Omg, it has been such a long time since I've updated.

I'm sorry for that, but school has been keeping me so busy, and so has badminton.

I might have time to update again this week, but no promises...I don't want to keep people's hopes up :/

This isn't the best of chapters, but it'll be a set up for what will happen next.

I hope you enjoy it either way :D

Previous Chapter:

He bowed before leaving and we watched the limo drive away. I sighed before looking over at my parents, who were staring at me.

“Is there something wrong?”

“How are you feeling about all of this?”

“I’m fine. I just need to wrap my head around everything first, but I’ll be okay.”

I smiled reassuringly and picked up my luggage before turning toward the house and making my way up to the door. Hello, home sweet home.

Korean Vocabulary:

Dangsini geugeol joh-ahaji anhnayo: Do you not like it?

As soon as I got home, I wanted to fall on my bed and go to sleep.  Of course, I didn’t do that.  I checked the books on my desk and made sure that my homework was done.  After organizing that and having it ready on my table for tomorrow, I went and took a shower.  Once I was done with that, I walked down to the kitchen to eat an early dinner with my family.  We were all famished.  Umma made a quick meal and I helped her before we ate.

“Oppa, when are you going back to Mi Guk?”

“I have two more weeks until I have to go back.”

“Oh…”

He grinned and reached to ruffle my hair.

“Aww, is my dongsaengie going to miss oppa?”

I grumbled and fixed my hair before eating again.  I heard him chuckle softly before speaking again.

“It’s okay, I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Arayo.”

I looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back before going back to his food.  Afterward, Umma spoke up.

“Yun Hee ya.”

“Deh Umma?”

“You are going to be okay, right?”

I immediately knew that she was talking about my relationship with Jin Ki. 

“Yes, but why are you so worried?”

“Well, didn’t you say before that Jin Ki was protected from the press? No one knew who he was, until the party last night.”

It suddenly dawned on me.  He was introduced to the world last night, and if I remember correctly, there were reporters there soaking up the news.  If that was so, then I must have been captured somewhere in there…we were dancing the whole night.

“Yun Hee, gwen cha na?”

I looked at Appa, who sounded concerned, and then at the faces of Umma and Oppa. I swallowed and smiled.

“Yes, I’ll be fine.  If I can’t handle, how can I handle anything else?”

After that, we talked about the highlights of our trip to New Caledonia and how we would have to return sometime in the future.  Nothing more was mentioned of my relationship with Jin Ki, and after we had finished, and I helped wash the dishes, I bid my family good night before brushing my teeth and then going to bed.

As I was settling into bed, my phone rang on the nightstand.  Picking it up, I answered after looking at the caller id.

“Jin Ki oppa?”

“Annyoung.”

“Annyoung.”

I snuggled under the covers before listening to the phone again.

“Did you need something?”

“Nothing really.  I just wanted to hear your voice before going to sleep.”

“Oppa, you really are too cheesy…”

“Wae, dangsini geugeol joh-ahaji anhnayo?”

“Aniyo, gwen cha na.  I like to think that the former ice prince has gone mushy for me.”

I heard him chuckle after hearing me say that, and I had to do so as well.

“I suppose it is true, isn’t it?”

“Yup!”

I heard him chuckle again before his voice fell to silent. After a brief while, he spoke up again.

“Jagiya?”

“Mm?”

“You’re the best.”

“Oppa, why all of a sudden?”

“Just, my parents seem to like you.”

“Even your father?”

“Of course, he hasn’t fully accepted you yet, but I can tell he likes you…at least more than he did Hee Mi.”

“Oh, you introduced her to him before?”

“Yes…”

“…”

“You’re not mad, are you?”

“No, why would I be? I now have another thing over her: your dad actually somewhat likes me.”

“Jagiya, you know you never had to worry about having anything over her…you already won.”

“Chinchayo?”

“Key reom nyo!”

“Arasso.  Have your parents come home yet?”

“No, they’re coming home in a couple of days, which reminds me: My mother wants you to come over for dinner this weekend.”

“Really? Oh dear…”

“Wae? What are you worried about?”

“Just…I don’t know.”

“You know you did fine last time you met the both of them.”

“I can’t help but be nervous.”

“You’ll do fine, I know it.”

“Gomawayo.”

“Well, it is getting late.  I think we’d better go to sleep now.”

“Arasso, good night oppa.”

“Sweet dreams jagiya. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Mm.”

I waited for him to hang up first, but for some reason, I still heard his breathing on the other end.

“Oppa, I thought you were hanging up.”

“I was waiting for you to hang up first.”

“Oppa, you do it first.”

“No, you.”

“No, you.”

“No, you first.”

“Oppa….”

“Arasso, we’ll do it at the same time.  Hana, deul, set!”

I made no move to close my phone shut. I held my breath to see if he did, but I could tell he didn’t, because his breathing could still be heard.

“Jagiya, I know you’re still there.”

“Arasso, arasso.  I’ll hang up first.  Good night for real now Oppa.”

“Arasso jagiya.”

Pulling my phone away from my ear, I slide I shut and placed it on the nightstand before going to sleep.

The next day I woke up and got ready for school.  Going down to breakfast, I took out a muffin and a glass of milk before settling at the table where Appa was sitting reading the newspaper. Paying close attention, I realized that Jin Ki’s face was on the front of the page.

“Appa, is that today’s newspaper?”

He put the paper down and nodded.  Handing it over to me, I flipped to the article and read it.  It wasn’t bad, just talking about how Jae Min finally revealed his heir that he had been hiding for years, and what people were expecting from this new appearance.  Nothing about me in there, thank goodness.

