CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

"Mr. Kim, can't we have the wedding earlier? A December wedding sounds nice. I mean, everything's all set, you've chosen a wedding dress for Jina and all the other things have been taken care of..."

"You do have a point there, Mark. And like I said, start calling me Dad; you'll soon be my son-in-law!"

Mark smiles to himself seeing how excited Heechul is. 'If you knew what I'm actually up to, then you wouldn't be so happy...'

"Let's check everything else again and if all is well, then we'd proceed with your request."

"Yes!!!"

"My, aren't you so excited!" Jina's father chuckles at the reaction of his soon-to-be son-in-law.

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"Kim Yugyeom? Jackie Wang?"

“Yes.”

The two shake hands with Taekwoon and the latter takes a seat in front of them.

The trio decided to meet at a café near the place where Yugyeom is currently staying. Both Jackie and Taekwoon had asked him to meet, saying they both needed his help.

Jackie breaks the silence and speaks, "First of all, I would like to apologize for keeping a secret from you. I actually know your sister and her new boyfriend, Jaebum.”

"WHOA! My younger sister’s got a boyfriend? Nice! But what about that Mark guy?"

"Well... I'm his real girlfriend."

"Okayyyy? So my sister is getting married to your boyfriend when she has someone else? I never knew she was a player!" Yugyeom exclaims, laughing.

While her friend looks like he's having the time of his life, Jackie keeps a straight face on and continues, "Anyway... I came here to ask for your help. I'd like you to help me convince your father to cancel the wedding. It seems that Mr. Kim favors you over Jina so it shouldn't be hard."

The smile on Yugyeom's lips fades after hearing this. He feels sorry for his younger sister who has suffered from all the stress of handling their family business while he's out having fun.

Hearing no response from the young man, Jackie continues, "I'll be honest with you... Mark doesn't like Jina even the slightest bit... or maybe he does... but he's mostly after your family's money and power."

"Okay, we’re friends Jackie and I trust you. But how can I convince my father? I’m pretty sure he won’t be so happy hearing his favorite son saying awful things about his favorite soon-to-be son-in-law."

"I have proof." Taekwoon butts in. “Don’t you forget that I’m here.” He turns to Jackie and tells her, “I’m really sorry – or maybe I am not – but I hate your boyfriend.”

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Only a few weeks after Jaebum and Jina had become official, reports about their relationship suddenly came out. The latter, who had kept everything a secret from her family, is instantly questioned by her father.

“Are the reports true, Jina?”

“No, Father,” the woman denies.

“Then who’s that man in the photos? A friend? You hold hands, you link arms with a MALE friend?!”

Jina takes a deep breath before answering, “Yes. He’s just a friend.”

She is very much thankful that her father did not ask Jaebum to come to her office or else, she would not have the guts to lie and deny the real status of their relationship.

“Don’t even think you can fool me, young lady. Regardless if the reports are true or not, we’d still push through with your wedding. In fact, I'm thinking of having it earlier than planned. Anyway, all preparations are done, just so you know.” Heechul tells his daughter before he walks out of her office.

Jina starts to panic as her father's words register in her mind. 'No... This can't happen! We haven't even devised a plan yet!'

She dials Jaebum's number but is interrupted by a knock on her office door. She decides to call her boyfriend later, thinking that her visitor could either be Mark or her father again.

"Come in."

The door opens and in came Jackie and Yugyeom.

Seeing his younger sister's confused reaction, Yugyeom tells her, "She’s actually a friend of mine. Small world, I know. Anyway, I brought her here for her side of the deal."

"What deal?"

The two ignores Jina's question, not wanting to let her know the details of their plan. Yugyeom signals Jackie to start talking.

The brown-haired woman takes a deep breath before starting, "I guess you know this already but I’m Jaebum’s friend. I am his late wife's best friend, nothing more. I’m so sorry for everything, I had my reas—"

"Shh!" Yugyeom cuts Jackie off.

"I'm so sorry..." Jackie bows, even kneels in front of Jina, making the latter flustered.

"It's okay, you don't have to do this! Please stand." Jina helps the other woman get back on her feet. "I suppose you're not yet ready to tell me everything and I'm fine with that. Please come to me when you're ready to talk about it, okay?"

Seeing and hearing her response, Jackie can't help but smile as she realizes just how lucky Jaebum is to have found yet another gem like Jina. ‘Jinyoung would agree that you chose well, Jaebum…’

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Bambam knocks at his father's room.

"Daddy??? You have a letter! It's from Auntie Jackie."

"Daddy's a little busy. Please leave it on top of the coffee table by the living room, okay?"

"Okay!"

Jaebum closes the lid of his laptop. He just read the reports about him and Jina being an item.

'I think we're in trouble...'

He is temporarily interrupted from his thoughts when he suddenly gets a phone call. Without checking the number and too preoccupied with the current issues he's involved in, Jaebum answers the call thinking it's from Jina.

"Jina! What should we do? They already found out! I am very worried about you. Are you okay?"

The voice that answered sent Jaebum back to his senses. It’s as if someone had just splashed ice-cold-water on his face and his body to wake him up.

"Mr. Im Jaebum? This is Jina's father. I guess I don’t even need to ask you about the reports."

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Sorry for taking a month to update again :( You already know why *sigh*

Anyway, there's only a few more chapters left so I hope you will stick around until the end. I will try to update within the week and hopefully finish this before my birthday on May . Please wish me luck on this XD