Two days prior to the date set-up incident...

Woohyun stared intently at the photograph now in his hands. Its bent edges, crumpled texture, uneven creases, and browning color could only attest to how long its been locked away in an attic all this time, forgotten. His fingers ended up tracing three familiar faces on it: his Uncle Jinki, his Aunt Sunyoung and his cousin Henry (who looked like he had barely turned two here). His gaze now locked on to two unfamiliar people standing beside his relatives. Although he had the least inkling on who they were, they were now bound to become of utmost importance to him. Their valuable witness had identified the middle-aged couple as a certain Mr. and Mrs. Hong, who were allegedly close to his relatives.

There was a curt knock on the office door and the family's business secretary, Jang Mari, entered with her clipboard in her hands. "I have seen to Ms. Seo's departure, sir. Her contact details have been collected should we need to speak with her again. She says she's open to further questions and sends you her best regards," she briefed. However, Woohyun had not been paying attention, too absorbed in the photograph he was holding. "Sir? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Woohyun eased, straightening up from his seat. "I guess I'm a little overwhelmed by all of this, but I'm fine. Sorry."

"What's our next plan of action, sir?"

"Notify the investigators and arrange for an immediate trip to Jeonju; now that we've got a specific location down, all we need is to do is find Mr. and Mrs. Hong. As much as I'd like to handle this personally, it would be too suspicious at home if I'll be missing for awhile-- Seulbi is particularly sharp and would immediately start to question. But I will follow as soon as possible once I see the need to," the Nam heir concluded. "Have an extra car for me on standby. That would be all for now, Miss Mari. Thank you for your hard work!"

"Understood. And you're welcome sir," noted Mari as she jotted down the new tasks laid out for her on her clipboard. There was a look of hesitancy on her face the moment she looked back up. "Ummmm... sir? If you don't mind me asking; shall we be notifying Kim Sunggyu-ssi of this?"

"With abeonim secretly setting him up and all, the last thing that guy needs right now is another reason for a mental breakdown," Woohyun quipped before letting out an amused chuckle. "I'll take the responsibility of informing him... but when the time for it is right. He has every right to know after all."

♠ TWENTY THREE ♠ 

The car ride to the restaurant that Seulbi had suggested was rather quiet. What made it more quiet was the fact that it was just the two of them on the trip. Seulbi managed to swindle the car reigns from Shimgoon for the night after promising they’d be back by midnight. Sunggyu refused to meet Seulbi’s eye and stared out the window for the whole duration with his arms crossed.

On the other hand, Seulbi remained very calm about her companion's little tantrum. When she wasn’t concentrating on the road, her eyes often landed on Sunggyu, observing his every move in great amusement. She could see how tense and fidgety he was in his seat. Clearly, he was very VERY uncomfortable about the whole date proxy idea that she had. Seulbi thought that he could actually be adorably cute… if he wasn’t such a naggy prick most of the time. And now, look! She was even spouting curse word after curse word since Sunggyu came into her life, but in all honesty, it was a welcome change. The heiress couldn’t help but laugh lightly to herself at the thought.

Sunggyu frowned even more after hearing her small sniggers but didn't bother speaking up. What on earth is the devil’s spawn laughing about this time?

He reminded himself that putting up with the heiress at all times was part of the job description, and if he threw in the towel now, he was giving up his future, Little Haven's future. He only had to hold out whatever was left of his patience for just a little bit more and he’ll be out of this sooner than he expected.



CLOSED. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

Dismal, the two stood outside one of the most high-end authentic Japanese ramen house. And the first words that Sunggyu spouted after being completely silent for the whole car trip were, “Wow. Great restaurant choice!” It didn't help that his tone was dripping with sarcasm.

“Gee, thanks! How was I supposed to know that their staff went out on an anniversary MT today?”

The two ended up in another glaring match once again. Sunggyu was the first one to break it off, crossing his arms as he tapped his foot against the pavement. “Why’d you decide to hang out a fancy restaurant anyway? Tacky and too cliché for a first date idea, if you ask me."

“Hmmm, let's see... maybe it’s because I’m actually hungry?!?” an irate Seulbi snapped at him. “Do you have anything better to suggest then, mister? Call me when you’ve thought of something genius!”

Her heels clacked against the pavement as she marched back towards the car. Although her crisp white top and high-waist flare skirt with the knee-length hemline were staple to Seulbi's usual wardrobe, the beige heels were a surprise for the night. Sunggyu bit his inner cheek to prevent himself from laughing out loud as she took tiny, clumsy steps down the inclined plane. He noticed that she was unstable and was walking with difficulty, telling him that contrary to her heiress image, she wasn't used to walking around in high heels. How on earth did she even drive around if she was that uncomfortable with her footwear? Also, she was too thinly dressed for a cool spring night-- it must have been why she was craving for hot soup at this time.

Taking pity on the heiress, Sunggyu cleared his throat to catch her attention. "What if I told you I already have something in mind?"

"Really? You do?" stammered Seulbi. This time, it was the heiress turn to be all flustered and Sunggyu's turn to be all smug about it.

"Yeah. But first, let's get your feet out of those walking torture contraptions you call heels," Sunggyu added, pointing to her footwear.

<<<<< >>>>>

It was around half past ten in the evening but the district streets were still bustling and packed with people, young and old, men and women, locals and foreigners alike. Whilst Myeongdong was a little high-end with all the international brands scattered around the area, this one was more of an open market, with stalls lined up here and there. There was a wide variety of products being sold as well-- from food, to clothes, to toys, to household goods-- this place had it all!

Unable to hold in her curiousity, Seulbi tapped Sunggyu on the shoulder. "Where are we?" she half-yelled to him over the crowd.

"Hey, do you really live in Seoul or not?" asked Sunggyu as he looked at her in disbelief. The lost expression on her face told him everything he needed to know. How could she fail to recognize one of the largest commercial shopping districts in the country? "Well then, it's your lucky day! Welcome to Dongdaemun Market!"

Seulbi ooh-ed and aah-ed, amazed by the ambience and the sheer amount of people. "It's still packed this late into the night."

