Won had a hard time dodging the crowd. In his 31 years of living on planet earth, it was his first time experiencing the busy surroundings of a traditional marketplace. Everything was so new and he wouldn't admit it, but the atmosphere was rather scary. The nervewrecking situation of being in a meeting was better than the atmosphere of a busy market. He didn't know whether that was normal or not, so he kept quiet and stood behind Soo Jin. 

Soo Jin on the other hand was perfectly happy to be there. She stretched her arms wide, breathing in the scent that she is familiar with. How can she not be?  She has been going there since she was a child. No. Since she was in her mother's womb. 

"Aigoo... How long has it been?" she said to herself. Being busy had prevented her from visiting. The aunties and uncles were also wondering where she was, as Hyuna had told her. "Let's go." She smiled at the confused Won. 

Bewildered, Won stood still as Soo Jin almost skipped towards the market.  She stopped when she sensed that she wasn't being followed. "Yah! You're not coming?" she looked over her shoulder and grinned at Won. With happy strides, she giggled as she made her way towards the entrance. 

"Wait!" Won jogged to keep up with her.

Soo Jin  maneuvered through the large crowd with ease, while Won was struggling behind her. And there was a moment when he thought he had lost her. He craned his neck to see where he was. He didn't see her at first, but then he noticed her long, wavy hair and that could have been anybody, except this woman had a daisy pin on her bag. He slid through person after person, getting used to being in a market. 

He caught his breath when he stood next to her. It was such a short distance, but maybe it was because there were so many people he had to avoid and dodge, it was like doing a cardio exercise with his personal trainer, or kind of like dodging punches during a training for boxers.

"There you are." Soo Jin said, turning her attention towards him. "I thought I lost you." She said, turning her body slightly, arms across her chest. "I thought I told you to keep up. I don't want to be responsible for  the disappearance of an heir." Soo Jin tapped her foot. 

Won chuckled. "Sorry, and you won't. But even if you do, my brother would be thrilled. He's already killing me with his behaviour." Won said, rubbing the crease out of his sweater.

Soo Jin smiled and said, " Well, I'm glad." They stood in the middle of the busy marketplace for a while, trying to digest this friendship they're supposed to have. Soo Jin looked down when she finally decided they were still strangers and they didn't know a lot about each other. Casual friends. Yes,  that was what they were. "Um, we should get going." She said shyly.

"Yeah, let's go." Won said in a reserved  voice. 

Soo Jin lead the way, with Won walking beside her. Now and again, Soo Jin would gasp at the display of local produce.  "Wa... Huge cabbages...", "Wow, look at that melon." And then, they reached the part of the market that would make anybody's eyes go wide. 

Food was everywhere. "That bimbimbap is the best." Soo Jin muttered to herself. "Ah! Aunty's kimbap is the best. " Soo Jin squealed to herself. "Wa...sundae...tteokbokki...eomuk...." Soo Jin drooled as they passed by. 

"Is it really that good? "  Won said suddenly. 

Soo Jin smiled at him. "Of course. The food in this market is the best. " She said.

"Are you treating me to some?" He looked at the menu of a nearby stall.

Soo Jin sighed. "I wish. But I already promised someone. And this was such a short notice so... I guess you have to  just trust me on this one." 

"Yah!" someone called out. At first, they ignored it. It was normal for people to call out to each other at a marketplace. But then, the person called Soo Jin's name. "Kim Soo Jin! " 

Soo Jin whipped round to come face to face with an elderly lady, a foot shorter than she was. As soon as she got close enough, she smacked Soo Jin across the back of the head.

"Aigoo... This girl. " She said. "Have you forgotten us all?" the lady said, with her hands on her hips.

Soo Jin rubbed the back of her head, perfectly aware that Won was standing stock still next to her.

"Eommuni..." Soo Jin whined. The lady didn't approve of this and threatened to hit her again. Soo Jin flinched. The lady's hand fell down to her sides. She just wanted to scare the young lady. "Aigoo... It looks like you've forgotten us." the lady said in a sad voice.

Soo Jin pouted. "Aniyo eommunim... How can I forget you, you lovely person?" Soo Jin said, grabbing hold of the lady's arm. The lady tutted at Soo Jin. "Are you a kid or what?" the lady snapped. Soo Jin grinned. "In front of eomunni I'm always a kid." She said. The lady scoffed. "Kurae... You've always been like that."

