chapter 50 - wow .     

Even after much luring  and temptation from both eun bi and hyeon lay couldn't be pursued to eat anything . Worried about his cloth attaining  the smell coming out of all the pots boiling he sat at the corner , his stunned eyes glaring at the two enjoying their food .  The little noises they make making him regret why he hesitated that much to even try. From the looks of it the two seem to enjoy it and it might not be that unhealthy if they are eating but for someone as a neat freak as him eating in this type of seating is by itself unthinkable.

          Hyeon and eun bi whisper to each other and glance back at jae giggling while enjoying the hot hottokies .   .   . Making little yummy sounds to get jae jealous . No matter how much they tried to act it out though the blank stare is the only thing they got out of jae , who with folded arms and crossed leg is just scanning the tent . He's too busy being dumbfounded at the scene out side of the tent .   .    .   No matter how shocked and bewildered keeping everything to himself .

   Joon has warned him really well before giving him the address to not make  any comment about the living conditions nor the street nor the shops .   .   .   Nothing . Just keep your opinions to yourself is what joon warned.  As honest as jae is , joon knew he might say something out of curiosity or just an observation that might infuriate hyeon. Even jae going to that part of town by himself is a huge achievement let alone go through the market and sit in a  tent food shop clogged  by the steam and smoke coming out of the stove and the pots .

        Mrs kim would say hyeon is humanizing him as she had seen on many occasion  when jae comes home all flustered or happy or even dead angry .    .   .  They didn't had to be his psychologist to notice the behavioural changes he has been having since introduced to hyeon.

     " .   .     .   I thought you would have tried it at least, since you love cooking and all " hyeon whispered as she stepped out of the tent . Holding eun bi on one hand and the little girl back bag on the other as eun bi has insisted on carrying the food they bought for seung.

      Jae didn't reply just tagged along , hand in his pocket .   .   . As the two girls led the way to the market buying everything they need .

   " .   .  . Here hold this .   .   . " hyeon handed jae the backpack and eun bi's hand as she went on picking all the vegetable she needs and friendly bickering with the lady about the price.

   " .   .   . Get me the fresh ones from the back , I know you have them " hyeon went on screaming with the lady .  Jae stood there baffled as to why hyeon is screaming back at the lady about tomatoes. He slowly looked around to see if anybody has noticed the bickering but no .   .  All the customers around seem to be debating with the sellers about the price. But even with that much shouting nothing less that 50 cent was cut from the price.

    " .    .   .   What ?" Hyeon asked glancing up at jae as she handed the lady the money and waited for her change.

   " .     .       .   Nothing .      .  " jae replied, quickly returning his eyes to eun bi who after he handed her his phone hasn't even said a word. Hyeon eyes followed his

    " .       .       . Why did you give her that .    . " hyeon took the phone away from eunbi .  Her sharp eye glaring at jae . He took a second to reply

 " .   .   .   She asked for it " jae replied

  " .   .  And you were gonna hand her everything she asks for " hyeon got her change .  .  . Put in her wallet and leaned forward placing his phone in his jacket side pocket as both his hands are occupied.

   " .   .    .  Isn't  that what am suppose to do " jae replied back .  .  His statement forcing hyeon to halt her walking .  .   . A quick look into his curious looking eyes she could help but smile.

   " .   .    .   No .   .  " she brushed her hair back .  .   . Giving him a big smile .

    " .    .    ,  no ,

 " .   .   .    that's not what you're supposed to do "  she turned around and started walking , still giggling about what he said.  

        From vegetables to eun bi's lunch box to water bottle .  .   .  They went all around half side of the market  as hyeon does the bargaining while jae stands behind either focused on why the price is so low or how the shop don't even charge for tax or how much profit they at making.

Even though a businessman he has never bought his own groceries not even once , so totally not aware of the price he can't predict anything but selling them at this low of a price it must be hard for them to even break even and listening to the sellers complain it sounds like they don't make much at all .

         If not those business related thought it hyeon that he's focused on think about . From the almost everybody at the market she greating on first name basses ,asking about their family members  to her bargaining on everything  or surprisingly in her own words " the amazing" discounts she's getting. It's easy for him to notice that he can't even define her any more not categorize her .   .    . All he can do is stand back and admire .  

From her welcoming smile she hands out to every body to the warm conversations she gets herself into , not even caring about him and eun bi standing for minutes and minutes as she chats about their kids and financial situation .   .   .  Who wouldn't  not admire and fall for her. Her humility  and genuine care about these people have yet again surprised jae, who on more than one occasion have gotten a tongue lash even a slap from her for what he said about poor people.

      " .     .     .  Why are you looking at me like that "  hyeon placed the lunch box she just bought into the big bag and once again started walking after giving the old lady a tight hug and and a small bow as she walked off.

    " .      .      .   Hu ?" Hyeon sent her questioning eyes to jae again when he didn't reply.

  " .      .       .   Nothing " jae turned his eyes to eun bi , busily eating her sweet potato fries that she got from the old lady.

