The door opens and Donghyuk beckons for Youjung to exit first. Hesitantly, she moved out of the comfy interior and was met with flashes. Lifting her hand up to cover her sight from being blinded, she feels the same hand around her waist again. He gently brings down her hand to her side and makes eye contact with her before smiling.

 

Understanding his point, she puts on a wide smile as she looks in the same direction that the male gazes. They both then walked down the red carpet before entering the old but grand building that looked somewhat like a castle. He immediately lets go of her and steps aside, creating space between them. Looking around, she realizes that there wasn’t anyone in sight. “What was that red carpet about?” she softly asked, feeling confused and kind of pissed.

 

Pissed since he didn’t mention anything about being famous and that there would be cameras and confused about his real identity. He hesitantly looks at her. “Who are you?” she asks in the same soft voice.

 

Sighing before straightening the blazer that was on him and brushing off the non-existent dust then his lower lip. “I’m Kim Donghyuk,” he replies calmly.

 

“I didn’t ask for your name!” she exclaims harshly, done with games and takes a few deep breaths before dropping a few octaves, “Who are you… really.”

 

Looking at her sideways for the third time that night, this time, she doesn’t feel small and afraid anymore. Holding eye contact with him with questioning eyes. He opened his mouth and was about to say something when the door in front of them opened to reveal a middle-aged woman. Her face turned into horror looking between the both of them, as if she found them in a scandal.

 

Taking two strides, Donghyuk arrives next to Youjung and puts his arm around her waist once again. As they walk, he stares the woman down as if daring her to say anything. The lady lowers her head, not wanting to make eye contact with the taller. Causing Youjung’s mood to shift tremendously even though they just entered the place.

 

“Chin up princess,” she hears his voice near her ear and for some reason, she listens to him and was met with a scene she had never imagined she would see in her whole life.

 

Huge chandeliers hung low, seemingly touching some of the guests’ head. Women were decked in silver chains with huge diamonds or some precious stone that Youjung could never imagine buying just to wear. The necklaces were accompanied with the bracelets with the same precious stone and it reflected under the light, blinding her occasionally.

 

Their dresses were proper and the only revealing part was the arms or shoulders. With that, she unconsciously tugs down her tight-fitting dress once again. The males were looking proper with their tailored suits or tuxedos with expensive fabrics.

 

Half of the servers went around the hall with glasses of champagne on the circle trays provided while the other half had finger food on them that hardly anyone touched. Youjung suddenly felt hungry and reached out to put a hand over her stomach, afraid that it would growl out loud which seemed not proper in an environment like this. Donghyuk notices it and his lips tugged into a small smile but then frown for not bringing her to eat before coming to this function.

 

“Are you hungry?” he asks, going near her ear once again.

 

She decides to ignore him and keeps her gaze to the front. He sighs softly and continued to walk. As they walk, she notice many people whispering around them and she tries to ignore it, holding her head up high to give the illusion that she wasn’t bothered by the whispers around her. “Ah Mr. Kim,” a lady in a mid-forties stops them and smiles as she twirled her glass of champagne.

 

Behind her were a few other ladies in their late-thirties or mid-forties. Donghyuk looks at them with a face filled with boredom. He bows slightly before leading Youjung away from them. When they were at the edge of the crowd, he stops and then stood directly opposite her, his arm not leaving her waist. “I’m going to get some drinks and food alright?” he says softly, making eye contact with her and she nods, breaking the eye contact and he sighs internally. “Don’t go anywhere alright? I’ll be back soon.”

 

With her left hand rubbing her right elbow and her looking away from him, he felt an unsettling feeling inside, as the emotion on her face was plain uncomfortable. Planting a soft kiss on her hairline, hoping to calm her, he draws his arm back from her waist and then leaves her alone, still feeling uneasy.

 

Youjung looked uncomfortable on the outside but on the inside, she was freaking out. The male that she only known for less than a day had kissed her on her hairline and spoke with such a soft tone with her that she felt her insides feeling warm. It is only because I haven’t had a guy in ages. Biting on her lower lip, she notices a shadow from the corner of her eyes and looks up, regretting it the moment her eyes lock with another pair.

