I watched Johnny just sigh and his shoulders deflate. He smiled at me and I felt my chest get tight. What the hell that smile.... 

“You want to know why I decided to court you?” I nodded and he sat back in his chair and relaxed, still smiling. That smile is going to kill me. 

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to of course.” I was quick to reassure him that it was fine to not answer  but he shook his head.

“No I’ll answer. The reason I decided to court is for many reasons actually, but there was one that really stood out. Do you remember the new year's party that was held at the beginning of the year at Yuta’s house.” I nodded and he nodded too. “I remember one of the staff accidentally tripping and dropping the plate full of drinks on you.” I flinched and looked at him while my cheeks burned. 

“You saw that? Oh how embarrassing. I think I should warn you, wherever I go misfortune follows.” He raised his eyebrow but I shook my head and motioned for him to continue. He tilted his head but continued on.

“You see, anyone else at that party would have blown the waiter’s head off. I have seen almost all of them act entitled multiple times in their lives and thought you would do the same. But..” I looked at him expectantly and he didn’t move his gaze from me either. “But, you calmly told him that it was fine and smiled at the guy. You didn’t yell or make a scene. Everyone was staring at you but you didn’t really seem to care. If anything, you just walked out of there with your head held high. I was surprised.” 

“It was an accident. I know he never meant to do it and he looked scared that I would have yelled at him.” I laughed slightly when I remembered the waiter apologizing multiple times and shook my head. “Besides, he’s human like me. I don’t want to be yelled at by someone for an accident. Why should he get yelled at? If anything, it gave me an excuse to leave early.”  He laughed and shrugged.

“Not a party person?” I shrugged but laughed too.

“If it’s with people I know and I like to be around, then I like to have parties. But the social parties we have every month, I’m not really friends with all of them so I feel awkward being around them.” He nodded at my explanation and shrugged. 

“I get it. They’re not all that pleasant to be around sometimes.” I bit my bottom lip before clearing my throat.

“Actually, I have something I wanted to confess.” He tilted his head and I looked down and heaved a sigh and just went for it. “I was kind of dreading this wedding.” I looked up and he blinked at me. Here we go. “I actually didn’t want to get married at such a young age and I never figured I would get married to you and I was scared when I found out.” He blinked again before frowning.

“Had I done something to offend you before?” My eyes went wide and I shook my head.

“Oh no no! No you didn’t do anything! I was just...uh” He looked at me expectantly and I gulped. He’s going to laugh at me for this I know it. “You..I...um” Oh why did I bring this up?!

“Hana?” Ahh screw it!

“You were part of the popular crowd. You always had people flocking around you and you had a bunch of fangirls that would always show up wherever you were. I guess I just felt inferior because I know how the others feel about me. I know none of them liked me and really I never cared, but you were someone that I thought was just like them and when I heard I was getting married to you…” I bit the inside of my cheek and kept my gaze on the table. I didn’t know how much time had passed but I soon heard a snort followed by muffled laughter. I gazed up to see him covering his mouth and laughing while looking away. I knew it. I closed my eyes and just sighed while listening to him laugh.

“I never realized I made myself look like some rich !” He was still laughing and I was trying to figure out if he was laughing at me or laughing at the situation. “Oh Hana I’m sorry. I promise I’m not laughing at you, I'm just laughing at the whole situation.” did I say that out loud!? My eyes went wide and bit my tongue.

“Did I say that out loud?” He nodded and I puffed out my cheeks and facepalmed. He chuckled but leaned forward on the table. 

“I hope I never make you feel that way though. I want to be someone you can rely on and not be scared of. I know we only started talking like this frequently but I am being sincere about my feelings right now. There was something I wanted to talk to you about that explains more of my background, but it’s not something I want to stress you with just yet.” He looked away from me and I remembered the times at the ball and earlier today about how he seemed frustrated with something. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I reached over and grabbed his hand, which made him look at me in shock.

“I am not good with words but I am willing to listen if you want to talk.” I gave a smile and he still stared at me. Then he turned his hand over and held my hand and smiled back.

“Thank you.” That smile oh no! I couldn’t do it. I felt the heat rush through my face and used my available hand to cover as much as my face possible. I heard a chuckle and felt my right hand being squeezed slightly. “You’re red”

“I know.” I pouted and looked away, resting my chin on the palm of my hand and stared out the window. I didn’t bother pulling my hand away and he didn’t let go either so we sat like that for a few minutes. 

Johnny’s POV

Johnny watched her gaze out the window and couldn’t help but think that he made the right decision. But even if I don’t want to end up like my parents, she still has the right to know what they’re like. I have to tell her soon, but how do I bring up the face that my parents aren’t the loving and doting parents that everyone thinks they are? Today wouldn’t be a good day, but he should tell her at least the basics of it before the wedding. He looked towards their joined hands and a bit of worry did go away. 

“You mentioned that you carry misfortune with you. Is this something I should be worried about?” he laughed but he wanted to make sure she wasn’t in trouble with anything. She just sighed and turned towards him, her face looking exhausted. 