       " .   ,   . I don't like it when you stare at me like that .   .   .  " hyeon whispered not paying much attention to the sky that grooming and leading the way to their last shop.

    " .    .    .  Ajusshi are you sure you don't wanna try " eunbi raised the bag of fries up towards Jae.

   " .     .    .  No thank you .    .  I

" .    .      Don't worry about him , he's just too spoiled .    .    .  I'll have some " hyeon reached into the bag and pulled some out.

    " .      .      .   I'm not spoiled " jae smirked  unlike when mrs kim and joon when hyeon calls him spoiled it feels more of an insult . The fact that his rich by it self has created a huge unspeakable gap between hyeon and him , which both are aware of but dont wanna address .   .  . Just like everything else that's going on between them .

     " .     .     .  Oh you are , we don't need to deabt about that " she placed the last fries in .

   " .    .   .  You  didn't even know what hottokie was    . . .   . " she gave him a quick smile .

   " .      .  That doesn't make me spoiled " jae protested swinging the back pack in his back And handing  eun bi a napkin from his pocket so she could get off the little crumbs left all over her face .

     " .   .   .  Of course it does.   .

" .     .   .  That along with how shocked you were for the last couple of hours shows how you have never seen anything like this before "

   " .    .     .  That still doesn't mean i'm spoiled .    .  .  Arrogant may be " he insulted him self before hyeon did . Which hyeon agreed with a quick raise of her eyebrows and a smirk.

    " .   .   . How many houses do you own again.   .  " hyeon raised eyebrows stayed up along with her little smile waiting for his reply that never came .

    " .    .     .  Exactly ,    .   " hyeon turned her eyes to eun bi , took the napkin and started cleaning the little girl's face .  

   " .    .     .   You don't have to be upset of being called spoiled it's a privilege " hyeon added noticing the little annoyed look on jae’s  face .

  " .   .    .  It's not your fault that you're spoiled rich " she gave him a quick smile.

    " .     .    .  Ajusshi , how much money do you have ?" Eun bi asked turning her eyes up to the man holding her hand ,as hyeon let go of her face .

    " .   .   . Haha .   " hyeon smiled covering . There is no way he's gonna get out of this one .   .   .  She gave him a  good luck look and eagerly waited for his reply.  Having always avoided when hyeon asked him this type of question  she has noticed how uncomfortable he gets when asked about how wealthy he is .  .  .  So hearing him reply to the question is gonna be a good opportunity to get an idea of how much spoiled he is.

Never had jae been asked directly  to describe how rich he was or how much money he has  .     .     He took a couple of seconds to appropriate a good answer a little girl could understand .

   " .     .     .  I don't know " he replied , before hyeon followed with a question eun bi beat her up to it.

   " .    .    .  How come you don't know ?

 " .     .       .  I have a pink piggy bank at home that i put my money in .   .  I have about 23 dollars and 70 cents  .   .   .  " the girl replied excitedly  jumping up as she forces his right hand to swing front and back.

     " .     .     .   Don't you have a piggy bank?" She added tightening her grip on his hand jumping behind as hyeon led the way .   .  . Her eyes focused on locating the store she always buys all the stuff she needs to make kimchi. They are almost out of kimchi .   .  She has seen the little leftover when she cleaned out the fridge last night.

   " .      .    .  He does have a piggy bank .   .  It's  just  called  a bank" hyeon smirked not even turning back to glance at the two behind as she commented on their conversation.  

       " .     .     .   How much do you have in your bank ?" Eun bi corrected her question.

   " .     .      . I am not quite sure how much exactly " jae replied , he has never actually called in his accountants and ask them for a specific number of how much his worth especially since he inherited his grandma's fortune he doesn't even wanna consult anybody or hear about how much he has . He still hasn't even looked through all the things she left him .   .  .  Just gave a couple of signatures to his lawyer to let him handle the title transfers .

  The thick folder titled list of inheritance, still sits on his desk .

 " .     .      .  Jiyoung  is the richest kid in my school his dad always drops him off at school in their black car " eun bi stopped her jumping.

   " .     .     .   Minsu says his birthday is gonna be at the park, he invited everybody"  her voice slowed and lower down as she finished her sentence .

    " .    .    .  Who cares about his birthday party " hyun immediately  turned around and gave eun bi a big smile .

      " .     .    .  He doesn't even deserve to be your classmate " hyeon picked eun bi up. Jae reached out and took the bags from hyeon as she carried eun bi up.

     " .    .    .   Me and you will go to the park by ourselves" she brushed eun bi's hair back . Hoping the little girl will buy it but no , the sad and depressed look did not disappear from eun bi's face.

   " .     .     . We can invite your friends if you want .   .    .  " hyeon added , that term bringing a smile of eun bi's face she started listening names of her friends she would want to come play with her.

    .    .    .  He use to bully  her because she didn't play along with with everybody " hyeon whispered to jae , who was getting a little bit confused why they were belittling some kids party.

     " .     .     .   He throws big parties and invites everybody but her " hyeon added again in a small voice leaning towards jae and whispering to his ear.