"It's open all around the clock, unlike Myeongdong and the rest of the shopping malls. Different sections here have their working hours at different times of the day," Sunggyu explained. "That open area there is the original traditional market place; modernization brought those big malls like Doota over there. It's got a variety of random items for sale at pretty negotiable prices, which is why it's famous among locals and tourists. And it's as they say-- if you can't find it in Dongdaemun, then you probably won't find it anywhere else in the world!"

"Tell me, how much did they pay you for advertising, Sunggyu? I'll triple the fee so you can do one for Woollim," the heiress sniggered at her own joke. "You sure know a lot about this place."

"When I arrived here in Seoul from Jeonju to make a living for myself, this was one of the job openings I came across, so I took it in order to make extra cash. But then I decided I didn't want to spend the rest of my life holed up inside a stock room," Sunggyu explained, nudging her when she had grown too quiet all of a sudden. "Don't give me that long look. It's fine, I don't mind it."

It was not her intention to bring up Sunggyu's past hardships and her mood dropped a little after that. In fact, she was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize she had been trailing behind already, Sunggyu's mop of dark brown hair already lost in a sea of people. A hand had shot out from nowhere and rested on her shoulder. Seulbi looked up to find Sunggyu back beside her. "Watch it. If you're not attentive here, you'll be pushed back into the crowds," he told off.

"I was distracted, that's all! I can walk myself perfectly fine, thank you!" she huffed, making her own turn to the left even if she didn't have the slightest inkling on where she was headed to.

"We're going this way," corrected Sunggyu as he steered her in the opposite direction. A teasing smile already lit up his features. "Do you want me to hold your hand so you won't get lost, princess?"

"Just tell me where to go!"

 

They ended up at one of the arcade malls called Migliore. Seulbi was easily distracted as they rode the escalator, her head turning left and right at every little colorful, unique booth that caught her eye and attention. From all around, she could hear bargain-seekers haggling with store owners and trying to out-discount other buyers. "What did I tell you?" Sunggyu beamed with pride. "They've got everything here!"

"Where are we headed to now?" asked the heiress as they reached the second storey and began walking through aisles and aisles of booths.

"We're going to give someone I know a little visit. Surely she can help us out with your wardrobe problem. She used to be my co-worker back in the day, and now she owns several booths and boutiques for herself. Speaking of, there she is right now," Sunggyu hummed, raising a casual arm up in the air to catch said person's attention. "Noona! Over here!"

They knew they had made contact when from out of nowhere, someone screeched: "GYUGYU! MY BABY BOY!"

If she didn't step away in that split second, Seulbi would have been bulldozed over by a woman, probably in her mid-thirties, who ran over to encase Sunggyu in a spine-cracking embrace. The two parted but the woman held Sunggyu at arm's length to take a better look at him. His boyish grin was back, his eyes disappearing into nothing more but thin crescents. Seulbi noted that that certain smile of his only appeared whenever Sunggyu was rather at home with the person. She's never seen that around the household... not even once.

“My, look at you!" the elder woman cooed. "You’ve gotten so handsome now! You’ve lost all your baby fat too! I hope you're making a living for yourself decently instead of starving yourself with your street music like how I first found you--"

"Shhh!" Sunggyu hushed. Thankfully, Seulbi wasn't paying attention to her words per se and was too invested on their friendship dynamic.

"Don't shush me, I haven't seen you in forever! I could just eat you up because you've become such a heartthrob now, and-- GyuGyu, who is this?”

She had stopped pinching Sunggyu's cheeks the moment she had noticed that he wasn't here alone. Despite the snarky tone being addressed to her, Lee Seulbi’s business mode was back on. “Good evening, I’m Lee Seulbi,” she greeted with a polite bow before extending her arm out for a handshake. "It's nice to meet you." When her greeting was met with an observant, sharp stare in return, she shyly pulled her hand back.

"Noona, be nice," Sunggyu eased before introducing his friend. "This is Joori-noona. Like I said, we used to work together here, and now she's got four stalls on this floor alone and god knows how many more on the higher levels."

Joori circled around Seulbi like a hungry vulture, assessing her critically from head to toe. She nodded in consideration every once in awhile. "She's actually not bad, GyuGyu," the elder lady admitted. "If this is the girl you left noona for, then I approve of her."

"Ah, we're related actually, Sunggyu and I," Seulbi corrected with a polite smile, much to Sunggyu's chagrin. Knowing his Jeonju background, the older woman looked to him for some sort of verification. It was too late to put a hand over the heiress' mouth now that the damage had been done. 

"It's a long story, noona. I'll explain when we have more time, I promise," he eased in an attempt to worm his way out of exposing his double identity secret to more and more people. "For now, can you help us out with something?"

Joori bit into the excuse without asking any more questions, thankfully. “Of course, anything for my baby GyuGyu! What can noona do for you today, hmm? Name it and noona shall provide!” she chirped, eager to fulfill any request that Sunggyu made, even if it meant flying to the moon and back.

Sunggyu began looking around at the items being sold inside the small shops, then back to a confused Seulbi. His devious smile grew wider each passing second; and before Seulbi knew it, she was shoved forward. The heiress had to skid on her heels just to make sure she wouldn't fall flat on her face from the impact. "We'll be in your care, then. Please knock some fashion sense into this one and dress her down a little."


[Cover Girl - Infinite]
After an entire wardrobe change, Seulbi was dragged out of the makeshift dressing room, dressed in a white knit turtleneck, dark vinyl pants that accentuated her legs and leather boots. Joori nudged her forward, urging her to do a little walk down the free aisle in between little booths to model the outfit and although it took awhile, the heiress shyly obliged. In fact, Seulbi had fit the get-up so well that she had started to amass a little crowd that had been shopping in Joori’s and the neighbouring boutiques. As she approached the spot where Sunggyu was standing, her eyes turned to him for some sort of comment or sign of approval.

