Chapter Fifteen:

 

Taecyeon stood in front of Namu, a five-star restaurant in Seoul. He checked his watch and sighed. He was waiting for his blind date, unsure of what to expect.

 

Taecyeon spotted a girl walking towards him, strutting cockily and flipping her hair.

 

The girl looked at him and gasped.

 

“Excuse me...but are you...Ok Taecyeon?”

 

Taecyeon nodded coldly.

 

“You must be...Bae Suzy.”

 

The girl squealed happily.

 

“Yes, yes!” She took his hand. “I can’t believe you’re my blind date! I thought my dad hooked me up with a dorky, nerdy, ugly business dude.”

 

The two sat down at a table inside and ordered their food.

 

Suzy stared at him with adoring eyes. Taecyeon stared at his glass of wine.

 

‘Why the heck did I even agree to this “arranged marriage” thing?’ He glanced out the window. Across the street was the Mocha House: the place Yoona and Taeyeon worked. He thought back to finding out that Yoona was pregnant...with HIS kid.

 

‘How could I not know about my own child?’

 

Suzy noticed Taecyeon staring at the cafe.

 

“Wanna go grab a coffee after eating?” She asked, slyly reaching for Taec’s hand.

 

Taecyeon turned.

 

“What? Uh, no.” He moved his hand away.

 

Suzy looked a bit disappointed but nodded.

 

Their order came out and the two ate. Suzy kept chattering about her mansion, her luxury car, her ex-boyfriend, etc. Taecyeon stared at his food and wished that Suzy could shut and be quiet like Yoona.

 

After they finished, Taecyeon paid for the meal and opened the door for Suzy.

 

They stepped outside.

 

“What do you wanna do now, oppa?” Suzy asked. Taecyeon glanced at her.

 

“We met less than two hours ago and you’re already calling me ‘oppa’?”

 

Suzy smiled. “It’s practice for the future.” She leaned in. “You do know we are going to be married, right?”

 

Taecyeon gulped.

 

“Yeah…”

 

Suzy tugged on his arm and grinned. “Oppa….oppa!”

 

Taecyeon shoved her arm away.

 

“It’s not like I agreed to this stupid marriage. I was forced to.”

 

Suzy looked hurt. “Even so, you should still act nice. Who shoves a girl like that?”

 

Just then, Taecyeon saw Yoona and Taeyeon walk out of the Mocha House. He stared at the two girls. They were laughing as they walked down the crosswalk towards Suzy and Taecyeon.

 

“Oh!” Suzy pointed at the girls. “It’s Taeyeon!”

 

Taecyeon looked at Suzy.

 

“You KNOW her?”

 

Suzy nodded. “She’s my cousin.”

 

“What?!”

 

Suzy stretched her neck.

 

“I wonder who that girl next to her is…”

 

Taeyeon and Yoona reached the end of the crosswalk and walked down the sidewalk. Taeyeon looked up and gasped.

 

“S-Suzy!” Taeyeon turned her head. “O-Ok Taecyeon?”

 

Suzy smiled and hugged her cousin.

 

“Ah! It’s so nice to see you, Taengoo!” She looked at Yoona. “Hi! I’m Taeyeon’s cousin, Suzy.”

 

Yoona bowed slightly.

 

“Ah...it’s nice to meet you.”

 

Yoona avoided Taecyeon’s eyes.

 

Taecyeon, on the other hand, was trying to make direct eye contact with Yoona.

 

“Suzy...why are you with Ok Taecyeon?” Taeyeon asked.

 

Suzy looked at her cousin. “Oh, you know him?”

 

Taeyeon looked down. “Ah, no. We attended the same high school.” She gestured towards Yoona. “All three of us did.”

 

Suzy smiled. “Well, Taec oppa is my boyfriend.” She grabbed his hand.

 

Yoona stared. Taeyeon was shocked. Taecyeon glared at Suzy.

 

“Who says I’m your boyfriend?”

 

Suzy rolled her eyes. “Our PARENTS. After all, we ARE going to get married within the year.”

 

Taeyeon stared. “What? You two...are getting...MARRIED?!”

 

Yoona looked down at the ground.

 

Taecyeon glanced at Yoona and let go of Suzy’s hand.

 

“I, uh, have to go.” He bit his lip. “Bye.”

 

He walked towards Yoona and as he walked by, his shoulder gently nudged her arm.

 

“O-oppa!” Suzy yelled. She stamped her foot. “Ugh! How could he just leave like that? He better not be like that once we are married!”

