Allie’s POV

I wake up embraced by Myungsoo. I look up at him and study his face and I can feel my heart starting to beat faster. Kim Myungsoo, what are you doing to a simple girl like me? Something inside of me tells me that somehow, in some way, this feels right, but I’m just kidding myself. There’s no way that a girl like me can date a guy like him, there’s no way that I’m even allowed to like him. I’m not going to let myself take advantage of everything that he’s offering me.

Gently, I pull myself away from him and I can hear him grunt a little. I take a look at the clock and quickly get out of bed to wake up Cecelia and to get dressed myself for the day. After I wake her up, my thoughts travel to last night with Myungsoo. I don’t know how I’m going to face him now. Before it was alright, but now, it’s going to be awkward facing him. This time just feels different from the rest. Maybe it’s because for once, I saw that maybe he’s not like all of the other rich spoiled brats out there.

“Are you ready for school today?” I ask Cecelia as one of the maids hands me her coat.

“Yup,” she says nodding her head.

“Ay, you’re so cute,” I say pinching her cheeks a little. I normally pat her on the head but I would mess up her hair.

“You and oppa should get together,” Cecelia says.

I practically choke on my spit at the statement. “What?”

“You and oppa look like you guys really like each other.” I just listen to Cecelia as she tells me that. There’s nothing that I can really say. Am I really falling for Kim Myungsoo? “Does oppa know seongsaengnim?” she asks as I open up the car door for her. Cecelia now suddenly decides to change the subject.

I think about what I should say to her about Myungsoo knowing her teacher. “Um…briefly,” I tell her. “They were friends in school.” I can’t help but lie to her because I don’t really want her to know and she shouldn’t know. The things surrounding his past don’t concern a six-year-old girl. Cecelia begins to climb in when she suddenly yelps a little. “What?” I quickly ask peeking my head through the door. “What are you doing here?” I ask throwing glares at Myungsoo. “How did you get here?”

“You were so concerned with getting Cecelia ready that you forgot that you’re enrolled in school, too,” Myungsoo says calmly. He doesn’t even look at me, but that could actually be an advantage.

“Oh,” I say as I sit down next to him.

“You’re glad that I at least packed you some stuff.” Myungsoo stretches out his hand to give me a bag. I take it without touching any part of him. If he notices what I’m doing, he doesn’t say anything about it. “We can go now,” he says towards the driver.

The car starts to take off and now there’s awkward silence between us. I try not to make eye contact, but I feel Myungsoo staring at me. “What are you looking at?” I ask him attempting to sound like my old self.

“Nothing,” he simply responds and turns away for a little bit.

“Have a nice day at school, Cecelia,” I say to her as she gets out of the car.

“I will, unni,” she says as she puts her backpack onto her back.

“See you when you get home,” Myungsoo says waving and flashing her a smile.

“Yes, oppa,” she responds as she closes the door.

As soon as she leaves, Myungsoo turns to look at me. “Are you alright?”

“Why would you ask that?” I ask nervously.

“Never mind,” he says turning away and looking out the window. “The bag has some school stuff in it for you.”

“Ah, thanks,” I say slightly bowing.

Myungsoo’s POV

What is wrong with Allie? She’s been avoiding all types of contact with me. Is it because of last night? Could she be embarrassed about it? I should tell her that she shouldn’t be embarrassed. Actually, with last night’s conversation, I actually felt calm a little bit, calmer than how I normally am. With us having these moments, it actually feels like someone cares about me.

“Allie,” I begin. She turns to look at me but I can see that she’s kind of shaking. “Ah, never mind,” I quickly say. I guess talking about last night is a sensitive topic for both of us. It was my first time ever telling someone about Uee and she said it was the first time she was telling anyone about what happened the day her parents passed away.

“I’m curious,” Allie says starting the conversation again. “How didn’t your parents know anything about your arranged marriage? Aren’t they the ones that arranged it in the first place?”

At the words arranged marriage, I freeze in place for a little and my eyes grow wide. Why does she want to know about this kind of stuff? Is she that curious about it? I don’t really want to talk about it, though. As much as I don’t want to talk about it, it seems like she’s the only one who actually understands the situation. “Um…” I manage to say. “My parents just sent people to come,” I quietly start. “They sent wedding planners and designers; they really didn’t do anything for the wedding. I’m not even sure how they arranged it, though. They were too busy with work. They’re always busy with work.”

Allie just nods her head understanding the situation, maybe. Silence envelops us again as we make our way to school and it feels somewhat better between us. On the campus, once again, people notice that we’re together and they start saying things since this is the second day.

“You’re here,” Sungyeol says coming over to me. “Hey, Allie.”