“What do you think?”

“Well, they haven’t said anything derogatory yet, so I think we’re okay for now.  My name or face hasn’t popped up yet, so for now I’m going to relax, but not too much.”

“Arasso.  It’s almost time for you to go, so hurry up and finish your breakfast.”

“Deh.”

After finishing my breakfast, I went upstairs to freshen up before going out to school.  Grabbing my bag and books, I went downstairs to kiss Appa and Umma good bye before heading off.  I looked out the window first before going out.  I admit, I was being a little paranoid. Luckily, there was no one outside on the streets, except for a familiar car that I was accustomed to see every morning before school.

Exiting the house, I made my way to the car and let myself in.  Smiling, I buckled myself in and turned toward Jin Ki, who was looking at me amusedly.

“Why are you so happy?”

“Do I need a reason to be happy?”

“Well, no, but it would be nice to know why.”

“I’m just happy to day, that’s all.”

“Arasso.”

With that, he pecked my cheek before puttting the car in reverse as he backed out of his parking spot, and then drove away.  As we arrived near school, I had a feeling that there was something amiss.  When we pulled into the parking lot, the both of us got out and walked into school.  Holding hands, we walked down the hallway as we always did, but I could feel the stares on us.  It reminded me of the first couple of days when Jin Ki and I were seen together, and I didn’t welcome that feeling.  I was glad when it was over, but now that it was back again, I felt uncomfortable.

“Oppa, do you feel that?”

“I sure do…and I have an idea why.”

“Is it because of what happened over break?”

“Did you see the headlines?”

“Yeah, Appa showed me them this morning…how are you coping with it?”

“I’ll be fine.  It was bound to happen sooner or later.”

As we neared my class, a voice was heard throughout the hallway.

“Jin Ki Oppa!”

We both turned around and saw it was Hee Mi, who was making her way rapidly down the hallway toward us.  I looked at Jin Ki who had a hard look on his face, and braced myself as Hee Mi came upon us.

“Oppa, why did you not tell me about that?”

“Tell you about what?”

“About you being the heir to the Lee Dong company!”

The air became even more suffocating as the stares of the students became more intense.  I guess this was what they were talking about this whole morning, and now Hee Mi gave them the chance to confirm everything.  Jin Ki sighed and nodded.

“Yes, I am the heir, but what obligation did I have to tell you?”

“Well I’m your friend, aren’t I?”

“I’m sorry, when did you get that notation in your head? I haven’t considered you as a friend for years.”

Hee Mi’s face darkened for a moment before smiling at Jin Ki and then turning her steely gaze toward me, smirking as she spoke again.

“You, how long have you known about this?  He isn’t just bringing it up out of the blue, is he?”

“That is none of your concern Hee Mi, now if you’ll excuse us, we have class to get to. Kaja Oppa…”

We turned around and made away until Hee Mi’s voice stopped us again.

“You’re just a gold digger, aren’t you?”

I froze as I heard her say those words.  The murmurs of the students around us grew louder as they interpreted this new piece of information.  I turned around and glared at Hee Mi.

“No, as a matter of fact, I am not a gold digger.  If you must know, Jin Ki revealed this to me during Thanksgiving Break, so this is not out of the blue. Besides, Jin Ki and I had already decided to go out before that, so saying I’m a gold digger makes no sense.  I’m sorry that you have to say such things to make yourself feel better.”

I turned around and grabbed Jin Ki’s arm before half dragging him and stalking to class.  I couldn’t contain the anger that I felt.  I usually was a calm person, but hearing her call me a gold digger hit a nerve. Once we turned the corner, Jin Ki stopped and pulled me back, wrapping his arms around me.

“Jagiya, gwen cha na?”

I sighed and took a deep breath before nodding and smiling up at him.

“I’m fine. Just a little mad that she would say such a thing about me, even though I know she’s just saying out of jealousy.”

“Don’t let something like that bother you, arasso?”

“I’ll try, but no promises.”

“Arasso.  I’ll see you later, yeah?”

“Mm, bye Oppa.”

He smiled before pecking me on the lips and walking away.  The bell rang and I walked into class, feeling the stares of the early classmates on me.  Letting out a sigh, I walked over to my desk and sat down, preparing myself for the first day of school after break.  This wasn’t exactly how I imagined the first day back would be like.

End of Chapter 50...wow. Chapter 50, and I'm not even done yet :D

Hopefully I'll be able to end this story nicely, and keep you all interested.

PLEASE COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE!

<3 WinterRose

jay_rose: Yeah, apparently I somehow didn't have time to update during that 4 day period :/ Sorry and I hope you enjoyed this one :D

starlove: Sorry for making you wait so long :/ I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

ilovekpopp: I hope you like this chapter, and that you aren't too mad for the long wait!

MissLOLA1412: Thank you for not deserting me...I've had like 5 subscribers leave because I took too long :/

iheartlife: I don't know if this is exactly soon, but I hope you like the update anyway.

onsangtae: Something bad? Maybe, maybe not? No one is going to get hurt though...much xD

yowmemeng: Cool username! And thank you for liking my story :D

sachia: I hope you like this update :D

xXxKakusa-na-BaraxXx: I'm glad you like Onew's personality in this story.  I was aiming for something along the lines of calm and collected, different from the stereotypes of him being super hyper and chicken crazed.  And yes, it would be kind of funny to insert his sangtae in here, though I might not fit the personality I've constructed for him so far xD