Sunday came in a blink of an eye and Joohyun was exceptionally nervous because the guests will be arriving at around 2 for the tea party. The party was originally scheduled for night time but Ms. Kim Taeyeon, her father's secretary, had been caring enough to move it forward since Joohyun will be attending school the next day and thus, require suffiient rest. 

That morning, Changmin had brought the girl's breakfast to her bed because Mr. Seo wanted to surprise her for the party and was admant that she stayed in her room until the time came. Joohyun had rolled her eyes at how fussy her father was being. But knowing clearly that he had only done it out of love and care, she agreed to his arrangement without a word. 

As Joohyun sat on her bed with a bathrobe keeping her snug and ate out of the tray in front of her, she listened carefully to Taeyeon's (she tried calling her Miss Kim but the woman insisted otherwise) instructions for the day.

"My lady," Taeyeon began but was cut off by the girl.

"Call me Joohyun, Taeyeon unnie. If I'm going to call you by your name, you should do the same." She said, pouting cutely, a habit of hers when things weren't necessarily going her way.

Taeyeon smiled brightly at the request for she was much more comfortable without formalities. 

"So Joohyun-ah, you'll be called down when all the guests have finally arrived and Mr. Seo will be in charge of introducing you to everyone. You'll have to make a small speech---"

"Ottoke? A speech? I haven't got one ready!" Joohyun exclaimed, nearly spilling the cup of coffee on her bed, clearly surprised at the notion of speaking in public.

"I'm sure you'll do fine. Just tell them your name, aspirations and goals as a socialite. Be polite but personable and you should be able to charm their pants off."

"Unnie!" The younger girl nagged, blushing at the indecency of those words and making the other girl giggle.

"That was just a phrase, Joohyunnie. Omo! Or is it that you were thinking something dirty?" Taeyeon teased and nudged Joohyun slightly on her shoulder, making her face grow even pinker. 

"Of course not!"

The two ladies might only have met that morning but they had talked over the phone before when Joohyun had been living in the US. Whenever the younger one called her father and he was unavailable, the older girl would help her leave a message or two and update her on Mr. Seo's recent happenings. They had bonded nearly instantly. Joohyun was able to laugh and chat with Taeyeon freely without her shy and uptight constraint. This was all observed by the butler who found it all too interesting.

"Yah! Let's get back to serious business. After the speech, it will be the first dance with President Seo. He will then bring you around the tables to let you meet and greet some of the more important guests. Otherwise, just enjoy yourself and dance and eat as you wish!" 

"That's all there is to this party?" The girl asked, curious that there should be such little things to do.

"Uh huh. It's quite simple, really. You'll be just fine. Just present yourself as you are." The secretary paused for a moment, as if in thought, and contniued. "And if they ask you about the airport incident, just tell them you had not expected such a commotion and was quite sick but now fully ready to take up your role as a socialite. This should shut them up." 

Joohyun's eyes widened with Taeyeon's choice of words.

"Don't look at me like I'm a weirdo!" The other girl laughed. "Those upper class socialites can be really snobbish and those reporters, annoying. I just hope you don't get eat up by them. I'll leave you now to make sure everything's in place. It was so nice to finally see you!" And like that, Taeyeon pinched Joohyun slightly on the cheeks and left, which the younger one, surprisingly, had not mind at all.

Before she closed the door, Taeyeon turned to the quiet butler.

"Changmin-shi, Joohyunnie will need an outfit that'll wow everyone. I trust you to do your job well."

Giving him a wink, she left, leaving Joohyun wonder if the two were close.

It was 1:30, time for Joohyun to get dressed. 

She had not the chance to check her outfit before then for she was busying herself with brainstorming for her small speech. She had tried consulting her butler on the matter but he had replied that it was not in his job descriptionn and busied himself with organizing the room which was already way too neat and tidy. Seeing that he was being absolutely unhelpful, she could only take matters to her own hands. Being the shy girl she was and most definitely the least likely candidate when it came to public speaking, she was absolutely nervous. If only she could get past this part of her quest, the rest of the afternoon should be a piece of cake. 

As Joohyun kept on mumbling to herself, trying to memorize what she had just whipped up for her mini presentation, Changmin worked his "magic" on her. In a split second, Joohyun was in the clothes that the butler had styled for her. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she was once again blown away by the man's impeccable taste.