"So how's business eomunni?" Soo Jin let go of her. 

The lady sighed and shook her head. "We get by... Just the usual. " The lady's face was filled with worry. But she quickly smiled at Soo Jin. "So, how are you?" She asked, rubbing Soo Jin's arm affectionately. "You must be very busy." She said, looking at Soo Jin like a mother would her child.

"Yes, eomunnim. We're working on a new movie. So things are busier than usual. What with the regular dramas to work with as well." Soo Jin held the lady's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. She knew that life was hard owning a business in the market and the lady was trying to not worry her. "When it comes out later, let's go and watch it." Soo Jin said, swinging their hands slightly. 

The old lady smiled at Soo Jin and with her free hand patted her on the back slightly. "Kurae.... I'm a faithful audience for your dramas." She said, rubbing the younger woman's back.

Soo Jin smiled. And then, as if remembering something, she went still. "I almost forgot." She muttered to herself. "Eomunni..." She said in a cute voice. "This is the guy who is also in charge of making the movie. Well... his company is." Soo Jin said holding the older lady by the shoulders to direct her attention to Kim Won.

Shocked and flustered, Won instantly bowed. "Annyeonghasaeyo." He said with a polite tone. He tried to avoid eye contact as the older lady looked him up and down. "Aigoo... so handsome." the lady exclaimed, making him blush.

"Eomunnie...You're embarassing him." Soo Jin pouted.

"What? I'm telling you the truth." She smiled up at Won.

"Araesoyo...." Soo Jin said. There was no stopping the lady. That was her personality, straightforward and caring. "She used to be my babysitter." Soo Jin said to Won, who looked at her, to avoid looking at the lady who was beaming up at him. "My mother used to leave me with her when I was younger. She owns a chicken place near here." Soo Jin explained further. Won nodded slightly, showing he understood, but other than that, the straightforward nature of the old lady scared him. His own step mother and his father's mistress was never that straightforward. 

"Young man, our Soo Jin is really pretty, right?" The old lady said blatantly, trying to catch Won's eye. 

"Eommunie..." Soo Jin said, shocked.

"What? If you're both single, why not? You're not getting any older. " The lady said, not aware of the tomato Won was becoming due to her comments.

"Eommunie... What about oppa? He's living the life of an old bachelor." Soo Jin quickly said, feeling a lecture coming on. 

The old lady scoffed. "I've given up on him. Changmin will never budge. That son of mine is as stubborn as a mule." She said, thinking of how her 35 years old son who is still single and had no intention of getting into a relationship. "Rather than waste my spit talking to that kid, it's better for me to find a match for you." She said. 

"Aigoo... eomunnie.... You never know, one of these days, oppa is going to appear at home with a daughter in law hanging on to his arm. Soo Jin said. 

The lady sighed. "Haish.... Hopefully..." She said. 

There was silence for a while. The three were busy being immersed in their own thoughts. Soo Jin about her Changmin oppa and how she had to have a talk with him later on, the lady about how perfect Soo Jin would look as a couple and Won about how he just wanted to stop standing there in the middle of a busy marketplace. 

"Well..." Soo Jin said, finally. "I wouldn't want to disrupt your business." She said, rubbing her hands together. The lady looked at her with an annoyed look on her face. She hit Soo Jin on the arm. Soo Jin exclaimed in pain. "You already did. You kid." the lady said, suddenly remembering that she was owner of a chicken place that probably needed her attention at the moment. "Go. Go along. I'm busy." the lady said. 

"Araeso." Soo Jin said with a pout. Then she grinned and gave the lady a tight hug. "Take care, eommunie." She said, letting go and moving away so she can't be hit. 

Won jogged after Soo Jin who had walked far in front of him, trying to avoid the wrath of the lady. He caught up to her in a few seconds. 

"Don't take it to heart." She said suddenly. "That's just the way she is." Soo Jin said, smiling to herself. 

"You look close." Won said, thinking that the lady might as well be Soo Jin's mother. 

Soo Jin nodded. "Yes, we're close. I've known her since I can remember. People call her Madam Lee and she's quite famous round these parts, both for her samgyetang and also of course, ." Soo Jin said, giggling at the thought. 