“Hello,” Allie says slightly bowing to him.

“No need for the formalities,” Sungyeol says. “We’re all friends, right? How old are you?”

“I’m nineteen,” Allie says.

“When is your birthday?” Sungyeol asks. Why is Sungyeol asking her all of these questions?

“It’s March 13,” Allie states. I look at her immediately and so does Sungyeol. “What? Is something wrong with the date? Is that the day your arranged marriage was supposed to happen?”

Sungyeol then flashes a look at me. “She knows,” I say as I nod my head. “And that kind of hurt,” I say putting a hand to my chest.

“Sorry, but what’s up with the date?” Allie asks again.

“It’s this guy’s birthday,” Sungyeol says wrapping his arm around me.

“March 13 is your birthday?” Allie asks surprised. I just nod my head. “Looks like we were born on the same day then.”

“I guess,” I calmly say but inside I’m freaking out. I can’t believe that she has the same birthday as me. That has to mean that we’re meant to be, right?

The three of us calmly walk to class. “Anyway, so I’m older, you can call me oppa,” Sungyeol boasts.

“Oppa?” she asks with a look of disbelief.

“Go ahead, try it once, oppa.”

I don’t know why, but for some reason, I want her to call me oppa once. Cecelia does and when Allie talks to Cecelia, she refers to me as ‘that oppa’ but ‘that oppa’ doesn’t sound as nice as just being called oppa. Since our birthdays are on the same day, there won’t even really be a chance for her to call me oppa. I want to hear it just once.

Allie’s POV

“How was your day at school?” I ask Cecelia as she comes into the car. It’s a question that I always ask her.

“It was good,” she says smiling and sitting in between Myungsoo and me. “How are you and oppa?”

“We’re good, why are you asking?”

“No reason,” she says slyly. I look at Myungsoo and see that he’s smiling to himself, what in the world could he be thinking of?

“Did your teacher say anything to you today?” I ask. Seeing Cecelia shake her head sends a wave of relief through me. At least her teacher’s not going to do anything to Cecelia about the whole thing, but why am I thinking about it all of the time. “Hey, how about I cook for dinner tonight,” I suggest.

“What?” Myungsoo asks looking at me. “You’re not allowed to work.”

“Someone’s exerting their power too much, spoiled brat,” I mutter. “But it won’t even be work,” I say louder so he can hear me. “I’ll just be making dinner, it’s not like I get paid. I get paid as your personal assistant.”

“Fine, then personal assistant make dinner for me,” he says with a smug smile. “What are you going to make?”

“Do you have any suggestions Cecelia?” I ask looking at her. She starts naming off a bunch of things that she wants to eat. “I’ll just make it all,” I say with a small laugh and a smile. Hearing that comment causes her to laugh. “What ingredients do you have at home?”

“I don’t know,” Myungsoo says crossing his arm and looking out the window.

“Then do we have to go to the supermarket?” I ask.

“Sure, let’s go. Driver, please take us to the supermarket.”

This is the first time going to the supermarket with a guy. I thought that I would happily do this when I’m married and with someone that actually appreciates me. Myungsoo doesn’t appreciate me, well, sometimes he does, but that’s only when there’s no one else around. Am I really just a toy to him?

“How about this?” I ask holding up some noodles to Cecelia.

“Yeah,” she says as she runs down the aisle a little to go grab something else.

I look around and I don’t see Myungsoo anywhere. After searching a little bit harder, I finally see him standing in the corner with his hood on of his L. Kim sweatshirt with the strings pulled so that they’re covering his face. Is he like a little kid or something?

“Hey,” I say tapping his head. “Are you five?”

“Yes,” he says crossing his arms. He can’t see me because his face is still covered.

“Do you not like going to supermarkets?” I inquire.

“No, they’re fine. I don’t like people staring at me.”

“Why would people stare at you?”

“You obviously don’t know my power,” Myungsoo retorts. “And my good looks.”

“It’s not like I even care,” I say beginning to walk away. I hear Myungsoo start following behind me. How can he even see where he’s going? He’s bound to hit into something sooner or later. “Oh,” I say as we’re walking through the aisles again, “what does the L on your sweatshirt stand for? Isn’t your name Myungsoo?”

“I’d rather not talk about it,” he says quietly. It’s probably something about his past again and I won’t press it any further, it’s not like I actually care, right?

“Oppa, why do you have your hood on?” Cecelia asks going over to him. I spot her going over while I browse through the meat section.

“Do you not like the hood?” Myungsoo asks.

“I don’t like it,” Cecelia says in her pouting voice.

