Let me first say again: I have not fallen off the face of this planet.

A lot of things have been going on, with getting unsatisfactory grades (of which, is partly not all my fault...honest!)

And with illnesses.  I was taking care of my mom when she was sick with the stomach flu, which I caught (threw up in school btw >.< Thank gosh it was in the nurses office) and my brother got sick, and yeah...not a good week.

Mostly, it was because of school.

But, I am here tonight, finished with homework, and finally done with writing the latest chapter.  I hope all of you haven't gotten too mad at me...and enjoy this extra long chapter (at least, I hope it's extra long.  It seemed long on Word....)

Previous Chapter:

“What’s wrong?”

“Oppa, you’ve probably have had tons of practice for this kind of thing, but I’ve never danced in my entire life…”

He smiled before putting my hand on his shoulder and taking the other one in his hand. His remaining hand settled on my lower back. I gulped at he looked at me again. 

“Don’t worry. It’s all in the leading.”

“That’s what they all say.”

“They say it because it’s true, isn’t it?”

“I guess.”

“Shall we?”

I took a deep breath before nodding. A new song came on, and so the dancing began.

Korean Vocabulary:

Jin Ki made me dance a few more dances with him after the first waltz.  I think it’s safe to say that I am now quite educated in the art of dancing.  The next time I have to dance (which I hope won’t be in the near future) I’ll be quite prepared.  I guess I can thank Jin Ki for that.  After finishing our 5^th dance, I begged Jin Ki using aegyo to let me rest.

“Oppa, keum man ha….please?”

I attempted to do puppy eyes and a pout.

“But Yun Hee, you have to get better at dancing.”

“You’ve taught me so much already…I think I’ll be fine for the next gala I’ll have to attend, yes?”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and began to play with the ends of his hair.

“Can we rest, please? My feet hurt from the heels you gave me.”

“They hurt?”

“Yes oppa.  You wouldn’t be able to imagine how it feels to dance for this long in 5 inch stilettos.”

Oppa sighed and shook his head before leading me off the dance floor.

“Why didn’t you tell me before? I would have let you off sooner.”

“Well, I kind of liked dancing.  It was fun, but I only noticed it hurting around now.”

“Arasso. Do you want me to go run to the store and buy you some flats? I’m sure I can get something for you.”

“Oppa, you really are putting your wealth to use now, aren’t you?”

Jin Ki grinned shyly, rubbing the back of his head.

“Well, I didn’t want to scare you before…since I just told you about my background.  But, now you’re here and have seen all this, I figured I should put it to good use.”

“Good use as spoiling me?’

“Something along those lines.”

I laughed as we arrived back at our table before sitting down.  Jin Ki took the seat next to me.

“Well, I think sitting down for a little while will be okay.  You don’t need to go buy me new shoes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Arasso.”

Sitting there, something just hit me.  I wrote about it earlier in my journal, but I suddenly remembered it now.

“Oppa, we have about half a month left till our project is over.”

“Already? Wow, time sure does fly.”

“Yeah, and a lot of things can happen in a short period of time.”

“I’ll say.  We’ve been through much more than all the other couples have had put together.”

“And I think that has something to do with the fact that you were my partner.”

“Mianhe.  It’s probably because of my position that you had to go through all of that.”

“True, but it’s made me a stronger person as a whole.”

Jin Ki smiled at me before getting up.  I looked at him curiously before seeing him grimace.

“I have to use the comfort room.  I’ll be back in a little while.”

“Arasso, take care.”

With a kiss on my forehead, Jin Ki walked off.  I grinned as I thought about how he said “comfort room” instead of “bathroom”.  He really was the son of a chaebol after all.  Looking around, I suddenly found it extremely awkward sitting here at the table by myself.  Umma and Appa were gone somewhere, probably dancing.  Yun Ho oppa last I checked had acquainted himself with a new friend, a girl at that.  I wondered how he was faring.