Won chuckled. "She's very upfront. But seeing the way she is, she's probably caring too." He said, suddenly feeling jealous at Soo Jin for having someone like that raising her up. He was lost in his thoughts that he bumped into Soo Jin when she suddenly stopped. 

"Are you okay?" Soo Jin looked at him with concern on her face. 

Won took a deep breath and blinked with a dazed expression. "Um... Yeah, I'm okay." He nodded slightly. 

A reassuring smile spread across Soo Jin's face. "Of course, it can be confusing being in someplace so busy for the first time." She knew his mind was occupied but decided that it wasn't her place to press further. 

He smiled back in appreciation. "I guess so." 

"Anyway..." Soo Jin said, rubbing her hands together. "Madam Lee has been a family friend long before me and my sister were born, probably before my parents met each other." The thought suddenly occured to her, but she shook it off. "Well... One thing is for sure, she probably became like a mother to my mother. And she has taken care of my mother since my mum opened this place." Soo Jin nodded slightly to a shop beside them. 

Won slowly looked up at the sign. "Crystal Daisy" it said in cursive black writing against a white background. Won was reminded of the daisy pin that Soo Jin had on when they first met. The next thing he noticed was the glass front of the shop. Outside were a few little round steel tables and a couple of chairs with the daisy motive, on which customers sat, reading books. Beyond that, he could see inside where there were shelves of books and dozens more customers. 

"Come on." Soo Jin urged him. 

Won  furrowed as he followed her into the bookshop. 

"Unnie!" The girl behind the desk called out happily when she spotted Soo Jin. 

"Hyuna ya, did it arrive?" Soo Jin said, dropping her bag over the counter. 

Hyuna nodded. " Yes, it arrived about an hour ago. " Hyuna nodded towards the package underneath the counter. 

"Good." Soo Jin sighed, walking around to the other side. 

Won on the other hand, was busy taking in his surroundings. The interior was cozy, a signature style of President Kim, he thought to himself. There was a place with a sofa by the window where customers had their heads deep in books. There was also a long table in the middle where children and their parents were reading pop up books. There were steps leading to the back where more shelves of books were housed. 

Not knowing what to do with himself, he walked over to the counter where Soo Jin was talking to aa woman. 

"See, I told you to hire more people." The woman said. The woman wore a coat even though it wasn't really winter yet. She looked to be in her mid forties. She wore bold dark makeup, with her red lips being the point. She is a regular customer and everyone calls her lampshade, because of the sun shades she had on, no matter the weather. But, her real name is Choi Yuri.

"Unnie... I don't need them. Otherwise, how will I come down here and see Unnie?" Soo Jin said, wiping dust off of the counter. 

Lampshade scoffed. "Who says I want to see you?" She rolled her eyes. 

Soo Jin smirked and reached under the table. "Jeongmal? Then who else would reserve your favourite crime novels for you?" Soo Jin waved a stack of three books under lampshade's nose. Soo jib thought she caught a glimmer of light shining out of lampshade's eyes behind the Gucci shades she was wearing. 

Lampshade snatched the stack away. "First out from the box?" Lampshade looked at Soo Jin over her shades suspiciously. 

Soo Jin nodded once. "Yeah. Only the best for Unnie." She said, smiling at lampshade's weird habit. For some reason, lampshade had an OCD about the books she bought. She only wanted a book that was at the very top of the box it was delivered in, and it has to be the first copy that was taken out. Since Crystal Daisy was the only shop that would do that for her, she became a fan of the shop. 

"Then..." Lampshade cleared . "I'll take these." She handed the books over to Soo Jin who personally packed it for her. 

While waiting, Lampshade suddenly noticed the guy that had been hovering next to her. "Oh, Hello." She smiled pleasantly up at Won. "I didn't see you there." She moved her shades down to get a better look at the guy.

"Ah. Unnie, this is President Kim Won, from Jeguk Group." Soo Jin introduced him to Lampshade and Hyuna. 

"Omo. Annyeonghasaeyo." Lampshade smiled slyly at him. 

"Lampshade unnie, don't even think about it." Hyuna warned. 