“Then I’ll take it off, but just for you.” Myungsoo fixes his hood so that his face is fully revealed. He gets down on his knees and pats Cecelia on the head. “Is that better for you?” Cecelia energetically nods her head yes and Myungsoo gets off of his knees and looks at me. My heart suddenly starts racing and I forget what I’m looking for as I quickly look away from his gaze. It’s happening again.

Myungsoo’s POV

I never thought that I would be buying groceries one day, that’s what maids are for, but I guess since Allie never had maids before. I look at her as she looks through the selections, she takes it so seriously, but her seriousness makes her look cute.

Wait, Kim Myungsoo, what are you saying? I can’t be falling for Allie, there’s no way. Saying my secrets to her has to have had its toll on me. It’s just because of that, there’s no way that I actually like her.

And that’s when I spot him. Nam Woohyun is coming this way; he’s going to talk to Allie no doubt. Why do I see him everywhere that we go? Is he like stalking Allie? Does he like Allie? Heck no, he’s not going to get her. She’s mine. Right?

I look through some of the snacks when I see that Cecelia’s next to me. “Is there something that you want?” I ask looking down at her. She looks up at me. “It’s because you’re doing such a good job. Just keep mentioning me, okay? Ask her a lot of questions.”

“Okay,” Cecelia says as she starts looking through the snacks thinking about what she wants.

“We’ll hide it from your unni, okay?”

“Well, isn’t it the happy family,” I hear a voice say. Anything but that voice, please. Why must he be here? Why is he here anyway?

My whole body goes tense as I think about what could possibly happen. I’m with Cecelia now so he shouldn’t do anything major. I mean, she’s only six, it’s not like he can actually do anything to her. It’s me that has a problem with him, not Cecelia and not Allie. He doesn’t know anything about Allie though, he only knows about Cecelia, but he doesn’t know my relation to her. My mind is utterly spinning about everything that could be going on at this very moment.

“It doesn’t concern you,” I say turning and facing him. He hasn’t changed within the year, it’s not even like I expected him to. He still looks the same with the same lust that he has had in his eyes a year ago. Why didn’t I notice anything then? Why was I so stupid to actually believe what they were telling me? Is it really because I was in love? Was love blinding me from actually seeing the truth? “Are you done picking out snacks?” I look down at Cecelia who is holding a bag. “Okay, let’s go.”

I reach down and grab her hand while we walk away when his voice stops me in my tracks. “Father and daughter, isn’t that nice.”

Daughter? Is he stupid? Does he not see that Cecelia is more than a year old, there’s no way that I would be able to have her within the year that Uee and I separated, and who would I have her with?

“Looks like you got into another arranged marriage, right?” he asks slyly. I don’t even turn around to face him, I hear it in his voice, the disgust that he has for me, the feeling that he thinks that he’s better than I am. I’m Kim Myungsoo, though, he should know by now the power that I have. “And this time, the person is old enough to have this girl. Is she your stepdaughter?”

I don’t want Cecelia to hear any of this; she’s too young to be involved in adult problems. I walk away holding her hand not paying any attention to the guy. I spot Allie and Woohyun talking near the produce section. They’re probably talking about the best produce to buy. Woohyun is probably telling her about what is good to use for whatever she is cooking since he is a chef and all.

“Cecelia, please don’t say anything to unni, I’ll tell her, okay?” I whisper as we grow closer to them. As if she’s in fear, she just nods her head. “Oppa will buy you ice cream later, is it a promise?” I stick out my picky and her small hands grab onto it as we promise.

Allie’s POV

I spot Myungsoo and Cecelia walking this way. Cecelia looks like something’s wrong with her, did Myungsoo do something to her? Why does Myungsoo look so distant now? Did something happen to both of them? I don’t really want to bring the topic up in front of Woohyun, though. I should talk with Myungsoo later.

“Hey, Myungsoo,” Woohyun says going over to him. “Hello, Cecelia.”

“Hey, Woohyun,” Myungsoo greets. “What brings you here?” It looks like Myungsoo is attempting to cover up whatever happens to be on his mind at the moment. What exactly happened while he and Cecelia were alone?

“Just out shopping for my house,” Woohyun calmly answers.

“You like to go shopping?” Myungsoo asks.

“I like to know what I’m eating,” he says holding up some of the foods that he has gotten so far.

Myungsoo lets out an awkward laugh. “Yeah.” All three of us stare at each other for a moment in complete awkwardness.

“Hey,” Woohyun says pointing to the sweatshirt. “You still have it. I thought you would’ve gotten rid of it by now.”

“It’s a comfy sweatshirt,” Myungsoo coldly replies. So that means that Woohyun probably knows what L means on the sweatshirt, but I should ask him later and not in front of Myungsoo. “Do you still have yours?”