“It’s weird,” Sunggyu voiced out, crossing his arms as he continued to observe her, yelping when the heiress had shot him an icy glare. “What? I’m being serious! It’s my first time seeing you in legit, non-ahjumma pants! It's really weird... but it's not bad.”

"You're making fun of me, aren't you?" Seulbi growled at him.

"I'm not, I'm not! It looks great!" He even gave a thumbs-up just to rile her up all the more, enjoying seeing how self-conscious she was with all the attention she was getting.

"Everything alright out there?" Joori asked, her head peeking out from her shop. "Are we good to go?" Seulbi lightly shook her head, pointing to the pants that weren't really her preferred style, and before she knew it, she had been dragged off back into the dressing room again for a change of outfit.

When she next stepped out, she had a pair of bright floral-printed pants on, which was paired with a black long-sleeved blouse, giving her a more vibrant, youthful look. A navy blue fedora and a pair of similar-colored ballet flats capped off the whole ensemble. Sunggyu bit his lower lip to stiffle in his laughter, not used to seeing her dressed in such striking, bold colors. The heiress' closet was filled with nothing but neutral and soft, creamy shades after all.

Seulbi, the ever-perceptive one, could sense that he was trying to hold back from poking fun at her. "Sunggyu, I swear to god, I'm really going to hit you if you keep making fun of me."

"I'm not, I promise! It looks great!" Sunggyu kept teasing, even pulling an interactive response from the small audience that had gathered around. Redness settled onto Seulbi's cheeks as she quickly sped past the crowd and back into the dressing rooms, flustered. "Doesn't she look amazing? Very fashion forward! Who here thinks she could actually make it in Korea's Next Top Model?"

This time, she had a black sweatshirt and white pants on, paired with black high-top sneakers. A red and black flannel had been tied around her waist, and to complete the look, she had a metallic red and gold Iron Man snapback on. Like all other styles she's already tried on-- although they fit her and she did manage to pull off essentially everything, it didn't really capture Seulbi as, well... Seulbi. It just wasn't likely of her to wear it, and that's what got Sunggyu into a laughing fit each time. The fact that she was so conscious about it made it even funnier.

"Can I say something? You reaaally look like Howon right now!" gasped Sunggyu in between loud laughter. Irritated and abashed, Seulbi brandished a fist at him, threatening to hit him before marching herself back into the dressing rooms once again. "I didn't say it looked terrible-- hey! HEY! Don't hit me! I'm sorry!"



"Hi."

This marked Seulbi's fourth trip to dressing room and back. She had thrown a dark blue bomber-style jacket over her plain white v-neck and had paired the ensemble with lightwashed ripped jeans and white sneakers . Call it coincidence, but he noticed that her current outfit complimented his own: he had a loose plain white v-neck on as well, matching it with an olive green blazer and khakis (Woohyun's mother had urged him to dress nicely for the play he never attended). 

"Welcome back to earth," she hummed, slipping her hands into the jacket pockets as Sunggyu snapped out of his confusion. Her trademark smirk was back on as she called out to Joori. "Miss Joori, I think I'm most comfortable with this one. This'll do."

Joori was seeing Korean won in her eyes by now as people started flooding in to her boutique. Despite that, she followed the heiress out to help snip off the tags. "I agree dear, this does suit you best. Besides, I'm pretty sure our Gyugyu likes this one on you too."

Sunggyu sputtered and coughed, almost choking on his own spit after hearing that. "Noona, excuse me? What made you say that?" Joori only shrugged in feigned innocence and offered to pack Seulbi's clothes before scampering away.

"Hmmm, I wonder. You haven't opened your mouth since I stepped out of the dressing room," Seulbi filled in instead, her esteem bouncing back up. With another smile, she left to follow Joori at the counter to pay for today's purchase. Sunggyu was left with his jaw hanging, overwhelmed by the sudden surge of confidence coming from her.

(In all honesty, he did like this relaxed and somewhat grungy look of hers the best. Admitting that to her was a totally different story though.)

Joori didn't charge them with a single cent and sent them off with happy smiles (and last minute Sunggyu-glomping and threatened promises of dinner on Sunggyu's end) before tending to her sudden influx of customers. It was a small price to pay for the free publicity that Seulbi had brought in, but the two couldn't leave without thanking her profusely. (I see the resemblance now. Stop bowing, you two! Joori yelped.)

"Where to now?" Seulbi asked, swinging the plastic bag containing her folded blouse, skirt and heels. On cue, their empty stomachs protested with loud rumbles, demanding to be filled as soon as possible. Seulbi's, in particular, felt like caving in, having nothing for dinner save for some of that croquembouche at the Jeguk helipad.

"Noodles, right?"

<<<<< >>>>>

Seulbi stared warily at the steaming bowl of hand-torn noodles he had set down on the table. Despite how enticing the aroma was and how intense her stomach was protesting out of hunger, she still had the willpower to hold back and question the food safety of the dish presented to her.  “Are you sure this is sanitary?”

“It's steaming hot. Hot water kills germs, doesn’t it?”

“Not if they’re thermophilic...“

Driven by hunger after that whole fashion runway stint, the pair found themselves at an ordinary roadside noodle stand that was semi-packed with customers, so they figured that it must have been the most popular one around. While Sunggyu put in and waited for their orders, Seulbi had settled down and picked a small, clean table right in the middle, not too close to the roadside nor to the stall as well. She was fidgeting while seated in her plastic stool during the wait, unsure of her surroundings.

“I haven’t heard of anyone dying from a bowl of kimchi sujebi, Lee Seulbi. Try it,” Sunggyu pointed out, sitting on the plastic stool across her and picking up his chopsticks. "Although I may sound biased, it's probably just as good-- maybe even better than your fancy noodle house anyway."

His confidence was all for show. Beneath the table, he had his fingers crossed, hoping that it would live up to the standards of the heiress and her family's refined taste. Sunggyu waited with bated breath as Seulbi picked up the noodles with her own chopsticks.

