It was finally the night of the company party and surprisingly, you were a bit excited about it. Although you had to do your job and find information about who you were going up against, you couldn’t wait to dress up and make yourself pretty because you never really got the chance to.

You got out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around your body and your long, black hair freshly blow dried. You were about to go do your makeup first when you heard your phone’s message tone. It was from Changjo.

MinAe, need a ride? I can come get you.

No it’s alright, Fantasy will be dropping me off.

Okays then~ I’ll see you there. Oh, and if you haven’t found it yet, take a look in the shopping bag that your shoes are in. 

You stared at his last txt and wondered what he meant. You hadn’t touched the shopping bag with the shoes since that day so you really didn’t know what was happening.

What does he mean by ‘it’?

You made your way towards the bag and looked inside. You took out the box that contained your shoes and you looked inside to see if there was anything else in the bag. To your surprise, another box was in there and you thought back to that day you went shopping with Changjo.

I never bought any jewellery…

You opened the box to see a stunning gold necklace in it. There was also a note alongside it.

“Hi MinAe! Just a little present to thank you for coming to the party. I know I kinda forced you into it but thanks anyway. I really hope that we can stay as friends.

-Changjo”

Wow… This necklace is gorgeous! When did he buy this?

Once again, you snapped yourself back to reality to not be swooned by Changjo’s kindness. You couldn’t let him into your life because you would put him in a lot of danger and you wouldn’t be able to take the guilt that’s already started to build up in you. You placed the necklace on your bed and continued to apply your makeup. You curled your hair and draped it down to one side and you put your dress on. You put on your heels, grabbed your purse and finally, put on the necklace Changjo had bought you. You looked at yourself in the mirror for the last time then headed  to the living room to wait for Fantasy to arrive.

-

After a few minutes you saw Hyoseong’s car parked outside of your driveway and you went out to greet them.

“OMG MINAE. YOU BEAUTIFUL BEING YOU.” Sunhwa stared at you with her jaw dropped.

“MinAe wow. It’s rare to see you dressed like this. Did Changjo pick that dress for you?” Hana asked.

“Yeh... he did.” You said, feeling a bit shy.

“That boy has some good taste.” Hana approved.

After the shower of compliments, you all got into the car and made your way towards Changjo’s house and when you arrived, your eyes widened at the size of it.

How fancy…

You entered the house and saw many other guests there already mingling, eating and having a glass of champagne. Feeling a bit awkward, you started looking around for any sight of Changjo. You walked towards the garden door when the announcer started speaking, stopping you in your tracks. You looked towards the stage that was set up and saw Mr. Choi and his family standing there. You saw Changjo as well, in a fitted suit.

Hmm… Not bad Choi Changjo.

“Hello everyone and thankyou for celebrating Choi Corporation’s 15 years with me. For all the guests who don't know me, I’m Choi MinJun, President of the company. I would like to welcome all the guests and also congratulate all the workers of the corporation. We’ve been doing extremely well and I’m proud of each and every one of your contributions. Everyone enjoy yourselves tonight, because you all deserve it. Thankyou!”

With a smile, they left the stage and the DJ started the music. You watched as the family left the stage and once again, your guilt started to build up.

15 years of hardship will all go to waste soon, and it’ll be me and my parent's faults.

You sighed and made your way towards the table with the refreshments.

“MinAe!”

You turned around to see Changjo smiling and heading his way towards you.

“Hey Changjo, nice suit.” You smiled.

“Thanks hahah. You look beautiful.” He said genuinely.

“Thankyou..” You blushed.

“Want me to show you around the house? Get your drink and let’s go~”

You nodded and Changjo extended out his elbow so you could link your arm with his.

“Is that really necessary Changjo?”

“MinAe, you’re my date for tonight. It’s fine.” He smiled. “Oh yeah! I should intro you to my parents first! Come with me.”

You linked arms with him and you gave him an awkward smile. You were about to meet the person you were going to take down. Well, this is going to be an eventful night.

As you both walked towards them, Changjo saw his parents talking to some people who looked important and stopped.

“Hmm... They seem busy, maybe later.”

You released a sigh of relief and finished the rest of your lemon and lime cocktail.

“Here, let me put that away for you.” Changjo said as he took the glass out of your hands. He placed the glass on a tray nearby and turned to you.

“Can I have this dance?” Changjo, offered his hand to you.

You listened to the music and it was a slow, waltz type. You were in the mood for some dancing as talking and mingling with these people didn’t really seem to interest you. You looked towards Changjo and happily accepted the offer.

The both of you walked to the dance floor hand in hand and when you reached it, Changjo put his hand on your waist while you put yours on his shoulder. The both of you moved slowly across the dance floor having a bit of conversation while dancing. You were relieved that it wasn’t as awkward as you thought it would be. After a few songs, Changjo looked over towards his parents and saw that they were free from other people.

“MinAe, my parents are free now. Let’s go~!”

Once again you smiled at him awkwardly, hiding the uncomfortable feeling you have. 