“You mean Namstar? Yeah, it’s hanging in my closet somewhere, although I never know where to wear it.”

Hearing the name, Namstar makes me giggle a little bit. Woohyun and Myungsoo both turn and face me. “What?” I ask innocently. “Your names, they are a bit…how would I put it…funny?”

“Oh well,” Woohyun says shrugging his shoulders. “They were cool before.” He looks at his watch for a moment. “I have to get going. See you guys later? Stop at the restaurant sometime. Allie, good luck with tonight’s meal.”

“Thanks,” I say. “See you later.”

All of us say our goodbyes as we watch Woohyun leave. As soon as Woohyun is out of sight, Myungsoo’s eyes start scanning the room. It’s like he’s looking for someone, but who is he looking for?

I thought I knew a lot about Myungsoo, but maybe I don’t. We haven’t been living together for that long, why did I even think that we were close in the first place? We’re just friends, one helping the other one out, one employed by the other, nothing more. I can’t be anything more with Myungsoo, I don’t think I can.

“Shall we get going?” I ask breaking the silence. “It looks like we have everything that we need.”

“Sure,” Myungsoo says. We make our way towards the checkout line when the woman sees us.

“Omo, are you Kim Myungsoo?” she asks looking at him.

“Hello,” Myungsoo says bowing before her, so this kid actually does have some manners. “I’m Kim Myungsoo.”

“Is this your girlfriend?” she asks pointing at me.

I open my mouth to object, but Myungsoo beats me to it. “Yes,” he says with a shy smile coming across his face and I can see a little pink in his cheeks. Is he actually nervous about it? Probably not, it’s probably an act.

“And who is the little girl? Did you have a child already?” she asks as she scans the items through.

“I’m too young for that,” Myungsoo says politely joking around with her, “it’s her little sister.”

“You’re so cute,” the woman says looking at Cecelia. Cecelia shyly bows and hides behind me.

“She is cute, isn’t she,” Myungsoo says looking at Cecelia, but I see him take quick glances at me.

Who are you really, Kim Myungsoo?

Myungsoo’s POV

The woman at the checkout counter made me momentarily forget him, but as we ride back to the house in silence, my mind is overfilled with thoughts of the past year. Why did this have to happen now? Why is my world crumbling around me? I have to get away, I have to do at least something and escape reality for a little bit. I don’t do drugs, but I do have money. I can go anywhere that I want in the world. I have to do something.

But then my eyes focus on Allie and Cecelia who are in the kitchen cooking. I can’t just leave them, right? I have a sense of responsibility over them. They are staying at my house and if something happens to them, then I would never be able to live with myself. He knows about Cecelia, well he knows what she looks like. He’s under the impression that she’s my child.

It then suddenly hits me. Why don’t I play into his fantasy? He thinks that I got married to someone different, should I just act as though I did? Cecelia wouldn’t be the daughter though; she would just be my sister-in-law. Not only would this feed into his thoughts, but it would also help me become closer with Allie, it’s a win-win situation.

I put my elbows onto the counter as I watch them cook. I ordered all of the maids to do whatever they want for the rest of the day since I didn’t want anyone disturbing us. “Ready to eat?” Allie finally looks at me and I help her take the dishes out to the dining room.

The food she prepared is some sort of pasta. I taste a little of it first, and it’s really good. It’s better than I would ever admit. “It’s good,” I manage to say. “I haven’t had a home cooked meal in such a long time.”

“Then I should do it more often, right?” she asks looking at me.

“If you wish, just tell me so I can get all of the maids out,” I say as I eat some more of it.

“Okay,” Allie says with a smile. If I’m going to get close to her, I can’t keep bossing her around; I have to show her that she has some say in what she wants to do. Otherwise, it just looks like she’s a slave.

“Hey,” I say looking at Allie. “Would you mind doing a favor for me?”

“What kind of favor?” she asks. By the sound of her voice, it doesn’t look like she’s going to like it.

“It’s nothing major,” I say playing off the situation a little bit.

“Just tell me what it is.”

“Would you marry me?” I bravely ask. I look at Allie as she chokes on some of her food and just stares at me. Cecelia, on the other hand has a smile on her face.

“What did you just say?” she asks after drinking some water.

“I just said, will you marry me,” I repeat myself.

“Kim Myungsoo, explain yourself this instant,” she demands.

“Just answer me,” I repeat again. I won’t say anything until I get an answer. “Allie, will you marry me? Yes or no.”

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Myungsoo wants to get married to Allie, is it really going to work the way that he plans? What is Allie going to say to the proposal? Who is the person that stole Uee from Myungsoo? 

Chapter 9 is finished. Woo! Hope you enjoyed :D