 

It was the same group of women who had stopped Donghyuk and her in their path. “Where did you come from?” one of them sneers, looking at her attire.

 

Youjung unconsciously tugs down on her dress once again and covers her waist. “You’re worse than Mr. Kim’s previous date,” another says. “At least she had style.”

 

Instead of looking down to the ground, she puts on a bored look while her heart pounded like she was going into cardiac arrest. “It has an attitude,” another one says, rolling her eyes.

 

She clenches her fist tightly till it was turning white. The women in front of them, stops them from commenting and slowly walks towards her like a predator towards its prey. The women narrows her eyes and even though the younger feels the pressure, she doesn’t react to it, keeping a calm front.

 

“You’re a . You know that right?” she says and Youjung slowly feels her resolve crumbling away but she tries to push away the insecurity crawling into her. “This dress that you’re wearing. It shouldn’t be called a dress, seeing how much skin is showed. It’s not even designers.”

 

Coming from an average-income family was something she was quite proud of since she had the money to buy things she wanted but never did because she never felt the need in doing so unless it was for headphones.

 

She would willingly spend up to a thousand for good headphones with sleek designs. But clothes weren’t something she would splurge on since the branded dresses’ designs looked horrendous, mostly something to laugh at. But now, she blames herself for not preparing a dress for an occasion like this. But who could predict such an event?

 

“I really wonder where did Mr. Kim found you…” she trails off, “maybe at the dustbin?”

 

Feeling a spark of anger in her, she abides it, knowing that if it becomes a fire, hell would break loose. Even though not knowing who Donghyuk actually is, she still doesn’t want to damage his image one way or another just because his date was reckless. As more insults and insensitive comments were delivered, she felt herself getting smaller and smaller. Her body posture had changed from uncaring to uncomfortable.

 

“People like you don’t belong in our class no matter how hard you try,” the ‘leader’ sneers and a throat clearing was heard.

 

Donghyuk looks utterly pissed and the women swallow uneasily while he eases in front of Youjung protectively. “Mr. Kim. Next time when you bring a date, at least make sure she’s classy,” she says. “Not a trashy one.”

 

He scoffs, hands in his pockets. “Trashy?” he questions. “She is nowhere trashy. The girls from before are way trashy than her. It’s only because they knew how to bootlick you, that’s why you don’t find them trashy.”

 

Youjung tugs on his sleeve to stop him, thinking that he was insane for speaking like this to someone way older than him. He ignores her as the woman rolls her eyes and huffs. “Those girls before know their Prada from Frada. This…” she says before scrutinizing the younger, “thing. Doesn’t even know what is branded and what isn’t. It can be obviously seen from her outfit.”

 

Once again, she pulls down her dress in discomfort, eyes casted towards the ground and her left hand rubbing her right elbow softly. He tsk-ed and looks to the side before looking back at the woman in front of him. “In all due respect Miss Jung,” he starts, “isn’t your outfit from Dior’s Spring-Summer 2010 collection. Just that you added a few more crystals to make it look more... sophisticated. And also you can brag that it is ‘custom-made’.”

 

Miss Jung’s face turns red before she looks to the ground embarrassedly. “Your clutch is the Alannah Hill Spring-Summer 2010-2011 collection, Cameo Lover Clutch and your shoes are Maison Margiela 2008 collection…” he says, looking at the heels before making eye contact, “fall.”

 

The other women gasp in surprise, as Miss Jung’s face remained red. Donghyuk then tilts his head slightly with a small smirk before saying, “At least my date knows what is in trend and what is out. She would never this trashy outfit that clashes horrendously. Even if she doesn’t know, I have the ability to pamper her with the best brands and take care of her outfit till she is better than every girl in this room because she has natural beauty. And if the outfit is out of trend, she will bring it back because everything looks good on her.”

 

All the women looked ashamed now as whatever the man who way younger than them had said was so true. “Oh yeah Miss Jung,” he says and she glances at him before looking back to the ground. “Aren’t you a fashionista? How is that you didn’t know that your outfit clashed or that fall items should never be matched with other seasons, the same for summer. Hm?”

