Irene smiled at Jinyoung and shook his hand. It was clammy and he returned a nervous smile.

 

Her mother was in good spirits.

 

"Well that settles it I will leave you two alone to get to know each other."

 

She grabbed her coworker by the shoulders and lead her across the room to spy on their children. 

 

"If you will excuse me I need to place this present on the table," she said as she held up the box wrapped in pink paper.

 

Jinyoung stepped aside, "Yeah sure no problem."

 

Irene glanced at the two older women huddled together covering their mouths with their hands but staring at Irene as she walked to the table decorated with presents. Yeri approached with a wine glass in hand.

 

"Is it too early to have a drink?," the meteorologist asked eyeing the beverage.

 

Yeri snorted and said, "I'm the amateur bartender for the shower so I will mix you up one of my specials to help you survive what appears to be a matchmaking session set up by your mother." Yeri laughed as she downed the contents of her drink.

 

Irene narrowed her eyes at her cousin.

 

Yeri backed up and said, "Alright a strong drink it is!"

 

Irene smiled as she turned back to watch Jinyoung breath into his hand to check his breathe. He ran his fingers through his hair to fix it. Irene snickered from the display because as far as she saw it her attention was focused on one person who happened to not be here.

 

"Wendy," she whispered as she pictured the blonde's wide smile that exposed a slight dimple on her left cheek. She spotted it yesterday at the home goods store where they were standing side by side.

 

Her thoughts were interrupted by Yeri handing her a glass of a dark liquid.

 

"What is in here?," Irene frowned swirling the liquid around the glass.

 

"Stop being a wimp and just try it," Yeri pressured as a devilish grin appeared on her face.

 

Irene gulped as she braced herself for the bitter substance to course through her body. She brought the rim to the tip of her nose. She drew back in disgust and coughed a couple of times.

 

"This smells poignant! Are you sure I will have a liver after drinking it?," she exclaimed pinching her nose.

 

Yeri roared with laughter, "Suit yourself carry on the party completely sober."

 

The older woman glanced at her mother and coworker in the corner staring intensely at her. Her mother motioned with her finger for her to join Jinyoung.

 

Irene swirled the liquid around and brought the cup to . She finished the drink in one gulp. She squinted her eyes and clenched her stomach after she downed the remaining contents.

 

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! Loosen up! It's a party after all!," her cousin was cheering close to her ear.

 

"Fill me up," Irene pushed the glass to Yeri.

 

Yeri was shocked, "Sure! But take it easy the shower may last well into the night! You might want to pace yourself!"

 

"What was it you put in there?," Irene asked feeling a little dizzy.

 

"Rum with a splash of coke," Yeri chirped pleased with her bartending skills.

 

The meteorologist held the glass to her lips as she observed how nervous Jinyoung was adjusting his collar shirt and blazer, wiping his hands on his dress pants.

 

A hint of guilt hit Irene as she pondered how hard the handsome gentleman was trying to impress her but it will be a wasted effort. 

 

"Joohyun!," her mother yelled as her face was stern instructing her daughter to entertain the young man.

 

Irene strutted back to the possible suitor with a plan in place to sabotage any possibility of a connection to form.

 

"Sssooorrry ffoorr thhheee wwwaaiittt," she slurred making sure to wobbled on her heels.

 

Jinyoung was surprised as he reached out his arms to help stabilized her. She swayed side to side as Yeri asked the deejay to pump up the music.

 

"Would you like to dance?," Irene asked not waiting for an answer as she strolled to the center of the living room.

 

Jinyoung was stumbling over his words, "S-sure w-wait for me!"

 

He never encountered a female who was bold, his mother selected women who were reserved and proper. But the weather woman was a welcome change from the uptight, prissy premadonnas he was forced to pursue.

 

She moved her hips side to side with her eyes closed and fanned her hands above her head. Jinyoung walked up behind her trying to keep up with the rhythm but the raven hair woman faced her back to him. She was in her own world not paying her date any mind. Irene stole a look at the corner of the room where her mother and her coworker were standing with bulged eyes and their mouths hanging open in shock. As she looked away, she observed the two women arguing from the swift hand movements and angry looks.

 

Irene smirked to herself, "Looks like Jinyoung's mother doesn't approve of me dating her son. Good just what I hoped would happen."

 

The image of Irene putting the piece of pork on top of rice and feeding Wendy with her chopsticks popped into her head. A wide smile broke across her face but she snapped back to reality when her arm was jerked to the side.

 

She opened her eyes to see her mother standing in front of her with a disappointing look on her face.

 

"Come outside with me!," she demanding yanking her daughter's arm.

 

"Yeez mother not so rough!," Irene exclaimed.

 

When the women were safely out of sight by the side of the house, her mother faced her with crossed arms.

 

"Care to explain what that was all about?!," her mother asked clearly trying to control her temper. "The last time I checked my daughter was a professional career woman! Not a street walker!"

 

"Street walker?!," Irene snorted in laughter for how dramatic her mother was acting, throwing around baseless accusations.

 

"Well what would call that provocative display of dirty dancing!," her mother demanded pointing her finger in her daughter's face.

 

Irene laughed, "Swaying my hips is what a sinful act now! You and father need to skip some Sunday services as it is affecting your view of society!"

 

Her mother grabbed her arm, "Your behavior has nothing to do with our religious beliefs but my reputation at the work place is a different story. I bragged to my coworker what a decent, well-mannered, proper, and disciplined daughter I raised to introduce to her son."

 

Irene directed her eyes to the ground in embarrassment.

