Petals of Success

Ch.9: Different Light

"Ah, that was such a nice lunch." Hadya sighed as she entered the SM building with Logan in tow. They decided to have a little mother daughter lunch date that day to kick off the New Year. It was a good bonding moment between the two and Hadya treasured them because she could let her guard down and be a playful mother.

"Yeah, it was pretty good." Logan replied kind of absently and Hadya sighed. Her eldest daughter was someone who despite having a very goofy and easygoing demeanor, was quite stubborn and didn't want to divulge into what she deemed as troublesome. As Logan's mother, it was only natural for her to try and make the teen talk about it. For example, she knew Logan had a crush on someone just by pure instinct and experience and judging by the way she stared and the pandas and cats that peppered the restaurant's decor, the lucky guy's identity was revealed. The way those beautiful gray eyes would space out and showcase confusion tortured the businesswoman to no end! Getting advice about dating and boys was mommy territory, for crying out loud! She was such an annoying kid…”Mom, are you even listening to me?”

Hadya jumped. “Huh? I’m sorry, baby! What were you saying?” she asked.

“I said that I’m going to go grab my things from the recording studio then head over to YG. 2NE1 is prepping for a comeback and I wanted to help Teddy out.” Logan repeated.

“Oh, okay. I’ll see you when I get back home then.” Hadya said as she leaned down to hug the young composer. Logan nodded before she parted ways with her mother. She walked down the hall and plugged her earbuds into her phone listening to one of her playlists. She started to rock along to the tracks that played, passing by the various rooms until she saw something, or someone, out of the corner of her eye. Logan backed up a few steps to see two males in the room, one a shorter, well-built man and the other who was much taller and currently ruining her life. Tao was currently practicing his martial arts craft with Bruce Kahn, a professional stuntman and martial arts expert. The Chinese teen was in his warrior mode and it was super attractive, making it really hard to not marvel at his beauty. The fierce concentration in his beautiful eyes, the prominence of his slightly curved yet sharp nose, the tight line his supple pink lips formed, the firmness of his broad shoulders, the flexed form of his lean, toned, and exposed biceps, the slimness of his waist, the thickness of his muscular thighs, the perfection that was his height and proportions, the shiny black of his silky hair, the smoothness of his sun kissed skin, and don’t get her started on that perfect, perfect ; they were all a work of art, sculpted by God himself.

Logan couldn’t help but marvel at him and this was not the reality she wanted. When she called him handsome at first, she meant that in a friendly way, in a casual fan type of way. She wasn’t supposed to fall so hard to the point where she was seriously crushing on him and yearning to kiss those soft lips and be held in his strong embrace. He was making her super girly fantasies come out and it was scary. No one gave her cute, adorably sweet friend the right to look like the perfect description of tall, dark and y! So aggravating! Huang Zitao was extremely aggravating…

Tao finished doing his flip while holding his Bo staff and did his fierce ending pose. He knew he did a really good run and Bruce Kahn’s smile and nod of approval assured him of that. The smile on his face when he finished was so beautiful, igniting the flutters in her stomach. Yep, he was ruining her life. Logan sighed and looked away from him. That was more than enough ing over her friend and she needed to get to work, ASAP. She continued to walk down the hall and opened the door to the recording studio.

“Logan!” she heard someone call and she froze since she knew that voice anywhere. She turned around to see Tao jogging down the hall towards her.

"Hey, Taozi." she smiled. God, she hoped he didn't see her staring.

"Hey." he replied with his own blinding smile before he hugged her. This was another aggravating thing about him. She appreciated that he never gave her the church hug or halfhearted side hug which showed that they were close but he always wrapped his arms around her waist making her wrap hers around his neck. That was probably on the more intimate side when it comes to hugs and she loved them. He probably didn’t think it was anything more...or did he? Ugh, so annoying! He pulled away and smiled down at her. “So what’s up?”

“Nothing really, I just had lunch with my mom and I’m going to go head over to YG to finish up some work there.” Logan answered.

Tao nodded. “So what are you doing after that?”

“It depends, why?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies with me later on? I'm starting to run out of people who might be interested.”