 

Taeyeon glanced at Yoona, who seemed uncomfortable. She turned towards Suzy.

 

“Suzy...I don’t think you should marry that guy.”

 

Suzy raised an eyebrow.

 

“Why not? He’s handsome...and he’s the son of a rich company.”

 

Taeyeon looked down.

 

“He...he might be hiding something. He might not be the person you think he is.”

 

Suzy rolled her eyes.

 

“What could he be hiding?”

 

Just then, Suzy’s phone rang. She pulled out her iPhone and answered.

 

“Hello? Ugh...ok….ok….fine. I’m coming!”

 

She threw her phone into her purse and looked around for a taxi.

 

“I have to go. Sunye is having MAJOR manicure problems.” Suzy smiled. “It was nice seeing you again, cousin.” She patted Yoona’s back and gestured towards her stomach. “Take care of your kid.”

 

Suzy turned and waved, catching a taxi.

 

“Bye!”

 

Taeyeon smiled weakly.

 

“Bye…”

 

Suzy got into the cab and sped off. Taeyeon shut her eyes.

 

“No, no, no, no, no...my cousin is NOT going to get married to that jerk…” She sighed and hugged Yoona. “Yoona, I’m sorry…”

 

Yoona smiled lightly. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

 

Taeyeon wiped her eyes. “My cousin...and Taec-...that guy…”

 

“It’s fine.” Yoona said.

 

Taeyeon shut her eyes.

 

“It’s NOT fine! I’m NOT gonna let my cousin marry that jerk!” She rubbed Yoona’s back. “For the sake of your child...and for the sake of my cousin...I’m going to stop this marriage from happening. I promise.”

 

Nickhun was at eMart, the local supermarket. He grabbed a basket and walked around the store, buying some food items and drinks for home.

He paid for his items and then sat in the supermarket’s food court, eating some kimbap and drinking Bacchus energy drink.

 

Suddenly, a familiar girl appeared in front of him.

 

“Khun oppa?”

 

Nickhun broke out into a grin.

 

“Tiff!”

 

For some reason, seeing Tiffany made Khun feel happy. He gestured for her to sit down in the seat in front of him.

 

“Wow...you’ve gotten so tan.” Tiffany said.

 

Khun smiled. “Yeah...I was outside a lot in Thailand.”

 

Tiffany reached for a kimbap and ate it. She glanced at Khun, who seemed more goodlooking than usual.

 

“So...how have you been?” Khun asked, sipping his drink.

 

Tiffany shrugged. “Fine.”

 

Nickhun nodded. “That’s good.”

 

There was a small silence. Tiffany glanced at Khun.

 

“You’re not gonna ask about her?”

 

Khun looked at Tiffany.

 

“Who?”

 

Tiffany picked up another kimbap.

 

“Im Yoona.”

 

Nickhun bit his lip.

 

“I assume she and Taec are happy together right now.”

 

Tiffany stared at him.

 

“You don’t care about her anymore?”

 

“I mean, I care about her but I know she has Taec by her side now.”

 

Tiffany suddenly felt impelled to tell Khun about Yoona and Taec’s break up. She wanted to tell him about Yoona’s pregnancy.

 

“Why ask?” Khun questioned.

 

“Ah...nothing.” Tiffany said quickly. “I just wanted to tell you that Yoona and I have a, uh, decent friendship now.”

 

Khun smiled.

 

“That’s good.” He sighed. “Speaking of friendships, I should meet up with Taec later. I don’t know if he knows I’m back from Thailand yet.”

 

Tiffany nodded. Khun looked at her.

 

“I have a question for you. Do you...do you still have feelings for Ok Taecyeon?”

 

Tiffany felt her heartbeat as Nickhun leaned in close to her. She felt herself blush.

 

“U-um…” She looked down. “I don’t really know.”

 

“What do you mean you don’t know? You either like him or you don’t.” Khun said.

 

Tiffany bit her lip.

 

“I guess...time being away from him has taken it’s toll on me, too. I don’t really give much thought about him anymore.”

 

Khun was satisfied to hear that.

 

“That’s good.”

 

Tiffany raised an eyebrow.

 

“How is that good?”

 

“Now you can start focusing on other guys. Guys you can spend the rest of your life with.”

 

“You mean, like, my future HUSBAND?”

 

Khun winked.

 

“I meant someone like me.”

 

He stood and slung his shopping bags over his shoulder. He waved.

 

“See ya, Tiff.”

 

He strolled out of the market coolly. Tiffany stared as Khun walked away. She felt her heart racing and her cheeks were warm.

 

“What...just happened?”