“I’m extremely clumsy.” Huh? The confusion must have been shown on his face because she looked down but her cheeks had been coated in red. “I am a danger to myself. I walk into things, slip on thin air, trip over my own feet, drop whatever’s in my hand, run into doors. Basically I am a walking hazard.” He wanted to laugh again but she looked so done with herself that he tried to hold in his amusement. 

“I thought you were in trouble with the mafia or something.” She scoffed but shook her head.

“If only it was someone else. No, the problem is me. This is my warning to you as to get used to having to keep in stock a lot of bandaids.” He had to laugh at this however. 

“I own hospitals, remember.” She gave him the most blank look she could muster.

“Perfect. We were truly meant to be.” He busted out laughing again and squeezed her hand and she squeezed back but just sighed at her fate.  

“Are you happy with what you’re doing now?” He raised his eyebrow at her from confusion.

“What do you mean?” 

“You’re taking over the business from your dad right? Are you happy with that? Like was there anything else you wanted to be?” Johnny couldn’t understand this girl. Most of the girls he ever talked to maintained the conversation on superficial things. No one actually asked him for his opinions aside from his friends. 

“What if I told you I wanted to be an idol?” She laughed but quickly covered before looking around. 

“An idol? Really? Wow I wasn’t expecting that response.” He shrugged but he kept his gaze on her. She had a smile on her face as she stared back at him. Her face didn’t hold any judgment, but she seemed interested in his answer. She’s beautiful. He blinked at his thought before lightly shaking his head. He remembered the cake he had bought and nodded at it.

“You didn’t try the cake.” Her eyes widened before they drifted towards the cake. Not wanting to let go of her hand, he used his right hand to grab the plate and place it before her. 

“There’s two spoons. You should eat some too.”

“You try it first.” She blinked at him before raising her eyebrows. 

“If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were using me as a guinea pig Mr. Seo.” She smirked and he laughed before shrugging his shoulders. He propped his right arm up and rested his head against his hand while motioning at the cake using his eyes. She took one of the spoons and took a bit of the cake and ate it. It was adorable watching her as she closed her eyes and a small smile showed on her lips. “This is absolutely delicious. I think this is my new favorite cafe.”

“I’m glad.” She opened her eyes to see him staring at her and blushed at the contact. She pushed the plate towards him and motioned for him to try it. He sighed dramatically but took a spoonful and ate it like it was any other piece of food, which made Hana just stare at him in shock. 

“You're supposed to enjoy cake! What is this?” She laughed but took her spoon and started eating too. 

“I am enjoying the cake.” He took another spoonful and ate it causing her to laugh again. 

“So were you serious about wanting to be an idol?” He chuckled but shook his head. 

“No, I do play the piano though, that's about as musical as I get. What about you? Anything else you wanted to be.” He watched her look down and he frowned. “Are you ok?” 

“Yeah, um. I don’t actually know. I had been told since young about what was expected of me, so I never really thought about it much.” I get the feeling her life isn’t as happy as it seems to be either. 

“Ok let me rephrase that question then. What is something you love to do?” She looked at him and just stared for about a minute. He also kept his gaze steady on her and didn’t do anything that would distract her from her thought process.

“Crafts. I like to make things. Be it paint or just crocheting, making things has always been something I loved to do.” He nodded his head at that and smiled. 

“Nothing wrong with crafts. Maybe you can decorate our home with the crafts you created. Or create new ones.” He noticed a brightness in her eyes but she quickly held back and shook her head.

“No, I don’t want to mess up our home. Plus making things like that are pointless and a waste of time.” Johnny could hear a strain in her voice and frowned.

“Doing something you love isn’t pointless. It would only become pointless if you force yourself to stop for the happiness of others.” He felt her grip tighten but he didn’t say anything. He did, however, notice a glimmer appear in her eye and she seemed to be holding back a smile.

“You really wouldn’t mind?” He shook his head and a bright smile appeared on her face. She really is beautiful. “I’ll try not to go overboard with everything.” Johnny didn’t say anything but he knew he didn’t care about anything being overboard, but he figured he could mention that at a later time. 

“I forgot who’s turn it was to ask the question, so I’m going to go ahead and ask?” Johnny smiled but nodded and she returned the smile. “What’s your family like?” Oh no! Johnny felt his whole demeanor change and he felt lost on how to reply to her. What do I do? What do I say? She deserves to know but I can’t say anything yet!  

“They are just like any other family. Why do you ask?” Johnny you need to get a grip. Calm down! His thoughts were running a mile a minute about how to bring up the fact that his family is not like any other family. If it wasn’t for the house staff, he doesn’t know how he would have turned out to be. His family never cared about him, they didn’t even care about each other. He didn’t realize that his grip on Hana’s hand tightened until she yelped in pain. He looked down to see her eyeing him and her hand before he realized what he was doing and quickly released her hand. He took his hand back quickly and held on to it under the table, scared that he had hurt her. 