“You’re right, this is good!” Seulbi agreed between happy slurps as she began scarfing more noodles down. Sunggyu sighed in relief now that he could finally eat in peace and resumed his meal with equal gusto. Whether it was the hunger or her taste preference, Seulbi managed to polish the whole gigantic bowl of noodles clean and was in high-spirits the moment she finished. "So what else do you do for fun around here?"



Eating. Sunggyu's idea of fun consisted of eating, snacking, gorging... has Seulbi even mentioned eating? Dongdaemun to Sunggyu was practically one gigantic food fair, and he had only one goal in mind: try everything. They were on their nth stall already (Seulbi had lost count after the french fry covered corndogs) but there was still an odd, hungry glisten in Sunggyu’s eyes as he stared at the stall cooking tteokbokki and fish cake skewers. With no hesitations, he pulled out his wallet and began walking towards the elder selling them to order a sufficient amount.

Now that she could smell the spicy aroma in the air, Seulbi was enticed and did not want to miss out on this one either. "I'll have some too, please," she ordered as well, handing over some bills as payment. The elder fumbled through his makeshift cash register to hand over exact change, but Seulbi only waved her hand to decline it. "It's alright! Please keep the change!"

Sunggyu was barely halfway done with his own order when he locked in onto another stall at the far left. "Ah! They're selling tornado potato over there! You should definitely try that."

“If I manage to contract hepatitis from all this street food we're eating, Kim Sunggyu, you're dead,” Seulbi mumbled under her breath. Though her words were harsh and unenthusiastic, deep inside, the greedy kid inside her was actually enjoying their little binge-eating session just as much as he did. She pulled out her wallet for the nth time that night to take out some bills. A forlorn look washed over her face as she was met with nothing but pitch black. "I'm out of cash," the heiress mumbled in her disbelief.

This was a first. She realized that she had not been keeping track of where she had been dispensing her smaller bills. Technically, she could still very much afford to buy around because she had credit cards with an unlimited balance to go-- but she didn't suppose a small roadside stall had a payment terminal with them on hand, did they?

Sunggyu peered over her shoulder to see what the matter was, and he immediately noticed the unusual emptiness of the heiress' wallet. "You're broke?" he announced in glee before howling in laughter.

"Shut up."

"You're broke! The Lee Seulbi is broke! I thought I'd never live to see the day!" Sunggyu repeated, looking into her wallet to verify it. His tiny eyes betrayed his glee and satisfaction of witnessing something that seemed so impossible. "This is why you always keep track of where you're putting your cash. As much as possible, give in exact amount, and hey, it's alright to accept change. It's only a few thousand won, but money is still money."

The heiress could only smile in response. Ever since the start of their food spree, Seulbi always gave more cash payment than necessary and had refused change of any amount because she felt too sorry to accept it. The nice ahjummas and ahjussis didn't exactly look like they were rolling in cash. Given their age, the cold weather and the current time right now, they were supposed to be soundly asleep in the comfort of their own homes, but here they were, still trying to make ends meet. They've probably been here all day to work. She imagined her grandfather put in the same situation, and that's what won her soft heart over.

Just to rub salt into fresh wounds, Sunggyu continued on his little food fair. Helpless Seulbi could only tag along. The heiress' mouth watered out of envy as she watched him munch away deliciously.  Every now and then, he shot her glances of mock-pity, irritating her all the more. Seulbi was starting to consider either strangling him or tipping his food out of his container when he wasn't looking just to spite him, not caring if it was such a childish thing to do. She won't even feel guilty if her grandfather ended up with one heir less that night.

"Aren't you spending your pocket money a little too extravagantly?" an annoyed Seulbi asked through gritted teeth and a forced smile.

"Why? It's only seldom that I go out and play anyway. Besides, this money is hard-earned," Sunggyu pointed out, polishing the remainder of the hot bar he had just bought. “Since I’m feeling nice today, I can lend you enough money for a goldfish.”

They had just steered clear of the cart that sold silk worms, so no one could really blame Seulbi if she looked like she was about to be sick in her stomach. “That's horrible! Do people eat anything on these streets?”

Before she knew it, she was ushered towards another open-air stall. Preparing to turn away if it looked too gross, Seulbi carefully peered over Sunggyu's shoulder and let out a little "Oh" of realization. Instead of the smell of fried fish, the scent of pancake batter and sweetened red bean filled the air. The treat's golden brown batter had been molded with something similar to a waffle maker which came in the shape of a goldfish.

"Here you go, some bunggeopang." Sunggyu handed one off for her to try. "It's best if you eat it while it's still fresh off the plate."

She blew on the treat to cool it down a little and took one small, careful bite. Her eyes twinkled in glee as the delectable medley of sweetened red bean and batter exploded on her tongue-- before she knew it, Seulbi was in goldfish bread heaven. “This masterpiece for 300 won? And I even get three for 1000 won? This is ingenious!” she exclaimed, waving the nearly-finished treat in the air after downing most of it in seconds. “How much do you think it would cost me if I buy out a whole cart? No! Do you know where I could get myself a franchise deal?”

While the girl was busy computing of her franchise deal dole-out to herself, Sunggyu took to himself to explain the situation after seeing the strange looks that the seller and some of the other customers were giving her. “I’m really sorry, she’s been living off in Kilimanjaro all her life. Please excuse her.”

Because she liked the bungeoppang so much, she had bullied Sunggyu into buying two more for herself. The seller was such a nice man, he even added a bit more of that red bean paste filling for the first timer. 

<<<<< >>>>>

While waiting for the pedestrian light to turn green, Seulbi was restless, standing on tiptoes and craning her neck to see what new sights and food lay beyond the crossing. She was going to get herself run over if he didn't find a way to control her, and Nam Woohyun was sure to mop his bloody face all over the Olympus grand ballroom should that ever happen. "Hey, I'm not really keen on babysitting, so please watch it when you cross the street."

"I'm not five, Sunggyu. I'll live," the heiress reminded him, "But thank you for the concern, nonetheless."

Her indifference was the last straw for Sunggyu, forcing him to use last resort methods to get her to behave. "Did you know? This particular pedestrian crossing is quite the talk of the town. Legend says that if it's your first time here, you should step only on the white stripes of this zebra crossing because it's sure to bring you success in life and your future endeavors."

