Give me a reason why I can't like you for you?

The two are staring at each other's eyes deeply with Minho still gripping her arm. The atmosphere becomes silent for a moment. Yuri locks her eyes into his and she can see that Minho clearly isn't fooling around. She can see a sense of sincerity within his stern gaze because of the confession he just blurted out. Her heart suddenly starts to beat so fast.

"Wh-What did you just say?" she mumbles to him in a low voice, yet clear enough for Minho to hear

"I like you. Why? Can't I??" he bravely confesses once again. He was actually planning to keep it to himself and expressed it through his actions, but the way how Yuri is still clueless and rudely humiliated him so lowly makes Minho to suddenly explode

"Fine, I know giving roses are so common. But just so you know, this would be the first time I ever bought flowers for a girl. I didn't know what you like but the saleslady at the store told me that you would like them so that's why I bought these instead. But you are right. I do admit that you are different than any other girl, because I've never dated in my life and you're the first to ever make me feel this way. So if buying these for you is wrong, then it's my mistake for buying something common for someone like you" he says firmly. His anger has not yet cooled down but he tries to keep it in and remain polite

"Also, never insult me of something that's not even real. I'm not doing this because of your wealth and I never took advantage of Uncle Kwon. He himself is like a father to me but that doesn't mean I accepted this engagement because of him. I wanted to because I like you. You're beautiful, smart, chic, and you're full of charms. You are special, Yul. So give me one heck of a reason why you think that I couldn't possibly like you for you" he gazes deeply into her eyes. Yuri avoids his charismatic stare and bows her head to the ground

"I never liked you for your wealth, Yul. It never crossed my mind to take what's rightfully yours. I hope you can see that through me" he continues. He slowly releases her arm with Yuri remained staring at the ground

"Enough, let's not argue anymore. We better head inside. Our mothers must have finished preparing for lunch. Here, take these, okay? I worked hard just to get them" Minho holds out the roses to her. Seeing that Yuri is hesitating to take them, he takes her hand and places the roses inside it. He turns away from her and heads back to the door of the house with his hands inside his pockets.

Yuri stands frozen in her place. She glances at the flowers and looks at Minho whose walking to the door. She sighs deeply. Although he said it with a bit of a temper, yet his words were the sweetest and the most sincere that anyone has ever said to her. But no, she can't fall for it. She already has Donghae. Although he is not as sweet and expressive as Minho, but she's sure that Donghae loves her even more. She glances back at the roses in her hand. She closes her eyes and shakes her head.

No, I can't accept this. I love Donghae. He's the one for me and he's the one I will marry. He loves me more than Minho ever will. I'm sorry, Minho. I promised my dad that there will be an engagement, but starting from there, I will do all I can to make you leave me no matter what it takes, even if it means breaking your heart. That's the only way to achieve my dream of taking over the Castle Hotel, and marry the one I truly love in the end. Don't ever blame me, Minho. It was you who started everything.

Yuri slowly heads back into the house. When she opens the door, she is surprised to see the maids running clumsily in all direction, doing whatever work there is left inside the room. They start whistling and snooping their eyes around in nosiness. Yuri remains at her place in front of the door, wondering what they are up to. She can see through the sliding door made of glass that Minho has just walked past the hallway, making his way to get to the dining room. She scoffs in silence. Obviously they've been busy stealing glances at him.

"Miss Yuri, did sir Minho gave those flowers to you? Wow, so lucky!" one of the maids pauses her work and smiles teasingly at her

"Miss Yuri, you must be so happy to have sir Minho as your future fiance. We're so jealous!" another states out in envy. The others in the room start to shriek and continuously

"ENOUGH!!" Yuri screams out to stop the craziness. The maids gasp in terror and stop immediately. They all bow their heads, avoiding Yuri's glare

"Don't you have anything better to do?! So annoying! Get back to work or I'll have you fired!!" she glares at each of them in irritation. Then she turns her attention to the maid standing beside her, specifically the one who started all this madness

"You! You like him that much?! Then why don't YOU marry him instead?!" she scolds her. The maid gasps in fright because of her loud shout. Yuri then harshly hands over the roses to her

"Here! Since you're so jealous, you can have it! Keep it or throw it away, I don't care! Now get back to work!!" she hisses and stomps her feet out of the room angrily. The maid slowly the roses in her hands and lifts her head up to glance at Yuri whose walking through the hallway

"Why did Miss Yuri give it to you when sir Minho gave it to her? Didn't she like these?" the others mumble in confusion. They pat her shoulders, trying to cheer her up from the incident just now. Why did they even bother teasing their young mistress in the first place? She's always in a bad mood anyway. They slowly disperse from each other and continue with their work.

***

"Wow, they taste great, Aunt Kwon! I will surely eat it well" Minho smiles, taking another bite of the steak that Mrs. Kwon has served them for lunch

"Aww thank you, Minho! If you miss my cooking, you are welcomed to come anytime!" Mrs. Kwon gazes at him sweetly. Minho nods his head and grins widely at her

"Honey, did you know?? Minho bought me a dozen of beautiful, white daisies just now. It's my first time to receive flowers from such a handsome young man! Isn't he sweet??" Mrs. Kwon turns to her husband with an exciting smile and glances back at Minho who's eating his dish very well

"Really? Yah, Choi Minho. Don't give her any more flowers from now on. She is attracted to people easily, especially young gentlemen" Mr. Kwon hisses in jealousy. The Choi family can only laugh of his statement

"Hey, it's not Minho's fault that he's appealing in your wife's eyes. What can I say? He takes over his dad" Mr. Choi grins mischievously. Mr. Kwon scoffs and jokingly rolls his eyes. Yuri who stayed quiet at the table starts to observe Minho. Well, at least he's smiling now. Back then he seriously had that stern face on. It was a first for her to see him that serious

