------Jaejoong------

“Good morning.” I greeted my parents as I entered the VIP room of the same restaurant from a couple nights ago. They called me that morning to ask me to have some breakfast with them. They told me they had something to talk about.

“Did you sleep well?” My mother smiled at me.

“Yeah. I was so tired yesterday, so the second I touched the bed, I passed out.” I replied as a waitress gave me a menu after I sat down.

“I’ll just take a cup of coffee and some toast.” I handed her the menu back. She nodded and left the room.

“What were you doing all day?” Now it was my dad’s turn to smile.

“I just went to the beach, had dinner, and then went to the gym.” I replied as my coffee arrived. I took a sip and smiled. The taste of coffee was definitely something I needed in the morning. I don’t drink coffee every morning, but I do like to have it every once in a while. I never drank it when I was a teenager because I heard it can stop you from growing.

“Who’d you go to the beach with?” My mom winked at me. She had a cheesy smile on her face. I stared at the two seniors.

“Alright you two. Stop with the questions and just ask me directly. What do you want to know?” I asked them. They were on to something.

“Well, your mother and I were just taking a walk along the beach yesterday and we happened to see you with a girl. I recognized her to be the waitress called Jooli. She is definitely a nice girl. Perhaps there is something going on between you two?” My dad laughed after confessing. My mom joined in the laughter. The two of them looked so excited to hear my answer. They may be old, but they’re still very outgoing and fun to be with when they weren’t working.

“She’s just a friend dad. There’s nothing going on between the two of us.” I replied. I didn’t want to tell them that she used to like Yunho.

“Just friends? If the two of you were just friends, you wouldn’t be so worried when she hurt her foot. I’ve seen most of your girlfriends and they’re nothing like Jooli. Sure, she isn’t the skinniest girl I’ve seen, but I’m happy about that. She has a healthy and toned body. Plus, she has a nice behind, perfect for having kids.” My mom winked at me. The two of them were still laughing and smiling at each other and at me.

“Mom, can we please not talk about babies or marriage. I’m still young! I don’t want to get married young like Yunho. I want to have fun! I want to enjoy life!” I exclaimed. My toast arrived and I poured some condensed milk on top of it just to add some flavor.

“Okay okay. We won’t force you to get married, just yet. But we just want you to have a stable relationship with someone. I don’t like you having a different girlfriend every month. I don’t even remember your past girlfriend’s names.” My mother said.

“I don’t think Jooli and I are going to be anything except for friends.” I replied. As they were talking, I was eating my breakfast. My parents were always interested in my love life, but they were right about one thing; I never stayed with a girl for a long time. My longest relationship was probably about three months. I didn’t like to get all serious with them. Since I was still young, I might as well enjoy life.

“Well, I think Jooli is a nice girl, a lot better than your other girlfriends. I was hoping to see her one last time before we leave tomorrow morning. Do you think she would like to have dinner with us tonight?” My mother asked.

“Mom, Jooli and I are not dating, so I don’t get why she should have dinner with you two.” I replied.

“We know you two aren’t dating. The dinner is not because of that, it’s because we just want to have a simple dinner with her. We want to get to know her better because she seems like a nice person. You don’t have to come eat with us, but we just want to see her. So, will you ask her for us?” My father asked with a frown.

“Fine… I’ll try, but I don’t know if she’s working or not…” I replied hesitantly. They’re bound to say something weird to Jooli. I was going to go along just so I could stop them from talking about anything embarrassing.

------Jooli------

“What? Your parents want to have dinner with me tonight?” I almost spat out my water. I was up in my room because I had the day off. I was busy talking with some friends on MSN when suddenly Jaejoong called me. At first I was a bit surprised as to how he got my number, but he probably got it from Yunho.

[Yeah. They said they want to get to know you better before they go back to Korea tomorrow morning.]

“But I’ve only met them twice. Why would they want to meet me anyways? I’m not someone special.” I said. Mr. and Mrs. Kim had no reason to see me. They didn’t know that I used to like Yunho, did they?

“Wait, did you tell them that I used to like Yunho?” I started to panic.

[No I didn’t. They said that the reason they want to see you is simple. They just want to get to know you.]

“Okay… I guess I can go…” I mumbled into the phone. I didn’t really want to go because I didn’t know Jaejoong and Yunho’s parents very much. Sure, they looked really nice, but I was still very nervous.