Logan blinked. “Umm, sure!” she agreed out of instinct before she thought for a second. “Oh wait. I had plans to go shopping with my friend Ashleigh.” she sighed before an idea popped into her head. “Do you think you can convince Kris to go with us? I'm trying to hook them up."

Tao raised a brow. "Okay, sure." he said before he thought of his own idea. “Since we’re playing matchmaker, I’ll bring Jongin and you can…”

“Get Nadia, I’m so on it. This’ll be very interesting to watch.” Logan grinned. "So, I'll see you later on then?"

Tao gave his own smile to her as he walked backwards. "See you then." he said before jogging away. Logan didn't know how long she stared at his retreating back because soon her eyes suddenly became glued to his and she chastised herself. She was becoming a world class and that was not a good look on the Cardoso name. Her parents would not approve of such behavior. Curse the thirst!

~~~~~~~~~~

"Sanna, wait up!" Cece called out to the girl. "You can't keep avoiding me." she added and Sanna froze. Cece finally stood in front of the girl, noticing her avoiding her stare. "I'm not going to cut corners and ask about the weather. I want you to explain to me what happened during the Christmas party."

Sanna paused for a very long moment and Cece almost thought she wouldn't answer. "It’s pretty much whatever...you saw." she said quietly.

Cece nodded. "How long has this been going on?" she asked.

“After my first week…”

“For a month?!” Cece exclaimed incredulously before she made her voice quieter. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I would if I felt like anyone would take my side.” Sanna said.

“I would have your back! Milan would, too! What are you saying? I can even get my boss and aunt...”

Sanna shook her head. “Sunjin’s name carries a lot of weight in Jellyfish and even in Korea. He’s the best PR in the company and I can’t compare. I’ve only been here for a little while. One month doesn’t compare to ten years!” she exclaimed. “And maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I was leading him on by wearing a skirt that day.”

“I hate how victims always feel like they are the ones to blame in situations like this.” Cece frowned. “Regardless of what you wear, he should know how to control himself and keep a distance. It's not your fault.”

“But society doesn’t see it that way, Cece. South Korea is a patriarchal society and in cases like this, it is almost always viewed as the fault of the victims, especially with female victims. Plus I really need this job. It’s the only form of income for my family.”

“But this is diminishing your dignity as a woman and hindering your stable mental wellbeing, doesn’t that bother you?” Cece asked, sadly.

“As of right now, my dignity is not going to pay the 450,000 PHP (10,000 USD) debt that my father has in medical bills or put food on the table.” Sanna took this job so she could take care of her family. She had recently moved to Seoul just to experience something new when her father fell ill and had a heart attack. He needed a transplant and was able to get it but since he couldn’t work to pay it off, it was up to the kids to pay for it. Sanna’s siblings were hard at work trying to take care of the family and Sanna would pull her weight. It was much bigger than just her. If she lost this job then her parents and family would also suffer. Cece could understand her mentality since she didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in . She had to work and manage way more than any kid should have to while growing up. But this whole situation was...just messed up.

“But, Sanna…”

“I’m happy that you’re worried about me. You're the first to really show that since I came to Korea but please, I can handle this." Sanna smiled her way. "I'll be fine."

"But..."

"I have to go now so I'll see you later. Bye!" Sanna exclaimed, running down the hall and into Jihae's office. Cece sighed. There seemed like no way of getting through to Sanna so she could confess to everything that's happened to her. But she would find a way. Determination settled into the Latina's hazel brown eyes before she marched down the hall and knocked on Sejun's door.

"Come in!" he said and Cece did so. "Ah, I was just thinking about you, please sit." he told the girl and she obliged. "Now following our discussion at the Christmas party, what did you want to talk about?"

Cece thought for a moment. How could she word this without actually putting people out there? "So I have this...friend who is being ually harassed by her...colleague who is a higher up in the company. The harassment has been going on for a while now but my friend, the victim, won't say anything because the colleague, the attacker, threatened her by saying she would lose her job which she really needs. So, as her friend, what can I do to help her?"