“Appa! Umma!” Changjo called. The couple raised their heads from the schedule they were looking at and looked your way.

Changjo’s dad was average in height and size. He had black hair, which was neatly combed to the side, his smile was warm and he seemed approachable. His mum was an elegant lady with short, black, curly hair and her skin was very pale. She seemed like a woman who was hard to impress as she had a serious face.

“ Umma, Appa, this is MinAe, my friend from school and my date tonight.”

“Hello MinAe, you look beautiful tonight!” Changjo’s mum smiled.

“Thankyou ma’am.” You smiled back.

“Good evening MinAe, thankyou for attending, I hope you have a great time.”

You smile at Changjo’s dad, thanking him.

The family talked for a while, joking with each other and you stared at the happy family.

I’m going to ruin their happiness…

Suddenly, feeling constricted in the room because of your guilt, you made your way to the garden for some fresh air. Changjo noticed you take your leave so he excused himself and followed you. He saw you sitting at the garden bench and he took a seat next to you.

“MinAe you ok?”

“Yeh I am. I was just getting a bit dizzy from the heat in there.” You reassured him.

“Ah okays.”

There was little silence for a while but it didn’t feel awkward to you. You felt pretty comfortable after calming yourself down. The silence soon broke due to Changjo.

“MinAe, I’m really happy you came tonight. I know you didn’t really want to.” Changjo started.

“It’s fine Changjo. I actually enjoyed it. And… Thankyou for the necklace. I’ll pay you back soon.” You said.

“What?! No way. Don’t do that. It’s a present. You’re not supposed to repay me.”

“But it looks expensive…” You pouted.

“Don’t worry about it MinAe, it’s my thankyou gift.” You smiled at Changjo and looked back to the scenery.

“You and your parents are a smiley bunch. I know where you get your kindness from now.”

From the corner of your eye, you saw Changjo stare at you, but instead of smiling, you saw his face turn sour. You looked towards him. “Changjo?” You said his name, confused at his sudden mood change. He heaved a sigh and after a few seconds he finally spoke.

“Honestly, all you saw back there was an act.”

“What?”

“Well, my dad is the only one that wasn’t acting but that woman and I were the ones faking it.”

“Wait what? ‘That Woman’?”

“Yeh… She’s my stepmom. She truly loves my dad, thankfully. Because if she married him for his money someone would’ve gotten slapped ages ago… Well basically, she loves my dad but hates me. My mum died when I was 2, from a car accident. Dad was just staring out the business and he needed someone to look after me while he was earning money to provide for us. That’s when that woman took the job. Long, horrible story short, they fell in love with each other. As I grew up, she always made me look bad towards my dad. Thankfully she didn’t hurt me. She probably didn’t because she knew that when I grew up I’d take revenge on her hahah.”

You looked at Changjo, sympathy filling your heart.

He’s been through a lot… I must’ve made things harder for him. No, wait. I WILL make things harder for him…soon. But, I want to be a friend he can vent to. He won’t tell his story to just anyone, right? Argh. This is so hard.

Seeing you zoned out, Changjo decided to speak.

“MinAe what are you thinking of?” Your thoughts were disrupted by Changjo’s question.

“Umm nothing.”

“Doesn’t seem like nothing.”

“Don’t worry about it hahah. I’m fine.”

“Listen MinAe, if you’re feeling sorry for m-“

“No I’m not Changjo. I just want you to know, that if you ever need a friend I’m here.” You smiled at him.

Oh MinAe. Now you’ve done it. You failed to keep him out of your life.

“Thanks MinAe-yah~ The same goes for me. If you ever need any help, I’m here.”

“I need a lot of help.” You sighed.

Crap. Why’d I say that, Ugh slip ups. No turning back now… Hopefully he didn’t hear.

“Really MinAe? What’s wrong?”

Dammit.

“No Changjo hahah, I was being sarcastic.” You laughed awkwardly.

“You sure?”

“Yes I am~~ Hey you still haven’t shown me around your house yet! Let’s go now, I feel better!” You stood up and tugged on Changjo’s sleeve, causing him to laugh at your sudden aegyo.

“Ok, ok let’s go child.”

Changjo dropped you off after more dancing and chatting and you crashed onto your bed thinking about what you just did. Knowing your parents weren’t home, you screamed into your pillow, letting out your frustration. You stood up to pace around your room, rethinking things.

“Oh my goshhhhhh. Why must this be so complicated! I’m going crazy. I’m even talking to myself. MinAe, calm down. You’re not going to put Changjo danger. Fantasy will be here to help you. Wait… Why do I badly want to be friends with this guy? Why do I want to protect him? No I have no feelings towards him. He’s just a friend. Well he is now. ARGHHH. I’m tired. I’ll figure this out tomorrow.”

So much internal conflict for MinAe hehe. 

Sorry everyone, after I've started uploading my fic, I've come to a realisation that it's very slow paced... I'm so sorry if I'm boring you guys out! Bear with me, I promise some more exciting things will be coming soon! 

-Mae.