 

Miss Jung utters out something incoherent before poorly excusing herself and hurrying away, the other women following her path with heads hung low. Donghyuk rolls his eyes and takes his hands out of his pockets then turn around to see the shorter with a frown on her face, her eyes with a disapproving look. “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asks, mimicking the frown on her face.

 

“You didn’t have to speak to Miss Jung like that,” Youjung says, voice thick with disapproval. “Miss Jung is older than us and I was just fine.”

 

“Fine?” he asks, narrowing his eyes, taking a step closer to her. “She was insulting you like your were nothing. I could see that you hated it.”

 

“So?” she retorts, glaring at him and it shocks him. “Miss Jung is our elder. What happened to respecting our elders?”

 

“She was crushing your self-esteem! And you’re okay with it?!” he exclaims, a decibel higher and she hears the anger slowly creeping in.

 

“I can rebuild my self-esteem again! And it wasn’t like everything she said was wrong,” the chocolate brown locks girl says, frowning once again. “I am indeed wearing something that showed too much skin. I stick out like a sore thumb because I don’t know much about the rich life. It’ll take me some time to fit in. But I don’t think there will be another time.”

 

She expected anger but then the other suddenly smiles. “You’re different…” he says and she raises an eyebrow, “in a good way. The other girls, who had been insulted by her, whined for me to protect them. They would have thrown a fit if they were in your shoes. But even up to this moment, you rather keep to our culture and swallow whatever is thrown at you.”

 

“It really isn’t that hard,” she mumbles, looking to the ground before tugging on her dress once again.

 

Looking at the black mid-thigh length that showed off her legs, tight-fitting dress on her that showed off her curves, he smiles slightly. Her dress was sleeveless and her back was exposed till a few inches above her , replaced by black lace, which continued to the front’s sweetheart line. Her stomach-length hair was slightly curled, pushed over her left shoulder, a few strands occasionally escaping from behind her left ear like now.

 

He lifts his hand and gently pushes it behind her ear. “I think you look amazing,” he compliments with the same gentle voice he used before he left her alone. “Don’t let Miss Jung’s words affect you. If you haven’t realized, every men in this place is looking at you with want and at me in jealously because I got you as my date.”

 

“Am I supposed to feel better about myself at the last sentence?” she asks, folding her arms and ignores the voice in her head telling her that a handsome man had just complimented her. “I’m pretty sure that your other dates also attracted the same amount of attention. Seeing you from last night.”

 

A small laugh escapes his mouth and she looks at him with a look. “Princess, you’re the first person to gain everyone’s attention seeing how simply dressed you are,” he says into her ear before smirking.

 

“Donghyuk-ssi,” they hear a high-pitched voice and he pulls back, giving a poker face to the couple that had appeared in front of them.

 

A young woman, no older than thirty, in a really short red dress with too many ruffles with her arm linked around a white-haired man who had a beer belly and was dressed in a too tight suit, making him look like a fat penguin. She bites on her lower lip to prevent herself from laughing at the thought but her eyes betrayed her. “I see you didn’t ask me… again,” the girl says, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

 

“Why should I? After that time where you dumped the most expensive wine in the place over my poor secretary because you were jealous proved that you weren’t cut out for attending these kind of events with me,” he replies calmly. “Must I mention that time you got so drunk that you threw up over the Minister’s shoes? I’m surprised that anyone would ask you as their date.”

 

Now, Youjung was happy that she kept silent when Miss Jung and her group were commenting about her appearance and background. “Unlike you, my date here,” he says and pulls the mentioned closer towards him before flashing a smile, “is more civilized and polite.”

 

A flash of hurt appears but it was gone as fast as it appeared and once again, Youjung felt bad for the girl. After all they were both women and she understood the other’s feelings if a guy were to down talk her like that. “Kim Donghyuk,” she hisses out his name, shocking the other three. “Watch your mouth. You don’t have to talk to her like that.”

