Wu Yifan was racking his brains for a way to approach Joonmyeon . Given that their last encounter wasn’t a fancy one, he’s finding it more difficult to think of more appropriate way to invite her. His mom wasn’t joking when she said she’ll dump his motorcycle to a junkyard if he failed to bring Joonmyeon to their family dinner. Once, an airline employee was rude to her, not knowing who she was. She did everything in her power to buy said airline and Wu Airlines was born. In a way, Joonmyeon was like Jiahua. They both won’t take from anybody and was not afraid to speak their mind. He might be used to his mother’s antics but he was not used to other girls having control over him.

He parked his car distractedly (since his mother had his beloved Desmosedici hostage). Even if his schoolmates weren’t poor, his Maybach Cruisiero still caught attention. It wasn’t one of the most expensive cars in the world for nothing. It took him sometime to realize that Luhan was beside an equally expensive vehicle two cars over and was calling his attention. “Hey yo, wadup?”

Luhan walked up to him, he looked like a deer disguised as a panda. “I need coffee.”

“Yeah. You look like you could use some.” Seeing that they have time to spare, they both went to one of the expensive cafés hosted by SM High.

“How’s your project coming along?” Luhan asked once they settled in one of the tables outside the café. He frowned when the older male lit a cigarette. “I hope you don’t mind.”

Yifan shook his head. “I didn’t know you smoke.”

“Only when stress gets to me.” He took a puff. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Oh. Well, my mother wanted me to invite her to our family dinner.”

Luhan’s face lit up. “It’s good, isn’t it? It will make it look more serious than what it really is.” Yifan didn’t understand why Luhan was so adamant about teaching Joonmyeon a lesson but he didn’t say anything.

“I guess. If I have a different mother. You do not know my mom. And what if this gets out? People will speculate and you—“

“You’re more stressed that me.” Luhan snorted. “What happened?” Yifan was tempted to say that he didn’t want to go through with the bet. He can give them whatever they wanted to compensate for it anyway. But he didn’t want to appear like a coward. Not in this new environment. Not with his newfound friends.

“Nothing. I’ll take care of it.”

***************************************

Joonmyeon was a no show and Yifan was getting restless. He decided to skip for the last two periods after getting vague sketches from Jongdae on where he can find Joonmyeon’s house. It was inside an exclusive village across town. The Kim mansion was an imposing white structure on top of a hill. It was like a god looking down the other houses below. Unlike his house with an open driveway, he was stopped by a uniformed guard right outside the high wrought iron gates.

“I’m here to see Joonmyeon.” He almost rolled his eyes when he was asked to show identification. The guard called someone from a land phone and after a few minutes, he was given the go signal to drive up to the main house. “Good afternoon.” He greeted the statuesque middle-aged lady who opened the door for him.

“Hello. I’m Heechul, Joonmyeon’s aunt.”

“My name’s Wu Yifan. I’m Joonmyeon’s classmate. I was told she’s sick, I’m here to see her, Ahjumoni.” Heechul tilted her head to the side and regarded him with an unreadable stare. He was starting to get uncomfortable.

“Very well. I’ll see if she’s awake.” He was escorted to a sun room. “Have a seat first.” He thanked her and his eyes roamed around the spacious room when she was gone. Three quarters of the walls were made of glass, overlooking a well-tended garden. Comfortable armchairs were in yellow and white Gingham pattern and other furniture were painted stark white. It looked like it was ripped from the pages of Architectural Digest.

He did not see Heechul again but a house help told him that her ahgassi will see him and he was brought upstairs in front of an ornate double doors. He was hesitant to knock at first, fidgeting with the bouquet of flowers and box of cronuts he brought.

A timid “Come in.” was heard when he finally found the courage to rap on the door. Joonmyeon was sitting on a large four-poster bed, still in her pajamas. He can tell that Joonmyeon was watching him intently.

“Hi.” He gave her a small smile when he walked up to her. He was awkwardly towering over her since she didn’t even invite him to sit. He raised his hands. “Peace offering?” She still didn’t say anything. “I’m sorry about everything I said.” She opened her arms and his smile widened when he hugged her. He felt her stiffen.

