopped me before I could follow the lady.

      “Why would you want to do it yourself when you can just buy it readily?” he asked.

      “You can’t buy feelings and gratitude, Mr. Kim Jongin.” I exclaimed, “You should learn that.” I exclaimed as I followed the saleslady.

      We went inside a room where bouquets are being done. I sat down in front of the desk full of flowers while Kai just rolled his eyes heavenwards. I immediately grabbed his arms and dragged him beside me.

      “Let’s do this,” I exclaimed.

      I started to design it and Kai decided to do as I say but as the time goes by, he kept on whining and whining. It almost irritated me but I was being patient to get the best product we could have to give to his girlfriend.

      “Put the flowers here to make it balanced.” I told him.

      “Argh! Why do I even need to do this?!” he whined.

      “Yah! Should I count how many times you’ve whined already?!” I nagged.

      “Ugh! I don’t want to do this anymore!” he exclaimed as he walked out of the room, abandoning all the flowers with me.

      I sighed and shook my head. What would I expect from someone like him? I guess he’s really a spoiled brat just like what I envisioned him to be. I shook my head went out of the room to follow him.

      “I’ll take the most expensive bouquet and I’ll pay for the flowers that we wasted,” I looked at him as he was paying, “Thank you sir, come again,” Kai looked at me and walked away.

      I quickly followed him and walked beside him.

      “Are you angry?” I asked but he didn’t respond. “It’s for your girlfriend. Can’t you do a little effort?” I asked him.

      “I can’t,” he simply replied. “Let’s go, I’m getting bored. Let’s eat dinner first before going home.” He exclaimed as he dragged me in front of a famous restaurant.

      We went inside and he ordered for me. And soon, we waited for our food.

      “What’s your girlfriend’s name again?” I asked him.

      I suddenly got curious with this girlfriend of his because it seems like he really love her. You know, it’s very seldom now to see someone love other people so genuinely. And I can see the true love radiating from Kai’s eyes.

      “Sooyeon,” he exclaimed. “Park Sooyeon.” He finished.

      “So, how long have you been together?” I asked.

      “About a year,” he answered and eyed me suspiciously, “Why? Are you jealous?” he asked.

      What?! Me?! Jealous?! Did I hear him right?! For his information, I had countless suitors back in Japan and here too. I just didn’t answer any of them because I believe that studies and family comes first before anything else.

      “Jealous your ,” I scoffed, “Do you think I didn’t have boyfriend before?” I laughed sarcastically.

      “Yeah,” he answered, deadpanned, “Look at you. You’re not that pretty, you’re a bit chubby, you’re flat—“ I immediately cut him off and smacked his head.

      “Yah! Watch what you’re saying!” I exclaimed. How dare he comment anything about my body! Well, I’m completely aware that I am flat chested but I know for sure that I am pretty and I am not chubby! “For your information, I already had a boyfriend.” I exclaimed, lying.

      To be honest, I never had a boyfriend before. I always thought of having a boyfriend as something so sacred. I don’t go into relationship just for fun. I actually want my first boyfriend to be my last. Meaning, my first boyfriend will be my husband in the end. That’s the reason why I don’t rush things. If I get myself a boyfriend now, we still have a long way to go and we might drift from each other. I’ll just wait for maybe five years before I get myself a boyfriend.

      “Oh really? And who’s the unlucky guy?” he asked.

      “Shut up,” I rolled my eyes heavenwards and crossed my arms, “We already broke up.” I exclaimed, lying again.

      “Here’s your order, ma’am, sir,” a lady exclaimed as she gave us our food.

      We ate in peace and decided to ignore each other. After eating, we decided to go home. As Kai and I were walking down the mall going back to the parking lot, he suddenly stopped and gave me the bouquet.

      “Go back to the car first. I’ll just go to the washroom.” He exclaimed.

      I just nodded and took the flower. I went to the parking lot and tried to find Kai’s car. After minutes of searching, I finally found it. I went inside the car and stared at the bouquet on my hands. It is a bouquet full of anemones and white roses. It was colored red and has some white roses spread across the bouquet. It was really beautiful but I sighed as I remembered the meaning of the flowers. As I have remembered, anemones has a bad meaning but I just can’t quiet remember it. After some time, Kai arrived and went inside the car. The car was quiet, until Kai broke the ice.

      “Mr. Sung, let’s head to Sooyeon’s house.” He exclaimed.

      Wait, what?!

      “Hey! I thought we’re going home?!” I asked, surprised.

      I’m really tired right now and I just want to go back home and rest! Besides, I think Keiko-eonni had already arrived home and if I come home late, I bet she will go crazy.

      “If you want to go home, you can go home.” He exclaimed as he opened the door. “Well… that is if you don’t want to go with me.” He added, smirking.

      I just rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. I don’t want to go home alone since I’m not well aware of the city. I might get lost and I think he is aware that I’m not familiar with Seoul and he’s using it against me.

      “That’s what I thought,” Kai mumbled as he closed the door and instructed the driver to drive.

      After some time, I didn’t notice that we already stopped in front of a house. It was a beautiful house, it wasn’t that big but you can tell that a rich family owns it. Kai went outside holding the bouquet that he bought and rang the doorbell of the house. After some time, a maid opened it.

      “Mr. Kim,” the maid greeted.

      “Is Sooyeon here?” Kai asked.

      “Ms. Park is not home. She is with her parents,” the maid smiled.

      I saw how disappointed Kai was and he just gave the bouquet to the maid.

      “Can you give this to her? And tell her I’m sorry too.” Kai smiled.

      The maid just nodded and took the bouquet. Kai went back to the car and instructed the driver to head us home. Sooyeon’s house was far from our neighborhood so it took us a few minutes to go home. I don’t even get why Kai’s parents doesn’t want her to be their son’s girlfriend. I mean, as I’ve seen their house, I can tell that they are well off. I guess, there is something more besides from their wealth. Or maybe, that is just not the issue at all. Because of my deep thoughts, I didn’t notice that I already fell asleep.

      “Ayaka, we’re home.” I slowly opened my eyes and saw Kai nudging me.

      I quickly went out of the car and decided to leave. I was on my way back home when someone called my name.

      “Ayaka,” I looked back and saw Kai grinning.

      “What?” I asked.

      Is he planning to ask me to thank him? Hell! The nerves of this guy!

      But I guess, I’m wrong with that because he suddenly tossed me something and thanks to my good reflexes, I managed to catch it, “Thanks for today.” He smiled and left.

      Did he just thank me? I don’t know but suddenly, I felt happy. I just found myself, smiling like a fool outside my house. I wanted to thank him with the food and the gift but when I looked at Kai, he already went inside the car and left the front of my house. I stared at the gift that he gave me and smiled a little wider—well, if that’s possible. Kai gave me a stuffed flower. It was a beautiful sunflower.

      “Acting like he doesn’t care,” I mumbled, “But he does.”

      Kai does have a small part of him that does know the sense of gratitude.

Author's message ♥

Hello everyone! I hope you liked my update! Please do subscribe, comment and upvote! And I just want to greet everyone Happy Halloween! Let's not forget to pray for our families and friends who already left the Earth and now is in the hands of our mighty God! God bless everyone!

With much love, Jihyun ♣

Psalms 100:4 - Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.