[I’ll come and get you at 6:45 this evening. Alright?]

“Okay, but how should I dress?” I asked him, concerned about how his parents would like me based on my appearance.

[They really don’t care how you look like. They’re so casual about it, but try to dress nicely. You don’t want to wear your usual t-shirt and shorts because after all, you are going to be seeing the boss of this hotel.]

“Okay… I got it. I’ll see you later.” I said good-bye and got off the phone. Then I got up from the chair and walked over to the closet. Jina had already taken her stuff back, but it was okay because all her clothing was not what I planned on wearing to dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Kim. As I looked through my closet, I realized that I didn’t have anything suitable to wear. All I had were tank tops, t-shirts, shorts, capris, and jeans. I had to go shopping, but I needed help.

“Hello, Yunho?” I decided to call Yunho so I could ask for Victoria’s number. Jina wouldn’t be able to help me because she was working. I had no other choice but to ask Victoria for some fashion advice.

[Hey Jooli. What’s up?]

“I was wondering if you could give me Victoria’s number. I need help from her.” I asked him.

[Actually, Victoria is right beside me right now. Hold on one second.]

[Hey Jooli!] Victoria’s bubbly voice was heard a couple seconds later.

“Hi Victoria. I was wondering if you’re busy at the moment.” I asked her with a bit of hesitation because she was with Yunho. They were probably out on a date.

[Nope, I’m not busy at the moment. What’s wrong?]

“I was wondering if you could go shopping with me. Yunho and Jaejoong’s parents asked me to have dinner with them tonight and I just found out that my closet has no formal clothing. I’m a very bad shopper and so, I was wondering if you could come with me to give me some advice.” I asked her.

[Hey! Yunho and I are going too!]

“Really? That’s great! I won’t feel so lonely.” I sighed. I was so afraid to have dinner with the Kim’s.

[Oh no need to worry. Yunho’s parents are super nice! You’ll love them. But, why would they suddenly ask you to have dinner with them?]

“I’m not sure about that either, but Jaejoong told me they wanted to see me.” I replied with the same tone of confusion.

[Oh… I see. Okay, how about I meet you down at the lobby in 15 minutes and we can head over to the shopping mall?]

“Sounds great! I’ll see you then! Bye!” We got off the phone and I got changed into my usual t-shirt and shorts. I really had no sense of fashion because I never really cared about it. I didn’t dress to impress guys that I liked because I thought that if they really do like you, they would like you for who you are, not for what your appearance. I know it’s really cliché, but that’s what I always thought. After getting ready, I went downstairs to the lobby to wait for Victoria. When I got down there, she was already waiting for me on the couch.

“Hey Victoria!” I greeted her.

“Hi Jooli!” She replied. She had her hair in a simple ponytail. She was wearing a cute black Paul Frank t-shirt with a pair of jean shorts. She had on a pair of black converse and carried a black hobo bag.

She looked good even in casual clothing. I definitely picked the right person for some fashion advice, but her body was a lot better than mine. She was taller and skinnier than me. I looked like a dwarf next to Snow White.

“Alright, let’s go!” She smiled and led the entrance of the hotel. There was a black car waiting outside. There was already a driver at the front. The two of us sat in the back while the driver drove us to the mall. On the way to the mall, Victoria and I talked about a lot of things. I told her about my family back at home and about going to Oxford University in the fall. I found out that she was an only child and her family was still in Canada. Just by talking to each other during the ride to the mall, the two of us got closer to each other.

When we got to the mall, the driver drove away. Victoria said that he would be back when she calls him to pick us up.

“Okay, so what do you plan on wearing to dinner?” She asks me once we are inside the mall.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to dress so casual, but I don’t want to wear a formal dress.” I replied. I hated dressing up. I didn’t like wearing dresses or skirts, but if it was for something important, I guess I had no chance.

“I don’t think you need to wear a dress. Yunho and Jaejoong’s parents are really casual when it comes to a regular dinner with the family. I think a nice top and bottom will do. Come on, let’s check out this shop!” Victoria said and dragged me into a store that looked really girly and did not look like my type of clothing.

“Oh man…” I groaned quiet enough so Victoria couldn’t hear me.

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