    " .      .      .   Can we go to the big park , the one we went last time .   .   .  " eun bi's face once again returned to her bubbly state .

     " .     .    .  Sure but if we wanna go to that one it has to on a sunday .    .   And also i have to ask their parents permission " hyeon glanced up a little bit startled by the loud warning screams the sky is making .

       "      .   .   .  How are they gonna have a festival in this weather " hyeon asked herself reaching out to her pocket and pulling her phone out to check the time but found 2 left massages and a text all from eunb's school.

    This is a reminder that the parents outdoor festival scheduled for today has been canceled because of the weather.

     "  .   .     .  Oh no " hyeon sighed , inside a little bit happy that it got canceled since she wasn't even a slight bit prepared and even if they leave now they would have been late too.

     " .      .      .   Sorry " she just like jae , turned her eyes onto eun bi to see her reaction. But unlike they expected the smile on her face wasn't a big one but she looked still happy .   .  May be because she doesn't have to go to school and can spend the day with hyeon.

    " .    .     Dont worry me and you will go to mrs lee's house and make kimchi " hyeon suggested a great idea .   .  She has always prefered mrs lee's kimchi to her own but never had the chance to learn now with all the material in her hands and a day off , it could not be any more perfect.

    " .    .    .  Yeahhh"

   " .    .   .  can i help in the restaurant pleas pleas " eun bi went on begging .

         One more shop,  about 20 minutes wasted as hyeon chated along with the lady as she picked and bought everything she needs to make kimchi.  With everything bought and carried by jae who insisted on carrying it , while hyeon carried eun bi and the red back bag.   .  Leading the way back towards mrs lee's house , which didn't take more than 10 minutes as hyeon took a lot of shortcuts .

       " .    .   .  Ommo my eun bi's here .   .     " the old lady standing by the door opened her arms and hyeon placed eun bi on the floor and the latter ran to the lady.

      " .   .   .  What brings you two here on a weekday " the lady turned her glee filled eyes to hyeon as she held the door open for them to walk into . Having seen much in the last couple of hours jae is not even fathomed a little bit about the condition of the restaurant let alone in how small it is , packed with customers.

    " .    .   . Ommo .   . Ommo .   .  Ommo " the lady placed  eun bi down , who ran towards the old man standing behind the register .     

   " .   .   .  Where do you get these people ?" The lady asked her eyes zooming on jae who gave her a small bow along with a quick smile .

    " .    .     .  Last time you said he was your boss , who is this one then .  .   .  "The lady went on  smiling as she asked avoiding the warning look hyeon gave her .

    " .    .    .  Lay was here ?" Jae leaned forward and asked .

  " .   .   .   .  Just follow me " hyeon avoided his question and quickly started walking past the customers , giving mr lee at the register a big smile and  passed the hallway to the back yard

      " .   .    .  Let me " the lady tried taking one of the bags from jae but he insisted , following behind hyeon and finally placing them on the table which hyeon pointed at.  

    " .     .     .  Why did you make him carry all this " mrs lee tapped hyeon's back .

     " .   .    . I was carrying eun bi .   .   . " hyeon placed her wallet and phone on the table .  . Pulling out one of the chairs and taking a seat.

   "  still , how can you make him carry it .   .   .  " mrs lee's smile looks way bigger than when she smiled at lay. Always Surrounded by people who are use to him jae stood there not even sure if he should  smile back or say anything to the lady gawking his way.

   " .    .     . You must also be her boss ?" The lady stretched out her hand for a handshake .

    " .    .   . His not my boss and he doesn't shake ha.   .    .  " hyeon couldn't finish her sentence as she saw jae reach out and shake mrs lee's hand .

   " .    .    . What is he then ?" Mrs lee asked giving the hyeon a quick wink but the later was to busy being flustered by jae , who just shock a stranger's hand and didn't immd stellt swipe his hand with his sanitary napkins or even his jacket  like he did when she touched him the first time.

     ".     .        .   He's just someone .      .     . " hyeon replied seconds later .    .   .    her mind is still busy trying to figure out if his issues with strangers are selective.

     " .      .      .    He looks like a nice guy .     .    A very rich nice guy" mrs lee whispered again tapping  hyeon’s back and walked over to the bags on the table and started looking through the stuff.

     " .     .    .  He's the one buying the land " hyeon replied wondering how much of a nice guy he's gonna look like once mrs lee figures out who he is. And just like she thought the smile didn't last long as mrs lee glared at jae.

     " .    .   .  I have nothing to do with it " jae replied immediately .   .  .  a little bit scared by the two for some reason angry women staring at him .

      " .         .   How many time do i have to tell you that " jae protested a little bit frustrated that his always associated with the land purchase.

    " .    .     .   He says he's not responsible .   .   . Am sure he won't do that kind of horrible thing"  mrs lee gave a him a big smile which he replied back a little bit happy she taking his side.

     ".    .     .  He's still the main  person  in charge of it all .    .  " hyeon added just like the old lady placing out everything in the bag on the table.

   " .     .      .    I thought the person in charge was the one you were crying about a weeks ago"