+Sehun's POV+

I was on my way to pick Irene at Hanyang University. She had no idea that I was coming to her school to take her on a date.

I am glad to have had found good allies in her sisters. They wanted her to be with me and I wanted the same thing, so of course we had decided to work together. We make one hell of a team, to be honest.

I bought her a bouquet of flowers and waited for her in front of the business faculty building. Girls around were looking at me and wondering who was the lucky one I was waiting for.

Little did they know, I was the lucky one for even being able to wait for her, pick her up and take her out on a date. I don't think I could actually find a better match for me anywhere in this world, than Irene, and I didn't even want to look for anyone else anyway.

This is how much I loved her.

I saw her walking out with some of her friends, laughing about something. She looked so beautiful every time she laughed. I was glad to see that some things had not changed.

She looked up when one of her friends whispered something in her ear. She was shocked when she realized that I was standing in front of her.

Irene: Sehun?

"Do you know him?"

"The handsome guy is here for Irene?"

"Hyogsi, Kim Irene has the best visuals of our school. Of course her boyfriend would look as good as her"

People started talking around us. I didn't really care about any of them and just walked up to her. I handed her the bouquet and she smiled at me, before saying goodbye to her friends.

Irene: What are you doing here and how did you know that I was finishing at this hour?

Sehun: I am taking you on a date. I want to show you something.

Irene: A date? Why so suddenly?

Sehun: Just come with me. I'll show you that I am no longer the young boy you knew. I want you to start seeing me as a man.

She looked at me and blushed. She probably was not expecting me to be this straight forward.

Irene: Sehun, I, I... would have loved to but I promised Joy and Yeri to meet them here after school and have lunch with them. I am wondering where they are, by the way.

She stuttered on the first words, then started looking around as if she was trying to hide the fact that she was flustered. I smiled and took her right hand.

Sehun: They're not coming. That was part of the plan.

I laughed at her confused expression. She joined in too when she realized that her sisters had tricked her.

Sehun: Let's go!

Irene: Thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful!

I nodded and smiled before leading her towards my car but I did not let go of her hand until she was perfectly seated.

I took her to a quiet restaurant next to my house. I usually ate there alone and I considered it my special place, but I was glad to share this part of my life with her. I could tell that it was going to be the first of a long list.

We enjoyed a nice lunch and Irene loved the food she was served. After eating, I took her to a classical theatre. It is basically a theatre where they play old movies only. I remembered that she liked those the best.

We went on a little walk after the movies and mostly spent our time catching up with our lives and laughing.

We did that three times a week for two weeks. It was like that every day when she wasn't working.

If I could have seen her everyday I would have made it happen, but I knew that she is busy with work and school.

There was something bothering me since I came back. I had not been completely honest with her about my family situation.

When Irene and I met at seven, my family didn't have much money. We were struggling just like her family was. When her mother left, it got worse for them and my family used to invite them over to dinner every once in a while.

When I turned 16, my dad decided to risk everything to start his own company with the money he had saved for years, and by the time I was 20 it became one of the most influencal companies in South Korea.

My dad wanted Junmyeon and I to work together so he decided to send us overseas to learn everything about business and management. We stayed in Canada for four years.

Now Junmyeon and I were asked to take over the company. I was going to be the new CEO of Oh!Event and Jun was hired as the deputy manager. The company offers various types of services in the entertainment industry.

I was afraid to tell her because Irene hardly hung out with people with money or people close to the entertainment business. It was not because she hated the fact that they were rich or popular, but more because she had a bad experience with a lot of them.

The first and probably most significant thing was that her mother abandonned the family for a popular music show producer who happened to be a chaebol.

Also, at school she had many unfortunate situations because she used to have contacts with some of them.

They ridiculed her family, called her a "social care case" and made fun of the fact that she had no mother. Jun and I never really experienced that, first because his family has always been kind of rich and second, chaebol girls liked me so they protected me from their peers.

Anyways, Irene had suffered from all of this and she naturally started to avoid all of them. She liked to think that they got worse with age.

Junmyeon was the only exception because he has been nothing but nice to her since we were little kids. He is a great friend and one could never imagine his family background just by talking to him. His brother Sungjae, and him are extremely humble and simple people.

I didn't want her to find out through someone else and feel like I had been purposedly lying to her, but I was too afraid to hear her say that she'd like for me to take my distances from her.

I was finally ready to tell her everything that day. I was going to show her my house and my workplace, and just throw it all out.