 

The male stares at her, not knowing what to say. He was used to his dates listening to him and backing him up. “You don’t like it when other people damage my self-esteem but you go around damaging other girls’. What kind of messed up logic do you have?”

 

The other girl stares at her in surprise, not expecting something like this to happen. “Excuse me,” he says frowning.

 

“You are excused,” she retorts with an eye roll before grabbing the girl’s wrist. “Come talk to me once you finally decide to stop being a jerk to people around you. Also, when you’re at that, learn some respect too.”

 

Stopping after they could no longer see the men, Youjung shoots a smile at the girl who still looking at her in shock. “Is there something wrong?” she asked, concerned but the other shakes her head.

 

“It’s just…” the girl in the red dress starts. “No one had done that before… All the dates he brought before had always just joined in or stood there like they owned the whole world. I was just really surprised. Please don’t take it the wrong way.”

 

“Oh I see,” she says thoughtfully. “His previous dates must have been pretty ty eh?”

 

The unnamed girl nods and Youjung finally takes in her appearance. Looking past the red and tacky dress, she was bestowed with sweet features and a cute smile. “How old are you?” Youjung asks curiously since she looked like she was forced into the shoes of someone older.

 

“I’ve just turned nineteen,” she says, looking at the ground. “Sadly… Whatever Donghyuk Oppa said was true. I don’t know why you stopped him.”

 

Youjung flashes a reassuring smile and takes the younger’s hand. “It doesn’t matter if it is true or not because it is all in the past,” she says. “I stopped him because no one deserves their dirty laundry to be hung up in the open by someone else. Also, we girls should stick together instead of hating on each other. Girl-on-girl hate is not cool.”

 

Looking at the wide smile on the slightly taller’s face, the girl’s lips tugs into a similar smile with her heart feeling warm at how the taller genuinely cared about her unlike the people she had grew up with. “Oh right. I haven’t introduced myself,” the girl in the black dress says before sticking her hand out. “I’m Min Youjung.”

 

Staring at the outstretched hand, the shorter looks up before smiling and reaches out for the other’s hand. “Hong Dani. Nice to meet you.”

The door opens and Donghyuk beckons for Youjung to exit first. Hesitantly, she moved out of the comfy interior and was met with flashes. Lifting her hand up to cover her sight from being blinded, she feels the same hand around her waist again. He gently brings down her hand to her side and makes eye contact with her before smiling.

 

Understanding his point, she puts on a wide smile as she looks in the same direction that the male gazes. They both then walked down the red carpet before entering the old but grand building that looked somewhat like a castle. He immediately lets go of her and steps aside, creating space between them. Looking around, she realizes that there wasn’t anyone in sight. “What was that red carpet about?” she softly asked, feeling confused and kind of pissed.

 

Pissed since he didn’t mention anything about being famous and that there would be cameras and confused about his real identity. He hesitantly looks at her. “Who are you?” she asks in the same soft voice.

 

Sighing before straightening the blazer that was on him and brushing off the non-existent dust then his lower lip. “I’m Kim Donghyuk,” he replies calmly.

 

“I didn’t ask for your name!” she exclaims harshly, done with games and takes a few deep breaths before dropping a few octaves, “Who are you… really.”

 

Looking at her sideways for the third time that night, this time, she doesn’t feel small and afraid anymore. Holding eye contact with him with questioning eyes. He opened his mouth and was about to say something when the door in front of them opened to reveal a middle-aged woman. Her face turned into horror looking between the both of them, as if she found them in a scandal.

 

Taking two strides, Donghyuk arrives next to Youjung and puts his arm around her waist once again. As they walk, he stares the woman down as if daring her to say anything. The lady lowers her head, not wanting to make eye contact with the taller. Causing Youjung’s mood to shift tremendously even though they just entered the place.

 

“Chin up princess,” she hears his voice near her ear and for some reason, she listens to him and was met with a scene she had never imagined she would see in her whole life.

 

Huge chandeliers hung low, seemingly touching some of the guests’ head. Women were decked in silver chains with huge diamonds or some precious stone that Youjung could never imagine buying just to wear. The necklaces were accompanied with the bracelets with the same precious stone and it reflected under the light, blinding her occasionally.