I spied a balcony that was open a little ways from the table.  Maybe I can get some fresh air.  It was getting a little stuffy in here with the large amounts of people and their high energies on New Years. Slowly, I stood up and made my way to the balcony, avoiding drunken people here and there and wild dancing guests.  Finally reaching the balcony, I took in a deep breath of fresh hair as I put my hands on the balcony.  Taking in the view, I gasped at the night lights and the ocean breeze.  Nothing surprising coming from New Caledonia.

“It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it?”

I turned around to meet Lee Jae Min standing in the doorway to the balcony.  I bowed before greeting him.

“Annyeohasaeyo.”

“Deh, annyeohasaeyo.  I hope you’ve been enjoying the party so far.”

He walked up the rail and stood next to me.  I could help but notice the extraordinary resemblance between Jin Ki and his father. 

“Deh, it’s been very fun so far.  Thank you for inviting me, and my family.”

“It was hard to refuse my wife.  She’s taken a great liking to you.”

I had no doubt about that…but I wondered if there was any way to win his approval. Should I be bold?

“And what about you?”

“Hmm?”

“Have I met your expectations, or have I fallen short of them?”

He sipped the glass of wine he had in his hand.

“You’re nothing I expected you to be.  I assumed you to be one of those common girls, the ones who date chaebols for their money.”

I felt slightly insulted at his remark, but I couldn’t help sympathize with him.

“I’m not surprised, to be honest.”

“You aren’t you insulted?”

“Well, yes, but I can see things from your point of view, so I have no right to say anything. Was there anything else?”

Lee Jae Min nodded before speaking again.

“Things are also different now that I know you’re my old friend’s daughter.  I have give you some slack.”

“You seem a little disappointed.”

“Do I?”

I chuckled softly.

“A little.”

“What’s so funny?”

“Geu yang…I feel like you want to give me a test, some way that I can prove myself to you.  But since my father asked you to be nice…your plans are ruined?  Am I right?”

“You’re a sharp one, I’ll give you that.  And you’re right, but I still can’t refuse one of my good friends.”

I took a deep breath as I turned toward Lee Jae Min.  Being his friend’s daughter or not, I had to see if I could pass the test.  I know that’s the only way that I’ll be able to gain his approval.

“Please give me your test.”

Lee Jae Min turned to me surprised.

“What?”

“Please give me your test.  I know my father praised me while talking to you, but I want to show you that I’m serious about Jin Ki.  Like you said, I’m not one of those common girls out to get money.  I sincerely care for Jin Ki, and I want to be someone who will be able to help him in the future.  If I can’t pass your test, then it means I’m not good enough.”

I waited as Lee Jae Min bore his eyes into me.  I gulped and hoped that he would accept my request.  Although I was nervous for what was to come, I knew this would be the only way to get his acceptance. A few minutes had passed by, and still no response, but suddenly he smiled.

“Since you’ve asked for it, I guess it would be rude of me not to fulfill your request, right?”

Nodding, I tried to prepare myself for what was to come.

“But, I won’t tell you what it is.”

“Deh?”

“If I told you what to do, wouldn’t it be a little unfair?  You’d have time to prepare.  I want to test your ability to think on the spot.  I want to see if you can solve problems quickly.  After all, that is how the business world works.”

“So, all I can do is prepare myself to expect what you will give me.”

“Correct.  But, I’ll tell you one thing.”

“And what is that?”

“You’ve passed the first part of my test already.”

“I have?”

“You have courage.  Courage is necessary in life to make decisions and be confident in them. If you have courage, then you'll be able to make choices and won't have to regret them later on. After what you showed me tonight, I think you have plenty of that.”

“Kamsamhamnida.”

Lee Jae Min looked at his wrist watch, which was Rolex no doubt, and raised his eyebrows.

“It looks like it’s almost going to be 12:00.  We should head back inside and prepare for the countdown.  I heard the hotel has some sort of surprise.”

“Deh.”

“I’ll be heading in first.  I’ll see you a little later, yes?”

“Of course.”

Nodding, Lee Jae Min began to walk inside.  Biting my lip, I thought before speaking up.