“Johnny, I..”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you! That was an accident I swear!” He couldn’t look at her, he kept thinking about the question over and over again.

“Johnny it’s fine. It was an accident. I’m not even hurt, I was just surprised, see?” Hana held her hand out to him to show that it was perfectly fine and Johnny felt relieved that her hand was ok. 

Hana’s POV

What happened? All I asked about was his family. Is that what he wanted to talk to me about. He looks so worried. Hana you shouldn’t have asked anything. But I didn’t know. This is my fault. I always seem to mess things up.

“Johnny? Forget I asked anything hmm. What about you friends? Where did you guys meet and how did you guys become friends?” Johnny seemed to have calmed down, but I still feel so bad. He started to open up about how his friends came to be and how they all started off as friends when they were in their early teens and grew up together. I was listening, but I soon started to think about the reaction I got when I asked about his parents. That’s not a normal reaction. I knew he would say something if he wanted me to know so I just kept to myself. I couldn’t help but feel worried, however. 

“The rain seemed to have stopped. Shall we head back?” I broke out of my thoughts and looked out to see that it was still gloomy but the rain did stop. I nodded and stood up as he did too and we both walked towards the register. 

“Bye! Have a good day!” I blinked at the barista before waving back and then turning to him.

“Did you already pay for everything?” I frowned at him and squinted my eyes. He looked down at me and laughed while nodding.

“Yeah I did. I am the guy after all.” I scoffed before turning around and walking backwards while facing him.

“So? That doesn’t mean you have to always pay.” I pouted and held my hands behind my back, which he laughed at.

“Ok, then do you want to pay for the next date?” I nodded my head and smiled, which he returned. He held his hand out towards me, which was confusing. What does he want me to do? He glanced down at his hand before looking at me again. My eyebrows furrowed but I placed my hand in his. He grinned before holding it tight and twirled me around to face his car that I did not realize I was walking backwards towards. I have a talent for somehow finding the weirdest things I swear. He opened the door for me once again, allowing me to get in before closing the door and walking towards the other side. Once he was in and we all buckled up, he started the car and we were on our way home.

“Our engagement ball is on Saturday. Are you ready for everyone to hear the announcement.”If Sora somehow survived the fangirls, then I can too right? 

“I’m pretty sure everyone knows by now. I get the feeling this ball is an excuse to be pretentious.” I said while thinking about how my mother planned on turning our mansions ballroom into something ridiculously extravagant. 

“I’m sorry again about what happened earlier. I’m not quite sure on how to tell you what happened but I will tell you.” I shook my head, however, and looked at Johnny.

“You don’t need to apologize and you only have to tell me if you want me to know.” He seemed to relax in the seat and I stared out the window. It was quiet but it wasn’t awkward. 

“Did you already have a dress picked out?” My eyes widened as I had forgotten all about the dress that was still at the shop.

“Oh no.” I covered my eyes as I sank down into my seat. 

“What happened?”

“I forgot to pick up the dress from the shop. It’s still there and I was supposed to pick it up on Sunday.” I heard Johnny chuckled.

“Actually, I was going to ask what color it was.” I smirked before turning to him.

“For the tie?” He laughed and nodded.

“You said you were free Friday right? I can come pick you up and we can go get your dress and then you can help me find the tie.” I couldn’t understand what was going on with me, but I just felt a bubble of excitement fill me.

“Yes! Let’s do that. That sounds like fun.”

“Great! It’s settled. When do you want me to come pick you up?” I thought about it and figured that it would be better if I left at 12, then no one will know I’m gone until they come looking for me.

“Let's do 12. Is that ok with you?” He nodded his head and then slowed down. I looked to see that we had already reached my house.

“All right, we’re here. I had a lot of fun today.” I smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, I had a lot of fun too. I’m actually looking forward to Friday.” Johnny frowned and backed away.

“Why do I get the feeling I should be scared of you?” I let out an evil laugh, which sounded really pathetic.

“You should be. Till next time?” I unbuckled my seat belt and looked at him.

“Till next time.”I smiled and got out. I quickly walked towards the door and rang the doorbell. Soon the door opened and I turned to see Johnny waiting. I waved at him, which he did back before slowly leaving the area.

“Well Sena, I must say she looks like a lady.” Oh come on! I turned and saw my mom standing there with crossed arms and kept eying my outfit. She then nodded, turned around and walked away, leaving me standing there. I shook my head and saw Sena by the staircase. She waved me over and pointed up. As soon as I got to the staircase, she came up with me and leaned in. 

“So, do you remember my cousin, the florist.” I nodded at the vague memory of her being mentioned. “I sent her a picture of the flowers. She said they were called calla lilies. They apparently mean new beginnings. Do you think it’s a coincidence?” New beginnings? I felt a small smile grow and turned towards Sena. 

“Thank you Sena for everything.” She smiled and walked away, leaving me to enter my room.I walked in and shut the door before leaning against it, and smiled. New beginnings.