 

Their dresses were proper and the only revealing part was the arms or shoulders. With that, she unconsciously tugs down her tight-fitting dress once again. The males were looking proper with their tailored suits or tuxedos with expensive fabrics.

 

Half of the servers went around the hall with glasses of champagne on the circle trays provided while the other half had finger food on them that hardly anyone touched. Youjung suddenly felt hungry and reached out to put a hand over her stomach, afraid that it would growl out loud which seemed not proper in an environment like this. Donghyuk notices it and his lips tugged into a small smile but then frown for not bringing her to eat before coming to this function.

 

“Are you hungry?” he asks, going near her ear once again.

 

She decides to ignore him and keeps her gaze to the front. He sighs softly and continued to walk. As they walk, she notice many people whispering around them and she tries to ignore it, holding her head up high to give the illusion that she wasn’t bothered by the whispers around her. “Ah Mr. Kim,” a lady in a mid-forties stops them and smiles as she twirled her glass of champagne.

 

Behind her were a few other ladies in their late-thirties or mid-forties. Donghyuk looks at them with a face filled with boredom. He bows slightly before leading Youjung away from them. When they were at the edge of the crowd, he stops and then stood directly opposite her, his arm not leaving her waist. “I’m going to get some drinks and food alright?” he says softly, making eye contact with her and she nods, breaking the eye contact and he sighs internally. “Don’t go anywhere alright? I’ll be back soon.”

 

With her left hand rubbing her right elbow and her looking away from him, he felt an unsettling feeling inside, as the emotion on her face was plain uncomfortable. Planting a soft kiss on her hairline, hoping to calm her, he draws his arm back from her waist and then leaves her alone, still feeling uneasy.

 

Youjung looked uncomfortable on the outside but on the inside, she was freaking out. The male that she only known for less than a day had kissed her on her hairline and spoke with such a soft tone with her that she felt her insides feeling warm. It is only because I haven’t had a guy in ages. Biting on her lower lip, she notices a shadow from the corner of her eyes and looks up, regretting it the moment her eyes lock with another pair.

 

It was the same group of women who had stopped Donghyuk and her in their path. “Where did you come from?” one of them sneers, looking at her attire.

 

Youjung unconsciously tugs down on her dress once again and covers her waist. “You’re worse than Mr. Kim’s previous date,” another says. “At least she had style.”

 

Instead of looking down to the ground, she puts on a bored look while her heart pounded like she was going into cardiac arrest. “It has an attitude,” another one says, rolling her eyes.

 

She clenches her fist tightly till it was turning white. The women in front of them, stops them from commenting and slowly walks towards her like a predator towards its prey. The women narrows her eyes and even though the younger feels the pressure, she doesn’t react to it, keeping a calm front.

 

“You’re a . You know that right?” she says and Youjung slowly feels her resolve crumbling away but she tries to push away the insecurity crawling into her. “This dress that you’re wearing. It shouldn’t be called a dress, seeing how much skin is showed. It’s not even designers.”

 

Coming from an average-income family was something she was quite proud of since she had the money to buy things she wanted but never did because she never felt the need in doing so unless it was for headphones.

 

She would willingly spend up to a thousand for good headphones with sleek designs. But clothes weren’t something she would splurge on since the branded dresses’ designs looked horrendous, mostly something to laugh at. But now, she blames herself for not preparing a dress for an occasion like this. But who could predict such an event?

 

“I really wonder where did Mr. Kim found you…” she trails off, “maybe at the dustbin?”

 

Feeling a spark of anger in her, she abides it, knowing that if it becomes a fire, hell would break loose. Even though not knowing who Donghyuk actually is, she still doesn’t want to damage his image one way or another just because his date was reckless. As more insults and insensitive comments were delivered, she felt herself getting smaller and smaller. Her body posture had changed from uncaring to uncomfortable.

 

“People like you don’t belong in our class no matter how hard you try,” the ‘leader’ sneers and a throat clearing was heard.