At that moment, he knew he had captured her interest for she had began to listen intently to his every word. "What happens if you step out of the line?" she questioned, her voice down to a curious whisper.

"Bad luck and misery for ten straight years will rain down upon you and your loved ones! Even a toe shooting just a teeny-tiny bit off the line can activate the curse." On cue, the pedestrian traffic light had turned green. With a pleasant smile, Sunggyu only patted the girl's shoulder. "Cross carefully!"

Seulbi began hopping from one stripe to another, making sure her whole foot was inside the white space. She was holding up several pedestrians behind her, and frustrated as they were, they decided to overtake the heiress in their haste. They didn't have much time left until the sign would turn red again. At this rate, she was really going to get run over. Sunggyu grabbed her by the elbow and began ushering her so that both of them could cross the street faster.

"Come on, you're holding up other pedestrians," he told off, laughing upon seeing her distraught expression. "You seriously believed that?"

"How am I going to explain this to abeonim and the family?" she muttered to herself over and over again, fingers tangling through locks of her hair as she clutched her head out of stress. "I am an ungrateful child. I deserve to be punished."

"Relax! It's not going to happen-- I made that thing up!" Sunggyu was having a riot by the time they had reached across. His hands were on his stomach and his head was thrown back. "I'm pulling your leg! I can't believe you fell for it so easily! Normal people would at least be skeptical at first, but you... you didn't even question and just jumped headfirst into it. Literally!"

He watched as the heiress' expression molted in quick transition: from desolation, to embarrassment, to pure anger. Devil's spawn Seulbi began to rear her ugly head and he backed away into the crowds, not caring that they were still stuck by the zebra crossing and that they were bothering other pedestrians. "That's right, buster, you better back up and run," Seulbi gritted in a low dangerous tone, cracking her knuckles before sauntering up to him. "Kim Sunggyu, you're dead!"



As much as he didn't want to burn a hole in his wallet, Sunggyu ended up buying some more food as his peace offering, to which the Lee heiress was all too happy to accept. He wasn't quite sure as to why she demanded for a sundae cone on a cold night such as this, but if it quelled her anger, then who was he to complain?

"Ice cream is a must-have to calm you down whenever you're upset. In fact, I'm feeling better already after you so wrongly made fun of me," Seulbi hummed, pleased with her ice cream cone. "All sweet things do have that effect in general, but ice cream is the best! Especially if it's pistachio!"

"Yeah? Says who?" he huffed. Sunggyu didn't even want to be reminded about it. It had been a complete pain trying to pronounce 'pistachio' right, he ended up miming it out to the lady at the icecream bar, who was as equally confused as he was. It wasn't until Seulbi had spoken with her American English accent that they were able to come to an understanding and punch in their order. Why couldn't she like something simple like chocolate or strawberry? 

"Dad," Seulbi responded with pride, catching his curiousity all in an instant. The heiress never mentioned her parents unless brought up by Lee Jungyeop himself or the family. Sunggyu was usually careful enough to avoid hitting the topic during conversations, but now here she was bringing it up herself.

"Dad was always the insightful one with much to share: from funny stories, to legends and fairytales, to life lessons which I still carry with me until today. He told me a secret once. It's possible to know whom you're destined to spend the rest of your life with," Seulbi continued. "It goes like this... you close your eyes and then you'll count up to five. They say that the first person that captures your gaze is the one you're bound to fall for. There's a catch though. If someone else is in your mind at that very moment, then you've found your real answer."

“Now that is a load of bull! I cannot believe something that sappy just came out of your mouth," Sunggyu called off with an amused little chuckle. "Nice attempt on trying to fool me, Lee Seulbi, but I'm not buying that one."

"Do I look like I'm lying to you?"

"Well, it is true that your lying skills are terrible, so that's a plus to your credibility. Nope, still not buying that one though. I think I'd rather not find out; the answer might only frighten me."

"True, but the takeaway lesson here is this: knowing that, the question now lies, will you have the imperative to work towards it?" Seulbi mulled, dismissing the conversation with a small shrug of her shoulders, deciding to finish off the remainder of the ice cream cone instead. "Anyway, believe what you want. But I'll have you know, it worked for him. Mom and Dad ended up getting together in the long run."

The two had veered away from the food areas and had returned to the district streets this time, passing by several roadside shops selling various merchandise. Seulbi had her eyes on a bunggeopang pan for sale but Sunggyu dragged her off before she could even ask the auntie how much, unsure if he could still afford the purchase. After a passing through a few more crossings to get around the perimeter of Dongdaemun, Seulbi suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her gaze was fixed into the distance, and she had one hand over .

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden? Are you feeling sick? Please don’t tell me you’re about to throw up,” Sunggyu rambled, finding an extra plastic bag on hand that he could offer her. However, the girl had began walking faster, taking wider strides towards the lush scenery before her. “Yah, Lee Seulbi, not there! That isn’t a sewer you can throw up on, it’s—“

“Cheonggyecheon stream!” Sunggyu swore that the happy, uncharacteristic squeal he heard came from none other than Lee Seulbi. All level-headedness was lost, replaced with child-like excitement. She was leaning over the railing overlooking the dug-out which was roughly fifteen feet below street level.

"Tch," Sunggyu sighed as he leaned forward over the railing as well. "You're unusually gung-ho over a stream, of all things."

"Of course I am! I've been seeing these amazing photographs of the place on some blogs, so I've always wanted to visit here! I guess I just never found the time nor the permission to do so. I'm going to go see it!"

Cheonggyecheon stream was a good eleven kilomenter stretch of a preserved natural haven in the heart of the concrete jungle of downtown Seoul. Sunggyu's feet felt like giving way at the thought of walking the whole expanse of it. "Are you sure you want to walk the entire way?" he whined. "It's just that my back hurts all of a sudden."

