Mandy and Ji Hoo sat at the coffee table and ate their breakfast in uncomfortable silence.

“Are they good?” Ji Hoo asked Mandy, trying to start a conversation.

She just nodded and continued eating.

“Your alarm clock was set at 5 in the morning, so I woke up early but didn’t want to disturb you; so I transferred you to your room and thought that we could skip the classes for today”

“Okay” she simply said, without even looking at him

“And I also wanted to ask if you would go out with me?”

This got her attention and she looked at him with a deer-caught-in-headlights expression.

“Sorry; I had to say that to get your attention” Ji Hoo smiled at her and she melted.

She playfully hit him on his arm and smiled back at him.

“But I did want to apologize for last night; I’m so so sorry. I didn’t know what came over me; the whole setting out of context just looked wrong and so…” he said

“It’s okay” Mandy said lightly

“No, it’s not okay. I was too rude, too harsh; punish me” he said, getting up from his seat and kneeling besides her.

“What are you; a five year old? You learnt your lesson and all’s well now so there is no need for any punishment.”

“But I really am sorry” Ji Hoo said “I didn’t mean anything I said. The part of you staying in the States and the name calling; I’m really sorry for everything.”

“I know that, so get up and finish your breakfast that is really good by the way” Mandy commented

“Thanks”

“Where did you get the idea?”

“I searched on the internet for popular North Indian breakfasts, and this one seemed the easiest.”

“Yeah, it is; did you find the ingredients easily?”

“Took me about an hour to scour your whole kitchen for the things, but I managed”

“Good”

“But I’m going to make it up to you somehow”

“No need; I already forgave you last night. When I see it from your viewpoint, I guess it is my fault.”

“What are you talking about? How is any of this your fault?”

“Do you know the reason I left the US?” Mandy asked, getting up and putting the dirty dishes in the sink.

“No; you never told me”

“The circumstances that led to my withdrawal from there were very similar to this one”

“How?”

“You know how I always talk openly and act very freely around people; well I was just like that there too. One of my professors was a really cool guy and was really friendly at first, but saw my openness as me flirting with him. So one day when I was talking to him after class, he made a pass at me. I didn’t give it much thought at first but slowly he became bolder and one day he crossed the line; he tried to kiss me. I then and there told him that he was misunderstanding my friendliness and that I wasn’t interested in him. So I was leaving the room, when he grabbed me from behind and locked the door. I knocked him over my shoulder and warned him to stay away from me or I would tell everyone. But he said that nobody was going to believe me. That if I told anyone, he would say that I was the one who hit on him and when he refused my advances, I told everybody lies, to get revenge.”

Ji Hoo was furious at the so called teacher and wanted to smash his head into a wall.

Mandy continued on with her story “So I told my classmates what had happened, trying to collect as much support for when I filed my complaint. At first a lot of people were with me, but when the ruling day came, everyone turned against me. I later found out that they all had been threatened that their grades would get affected if they testified in my favor. After that incident I couldn’t wait to get out of there. I had no reason to stay there anymore, no one was with me; no friends, no family. So I gave my finals, spent my holidays at home and came here for the final year.”

Ji Hoo wanted to cry, he knew too well that he would be nothing without his friends’ support. Mandy carried on with her explanation.

“And you know I think they were right in their reasons. Why would they help a girl like me? I put up that sort of an image that they couldn’t trust me, so I don’t really blame them. The problem is with me not them”

“Would you just stop already” Ji Hoo interjected loudly

He stood up from his chair and went over to where she was standing near the sink. He took her face into his hands and looked her directly in the eyes. “There is nothing wrong with you, do you understand me? Nothing wrong! That teacher of yours was wrong; those so called friends of yours were wrong for not trusting you; I was wrong for not trusting you. But you are not wrong, and don’t you even dare change because of what others think; you are perfect just the way you are.”

Tears had started rolling down Mandy’s cheeks as she heard Ji Hoo’s declaration. She hugged him tightly and held onto him for a good 10 minutes.

When she ended the hug, Ji Hoo lightly said “But there is 1 flaw in you”

“What would that be?”

“You forgive too easily; a person says sorry once and you forgive them in an instant”

“I don’t like holding grudges over little things; I try to understand the other person’s point of view and act accordingly.”

“Well it has worked in my favor till now, let’s see afterwards, but I’d like to ask one thing”

“What?”

“Where were you last night? Your phone was on voicemail and you weren’t responding to any messages. We couldn’t even find you in any familiar places.”

“We?” Mandy asked raising her eyebrows

“I came here yesterday with flowers and ice cream, to apologize to you; but you weren’t home. So I told everyone in the F4 that I couldn’t find you. All the men included, more than a hundred people were looking for you last night. Where were you that we couldn’t find you?”

“A 100 people?!”

“More than a hundred; but you didn’t answer my question. Even Woo Bin’s men couldn’t find you, and they know each and every place in the city.”

“But didn’t Bhai put two of his men on my tail?”

“You knew?”

“Yeah, they weren’t really good at hiding, but I appreciated the gesture so didn’t say anything.”

“They had the day off because you were with us. But that still doesn’t answer my question.” He said impatiently. He was eager to find out where she had hidden that the best men in Seoul couldn’t find her.

“Well if you look at it, it was really a very obvious place for me to go. But when you look at it’s not so obvious too, because I never told you the whole history …” she kept mumbling

“I cannot comprehend a word you are saying”

“How about I take you there someday? It would be easier to show you than explain to you” Mandy finally said

“So when can we go?”

“Not now, I got my fill yesterday; I only go there when I’m missing home”

“Is it a restaurant?”

“No, it’s not a restaurant; it’s much better and homely than a restaurant. I promise I’ll take you there someday. But what do we do today?”

“Anything you like” he smiled at her

“Anything?” she asked excitedly like a kid

“Yes, anything”

She smiled “I think I have an idea, but you have to promise to help me”

“Okay” Ji Hoo said. He didn’t know what was on her mind, but he knew one thing; he would do anything to make up to her.