 

Donghyuk looks utterly pissed and the women swallow uneasily while he eases in front of Youjung protectively. “Mr. Kim. Next time when you bring a date, at least make sure she’s classy,” she says. “Not a trashy one.”

 

He scoffs, hands in his pockets. “Trashy?” he questions. “She is nowhere trashy. The girls from before are way trashy than her. It’s only because they knew how to bootlick you, that’s why you don’t find them trashy.”

 

Youjung tugs on his sleeve to stop him, thinking that he was insane for speaking like this to someone way older than him. He ignores her as the woman rolls her eyes and huffs. “Those girls before know their Prada from Frada. This…” she says before scrutinizing the younger, “thing. Doesn’t even know what is branded and what isn’t. It can be obviously seen from her outfit.”

 

Once again, she pulls down her dress in discomfort, eyes casted towards the ground and her left hand rubbing her right elbow softly. He tsk-ed and looks to the side before looking back at the woman in front of him. “In all due respect Miss Jung,” he starts, “isn’t your outfit from Dior’s Spring-Summer 2010 collection. Just that you added a few more crystals to make it look more... sophisticated. And also you can brag that it is ‘custom-made’.”

 

Miss Jung’s face turns red before she looks to the ground embarrassedly. “Your clutch is the Alannah Hill Spring-Summer 2010-2011 collection, Cameo Lover Clutch and your shoes are Maison Margiela 2008 collection…” he says, looking at the heels before making eye contact, “fall.”

 

The other women gasp in surprise, as Miss Jung’s face remained red. Donghyuk then tilts his head slightly with a small smirk before saying, “At least my date knows what is in trend and what is out. She would never this trashy outfit that clashes horrendously. Even if she doesn’t know, I have the ability to pamper her with the best brands and take care of her outfit till she is better than every girl in this room because she has natural beauty. And if the outfit is out of trend, she will bring it back because everything looks good on her.”

 

All the women looked ashamed now as whatever the man who way younger than them had said was so true. “Oh yeah Miss Jung,” he says and she glances at him before looking back to the ground. “Aren’t you a fashionista? How is that you didn’t know that your outfit clashed or that fall items should never be matched with other seasons, the same for summer. Hm?”

 

Miss Jung utters out something incoherent before poorly excusing herself and hurrying away, the other women following her path with heads hung low. Donghyuk rolls his eyes and takes his hands out of his pockets then turn around to see the shorter with a frown on her face, her eyes with a disapproving look. “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asks, mimicking the frown on her face.

 

“You didn’t have to speak to Miss Jung like that,” Youjung says, voice thick with disapproval. “Miss Jung is older than us and I was just fine.”

 

“Fine?” he asks, narrowing his eyes, taking a step closer to her. “She was insulting you like your were nothing. I could see that you hated it.”

 

“So?” she retorts, glaring at him and it shocks him. “Miss Jung is our elder. What happened to respecting our elders?”

 

“She was crushing your self-esteem! And you’re okay with it?!” he exclaims, a decibel higher and she hears the anger slowly creeping in.

 

“I can rebuild my self-esteem again! And it wasn’t like everything she said was wrong,” the chocolate brown locks girl says, frowning once again. “I am indeed wearing something that showed too much skin. I stick out like a sore thumb because I don’t know much about the rich life. It’ll take me some time to fit in. But I don’t think there will be another time.”

 

She expected anger but then the other suddenly smiles. “You’re different…” he says and she raises an eyebrow, “in a good way. The other girls, who had been insulted by her, whined for me to protect them. They would have thrown a fit if they were in your shoes. But even up to this moment, you rather keep to our culture and swallow whatever is thrown at you.”

 

“It really isn’t that hard,” she mumbles, looking to the ground before tugging on her dress once again.

 

Looking at the black mid-thigh length that showed off her legs, tight-fitting dress on her that showed off her curves, he smiles slightly. Her dress was sleeveless and her back was exposed till a few inches above her , replaced by black lace, which continued to the front’s sweetheart line. Her stomach-length hair was slightly curled, pushed over her left shoulder, a few strands occasionally escaping from behind her left ear like now.