Sejun looked at the girl seriously. “Cece, if this is you, you don’t have to hesitate to tell me. I will fix it immediately. You’re possibly one of the most conservatively dressed women in this company.” he said trying to be encouraging but his words, despite his good intention, made her inner feminist come out.

“You see that’s the mentality that oppresses women and makes men seem like low life animals. I should be able to wear a deep cleavage blouse or cute short shorts or whatever the hell makes me feel comfortable in my own skin without some dude putting their hands on me without my permission! That is one thing I can't stand about the world.” she ranted and Sejun was shocked by her outburst before she mellowed down. “And to be clear, it’s not me who is being harassed because you would know about it, trust me. Also, I grew up with three rowdy older brothers who are all in the military and I will not hesitate to show someone my New York uppercut if they try to mess with me. I can guarantee they won’t leave unscathed.” she added and Sejun chuckled softly. That tough girl spunkiness was really refreshing to see.

“I would be willing to help since I have a daughter and would never slide by and let someone do that to her. But, I can't really help out this friend of yours if they won't speak up about it. As much as would like to help I would be siding with an outsider's perspective instead of the people involved." he added and Cece sighed sadly. "I'm sorry, Cece." he apologized.

"No, I understand your point. I just wish there was something I can do." Cece admitted.

"Well, keep her in your sights and make sure she's not alone in situations. Try to protect her as much as you can until she’s ready to talk.” he advised.

Cece nodded. “And make sure you keep a watchful eye on your underlings. The rumors going around aren’t always false.” she warned as she stood up before bowing in departure. When she was outside of the room, she let out a dejected sigh. This so much but everything Sejun said was true. Since no one would admit to what happened, she would just end up looking like an instigator and that would not be a good look on her part. Ugh, she needed something else to focus on. She walked down to the office and saw Milan typing away on her laptop, totally oblivious of her presence. Cece crept up behind the girl and started to read what she was typing. She stood there for a few minutes before she gasped at what she read.

“Yo, for real?! She did that?” Cece gasped making the younger girl jump.

“Gah! Damn it, Cece!” Milan shouted, placing a hand to her heart. “Don’t scare me like that.” she pouted.

Cece chuckled slightly. “Sorry, sorry, sorry.” she apologized. “But I really liked the little snippet I read. I can’t wait until you publish it.”

“Thanks!” Milan smiled. She was a college student and an intern, but Milan also had a knack for writing. She wanted to be a novelist, which was a perfect fit. She always had the most bizarre and intriguing fantasies swirling around in her head. She even ran a blog where she posted her short stories and she had a pretty astounding following which was understandable to Cece since she was amazing! Cece would be the first in line to buy her first published work. “So did you talk to Sanna and Sejun yet?” the girl asked. Oh yeah, that tragedy…just when she was getting over being upset about it.

“Yes and yes but they both proved hopeless. Sanna doesn’t want to talk about it for fear of losing her job and since she doesn’t want to speak on it, Sejun can’t do anything to help.” Cece sighed.

“That’s rough. Now I can’t say anything as well.” Milan sighed. “I guess trying to convince Sanna to come forward is the only approach as of now.”

“Yeah, everything will come to light eventually, I’m sure of it.” Cece added. “I just hope it’s mostly civilized when it does.” she muttered and Milan nodded in agreement. There was soon a soft knocking heard on the door, catching the girls’ attention, and when they turned towards it they saw Jaehwan posing against the glass in a “y” way as Wonshik stared at him judgmentally. Cece started cracking up while Milan sighed.

“He’s such an idiot. A very kind one but still an idiot.” she inquired as she started to pack up her laptop and other supplies.

“What’s going on? Where are you guys going?” Cece asked.