She was in an outfit that was ladylike but youthful, sophisticated yet simple. She had on a baby blue sweater that had a pearl peter-pan collar in place of a necklace. The sweater was tucked into a skater skirt which had layers of tie-dye blue fabric overlapping each other to create a wavelike effect. Then, the butler motioned her to sit in front of the mirror for him to do her makeup and hair. Her face was natural as can be and the wavy updo she had was adorned with a daisy hair pin on one side of her head. Finally, he helped her put on a pair of pale blue heels that tied the whole outfit together.

"Omo!" Joohyun let out a gasp at the finall look. She could not believe that the girl in the mirror was her reflection. "Kamsahamnida!"

"You're welcome my lady," The butler replied with a bow. He did have to admit that the soon-to-be socialite in front of him was a beauty. "I think it is about time you went down. The guests should have all arrived."

He then guided the girl downstairs and towards the door that opened to the garden where the party was to be held. Before she stepped out to make her formal debut, he whispered one last reminder into her ear. "Remember everything I have taught you." She shuddered at the sudden tickle and closeness of the man and an immediate blush rushed to her face. She gave him a slight nod, careful not to face him. As the footman announced her entrance, she straightened her back and adjusted her neck.

Placing one foot in front of the other with every step she took, she allowed her hips to sway gently but not to the verge of being y. As she moved towards the stage where her father was waiting for her, she noticed that everything, from the table cloth to the decorations to the icing on the cake were either of a beautiful blue or pearlescent finish, much like the color of her clothes. This made her smile at how thoughtful her father was. The blush she had gained earlier from the butler's sudden move and the demure smile she had on sure charmed everyone. If the airport incident had made them sceptical about her, they were sure now convinced. 

"Please welcome my daughter, Seo Joohyun, which you all know as Seohyun, on stage." Mr. Seo announced, his face beaming with joy and pride at how his daughter was carrying herself. There was a roar of clapping as Joohyun stepped up on stage and took the mic which her father had handed to her.

"Good afternoon everyone, I hope you are all enjoying yourself." She said, trying her best not to tremble as she spilled out what she had just recited. The script might be pre-written, but every word was true and sincere. 

"Thank you very much for coming here to celebrate my debut. To be honest, I was really hesitant to become a socialite as my umma once was. I had thought of it as something silly, a pass time of rich women." At that she paused, observing everyone's faces and praying that they were not ready to leave but they all held a poker face.

"Well, but the more I though about it, the more I realized that my umma never would have wasted 10 years of her life in doing something she thought was meaningless. So, I have decided to take my place as a Seo socialite in hopes of discovering what my umma had found fruitful in it. I may be Seohyun to you all, but while I bear the repsonsibility being a socialite brings, it is my goal to forever remain Joohyun, to forever remain... me."  The moment she finished the last word, the camera's started flashing and the guests began their clapping. This time, Joohyun did not pass out for she could see her appa approaching her with slightly teary eyes, a proud grin and open arms. 

Hugging her, he said in a tiny voice, "Thank you, Joohyun. Thank you for honoring your mother's memories. You have made me proud. I'm sure your mother is as well." He then released her and took over the mic. "Everyone, join my daughter and I for the first waltz on the dance floor." 

Joohyun gladly took her father's hands and they walked down from the stage as the small quintet started to play a waltz. Keeping Changmin's instructions in mind, she took up the correct position and began dancing in her appa's arms. 

"I see that Changmin had taught you well." Mr. Seo said. His eyes were no longer shining with tears but he was still grinning from ear to ear.

"Yes, he did." was Joohyun's short reply, hoping that her face had not begun flushing.

"By the way, you did a great job on stage! I can't believe I thought you might not be able to handle it when I saw you come out with a shy blush." He said, chuckling as he twirled her around. Joohyun did not respond except for a sheepish smile that was now hanging on her face.

When the dance was finally over, Mr. Seo brought Joohyun around the venue to meet important people who were either prominent in the upper class or important business partners and investors to the company.