 

He lifts his hand and gently pushes it behind her ear. “I think you look amazing,” he compliments with the same gentle voice he used before he left her alone. “Don’t let Miss Jung’s words affect you. If you haven’t realized, every men in this place is looking at you with want and at me in jealously because I got you as my date.”

 

“Am I supposed to feel better about myself at the last sentence?” she asks, folding her arms and ignores the voice in her head telling her that a handsome man had just complimented her. “I’m pretty sure that your other dates also attracted the same amount of attention. Seeing you from last night.”

 

A small laugh escapes his mouth and she looks at him with a look. “Princess, you’re the first person to gain everyone’s attention seeing how simply dressed you are,” he says into her ear before smirking.

 

“Donghyuk-ssi,” they hear a high-pitched voice and he pulls back, giving a poker face to the couple that had appeared in front of them.

 

A young woman, no older than thirty, in a really short red dress with too many ruffles with her arm linked around a white-haired man who had a beer belly and was dressed in a too tight suit, making him look like a fat penguin. She bites on her lower lip to prevent herself from laughing at the thought but her eyes betrayed her. “I see you didn’t ask me… again,” the girl says, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

 

“Why should I? After that time where you dumped the most expensive wine in the place over my poor secretary because you were jealous proved that you weren’t cut out for attending these kind of events with me,” he replies calmly. “Must I mention that time you got so drunk that you threw up over the Minister’s shoes? I’m surprised that anyone would ask you as their date.”

 

Now, Youjung was happy that she kept silent when Miss Jung and her group were commenting about her appearance and background. “Unlike you, my date here,” he says and pulls the mentioned closer towards him before flashing a smile, “is more civilized and polite.”

 

A flash of hurt appears but it was gone as fast as it appeared and once again, Youjung felt bad for the girl. After all they were both women and she understood the other’s feelings if a guy were to down talk her like that. “Kim Donghyuk,” she hisses out his name, shocking the other three. “Watch your mouth. You don’t have to talk to her like that.”

 

The male stares at her, not knowing what to say. He was used to his dates listening to him and backing him up. “You don’t like it when other people damage my self-esteem but you go around damaging other girls’. What kind of messed up logic do you have?”

 

The other girl stares at her in surprise, not expecting something like this to happen. “Excuse me,” he says frowning.

 

“You are excused,” she retorts with an eye roll before grabbing the girl’s wrist. “Come talk to me once you finally decide to stop being a jerk to people around you. Also, when you’re at that, learn some respect too.”

 

Stopping after they could no longer see the men, Youjung shoots a smile at the girl who still looking at her in shock. “Is there something wrong?” she asked, concerned but the other shakes her head.

 

“It’s just…” the girl in the red dress starts. “No one had done that before… All the dates he brought before had always just joined in or stood there like they owned the whole world. I was just really surprised. Please don’t take it the wrong way.”

 

“Oh I see,” she says thoughtfully. “His previous dates must have been pretty ty eh?”

 

The unnamed girl nods and Youjung finally takes in her appearance. Looking past the red and tacky dress, she was bestowed with sweet features and a cute smile. “How old are you?” Youjung asks curiously since she looked like she was forced into the shoes of someone older.

 

“I’ve just turned nineteen,” she says, looking at the ground. “Sadly… Whatever Donghyuk Oppa said was true. I don’t know why you stopped him.”

 

Youjung flashes a reassuring smile and takes the younger’s hand. “It doesn’t matter if it is true or not because it is all in the past,” she says. “I stopped him because no one deserves their dirty laundry to be hung up in the open by someone else. Also, we girls should stick together instead of hating on each other. Girl-on-girl hate is not cool.”

 

Looking at the wide smile on the slightly taller’s face, the girl’s lips tugs into a similar smile with her heart feeling warm at how the taller genuinely cared about her unlike the people she had grew up with. “Oh right. I haven’t introduced myself,” the girl in the black dress says before sticking her hand out. “I’m Min Youjung.”

 

Staring at the outstretched hand, the shorter looks up before smiling and reaches out for the other’s hand. “Hong Dani. Nice to meet you.”