“Your physical stamina is worse than abeonim, really. You're only what... twenty two? Suit yourself, I’m going to look around for awhile!” she chirped. Sunggyu could only shake his head as he watched her skip down the access stairs and towards the greener, more lush part of the stream. Kid.

He thought about Seulbi's words earlier, challenged by them. Part of him wanted to prove her wrong, yet a curious part of him wanted to see for himself whether destiny or whatnot really existed. Sunggyu looked around to make sure that Seulbi-- or anyone for that matter was nowhere within clear earshot of him. Trying this out was embarrassing at it was already.

"One," he began slowly, calling the number out in the silence of his mind. "Two. Three. Four." By this time his eyelids have drooped close. "Five."

The moment he opened his eyes, Sunggyu found himself standing alone, still at the foot of the access staircase. No other soul was in sight. He had nothing but background noise from the flowing stream and the bustle of the busy streets up above. This section of the stream was unusually desolate. Either that, or he was destined to die a lonesome old man with twenty seven adopted street cats.

"I'm an idiot. Why did I even bother when I knew this thing was a dud?" he huffed to himself before letting out a big yawn and stretching, bored out of his wits from waiting. Instead of waiting with the car like he had originally planned to do, Sunggyu decided to head on the opposite end, upstream all the way to the Cheonggye Plaza, where the Candlelight fountain was.

There were more people moving upstream, mostly tourists and young people. His leisurely stroll brought back memories of his early busking days way before he got into decent employment, something he had chosen not to disclose to Seulbi earlier and asked Joori to keep hush about. Young and naive Sunggyu came to Seoul to try his luck, first and foremost, with music. With his acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder, guitar case laid open for spare change, he sang to his heart's content-- in front of coffee shops, in random parks, on overpasses and foot bridges, Hongdae, here at Cheonggyecheon. Although he was far away from home with a frequently empty stomach, without a permanent roof over his head, he was doing what he loved most, and that was all that mattered. It was Joori who picked him up from the streets and offered him a permanent job at Dongdaemun then.

Destiny? Fate? He realized that those were just stupid excuses for human complacency. If anyone wants to get anywhere in life, with enough perseverance and determination, he'll get there. Things like that don't exist.

However, it wouldn't hurt to try one more time, right?

He had now arrived at the main fountain at the start of the stream. This time, Sunggyu made sure to close his eyes and shut out everything for awhile to let fate, should it ever exist, work it's magic. "One..." he muttered under his breath, counting slower than the previous time.

Two. He held his breath a bit too long in that single second, unsure if this was a good idea. He decided to carry on.

Three. The world grew quiet and waited for its answer along with him, allowing him more focus on the matter at hand.

Four. He was tense, still curious. He'd made it this far, it wasn't the right time to suddenly waver.

Five.



[She's Got You High - Mumm-ra]
His eyes fluttered open, his vision automatically coming into sharp focus. A sizeable crowd had now gathered around the fountain but his steady gaze fell on one person that had caught his eye.  The person he was 'destined to spend the rest of his life with' was standing just a few feet ahead of him. She had such a bright smile on her face and it could have been the fountain lights illuminating her milky complexion, but he could have sworn she was glowing with such ethereal radiance akin to that of a greek goddess.

His jaw dropped. "You have got to be ing kidding me."

"Hey Sunggyu! Over here!" Lee Seulbi waved as she noticed his presence, making wide sweeping motions with her free arm while the other held a paper bag that she wasn't holding before. "You'll be drooling so much at this one-- this goldfish has icecream in it!"

Fate was a cruel thing, toying around with people like this. Sunggyu wanted to rip his hair out and scream in sheer disbelief. “THE HELL?!? Didn't you go the other direction? How did you get over here so quickly without bumping into me along the way?!?”

"I wanted to see the fountain so I asked around, and they told me that I had to go back upstream. I ended up taking the path by the actual streets because they told me it would be quicker. Then I met another bungeoppang vendor along the way. I bought three more!" the heiress narrated, waving the bag she was holding in delight. Sunggyu was caught up in his own frustrated thoughts to pay any attention. "Why are you so angry all of a sudden? Sunggyu?"

Her words only went through inattentive ears. "This woman is completely mental! She has a mental problem! Isn't it that she's pulling my leg?" Sunggyu repeated in his head like a mantra. "Right. It's payback for all that nonsense I've been spouting earlier. It's all a big, fat joke and this is in no way true! She's just fooling me!"

More than that, she could never know that he actually tried it out. Seulbi on the other hand found herself pretty much stumped by his sudden mood swing. "Goldfish?" she offered in an attempt to quell his anger.

He guessed it wouldn't hurt to take one. Maybe it would keep him distracted from earlier's outrageous turnout. Sunggyu began chomping off huge, angry bites at first, but reduced it to slow munching as he felt himself become calmer. Once she was sure that his head had cooled down to a considerable level, Seulbi decided to speak up again. "Better?" she asked. Her companion let out a softer gurgle in affirmation before silence enveloped the two.

"So, fountains, huh? I guess that's why you sit by the mansion fountain a lot?" Sunggyu asked the moment he finished his nth snack of the night. "N-N-Not that I deliberately go out of my way to locate your whereabouts at all times or anything, unlike those other creepers..."

"Well, I won't deny that the fountain has become my thinking place back at the mansion, but it doesn't apply to fountains only," the heiress admitted with a small hum. "I just like being near water. I'm happier there. It's the one place where I can think better, one place where I'm more at peace. I guess it's just like you with your lights."

At the mere mention of lights, he somehow understood. No further words were exchanged between the two. They stood side by side in peaceful contempt as they watched the fountain lights dance along with the flowing water from the stream. Despite being in the middle of a bustling shopping district, the world was quiet there and it felt pretty much like home to the two.

Speaking of home, they were due back anytime soon. It was getting late. After one more lingering look at the scene before her, Seulbi nudged her companion with her elbow. "Time to head home?"

A small shift of movement on her side had Sunggyu automatically freaking out and throwing his arms in front of him loud outcry. "D-Don't push me in, I'm warning you! I'll drown and it isn't funny!"