“Thank you.”

He turned around and smiled at me before walking inside.  I turned out toward the balcony view again and breathed a sigh of relief…half relief.  I still had a test to go through, whether that be big or small.  I had to prepare myself for it, since I had no idea when it would be coming.  Taking one last breath of fresh air, I walked back inside the ballroom and toward the table where I sat.  My parents were back along with Yun Ho oppa. I saw that Jin Ki had come back as well, his face growing relieved as I walked up and took a seat.

“Where were you? I was getting worried!”

Yun Ho oppa scoffed.

“Getting worried? You were on the verge of hyperventilating.”

I looked at Jin Ki curiously, whose face began to grow red.  Umma laughed and chided Yun Ho oppa.

“Oh stop it! Jin Ki was simply looking for Yun Hee.  It means he cares for her!”

“Deh Umma….” Yun Ho said, still smirking.

I took a sip of water as I smiled. 

“Thanks for worrying about me oppa, but I’m fine.  I was actually talking to your father outside on the balcony.”

Jin Ki’s eyes, along with the rest of my family’s widened as they heard what I had just said.

“You were talking to my father?”

“Yes, I was.  He started the conversation actually.  I was outside taking a bit of fresh air when he joined me.”

“And…how did it go?”

“It went pretty smoothly, I guess.  He says he likes the fact that I’m not a gold digger.”

“He said that?!”

“Well, not in those words exactly, but I could tell that was what he meant.  I took it as a compliment, don’t worry.  Oh, and he said I had courage, which meant I passed his first test.”

“That was a test? And only the first one? Wow…do you know what is coming up next?”

“Nope.  He says the element of surprise is part of it. I’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Cha ra so jagiya.  You’ve done well.”

I looked around to see if anything was happening.  It looked like there was going to be a countdown soon, and everyone was standing up.

“The countdown is starting soon, let’s stand up!”

I stood up as the clock began to count down from 25 seconds till 12:00 am.  Soon, the whole ballroom was cheering out as the clock hit zero.  Confetti and balloons rained down on us as the new year came, and people began to pop bottles of champagne (not that they needed anymore).  Jin Ki pulled me close and kissed me quickly once the countdown ended.

Lee Jae Min and his wife stepped onto the stage after the balloons and confetti had finished falling down, and took the mic.

“Thank you again to all of you for coming.  The New Year has finally arrived, and I hope everyone will make the best of it.  In addition, I hope you all have enjoyed this gala, and make your way home safely.  Happy New Year everyone!”

Once he said that, people still continued to party, but as the time passed on, people began to make their way out of the venue.  Pretty soon, only a few groups here and there remained.  Umma and Appa finally stood up.  Looking at the clock on my hand phone, I saw that it was already 1:00 am.  I was already tired, so I was relieved that I would be going back to the hotel to sleep now.

“Let’s go say goodbye to Jae Min and his wife before leaving,” Appa said.

We all followed Appa to where Lee Jae Min and his wife was.  After speaking briefly with him, Lee Jae Min turned to us and thanked us for coming.

“Thank you all for coming.  We’ll have to get together soon when we go back to Han Geuk.”

He looked at me slightly, smiling before shaking his hands with Appa, Umma, Oppa, and then finally me.  Jin Ki’s mother walked up to me after thanking my parents and gave me a warm hug.

“We weren’t able to talk much tonight, but expect me to call on you when we get back home.”

“Deh, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Pulling away, she smiled and looked at Jin Ki.

“Honey, why don’t you lead them back to their rooms.  Yun Hee ya, remember the passes I gave you.  Turn them in at the counter tomorrow morning when you check out.”

“Deh.”

We all said our last goodbyes before heading out of the venue.  Jin Ki held me back and pulled me behind one of the curtains before handing me a box.  Opening it, I gasped and looked at Jin Ki.

“Oppa, you really went out to buy me shoes when you said you had to go to the comfort room, didn’t you?”

He scratched his head sheepishly while smiling.

“You knew?”

“I had a feeling.  You didn’t have to though.”

