"Omma." He acknowledged after seeing their home phone number on the caller ID and placed the phone on speaker. He's getting ready for a business meeting and was fixing his white satin cravat in front of the dresser. He left the Geum household more than a year ago much to his mother's opposition. But he got his step father's support. Geum Chin Hae's his father for all intents and purposes and he loves him like his own. Maybe because Chin Hae treated him like his own son too after he took them in. His father died when he was barely an infant and his mother remarried a couple of years later.

=Yi Jeong-ah, eotteohke jinaeseyo?(how are you?)= Yi Jeong closed his eyes tight. He doesn't like it when his mother's asking how he is doing first. That's her usual dialogue when she's about to drop a bomb.

"Jaljinaeyo(Im fine, thanks). And yourself?" He managed to ask. "Is there a problem?" She won't usually call him early in the morning just to ask him about something as trivial as him being 'fine'.

=Aniyo(No). . .I just wanted to invite you for dinner tonight. Can you?= She said but he was still doubtful. If it's not a problem then she's up to match-making him to one her friends' daughters again. He pushed the mute button for a moment and cursed under his breath.

"I am not sure, Omma. . ." He replied noncommitally. "I'm still lacking material for my next exhibit." He said.

=I really am not asking if you could come So Yi Jeong, I am ORDERING you to come. We have a major family crisis and I need you here tonight. Do you get me?=

Yi Jeong could not believe his ears. When was the last time his mother used that tone? High school? "What happened?" He asked worriedly. He picked the handset, setting the gel bottle aside.

=I can't tell you on the phone. If you're not here at 7pm, I'll burn that art gallery of yours, Yi Jeong. And I am not kidding.= Then the line got disconnected. He swallowed hard. This must be really serious. And he could only guess about the 'major family crisis'.

He can't blame his mother though for threatening him like that. He avoided being home like a plague eversince he bought his own house. His mother, being a spoiled housewife that she is, doesn't have anything to do at home but to dote on him and Jan Di, his sister. She meant well in everything she does but sometimes it becomes irritating. That's why when he found the 4000 sq ft penthouse near the gallery that he inherited from his late father, he expressed his utter desire to move out and fend for himself.

But still, his mother can find ways to keep him at bay. Just like today. He sighed.

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"You're old enough. Why can't you decide for yourself?" She reasoned. Jan Di's been supporting herself since college, she may not be as rich as Yi Jeong or her parents but she's definitely well off even without Geum Textiles under her belt. "Just tell them your decision and stick with it." They were in an exclusive restaurant in Insadong and Ga Eul expressed her awkwardness about her suggestion that she talks to her family. Even if Chung Ae treats her like her own daughter, she can't meddle with family affairs, can she?

"My mother listens to you more than she does to me, remember?" Jan Di let out a bitter laugh. It was difficult that nobody in your family seems to give importance in whatever it was that you have to say.

Ga Eul sighed heavily. Jan Di started rebelling when she was in high school. Being compared to an overachieving and not to mention famous big brother was not something she was able to handle well. And since she was born with a silver spoon in , people usually go out of their way to please Jan Di. And she loathes it. "Alright." She gave in. "But."

Jan Di's smile froze. "What?" She scratched her head. Ga Eul grinned. Nobody would think that the supermodel Geum Jan Di scratches her head in an unladylike manner when she's annoyed.

"Only if they come to me looking for you." She won't go to the Geum mansion just to receive belittling comments from Yi Jeong. Again.

[flashback]

"Annyeong hasseyo (Hi)." Ga Eul jumped up in fright upon hearing that voice. She turned slowly and found a guy in a dark gray suit and she has never looked underdressed in her white mini dress and silver flats, the most appropriate dress that she could find in her closet. It was Jan Di's birthday and she was not expecting she lives in this over the top mansion in one of the exclusive villages in the Songpa district. She just realized that Jan Di IS the heiress to the Geum Textiles. At school, she talks and acts like she doesn't care at all.

She bowed slightly and didn't say anything. The butler left her in the great room to inform Jan Di of her arrival. And she started fidgeting the second she lost sight of him. And this one who just appeared from nowhere is no better. He was deliberately staring at her like she was some kind of a specimen under a microscope.

"Yi Jeong imnida (I am Yi Jeong), you are?" He asked, totally ignoring her uneasiness. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and there was a mocking but gorgeous smile on his face.

"I'm Ga Eul. Nice to meet you Yi Jeong-sunbae." She's sure this man's older than her.

"I see you've met my brother. Oppa, this is Chu Ga Eul, my best friend. Ga Eul-yang, this is Yi Jeong-oppa." Jan Di appeared from nowhere, looking so delectable in her little black dress and gold stilletos. Her face that's usually bare was subtly made up. She wished she has put some lipstick instead of lip gloss. She looked like a high schooler in her get up.

"B-brother?" He doesn't look like Jan Di at all.

"I know what you're thinking." Jan Di smiled knowingly. "He's my half-brother."