Most of those who came were older ladies in their 40s and were socialites themselves. There was Mrs. Hwang who had expressed that Joohyun would make the perfect company for her daughter, Tiffany, along with other young ladies she knew, who were also quite green to the social scene. She cordially invited her to attend Tiffany's coming birthday party, saying that it would be a perfect platform for her to meet people her age. Joohyun had accepted the invitation politely and had headed on to meet her appa's best friend, Mr. Lee.

Mr. Lee was not at all foreign to her for she had known him ever since she was a young child. His son, Lee Donghae, was like a brother to her and it had been a long time since they met. During her initial years in America, the boy had written letters to her but as he got busier with his studies, those became less frequent until there wasn't any left. Joohyun wondered if they would be awkward, but Donghae had made sure they were still as close as ever. 

"Hyunnie!! My little sister! Look how much you've grown!!" He gasped and feigned surprise, making Joohyun giggle. He was still as funny and approachable as she had remembered him to be.

"Yah! Hae oppa, don't go making fun of me. I'm still as young as ever." She said with hands on her hips and head tilted high, trying to match Donghae's height, but failed. 

"Omo? Hyunnie's still a shortie as before?" He teased, causing Joohyun to flare her nose and pout.

It was when the girl was about to retort that Changmin approached her with a glass of water. She was in such a good mood that she had smiled and thanked him. But being the cool man he was, he made no notice of her gesture and left not before making a slight remark, "Keep out for your manners, my lady".

Donghae had seen everything and was furious at how that man had treated his 'sister'.

"Who is he? How could he be so impolite to you? If there's anybody lacking in manners, that'll be him." He fumed, arms crossed in front of his chest, which made the girl laugh.

"You mean Shim Changmin? He is the butler my father assigned for me. Don't mind him. He's like that 24/7. I'm sure he does not mean ill to remind me to keep my manners. After all, I would want to look presentable to everyone, wouldn't I?" She replied with a slight curtsey.

"If you say so, Hyunnie." And the older boy patted her head as he always had when they were much younger. "I'll catch up with you later? Okay?" The girl nodded with a happy grin and followed her father to meet the next significant guest.

Joohyun was surprised to see that her appa had brought her in front of two young and handsome men of her age, instead of older business partners. Just as she was about to whisper in her father's ear to check out what was going on, the tanner boy of the two asked with a smile so wide and bright that was almost affecting, "Do you still remember us?" 

This question caught her attention and she observed closer. Both boys were really tall and had big eyes but one shone with happiness and the other looked much more shy. They seemed really familiar but she wondered if they were really who she thought they were. "Are you---" she started, but stopped abruptlly.

"Yes? We are?" The tan boy asked, trying to lure her into recognizing them. Meanwhile, the shy boy was wearing a crooked smile.

"Minho? Jonghyun? Are you really them?" widened, full of surprise. Minho, the sunshine boy, picked up the girl, twirling her around as soon as she identified them, shouting, "We've missed you so much!!" When Minho finally put her down, she went over to hug Jonghyun, who was slightly hesitant at first but allowed the girl to wrap him tight. "I've missed you two as well."

"Ah hem. I'll leave you youngsters by yourself then. Seems like you'll have a lot of catching up to do." Mr Seo said and left to seek his friends.

"You look pretty." Jonghyun said, scratching his head. 

"Oh, yes you do!! Hyunnie!" Minho exclaimed. The two boys were so different in personalities that they had become the best of friends. As for Joohyun, she was the mix between the two, shy at times but on others, lively and bright. This was why they had bonded in the first place.

"I have a lot to tell you." The girl stated as they sat down at an empty table.

"Yes, we do too, but there'll be lots of time for us to do that." The brighter boy, who always did most of the talking, said with a mysterious smile.

"Wae?" Joohyun cocked an eyebrow.

"'Cuz we are going to school together starting from tomorrow!" He practically yelled, once again, drawing a lot of attention.

AN:

Sorry I've not been updating the last few days but I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Donghae, Minho and Jonghyun have finally reunited with our beloved Seohyun :) 

And Seohyun seems to fluster whenever Changmin is around. Is she really shy because she is not used to closeness with the opposite or is it because of something else?

Please continue to support this story with your subcription, comments and upvotes!! 

I LOVE YOU ALL and THANK YOU!!!!