“Okay so while you were talking about serious stuff, I got an email from my professor saying he wanted to talk to me about my lab. He’s probably suspicious as to why my group turned it in so early.” Milan chuckled slightly. “He just hates the fact that he doesn’t have his own Cece, Logan, Nadia and CL.” the Dutch girl was kind of lucky to say the least. Lee Chaerin offered to help her out since she is the daughter of a physics professor and it kind of comes naturally to her so she was willing to help. Logan had a knack for science and had a great grasp of the concepts involved in the major branches of it. Nadia and Cece were the math geeks, one being born into a family of financial experts and the other who started crunching numbers since she was a child. Milan absolutely loathed physics but they helped make it a little easier. “Jaehwan offered to drop me off at the school so I wouldn’t have to catch the bus since Dana has the car today. Somewhere along the lines Wonshik wanted to go with and we decided to go find some place to eat as well so yeah.”

“That’s really sweet of him!” Cece exclaimed.

Milan smiled. “Yeah it is, huh?”

“Milan-ah, hurry up! I’m missing valuable bubble time!” Jaehwan rushed in his old lady voice. Milan sighed in great exasperation and Wonshik laughed.

“Kenjumma, I’m about four seconds away from shoving my foot up your-”

“Watch your language, young lady!” Kenjumma exclaimed with a horrified gasp. Cece and Wonshik shared mutual looks as they continued to die of laughter. Milan turned to Cece before she headed out.

“Cece, did you want to come with us?”

“No, I’m good. You guys go have fun.” Cece waved off and Milan nodded. Cece saw Milan kick Jaehwan in the right before the group walked out the building and she headed into her own office. They were such an adorable duo and she prayed for Wonshik to get through their couple arguing.

With Milan being away, Cece started to ponder about plans she could make for herself to ease her mind. There were still a lot of sites in South Korea that she hasn't gone to, Namsan Tower and the Han River being the must go. Every time she saw Tao at the Cardoso apartment, he told her that she must go there and she was taking his word for it.

Cece started spinning around in her chair while staring at the ceiling. She just needed to find a good Korean person to go with. Yeonji was the best option since she knew this country like the back of her hand. But with her struggling in her astronomy class, Cece didn't think it would be the best idea and knew her studies were more important. She sighed deeply. Where could she find a South Korean native to show her around?

"Are you ignoring me?" asked a calm voice.

"Ah!" she screamed. Her foot got caught under the chair and she ended up falling over, unceremoniously. "Ow." she said weakly, the arm of the chair digging into her side. This must've been her karma since she scared Milan earlier. She looked up to see Taekwoon peering over her desk, staring at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she assured as she slowly picked herself up, fixed the chair and sat down to stare at the male. “Hey, how long have you been there?”

“The moment you started spinning around in your chair. I greeted you but you didn’t respond.” Taekwoon answered and Cece blushed. She probably looked like a nutjob.

“Hehe, sorry. I wasn’t ignoring you, just really deep in thought I suppose.” Cece explained.

Taekwoon looked at her curiously. “What were you thinking about?”

“I was just trying to figure out where I wanted to go tonight and who I wanted to go with. I’ve been in Korea for close to three months yet I haven’t toured around yet.” Cece started. “If I’m going to be staying in Seoul for the long haul, I have to know more about locations besides how to get from my apartment to Jellyfish.”

“Where were you planning to go?”

“I wanted to go to Namsan Tower.” Cece answered. “I just don’t have a South Korean native to help me out.” she sighed.

“I can do it.” Taekwoon offered, suddenly and Cece was in shock. Did he really just offer?!

“What? Really?” Cece asked. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I have a few weeks before comeback preparation gets really strict.” he explained. “Plus it’s nice to get out of the dorm and away from those...people.”

Cece snorted. “Don’t be rude.” she said and he shook his head no with a slight childish pout. It was rather adorable for a 22 year old. “It’s really nice of you to offer, though! Thank you so much.” she grinned.

Taekwoon smiled. “No problem. What time were you going?”

“I guess around 8 or so.”

“Okay, we’ll meet up then.” Taekwoon added and Cece nodded. Not even a moment later, a voice called out that made Taekwoon groan.

“Taekwoonieee~! Leooooooooo~!” Hakyeon called from outside of Cece’s office. “We need to practice more!” he added and the girl heard Taekwoon mutter "annoying" which made her snicker.

"Be nice." she told him.

"I don't want to." Taekwoon retorted and Cece chuckled harder.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, what should we eat? It’s getting to the point where I’m feeling hunger pains.” Logan announce to her group.

“Hunger pains? You just ate popcorn.” Jongin exclaimed. “Not to mention, it was a large sized bucket that you didn’t share!”