Ga Eul nodded absently. "Anyway, saengil chukha hamnida." And handed her a box. She's uncomfortable seeing her brother looking at her intently still. *It's rude to stare!* She wanted to say.

"I thought she's here to teach catechesis." He snorted and her face turned red instantly.

"As if your soul can be saved by it." Jan Di retorted. "She's my guest, don't mess with her." She warned and dragged her out of the great room.

The rest of the evening went fine and it turned out to be just a small gathering of people close to Jan Di. And she was surprised to see that she's the only friend that she invited and the three good looking guys that aren't family were Yi Jeong's friends.

Though Jan Di's parents weren't anything like the rich snobs often featured on TV, she can't help but feel the absolute difference in their social status. Everything that she laid her eyes on screamed luxury that she's not familiar of.

"So, Ga Eul-sshi, are you in the same school as Jan Di?" Chung Ae asked.

"Ne, Ahjumma (Yes, Auntie). We do have different courses though." She answered politely. Jan Di was taking Economics while she's taking Mass Communication.

"Do you join her escapades in the restroom too?" It was her brother Yi Jeong who just earned a death glare from Jan Di. His friends laughed and her face reddened. If it's from embarrassment or annoyance, she didn't know. But just for Jan Di's birthday, she kept mum and just settled in gritting her teeth.

"Yi Jeong-ah!" Their mother in a reprimanding tone. "If only for you, I am glad that Jan Di got kicked out of Shin Hwa. This is the first time that she invited a friend over, you know." Chung Ae laughed daintily. She heard the one introduced as Jun Pyo clear his throat. She will learn later that he's the son of the chairman of Shin Hwa Group.

The party continued and Jan Di had too many drinks to drive. Her family invited her to stay for the night but she declined. Her aunt would surely worry. Jan Di was about to ask one of their drivers to take her home when her insolent brother stepped up and offered her a ride.

"Let me take Ga Eul home." He said in firm tone.

"Shuuuure!" Jan Di readily agreed in a slurred voice. She even tapped her brother's cheek playfully. "Take good care of Ga Eul, araso?(okay?)" And she winked at her that she wanted to protest.

They rode in silence and even if his Maserati Granturismo's really warm and stately, she can't really explain the discomfort that she felt. For a long moment, it's just the faint sound of the heating system that dominates the atmosphere.

"Let us grab a bite first, shall we?" He broke the silence.

"Why?" She asked in an indifferent tone. Truth was, she's really hungry. Even if there are more than enough food on the party, she wasn't able to eat well. But she would rather die than to admit that.

"Well, you look hungry." Her eyes widened in disbelief. She could swear he's the most despicable person she has ever met. In her peripheral vision, she saw him smiling. The nerve of this guy!

"Thanks, but no thanks. I am afraid that if you'll feed me, that'll give you more opportunity to make fun of me." She retorted. "This ride is enough favor." She added.

"I am not making fun of you." He denied but he was laughing fully.

"Yeah, right." She smirked. "Take exit 7A and left on business forty." She instructed when she saw that they're already approaching their village. After a few minutes, the car stopped into a halt in front of their tiny home. Her ribcage almost shattered because of the impact. If not for the seatbelt, she'll be nursing a bump in the head. She sighed heavily and counted from one to ten to calm herself. "Komawoyo(Thank you)." She managed to say even if she wanted to hit him with her clutch.

"Don't thank me. I did it for my sister. So that I'll know where she'll be when she stows away." He grinned and revved the engine of his sports car up that he almost woke their whole community.

"HEY!" Jan Di snapped her fingers in front of Ga Eul. "You are spacing out." She declared and that ended her trip down memory lane. Since then, whenever they bump into each other, she would just act indifferent or she'll end up as a means for his entertainment again.

"Sorry?" She blinked twice. "You were saying. . ?"

Jan Di sighed in exasperation. "I'll be leaving for Cheju tomorrow. I trust that you won't tell them where I am, right?" Her voice was unsure.

"Why don't you face them now instead of running away?" Her brows furrowed. Well, it won't really be running away 'cause as far as she can remember, Song Woo Bin, one of Yi Jeong friends, owns half of Cheju Island. It would be too easy for her family to know Jan Di's there.

"I am not running away." She corrected in a stern voice. "I just wanted to think things over and relax. Would you want to join me?" She asked.

"I hate to let you alone especially in times like this but you know that I have to work." She said and took a sip of her kiwi juice.

Jan Di rolled her eyes. "Why don't you look for another job? You're overworked and underpaid." She waved off any protests from Ga Eul. "Will you stay there until you're demented?" Ga Eul works as a staff writer for Korean dramas. She hates to know that those dramas makes a lot of money and they even export it all over Asia but Ga Eul's salary remains the same.

"I love my job." She said weakly.

"Uhuh. Tell me something I don't know." Was the sarcastic reply. "How many better offers you have to turned down just for that job?"

"It's just that I don't see myself in another job. Not right now, araso?(okay?) Now, can we go back to the matter at hand? Aish!" She pouted.

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**omma-mother
**oppa-literally means older brother in Korean though a lot of Korean females call their boyfriends Oppa too