“Yeah, well, I felt bad for you.”

“Gomawayo, I’ll use them well.”

Kicking off my heels, I slipped on the flats and sighed as I felt flat ground again.  Putting the heels back into the box, we both made our way out of the ballroom and went back to where my hotel room was.  When we arrived, I turned around to bid Jin Ki goodbye.

“Well, New Caledonia was quite an experience, especially with you around.”

“Yeah, you know me.  We always do everything big.”

He grinned as he wrapped his arms around my waist.  I wrapped my arms around his neck in return.

“Of course.  The heir to the Lee Dong company does nothing small,” I said in reply.

“Of course not.”

And he bent down to kiss me.  After some time, he pulled apart and leaned his forehead on mine.

“Even with the both of us being here in New Caledonia, we haven’t been able to do much.”

“At least we got to see each other.”

“I wanted to take you on an island date….”

“There will be other times for that.”

“Yaksok?”

“Deh.”

He pulled away after pecking my forehead.

“I guess I should let you go to bed now.  It’s late.”

“When are you flying home?”

“I’m going on the same flight as you.”

“Chongmal?”

“Yes, so don’t miss me too much.”

“I won’t.”

With a last kiss, he smiled before walking down the corridor and into the elevator.  Sighing, I turned around and knocked on the door, since  Yun Ho oppa had the door key.  He opened the door and smirked at me.

“Took your own sweet time, didn’t you.”

I walked past him into the room and ignored his jesting.

“None of your business.”

“It’s all my business, because you’re my little sister.”

“I can take care of myself, but if it makes it better, we weren’t doing anything inappropriate.”

“How can I believe that?”

“You can,” I said, taking off my shoes and taking out my toiletries along with my pajamas. “But if you choose not to, then it’s fine with me.”

I smirked at Yun Ho’s face as I went into the bathroom to clean up and change for bed. Suddenly remembering one thing, I stook my head out from the bathroom.

"By the way oppa, you have some explaining to do yourself."

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw you dancing with that girl tonight."

The look of his face was priceless as I laughed and closed the bathroom door.  It was nice to make oppa shocked once in awhile.

Dear Journal,                                                                                                                                                     1/1/12

            I should be sleeping right now, but I just had an urge to write.  We haven’t been writing much, and I feel that I need to write more now that the deadline is coming up.  It’s already 1:45 in the morning in New Caledonia over here, which means it’s a new year!  I wonder how this new year will be…

            First of all, I really wish that I can pass my tests from Jin Ki’s father.  I’ve already gaide his mothers approval of our relationship, but it’s going to take a little bit more effort to win his father over.  On the bright side, he said I’ve already passed his first test: the test of courage.  No, I didn’t have to do some daring feat, but I did speak out to him, and bravely took on his challenge of completing his tests for me.  I guess that’s a good thing. 

            We’re leaving tomorrow morning, so I guess I should get some sleep now.  I’ll get some sleep on the plane, but I’d rather not wake up with panda eyes (though something tells me that will happen). Jin Ki is also flying home with us, so I guess his parents still have some things to take care of before going home.  We have school Monday, so I suppose he would have to come home on this flight.  *sigh* This winter break has been amazing, and it’s hard to think about going back to school…we have to do what we have to do I suppose.

            I’ll write some more on the plane tomorrow, so look forward to it! Good night…er morning…^^

                                                                                                               Kang Yun Hee

Dear Journal,                                                                                                                                                        1/1/12

            I just came back from sending Yun Hee to her hotel room.  What a day it’s been, from helping with the party and then having to help my parents host it.  I didn’t really get to talk to Yun Hee that much.  Speaking of which, I didn’t even get to see her much in New Caledonia at all. I wanted to take her on an island date…and all other things, but we have to go home tomorrow to get back in time for school on Monday.  She did say there would be other times, so I’m holding her to her promise.