“But, Nini, that was an hour ago!” Logan whined, calling the dancing machine by the nickname she gave him. Jongin just stared at her in shock and Nadia laughed.

“Don’t worry, Jongin. I’ve known her forever and I’m still trying to figure out where it goes.” Nadia added. “Probably to her head.” she whispered, not-so-discreetly making their same age male companions snicker.

“Nadia, we’re going to fight later but I’m really hungry. Where should we go, seriously?” she asked again.

Tao thought for a second. “I think there’s a small restaurant up the way that sells patbingsu."

"Bingsu!" the two cousins cheered. Logan pushed Tao and Nadia dragged Jongin towards the location.

"Hurry up, old people!" Tao exclaimed.

"Old?!" Ashleigh and Kris blanched, following behind the teenagers. The two walked calmly as the four got further away.

"Get us a table ready!" Kris called out and an "okay" was heard from Jongin in the distance.

Ashleigh giggled. "I guess we do seem like their parents."

"Yeah." Kris responded with a slight nervous chuckle. He didn't know what to do while in a one-on-one presence with her. He's only admired her from afar back in the day which...sounded kind of creeper-ish. "So..."

"I heard we went to the same school." Ashleigh started. "You're a Sir Winston alum, right?"

"Yes I am. Class of 2007."

"You were also captain of the basketball team and kind of the reason we went to the championship.” she added on. “You were pretty good, getting your Kobe Bryant on and everything.”

Kris chuckled. “I guess you could say that."

"I was part of the marching band and the dance team." Ashleigh inquired.

"Yeah, I know. You played the tuba."

"And a damn good one at that!" Ashleigh exclaimed and Kris laughed.

"I'm really shocked that you remember me. You were part of the popular crowd." Kris said and Ashleigh frowned his way. "Not in the stereotypical mean people way but in a way where everyone liked you and you were really friendly towards the majority."

"Oh, got you. It's still surprising to me since back then I had bright green hair and sported my Mukuro heterochromia like a religion yet people still liked me." Ashleigh said in shock. "My Canadian peers were very strange." she added and Kris snickered.

“I remember when it was my first day of school and I didn't know where to go. My accent was really strong and English was pretty subpar. Nobody seemed to want to help the foreign Asian kid but then there were you.” Kris smiled down to her. “You showed me around, patiently, and even introduced me to some friends that I still keep in contact with. It made me vote for you for homecoming queen.”

“When was this, like my 10th grade year? I can’t believe you remembered that! But, yeah, I don’t like seeing people be left behind.” Ashleigh smiled lightly. “Ah, I remember the good ol’ cyan hair for homecoming. Crazy times, man.”

“Even though I like your natural hair and eye color the most, you were still pretty regardless.” Kris said absently and only when Ashleigh smirked at him with a raised eyebrow did he realize what he said. “I...uh...I...I…”

“Are you coming onto me, Wu? Have I made you fall madly in love with me?" Ashleigh asked, teasingly.

"What?! I just..."

"Do you like what you see?" Ashleigh asked staring at him with seductive blue eyes, her straightened tresses pushed back with her hand. Kris Wu, the Chinese God to women, blushed so hard that he could honestly put a ripe tomato to shame. Ashleigh started laughing at him. "I'm going to enjoy rekindling our friendship, Krissy-poo." she grinned.

"You're just as bad as hobbit." Kris sighed.

"Who do you think she learned from? She was so shy, quiet and the epitome of a wallflower when I met her." Ashleigh informed and Kris was beyond shocked. "She's still not to my level yet, though."

"Oh God!" he exclaimed and Ashleigh chuckled.

"Are you guys coming? The waitress came to our table." Nadia called out from the entrance.

"Okay!" Ashleigh replied before linking her arm up with Kris's, tugging him slightly. "Eomma and appa are coming!"

"What are you saying?!" asked a flustered Kris but the grinning model ignored him.

~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm so excited! I finally get to be a tourist!" Cece squealed as she walked ahead. Taekwoon quietly followed her smiling behind the blue scarf she made for him. He almost regretted offering his services since he was not a fan of cold weather (despite his sweater game being so strong) and the icy ground and freezing wind was certainly not his cup of tea but her expression was worth it. Seeing her happy child-like excitement was very pure, genuine and most of all cute. He felt kind of prideful that he was able to bring that side out of her. Now if he could just get her to...