"It's less than two feet, Sunggyu. You can't drown in such a small pool of water even if you tried."

"I can't swim to save my life! For real! I really can't swim!"

"Okay, okay. No childish pranks, I get it! Now come on!"

It had been a long day for both of them. Seulbi suggested to take the scenic route back to where they had parked and Sunggyu didn't argue this time, letting her do as she pleased. While she occupied the side closer to the stream for the most part, he watched her from a small distance. It was a refreshing sight to see the Woollim heiress so casual and carefree, hopping across stepping stones. He noticed the way the corners of her lips turned upwards. The way her dimples deepened. The way her eyes crinkled. Her soul was bared, her happiness radiating like the sun, and he found himself unable to pull his eyes away.

Suddenly, the world was a better place than it was a mere four, five seconds ago.

"Don't smile like that. It's making me nervous," Sunggyu muttered under his breath, unusually aware of his own heartbeat, feeling the blood roaring in his ears. He was probably still flustered because he had tried out that hoax superstition and ended up gaining weird results for his gullibility.

Seulbi cocked her head as she turned her attention to him. "Sorry, you were saying?"

Heat rose to his cheeks out of embarrassment. Good thing it was somewhat dark. "I--uhhh... I didn't say anything."

"Funny, because I thought I heard you telling me not to smile. Why?"

Well, . She caught that? Sunggyu gulped, thinking of a legitimate excuse when a familiar white blur on the roadside caught his attention. He was now focused on something at the back of Seulbi's head. "Because... uhhh.... isn’t that the car over there?”

Seulbi's looked behind her, following the direction where Sunggyu was pointing at. He was pointing up to the sedan alright... which had been loaded onto the back of the city's tow truck. The back wheels have been clamped down, and she could barely make out a small slip of paper stuck to the windshield inserted just behind the wiper. It didn't take a genius to put two-and-two together: her car had been clamped and towed for illegal parking.

Livid, she turned back to Sunggyu and gave him the most murderous glare she could muster. “YOU. YOU SAID PARKING THE CAR THERE WAS OKAY!”

So much for past minutes of being chummy with each other. Sunggyu squared his shoulders to show her he wasn't backing down from this. “HEY, OTHER PEOPLE WERE DOING IT TOO! HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW IT WAS A TOWING ZONE? I WALK, I COMMUTE— I DON’T DRIVE HERE!”

The heiress quickened her pace as she pulled out her wallet to fish for her license. "The moment Shimgoon kills me for this, I am going to haunt your poor soul and drag it along into seventh circle of hell with me so I can kill you again myself!"

Before Sunggyu could even dish out a threat of his own, both their faces grew crestfallen as the truck began to steer away from the side walk and into the main road, presumably off to the impound the sedan. "Wait, wait, wait! WAIT, DON'T LET IT GET AWAY! AFTER THAT TRUCK!" Seulbi screeched, breaking into a wild run.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!?" Sunggyu yelled at her, partly in frustration, partly in amazement at her recklessness. "Screw this. HEY. HEY, WAIT UP!" He had no choice but to follow into a sprint as she raced down the sidewalk.

<<<<< >>>>>

Sunggyu couldn't believe he had gotten out of questioning by explaining to the officers a blown-up version of the truth. In the end, the two went out with the sedan back and nothing more than an official warning for first offenders slapped at them. At home, they all had to explain what happened with the theater ticket mishap, which Jungyeop had thankfully laughed off. He had even sworn off any attempts of setting up blind dates, saying that he was too old-fashioned and traditional now to read into what kids of today did for dates. "We can't help it, son! It's as they say-- if it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be!" chimed the Lee family elder.

In the spirit of celebration, Seulbi did end up buying and bringing that bungeoppang pan home. Her grandfather, her aunt, her cousins and Sungjong were now currently enjoying some homemade ones careof their family chef. Even Shimgoon didn't miss out on his share, which he had together with some tea. All this was to Sunggyu's chagrin of course as official money-lender for the day.

"This brings back fond memories of my childhood. I used to have bungeoppang a lot back in my day, especially during the winter," Jungyeop recalled as he bit into the warm treat. Him and the rest of the kids were gathered around one end of the dining table as they tuned in to their youngest's intriguing food adventures of the day. "Just where exactly did your travels take you today, child?" her grandfather asked her.

"Dongdaemun. Sunggyu showed me around the place, so I got to try a lot of street food. We even had a look around Cheonggyecheon stream! And then, we had to run after-- of all things, a tow truck!" Seulbi narrated, throwing her hands in the air. One could really tell that she was into her story-telling. Sunggyu has never seen her this animated and talkative... ever. "I still can't believe it! Never in my life did I imagine running after a tow truck, but I did!"

Everyone directed their attention to Sunggyu after Seulbi's acknowledgement and he slid a lower on his seat in a miserable attempt to hide himself. From their point of view, it would be worrying to find out that their precious heiress was dragged somewhere potentially dangeorus. Boy, was he in big trouble now!

Instead he was met with grateful smiles and looks of approval. Even Woohyun looked like he was going to let this one slide after seeing how much fun Seulbi had. Jungyeop clapped a fatherly hand onto his shoulder, "Looks like Seulbi here had a really good time. Thank you, son for making your cousin happy today. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing my grandchildren taking care of each other."

Sunggyu shuffled in his seat, feeling awkward about hearing praises for something that was just part of the job description. "I have no regrets, entrusting Woollim to each and every one of you," continued a wistful Jungyeop. "In time, Sunggyu will learn the ropes to this business as well and you'll all be successful than your own grandfather, running the company side-by-side! I can't wait 'til I see that with my own two eyes."

"Eiii, abeonim, that's still so far off in the future! We're still struggling with university woes here!" Sungyeol dismissed, letting out a loud boyish laugh. "Why can't we all just enjoy the present? It's pretty good, we're all complete and happy and there's an exquisite cup of Americano in my hand. I think I like it here!"

"Don't come crashing into my room in the middle of the night, wailing regrets about your late-night coffee intake. The last time it happened, you were begging me to play video games at four in the morning because you couldn't sleep," Hoya huffed, cupping his mug of warm milk. "Grow up."