"Yuri dear, why aren't you eating?" her mother asks beside her, awaking her from her thoughts. Yuri gasps in surprise and turns to see that everyone has their attention on her

"O-Oh, yes. Don't mind me. Please continue with your chat" she mutters and forces a small smile. She grabs the fork and knife placed in front of her and starts to cut the steak. Somehow, Yuri seems as though she's having difficulties in slicing the meat. The others continue to watch her silently. What is wrong with this stinkin' beef?! Yuri hisses in her thoughts

"May I?" Minho clears his throat. Yuri pauses and lifts her head to look at him. Without waiting for her response, he moves his dish away to the side and smoothly takes hers away to be placed in front of him. He starts to cut the meat in small slices with their parents only observing the two. When he has finished, he places the plate back in front of her

"There. Eat up!" he smiles sweetly at her. However, Yuri can only stare at her dish in doubt. Seeing how she isn't moving an inch, Minho grabs a slice of her steak and holds it out to feed her

"Come on. Aren't you hungry?" asks Minho softly. Yuri glances to the side and just noticed that their parents have been observing them all along. Realizing how she already had a deal with her father regarding Minho, she sighs and slowly eats the steak he has hold out to her

"Your mom cooked it deliciously, isn't it?" he asks innocently. He focuses back on eating his dish with a delighted heart. Yuri munches the meat in slowly and looks down at her plate. Minho-ah, please don't be so kind to me. It will break your heart when you know what I'm actually trying to do, she sighs slightly in guilt.

Their parents only watch their children silently from the side with pleasant smiles on their faces. They continue to eat lunch, keeping the harmonious atmosphere. Well, except Mrs. Choi. While the others are having a good chat, she stays quiet to peek at Yuri. She notices that Yuri has been feeling uneasy the moment they have lunch. She can sense that Yuri looks so uncomfortable with Minho sitting right in front of her. Even when he fed her, Mrs. Choi could see that Yuri agreed to it not because of her own will. As a woman, her instincts are telling her that clearly Yuri doesn't like him back. She glances at Yuri and back at her son who's sitting beside her. Minho-ah, what will you do now? Mrs. Choi gazes at him in sympathy.

***

At the Choi residence, Minho is leaning on the gate of the balcony. He is watching the stars above him attentively. His thoughts are flying on Yuri, the girl of his dreams. His mind reminisces about the incidents that happened today. It is the first time he ever argued with her. He chuckles to himself. It was kind of funny to just think about it. The way she went silent because of his confession, and how her face turned red when she was embarrassed... She was really cute. It's another side of her that he has never seen before.

"Aren't you going to bed?" Mrs. Choi asks him from the door. She has been observing her son silently from the back for quite a while now. Minho jumps in shock and quickly turns to face her

"It's late. What's been going through your mind?" Mrs. Choi crosses her arms while smiling at him mischievously

"O-Oh, n-nothing. I'm just not sleepy yet" he clears his throat while rubbing the back of his neck

"Are you thinking about Yoon Seung's daughter?" she raises her eyebrow. Minho gazes at her and sheepishly smiles as the answer to her question

"Why? Did something happen today?" she asks, slowly approaching the gate of the balcony. Minho follows her and continues to watch the stars with his mother

"Mom, Kwon Yuri... She made me feel like I need her even more in my life. That's how important she is now to me" Minho mumbles softly, with his doe-like eyes watching the night sky. Mrs. Choi glances at her son beside her, silently in concern

"What do you like about her, Minho?" asks Mrs. Choi in curiosity. His lips slowly curled up to form a small smile

"I don't even understand why, mom. There are so many pretty girls in this world yet she's the one who has captured my heart. You should see the way she smiles when we first met, mom. The way she laughs, it sounded so pleasant in my ears. People may think that she's arrogant and act a little cold, but I have seen that other side of her. I know that deep down, she is actually a warmhearted person. Maybe she's just shy to let everyone find out. But I don't mind at all. The way she says something so bluntly and how she easily gets mad over something so small, I think she's actually cute. Those are just her charms, mom" he describes her qualities non-stop. His eyes are sparkling when he talks about her. Seeing how happy he is, it hurts Mrs. Choi even more. Does her son even know that Yuri doesn't have any feelings towards him?

"Minho-ah, are you sure about this? Are you sure about this engagement?" she asks worriedly. Minho frowns his eyebrows when he hears a slight uncertainty in his mother's tone

"Of course, mom. I won't change my mind. I promise. Yuri is the only girl who has ever made me feel this way. I believe she's the one for me. Maybe she hasn't liked me as much as I like her, but I'll try the best I can to treat her the way she deserves to be treated. When she finally sees that I'm serious about her, she'll appreciate my efforts. Don't worry too much, mom" he gives her an assuring smile and hugs her tightly to loosen up the anxiety within her.

Mrs. Choi slowly wraps her arms around her son and she her hair softly. Yes, that's right. She shouldn't doubt her only son. She believes that Minho is a special person, and he can capture anyone's heart with his warm and charming personality. Now she can feel a little bit at ease. Yuri will realize how sincere he is towards her, and she'll accept him one day. Along the way, I'll always be there to support you, my son. She smiles slightly to herself.

= = = = =

Annyeong! Just now I had my last class of the semester, and I'm excited but nervous as well because after this it's all about hard effort and hard work to ace the upcoming exams. Wish me luck! ^^ And since I'm feeling really good today, here's another chapter for y'all. I hope everyone enjoy it and no worries, eventhough revision week has started and all, but I will make sure that it won't affect me on updating the new upcoming chapters hehehe... Subscribeee! ^^