“Is this payback for earlier? I said it wasn’t intentional!” Cece said staring up at him.

“Huh?” he asked blinking a few times.

“You must’ve been spacing out then.” Cece chuckled. “I was wondering where we go next?” she said gesturing to the intersection that they came to.

“Oh, sorry. We keep going straight and then we have to go up a hill to find the cable cars.” Taekwoon replied and Cece nodded while following his lead. After about 5 minutes, they made it to the hill which was when Taekwoon decided to stand behind Cece. It was covered with ice and she didn't have on proper boots so he didn't want to take any chances. Cece walked up cautiously with a few slips until she became really off balance and fell backwards, as he suspected. Taekwoon caught her by the waist and steadied her. “Be careful.” he said, softly.

“O-Okay, thanks.” Cece replied with a slight stammer. From then on he held her hand until they got to the cable cars and she could barely keep her feels in check. She kept focusing on how her hand fit so perfectly in his and how she felt oddly protected with him. It was nice and she hated how he let go when they were getting ready to board the cable car (her internal pout was intense). They boarded the cable cars and Cece was fascinated by seeing downtown sparkling under the night sky. She took quick photos of the scenery but when they got to the top of Namsan Mountain, it was even more breathtaking. Seoul just looked like a puddle of lights and the people only seeming like a little ants. “Wow…”

"I'm somehow happy you think my hometown is so pretty." Taekwoon smiled. "But it looks even better from the observatory." he said pointing to Namsan Tower just up the way.

"Lead the way, my tour guide." she gestured and Taekwoon did just that. They walked into the tower and rode the elevator up to the top. As soon as the doors of the lift opened, Cece skipped over to the glass windows. Taekwoon wasn’t lying when he said it was prettier at a higher elevation. Not only did she see the city lit up, she saw the slight outline of other mountain tops in the distance and the cobalt blue sky that stretch on endlessly.

“Here use this.” Taekwoon told her and she saw him put a 100 won in the observatory binoculars. Cece looked through them and saw a crystal clear image of the scenery and was extremely fascinated. Even though the country was small, she knew it had a lot to offer and the view over the horizon proved just a snippet of that. Taekwoon spent the next few minutes explaining some Korean history to her but soon the guard told them it was getting close to midnight and the observatory was going to call it a day. The two left and since Taekwoon's stomach was always yearning for food, they stopped at one of the street vendors to get something to eat. When they got their spicy ddeukbokki, they walked on and made it to the side of the Han River.

"If I was a photographer, this would be the most perfect shot!" Cece gasped as she looked upon the water that twinkled under the moonlight.

"Yeah, Hongbin-ah would really love it." Taekwoon nodded before Cece turned to look at him with a smile.

"Thank you so much for showing me around. I really appreciate it." Cece thanked and Taekwoon gave her his own smile in return.

"No problem. It’s kind of one of the advantages of being not well known." Taekwoon shrugged. "I might as well take advantage of it."

"Well, I'm glad I got the opportunity since that'll change by next year or even the end of this year." Cece assured. "Your nugu-dom will not last much longer and you will be winning awards and holding concerts before you know it. Maybe not at the insane Exo rate but you'll get there, it’s just that one song that needs to get them. Your Starlight manager swears by it." she smiled proudly as she spoke of herself and Taekwoon couldn't suppress his chuckling. "You should laugh or chuckle more they're so nice to listen to."

"Oh?" he asked with a raised brow.

Cece nodded. "Yeah. Since your voice and your laughter is so soothing to hear." she clarified. "It's on the level of how contagious Shikkie-yah and Hakyeonnie-oppa's laughs are." she mused, not noticing the slight frown playing on his lips.

"Why do you...only call Hakyeon 'oppa'?" he asked, shocking the Latina. "I know he's dependable but...I can be, too." he added and Cece started laughing when realization hit her.

He was jealous.

"I didn't know it bothered you so much. I'm a generally liberal person and the one thing I can't fully accept is the age based classifications. No disrespect to the history, it's just something I find weird because I think of everyone as my equal. It’s almost a struggle calling the boss sajangnim." Cece informed. "I only address Hakyeonnie-oppa this way because he nagged the hell out of me the first few weeks. I wasn't undermining your dependability I just still have over two decades worth of a foreign mindset to adjust, Taekwoonie-oppa." she said and Taekwoon nodded, liking the way the new address just rolled off her tongue. "I'm really shocked you were jealous about that."