            Yun Hee mentioned how this project would be over soon, less than a month in fact.  Kind of crazy that this project has lasted this long, but has gone by so fast. It’s hard to believe that we started off this project thinking that we would finish off as friends, but now, it’s a lot more than that.  We want to be able to continue this relationship, without having to hold up the façade of a psychology project.

            School is starting in two days…it’s going to be hard to get back into the rhythm after staying away for so long.  Then it’s only a few months until spring break.  On the bright side, Valentine’s Day is closer…I wonder what I can do for Yun Hee then.  Okay, it’s like, one month and a half away, and we don't have that day off, but it’s still closer than spring break and something worth celebrating.

            Anyway, it is super late, so I had better go to sleep now.  At least I’ll be able to spend the flight home with Yun Hee tomorrow.  Good morning (it’s super super late, yet early in the morning).

                                                                                                                        Lee Jin Ki

Well, it's the end of this chapter already....whew.

Again, I hope you liked it, and I'll try not to go this long with out updating again (no promises though!)

As always:

Comment and Subscribe! (especially if you haven't already)

<3 WinterRose

tofulurvers: You want some Onew sangtae in here? Hmm, I was trying to keep Onew's character sophisticated, and less clumsy as usual, but if you really want that in there, maybe I can add a little something in the future ^^

pResTige: It is one hell of a party indeed...but, we all know Yun Hee is one hell of a character as well, so no need to worry here :D

ViviChenny: Yeah, his dad can be one intimidating character, with all the wealth and power in his own palms.  As for your blackmail question...I can't asnwer that >.<

amyra961: Sorry for not updating as soon as you wanted >.< Darn school! But, I do hope you liked this chapter anyway, just like all the others :D

ohhzuii56: Yeah, I like that Jin Ki's mom is very warm toward Yun Hee as well...speaking of which, I need to give her a name soon.  I'm kind of getting sick of typing Jin Ki's mother xD Will be taken cared of in the next chapter!

crazy4you: Thank you for your wishes, I did well, even though the scores weren't added in correctly ;( (long story) Either way, I hope you liked this chapter!

Lorena: Yeah, I hope my mother-in-law will be that nice (not that I'm getting married anytime soon...at least 15 years will have to transpire before that happens xD) And dancing with Jin Ki is definitely romantic :D

starlove: Well, Lee Jae Min has already approved of Yun Hee's courage, so lets hope that he'll approve all of her other talents as well!

Iheartlife: Sorry for not updating soon...unless you think three weeks time is soon xD Hope you liked the chapter either way!

--iluvreading--: Oh, you're learning Japanese? That's cool ^^ I heard it was hard though o.o I hope you did well, and I did check out your story, but I'm sad to say I won't be able to fulfill your request.  I've been so busy, and I feel like if I were to take on your offer, I wouldn't be able to do much :/ Sorry, but perhaps sometime in the future :D

jay_rose: School hasn't exactly been going the way I planned, but it's all right :D I hope you liked this chapter, and that school is going well for you too!

onsangtae: Wow, you have like, a really uncanny ability to predict things...Yun Hee and Lee Jae Min did have talk alone ^^ And as for your suggestion, I meant it to be that way.  It wasn't suppose to be in a "you" pov, but just in general, like "You shouldn't speak loudly when in the library" or "You only eat when you're hungry" that kind of thing.  Does that make sense? I'm sorry if it doesn't >.< I'll try to explain it further if you still don't understand.

GummyBears_Yum: I hope your wait wasn't too long, though I do feel three weeks is a little too long for a chapter update >.< Miahne!

Zimraphel: Oh dear, don't faint on me now xD Nothing major will happen to Yun Hee....for now....o.O

cloudubu6002: I'm sure Yun Hee will win his approval as well.  Like the username btw...very unique! :D

Shizine19: We'll see how she does with his tests before saying for sure, yeah? But I'm sure she'll do fine :)

MissLOLA1412: I'm so glad you like my story to the verge of obsessing? xD Just don't do anything rash like break up with your boyfriend because you think he's not good enough for you (I'm not sure if it's true, but I read about it somewhere and I was like o.o') Thank you for liking though!