I waited for her in front of the restaurant she worked at. Her shift was supposed to be over in ten minutes, so I just waited.

20 minutes passed and she was still not coming out so I walked into the restaurant and looked for her. I spotted her from afar and saw that she was still taking orders and running everywhere.

Junho: Welcome! Would you like to eat here or order for take out?

Sehun: Oh, I'm here to pick up Irene. I'm one her friends.

Junho: Oh... Erm, I don't think Irene will finish before 9pm tonight. One of our waitresses is sick so she is replacing her.

Sehun: Oh? I see... Well, I'll leave then.

Junho: Wait, do you want to leave a message?

Sehun: Oh no no, I'll see her later anyway. Thank you. Goodbye.

I left for my house. That day I didn't contact her because I knew she was going to be tired after work and I wanted to let her rest a bit.

A whole week had passed and she didn't call or text either. It seemed like she was busy, but I didn't mind because it was hectic at the company too. We were organizing a charity event for the actor Oh Min Suk, so we were going to be very busy for the next two weeks.

It gave me some more time to think of how to break out the news to Irene. Maybe it was not that bad to wait.

+Irene's POV+

Sehun didn't come to pick me up after work but I was glad he didn't. I finished at 9pm that night, so if he had showed up I wouldn't even have been able to go out with him.

I was so busy with school and work that we didn't get to speak for a whole week. I started wondering if he is doing okay.

Seulgi: Hey. What are you doing?

Irene: Just hanging around... How are you? How is school?

Seulgi: Fine... Everything is fine...

I looked at my little sister for a moment and realized that she was hiding something. Seulgi is not the type to share too many things about her personal life, so most of the time we just don't ask because we know that she won't answer.

But sometimes, when she feels confortable enough to talk, she always makes the effort to come to us, so we usually wait for that moment.

Irene: What's wrong?

Seulgi: Hm? Oh, nothing...

Irene: Ah, come on! Tell your big sister. I'm listening.

I did some aegyo to make her loosen up and it made her smile.

Seulgi: You're such a kid, eonnie.

Irene: It made you smile, at least. Come on.

Seulgi: I was just thinking about my future. I mean, I'm grateful to have a good job where I get to take care of kids, I am doing pretty good at school and I have a great family... but...

Irene: But?

Seulgi: I was thinking about Jaebum... We've been together for two years now...and I think it's time to stop everything.

Irene: Mworago? Wae?

Seulgi: Eonnie, we all know that I've never been with someone as great as Jaebum, and that he is so good to all of us but we also know that I will never be approved by his family. No matter how many times he tells them that he loves me, they still don't want their wonderful younger son to be with a girl that comes from a poor family.

Irene: Seul...

Seulgi: I know that he wants to be with me and that he loves me but this relationship is tearing him and his family apart, and I don't want to be responsible for that. He says that he is okay and that I'm all that matters but I know that it's not true because as a daughter, I know that I would be devastated if Appa didn't approve of the person I loved. I know that I will never be good enough for his family.

It always came back to money and background. Two young people who are in love, can't even enjoy it because they believe that they will be separated. What a world!

I was silent for a short while because I was angry. Why did the world need to be so harsh on my sisters? I'd be okay if it was just me but why them? They had suffered enough already.

She started crying so I took her in my arms and caressed her hair.

Irene: You know, Seul, some people don't know the meaning of the word "love" and we can't really blame them. They were not lucky enough to experience it or else they wouldn't want to try and tear someone's love apart. That's why you feel that way, because you know what love is, you feel it everyday at home and you also know what it feels like to lose it so you don't want Jaebum to live that... but baby, you've got to trust him when he says that he loves you because that means that he is willing to fight for you.

Seulgi: But what if his family abandons him? What will I do?

Irene: His family won't abandon him. They will try to scare him by changing but they will never abandon him so don't worry okay? Just live peacefully for now. You'll worry about that later, okay? Now please stop crying. You know that I die a little every time any one of you cries right? Do you want to kill me before my time, you girl? Ha-ha!

She smiled and shook her head no.

Irene: So stop crying, okay?

She nodded her head and looked at me.

Irene: Aigo, how can someone look so pretty when they cry? It's okay now.

I didn't sleep well that night. Life is so unfair sometimes!

But I am always thankful for what I have and I hope that even when I'm not here to tell them, that my sisters won't ever forget that they are precious to someone. That they are precious to me.

Because I knew what it felt like to have those thoughts, to feel like you are not good enough and I didn't want them to experience it.

Indeed, my dad's wife screw me over.