 

"Why all the secrecy? Why couldn't you tell me before the party that you were planning on setting me up with a potential suitor?," Irene asked out of breath. Her head began to spin probably from the rush of alcohol earlier.

 

She swayed to one side and her mother caught her arm.

 

"Let's find you a seat," her mother said as she let her daughter lean on her during their walk to the backyard.

 

Irene slumped in the nearest seat with her hand over her eyes blocking out the midday sun that was burning bright on a chilly day.

 

Her mother entered the house to greet the new batch of guests.

 

She zoned out watching her relatives' children throwing a rubber ball back and forth in the yard. She almost dozed off to a light sleep when she was startled by a man's voice clearing his throat.

 

"Um I thought you will want to drink this," Jinyoung appeared at her side with a glass of water.

 

Irene gladly took the drink, "Thank you." She replied in a soft voice.

 

She gulped the water letting the liquid hit the back of awakening the bitter taste that laid dormant in .

 

She wiped with a napkin, "I want to apologize for my poor behavior earlier, you seem like a really great guy who doesn't deserve to be subjected to embarrassment. I won't blame you if you decided to forget this party or me for that matter."

 

Jinyoung smiled at the meteorologist and said, "Actually it was quite refreshing to encounter a female who wasn't so uptight and let loose. My mother plans dates with the typical shy woman that it ends up being a bore. But I find you intriguing and exciting and I want to spend more time with you."

 

"," Irene thought like she shot herself in the foot for her plan backfired. She assumed he was attracted to the traditional Korean woman who needed a few dates to expose her true nature. She thought for sure he would be repulsed by her bold behavior but how wrong was she. How was she going to get rid of him now?

 

Her phone buzzed with a new message from Eunhyuk.

 

"Oh look Eunhyuk is calling!," she announced jumping from her chair.

 

"Are the rumors true? Are you two dating?," Jinyoung yelled as she made her way around the side of the house out of sight.

 

"Hello," Irene answered.

 

"Hey Irene, you answered," Eunhyuk said from the other line. 

 

"Yes because you called my phone, so what do you want?," Irene replied a bit annoyed.

 

"Well if you aren't busy would you like to join me for dinner?," there was a hesitation in his voice.

 

Irene paused as she concluded it would be the best escape plan but the image of Wendy's stern face appeared before her eyes whenever she interacted with Eunhyuk.

 

"Actually Eunhyuk, I'm attending my cousin's baby shower so I have to refuse the invitation but thank you for considering me," Irene said without taking a breath.

 

Eunhyuk breathed into the phone, "Okay well see you at work on Monday and enjoy the shower." The call ended with either party saying goodbye.

 

Irene was puzzled for did Eunhyuk assume they were a couple because of the concert date. She decided to reiterate the guidelines for attending the BoA concert as platonic friends and nothing else.

 

"I need to do it before Wendy arrives," she concluded as she couldn't survive another day with the avoidance of the blonde.

 

She clicked on the contact list to view her unanswered texts to the intern.

 

She huffed as she put her phone in her handbag to return to the party.

 

 

Wendy was handing the vacuum boxes to a young male coworker on the ladder who placed them on the top shelf. She was in the middle of her six hour shift at the home goods store to complete her weekend. She jumped in surprise as the store manager paged her over the headset to the office.

 

"Be right there," Wendy paged back as she walked to the office.

 

She scanned her ID badge on the scanner and opened the door to hear her name called by the manager.

 

"Wendy I'm so thankful you are scheduled tonight for we have a special guest visiting the store," Sunny, the store manager informed.

 

Wendy gulped, "Oh yeah, who would that be?"

 

She fiddled with her fingers for she believed the presence of a famous local meteorologist was pretty impressing. But add the local sports anchor to the list Wendy thought as she groaned witnessing their interaction.

 

"Concert date," she mumbled in disgust. 

 

What was she saying here she was a poor college student who only shared a BBQ dinner date and lunch date in the cafeteria of the news studio.

 

"Eunhyuk can afford to spoil Irene with all the lavish things I can't begin to imagine spoiling her with," Wendy said in her head.

 

"Wendy are you with me?," Sunny asked waving her hand in front of the blonde's face.

 

"Yes ma'am," Wendy replied with her hands behind her back and her posture straighten.

 

Sunny laughed, "You don't have to act all formal, it isn't the military."

 

Wendy felt her face heat up and she was pretty sure it was bright red.

 

"I called you in here to ask you to personally show around the new CEO," Sunny ended her sentence clapping.

 

"New CEO?," asked Wendy with her eyes bulged and hanging out.

 

"Yes I believe it is not surprising to find out the company switched leadership in order to move in a different direction," Sunny informed. "Our sales have dropped drastically in part to online shopping and the shelves are cluttered with the same items but different brands. Do we need to carry 12 different brands of can openers? I think not so the CEO has scheduled a tour of the tour to evaluate our performance compared to our competitors."

 

Wendy was sweating as she pictured the huge dust bunnies that decorated the floor, items throw by the customers back on the shelves, towels unfolded, and the rug aisle. The blonde stood frozen in place silently panicking at the state of the store.

 

Sunny shook her shoulders.

 

"Relax Wendy, I understand the store is not in a presentable state," Sunny smiled as she spoke in a motherly voice. "All I ask is you and any avaible sales floor associates tidy up the store prior to her arrival. Now the time is 2pm and she should arrive by 5:30pm so we have plenty of time to prepare. I'm putting my faith in you to guide the night staff to exceed my expectations."

 

Wendy cleared for it seemed like a formidable task to complete but she wouldn't let the store manager down who entrusted her with supervisor status after being employed for less than a year. She accepted the challenge and bowed before she left the office. She cont