Chapter 18

“Tiffany, honey, may we come in?”

Tiffany, who couldn’t sleep due to the excitement induced by her trip to Seoul tomorrow, immediately leaped from her bed. She raced to the door with a smile big enough to split her face in two, “Mom!” She squealed, as she gave her mom a bear hug, “Dad & I are going to Seoul tomorrow. Mom, you definitely have to come with us. I want to introduce you to Yunho Oppa. I’m sure you two will hit it off. He’s such a marvelous guy. I admit that he needs a lot of training in the romance department, you should hear how he proposed to me but other than that, he’s so exciting, funny, gorgeous &...”

Her tirades were cut off by her mother’s laughter, “I know, sweetie, I know. You have the greatest guy god had ever created & no other man can ever be compared to him, right?” She teased, causing a sheepish smile & a blush to shyly bloom on Tiffany’s face.

“Hey! What do you mean by that?!” A deep voice suddenly complained, “Were you saying that even I can’t be compared to that Jung?! I will let you know, miss & Mrs. Hwang, that I’m a thousand times better!”

A perfectly arched eyebrow rose as his wife pretended to give him a measuring look from hair to toe. Playing his part, he glowered at her & then advanced towards her threateningly. Giggling, Tiffany flung herself into her father’s arm, “You two are equally wonderful & gorgeous.” Then she softly whispered to her mother, “Well, maybe Yunho Oppa is a little bit more.”

“I heard that.”

The female giggled as Mr. Hwang sighed in exasperation & resignation. When the laughter subsided, Mrs. Hwang cleared & circled her arms around Tiffany, “The thing is, Fany, I don’t think tomorrow is a good time to go to Seoul. Your old dad here forgot that it’s your cousin’s wedding tomorrow so we will have to go meet my future son-in-law the day after tomorrow. You think you can manage without seeing Yunho for one more day?”

“Of course she can.” Mr. Hwang said proudly, “She’s my daughter, isn’t she? & what do you mean by calling him future son-in-law? I haven’t accepted him yet.”

“Dad.”

“Not until I deemed him good enough for you, sweetie, which I don’t think he is. Nobody’s good enough for my baby.” He winked at her & chuckled as he saw her pout.

Mrs. Hwang shot her husband a look & pulled her daughter to sit beside her, “Don’t listen to your father. Let’s talk about happier stuff instead. Like your impending wedding. Have you thought who you want to design for your dress? & where do you want the wedding to be held? Here or Seoul?”

Mr. Hwang only shook his head as his wife & daughter got engrossed with flowers, cakes & caterers. Why they would talk about a wedding that might not happen was beyond him. He opened his mouth to voice his opinion when his cell phone beeped.

When his hand reached the top of the gate, Yunho wanted to pump his fist into the air & guffaw with victory but remembered what he was doing & at where he was perching, he settled on a soft chuckle & a wide grin. He had spent an hour planning his climb & choosing his spot & he had spent another hour to get where he was. The screaming muscles, the agonizing groaned & the heated curses that had accompanied him during his duties all flew away from his mind the moment his hand gripped the topmost spiky iron. He looked at the house some distance away & grinned, ‘Tiffany, here I come. Your bruised, sore, dirty & yet, still charming knight.’ He whispered in his mind, somehow hoping that she could hear him through her heart. Holding his breath, Yunho pulled one of his legs from its station with extra care & lifted it up, ready to cross it over to the other side.

“Freeze!” Like an explosive, the commanding sound tore his eardrums & made all the muscles in his body followed the given order, “Come down now or I will have to shoot you.” Out of nowhere, a cop had already stood below him, aiming his gun at his most vulnerable spot which was made even more exposed with the position he was in.

With a girlish squeal, with a man’s instinct, he quickly placed his hands to protect what was being threatened & realized what he had foolishly done when he toppled like a dead tree. He hit the grassy ground with a thud & a grunt & quickly rolled his body to reduce the impact of the fall. He’s surely going to feel the mother of all aches caused by the drop tomorrow, he thought fleetingly, groaning as he tried to get back on his feet but before he could make another move, something cold, something that seemed like a gun, had already been pressed on his back.

“You are under arrest for breaking & entering. Now, let’s go, you punk.”

Cautious not to make any sudden move, Yunho still tried to object to the arrest, “Wait a minute, sir. I can explain. It’s not what it seems like.”

“Oh? Then tell me this. Are you the owner of this property? Perhaps you accidentally locked yourself out & the servants were playing a trick on you like not opening the gate even after you threatened to castrate them?” Even without looking at him, Yunho knew the cop was sneering at him.

Deciding to be civil, Yunho tried to make his voice even & reasonable, “Well, you see, my fiance lives here &.” He mumbled, under his breath, “& I was just trying to be romantic.”

It turns out that the cop had heard his mumble for he immediately hooted in laughter before Yunho could clarify things any further but Yunho let it slid.

“What’s your name?”

“Jung Yunho.” He answered quickly.

“Joowon, Shiwoo here. Hey, sorry to call you this late but there’s something happening in front of your gate here. I was on my way home when I saw some guy trying to enter your property by climbing the gate. He claimed his name is Jung Yunho & he’s your daughter’s fiance.”

Mr. Hwang almost choked on his breath as he heard his poker buddy who’s also the chief of LAPD words. Instinctively, after sneaking a glance at his wife & daughter, he sneaked out to the terrace.

Looking at where the gate was, although he couldn’t see anyone from here, he said, “Shiwoo, did you say Jung Yunho?”

“Yeah. Jung Yunho. Do you know him?”

“Wait, let me think.” Mr. Hwang said, pursing his lips. Jung, the guy who had taken his baby’s heart is here? Is it because he really loves her & wants her back? Or because he knows who her parents are & couldn’t bear to let go of the fortune that’s almost in his grasps? What kind of guy is the real Jung Yunho like? A slow smile suddenly curved his lips. What better time to find out than now? He’s the girls father after all & that gives him the right to make his daughter’s fiance go through a little bit of hell, right?

“Shiwoo, I need your help.” He said, mentally putting his director’s hat on.

“Okay, I’m listening.”

“I want you to keep him overnight. I don’t think he will scream about getting himself a lawyer. He wouldn’t want to offend his future-in-laws. Tomorrow morning, I will send Chanyeol there as my legal representative & then.” His voice lowered as he revealed his plan to his friend. When he disconnected the phone a minute later, he had a big wide grin on his face. Whistling, he walked back to where his wife & daughter were still going on with the wedding plan. Smiling, he sat on his wife’s side & started teasing them away from that particular topic, because whether or not there’s going to be a wedding would depend on how tomorrow played out. Oh, he had a feeling that it’s going to be a very exciting day indeed.