"I wasn't jealous per se..." Taekwoon trailed off.

"Nah-ah, you were totally jealous of your leader."

"No I wasn't..."

"Deny all you want but you hated the fact that I might've liked Hakyeonnie-oppa more than you." Cece teased and Taekwoon looked away, cheeks colored with an embarrassed, pink blush. "Oh my gosh, you are so cute!"

"Stop~!" Taekwoon whined which only added to his cute factor.

"Aww, squishy squishy!" Cece teased further pinching his chubby cheek in the process. She then felt her body lean towards the body of water which made her scream. Taekwoon held her so her upper body was hovering over the Han River from the platform. She clutched his torso in a way that if he let her go, she was taking him with her. But there was nothing to worry about since he had a vice grip on her frame assuring that she wouldn't be going anywhere.

"Don’t you think it's a nice night for a swim?" Taekwoon asked nonchalantly.

"No! I'm sorry, oh great ruler, Lord Jung, King of lattes, Savior of music!" Cece begged while laughing and, satisfied with her reply, Taekwoon let her back up. Cece then proceeded to calm her laughter. "Evil oppa!" she chuckled.

Taekwoon blinked. "I'm not." he replied softly and Cece laughed even harder. His inner mischievousness was pleasant to see. People painted him as the cold uncaring person but he was really sweet and child-like while at the same time mature and thoughtful. She couldn't stand the fact that his reputation was being tarnished due to his open shyness while other business officials keep a squeaky clean front despite their sleaziness. The unfairness of it all was really unfair and her whole demeanor changed at the thought, something that didn't go unnoticed by Taekwoon. "What's wrong?" he asked.

After a moment of debating on whether or not to tell him, Cece sighed. "Okay, since I can depend on you, I think it’s okay." she began. "I have this friend who is being harassed by one of her employees but she's new to the country and really needs the job."

"Is someone messing with you?" Taekwoon asked seriously. "I can handle them. I am a black belt in Taekwondo."

"Why does everyone keep thinking it's me?" Cece sighed. "I'm very honored that you would get violent for me but it’s not me." she assured and he felt a wave of relief wash over him but he thought for a little more about what she said.

"Is it Sanna? She's going through a lot of money trouble." he asked and Cece froze. How did he...? "It is her. Who's messing with her?"

"I-I can't..."

"Cece." he said in a demanding yet pleading tone.

"I can't tell you, oppa. You're not even supposed to know!" Cece cried. "She asked me not to tell but this is really messed up. As much as I want to tell, if I do no one will admit to it, it'll just look bad on me."

"But don't you feel burdened?" he asked.

"Immensely, but she's not saying anything so...I can't either." the girl sighed. "I don't want to betray her trust in me but at the same time I want to help. So all I can do is watch out for her from afar until I get proof."

"For the situation that you've been put into, you're a really good friend." Taekwoon nodded. "I'll look out for her as well and keep a close eye on suspicious candidates."

Cece smiled. "Thank you." she said. "Why didn't I pay attention to how awesome you are when I was an average Starlight? I'm horrible."

"I'm just doing what any person should do. If I'm completely honest I have male privilege in a patriarchal country, I might as well use it for good."

"Wow, you're also humble and intelligent. What is this?" Cece sighed. "I really am horrible."

Taekwoon shook his head. "No, you have your preference even though I don't agree with it. I'm just as amazing as Hakyeon and those younger idiots." he admitted and Cece chuckled at his backhanded comfort. Taekwoon stood up from the ledge before holding his hand out to the girl. "It's really late and I think we should start heading back. I don't want your aunt to send out a missing persons report."

Cece laughed. "Yeah, we can't let that happen, now can we?" she said as she took his hand and he helped her up. "We should hang out like this again."

Taekwoon nodded before he showed another sincere smile. "You know where to find me."

This is like a whole week later than planned but I'm slowly losing the will to write ever since I signed up for this creative writing course in school lol. But the show must go on. I'm not gonna force a deadline for updates, they'll just come whenever. Hope you enjoyed! <3