“U-Uh, I…I was meant to get the flowers?”

“Oh. Oh. Sorry!” He immediately distanced himself. He handed her the bouquet of orange carnations.

“Thank you.” She said simply, admiring the flowers.

“I brought cronuts too. I heard they’re to die for.” He placed the on the bedside table. He spotted a decorative vase on top of a bureau. “Let me put them on water. Just lie back down and rest, yeah?” He tucked her in and looked for her bathroom to tend to the flowers. When he finished, he placed the vase on her bedside table. He was so comfortable that he felt like he’d been in her room all his life. Again, he was left standing awkwardly.

“Sit.” He eyed an antique wingback chair that was a little too far from her bed. She tapped the spot beside her and scooted a bit. He grinned.

“How are you feeling?” He chose to sit beside her and lean on the headboard for support and it looked like he was almost lying beside her. Joonmyeon looked up to him and this close, he noticed that without makeup, she was not as flawless as everyone thought. There was beauty mark on top of her right eyebrow, a few freckles on both cheeks and her eyes, though very pretty, were teeny-tiny bit uneven.

“The flowers are pretty.” Completely ignoring his question. She ducked her head and played with her blanket.

“You’re not really sick, are you?” She glared at him this time and he was sure he hit a raw nerve but she didn’t say a word to defend herself. “According to what the rest of the population thought of you, you’re very unlikely to feign sickness.” He said matter-of-factly.

“Do you want me to say that I didn’t go to school because I’m still upset with what you said and that I don’t want to see you? Fine.”

“Look, I’m really sorry. I just thought that you’re playing with me. You know what, I just know what to do to show you how sorry I am.”

*****************************************

Roughly an hour later, Joonmyeon was sitting in the passenger seat of Yifan’s car to God knows where. Heechul was adamant that she brings her bodyguards with her until Yifan told her that he had at least six people watching him inconspicuously as to not draw attention. Heechul then made him promise that Joonmyeon should be home before her 10pm curfew.

“Where are we going?” He didn’t say anything about dress code so she opted for a light yellow dress under a flimsy white cardigan. She tied her hair in a messy knot and applied very light makeup. She completed her look with her strappy Zanotti flats.

“You’ll see.” He looked away from the road to give her a gummy smile. Why was it so easy to give in to this guy? She didn’t even know how many date invitations she turned down since she was allowed to date. She paid attention to the road and she felt that they were a bit familiar and her hunch was verified when she saw him pulling up in Yifan’s open driveway. The Mediterranean-style house was even more captivating in broad daylight. A bunch of palm trees grew on a patch of land in the middle of the semi-circular driveway. It hid the oak double doors from plain view.

“What are we doing here?” It was his turn to ignore her question. He stepped out of the car and opened the door for her. A middle-aged man in a crisp black suit opened the door for them. “Welcome home, Shao Ye.” And he greeted her as well in accented Korean. They were speaking rapidly in what she only recognized as Mandarin. She spoke four languages herself but she didn’t bother to study Chinese. “Let’s go.” He pulled her to the back door but instead of following the path to lagoon like what she did the last time she was there, they rounded up the house until they saw a huge kidney-shaped pool. She saw two people lounging in a cabana beside the pool. She recognized one of them to be Ella when they were close enough.

“You already know my mother and Papa, this is Kim Joonmyeon. Joonmyeon, meet my father.” She only managed to stutter a reply since she was too stunned. Why did he bring her to meet his family?

“Nice to meet you, Joonmyeon-ssi. Honey, I think your description of her was not accurate. You said she’s very pretty but she’s exquisite. Good job, son.” He smiled cheekily and Joonmyeon thought he looked ten years younger.

“My bad. My bad.” Ella chortled and hugged her.

“Thank you, Sir.” She bowed.

“Call me Uncle Chun, sweetie.”

“Or you can call us Mama and Papa.” Ella giggled.

“You guys are making her uncomfortable.” Yifan grumbled and his parents just laughed at him.

“I’ll check on dinner. Yifan, why don’t you give her a tour of the house?”