"I'll grow up if you stop treating milk like water. You've become so dependent on it, Ho-aegi! I am so glad Sunggyu-hyung gave you that nickname because you know what? It fits!"

The two siblings continued squabbling, providing sheer entertainment for the family. No one noticed the troubled smile on Sunggyu's face that followed. No one made a big deal out of it when he suddenly excused himself-- no one except for Nam Woohyun, who got up and waved it off as a quick bathroom break before following the former. Sunggyu was well aware that Woohyun had followed him outside. He had escaped all the way to the gardens outside, where the two were out of earshot.

"Sunggyu," Woohyun called out. "Do we have a problem?"

"I feel like absolute . I've never felt so ty in my entire life!" Sunggyu admitted, anguish evident in his tone. "I can't go on reaping the benefits of your long-lost cousin when I know that I'm clearly not him. I can't continue lying to their faces anymore."

Trigerred by earlier's exchange of words, the gravity of all the lies and deceipt had finally gotten to Sunggyu. His suffocating thoughts and conscience had caved in due to intense pressure and stress he had been bottling up this entire time.

"You have a job that pays well, a roof over your head-- you've never gone on an empty stomach. You're in a reputable university and in one way or another, you're getting business training from one of the country's biggest conglomerates. Also, you might not realize the changes you're bringing to my family, Sunggyu, but I tell you, you're doing a whole lot more good than harm. My grandfather is on his way to recovery, my cousins are slowly opening up their true selves. The household has never been this lively in forever," Woohyun eased, citing out the win-win situation that they were all in. "We need you here, Sunggyu. Just until we figure out Henry's whereabouts."

"Until when will that be?"

Woohyun in all honesty had no definite answer for that question as of late. "I can't say for sure. But the good news is we might have a real lead to Henry this time around."

Sunggyu felt an uncomfortable drop in the pits of his belly, unsure of how he felt about this new piece of information. "You do?"

"If you think I haven't been doing anything on my end this whole time, then you're wrong. I've been working on it in secret, of course. Our secretary, miss Mari, has been personally assisting me with these matters. We managed to pick up where Seulbi had left off before she found you and decided to continue from there. Turns out, she wasn't far behind in the investigation after all. Her work laid out the foundation for ours, all we did was trace out the next few steps."

"A few days ago, a witness came forward and provided us with valuable information. She claimed to be the granddaughter of one of Uncle and Auntie's neighbors in Jeonju and presented to us a group photograph of their small neighborhood that was in her possession. Uncle and Auntie were in that photograph. We were then directed to a certain Mr. and Mrs. Hong, neighbors who had allegedly bought the home that belonged to my family after the accident. Miss Mari and I are working double-time with hired private investigators to speed up the process. If we could just find those people and get them to testify, they might know where my cousin is.... or at the very least what became of my cousin's fate. My hunch tells me he's been spared from the mishap and that he's alive-- we're close to cracking this mystery, I can feel it," Woohyun explained. "So please, I'm asking you, hold it out just a bit longer. Just until we have more definite answers. You've been doing fine this whole time. If you choose to extend your help to me in three months time, I can promise you a Jejudo villa under your name."

Sunggyu's eyes lit up at the word villa. This was pathetic. His determination was already wavering at the thought. What sane person wouldn't when he were being offered a villa?

"But should you feel like resigning from this job at any point in time before then... I don't have the right to force you to stay. I'll pay the remainder of your working fee balance as promised, together with the additional compensations we talked about," Woohyun finally concluded, although the idea didn't quite sit with him. "But please, I hope you'll also put a lot of thought into what I told you earlier before making your final decision. My family still needs you, Sunggyu. Will you really deprive them of that?"

"I'll consider. But can you give me time to think about it?" came Sunggyu's reply after a brief moment of quiet that engulfed the two. He needed a calm, rational head if he wanted to reach a good, well-thought of decision.

The Nam heir responded with a curt nod, leaving him to his thoughts to rejoin his family. "Take all the time you need." And he had meant that literally.

Sunggyu let out a loud, troubled sigh. He stepped out of this conversation with Nam Woohyun more conflicted than he ever was. During his brief stay, the Lee family had been nothing short of genuine and good-natured. Despite all their bickering, the kids were really brilliant and decent people who had their hearts at the right places.

As much he'd like to retain his new-formed friendships, he's gotten in too deep into their family affairs and their lives as an impostor cousin. To keep living in fraudulence would only destroy the family in the long run. He was relatively lucky that he hadn't encountered any dangerous situation that would compromise his identity, and he knew he had to leave now while he still had a good chance of clearing his name. Lies were all about timing after all. He needed to stop before he could bury reality down even further. It's not like he was going to be their cousin forever. Kim Sunggyu was Kim Sunggyu, first and foremost, and he'd like to make the most out of his life by just being himself.

Sunggyu decided that he was going to give Woohyun a grace period of one week. That should be enough time to at least get word regarding the real Henry-- Woohyun would know what to do from then on and he would no longer be needed here.

He'd give it a week more. Until then, he'd help Woohyun in whatever way he can with the search, secure Sungjong's future, make good memories with the family (it's the least he could do), and then he would leave.

This time, for good.

A/N: Hi folks, how are you guys all doing? And we have a wild roller-coaster of events here: from date-turned-mukbang (eating show) to well, Henry news and Sunggyu finally caving and deciding to leave. I hope that didn't depress you. (Please don't be depressed, really!). What happens in the one week grace period? Will Woohyun get answers out of a certain Mrs. and Mr. Hong? We'll all see. Again, feel free to ask away-- questions and clarifications are always welcome! Thank you for patiently waiting and until then, I hope you'll keep following :)

Current mood:

 It is extremely hot in our country, it's almost infernal. I hope you guys aren't frying/won't be frying soon under this heat (if it isn't summer yet in your country). *crawls back into the fridge*
PS: Late news, but I really hope this hamster Grandpa gets well soon. Speedy recovery for Sunggyu!