“Young Lady,”

“Just five more minutes,” I grunted as I twisted and turned in my bed, ignoring the presence of the man in my room. I think he was wearing an apron, but I’m not too sure since my vision was groggy.

Jeon Wonwoo in an apron. Hmm…that would be a sight worth seeing.

“You’ll be late. Today’s your first day in your new school. I mean, our first day in our new school.”

“Mhmm. I’m pretty sure the school won’t disappear if I’m a few minutes late.”

“But I thought you were excited about this.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Then get up.”

I grabbed a nearby pillow and buried my head underneath it. I’m definitely not a morning person and this guy knows that more than anyone.

“Young Lady.”

“Hmmmbsfhmmasdf.” I don’t even know what I was mumbling about anymore.

“That’s it.” Wonwoo suddenly pulled the pillow covering my face and shouted in my ear. “PARK HARI, YOU ROYAL PAIN IN THE ! GET UP! NOW!”

“SIR, YES SIR!” I automatically jolted out of the bed with my eyes wide open. Without even looking back, I grabbed the towel that Wonwoo held out for me and hurried towards the bathroom.

Once I was able to lock myself inside, I quickly leaned against the wall and clutched my chest. Jeon Wonwoo managed to successfully snap me out of dreamland. Not through the shouting, but through the lips-near-my-ear-which-made-me-feel-his-breath thing.

Yes. I, Park Hari, actually have feelings for my Loyal Subject, Jeon Wonwoo. I’m not really fond of the whole label thing between us. I mean, this thing about the Parks being the most elite family in Jeolla-do and the Jeons vowing their eternal loyalty to the Parks is ridiculous. It was something that our ancestors came up with decades ago so why are we still upholding this in the 21st century? It’s not like we’re part of the Royal Family or something. We’re just rich…well, insanely rich. But I don’t really see the point.

My father said it’s important to stick to traditions and that I’ll understand it better once I learn about our family’s history with the Jeons. History’s not really my thing so I guess I’ll put that on hold for now.

So back to my feelings for Jeon Wonwoo. We’ve been together since birth so I’m not really sure when I started having these feelings. I went to an all-girls school so I don’t really know much about guys. Come to think of it, Wonwoo is probably the only guy my age that I’ve ever spent time with. That is probably the reason why I fell for him. It’s because he was the only guy around and there aren’t other options. Heh.

Anyway, around a month ago, I asked my parents to let me live independently in Seoul during my last year in high school for a few reasons.

One, I wanted to live as a normal student, not as the Young Lady of the Elite Park Family.

Two, I wanted to go to a coed school and I heard that coed schools in Seoul are fun.

Three, I wanted to escape from the clutches of Jeon Wonwoo.

You see, it’s not easy to live life while knowing that you have feelings for someone like Jeon Wonwoo. That guy bullies me and makes fun of me a lot like a close friend, but despite that, he always draws a line between us. Like, sometimes I just wish he’d completely drop the formalities and treat me as an equal, but he has always me treated me as someone above him.

Which is why I randomly asked my parents for independence. I was tired of the boundary between our families. I wanted to strip the elite status off of my name. I wanted an easy-going life.

It took a whole lot of begging, but my parents eventually approved. However, they had the nerve to insert the condition that I had to take Wonwoo with me and that they will choose the school as well as the apartment which I’ll be staying in.           

So here I am, inside the bathroom of my luxurious apartment in Seoul, wondering why my parents even granted me this independence. It’s not that different from my life back in Jeolla-do. On top of that, they included JEON friggin’ WONWOO in the picture!

“Dammit, I’m already eighteen years old and my parents still think I need a babysitter!” I grumbled as I angrily scrubbed my hair with shampoo.

“Young Lady,” Wonwoo called out. “Stop talking to yourself and hurry up.”

“Stop pressuring me!”

“You have three minutes left.”

“A woman needs at least 30 minutes!”

“Two minutes.”

“Ugh.” I quickly finished my bath and wrapped the towel around my body. “I’m done. You better be out of my room now.”

Of course, Wonwoo has already exited the room and left my ironed uniform in the bed. He’s such a mom.

By the time I was done, Wonwoo was already in his uniform and had already finished preparing breakfast.

For a while, I just stood near the kitchen and gawked at him. The uniform really suits him well. And would you look at that jawline, like wow, you could cut something with that. Also, that nose, those fox-like eyes, those lips, the collarbones, his slender hands…

“Don’t just stand there, Young Lady. Eat up so we could go.”

And just like that, Wonwoo’s stern voice woke me up from my fantasies. I took the seat in front of him and started gobbling up the food he made. God, his cooking skills are as great as always. Seriously, what can he not do?!

“Jo waddudu dink bil hab—“

“You either eat or speak. Just choose one.” Wonwoo said as soon as I started chattering with food in my mouth. I gave him a glare before completely swallowing my food.

“What do you think will happen at our new school? Do you think we could make some friends right away? I’m actually pretty nervous about this.”

“Well, you wanted this. You have no choice but to accept whatever comes your way,” he replied nonchalantly. He’s no fun at all. He could at least console me or something.

“Tch. It’s so typical of you to say that.” I started playing with the fork in my hand as I thought about all the possibilities that could happen. “I’m excited and nervous at the same time. Like, what would my classmates be like? Or, will we be able to have a fun year together?”

“It’ll be fine.” Wonwoo stood up and took our plates to the sink. “If bad things happen, you can be at ease. Because that’s what I’m here for, right?”

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