Lampshade glared at Hyuna. " None of your business." She snapped, taking her package and leaving with a dramatic wave of her hand. 

"That Unnie, chincha." Hyuna shook her head in disapproval. 

"Eii... Let her be." Soo Jin said. 

"Just for you, Unnie." Hyuna smiled. 

"Ya, I'm going to go and get these arranged before I go."  Soo Jin dragged the box from under the table. 

"Excuse me, but could you help her?" Hyuna said in an annoyed voice. 

When he realised that she was talking to him, Won hurriedly helped Soo Jin carry the heavy box. 

"Thank you " Soo Jin said, not sure whether she was thankful for Hyuna's snappy behaviour. The girl had a rule that all males must be a gentleman, no matter his lineage. 

Soo Jin grabbed the log book and ushered him away. 

"Just put that right here." Soo Jin ordered. They were in the back, where there were a few empty spots on some of the shelves. 

"So... This is your mum's shop?" Won said. 

"Yeah. My mum is a very big fan of books and stories. " Soo Jin said, sitting cross legged on the floor. "I guess she was my inspiration." Soo Jin said more to herself, rather than Won. "Like Lampshade unnie said, I should probably hire more people. But..." Soo Jin looked up at him. "I know my mum wouldn't have wanted it. She didn't mind if this place never grew. All she cared about was that people found their perfect book and story. That was enough to make her happy." 

Won nodded thoughtfully. All of a sudden he felt sad. He was reminded of his own mother. How great would it be if she were still alive. He bet his mum would have loved meeting Soo Jin's mother. He didn't remember much, but whatever he remembered about his mother, the one that stood out was the love and care she put into the things she loved. Her family, her son, and of course, wine making. 

Soo Jin sighed and snapped Won out of his daydream. Soo Jin  grabbed a few books from the box. "Please put these over there." She instructed. 

"So... Lampshade?" Won said. It was a curiosity that a grown woman would be willing to be called an item of furniture. 

Soo Jin laughed and thought he would never ask. "That was Choi Yuri unnie." Soo Jin wiped away the tears forming in her eyes. "We just got used to calling her Lampshade. Hyuna's idea." Soo Jin said. 

Won nodded. "She is very intimidating." Won said, looking at Hyuna. 

"Yeah." Soo Jin agreed. "But she's a good friend." Soo Jin said. "Anyway...those two go way back, that's why they can joke around roughly like that." Soo Jin said. "In fact, Lampshade was the one who introduced Hyuna to me."  

Won nodded. "I see." 

"Lampshade is a good lady. She just has...unusual habits." Soo Jin smiled. "The shades she was wearing?" Soo Jin adjusted herself so she was facing Won. "She wears it no matter what weather it is outside." 

"Even during the night?" Won asked conspiringly 

"Nobody knows..." Soo Jin sighed. "But..." Soo Jin sat up straight. "Some people say...she's a lady assassin." Soo Jin said. "They say she wears those shades all the time to protect her identity." 

"Kurae? Then I should be careful around her." Won said, with mock fear on his face, making Soo Jin giggle. 

"Yeah, you probably should." She said. 

Won smiled at Soo Jin, but there was something bothering him. "You said this is your mother's place right?" 

Soo Jin nodded. "Yeah. And I know what you're thinking." Soo Jin said solemnly. "She's not here. So, let's leave it at that." Soo Jin then busied herself with the logbook on her lap and the box of books. 

Won decided not to ask any further. They spent the next thirty minutes working in silence. And when they were finally done, Soo Jin got up and stretched. "Ah... Finally done." She smiled delightedly. 

"Cha... You're buying right?" Soo Jin said. 

"What?" Won asked, confused. 

"Lunch. You're buying lunch right?" Soo Jin turned and said, "Let's go." and she walked off. 

Won chuckled. He preferred the cheery  Soo Jin to the emotional one. He was quite worried when she suddenly became quiet earlier on. Guess now the cheery side was back. "I forgot I was buying."  Won chuckled as he followed Soo Jin. He seemed to be doing that  a lot that day. 

Ellie: Phew. Finally done with exams and form 6. How's everyone doing? Hope you enjoy this chapter. The next one is probably going to be pretty short, since it's going to take place in one location only. But hey, I'll try and make it as entertaining as possible.